Warburg Pincus has agreed to invest around €79.2 million into AmRest, a listed restaurant operator in Eastern and Central Europe. The PIPE transaction would give Warburg Pincus nearly a 25% ownership stake, with an option to increase its position to 33 percent. www.warburgpincus.com
Vision Capital has acquired a majority stake in Nordax Finans AB from Palamon Capital Partners. The deal valued Nordax Finans at approximately €105 million. The Stockholm-based company provides unsecured loans to individuals with "good credit standing" across the Nordic region.
CVC Capital Partners has agreed to acquire a 19% stake in listed Hong Kong brokerage Sun Hung Kai & Co., for approximately $272 million. Once closed, the deal would make CVC the company’s largest minority shareholder. www.cvc.com
HONG KONG (Reuters) – The CEO of HSBC Holdings said on Tuesday it would not bid for a $4.2 billion controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank (004940.KS), ending speculation that Europe’s biggest bank would once again take part in the auction. When asked by Reuters whether HSBC (HSBA.L) (0005.HK) was bidding for U.S. private equity […]
Ten days ago, private equity firm Quadrangle Group was in the news for all the wrong reasons. It was sued by the SEC for its alleged role in a pay-to-play pension scheme in New York, and then settled for $5 million. It also settled with New York for another $7 million, and threw in a public statement about how firm co-founder Steve Rattner's actions were "wrong, inappriate and unethical." Quadrangle had been hoping to settle for quite some time, in order to put the ugliness behind it and refocus on making new investments and selling old ones. And it would appear to be mission accomplished, as the firm today announced an agreement to sell portfolio company Protection One (Nasdaq: PONE) to GTCR for approximately $828 million, via a tender offer.
Here are some potential target ideas, rumored or official, to jumpstart your deal pipeline. Our sources are various news reports and the Buyouts “Seeking Buyers” list. OptimumBank, based in Florida, is exploring strategic alternatives to help it regain the capital levels requested by the FDIC. The bank plans to raise capital through a public or private offering. Eastman Chemical Co said on Friday that it might put its struggling plastic packaging business up for sale. (Reuters) Atlantic Station LLC, a unit of Jacoby Group Inc. and AIG Global Real Estate, is seeking a buyer for its retail division. Nielsen, the world's largest TV and consumer measurement company, plans to begin hiring bankers for its initial public offering, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. (Reuters)
GTCR has agreed to acquire Protection One Inc. (Nasdaq: PONE), a Lawrence, Kansas-based provider of electronic security services to the residential, commercial and wholesale markets. Sellers include Quadrangle Group and Monarch Capital Partners. The deal is valued at $828 million, including the refinancing of debt. Protection One stockholders will receive $15.50 per share, which represents a 13% premium to Friday's closing price. Debt financing has been committed by JP Morgan Chase Bank, Barclays Capital and TCW/Crescent Mezzanine.
LONDON (Reuters) – Buyout firm Blackstone (BX.N) and charity the Wellcome Trust have dropped their joint bid for bank branches being sold by Royal Bank of Scotland, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.Their exit from the running means just four suitors remain for the 318 branches, being sold under the revived Williams […]
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – CKE Restaurants Inc (CKR.N) said it accepted a $694 million takeover offer from affiliates of Apollo Management and terminated a lower-price pact with Thomas H. Lee Partners. In a statement released on Saturday, CKE said it accepted the $12.55 per share offer from the Apollo affiliates. THL Partners, the original suitor, had […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – McGraw-Hill Cos Inc (MHP.N), a textbook publisher and owner of the Standard & Poor’s ratings service, is dropping out of the auction for Interactive Data Corp (IDC.N), sources briefed on the matter said. Interactive Data, which sells financial information and analytical tools to banks and financial institutions, has been through one […]