HONG KONG, March 25 (Reuters) – Private equity deals in Asia got off to a steady start in 2011, as buyout funds provided capital to companies in rapidly growing China and India, and some analysts say competition is pushing up valuation in some Asian countries. Asia has traditionally been a growth market for PE funds, […]
It all started with a letter. Rob Morris didn't even expect a reply. "I viewed it in my mind like writing the ex-girlfriend one last letter, and I would never hear from the person," said Morris, the managing partner of Olympus Partners, a buyout shop in Stamford, Conn. Morris had no connections to Spencer Bachus, the letter's intended recipient and the chief candidate to become chairman of the House Financial Services Committee after the GOP took the House of Representatives last November. In fact, Morris had no experience dealing with Washington, D.C. But Morris had been studying provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law that would require private equity firms to register as investment advisers, and the registration provision struck him as a waste ...
Cameron Hewes has been added to Greene Holcomb & Fisher’s investment banking practice as a managing director. The Pacific Northwest investment bank is adding a Northwest native with 15 years of M&A and banking experience, including work with Piper Jaffray.
Private equity firm 3i Group has kicked off the sale of its portfolio company Azelis, a Belgium-based chemical distributor, Reuters reported. 3i Group, which is based in London, has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help with the sale. The private equity firm bought Azelis in 2007 for about 315 million euro, Reuters wrote.
London-based private equity firm Duke Street will pay roughly 215 million pounds ($349 million) for Japanese noodle chain Wagamama, buying the company from rival buyout shop Lion Capital, Reuters reported. Lion Capital took a majority stake in Wagamama in a 2005 deal valued at 102.5 million pounds.
Four buyout shops remain in the running for SLV Group, a German lighting business owned by HgCapital, Reuters said. A sale of the company could fetch more than 400 million euros ($562 million), Reuters estimated. European investment firms BC Partners, Charterhouse and Cinven are all in the second round of the auction. U.S. firm Lindsay Goldberg also remains in the running.
British insurer Aviva plans to sell its RAC roadside rescue business, and has hired JP Morgan to manage the sale, Reuters reported. Private equity firms are expected to be most interested in the business, which is valued at 500-600 million pounds ($804 million to $1.12 billion), the Financial Times reported.
Private equity firm Apax Partners will pay about $745 million for the Trader Corp. unit of media and marketing company Yellow Media Inc., Reuters said. The proceeds of the sale – set to close in June – will help Yellow Media pay down debt. Trader Corp. publishes about 160 publications and 22 websites on automotive, real estate, general merchandise and employment, Reuters said.
Proxy Fight? Take it to Twitter! Who You Callin' Yeller? Yellow Media to Apax Partners for $745M Ripped: A band of former White House economic advisors issue warning on the 2011 federal budget Research in Trouble: RIM’s growth is still a disappointment
The SEC on Thursday charged Mark Duffell, a former consultant of Accel-KKR, with insider trading. The regulator claims Duffell was involved in discussions involving Accel-KKR's pending buy of SumTotal Systems in March 2009 when he allegedly began amassing shares in the company in his personal trading account, according to a release. Duffell has agreed to settle the charges against him and pay disgorgement and penalties of over $300,000, the SEC said.