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’Private equity groups eye Merill’s Asian businesses
Several firms have expressed an interest in buying the management of Merrill Lynch’s Asian real-estate investment business, including the management of its $4 billion Merrill Lynch Asian Real Estate Opportunity Fund,
Candover ends deal talks
Shares in Candover rose on Monday after the ailing UK buyout group said it was still considering splitting itself up after ending takeover talks with potential buyers. Candover received proposals for an outright takeover or minority stake sale from rival groups including Blackstone,
Blackstone eyes European property
US buyout group Blackstone is to return to the traditional commercial property market in Europe for the first time since 2004 after the closing on Monday of a larger-than-expected €3.1bn (£2.6bn) real estate fund.
China SWF eyes Blackstone fund
China Investment Corp, the country’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, is poised to invest $500m in a Blackstone Group hedge-fund unit, reports the WSJ. A hefty injection from China would signal that some big money is stepping off the sidelines as global markets stabilise.
Buyout groups bid for First Republic
US buyout groups Carlyle, Blackstone and TPG are leading an investor group that is bidding to acquire First Republic Bank, a private banking unit of Bank of America, reports Bloomberg. The firms may partner with First Republic chairman James Herbert.
Consortium wins BankUnited auction
A group including investors such as Blackstone, Carlyle, Centerbridge and WLRoss won an auction for BankUnited on Thursday after the Florida lender – worth nearly $13bn by assets – was closed by federal regulators in the biggest US bank failure of 2009.
AIG plans $5bn IPO for Asian arm
AIG on Monday said it would list its Asian life insurance operations in order to raise capital after it abandoned a sale of the assets earlier this year. Depending on market conditions, the IPO of American International Assurance is expected to fetch $5bn to $10bn when it floats next year.
Candover board to discuss bids
The board of Candover will meet early this week to discuss bids received for the buyout group, which put itself up for sale after suspending the €3bn fund it raised last year. The UK-based group had received “a small handful” of early indicative offers to buy Candover Investments,
Buy-out funds eye distressed debt
Goldman Sachs is asking investors in its $15bn private equity fund for approval to shift much of its remaining uninvested money into distressed debt, in a stark indication of dysfunctional conditions in the buy-out business.
45% of wealth ‘destroyed’: Blackstone
Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of buyout group Blackstone, said on Tuesday that up to 45% of the world’s wealth has been destroyed in less than 18 months by the global credit crisis, reports Reuters. “This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime”,
Blackstone marks down Deutsche debt
Blackstone marked down the value of billions of dollars worth of debt it bought at a discount from Deutsche Bank to zero, demonstrating that the group bet too early on a recovery. Blackstone bought the debt in April and marked down the value by year-end.
UBS, Blackstone advisers charged
UBS and Blackstone Group takeover advisers fed information to an insider-trading ring including a former Jefferies Group money manager in a scheme that yielded more than $8m in illegal gains, US federal authorities said,
Mark to myth, private equity leveraged returns edition
In recognition of the extreme volatility in the markets, the Group has undertaken a special exercise to value its largest investments at 31 December 2008… For those assets valued on an earnings basis at both 30 September 2008 and 31 December 2008,
Blackstone staffer on insider trading charge
A staffer in Blackstone’s financial advisory group was charged by the SEC with insider trading in connection with the 2006 acquisition of supermarket chain Albertson’s by a group including Cerberus Capital,
Blackstone’s quarterly losses hit $340m
Blackstone highlighted the strains on private equity and hedge fund groups on Thursday when it reported a $340m net loss for its third quarter, triple the level a year ago. The US buyout group, which listed last year,
CIC set to boost stake in Blackstone
China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp, is planning to increase its stake in Blackstone Group from 9.9% to 12.5%, according to a US regulatory filing. This time, however, CIC will buy shares in the open market,
UK’s Paragon hit as it rejects £373m offer
Paragon, the buy-to-let mortgage lender, has rejected a £373m takeover proposal from a private equity group and abandoned talks with other potential bidders, triggering a 15% fall in its share price. Nigel Terrington,
Details emerge of Informa bid
The cut in the offer price for UK publishing group Informa was driven by Blackstone, as the private equity group flexed its muscles when it joined the consortium bidding for Informa last month. The FT has learnt that Providence Equity and the Carlyle Group were considering a bid at about 475p but Blackstone considered it too high and drove it down to 450p,
Informa rejects consortium offer
The board of Informa on Thursday rejected its second offer in two years, turning down a 450p approach from a private equity consortium led by Providence Equity Partners, saying the price “significantly undervalued”
CalSTRS slashes Blackstone fund stake
The second-largest US pension fund intends to invest just $250m into Blackstone Group’s newest private-equity vehicle, a rollback from the $1.7bn it committed to the firm’s prior fund, reports the WSJ.
Snap news
The latest on Thursday,
- RAB Capital announces appointment of Stephen Couttie (formerly COO) as CEO – statement.
- Provident, Carlyle confirm that Blackstone will also be participating in Informa bid consortium – statement.
Blackstone joins Informa fray
Blackstone has joined forces with private equity rivals Providence Equity Partners and the Carlyle Group to mount a joint bid for Informa, the business information group that publishes Lloyd’s List. If successful,
KKR leads race for Lehman assets
KKR is leading the bidding for a controlling stake in Lehman Brothers’ asset management business, while Blackstone Group has backed away, reports Reuters, citing CNBC. Lehman is looking to sell at least part of its asset management business;
Apax makes its move on NLB
Apax Partners, the UK-based private equity group, is in exclusive talks to buy 30.6% of Nova Ljubljanska Banca, Slovenia’s biggest bank, from Belgium’s KBC after Blackstone pulled out of the €900m ($1.3bn) auction.
Blackstone in talks over Informa bid
Private equity firm Blackstone is in talks to team up with rivals Providence and Carlyle to mount a joint bid for Informa, publisher of Lloyd’s List, reports the Daily Telegraph. The talks come as Providence and Carlyle move to secure the financing for the takeover.
Private equity takes on $8bn in RBS loans
Royal Bank of Scotland is selling to US buyout firms Apollo, GSO Capital, Blackstone and TPG as much as $8bn in loans made to finance acquisitions by private-equity firms, highlighting their transformation into investors in deeply discounted debt as they purchase more leveraged buy-out financing from banks.
Blackstone finds $2bn for Bayview
Blackstone Group has raised $2bn for Bayview Financial, a distressed mortgage servicer and fund manager in which it holds a stake, to buy portfolios of ailing mortgage assets in the next few months. The move by the US buyout group emerged Wednesday as it reported a drop in quarterly earnings,
Bidders close in on ailing Paragon
Potential bidders for Paragon could complete their due diligence as early as next week when many senior managers of the UK’s third-largest buy-to-let mortgage lender return from holiday for further talks about a possible investment.
Dubai fund, Blackstone, pursue Informa
A Dubai sovereign wealth fund has teamed up with Blackstone and others aiming to buy Informa from under the noses of a rival private-equity consortium, reports the FT. Providence Equity Partners, Carlyle and up to recently,
TPG mulls bid for UK’s Paragon
TPG Capital is considering a bid for Paragon, the UK’s third largest buy-to-let mortgage lender, less than three weeks after the US buyout group infuriated the City by pulling out of a £179m capital injection for Bradford & Bingley.