The U.S. restaurant industry is beginning to sizzle, according to the 23rd edition of the Chain Restaurant Industry Review, which was released Tuesday at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona by GE Capital, Franchise Finance (GEFF). According to the company's findings, merger and acquisition activity increased to $3.9 billion from $3.7 billion, and the total volume of syndicated leveraged loans in the restaurant space increased almost 21 percent last year.
Corporations have led the way in addressing environmental, social and governance issues, but the private equity community is catching up, says Lauren Koopman, a director in the sustainable business solutions team at the global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Owing to low interest rates, pension plans that have increasingly turned to less risky, longer-duration, fixed-income assets may find themselves locking in very low future returns, says a new report out Cambridge Associates.
After less than two years, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe is looking to exit Triple Point Technology, four sources tell peHUB.
Heavily indebted casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp said it would split itself into two companies, with private-equity firms Apollo Management LP and TPG Capital intending to invest $250 million each in a new growth-oriented business, Reuters is reporting.
A consortium has completed its buy of Duff & Phelps Corp. in a deal valued at about $665.5 million. The group includes The Carlyle Group, Stone Point Capital LLC, Pictet & Cie, on behalf of certain of its clients, and funds managed by Edmond de Rothschild Group. Duff & Phelps is a financial advisory and investment banking firm.
Trilantic Capital Partners and Riverstone Holdings have invested in Trail Ridge Energy Partners II. Financial terms weren't announced. Trail Ridge is a newly-formed oil and gas exploration and production company focused primarily in the Permian Basin in West Texas. Stifel Nicolaus advised Trail Ridge in regards to financing.
Honeywell has agreed to buy RAE Systems, a Vector Capital portfolio company, for $340 million. San Jose-based RAE Systems provides gas and radiation detection systems for safety and security threat detection. The deal is expected to close in second quarter. Citigroup advised RAE/Vector. Shearman & Sterling was their attorney.
Kallista has acquired two wind farms, writes Reuters. Axa Private Equity has backed the transaction.
French hotel chain Accor's chief executive may be ousted by the company's board following shareholder impatience with its weak share performance in recent months, writes Reuters. Denis Hennequin, the former CEO of McDonald's Europe who took the top job at Accor after his predecessor quit in 2010, has been accused of taking too long to overhaul the company, writes Reuters.