Royal Ahold NV today announced that it has (finally) agreed to sell its U.S. Foodservice distribution unit to KKR and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for $7.1 billion. What it didn’t announce, however, were any other financial details. So here they are: The total transaction price includes $2.6 billion in equity and $4.5 billion in funded debt, […]
Local Insight Media LLC, a provider of print directories and Internet-based local search services in Alaska and the Caribbean, has agreed to acquire Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which includes a 50-year publishing agreement in which Insight will serve as the exclusive, official publisher of print and online […]
For the first time in a long time, the day’s big financial story has nothing to do with private equity. That story, of course, is Rupert Murdoch’s $5 billion (opening) bid for Dow Jones. But could it have something to do with private equity? Could there be rival bidder? The smart money says “no,” given […]
Appleseed's Topco Inc., a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital, has completed its acquisition of Blair Corp. (AMEX: BL) for $42.50 per share in cash. The total transaction is valued at approximately $173.6 million. Blair Corp. is a Warren, Pa.-based catalog and multi-channel direct marketer of women's and men's apparel and home products. www.blair.com
Entrix Inc., a Houston, Texas-based environmental consulting company, has acquired Biological Research Associates LLC, a Tampa, Fla.-based consulting firm focused on natural resource projects, including wetlands, endangered species and water-related work. No financial terms were disclosed. Entrix was acquired by The Riverside Company in 2003. www.entrix.com www.biologicalresearch.com
IMG, a sports and entertainment management company controlled by Forstmann Little & Co., has acquired Collegiate Licensing Co., an Atlanta-based collegiate trademark licensing agency. No financial terms were disclosed. www.imgworld.com www.clc.com
Pegasus Solutions Inc., a Dallas-based provider of technology and services to hotels and travel distributors, has acquired Wizcom Inc., a provider of travel reservations processing technology. The seller is Travelport Holdings Ltd., which is owned by The Blackstone Group. Pagasus was acquired in a $275 million public-to-private buyout last year by Prides Capital, Tudor Investment […]
Thule, a Swedish portfolio company of Candover, has acquired Case Logic Inc., a Longmont, Colo.
The proposed Harman buyout has prompted lots of nattering about “stub equity” and other such incentives designed to prompt shareholder approval of public-to-private buyouts. One possible ramification I haven’t seen mentioned yet, however, is that such deals could help spur further growth of the direct secondaries market. After all, I don’t quite see mutual funds […]
Most institutional investors, I imagine, are sympathetic to the plight of buyout professionals facing the prospect of paying higher taxes on carried interest. They recognize that a big reason so many bright people have migrated to private equity is that no where else (other than the hedge fund business, perhaps) can they get so wealthy […]