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Blackstone set to raise $16bn for fund
Blackstone Group is set to finish raising just over $16bn for its latest buyout fund by mid-January, a process began four years ago that was delayed by the onset of the financial crisis. The amount involved makes it the sixth biggest private equity fund ever raised,
Demand for US leveraged loans set to take off
Private equity groups and financiers are expecting a strong start for the US leveraged loan market in 2012 as a light pipeline for new issues creates an opportunity to refinance portfolio companies and pay dividends to sponsors,
SVG to announce new strategy
SVG Capital is set to announce a fresh strategy on Tuesday that will see the listed private equity fund redistribute £170m ($264m) to shareholders and diversify its holdings beyond Permira, the FT reports. The listed fund is expected to tell investors that it plans to buy back roughly the same amount of money as it raised in a rights issue in early 2009,
RBS offloads £1.4bn in property loans to Blackstone
RBS and Blackstone are set to complete a deal in which the bank will hand over control of £1.4bn of distressed property loans to the US private equity group, reports the FT, citing people involved. The move to offload the loans into a Blackstone-managed fund was likely to be completed Monday night.
Thomas H Lee closing in on GSK assets
Thomas H. Lee is in the lead to buy assets from GlaxoSmithKline and may announce a deal as soon as this week, says Bloomberg, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. THL is close to entering exclusive talks with Glaxo,
Curse of the zombie private equity
Over half of North American investors in private equity are trapped in funds where unsuccessful managers cling on to under-performing investments in order to continue collecting fees, the FT reports. If a fund is loss-making and managers have no realistic chance of achieving a “hurdle rate”
CVC faces $2bn loss from failed deal refinancing
CVC has failed to seal a deal to “amend and extend” $2.7bn of senior debt of an Australian TV company it bought in 2006, Reuters reports. The failure to refinance Nine Entertainment may leave CVC with a $2bn loss on its buyout,
Private equity struggles amid eurozone crisis
The volume of European private equity deals has dropped to its lowest level since the height of the financial crisis two years ago as buy-out groups struggle to finance deals amid the eurozone debt crisis,
Boomtime buyouts face further distress
Large leveraged buy-outs struck at the height of the credit boom face more distress after underperforming the wider market in terms of ratings, default rates and revenue growth, according to a report from Moody’s.
Blackstone, Bain and Alibaba planning full Yahoo bid
Blackstone and Bain Capital are preparing a bid for all of Yahoo, together with Asian partner Alibaba, that could value the company at more than $20 per share, Reuters says, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Silver Lake bids $16.60 a share for Yahoo stake
A group of investors led by private- equity firm Silver Lake has offered to buy a minority stake in Yahoo for about $16.60 a share, reports Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter. That would value Yahoo at about $20.6bn,
THL looking at all of Yahoo US
Thomas H. Lee, Microsoft and Silver Lake are all reported to be looking at parts of Yahoo. Reuters says THL is interested in buying Yahoo’s US operations, in contrast to other bidders who are eyeing minority stakes or teaming up with Asian partners.
Terra Firma seeks €1bn SWF pool
Terra Firma Capital Partners is looking to raise up to €1bn (£860m) from a sovereign wealth fund to retain its ability to do deals after the investment period of its buy-out fund runs out next year,
Terra Firma seeks €1bn sovereign fund pool
Guy Hands’ Terra Firma Capital Partners is looking to raise up to €1bn (£860m) from a sovereign wealth fund to retain its ability to do deals after the investment period of its buy-out fund runs out next year,
Private equity groups boost stakes in hot funds
Investors in the secondary leveraged buy-out fund market are using further leverage to finance such purchases, adding another layer of risk and stirring up memories of the debt-fuelled private equity boom ahead of the financial crisis,
Private equity edges to Yahoo deal
Private equity groups including TPG Capital and KKR may buy up minority stakes of up to 20 per cent in Yahoo, preparatory to a full acquisition of the company later on, Reuters reports. The new move follows non-disclosure deals with Yahoo and talks with its co-founders,
Bowie looks to exit EMI
David Bowie is poised to walk away from EMI, the troubled UK music group in the middle of an auction, after a 15-year relationship in which the label held the rights to the bulk of his back catalogue including classic albums Ziggy Stardust and Space Oddity. The FT says the news of Mr Bowie’s departure follows several high profile artist departures,
Talks to sell Capital Safety reignited
The former buy-out arm of Candover Investments has reignited talks to sell Capital Safety Group, the UK-based safety harness maker worth up to £1bn including debt, the FT reports. Arle Capital Partners,
Brinkmanship over EMI as Blavatnik walks away
Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries group bought Warner Music earlier this year, has walked away from the $3bn-$4bn auction for EMI, the FT reports, citing people close to the negotiations. Mr Blavatnik’s offer of about $1.5bn for EMI’s recorded music division remained below the price at which Citigroup was prepared to sell the asset it seized in February from Terra Firma,
Cognetas angers investors with fee plan
Cognetas is risking a clash with its investors after the European mid-market private equity group proposed a more generous performance fee for its ailing second fund, the FT reports. At least one large investor is already rebelling against a plan to link the management’s performance fee to gains on the portfolio’s depressed net asset value at the end of June,
Demand for ‘regulatory capital relief’ funds grows
Banks are striking deals with private equity groups, hedge funds and insurance companies in an effort to preserve their precious regulatory capital, the FT reports. A growing number of investors is moving
KKR expansion bets on China slowdown
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is set to expand into Hong Kong in an early bet by the private equity group on a slowdown in the Chinese economy, the FT reports. KKR will send in its $2bn special situations unit in the next six to nine months,
Joint bidders circle Yahoo
Investors have been frustrated in bidding for Yahoo because of harsh provisions against “cross talk” in deal negotiations, Reuters reports. Yahoo and its advisers have pushed potential buyers to sign up to nondisclosure agreements which could prevent joint bids from being prepared.
Carlyle buys into Chinese cinema market
Carlyle Group has taken an 80 per cent stake in GDC Technology, Asia’s largest provider of digital cinema servers, the FT reports, as the private equity group chases the fast-growing Chinese film market. Hong
Hedge funds, private equity to escape new rules
US regulators will examine non-bank financial groups with more than $50bn in assets to decide whether they are dangerous enough to merit tougher supervision and higher capital requirements – a threshold that will be a relief to most hedge funds and private equity firms,
Bain Capital in talks on Japanese restaurant chain
Bain Capital may reach an agreement this month to buy family-restaurant chain Skylark from Nomura’s private equity unit, for about 250bn yen ($3.3bn) including debt, Bloomberg says, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.
LMS plans to wind down portfolio
LMS Capital’s non-executive directors have proposed to wind down the London-listed private equity group’s portfolio and stop investments in a strategic U-turn triggered by pressure from Robert Rayne,
Yang eyes Yahoo buyout with private equity
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is “interested” in a deal with private equity firms to take the company private, Reuters says, citing people familiar with the situation. Such a deal would involve rolling over Mr Yang’s stake in Yahoo,
US funds eye European distressed debt opportunities
US hedge funds and private equity firms that specialise in distressed situations are gearing up new or existing European offices in expectation of a surge in coming opportunities, the FT says. Two of the biggest names in the field Centerbridge Partners and Baupost,
Microsoft considering bid for Yahoo
Microsoft is considering a bid for Yahoo, Reuters reports, citing sources close to the situation. A number of other companies including buyout shops Providence Equity Partners, Hellman & Friedman and Silver Lake Partners,