LONDON (Reuters) – Private equity firm Apax Partners will buy a majority stake in Marken, a privately held British medical courier company, trumping rival bidder Hellman & Friedman, people familiar with the process said. The deal will give Marken an enterprise value of 975 million pounds ($1.6 billion), some of the people said. However, it […]
Language Line Services, a Monterey, Calif.-based provider of on-demand language interpretation services, has filed for a $400 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq, with Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and BoA Merrill Lynch serving as co-lead underwriters. The company reports $227 million in revenue for the nine months ending Sept. 30., and a […]
Six weeks ago, I asked you to participate in our bi-annual survey of dealmaker attitudes and predictions, which is done in partnership with the Association for Corporate Growth. We got over 900 respondents, and official results will be released tomorrow morning. But since I’d hate for you to have to wait… Eighty-two percent of respondents expect M&A volume to increase over the next six months, with 72% percent predicting “moderate” growth and another 10% predicting “significant” growth. Only 1% expects any sort of decline.Such optimism is stronger than in a similar survey six months ago, but also may reflect negative feelings toward current conditions. Fifty-six percent of respondents said that current M&A conditions were “fair,” while 31% said “fair” and just 12% said “good.” The “excellent” option garnered just 1% of the vote.
MBK Partners and Korean telco KT reportedly have been named preferred bidders for Korean rental car company Kumho Rent-A-Car. The deal would be valued at approximately $260 million. www.mbkpartnerslp.com
Generation Brands, a Cary, N.C.-based provider of lighting fixtures and ceiling fans for the building construction and home improvement industries, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company also said that it has agreed on a prepackaged restructuring, which would eliminate $150 million of debt and bring in $20 million of new equity funding from existing sponsor Quad-C Management.
(Reuters) – Clear Channel Communications Inc’s outdoor advertising business is in talks with lenders to raise as much as $2.5 billion in the high-yield market, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. A deal will likely come in the next two weeks, though the timing and the size remains uncertain, the […]
Patron Capital Partners has completed its acquisition of Powerleague, owner and operator of 5-a-side football centers in Europe. The deal includes over £50 million in equity, at an enterprise value in excess of £80 million.
LONDON (Reuters) – British waste management firm Shanks Group Plc revealed a 536 million pound ($889 million) buyout approach, sending its shares soaring, but said its board and key shareholders were looking for at least 10 percent more. Shanks (SKS.L) did not name the company behind the approach but a person familiar with the matter […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd, the country’s third-largest life insurer, plans to raise up to HK$28.3 billion (US$3.6 billion) from a Hong Kong initial public offering, a source close to the deal said on Sunday. Shanghai-listed China Pacific (601601.SS), part-owned by U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group, is selling 939.6 […]
LONDON (Reuters) – Private equity firm EQT may make an offer of under 300 million euros for German publisher Springer Science and Business Media this week, the Sunday Telegraph reported, which is less than originally expected. The report said EQT could make an offer this week of under 300 million euros ($452.2 million) for the […]