PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Mental health facilities operator Psychiatric Solutions Inc (PSYS.O) is close to a deal to be acquired by Universal Health Services Inc (UHS.N), a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday. Hospital operator Universal Health is expected to pay between $33 and $34 a share, the source said. Psychiatric Solutions closed at […]
First: Yes, that headline is a Britpop reference to U.K. rapper Lady Sovereign. There's a PE connection: Ms. Sovereign is, after all, signed with EMI, a label (barely) still owned by Terra Firma. Just as Ms. Sovereign's label is in a crisis, so too is much of the European continent. We have irate Germans, rioting overworked Greeks, belt-tightening Iberians and the prospect of the French storming away from the dinner table in a huff. Surely this must mean something for private equity. Perhaps the potential for collapse of entire currencies will change the whole game.
(Reuters) – Franchisees of bankrupt Fuddruckers restaurant chain objected to the sale of the company to Tavistock Group, saying they have received no assurance regarding Tavistock’s ability to carry out its obligations as a franchisor. Magic Brands LLC, the parent of the Fuddruckers and Koo Koo Roo restaurant chains, filed for bankruptcy protection in April […]
The pending - and pending, and pending - $15 billion buyout of Fidelity National may restart an old private equity love affair with financial technology companies. Financial technology, or fintech, includes everything from processing companies to stock exchanges. It includes the companies that make all the software that moves the modern financial system. It is one of those sectors that private equity lavished money on this decade, as technology fueled the globalization of finance. Think bank processing deals, like First Data ($29b), Sungard ($11.3b) and Ceridian ($5.3b). These processing and outsourcing companies have the one thing that private equity cannot resist: Regular revenue streams and strong cash flow, even in recessions. Portfolio companies need cash flow to pay off their LBO-incurred debt, and there are few other sectors who can promise that kind of regularity.
National Dentex Corp. (Nasdaq: NADX), an owner and operator of dental laboratories in North America, announced that its go-shop period had ended without a rival offer to an existing $17 per share bid from GeoDigm Corp., a portfolio company of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.
TMS International Inc., a Glassport, Penn.-based provider of outsourced industrial services to steel mills, has filed for a $150 million IPO. it plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol TMS, with Boa Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan serving as co-lead underwriters. The company reports $1.3 billion in 2009 revenue, with a $79 […]
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian hospital operator Healthscope (HSP.AX) said it has received a $1.6 billion takeover approach from a group of buyout firms, which a source said were Carlyle Group and TPG. Healthscope shares soared as much as 21 percent to a two-year high on news of the approach, which marked a return of big […]
Ikaria, a Clinton, N.J.-based biopharma company, has filed for a $200 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol IKAR, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley serving as co-lead underwriters. The company reports nearly $275 million in 2009 revenue, compared to $237 million last year. Its net income grew from $9.6 […]
(Reuters) – Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp cut its initial public offering size and price, the producer of primary aluminum products said on Thursday. In a regulatory filing, Noranda said it now expects to offer 10 million shares priced between $8 and $9 each, down from its earlier plan to offer 16.7 million shares at $14 […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Express Parent LLC (EXPR.N), a U.S. clothing company, and Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc (RRTS.N), a transportation logistics company, fell in their market debuts on Thursday. Express shares opened flat with their initial public offering price, then traded down. The shares opened at $17 and dipped as low as $16.50 before recovering […]