GTCR is tuning in to radio. Today, the Chicago PE firm agreed to buy a majority stake in three radio stations from Emmis Communications. Two are located in Chicago--WLUP-FM (The LOOP) and WKQX-FM (Q101)--while another, WRXP-FM, is in New York. The LOOP is classic rock, while Q101 and WKQX focus on alternative rock (Merlin Media is the entity formed by GTCR to buy the stations). GTCR has agreed to pay Emmis between $110 million to $130 million cash at the close of the deal....
Is there a pause in the M&A market? Maybe. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the M&A market has lost momentum in recent weeks. Deal activity slowed to its lowest point in May, totaling $67.9 billion for the month, the Journal said, citing Dealogic data. This compares to $96.7 billion in April and $105.3 billion in March, the WSJ said. In fact, fewer deals have been announced in 2011 but their valuations are higher. So far there have been 4,525 announced U.S. transactions raising $559.2 billion as of June 21, according to Dealogic. This compares to the 5,193 deals for the same time period in 2010, valued at $401.9 billion.
Buyout shop GTCR has partnered with former Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels to buy Merlin Media LLC, the owner of several radio station properties, from Emmis Communications. Emmis will retain a significant stake in the venture, the firm said. GTCR’s investment will be made out of GTCR Fund X, a private equity fund with $3.25 […]
(Reuters) – The rash of accounting scandals that has hit U.S.-listed Chinese stocks has not curbed the appetite of private equity and venture capital firms looking for the next set of Chinese Internet stars in the mainland’s “So-Lo-Mo” and luxury e-commerce sectors. PE and VC firms are still betting on firms in So-Lo-Mo, shorthand for […]
Two rival consortium are gearing up for bids to buy Swedish alarms firm Securitas Direct, Reuters reported. Stanley Black & Decker is expected to team up with the Carlyle Group on a bid for Securitas Direct, which is currently owned by Swedish private equity group EQT. A second consortium of Bain and Hellman & Friedman is also expected to make a bid, Reuters reported.
San Francisco-based SAY Media, which is backed by investors including August Capital, First Round Capital, Focus Ventures and Maveron, has acquired digital agency Sideshow. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Sideshow was launched in 1999.
Beer maker Foster's Group rejected a $10.1 billion cash takeover offer from SABMiller – saying the bid was too low, Reuters reported. Investors predict, however, that the Australian brewer would succumb to a slightly higher offer, Reuters added. Foster’s, which has a 50% market share in Australia, has been the subject of takeover talk since it announced plans last year to spin off its struggling wine operations.
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Publicly traded Taleo Corp., which makes on-demand talent management software, will pay $38 million to acquire Jobpartners, more than doubling its customer base in Europe. The cash deal is expected to close by September 30.
French aerospace group Safran is ready to pay 4 billion euros ($5.74 billion) for Italy’s Avio, Reuters reported, citing an article in the weekly La Lettre de l'Expansion. No other details were given, but Safran shares rose as much as 5.7% to a near 11-year high after the report's publication, Reuters said. Avio is majority owned by private equity group Cinven.