Hedge funds Mason Capital Management and Sandell Asset Management have spent the past week fighting the good fight against board obstinance at UK oilfield services firm Expro International. But now they’ve lost, and had little other choice but to capitulate. Mason and Sandell had been publicly asking Expro to postpone proceedings on a £1.8 billion […]
The London newspapers this morning rang the death knell for UK private equity, based on a new report from the Centre for Management Buy-out Research (CMBOR). CMBOR, backed by Barclays Private Equity and Deloitte, has been very cleverly courting headlines with dramatic figures showing that the value of the buyout market has dropped from £24.5 […]
Apax Partners-backed Tommy Hilfiger may IPO in New York instead of on Euronext, the New York Post reported today. This is an interesting tale of brand equity, which is basically what buyout shops pay premiums for when they invest in consumer spending-reliant businesses. (Unless it’s a retailer that owns its own stores and real estate, […]
The firm puts out an M&A and private equity forecast every six months. It’s 2008 mid-year effort is due out this week, and I’ve boiled down the conclusions it’s drawn. The second half of 2008 will see the following, according to PwC: -US private equity shops will continue to take investments from foreign entities in […]
Chegg.com, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based online marketplace for college students, has raised around $5 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. Return backers Gabriel Venture Partners and Mike Maples. www.chegg.com
The Canadian Supreme Court has overturned a lower court decision that would have derailed the C$52 billion leveraged buyout of Bell Canada. No explanation was given, although the Court’s website said “reasons to follow.” This ruling does not come as much of a surprise, as it basically affirms that bondholders don’t have the same standing […]
The Canadian Supreme Court has said that it will hand down its BCE buyout ruling today at 4:30pm. My initial reaction was selfish pique about how I can’t start my weekend early. That was soon replaced by intrigue. There is conventional wisdom that the Canadian Supremes will overturn a lower-court ruling, which found that BCE […]
You can’t go to an industry conference these days without hearing at least one limited partner lament the disappointing performance expected from vintage 2006 and 2007 funds. Too much money put to work at too high a price in the early months of those vintages; then came a credit crunch that deflated those wonderfully lofty […]
“Capital gains taxes are going up no matter who gets elected president, or what party they’re from. That’s just how it’s going to be.” Those were the words back in January of one of this space’s better sources – an ardent Republican who had not yet decided who to support in his state’s GOP primary. […]
The Supreme Court of Canada yesterday said that it would hear BCE’s appeal of a lower court ruling that threatens to derail its C$34.8 billion buyout. Oral arguments will be made the morning of June 17, at which point the three-judge panel can issue a ruling or push for a fuller process. Conventional wisdom is […]