(Reuters) – Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd (AGO.N) rose as much as 5 percent on heavy volumes Friday, a day after the bond insurer said it would not need backup funds from investor Wilbur Ross for a pending acquisition upon completion of its share offering. New York-based private equity firm WL Ross & Co LLC, […]
Happy Weekend! Keep On Rockin' Through The Layoffs: A cover band comprised of several laid off Credit Suisse bankers is "kept together by the music." Aged Inventory, the band's name, refers to a bond that sits in a trading book for more than 60 days. (Bloomberg) Private Equity Should Stay Away From Showbiz: Providence Equity Partners' MGM stake and Goldman Sachs' investment in the Weinstein Co. are reminders that betting on movies is a treacherous business. (BW) BDC Mess: American Capital's shares surged yesterday, and LBOWire isn't sure why. I suspect it had something to do with a rumour floating around about a "secret" meeting between the company and its lenders. There was little further info on the situation, but people will trade on anything. (LBOWire) Walking The Walk: Despite years of touting "operational expertise," it appears that buyout firms are finally walking that walk. (CNBC) From Phys. Ed. to PE: An interview with Adam Dudley of Grace Capital, which is seeking another partner. (Venture Hype) Why The OTS elimination shouldn't cause many tears: Fortune Swallows the Banks' Baloney (Columbia Journalism Review)
Aurora Capital Group has been trumped in its bid to buy bankrupt Norwood Promotional Products, by strategic buyer BIC Graphic. BIC's "last minute offer" was valued at $125 million, plus approximately $37.5 million in assumed liabilities.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Delaware Supreme Court has upheld a lower court verdict to dismiss credit card processor Alliance Data Systems’ (ADS.N) lawsuit seeking a breakup fee from its aborted takeover by private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX.N). The court upheld a decision by the Delaware Court of Chancery made in January, according to […]
As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on buyout-backed companies from ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investor Services. This week there were two appearances by downgrade regular Apollo Management, and two from GS Capital Partners. Bruckmann Rosser Sherrill’s Lazy Days RV saw its ratings withdrawn for unspecified reasons (although such a move usually occurs at the company’s request). Lastly, remember that Six Flags, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is minority owned by Generation Partners. So there’s that. Company: USI Holding Corp
Sponsor: GS Capital Partners
Downgrade: S&P has assigned a 'B-' rating to the company’s proposed $117 million senior secured term loan and downgraded its existing senior secured credit one notch to 'B-'.
Highlights: “Our expectations for 2009 incorporated into the current rating level are that the company will have positive cash flow and will be able to meet its restrictive covenants in the near to medium term.”
J.F. Lehman & Co. is in talks to buy marine services business Drew Marine from Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), according to LBO Wire. The deal would include more than $70 million in debt financing, including $20 million in mezzanine notes arranged by Babson Capital. The more senior debt is being arranged by CIT and BNP […]
21 Partners has made a voluntary public tender offer for RGI SpA, a listed Italian provider of software, consulting and outsourcing services. The offer is being made in partnership with company founder Paolo Benini.
(Reuters) – The Minneapolis Star Tribune said it had filed a plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by autumn, in a report on its website. The paper said it has the approval of creditors who hold about $384 million in secured debt and $96 million in unsecured obligations. Under the proposed plan, the paper […]
LONDON (Reuters) – The fate of Europe’s biggest car-cleaning company, IMO Car Wash, may be decided in the courts, two sources with knowledge of the situation said, as lenders battle over terms of a debt-for-equity deal. Junior lenders, owed up to 90 million pounds ($147.2 million), are fighting a proposed restructuring deal that sees their […]
HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) – Several U.S. private equity firms and Taiwanese financial groups are showing early interest in the sale of AIG’s Taiwan life insurance unit, banking sources said on Friday, in a deal the seller hopes could raise around $2 billion. U.S. private equity firm JC Flowers & Co. and Taiwan’s Fubon Financial (2881.TW) […]