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’Still waiting for the Wasserstein masterstroke
In the space of two years, Bruce Wasserstein has brought peace to Lazard, a company legendary for the squabbles between star bankers who controlled small fiefdoms within the institution, write James Politi and Peter Thal Larsen in an FT news analysis.
Altadis tries to spark a bidding war
Altadis, the Franco-Spanish tobacco group, opened its books on Tuesday to Imperial Tobacco and a CVC-led consortium -– raising hopes of a bidding war, the FT reports.
The Altadis board said a €50-per-share preliminary offer from CVC and PAI,
Lazard disappoints amid M&A boom
Lazard failed to take full advantage of the boom in global takeover activity in the first quarter, as the US investment bank’s core business of advising on mergers and acquisitions suffered from flat revenues.
Lazard set to sell Panmure slice
Lazard, owner of a 28 per cent stake in Panmure Gordon, the mid-market stockbroker, is understood to be considering selling its holding either as a block to one large buyer or into the market. The availability of Lazard’s stake may make Panmure Gordon more likely to receive an approach from bidders disappointed in the sale of Bridgewell,
CVC looks to enter battle for Altadis
CVC, whose bid for J Sainsbury collapsed this week, is in advanced stages of forming a powerful financial consortium to trump Imperial Tobacco’s £12.3bn bid for Altadis, the Franco-Spanish tobacco company.
Nestle acquires Gerber from Novartis
Nestlé on Thursday bought Gerber baby foods from Novartis for $5.5bn. The acquisition will accelerate a push by the world’s biggest foods group into more profitable activities than mainstream food and beverages.
TXU sets out benefits of $45bn buy-out
TXU on Monday embarked on a campaign to promote a $45bn leveraged buy-out led by KKR and Texas Pacific amid mounting evidence that the private equity boom has entered a more highly politicised era. Executives at the Texas power company said the deal would bring lower prices for consumers and stronger environmental policies,
France Telecom weighs sale of Dutch Orange unit
France Télécom is considering selling the Dutch unit of its Orange mobile-phone operations, reports the Wall Street Journal, citing several people familiar with the situation. The French company has hired Lazard to scout interest in the Dutch operations,
Fortress, folly, or just a sand castle? You decide.
Those answering the phone at the office of Lilly H Donohue, managing director, Fortress Investment Group LLC, are under clear enough instructions: “I’m not aware we are authorised to release our prospectus to the media as yet.