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’Unilever to offload Findus Italy
Unilever is considering the sale of its Italian frozen food business in a deal worth up to €800m (£760m) that has attracted interest from Birds Eye Iglo and Findus Group, its private equity-owned rivals.
Gala Coral agrees debt plan
Shareholders in UK gambling group Gala Coral have agreed to cede overall control of the group under a debt restructuring proposal to be considered by the board on Friday. The breakthrough over restructuring Gala’s £2.5bn debt came last weekend after Candover,
Permira pledges ‘wall of cash’
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.
Gala Coral gambles on debt deal
Gala Coral, Britain’s biggest bingo chain, is close to finalising a restructuring deal that will see lenders write off £540m of debt, reports the Guardian. The gambling group’s private equity owners Candover,
Buyout groups eye Japan’s BellSystem24
KKR and Permira are vying to acquire Citigroup-owned BellSystem24, Japan’s largest telemarketer, in a deal that would be one of the largest private equity investments in Japan this year. Nikko Principal Investments,
Hungary offers bail-out for Permira deal
The Hungarian government is throwing a lifeline to one of eastern Europe’s biggest buyout deals by offering a €100m ($142m) loan to Borsodchem, the chemicals group acquired by UK buy-out house Permira for €1.6bn in 2006.
Valentino hits Permira’s pockets
Private equity’s costliest excursion into haute couture risks turning into a flop as Permira, the UK buy-out house, nears completion of talks with lenders to Valentino, the Italian fashion house, about renegotiating its €2.5bn (£2.1bn) debt.
Dutch to sell Fortis tax arm
The arm of Belgian-Dutch group Fortis now owned by the Dutch government is pressing ahead with plans to sell Intertrust, a tax administration and structuring business. Several first-round offers have been made for Intertrust close to its €350m ($490m) asking price,
Buffini to step down as Permira chair
Damon Buffini intends to step down as chairman of UK buyout group Permira to work on its troubled portfolio of companies and to search for fresh deals. The decision, announced at Permira’s annual investor meeting on Thursday,
Permira sells stake in Britvic
Permira on Wednesday sold its 14% stake in Britvic for about £81m, ending almost three years of frustration for the UK private equity group in its attempts to agree a buy-out deal with the soft-drinks maker.
Gala Coral hits at credit insurer
Gala Coral, the private equity-owned UK gambling group, has accused Euler Hermes, one of the world’s largest credit insurers, of “appalling behaviour” in withdrawing cover against unpaid bills to Gala Coral’s suppliers.
Permira issues capital call letters
Permira, the private equity group, has issued capital call letters to raise $917.8m from its investors for its acquisition of NDS, the set-top box company, in the first test of its revised fundraising structure.
SVG shares dive after £200m raising
Shares in SVG Capital suffered the biggest drop in their 12 years of London trading Thursday after the quoted private equity investor revealed a range of funding changes to shore up its finances. SVG, the largest investor in funds run by Permira,
Private (we need more) equity
It has not been a good week for UK-quoted private equity companies.
Shares in 3i have plunged below their 1994 flotation price on concerns about its balance sheet. (3i has net debt of £1.8bn, against a market value of £990m).
Permira backer brings in advisers
SVG Capital, the listed private equity fund that backs Permira, the global buyout giant, has called in investment banking advisers to conduct a strategic review of its cash-strapped business, reports The Times.
Permira offers to shrink fund
Permira the UK-based buy-out group, has raised eyebrows by offering in effect to shrink its Permira IV fund, which set a record for European private equity when it was raised two years ago, from €11bn to €9.5bn and to return as much as €1.5bn of undrawn capital to its investors.
Investors turn screw on buy-out groups
Some of the world’s biggest buy-out groups are coming under pressure from cash-strapped investors to reduce their commitments after Permira’s landmark offer to let its backers off the hook for €1.5bn.
Private equity chief urges fees rethink
Private equity groups must lower their hefty fees if they are to raise more money from cash-strapped investors, Solomon Owayda, chief investment officer of SVG Advisers, warned Thursday. His comments at
Bargain-hunters circle Baugur
UK retail mogul Sir Philip Green is facing competition from TPG, the US buyout group, in his attempt to gain control of Baugur’s UK high street assets by buying the debt of the Icelandic company. TPG has told the Icelandic government it is interested in acquiring the £1bn-£2bn of debt owed by Baugur to the country’s collapsed banks.
KKR, Permira buy up ProSiebenSat.1 debt
KKR and Permira, the private equity owners of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, have acquired chunks of debt in the struggling German television broadcaster. The debt purchases – about €100m ($139.5m) by KKR’s credit arm and Permira’s debt subsidiary – are the latest examples of private equity groups buying debt in companies in which they already control the equity.
Permira sells Jet Aviation to General Dynamics
General Dynamics, the US defence group and maker of Gulfstream business jets, is taking over Zurich-based business aviation services group Jet Aviation for SFr2.45bn ($2.24bn) from Permira, the UK private equity group which acquired the company three years ago from the Hirschmann family.
Zoom zoom, General Dynamics and jets
The wonders of private aviation. Despite a 60 per cent in the price of oil over the past year and a somewhat less than ideal economic climate, demand for business jets and related services shows no sign of abating.
News Corp’s TV ad revenues slide
Strong film studio results helped News Corp report a 27% jump in fiscal Q4 earnings, but its TV division suffered the same advertising slowdown now hitting other media companies. The television group, which includes Fox’s broadcast network and its collection of local stations,
SVG in £220m fundraising plan
SVG Capital has announced plans to raise £220m from selling a convertible bond and some of its portfolio assets in anticipation of a slowdown in activity at its main investment, Permira, the buy-out firm.
Buy-out groups close in on M&B
Buy-out groups CVC and Blackstone have submitted a joint proposal to acquire 29.9% of Mitchells & Butlers, the troubled UK pub group whose shares have tumbled after a property deal backfired, reports The Times.
Permira plans US west coast office
Permira, the UK-based private equity group, will open a US west coast office this year to focus on technology buy-outs, shrugging off fears that the world’s biggest economy is on the brink of recession.
Cash injection for UK’s Gala Coral
The private equity backers of UK betting operator Gala Coral are ploughing £125m into the company in return for a relaxation of its covenants, because of investor concerns that the company was heading for default.
Buy-out groups ‘face off’ in Korea
Bain Capital, Permira and a fund backed by Citigroup are among preliminary bidders for TheFaceShop, a South Korean cosmetics maker being sold by buyout firm Affinity Equity Partners, reports Bloomberg.
Arysta and Permira give Japan some LBO action
We know Japan is coming from a very low base as far as the appetite for leveraged finance goes. But it’s worth noting the completion on Thursday of one of Japan’s biggest LBOs: the Y250bn ($2.4bn) sale of Japan’s Arysta LifeScience,
UK’s Buffini to take Permira chair
Damon Buffini, regarded as the public face of UK private equity, is to move away from day-to-day management of Permira, one of Europe’s biggest private equity firms, to become chairman. The move, to be announced Tuesday,