New Zealand’s Rank Group will pay $1.68 billion, or $25.50 per share, for Graham Packaging Co., Reuters reported. Rank Group won the race for the company against Silgan Holdings by raising its bid from $25 per share. Silgan did not counter bid.
1 min read · 17 June 2011
Blackstone Group and Affinity Equity Partners are among those mulling a 50% stake in Australian meat products specialist Primo Smallgoods, Reuters reported Friday. The company has been valued at to $950 million. Affinity is reportedly working with as many as 12 banks on a financing package for its bid.
2 min read · 17 June 2011
Blackstone is in exclusive talks to German outdoor brand Jack Wolfskin, Reuters reported. Quadriga Capital and Barclays Private Equity currently own Jack Wolfskin, and the two firms said in a statement that they aimed to complete negotiations in the third quarter of 2011.
1 min read · 17 June 2011
Buyout shops Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners have teamed up to bid on club retailer BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., Reuters reported. Leonard Green, which owns a 9.3% stake in BJ’s, and CVC plan to form a new entity to acquire BJ's shares, Reuters said.
1 min read · 17 June 2011
Buyout shop Vector Capital has completed its $138 million acquisition of RAE Systems Inc., the firm announced Thursday. In connection with the transaction, Vector partnered with CITIC Capital Partners, a China-based private equity firm. RAE Systems, formed in 1991, makes instruments to detect gas and hazardous materials. Silicon Valley Bank provided financing for the deal.
2 min read · 16 June 2011
Vacation rental website HomeAway Inc. will price its initial public offering between $24 and $27, the company said Thursday. Austin, Texas-based Homeaway has raised more than $500 million from a slew of top-tier venture firms, including Austin Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners and Google Ventures. The company operates websites including VRBO and Holiday-Rentals.
1 min read · 16 June 2011
New York-based Avista Capital Partners has bought Anthony International, a manufacturer of glass doors for commercial refrigerators, from Los Angeles-based buyout shop Aurora Capital Group. Terms of the deal were not released. Aurora acquired Anthony in 2004. Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher acted as legal advisor to Aurora Capital. Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted as legal advisor to Avista Capital. Anthony International was formed in 1958 and is based in Sylmar, Calif.
4 min read · 16 June 2011
Samsonite International dropped 7.7% Thursday in its trading debut, making the luggage maker the latest in a string of weak Hong Kong IPOs, Reuters reported. The company and shareholders, including private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Royal Bank of Scotland Group, sold 671.2 million shares to raise HK$9.73 billion ($1.25 billion), Reuters reported.
4 min read · 16 June 2011
Buyout shops Unitas and Pacific Equity Partners are looking to sell a stake in New Zealand beverages group Independent Liquor, Reuters reported Thursday. PEP and Unitas bought Independent Liquor in 2006 for more than $1 billion, and have now hired UBS to find strategic partners to sell their stakes in the business, Reuters wrote.
2 min read · 16 June 2011
Zenprise, a maker of mobile device management software, has added Steve Valenzuela as chief financial officer; Todd Terbeek as vice president of business development; and Howard Greenfield as vice president of worldwide sales. Valenzuela was previously CFO at Rainmaker Systems, a publicly traded software-as-a-service company. Terbeek was previously vice president of sales and marketing at Lockdown Networks. Prior to Zenprise, Greenfield served as vice president of sales for Wanova, a provider of desktop virtualization solutions. With the latest news, Zenprise also said it had relocated to Redwood City, Calif. Zenprise is backed by investors including Rembrandt Venture Partners, Ignition Partners, Bay Partners, Mayfield and Shasta Ventures.
4 min read · 16 June 2011
