(Reuters) – British bank Barclays (BARC.L) is close to selling its Barclays Global Investors asset management unit to U.S. money manager BlackRock (BLK.N), the Financial Times said in a blog post on Friday. Citing “usually knowledgeable sources,” the newspaper’s Alphaville blog said the bank was preparing a release for after the close of trading in […]
DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Corp has reached a preliminary agreement to sell its Saturn brand to Penske Automotive Group in a deal that could preserve more than 350 dealerships and 13,000 jobs, the companies said on Friday. The tentative deal for Saturn, which the companies hope to complete in the third quarter, would be […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The sale of bankrupt automaker Chrysler LLC to a group led by Italian carmaker Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) was upheld by a U.S. appeals court on Friday, but the deal is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court by a group of investors. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of […]
MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s Safilo (SFLG.MI) expects to receive shortly offers from private equity funds interested in becoming shareholders in one of the world’s biggest eyewear makers. Safilo, which works for many designer brands like Dior and Gucci, said on Friday it would present the offers to its board for an “in-depth” review. Two sources […]
LONDON (Reuters) – Silverfleet Capital, formerly PPM Ventures, is finalising debt financing to back its proposed acquisition of German sausage casing maker Kalle Nalo from Montagu Private Equity, banking sources said on Friday. A group of seven or eight banks are currently working on the financing, three bankers said, adding that the loan was likely […]
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) – Bondholders of Dutch semiconductor company NXP BV said dwindling cash may force the firm to restructure its debt, despite a planned $300 million bond buyback to cut leverage and interest costs. NXP, one of Europe’s largest privately owned firms, on Thursday offered to buy back unsecured dollar and euro bonds […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – American International Group Inc (AIG.N) has picked a group that includes private equity firms Onex Corp (OCX.TO) and Greenbriar Equity Group as the preferred bidder for its aircraft leasing unit, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday. However, the insurer has not signed an exclusivity agreement with the group […]
Book Smart vs. Street Smart: "White-collar fugitives often fail to escape the law because of what prosecutors and bounty hunters say is a lack of preparation for the rigors of life on the lam." Brilliant. (Bloomberg) Showdown!!! Venture Capitalists are about to turn in private equity players: "The venture capital industry is gearing up to fight against raising the tax on carried interest. A key battle is differentiating itself from the private equity industry." (Bits) Rate Shopping: The nerve. Moody's is complaining that TALF is causing issuers to "shop" for credit-ratings, or seek the highest ratings with the lowest standards, according to Moody's Corp. (Bloomberg) Forced Default: Clear Channel's lenders want a forced default. Ouch. (FT) Closer Look: "The Worrying Wall of Debt" (The Deal) Movie Stars: They've casted a man to play Bernie Madoff in an upcoming movie. (Cityfile)
In April, small-market lender Patriot Capital Funding announced it was considering strategic alternatives. What the struggling BDC (business development corp.) didn't say was that the company had already shopped itself widely and was kicking off a full auction. Last week, Patriot took first-round bids from eight parties, according to two lending sources who asked not to be named. One source said the bidding pool included two or three fellow BDCs and one private equity firm, adding that bids ranged from $2 per share to "full valuations" of $3 per share. As of 2pm this afternoon, Patriot Capital was trading at $1.91 per share, or a $40 million market cap. A year ago, the BDC's shares traded at more than $9 per share, but in recent months, Patriot Capital has met difficulty. In April one of the company's credit facilities was terminated because the value of assets provided as collateral had dropped.
As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on the debt of private equity-backed companies from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investor Services. This week was a good one for debtholders, as a number of companies saw their debt ratings upgraded. But on second thought, it wasn’t that great, since most of these upgrades are post-distressed-debt exchange. After an ‘SD’ (selective default) rating, there’s nowhere to go but up, and in a distressed debt exchange, someone has to take the short end of the stick, and it’s usually not the equity holder. Certainly not an ideal situation, but as I said last week, we’re only at the tip of the distressed debt exchange iceberg (despite oddly successful issuances from the likes of previously unpopular companies like Harrah’s). Get ready for a very cold few years… Company: Brigham Exploration Co.
Sponsor: DLJ Merchant Banking Partners
Update: S&P affirmed its 'CCC+' corporate credit rating on the oil and gas exploration and production company. It’s been removed from the Weakest Links list because the outlook is developing.
Highlights: “The affirmation follows the company's announcement that it has received net proceeds of roughly $94 million from an equity issuance. Although the pro forma liquidity profile is much improved, we are concerned that liquidity could become tight in the fourth quarter of 2009 or first half of 2010 due to low natural gas prices and an increased capital budget.”