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’The junk rally and buyout bailouts, updated
Bloomberg Businessweek has an update on the latest refinancing efforts of Energy Future, previously called TXU and once known as The Biggest Leveraged Buyout of All Time.
Bought for $43bn by private equity groups KKR and TPG in 2007,
SEC accuses ex-Lazard, TPG employees of insider trading
Insider trading – it’s the new black.
The SEC on Wednesday accused a former vice president and investment banker at Lazard Freres and a former associate at private equity firm TPG Capital of “serial insider trading”.
Buffett bets $2.1bn on utility sector
Warren Buffett has rediscovered his appetite for junk bonds, buying $2.1bn in debt issued by the Texas utility TXU in a move that suggests value-seeking investors are prepared to step back into the troubled credit markets.
Money so fast IT SHOUTS: mega LBOs back in action
The stockmarket has been “sassy” lately – up down, shake it all around – CNBC FAST MONEY (money so fast, it SHOUTS) tells us all about it. More importantly though, the largest ever LBO – KKR’s bid for energy giant TXU – is moving to completion,
Talks to start on TXU $45bn financing
Negotiations over the terms of the financing package for the $45bn buy-out of TXU, the Texas-based energy group, are set to begin after the purchase by US private equity groups KKR and TPG received final regulatory approval earlier than expected.
Walk talk at TXU draws a sceptical response
Buyout groups KKR and TPG are being pressed to abandon their $45bn acquisition of US energy group TXU by the banks charged with syndicating $37bn to finance the deal, according to The Times.
Indeed,
Key investor changes tack on TXU deal
The $45bn buy-out of TXU, the Texas-based energy group, came a step closer to winning shareholder approval on Thursday after Franklin Resources, a large investor, reversed its stance and said it would support the deal.
The buy-out boom is not dead, it’s just metamorphosising…
Is the buy-out boom officially dead? Among those positing some informed theories are William Cohan, former investment banker and author of the widely acclaimed “The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Freres & Co”,
KKR and TPG face TXU investor battle
KKR and TPG Capital, the US private equity groups, are facing a battle to secure shareholder approval for their $45bn buy-out of TXU after one of the Texas-based energy group’s largest investors said it opposed the deal.
Goldman, JPMorgan stuck with debt they can’t sell
As concerns grow about waning investor appetite for buyout-related debt, Bloomberg reports on Tuesday that Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and the rest of Wall Street are stuck with at least $11bn of loans and bonds they can’t readily sell.
Credit Suisse banker charged in fraud case
The FBI arrested a Credit Suisse investment banker on Thursday and charged him with securities fraud for allegedly tipping an accomplice in Pakistan to nine transactions the bank was working on, including a leveraged buy-out of TXU and Babcock & Brown’s acquisition of Northwestern Energy.
The root of private equity’s image problem
While the high-flyers of the buy-out industry are turning on a charm offensive, they still cannot control their impatience — and their tempers — in public, and therein lies the key to the private equity industry’s growing image problem,
With no other takers, TXU submits to buy-out groups
TXU Corp has paved the way for the largest-ever leveraged buyout, saying on Wednesday it would proceed with the proposal from private equity groups KKR and TPG after failing to attract a superior offer,
TXU, Blackstone takeover talks fall apart
Takeover talks between TXU and a buy-out team led by Blackstone have fallen apart, dashing hopes that a bidding war would erupt over the largest private equity deal yet planned. Since late February, the Texas power company has been searching for bidders willing to pay more than the $45bn,
KKR in advanced talks on $26bn deal for First Data
KKR was on Sunday night in advanced talks to acquire First Data, the US-based credit card processing group, for $34 per share, or about $26bn in cash, people familiar with the matter said. KKR is offering to pay First Data shareholders more than a 20 per cent premium over the company’s closing share price of $26.90 on Friday.
Global M&A hits record level in Q1 but boom could be peaking
The volume of global M&A deals reached a record $1,130bn in the first quarter of this year, 14 per cent over the same period last year, according to Dealogic. In a boom driven by buy-out fever, ambitious chief executives and cheap financing,
Rival looms in $45bn TXU bid
A consortium of leading private equity groups has moved much closer to mounting a rival offer to trump the $45bn takeover of TXU, the Texas-based energy group, by private equity groups KKR and TPG. If this consortium tables a formal offer for TXU,
SEC files insider trading suit in TXU buyout; traders’ assets frozen
In the second major insider trading case in as many days, a federal judge on Friday granted an emergency order to freeze as much as $5.4m in investor assets for apparent illegal insider trading ahead of TXU’s buyout announcement,
Credit Suisse offers to fund rival TXU bid
Credit Suisse is offering a debt package worth $40.2bn to fund a competing offer for TXU, which this week agreed to be bought by KKR and Texas Pacific in the largest leveraged buy-out deal. The Swiss bank’s willingness to arrange the massive financing will eliminate a key financial obstacle to several private equity groups,
Texas acts on TXU bid
The first signs of political opposition to TXU’s $45bn buy-out by private equity firms emerged on Tuesday as state senators in Texas moved to force the buyers to gain local approval of the deal. In a 9-0 vote,
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,
SEC moves in on trading surge ahead of TXU deal
The SEC is to investigate suspicious trading activity in the run-up to the $45bn buy-out of TXU by KKR and Texas Pacific, reports the Times. The investigation, which will begin informally but could lead to a more structured inquiry,
Lunch Wrap – FT Alphaville’s midday roundup
FT Alphaville’s Lunch Wrap is a round up of the top news and views on FT Alphaville and FT.com as at noon, London time.
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- Permira’s German chief says hedge funds are serious rivals on bids
- TXU,
TXU backs record private equity deal
The board of TXU, one of America’s largest utilities, has accepted a $44.5bn takeover by KKR and Texas Pacific, in what would rank as the largest private equity deal on record, reports Bloomberg citing people familiar with the deal.