KKR is investing VATS Liquor Store, China's largest liquor store chain. The global PE firm didn't disclose how much it was investing. VATS, of Beijing, operates more than 270 liquor stores in mainland China. KKR is a New York PE firm.
The lack of women on Wall Street has been written and discussed ad nauseum. Women don't like the long hours at investment banks, they leave top management positions faster than men and sexism still exists, although it's much more subtle. So it's interesting that Dealbook has a story today about the Carlyle Group's effort to close the gender gap. Six of Carlyle's 90 partners are women while five of its nonpartner managing directors are female, the story says. About 44% of Carlyle's 949 employees are women. The story also highlights Karen Bechtel, who heads Carlyle's healthcare team. Bechtel recently led the PE firm's $6.1 billion deal to sell the real estate of nursing home operator HCR ManorCare. "It's not an all-boys club here," Bechtel told Dealbook. "It's about doing the right thing for investors."
Chicago-based firm Water Street Healthcare Partners has acquired a majority stake in benefit management company New Century Health. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Water Street said that it will work to expand the company’s services to a broader base of payers and patients across the U.S.
Media deals got big headlines in 2010 but many transactions didn't get big prices. So maybe I'm still thinking about Newsweek's sale earlier this year (the fabled magazine was sold for $1 to Sidney Harman and just recently merged with the Daily Beast). But media and marketing services may see a bump in 2011, according to survey from AdMedia Partners, a New York IB. In November, AdMedia questioned executives from content (traditional media and digital media) and services (marketing services, digital marketing and marketing technology). Private equity was also included in the survey, AdMedia said.
New York-based middle-market firm Centre Partners has completed its sale of Bumble Bee Foods — North America’s biggest supplier of “shelf-stable seafood” to the London-based, consumer-focused PE firm Lion Capital for $980 million. Bumble Bee was founded in 1897. PRESS RELEASE: New York, NY, December 15, 2010—Centre Partners Management LLC (“Centre Partners”) is pleased to […]
The Riverside Co. has invested in Sunrise Windows, a Temperance, Mich.-based maker of energy efficient replacement windows. Financial terms were not announced. US Bank and Babson Capital provided senior and subordinated financing. Riverside is a PE firm.
Lexington Partners said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy a PE portfolio worth £470 million (US$730 million) from Lloyds Banking Group. The deal is expected to close in first quarter. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Lexington, of New York, is a secondary firm.
Private equity firms Apax Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and TPG Capital are among the bidders competing to buy the assets of Turkish media group Dogan Yayin, Reuters reported, citing an article in the Financial Times. There are at least six bidders in the race for Dogan Yayin, Reuters said, including Discovery and Time Warner.
Buyout shop 3i said that it will acquired affordable jewelry maker Amor Group from Pamplona Capital Management. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Obertshausen, Germany-based Amor was purchased by Pamplona in 2006. The company has operations in 14 countries.
With two potential bidders pulling out this week, South Korea may put the breaks on the sale of the government’s 57% stake in Woori Finance Holdings, Reuters reported. The government will decide soon whether to suspend the $6 billion sale, Reuters said. Two groups, formed by Woori employees and customers, decided this week to pull out of the sale. South Korea received 11 bids in the first round of the auction, though most bidders wanted only minority stakes in Woori. Among the 11 bidders were the Carlyle Group, Macquarie Group, MetLife, and local private funds Vogo and MBK Partners, Reuters reported.