Siguler Guff, the US group specialising in emerging markets and distressed debt investments, has made a rare private equity investment in a Russian bank by acquiring a stake in MDM Bank, one of the country’s biggest lenders.
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- If the economy’s stagnant, why are stocks up?
- The edge: a golden opportunity remains.
- On the clash of economic theories (and commentators).
- John Paulson once had self-doubts.
Foreign private equity funds are this week expected to submit bids for Axa’s minority stake in Taikang Life, China’s fourth-largest insurer, which has been valued at up to $1bn. First-round bids are due by Friday and various overseas investors have signalled interest in the French insurer’s 15.6% stake,
Elsewhere on Monday, and on the weekend,
- More Goldman - how it secretly bet on the US housing crash.
- Roubini on dollar carry reversal - “he’s only halfway there”.
- Can Citigroup Carry Its Own Weight?
- It’s Japan we should be worrying about.
Elsewhere on Friday,
- Bernanke’s modern encapsulation of Friedman’s bold revelation.
- The story behind WaMu’s demise.
- ‘David Rosenberg makes Nouriel Roubini look like Mary Poppins’.
- If you want to rein in bankers’ pay,
TPG is set to complete one of private equity’s most successful Asian deals on Monday when Myer, the Australian department store group, debuts in Sydney with a market value of A$2.4bn ($2.2bn). TPG and its associate Blum Capital,
Elsewhere on Thursday,
- William J Bernstein’s Investor’s Manifesto, black swans, poker…
- Bloomberg kills its most popular feature.
- Back to the VC future: small as the new big.
- Bond bears:
Private equity group TPG has sold its 9 per cent stake Debenhams for £100m, making it the second of the department store’s three former owners to exit the group. Shares in Debenhams rose 3 per cent to 84.35p,
Elsewhere on Tuesday,
- Fixed rates and protectionism.
- Why are big banks even bigger?
- Maybe insider trading is okay…
- Australian dollar disaster.
- “This crisis will discredit those who ignore asset bubbles”.
Matalan, the privately owned UK discount retailer, is weighing a £1.5bn sale after a number of expressions of interest. Buy-out group CVC is among parties to have approached Matalan, which was taken private by its founder and controlling shareholder John Hargreaves amid acrimony with institutional investors and non-executive directors three years ago.
Gartmore, the fund management group equally owned by management and buy-out group Hellman & Friedman, aims to register flotation plans with the UK’s FSA as early as next week. The group has appointed Morgan Stanley and Citi to advise it on completing an IPO by year-end.
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- So now we know why Lehman went under.
- Five great lies of the modern financial system.
- Safety nets for the rich.
- Oil past $100 a barrel — believe it.
- SmartMoney’s 2009 Power 30:
Hopu Investment Management, the Beijing-based buy-out fund set up by ex-Goldman Sachs dealmakers, has made its first investment outside China, acquiring a 4.9% stake in Lippo Karawaci, an Indonesian-listed real estate and hospital developer,
Cerberus is in advanced preparations for an IPO of Freedom Group, a little-known company that has become a dominant player in the rifle-and-ammunition business, reports the WSJ. Over a three-year span,
Elsewhere on Monday,
- Cognitive dissonance and global macroeconomics.
- The banks are not alright.
- The ideologically loaded rhetoric of mainstream economics.
- Agitation Down Under: The best unknown activist investment of 2009.
Middle East families and sovereign wealth funds are slashing their investments and demanding more favourable terms from private equity funds. The region has been a major source of capital for the private equity industry in recent years but many investors are still suffering from the collapse in liquidity after the failure of Lehman Brothers.
Elsewhere on Friday,
- Smart guys and Wall Street.
- Goldman empire strikes back.
- Great moments in punditry, Lenin edition.
- Wasserstein is dead. Long live the deal.
- Eight investment themes from Wall Street’s top bank.
The Spanish-led consortium bidding for National Express is set to withdraw its £765m takeover offer for the UK bus and rail operator, dealing a blow to the company’s biggest shareholder. Buy-out firm CVC,
Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to sell its central European operations to buy-out group CVC for up to $3bn. The deal is the latest non-core asset to be sold after last year’s $52bn merger of the US’s Anheuser-Busch and Belgium’s InBev.
Breaking pre-market news on Thursday,
- Xstrata says it has no intention of making an offer for Anglo American - statement.
- Anheuser-Busch InBev agrees to sell central European operations to CVC for $2.2bn - statement.
Permira, one of Europe’s biggest buy-out groups, on Wednesday promised to return “a wall of cash” to investors by floating or selling many of its portfolio companies , adding to growing optimism among buy-out bosses.
KKR, fresh from its low-key Dutch listing after merging with its Amsterdam-listed European fund, is quietly and steadily stepping up its Chinese shopping activities.
The US buyout firm is expected to announce later on Wednesday a $160m investment in a Chinese lender to small and medium-size businesses,
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- The lights are dimming for American banks in London.
- What’s next for gold and the dollar.
- Does Jamie Dimon look unhappy?
- More light and joy from Stephen Roach.
A consortium led by KKR is expected to announce on Wednesday a $160m investment in a Chinese lender to small and medium businesses, marking the US buy-out firm’s third deal in mainland China, reports the WSJ.
Elsewhere on Monday — and at the weekend,
- A Nobel for Taleb?
- Mourning rally.
- The semiotics of Larry Summers’ neckwear.
- Chew over this one, Cadbury.
- New gas rescues the world.
- Is Wasserstein’s health about to become a job-sized problem?
- Americans are still delusional about house prices.
Blackstone, the world’s largest buy-out firm, is planning to list up to eight companies it owns and sell at least five others, in a marked reversal of its pessimistic view of financial markets. In a letter sent to investors on Friday,
GI Partners, the Anglo-American private equity group, plans on Monday to announce a new $1.9bn fund, a quarter less than its target but a sign that investors are still backing buy-out groups with solid records.
Pressure is building on buy-out groups to cut the fees they charge their backers. Watson Wyatt, the investment consultant, has proposed fairer terms for investors, including a 1.75% management fee based on a five-year commitment and 20% of gains over a preferred return of 8%.
The Spanish-led consortium bidding for UK rail and bus operator National Express is seeking an extension of the official deadline for making its bid, worth £765m, which expires at 5pm on Friday. The UK Takeover Panel has already extended the “put up or shut up” deadline from Sept 11.
Bruce Wassertstein, chairman and chief executive of investment bank Lazard, is in “serious” condition after being hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat, the company said in a statement, reports Bloomberg.
RSS feed