TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Shinsei Bank (8303.T) will cut about a quarter of the staff at its brokerage, or roughly 30 employees, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The bank aims to reduce Shinsei Securities to around 85 people by the end of March, said the two sources, who spoke on condition […]
(Reuters) – British venture capital firm 3i Group Plc (III.L) cut its stake in IT consultancy group Morse Plc (MOR.L) to less than 3 percent from about 15 percent, a regulatory filing showed. 3i Group sold about 20.2 million shares in Morse for an undisclosed sum on Feb. 13, according to the filing. On Feb. […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – O’Gara Group Inc (OGAR.O), a homeland security specialist firm, postponed its planned initial public offering Tuesday because of “market conditions,” according to an underwriter. The Cincinnati-based company had planned to raise about $120 million in the IPO, led by Morgan Keegan, by selling 8 million shares. O’Gara attempted to price its […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday he would invest in the U.S. government’s private-public investment fund designed to help mop up banks’ troubled assets, provided that low-cost funding, as well as guarantees in sharing investment losses, are involved. “Part of the reason this fund needs to be leveraged is simply […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A distressed debt-for-equity swap for automakers General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Chrysler would lead to a “selective default” for the companies, but their ratings could climb to the “CCC” range upon completion of the bond exchange, Standard & Poor’s said on Tuesday. S&P rates both Chrysler and GM “CC,” or 10 […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Key Plastics LLC, a maker of plastic components for cars and trucks, has completed its prepackaged bankruptcy, the company said this week. In a statement posted on its website on Monday, Key Plastics said its reorganization plan took effect on Feb. 13. During the bankruptcy the company eliminated $115 million of […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lone Star Funds, the U.S. private equity manager that pushed deeper into distressed real estate as the credit crunch took hold in 2008, is raising another $20 billion for troubled assets, according to sources. Half of the new cash will be earmarked for commercial real estate, including commercial mortgage-backed securities, said […]
J.C. Flowers & Co. and Metalmark Capital have completed their sale of Direct Response Corp. to an affiliate of Unitrin Inc. (NYSE:UTR) for approximately $200 million. The original deal value had been around $220 million. Direct Response is a Meriden, Conn.-based seller of personal automobile insurance.
Milestone Partners has formed Callidus Holdings LLC, an acquisition platform focused on the legal support services market. Its first transaction is the recapitalization of Black Letter Discovery Inc., a San Francisco-based provider of discovery and document review solutions to law firms and corporate legal departments. No financial terms were disclosed.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Forward Foods LLC, the maker of Detour energy bars, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after a tainted peanut recall by its supplier, Peanut Corp of America, forced the company to recall many of its own products on fears of possible salmonella poisoning. Forward Foods, which makes high-protein, snack and meal […]