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Time To Rest Dan Primack |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
Greetings for the last time in a long time, as I’m heading off for a two-week vacation. “Heading” might actually be a bit of a stretch, since my primary plan is to become better acquainted with my couch. It should be glorious.
peHUB will continue to be updated in my absence, with Erin Griffith and Connie Loizos doing most of the heavy lifting. The daily PE Week Wire email also will continue (except for tomorrow), with Erin taking over (email her any news items). We’ll also have some guest columnists for you.
Be back on July 21. Same blog time. Same blog channel...
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Fundraising Tips from People Way Smarter Than Me Andrew Scurria |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
This is the second in a series examining obstacles and pitfalls of raising a private equity fund. Please email me suggestions for future posts.
Remember that famous line from Wall Street, right before Bud Fox first meets Gordon Gekko?: “Life comes down to a few big moments, and this is one of them?” So far this year, PE fundraising hasn’t been quite so high-stakes an endeavor. Together, buyout and mezzanine firms in the
U.S. have amassed only a couple billion dollars less than they did at this point last year (which was a record). But the consensus is that it won't keep on like that for long. LPs, you'd think, will start weeding out more and more firms. Below are some of the tips I've gleaned in the past few weeks on...
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peHUB Second Opinion Erin Griffith |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
* Looking for detailed info on the Clear Channel debt? FT-owned news service Debtwire has some detailed info on lead arranger Citigroup’s pricing.
* Anyone know what ever came of this case? It’s the 57-page collusion lawsuit against about 15 of the biggest LBO shops from February. You may remember, it even had a hilarious chart to outline how collusion happens, and several very shaky-at-best case studies. I thought we wer...
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Penn National's Next Move Erin Griffith |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
Some were surprised, but the deal that wouldn’t die has finally left the building.
But look at Penn National Gaming’s stock.
A failed merger usually doesn’t garner a leap in share price to the tune of 10% plus. (Though considering the spread on this one, maybe.) But a fat $225 million breakup fee, plus Centerbridge and Fortress’s agreement to buy $1.25 billion of the company’s debt, is enticing to investors. What will Penn do with all that cash?
The company has already said it will delever by $610 million and look at sha...
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Busch Entertainment Could Sell, But Who's Buying? Erin Griffith |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
Finally, my take on the one thing bloggers, finance reporters, Missouri politicians and beer drinkers can't get enough of this summer—Anheuser Busch.
God knows there’s been plenty of speculation.
But hear me out. I want to talk about the theme parks. Even before InBev entered the picture, there’s been rumors about the potential sale of Anheuser Busch’s theme park division (called Busch Entertainment). Its perfectly non-core, and worth a lot, considering a Lehman Brothers analyst valued it at nearly $3 billion. InBev could sell it off to pay down debt quickly, or Anheuser could shed the business itself as a way to g...
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Penn Gaming Deal Dies Dan Primack |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
Casino operator Penn Gaming announced this morning that it has terminated its proposed $6.1 billion buyout with Fortress Investments and Centerbridge Partners. We'll have much more on this as the day progresses, but a couple quick reactions:
1. This is very surprising. Penn Gaming and its suitors have gone through regulatory hell to get this thing done, and it seems like they're quitting with the finish line in sight.
2. Fortress and Centerbridge have agreed to pay the breakup fee, and also to buy around $1.25 billion in Penn Gaming debt. That means Penn Gaming made out better in the deal than other co...
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Talking with Tom Hicks Dan Primack |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
I spent some time on the phone yesterday with Tom Hicks, who burst back onto the buyout scene this week by agreeing to take Graham Packaging public via his SPAC. The deal is valued at $3.2 billion, with Graham owner Blackstone Group agreeing to remain the company’s largest single shareholder for at least two years. Some quick hits from the conversation:
* Hicks sized the SPAC last year at $480 million, which he thought would let it do deals of between $500 million and $1 billion. Since then, however, he’s learned that the SPAC market prefers deals closer to 3x or 4x the SPAC size, which is why he began looking at larger targets. Graham is even beyond that range, but he seems confident that his...
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peHUB First Read Dan Primack |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
* Krispy Kreme got an unsolicited take-private offer earlier this week, but the bidder seems to be a serial scammer. My tipoff was when I saw the bidder's website, which brags that it is a "very sophisticated organization."
* Another view of SOX: It's delicious, and (mostly) good for you.
* Peter Lattman writes about the recent organiz...
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Hello, General Atlantic. You Look Really Nice Today. Connie Loizos |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
General Atlantic, the global, growth-stage private equity firm, has been getting a lot of attention lately -- not from entrepreneurs looking for funding, but from VCs looking for funding.
“I wouldn’t even say the calls have been coming over the last six months, but the last three months,” says Marc McMorris, a managing partner in General Atlantic’s Palo Alto office, who I reached by phone yesterday.
Given General Atlantic’s place in the investing ecosystem--it writes checks of between $50 million and $500 million
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IBM-PSI Deal Bolsters Blueprint Lawrence Aragon |
| posted on: 07-03-2008 | |
In a week of otherwise somber news for the venture industry, Blueprint Ventures is thrilled to report today that portfolio company Platform Solutions Inc. (PSI) was bought by IBM.
It’s great news on multiple fronts, not the least of which is that it puts an end to litigation between Big Blue and PSI, a maker of mainframe clones. It’s also great news for Blueprint because it lends credence to its corporate spinout strategy. PSI is the second exit it has notched from the 15 corporate spinouts it has done to date, with LANDesk being the first.
The deal shows that corporate spinouts can reach exit much more quickly than traditional venture deals, says Blueprint’s Bart Schachter. His firm held PSI for about 3 ½ years, far less than the average holding period for a VC-backed company...
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