Am I the only one who’s beginning to think it’s in Blackstone’s best interest to lose the Equity Office deal? It has now raised its bid to $55.50 per share, which is 14.4% higher than its initial offer. So assume for a moment that Blackstone was originally expecting a 25% ROI from the deal – […]
I received an email earlier today from someone asking “Where has private equity gone? It seems that deal-flow has slowed just as we expected an onslaught of deals.” The reader and I share mutual expectations, but a different premise: I also expect that buyout volume will increase, but my research shows that the uptick already […]
Private equity is not, nor has it been, in the midst of a bubble. Its recent boom-times have been driven by legitimate market factors, and risk has been so mitigated – via debt securitization, among other techniques – that today’s private equiteers are unlikely to suffer the same fate as venture capitalists circa 2001. But, […]
The largest leveraged buyout in history may have just gotten larger. Vornado Realty Trust just announced that it has offered $52 per share for commercial real estate giant Equity Office Properties Trust, with Starwood Capital and Walton Street Capital also participating. This tops an existing $48 per share bid from The Blackstone Group, and would […]
Goldman Sachs is not prohibiting club deals in the $10 billion auction for General Electric’s plastics unit. Moreover, it could care less about the sleepy Department of Justice “inquiry” into private equity collusion. Forgive my declaratives, but something needed to be said after the Wall Street Journal incorrectly published the following in yesterday’s edition (sorry for the delayed […]
A Biomet Inc. shareholder has sued four private equity firms — Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group — and the company’s board of directors over a proposed $10.9 billion buyout. You can read the complaint here: Lawsuit against Biomet and Four PE Funds.pdf The lawsuit’s claims are typical […]
Now updated with ACG/Thomson press release and underlying data Last month, I asked PE Week Wire readers (become one here) to participate in the Bi-Annual ACG/Thomson DealMakers Survey. The official results come out tomorrow, but since everyone was so generous with their time, we got a sneak peak: Ninety-three percent of respondents (1,230 in all) believe that the current […]
I was on CNBC this morning for a 2007 buyout market outlook segment (video link here), but we ended up mostly talking about whether or not Home Depot will go private. For the record, I think there is better than a 50/50 chance of Home Depot receiving a bid – and a similar likelihood that […]
My colleagues at Buyouts Magazine are putting the finishing touches on their latest issue, which will include a vast smorgasbord of 2006 data and analysis. In the meantime, they’ve sent over a few tasty nuggets. First up is disclosed LBO deal volume, which comes in at $314.78 billion for 316 transactions (including leverage). There also were 691 deals with undisclosed […]
Circuit City is a “potential” leveraged buyout target, according to a new Bear Stearns research report out today. The analysis comes after the electronics retailer posted a surprise Q3 loss, was picked up by Dealbook and has helped send the stock… PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP! I know that both the analyst and the NYT blogger were […]