HONG KONG (Reuters) – Private equity firm Actis said on Tuesday it had paid $50 million for a majority stake in Chinese hot pot chain Xiabu Xiabu, in a bet that affordable and fast food can withstand the country’s economic slowdown. Beijing based Xiabu, known formally as Xiabu Xiabu Catering Management Co Ltd, has 53 […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Discount retailer National Wholesale Liquidators said on Monday that General Electric cut its credit availability by $15 million over the last few weeks, putting a “major hardship” on its ability to pay current and past bills. According to a letter to the company’s vendors dated Oct. 27 and seen by Reuters, […]
TORONTO (Reuters) – A Canadian court has struck down a move by a group of BCE Inc (BCE.TO) shareholders to get an injunction to stop the company’s C$34.8 billion ($29.2 billion) buyout by a group of private-equity investors, the company said on Monday. The shareholders wanted to stop the deal until their claims seeking the […]
Ethanol has been a disaster for private equity. VeraSun is bankrupt, Aventine Renewables is trading at less than $2 per share and Hawkeye Holdings wasn’t even able to price its IPO. And there continue to be those pesky – and disputed – reports that a gallon of ethanol takes more power to produce than it […]
Sun Capital Partners has offered to take audio products company LOUD Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: LTEC) private, by acquiring the 24% stake that Sun does not already hold. The offer is at $1.45 per share, or approximately $7.1 million. www.loudtechinc.com
Providence Equity Partners and Ayala Corp. has offered to acquire eTelecare Global Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: ETEL), a provider of business process outsourcing solutions. The eTelecare board has voted to recommend the offer to shareholders, who would receive $9 per common share or ADS.
Just Retirement has confirmed it has been targeted by potential buyers. The AIM-listed UK retirement specialist company is believed to have received an approach from a private equity firm, rumoured to be Cinven. Cinven bought Partnership Assurance, a similar UK business, for €200m from Phoenix Equity Partners in June. Just Retirement has been listed on […]
BTWW Retail LP, a Western and workwear retailer with 124 outlets in 19 states, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It is a portfolio company of Sage Capital and Luther King Capital. BTWW has retained Clear Thinking Group to assist in the sale of its assets, and recently sold 22 stores to Boot Barn Holding Corp., a portfolio company of Marwit Capital.
HealthEdge, a private equity firm focused on the healthcare market, has acquired Intra-Op Monitoring Services Inc., a Covington, La.–based provider of intra-operative neurophysiological monitoring solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. Intra-Op was advised on the deal by McGladrey Capital Markets. www.iomservices.com
LONDON (Reuters) – Sales of British private companies plunged in the third quarter due to the intensifying bank crisis, but deal valuations held steady as owners resisted selling out cheaply, a study released on Monday showed. Accountants BDO Stoy Hayward said the figures showed the effects of the credit crunch had reached mergers and acquisitions […]