Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has agreed to acquire the franchise business of NexCen Brands Inc. (OTC BB: NEXC) for $112.5 million. The deal includes all of NexCen's interests in Great American Cookies, MaggieMoo's, Marble Slab Creamery, Pretzelmaker, Pretzel Time, The Athlete’s Foot and Shoebox New York.
Roadrunner Transportation Services Inc., a Cudahy, Wis.-based provider of non-asset based transportation and logistics services, raised around $148.4 million via its IPO. The company sold 10.6 million common shares at $14 per share ($14-$16 offering range), which gives it an initial market cap of approximately $414 million. Roadrunner will trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. clothing company Express Parent LLC (EXPR.N) priced shares in its initial public offering below the expected range on Wednesday, according to an underwriter. The Columbus, Ohio-based company sold 16 million shares for $17 each, raising about $272 million. It planned to sell 16 million shares for between $18 and $20 […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private equity firm Silver Lake is considering joining the consortium bidding for Fidelity National Information Services Inc (FIS.N), two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The current consortium in talks to buy the company, which provides payment processing and other banking services, is made up of Blackstone Group (BX.N), […]
Know thyself, Socrates might have said, but you should also know thine enemy. Unfortunately, the enemy doesn't always look like one - as many veterans of failed deals can attest. In a financial world that runs on relationships, our ability to read the room and sense when appearances are deceptive is not always the best. The fraudsters and bad apples are making it very hard for honest people in finance to earn a living. They have also given Congress a reason to live. One of the mandates of financial reform is to keep so-called "bad actors" from being able to participate in private placements. Bad actors -- formerly known as "bad boys" in 1996'S NSMIA before these gender-neutral times -- include anyone with felony or misdemeanor convictions in connection with the purchase or sale of any security. If the amendment goes through, private equity will have to get as used to running background checks as banks currently are. peHUB spoke with Kroll senior managing director Peter Turecek, who specializes in due diligence and business intelligence. Turecek gave us a primer on how private equity players should think about the brave new world of background-checking.
Crestview Partners has invested $125 million into oil services company SES Holdings LLC, which operates both Select Energy Services LLC and Bell Supply Company. The deal gives Crestview a 45% equity stake, plus the option to invest an additional $50 million at the same valuation and terms.
Imperial Capital Group has acquired Petra Pet Inc., owner of the Beefeaters brand of pet treats. No pricing terms were disclosed. BMO Bank of Montreal provided debt financial.
HgCapital has acquired the talent management software unit of StepStone ASA (LSE: STPS), for €110 million.
Insight Equity has acquired a control stake in American Civil Constructors Holdings Inc., a provider of civil and landscape construction services in the Denver and San Francisco areas. No financial terms were disclosed.
The much-rumored, much-hyped buyout of Fidelity National Information Services has ballooned in size: In just one week, the value of the rumored LBO zoomed from $10 billion to a whopping $15 billion. The private equity industry is looking for any reason to party, of course. It's no wonder that Fidelity National has become a giddy flashpoint for potential renaissance of big-time private equity dealmaking. 2007 redux! What's not to be excited about? Not so fast. Fidelity National is not in the same mold as those big 2007 buyouts at all. Unlike those deals, in which a single firm typically splashed out billions of dollars, it's going to take three big private equity firms to pay for Fidelity National: Blackstone Group, THL Partners and TPG Capital. So take heed: The club deal, not the megadeal, is more likely to determine the future of private equity.