HONG KONG (Reuters) – Newbridge Asia, a unit of buyout fund TPG, is selling 160 million shares in China’s Ping An Insurance (2318.HK) (601318.SS) for up to $1.26 billion, according to a term sheet obtained by Reuters on Thursday. Newbridge is selling the shares in a price range of HK$60.52-$61.28 each, which will raise up […]
It's not as if finance is at a loss for mysteries these days: We're having trouble explaining everything from last week's flash crash to the subprime crisis of 2007. But even among the chaotic tentacles of financial mysteries, there is one conundrum that I find particularly vexing: Current pricing of junk bonds and leveraged loans. Leveraged loans have returned 5.25% this year, according to Standard & Poor's LCD loan index. Bloomberg says junk-bond underwriting has quadrupled so far this year compared to the same time in 2009, to $91.8 billion. Since the Freeze of 2008, demand for leveraged loans jumped nearly 70%; the resurgence of big buyout talk shows the willingness of banks to lend to private equity firms. Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus will borrow $2 billion of IDC's $3.4 billion pricetag. Financing is so easy that even the much-maligned dividend recap is back. S&P Leveraged Commentary and Data shows that LBO financing increased by 15 times this year so far compared to the same time in 2009.
(Reuters) – Outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc (CCO.N) posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by improved advertising spending and lower expenses. First-quarter net loss narrowed to $48.8 million, or 14 cents a share, from $91.4 million, or 25 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 5 percent to $608.8 million and […]
Silver Lake Sumeru has invested an undisclosed amount in flash memory company Spansion Inc., which earlier this week emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Contrax Furnishings, a Gainesville, Fla.-based provider of furnishings and equipment to educational institutions, hass raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Hudson Ferry Capital. McGladrey Capital Markets advised Contrax on the deal.
International Absorbents Inc. (NYSE IAX) shareholders have approved a $4.75 per share buyout by private equity firm Kinderhook Industries. International Absorbants makes consumer and commercial products derived from recycled, renewable materials.
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), […]