No one’s selling today unless they have to, and in traditional media, some of them just have to, a buyout pro told me. There isn’t a lot of happy news for print media companies this summer. Cox Communications is trying to sell some of its newspapers, which PE firms are interested in, one source says, […]
These days, the word “big” is a relative term for PE professionals. In a semi-regular column, I’ll explore how the some of the biggest (or at least most interesting) deals are getting done.Today’s Big Deal (Kind Of) goes to Sentinel Capital Partners, for its purchase of Mobile Dental Services. My pick is a bit of […]
It’s the numbers edition: One bankruptcy, $3 billion in assets for sale, $900 million in fresh capital, two troubled mattress companies, many a unitranche loan, and one train stopped dead in its tracks. Oops: Cadence Innovations is bankrupt. Again. Yucaipa was the lone wolf PE backer among the handful of hedge funds that brought the […]
Mitt Romney is probably just days away from being named John McCain’s running mate, and the Democrats are already taking shots based on his time running Bain Capital. During a press conference earlier today in Denver, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe referred to the former buyout kingpin as a “job killing machine in business” who […]
And Mrs. Fields makes 32. The struggling pastry maker officially filed for a pre-packaged Chapter 11 plan yesterday. Capricorn Holdings will lose its control over the company to bondholders.I posted the original list about a month ago, so it’s time to update July’s LBO-Backed Bankruptcy List. New additions: Mervyn’s + Mrs. Fields. Download the latest […]
I sometimes use this space to slam private equity firms that eschew any sense of corporate responsibility, particularly when it comes to employees at their portfolio companies. So it is my great pleasure this morning to report on the exact opposite: A firm going above and beyond to help vulnerable portfolio company employees and their […]
So we’re heading into the home stretch of 2008. Next week marks the official end of summer, and the beginning of one last push to get deals through before bonus time (no matter how battered those checks may look this year). Check back next week for a PEhub roundup of outlooks on Q408, which basically […]
Yesterday I outlined how to properly characterize trendy aka “sexy” companies. But how does one actually invest in them? I have long operated under the mindset that Heelys and Segway—companies whose faddish products save us from the dreaded act of walking—were both doomed. Heelys has had a somewhat rocky journey, losing almost half of its […]
Beverage Marketing USA, maker of AriZona Iced Tea, this week became the last large, successful, privately-held beverage companies to take on outside financing. Coke had been salivating over it for years — courting reticent entrepreneurs John Ferolito and Don Vultaggio — but it ultimately became more of a catalyst than a captor. After Coke paid […]
Longtime readers of the daily email may remember Michael Bleyzer, CEO of Ukraine-based private equity firm SigmaBleyzer. Back in 2004, Michael provided a moving eyewitness account of the Orange Revolution in Kyiv, which generated more feedback than almost any other issue we’ve ever produced. Earlier today I spoke briefly with Michael (who happens to be […]