(Reuters) - After months of speculation, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co has mandated Korea Development Bank to refinance the deal that backed its $1.8 billion leveraged buyout of Oriental Brewery Co Ltd (OB) in 2009. KKR would halve its borrowing costs through the planned refinancing deal, according to sources familiar with the matter. The blue-chip sponsor was forced to pay a top-level all-in of 660 basis points (bps) for a five-year, $915 million-equivalent loan when it bought the Korean brewer from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV INTB.BR during a period of tight liquidity in 2009.
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Nomura Holdings (8604.T) is in talks to join private equity firm MBK Partners in its pursuit of the $3.5 billion Korea Exchange Bank (004940.KS) stake up for sale, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. Sources said the discussions were in their early stages and no decision […]
(Reuters) – Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co is investing $400 million in a joint venture with Hilcorp Energy Co to develop the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. KKR and Hilcorp could not be immediately reached for comment. Hilcorp will control 60 percent of the […]
Metropark USA Inc., a City of Industry-based specialty retailer whose mall-based stores are focused on fashion-oriented 20-30 year-olds, has withdrawn registration for a $100 million IPO. The company cited “changed circumstances regarding the securities market.” Metropark originally filed for the IPO in June 2008, with Goldman Sachs serving as lead underwriter. It raised a small […]
It’s a lazy late-spring Friday in New York. With the sun shining, and the weather nice, it’s hard to get anyone on the phone. So I wonder: what do PE execs do on Fridays? After covering M&A and buyouts for so many years, I am often left wondering whether they lead normal, mortal lives. For some reason, I can’t imagine Steve Schwarzman trolling the aisles of a Safeway or weeding his front lawn. I imagine him jetting to Monaco to lounge poolside. I also figure he cuts out early, but a call to Blackstone’s New York office reveals that Schwarzman is indeed at work at 4:15 p.m. “He just passed my desk and just checked the Bloomberg,” one person said. It was not immediately clear if Schwarzman would be throwing himself another party this weekend. Calls to several other PE Execs revealed they also had yet to start their weekends. One executive said he was staying at the office and plans to do that for most of the summer. “More Fridays [are spent] working this year as people need to put money to work and deal flow is pretty good,” he said. This particular executive said that he more typically spends his summer weekends at his horse farm in New Jersey.
(Reuters) – Buyout firm Terra Firma has pumped 105 million pounds ($152.9 million) of new cash into EMI, sources familiar with the situation said, enough to keep the music group out of the hands of lender Citigroup (C.N). Financier Guy Hands’s group had earlier secured approval from investors to stump up the money, and push […]
Reaction to the Gulf oil spill has been intense. Pictures of oil-covered seagulls and dead fish have made BP the most hated company in the U.S. But little attention has been paid to the higher energy costs that will likely be the disaster's broadest economic consequence. The Gulf spill will make energy production, particularly off-shore drilling, more regulated. This will make it more expensive for investment firms to look for energy and to produce it. “Consumers will bear the costs of the regulations,” said Dan Revers, managing partner of ArcLight Capital, which invests in oil, gas and coal power. Kenneth Hersh, CEO of NGP Energy Capital Management, believes it’s naïve to think there will be no investor ramification. “Both the amount of capital available for investment as well as returns will suffer in the short to medium term,” he said, adding that the recent moratorium on off-shore drilling has put off-shore investments in “total jeopardy.”
Gart Capital Partners has acquired Swoozie's Inc., an Atlanta-based specialty retailer focused on stationary, greeting cards, and personalized products. No financial terms were disclosed.
Enterprise Investors has agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Polish supermarket chain Dino, for approximately €50 million.
PNC Equity Partners has acquired Wheaton Industries Inc., a Millville, N.J.-based maker and re-packager of laboratory supply and packaging products. No pricing terms were disclosed. Madison Capital Funding and Amalgamated Capital provided senior debt, while Babson Capital Management provided subordinated notes.