As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies from ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Moody’s Investors Service. It's Carlyle Week, as the mega-firm is the sponsor of three out of the five ratings actions we found. The firm’s energy services company, Stallion Oilfield, defaulted on a tiny $12.9 million interest payment. Another Carlyle energy services company, Titan Specialties, was downgraded because of its “vulnerable” business model and substantial leverage. Meanwhile, the firm’s waste management company, Wastequip, was downgraded for “PIK-ing its toggle” (why does that phrase sound so dirty?).
LONDON (Reuters) – Private equity firm Montagu has whittled down the field of bidders for survival equipment maker Survitec to a handful of potential trade and private buyers, sources familiar with the process said. Between six and eight buyers have progressed to the second round of the auction, two sources said. Some buyers met with […]
TA Associates has agreed to acquire Vatterott Educational Centers Inc. from Wellspring Capital Management. No financial terms were disclosed. Vatterott is a St. Louis-based provider of career-oriented post-secondary education, with 22 U.S. campuses.
Rutland Partners has acquired the CeDo group of companies from Delton AG for £52.2 million. CeDo is a European maker of household disposables, including garbage bags and aluminium foil. It mostly focuses on the UK, French and German markets, but also has a presence in Eastern Europe.
(Reuters) – Flextronics International Ltd (FLEX.O) said it had completed the sale of its stake in Aricent to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and CPP Investment Board for $255 million. KKR entities now own 79 percent in Aricent, according to a statement issued by KKR. The exact amount invested by CPP Investment Board, which manages […]
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Friday that the notification of a deal by British investment fund RREEF Fund and Spanish Union Fenosa Gas jointly to acquire Spanish liquid natural gas company SAGGAS had been withdrawn. The European Union’s antitrust watchdog made the announcement in a daily list of planned mergers under scrutiny, […]
LONDON (Reuters) – Nycomed, the private equity-owned Swiss drugmaker, recently made a fully financed 4 to 4.5 billion euro ($5.88 to $6.62 billion) offer to buy Solvay SA’s (SOLB.BR) drug unit, people familiar with the matter said. As reported by Reuters in August, Nycomed would fund any buyout of the Belgian pharmaceutical business by high-yield […]
The whole “bridge now, finance later” theme began last year when buyers realized they weren’t able to guarantee financing for deals. Rather than depend on lenders to get deals done, take out a bridge loan for the deal, which can be financed out later. Seems simple enough, right? Just another day of “creative dealmaking in […]
Despite recent reports that deals like Skype and Warner Chilcott have signaled the return of lenders willing to finance large buyouts, guys in the trenches are saying "not to fast." In a panel titled, "The Changed Look of Wall Street" at the second day of the Private Equity Analyst conference, panelists painted a tough reality: leverage is not comin' back anytime soon. Said John Coyle, head of Permira's New York office: "Until the banks feel comfortable that they have enough capital and until the well runs dry on non capital businesses, they aren't even thinking about LBOs." In 2010, he said, the banks will eventually begin to look to take on more risk once they accumulate enough capital. That's not the reality today. He added that people may be excited about Skype but, it's still relatively small, with around 50% equity. And Warner Chilcott, the largest credit facility for an LBO this year, was actually a delevering transaction. The company, backed by Bain Capital LLC, Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, and the buyout units of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Credit Suisse Group, actually went from 4x leverage to 3x in its acquisition of Procter & Gamble's prescription drugs business, Coyle said.
Cortec Group has acquired a majority stake in 180 Medical Inc., an Oklahoma City-based distributor of disposable, single-use urologic catheters in home settings. No financial terms were disclosed, except that Madison Capital Funding led the senior note facility.