LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Eastbourne Capital, which owned a 12.5-percent stake in Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMLN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as of late August, said on Monday it intends to hold discussions on ways to improve shareholder value, including the possible sale of the biotechnology company. Officials at San Diego-based Amylin did not immediately […]
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Private equity firms TPG and Global Infrastructure Partners have offered to buy more than A$1 billion ($680 million) of convertible notes in Australian ports operator Asciano Ltd (AIO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the Australian Financial Review newspaper said on Tuesday. Without citing sources, the paper said Asciano, which needs the money […]
At the end of my CNBC segment today, Dylan Ratigan asked if private equity firms would buy up the Treasury Department’s refried home mortgages. My condensed answer: “I sure hope not.” The question has gained some traction of late, for two main reasons. First, many big private equity firms have mountains of dry powder […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – U.S. hedge fund Farallon Capital and an Indonesian coal company are in talks to join private equity firm Northstar Pacific in its deal to buy a stake in the country’s largest coal company, Bumi Resources (BUMI.JK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), for $1.3 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. […]
I recently spoke a mid-market lending source about what (if anything) is going on in the debt world. I walked away with a few themes worth sharing. 1. Sponsors are raising captive mezzanine funds to finance their own deals. It’s a phenomenon I touched on a few months ago when peHUB reported Insight Equity is raising a mezzanine fund alongside its new buyout fund. The firm is requiring a 1:1 commitment to the equity and the mezzanine fund for new LPs. Then, I read that KRG Capital is raising a captive mezz fund as well. And of course ABRY, Summit Partners and TA Associates have been doing it for some time now. There are several arguments regarding this move. For one, with mezzanine so expensive (we’re talking anywhere from 16% to as high as 20%), sponsors are thinking, why give away the upside to someone else? Furthermore, mezzanine is only slightly less risky than equity, so why rely on others to get deals done if we can have no-contingency financing at our fingertips? But as one sponsor told me, “I’ve never in my life had trouble finding mezzanine debt, so why would I want to attempt to arrange it myself for the very first time?” Not to mention, this is essentially doubling your exposure to a deal. All valid points. 2. The ceiling deal value is around $150 million. Most lenders aren’t willing to hold more than
Sage Holdings, a communications platform sponsored by The Riverside Co., has acquired Hallvarsson & Halvarsson, a Swedish corporate communications and web services firm. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which included equity from Riverside Europe Fund III.
Odyssey Investment Partners has agreed to acquire SM&A (Nasdaq: WINS), a –based management consulting firm for procurement projects. The deal is valued at $119.6 million, or $6.59 per SM&A share (159% premium to last Thursday’s closing price). Caltius Mezzanine is providing financing, while Wedbush Morgan Securities is advising SM&A.
Kirtland Capital Partners has completed its sale of Essex Crane Rental Corp. to Hyde Park Acquisition Corp. for $210 million. Essex provides lattice-boom crawler cranes and attachments, and was acquired by Kirtland in May 2000. Hyde Park is a blank check acquisition company that has changed its name to Essex Crane Rental Corp., and will trade on the Nasdaq.
The Shawmark Group, a private equity firm focused on service providers to the U.S. intelligence community, has acquire Aspiration Software Inc., a Front Royal, Va.-based provider of IT services to the U.S. government. No financial terms were disclosed. The company will now be run by Jon Stout, a partner with Shawmark.
HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) – A consortium led by CLP Holdings has been short-listed to bid for the third Singapore power asset put up for sale by Temasek Holdings, an investment arm of the Singapore government The South China Morning Post reported, citing market sources, that the auction is expected to raise up to US$2.5bn. Short-listed […]