LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - British mobile phone giant Vodafone (VOD.L) has decided against bidding for Germany's largest cable televison operator Kabel Deutschland, leaving a cluster of private equity firms in the driving seat. "We reject media reports along these lines," a spokesman for Vodafone Germany said when asked if Vodafone was bidding. Reuters reported this week that private equity firms including Advent, BC Partners and Carlyle were set to submit offers and could team up because of the amount of equity that would be needed to launch a credible bid.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Penton Business Media Holdings Inc, a publisher of 113 trade magazines such as Ward’s AutoWorld, Restaurant Hospitality and National Hog Farmer, has filed for bankruptcy protection as part of a restructuring intended to eliminate $270 million of debt. Wednesday’s filing came after Penton, like many other publishers, struggled with a decline […]
LONDON (Reuters) – British budget fashion retailer Matalan has abandoned a process that could have seen founder and owner John Hargreaves sell the business. Matalan said in a statement it had closed down the potential sale process for the business, without giving a reason. However, a source close to the sale discussions said offers that […]
KKR and Premier Natural Resources LLC have formed a partnership to invest in North American oil and gas properties. No financial terms were disclosed.
BERLIN (Reuters) – Private equity firm 3i Group (III.L) is considering bidding for assets being sold by the British government, its chief executive said on Wednesday. The London-listed private equity firm, which has done no new buyout deals for almost a year, is also looking to raise a new 1 billion-euro ($1.38 billion) growth capital […]
Rockbridge Growth Equity has led an acquisition of Protect America, a provider of self-installed monitored alarm systems. No financial terms were disclosed. Equity co-investors included Falcon Investments and Protect America founder Thad Paschall.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Blackstone-backed plastic container maker Graham Packaging Co Inc. will file new IPO terms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday and will delay the pricing of its initial public offering until Wednesday, an underwriter said. The company earlier filed to sell 23.3 million shares for $14 to $16 each. […]
For the restaurant industry, a recession can mean feast or famine. For Roark Capital, the plan is to chow down. The Atlanta-based buyout firm looking both for new restaurant acquisitions and add-on to its FOCUS Brands platform, which already includes Carvel, Cinnabon, Moe's Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky's, Seattle's Best International and McAlister's Deli. Roark's $1 billion fund, which closed in 2008, is 30% deployed. I spoke with Steve Romaniello, a managing director with the firm, on being "on-trend," bidding for cheese, deal multiples, and zigging while everyone else is zagging. What's the firm's outlook for restaurant performance this year? Will sales improve? We think its going to be another difficult year. Not quite as bad as last year, but we don't expect to see meaningful improvement in many segments until we start seeing employment growth again. And no one has any idea when that will be.
Berlin Packaging, a portfolio company of Investcorp, has agreed to acquire All-Pak, a Pittsburgh-based packaging supplier. No financial terms were disclosed. The combined company is expected to have annual revenue of nearly $500 million.
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian conglomerate GMR Infrastructure (GMRI.BO) is in advanced talks with private equity firms to raise about 15 billion rupees ($322 million) for its power unit, the Economic Times reported, citing the group’s chairman. G.M. Rao told the newspaper the deal would be closed in the next two weeks, but did not disclose […]