Ranger Aerospace, a PE-backed aerospace and defense industry acquisition platform, has acquired US Logistics Inc., a government outsourcing contractor specialized in aircraft technical services, tactical vehicle overhauls and repairs, technical staffing and base logistics. No financial terms were disclosed. Ranger Aerospace shareholders include First New England Capital, Argosy Investment Partners and Plexus Capital.
Milacron Inc., a plastics processing and industrial fluids company, has exited bankruptcy protection with a new group of investors that includes Avenue Capital Group and DDJ Capital Management. It also has secured a new revolving credit facility led by Wells Fargo Foothills. Prior to entering bankruptcy protection, Milacron had been minority-owned by Bayside Capital, an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Warner Chilcott Ltd (WCRX.O), a specialty drug maker, is acquiring Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) prescription drug business for about $3 billion, the Wall Street Journal said on Sunday, citing unnamed sources. A transaction may be announced as soon as Monday, the newspaper said. The business has about $2 billion of […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators on Friday closed Texas lender Guaranty Bank and sold its assets to Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA.MC), allowing Spain’s second-largest bank to expand its reach in the U.S. market. Guaranty, a unit of Guaranty Financial Group Inc (GFG.N), is the 81st U.S. bank failure this year and represents another sizable […]
As usual, we have a weeks worth of ratings actions on the debt of buyout-backed companies from ratings agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Dollar General got upgraded, CD&R's new deal got downgraded, and things are still ugly at Hexion.
Company: Dollar General Corp.
Sponsor: KKR
Action: S&P placed its ratings, including the 'B+' corporate credit rating, on the company on CreditWatch with positive implications.
Highlights: “The CreditWatch placement follows Dollar General's S-1 filing, under which it plans to sell $750 million in common stock. Dollar General plans to use a portion of the proceeds to repurchase a mix of its existing subordinated and senior unsecured notes, subject to a 35% equity clawback provision under these indentures. In addition to the common stock offering, Dollar General plans to pay a $200 million dividend to its equity sponsors with cash from operations.“
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Failed mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp, now known as OneWest Bank, turned a profit in its first full quarter under new hedge fund and private-equitiy ownership, according to reports filed with U.S. bank regulators. For the second quarter ended June 30, Pasadena, California-based OneWest posted profit of $182 million. OneWest generated $245.6 million of net interest income, offset by a $9 million provision against future losses. The thrift also said nearly a third of the bank's mortgages were behind on their payments, though the value of repossessed homes on its books rose to $137 million from $18 million.
(Reuters) – Swiss drugs industry supplier Lonza (LONN.VX) has outbid U.S. private equity group JLL for Canadian drugmaker Patheon (PTI.TO) in a deal worth $460 million, seeking to boost its manufacturing capacity. Lonza’s bid of $3.55 per share for Patheon offers a potential windfall to majority shareholder JLL Partners, which launched an offer at $2 […]
The robust auction for Screenvison is heading into the final stages, according to a source close to the process. The cinema advertiser’s parent company, Thomson SA, announced in January that it would divest Screenvision, and also is selling Premier Retail Networks (PRN), which it purchased from Shamrock Capital Advisors in 2005 for $285 million (Shamrock did quite well on the deal, investing just $35 million from its first fund in 2001). UBS is running the auction process for Screenvision. The firm declined to comment. Based in New York, Screenvision runs an in-theater network of advertisers. In other words, they do those annoying ads you’re forced to endure before the movies. The company’s network focuses on independent theaters and has an Ebitda “in the ballpark” of $40 million.
Did you read your New York Times yet this morning? If so, you might have seen a B1 story about next week’s FDIC vote on rules governing private equity investment in banks. It begins:
“Faced with a growing wave of bank failures, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is taking extraordinary steps to attract buyers for troubled institutions to keep the fund that makes depositors whole from being drained. Federal regulators are planning next week to make it easier for private equity firms to buy insolvent lenders, according to people briefed on the situation, a move that would reduce the number of failed banks that the fund would have to support…”
Wow. The FDIC must have done a massive turnaround. Last I checked, it had proposed all sorts of rules to make it tougher for PE firms to invest in banks. Now it’s apparently scrapped all that, and thrown in a few tasty carrots for good measure… But there’s one giant caveat: The NY Times reporter doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about (neither, apparently, do his editors).
Nova Capital Management and FF&P Private Equity have agreed to acquire OC Oerlikon's China business, which makes coated optical components for the global projection display and other optical component markets. No financial terms were disclosed.