The Carlyle Group is closing in on a 25% stake in Indonesian consumer firm GarudaFood, Reuters said. The $200 million stake will mark the firms first direct investment in Indonesia. GarudaFood sells instant food, peanuts and other snacks globally. The proposed deal values the company at about $800 million, Reuters said.
Lately, new investors have been popping up from coast to coast in professional sports teams deals. As entrepreneurs’ companies and PE and VC portfolios rebound, some of the boldface names in charge of them are loosening purse strings to make the mega-ego purchases of professional ballclubs. That means that, possibly, PE pros Josh Harris and Steve Pagliuca could find themselves in a dispute not over how the carry is split in a club deal, but over who carried the ball the previous night in the Celts-76ers game. Although these investors are savvy when it comes to LBOs, IPOs and dividend recaps, things haven’t always panned out the way they’ve wanted on the diamond/gridiron/hardwood/ice....
Internet companies are pushing smaller portions of their equity onto public markets at a volatile time and still seeing stock values increase almost instantaneously. For now, the practice is helping tack bigger price tags onto VCs’ assets, but if and when a major market disruption occurs, these newly-listed darlings may later see secondary offering attempts flounder. Low-float IPOs are all the rage right now....
The results of this week's poll were surprising (to me). Yesterday, I asked you whether PE execs are overpaid. This was in response to reports that PE firms are raiding investment banks for relatively inexperienced analysts. I also mentioned the Blackstone Group, where named executives get a $350,000 base annual salary plus a possible chunk of the carry.
RAE Systems shareholders have voted to approve its merger agreement with Vector Capital. Over 75% of holders of RAE's outstanding shares voted for the sale to Vector and more than 95% of shares voted at the Special Meeting were tallied for the deal. The sale to Vector is expected to close on or about June 16. Vector Capital is paying $2.25 a share, or $134 million, for RAE, which makes instruments to detect gas and hazardous materials. UBS advised RAE's special committee. Silicon Valley Bank is providing financing for the deal. Vector was locked in a bidding war with Battery Ventures-SFW Capital Partners for RAE.
Huntington Capital Fund II, the San Diego-based lower middle market private equity mezzanine fund, has invested in Vertical Management Systems Inc., a California-based technology company working with financial services companies. Madison Street Capital, LLC acted as the exclusive financial advisor in arranging the financing. Specifics were not publicized.
(Reuters) – Private equity-backed Avaya Holdings Corp, a telecom equipment maker, on Thursday became the latest in a rush of IPOs and filings by technology sector companies. The Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based company was taken private by Silver Lake Partners and TPG in 2007 for just over $8 billion. On Thursday, it filed to raise […]
Polish media mogul Zygmunt Solorz-Zak has put in a final bid for mobile operator Polkomtel, Reuters reported, though the size of the bid was kept under wraps. Polkomtel, which was put up for sale by Vodafone and a handful of Polish state-linked companies, could reportedly fetch as much as $6.6 billion. Private equity firms Apax and Bain Capital are also among those in the running for Polkomtel.
Nokia says its in talks with “multiple parties” about its stake in Nokia Siemens Networks, Reuters reported Friday. Previous reports have said that Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG decided not to bid on Nokia Siemens Network after they failed to agree on a price for the majority stake. Nokia didn’t name any other potential suitors for the telecom equipment business.
Buyout firm Charterhouse will buy French call-centre business Webhelp from Astorg Partners, Reuters reported, adding that Charterhouse had secured a 165 million euro ($238 million) loan to help fund the deal. The loan was arranged by Bank of Ireland and Citigroup, Reuters reported. Astorg bought a controlling stake in Webhelp in June 2007 from Barclays Private Equity, which remained a minority shareholder in the business.