LONDON (Reuters) – Prices of investment-grade bonds have fallen so far that their spreads already compensate for default rates worse than the Great Depression, Citigroup analysts said. Bond spreads are a measure of the difference in yields between a given bond and a benchmark such as a Treasury bond. The wider the spread, the more […]
Since BDCs rely on their stock for liquidity, it's safe to say they're in a world of hurt right now. We saw American Capital and Allied Capital post losses and either reduce or possibly eliminate their dividends last week, for example. Today Fifth Street Finance, a lower middle market BDC that went public in June (one of the whopping two financial services IPOs this year), released its monthly shareholder update. I spoke with CEO Len Tannenbaum about fake term sheets, who's really in business (he names names), nosebleed lending rates and what his firm will do when it runs out of money: What do you mean by "fake term sheets"? Are lenders really trying that hard to keep up the appearance of being open for business? Some of them have submitted term sheets that have no way or desire to be completed. They have no money to do it, so they're trying to do it with such onerous terms, and not negotiating
LONDON (Reuters) – Miner Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc has begun the process of selling its market-leading talcs and borates businesses, picking investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort to run the deal, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. If successful, the deal will be a small step towards Rio’s (RIO.L) plans to sell $15 billion of assets […]
Werba Reinhard Inc. has agreed to buy asset management firm Loring Ward International Ltd. (TSX: LW) for US$11.25 per share. The deal comes shortly after Lovell Minnick Partners backed out of a deal to buy Loring Ward for C$18 per share.
Denali Oil & Gas Partners III has been formed with an initial equity commitment of up to $140 million by Quantum Energy Partners, Energy Trust Partners, Walter Oil & Gas Corp. and Denali management. The same firms helped form Denali Oil & Gas Partners in 2003 and Denali Oil & Gas Partners II in 2005. Each partnership is aimed at oil and gas exploration in South Texas.
Sage Holdings, a financial and stakeholder communications company, has acquired Capital Precision, a provider of global shareholder analysis, institutional targeting and fund tracking. No financial terms were disclosed. Sage Holdings is sponsored by The Riverside Company.
Vista Equity Partners has acquired an equity stake in Zywave Inc., a Milwaukee-based provider of SaaS enterprise automation solutions for the employee benefits and property & casualty insurance distribution market. No financial terms were disclosed. www.zywave.com
Anhui Kouzi Wine Inc., a Chinese winemaker based in the Anhui province, has sold a 25% ownership stake to Goldman Sachs for $52 million, according to Dow Jones.
General Atlantic has made a minority equity investment in Qualicorp Group, a Brazilian provider of healthcare brokerage and benefits administration services. No financial terms were disclosed.
The Riverside Co. has acquired The Herbal Garden Inc., a Wauconda, Ill.-based supplier of freshly-packaged herbs to foodservice groups, grocery stores and bulk retailers across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southern U.S. No financial terms were disclosed.