AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A bidding war around Solvay’s drugs unit appeared to be emerging after a reported bid from Abbott valued the unit at up to 5 billion euros, rivaling an earlier, lower offer from Nycomed. The Wall Street Journal reported that Abbott has emerged as a strong competitor to buy Solvay’s drugs unit as […]
The Blackstone Group is considering a bid for Anheuser-Bush InBev’s theme parks, including SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, according to Dow Jones. Blackstone already has theme park holdings, including Universal Orlando. www.blackstone.com
LONDON (Reuters) – Montagu Private Equity, the British buyout house, said on Thursday it has agreed a deal to acquire airfield lighting company ADB Airfield Solutions from Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE). The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal. Late last month Thomson Reuters LPC reported that Bank of Ireland and West LB were […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Unison Capital, a top buyout firm in Japan, expects to see more leveraged buyouts in the world’s second-largest economy as big domestic banks are keen to sponsor deals, a senior executive said. Private equity investments in Japan should be attractive this year and next year because of good valuations and returns […]
Newspaper publisher Freedom Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 1. It was the 59th private equity-backed company to do so in 2009, compared to just 49 in all of 2008. But then a funny thing happened. Or, more specifically, didn't happen. No other PE-backed companies filed for bankruptcy protection in September. Two companies announced plans to file for bankruptcty protection as part of prepackaged restructurings -- NTK Holdings (THL Partners) and Lazy Days’ RV Center Inc. (Bruckman Rosser Sherrill ) -- but it's unclear if either will do so before September ends.
Here are some potential target ideas, rumored or official, to jumpstart your deal pipeline. Our sources are various news reports and the Buyouts “Seeking Buyers” list. For prior lists, see below, and send any additions my way. Extra-long since we missed a week while I was at Private Equity Analyst last week. The Merckle family in Germany may need to sell Ratiopharm, its generic drug maker, in pieces, according to Bloomberg. The family is now seeking buyers for drug wholesaler Phoenix Group, Swiss generic-drug maker Mepha Group and HeidelbergCement AG assets. Springer Science+Business Media, did not receive satisfactory bids in the auction for a stake sale. The German academic publisher may consider selling of the entire company, according to Bloomberg.
Months ago, the buyout world was abuzz with excitement for the education sector. PE-backed Rosetta Stone and Bridgepoint Education had wildly successful debuts on the public market and kicked off an exciting summer of IPO chatter. Each offering has traded up significantly since its debut. This week Education management Corp., backed by Providence Equity Partners, […]
LONDON (Reuters) – The deadline for the Cosmen-led consortium to make a formal offer for National Express Plc (NEX.L) is set to be extended for a second time so due diligence can be completed, sources close to the deal said. The UK Takeover Panel had set an extended deadline of 1600 GMT on Sept. 25 […]
Cornerstone Records Management, a portfolio company of Sterling Partners, has acquired Simi Valley, Calif.-based Information Management Storage Inc. No financial terms were disclosed.
Blackstone Group and Lion Capital will exit its investment in soft drink maker Orangina Schweppes in a $3.8 billion sale to Suntory, according to the Financial Times. The publication calculated the deal would net the firms a 30% annual return on their combined 600 million euro investment. www.oranginaschweppes.com/