China’s CNOOC and Ghana National Petroleum Corp have made a higher bid than Exxon Mobil for the assets of Kosmos Energy LLC, including a stake in the Jubilee field. CNOOC and GNPC bid $5 billion, compared to the $4 billion Exxon bid, for the assets, which are currently owned by private equity firms Blackstone and Warburg Pincus.
Fortuna, a Czech betting company, has refuted media reports that its IPO has had problems attracting investors. A Czech newspaper, Rzeczpospolita, reported that Polish pension funds, wary of controversial business such as gambling, were not investing. Fortuna is seeking 82 million euros ($114.2 million). It is owned by private equity firm Penta Investments, which is partially exiting the company.
The merger between Greece’s Aegean Airlines and rival Greek airline Olympic, which is owned by buyout firm Marfin Investment Group, has been delayed until January, pending a decision from the EU’s antitrust authorities. The merger would make the new entity the dominant force in the Greek market, with 64 aircraft and 5,580 employees.
Grey Mountain Partners has raised $224 million for its second fund. The pool, Grey Mountain Partners Fund II LP, closed Monday. Investors include large funds-of-funds within banks and East and West coast pension funds, says Jason Urband, a Grey Mountain associate who declined to give names.
Newbury Partners said Thursday that Newbury Equity Partners II L.P. has raised $1.024 billion, up from its original target of $800 million. Commitments came from 75 institutional investors in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. NEP II will buy LP interests in buyout and venture capital funds across North America, according to the statement. Newbury, of Stamford, Conn., is a PE firm.
Monomoy Capital Partners has agreed to sell Barjan to TSC Global. Financial terms were not announced. Barjan, of Rock Island, Ill., distributes consumer products to travel centers, truck stops and convenience stores. Monomoy Capital is a New York PE firm. TSC, of Charlotte, N.C., is a marketing and distribution center for retailers.
KKR is in talks to hire nine members of Goldman Sachs famed prop trading desk to form a new hedge fund, according to press reports. Bob Howard will join as an MD and report to William Sonneborn, who heads KKR’s asset management division, Bloomberg said. Howard headed the Goldman Sachs group in the U.S. The hedge fund is expected to start raising money next year, the story said.
WestView Capital Partners has take a majority stake of Graphic Controls via a recap. Graphic Control's management will retain a stake, says Sujit John, a WestView Capital associate. WestView is a Boston PE firm. Buffalo, N.Y.-based Graphic Controls makes consumable products like disposable medical supplies. Financial terms were not announced.
LLR Partners said Thursday that it has closed its investment in Lightspeed Financial, which will use the funds to buy Terra Nova Financial. Lightspeed, of New York, provides trading technology for institutional investors and professional retail traders. LLR is a PE firm. Chicago-based Terra Nova provides brokerage services for professional traders, hedge funds and money managers.
Private equity investments in third quarter grew by 184% compared to last year, according to the Private Equity Growth Capital Council, previously called Private Equity Council. Globally, PE shops invested $40.1 billion in transactions—which include buyouts, minority stakes, and private placements —during third quarter. This compares to $14.1 billion for the same time period in 2009, says Jason Thomas, the Council’s VP of research. Third quarter’s totals are also up 10% from second quarter when PE shops invested $36.4 billion, the Council says. The PE Growth Capital Council, a Washington D.C. trade group, uses its own data, as well as information from Thomson Reuters, Pitchbook and Preqin, to calculate its findings. See findings here.