Bain Capital's Steve Pagliuca has emerged as a potential bidder for The Boston Globe, which is being shopped by The New York Times Co. peHUB has learned that Bain Capital itself is not involved, as Pagliuca is said to view the opportunity more as a civic rescue than as a profit-driven investment. "A lot of folks [in Boston] want to see the Globe saved, because of what it means to the community," says a source familiar with the situation. "But this is not the type of deal that would work within a private equity model... the financial objectives probably would only be to return the paper to cash-flow breakeven." News of Pagliuca's interest was first reported by the Globe's website, which also identified advertising executive Jack Connors and former Globe executive Stephen Taylor as likely suitors (we hear Taylor's interest and ability to actually buy the paper are overstated).
Not Afraid Of Employee rants: Nokia set up an intranet soapbox last spring known as Blog-Hub, opening it to employee bloggers around the world.(BW) Inside The Startup Office From Hell: Frank Addante, the Los Angeles tech entrepreneur, has helpfully consolidated pretty much every terrible office idea and Web 2.0 startup cliché into one place: This video tour of his online ad company, Rubicon Project. (Valleywag) Contradictions: The Shrinking VC world isn't scaring off business grads. (Venture Dispatch) Meanwhile: MBAs have "downgraded" their expectations for careers. I.E., being realistic? "Many are rethinking ambitions, trading dreams of high-paying careers in hard-hit fields like investment banking for positions in less-battered sectors." (WSJ)
TORONTO (Reuters) – Contract drug manufacturer Patheon Inc (PTI.TO) posted a smaller quarterly loss on Friday as costs and restructuring expenses declined. The Toronto-based company, which is the target of a lengthy takeover bid by U.S. private equity firm JLL Partners Inc, said its loss narrowed to $3.2 million, or 4 cents a share, in […]
LONDON (Reuters) – Private equity firms remain confident of pushing through vendor finance-backed financial sector deals, in spite of CVC Capital Partners’ failed 3 billion pound bid for part of British bank Barclays. The planned sale of iShares, Barclays’ (BARC.L) exchange-traded fund unit, signaled a high-point for private equity in an otherwise moribund LBO market […]
As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies. This week we finally say goodbye to Chrysler once and for all, as the company emerges from bankruptcy and Cerberus officially loses its investment. Meanwhile, auto parts maker Dana Corp., backed by Centerbridge Capital, was downgraded and, in a curious twist, Harrah’s was upgraded. Despite the excitement around Harrahs’ successful debt offering, I’m not rushing to remove it from the “Top Ten Worst Deals of 2008” list yet. Company: Dana Holding Corporation
Sponsor: Centerbridge Capital Partners LP
Downgrade: Moody’s lowered the company’s corporate family rating to Caa2 and its probability of default rating to Caa1.
Highlights: “On May 8, 2009, Dana commenced a tender offer for a portion of its outstanding senior secured term loan at a deep discount to par value. The company's PDR and the rating on the term loan were adjusted to Ca at that time to reflect the potential for loss to investors. With the passage of time since the May 12 target date for concluding the tender, Moody's has now repositioned the PDR at Caa1.”
LONDON (Reuters) – Private equity firm PAI Partners stands to lose its 256 million euro ($361.2 million) investment in French firm Monier Group as activist lenders gather support for a rival 1 billion euro bid designed to improve the outcome of its debt restructuring. The battle for roofing company Monier, which employs over 10,000 people, […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fashion accessory and jewelry retailer Claire’s Stores Inc posted a narrower first-quarter loss on a 10 percent revenue decline on Thursday, and warned that sales are getting worse in the second quarter. Claire’s, which sells cheap jewelry for young girls and women in the United States and Europe and is owned […]
HONGKONG (Reuters) – China’s Shenzhen Development Bank (000001.SZ) plans to raise at least 8 billion yuan ($1.17 billion) selling a stake to Ping An Insurance (Group) (2318.HK) via a private placement of shares, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said on Friday. Ping An plans to buy the shares for at least 16.4 […]
(Reuters) – Private equity firm CVC Partners is unlikely to mount a counter-offer to Blackrock’s (BLK.N) $13.5 billion acquisition of Barclays (BARC.L) unit BGI, a source familiar with the situation said. “Although they could come back, it seems unlikely that they would at this kind of valuation and the way the deal is structured,” said […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Private equity firms are expected to bid for Goodbaby Group after its top shareholder hired Morgan Stanley (MS.N) to sell its stake in China’s largest baby stroller maker, sources said on Friday. A deal for Goodbaby, which makes pushchairs and other goods for babies for brands including Quinny, Nike Kids and […]