PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Wireless telephone assets being divested by Verizon Communications have attracted bids from at least three private equity firms, sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) submitted a bid by last week’s deadline, while Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co [KKR.UL] made […]
Bankruptcy-related M&A surged in March with 34 acquisitions ($698mln), a level not seen in five years, since August 2004 (38), according to Thomson Reuters. “In the previous economic cycle bankruptcy-related M&A peaked in July 02 with 86 transactions announced and 8 months before equity markets reached the bottom and started their recovery,” a report from this morning stated. Meanwhile, according to data from Bankruptcy Week, the number of public companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was almost as much as the two prior months combined. March saw 31 public companies go bankrupt. Add that to the respective 18 and 19 from January and February, and the total for public companies in Q1 is 68. That’s quite a few more than the private equity-backed company total of 25 (although some of them, like KKR’s Masonite, count as both). Follow the jump for charts.
You may remember Goldman Sachs Liquidity Partners III LP. The group, part of Goldman's hedge fund group, raised $1.8 billion in late 2007, including $100 million from Goldman itself. Levering it 3x, the fund invested in distressed debt, including leveraged loans, mortgages and asset-backed securities. Well, they were juuuust a bit early. The fund was down more than 55% as of last fall. In fact, the effort proved so disastrous that Goldman decided last November to waive the fund’s lock-up period, allowing investors to recoup their money. The fund has a 1/20 fee structure, but with the redemptions it has received, its managers are basically working for free. Reading through yesterday’s Bloomberg article on the problems of Apollo Management, I have to wonder when that firm is going to do the same for its Apollo Credit Opportunities Fund, considering at least $2 billion worth of loans it bought have lost half their value. According to Bloomberg:
EQT Infrastructure Fund and Fortistar have agreed to buy Midland Cogeneration Venture from Rockland Capital and GSO Capital Partners. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close within the next two months. MCV is a 1,500 MW natural gas-fired cogeneration facility located in Midland, Michigan. It was acquired by Rockland and GSO in 2006.
Signature Aluminum Inc., a Greenville, Penn.-based aluminum extrusion supplier, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It is a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital. www.signaturealuminum.com
F.T. Silfies Inc., a hauler of dry haul cement in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It is a portfolio company of Quantum Equity Partners. The company plans to remain in business during the reorganization. www.silfies.com
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Indonesian investment firm Armadian Tritunggal is exploring the sale of its majority stake in coal miner PT Berau Coal, in a sale that could value the coal firm at around $1 billion, sources told Reuters. Tritunggal, which is controlled by Indonesian businessman Rizal Risjad, is seeking advice from Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) […]
(Reuters) – About half a dozen investment managers have put forward bids, ranging between $400 million to $800 million, for troubled insurer American International Group’s asset management business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Private equity firms Ashmore Investment Management, Hellman & Friedman LLC, Rhone Group and TA Associates as […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal bankruptcy judge ordered the auction for the assets of instant camera maker Polaroid Corp reopened, giving the two leading bidders until Tuesday to resubmit bids, a lawyer for Polaroid confirmed Monday. A joint venture between liquidators Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Group LLC, and New York private equity […]
KT Capital Partners has acquired ConArt Inc., a provider of concrete products for commercial, industrial and public buildings in the Southeastern United States. No financial terms were disclosed. Corporate Finance Associates advised ConArt on the sale.