NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. high-yield companies will face a “financing wall” over the next five years, with problems peaking in 2013 and 2014 as debt taken on during the leveraged buyout boom comes due, Morgan Stanley said on Monday. Nearly 40 percent of current high-yield debt outstanding will come due in 2013 and 2014, […]
The Fee War: "Unlike many private-equity firms which have reduced fees, hedge funds aren't budging without concessions such as longer lock-up periods and commitments of at least $100 million, according to money managers and consultants." (Bloomberg) Rewarding Bad Actors: "If you aren't outraged, you haven't been paying attention." (Paul Krugman) The truth about grit: "Modern science builds the case for an old-fashioned virtue - and uncovers new secrets to success." ( Boston.com) Tarnished Brand: Well Matt Tiabbi and others seemed to have succeeded. According to a study conducted by the Financial Times, Goldman Sachs' brand and reputation have been "tarnished." (FT) That group of "others" includes Zero Hedge according to Wall Street Cheat Sheet. Back and Forth: Seeking Alpha's Robert Solomon is bearish on private equity, so he naturally disagrees with Economist's hopeful article from last week. (Seeking Alpha)
Lincolnshire Management has completed its $35 million investment in Wabash International Corp. (NYSE: WNC), a Lafayette, Ind.-based maker of semi-trailers for the North American market. Were Lincolnshire to exercise all the included warrants, the deal would give it a 44.2% ownership position.
Intra-Op Monitoring Services, a provider of intra-operative neurophysiological monitoring capabilities, has acquired San Antonio, Texas-based Neuraxis Monitoring Group. No financial terms were disclosed. Intra-Op is a portfolio company of HealthEdge Investment Partners and Concentric Equity Partners.
Buyout bosses have IPO fever, and last week's frenzied news cycle confirmed it. Today the Financial Times jumped on the exit-story bandwagon with its own version of the KKR/Dollar General story. On that note, we'd like to add two more potential IPO candidates to our list of 15 from last week. 16. Dollarama (Bain Capital) I don't know how I overlooked this one, but this Canadian discount retailer must be performing on par with Dollar General. Bain Capital took over the company in 2004, when the firm purchased an 80% stake for $850 million. The company just reported its first quarter earnings for fiscal 2010 and they're looking strong: "For the 13-week period ended May 3, 2009, Dollarama Group L.P. recorded sales of $273.4 million, a 15.5% increase from $236.8 million the prior year. Comparable store sales rose 7.5% over the same quarter last year, lifted in part by 4.0% increase in average transaction size, as well as a 3.5% increase in store traffic."
The Financial Times reported on Saturday that KKR is prepping at least five of its portfolio companies for initial public offerings. They are: Dollar General, First Data, HCA, TDC and Toys ‘R Us (Erin suggested a few of these last week). This is in addition to Avago Technologies, which has already filed and is expected to price later this month. I read some cynical responses to the news, suggesting that the debt on a typical mega-buyout portfolio company would make such offerings unappetizing to public market investors. Moreover, there is a more general argument about how most company revenues are at or near cyclical lows, and that PE owners should wait until the internal financials improve (Dollar General, of course, being a countercyclical example). I get the arguments, but most PE firms don’t get close to complete liquidation in an IPO. On the Avago offering, for example, KKR and Silver Lake would only have their combined ownership percentage shrink
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish telecom group TDC (TDC.CO) shareholder Permira declined to comment on Monday on a Financial Times report at the weekend that said its consortium partner KKR was preparing to sell shares in TDC. The Financial Times said on Saturday that TDC was one of up to six companies that Kohlberg Kravis Roberts […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Automotive parts maker Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, saying it could not repay its debt amid a drop in U.S. auto sales. The maker of auto body sealing systems and fluid handling systems said it had outstanding debt of about $1.17 billion. “As a result […]
Talecris Biotherapeutics Holding Corp., a Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based developer of plasma-derived protein therapies, last month filed a pair of amendments to its original IPO filing. Neither amendment disclosed the number of shares to be offered or a price range, but did indicate that the company still plans to go public. Talecris had originally filed […]
Huntsman Gay Global Capital has acquired a majority stake in Boca Raton, Fla.-based bedding manufacturer Hollander Home Fashions. No financial terms were disclosed, except that the transaction included both equity and debt financing. www.hollander.com