NEW YORK (Reuters) – Financing is getting pricier and more elusive for companies that file for bankruptcy. Debtor-in-possession – or DIP – financing is the fuel that keeps companies going through bankruptcy, allowing them to continue paying their suppliers and their employees as they try to become profitable again. It has been a popular and […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX.N) has dropped a deal worth about $160 million to buy a commercial building in Shanghai because of worsening market conditions, a newspaper reported on Monday. Blackstone had been keen to push into the Chinese property market, and sources told Reuters in August that the […]
DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain and London-listed Investcorp’s (INVBq.L) president and chief operating officer Gary Long said on Monday the investment firm’s portfolio companies were under stress, getting leverage for deals was difficult and investors were nervous. “Certainly alternative investment firms like Investcorp are being negatively impacted” by the financial turmoil, Long said, speaking at the […]
DETROIT/NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Motors has had talks with smaller rival Chrysler LLC about a merger that would combine the No. 1 and No. 3 American automakers at a time when both are struggling to cut costs and shore up cash, according to a source briefed on the matter. Separately, Ford Motor Co, plans […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former chief executive of the Duane Reade Holdings Inc drugstore chain pleaded not guilty on Friday to securities fraud, conspiracy and charges of making false statements to securities regulators. Former CEO Anthony Cuti, 63, is accused of providing false information during negotiations over the purchase of Duane Reade, previously a […]
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Private equity funds remain optimistic that Brazil’s farm sector offers investment opportunities despite the deteriorating world credit market, executives said on Thursday. “In the emerging markets where people have began to eat beef, such as China, this trend is very stable,” said the president of local meatpacker Mercosul, Augusto Marques da […]
That’s because the middle market is simply not strong anymore, particularly on the lending side. Take GE Capital, which today revealed cracks on the wall:
G.E. said it was seeing rising delinquencies on its consumer and commercial finance business. It plans to set aside provisions for pretax losses of $6.6 billion this year, a sharp rise from 2007, and it expects losses to rise next year to $7.5 billion to $9 billion. (NY Times)
This supports yesterday’s story in The Deal, which reported GE Antares has suspended new financing until January (sub req):
Chicago-based GE Antares, which dominates the middle market, has walked away from commitments and even pulled staples, sources said.
It's true that GE is, for the most part on the sidelines, a source told me, but the firm is still looking at deals. Same goes for Madison Capital, which is rumored to be closed for business. “They’re saying yes. Not often, but they’re still saying yes to conservatively levered loans with low loan to enterprise value and a lot of equity.” "Not very often" is pretty damaging, when it's the two largest mid-market lenders. In Q3 '08, deal volume was down 22.2% from Q3 '07, which was a post-credit crunch quarter itself. This week alone, peHUB tracked a mere 17 new deal announcements. Depending your size threshold for middle market, most of these deals barely even make the cut. The middle market even was down at the start of this year, when a headline
MILAN (Reuters) – Three binding offers will be made for Italian business information company Cerved by an Oct. 20 deadline, sources said on Friday. The bids will come from private equity funds Bain Capital, Italy’s Clessidra and Britain’s Bridgepoint Capital Ltd., said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The offers will be delivered […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A group of liquidation firms including Hilco and Gordon Brothers have stepped forward as the lead bidder for the assets of Linens ‘n Things, according to court documents. A joint venture that comprises Hilco Merchant Resources, Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, Hudson Capital Partners, SB Capital Group, Tiger Capital Group and Great […]
TORONTO (Reuters) – The recent plunge in the market value of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion could leave the company vulnerable to a takeover from a well-capitalized buyer such as Microsoft Corp. RIM’s shares, which were worth more than $148 on the Nasdaq market just four months ago, now are trading around the $60 mark […]