Navigation Capital Partners of Atlanta’s James Brown Contracting Inc. acquired Schrader Trucking Co. Inc., a Jefferson City, Tenn.-based dry van truckload carrier. Schrader has 95 trucks and 201 trailers. It operates in the Southeast as well as in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, Texas and Canada.
Jones Energy acquired certain oil and natural gas properties primarily in Ellis County, Okla. for of $33 million. The properties have a current daily production rate of 530 BOE and an incremental 6,700 MBOE attributable to identified drilling locations. Metalmark Capital made its initial investment in Jones Energy in December 2009.
Kevin Angelis doesn't want anyone to know his age but admits he's young for having started his own PE firm. Angelis, who is 31, launched BHMS Investments in August with cofounder Robert Salamon. The PE shop will target lower middle-market deals or transactions with an enterprise value of $50 million or less. Angelis makes no apologies for his age. "I’m eager and I’m hungry," he says. "This is a big deal to me, to fight the good fight." BHMS will operate as a distressed investor as well as traditional PE firm. BHMS is open to all sectors although there are industries Angelis favors like business services, hard industrial companies as well as transportation and logistics.
(Reuters) – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGMYR.UL] said on Wednesday that its lenders agreed to extend a deadline for debt payments as the film studio prepares to be handed over to film company Spyglass Entertainment. A source familar with the matter said last week that the founders of Spyglass signed a nonbinding letter of intent to take over […]
Vestar Capital Partners V LP’s affiliates (Mountain Acquisition Corp. and Mountain Merger Sub Corp.) and Health Grades Inc. agreed to extend the offer period for proposed $8.20 a share tender offer for all Health Grades’ shares. The offer’s new deadline is October 7 at 9 AM, New York City time.
(Reuters) - Blackstone Holdings Finance Co LLC on Wednesday sold $400 million of senior unsecured notes in the 144a private placement market, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters
service. The notes are guaranteed by the Blackstone Group LP (BX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Blackstone Holdings I LP, II, III and IV.
Bertram Capital announced Wednesday the final closing of Bertram Growth Capital II with $500 million in LP commitments. The San Mateo, Calif.-based PE firm invests in industrial manufacturing, technology, business services and health care.
It’s late in the day and I just learned that Novell’s mystery PE bidder is none other than Thoma Bravo. Novell, a business software developer, has been up for sale since March. At that time, the firm rejected a $5.75 a share, or $2 billion, offer from Elliot Associates. Novell then tapped J.P. Morgan Chase to explore alternatives. On Tuesday, the NY Post said Novell will sell in two parts. The publication reported that a strategic partner will buy the Novell piece that develops and delivers Linux SUSE Systems while a PE firm was in line to buy the rest. The story didn't provide names of the bidders, and it said that the huge software developer is three to four weeks away from signing the deal.
The recent pronouncements from Basel III are the latest regulatory attempt to play the role of Atlas beneath the world economy. Certainly, increases in primary capital ratios, specifically common stock paying no dividends, provide an increase in the margin for error. However, a ten year period to actually achieve those ratios eliminates the hope these regulations will mitigate systemic risk for the next decade. The regulations will also have the effect of reducing the amount of credit available to the world economy, and therefore to the financing of leveraged buyout transactions. More central to the question of regulation is not ratio management, but the taking of risk by the banks. Critical problems at the banks were inventory levels of and exposure to securitization products, proprietary trading operations and the banks’ counterparty risks.
I listened to Stephen Sadove, Saks Inc. Chairman and CEO, presentation this morning at the Goldman Sachs retail conference. In between phone calls, and other disruptions, it appears that Sadove said pretty much nada on the Saks takeover rumors. He was asked about the PE takeover talks and, at first, declined to comment. Then he spoke about how Saks has always been very focused on shareholder value. “I don’t believe, whether we’re public or private, that there are fundamental things we would do differently," he said. "We feel very good about the team. We think we have a remarkable team."