Last month, KKR and GS Capital Partners agreed to acquire audio equipment maker Harman International for approximately $8 billion. As a sweetener for skeptical Harman stockholders the buyers offered to let approximately 8.3 million shares be swapped for equity in the private edition of Harman. That works out to around $1 billion, or a 27% […]
Insider trading has become the ugly stepchild of take-private buyouts, as small-market scammers have infiltrated the big kids table. Nobody involved will admit their wrongdoing, of course, but the breadcrumbs can often be found in the options trading market, where unusual activity may well reflect that some deal info was leaked by a sponsor, banker, […]
Remember when Dow Chemical fired two executives last month for allegedly trying to stoke buyout interest in the company? Well there are now a pair of competing lawsuits about the matter, with one of the fired execs suing Dow, and Dow suing both of its former charges. Here is the digruntled exec’s suit: Dow_Suit.pdf Here […]
Just as private equity dominates news headlines today, the masters of the Wall Street universe 20 years ago were an investment bank (Drexel Burnham Lambert) and a form of debt with which the firm had become inextricably linked (the junk bond). They were fabulously successful for nearly 10 years, but Drexel’s high yield empire didn’t […]
Sometimes a strategic just can’t get it done alone. That may be one of the snapshot lessons from today’s announcement that Smith & Wollensky (Nasdaq: SWRG) has agreed to be taken private for $94.6 million. The upscale steakhouse operator had originally agreed to be acquired for $9.25 per share by Patina Restaurant Group, but then […]
Monday Update: Thomson confirmed that it has made a “preliminary approach” for Reuters. I’ve received dozens of emails this morning asking if the rumors are true that Thomson Financial has offered to buy Reuters. My official response – per internal dictate – is that I have no response. My unofficial response is that I have […]
In late March, Goldman Sachs distributed some institutional client research detailing its leveraged buyout model. I only got leaked a copy yesterday, so apologies for the tardiness. The 46-page document is about half boilerplate and marketing materials for an interactive LBO return calculator, which apparently is accessible to Goldman clients. The rest, however, reads like […]
Private equity has historically outperformed the S&P 500, but critics often argue that the advantage disappears once fees are taken into account. In other words, it’s a narrow edge that might not justify the risk. Over the past year, however, private equity firms have been doing their darndest to remove risk from their equations — […]
“Sell.” This is often my first thought when I see take-private offers announced (strategic or financial), and that was again the case with this week’s big deal. In an offer clearly designed to discourage any competition, News Corp. bid for Dow Jones the way the Rangers bid for A-Rod. It made me think of the old […]
Royal Ahold NV today announced that it has (finally) agreed to sell its U.S. Foodservice distribution unit to KKR and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for $7.1 billion. What it didn’t announce, however, were any other financial details. So here they are: The total transaction price includes $2.6 billion in equity and $4.5 billion in funded debt, […]