FRANKFURT (Reuters) – U.S. private equity firm Blackstone (BX.N) is looking into the possibility of buying Cologne department store chain Kaufhof, part of the Metro group (MEOG.DE), German business daily Handelsblatt said in an abstract of a story due to be published on Monday. The paper cited works council sources. A spokesman for Metro AG […]
(Reuters) – Dutch semiconductor company NXP Semiconductors N.V. on Friday filed with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering of up to $1.15 billion. NXP, which filed under the name Kaslion Acquisition B.V., said it would change its name to NXP. Private equity investors including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, Bain Capital, Silver Lake Partners, […]
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Providence Equity Partners is among the bidders for corporate investigations firm Kroll, along with BC Partners Ltd and Apax, as private equity deals heat up again, sources familiar with the matter said. Kroll, put up for sale by the No. 2 global insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc (MMC.N), attracted […]
As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies from ratings agencies Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s. This week there were two upgrades and a downgrade. Company: Harrah’s
Sponsor: Apollo Management and TPG
Action: S&P raised its corporate credit and issue-level ratings on the company and its operating subsidiary by one notch. S&P raised the corporate credit rating to 'B-' from 'CCC+'.
Highlight: "The ratings upgrade reflects our assessment that several actions taken by management over the past several quarters have positioned the company with sufficient capacity to weather the current downturn in the gaming sector," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Ben Bubeck.
Niska Gas Storage, a Gridley, Calif.-based owner and operator of natural gas storage assets in North America, has set its IPO terms to 17.5 million common units being offered at between $19 and $21 per unit. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol NKA, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley serving as […]
FleetCor, a Norcross, Ga.-based provider of branded fuel cards, has filed for a $500 million IPO. It plans to trade on the NYSE, with J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs serving as co-lead underwriters. The company reports $354 million in 2009 revenue, compared to $341 million in 2008 and $264 million in 2007. Its 2009 net […]
NeoPhotonics, a San Jose, Calif.-based maker of optical components using laser-reactive deposition, has filed for a $115 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol NPTN, with J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank Securities serving as co-lead underwriters. The company reports $155 million in 2009 revenue, compared to $133 million in 2008 […]
Three Rivers Operating Co., an Austin, Texas-based upstream oil and gas company, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from the Riverstone/Carlyle Energy and Power Funds. Three Rivers also announced that it would purchase certain assets of Chesapeake Energy in the Permian Basin of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.
Lone Star Funds has received shareholder approval to acquire hotel owner and operator Lodgian Inc. (NYSE: LGN) for approximately $270 million (including assumed debt). Under terms of the agreement, Lodgian stockholders would receive $2.50 per share.
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe has agreed to acquire a majority stake in GlobalCollect, an Amsterdam-based provider of local e-payment solutions for international customer not-present channels. The seller is General Atlantic. No financial terms were disclosed.