Private equity groups are paying themselves and their investors by getting the European firms they own to raise cash by issuing debt in volumes not seen since before the financial crisis, writes Reuters. This is common when the economy is healthy because companies can use profits to meet repayments but is controversial at a time when the economic environment in Europe is poor, writes Reuters.
LKQ Corporation has agreed to acquire Sator Beheer, a distributor of auto parts, tools and equipment headquartered in Schiedam, the Netherlands, for approximately $268 million. Baird acted as the sole financial advisor to LKQ on the deal, which is still subject to customary closing conditions. The sellers were H2 Equity Partners, a private equity firm, and Sator management.
Sarona Asset Management, a Canadian private equity firm focused on frontier and emerging markets, has invested $750,000 in Khyati Foods Ltd. The investment in Khyati, a Mumbai, India-based company which processes organic cotton and soybeans, was made alongside Sarona's private equity partner, SEAF Agribusiness India Fund. Sarona has offices in Waterloo, Ontario and the Netherlands.
Radiant Communications Corp., a Vancouver-based provider of managed network and cloud hosting solutions, has received a second take-private offer from Frontier Networks Inc., a custom data and networking programs company based in Toronto. The bid follows one made by Canadian private equity firms Maxam Capital Corp. and PenderFund Capital Management. That deal, which involves shares not already owned by Maxam and Pender, provides consideration to minority shareholders of approximately C$4.5 million and implies an equity value for the company of approximately C$12.9 million.
H.I.G. Capital said Wednesday that it has completed its buy of Pegasus Financial Services. The seller was Pegasus Solutions. Financial terms weren't announced. Dallas-based Pegasus Financial is a processor of commissions paid by hotels to travel agencies.
Packaging Dynamics Corp. announced earlier this week that it had agreed to sell its Thilmany Papers business unit to KPS Capital Partners. Financial terms were not announced. Included in the deal are the Thilmany Papers’ Nicolet and Kaukauna mills and Wausau Paper’s Mosinee and Rhinelander mills, all of which are located in Wisconsin, as well as the output of Verso Paper’s number five paper machine in Jay, Maine, a release dated April 22 said.
CIT Group said Wednesday that it arranged a $220 million loan to help finance Elior SCA and Charterhouse Capital Partners' buy of TrustHouse Services Group. Charlotte, N.C.-based TrustHouse provides contract food services to the healthcare, education and corrections sectors.
Deal activity has struggled so far in 2012. Is it a matter of deals getting pulled into the fourth quarter or a mismatch between what sellers demand and sellers will pay?
Z Capital Partners filed an investor presentation supporting its nomination of two candidates to the Affinity Gaming Board. Z Capital currently owns more than 30% of Affinity Gaming. Z Capital Partners has offered to buy all the outstanding shares of Affinity Gaming that it doesn't own.
Argos Soditic has announced the acquisition of the Natural Distribution group, a European specialist in food supplements based on plants and components of natural origin, in a BIMBO transaction alongside the management team, led by Nigel Henton. Founded 25 years ago by Jean and Maryse Estienne, Natural Distribution develops and distributes food supplements based on plants and components of natural origin in pharmacies and specialist shops.