Luggage maker Samsonite, which is backed by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, has moved closer to a $1.5 billion Hong Kong initial public offering, setting an indicative range for the deal, Reuters reported. Samsonite will offer 671 million shares in the IPO, with an indicative price range of HK$13.5 to HK$17.5 each, Reuters wrote. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc and Morgan Stanley are managing the offering.
3 min read · 31 May 2011
Buyout shop Permira and France's Axa have gotten the go-ahead from European regulators to buy travel website Opodo and merge it with other units to create one of Europe's largest online travel agencies, Reuters reported.
1 min read · 31 May 2011
India’s National Collateral Management Services Ltd will raise 1.01 billion rupees ($22.4million) by selling shares to six private equity investors, including India Agri Businness Fund and International Finance Corp., Reuters reported. The money will be used to set up new warehouses and fund growth, the company said.
1 min read · 31 May 2011
Omninet Capital announced Friday that it has acquired the Sahara Rainbow Center, a retail center in Las Vegas. Terms of the deal were not released. Omninet is focused on investments in real estate, middle-market private equity and late stage venture capital.
2 min read · 27 May 2011
3 min read · 27 May 2011
Hana Financial Group is in talks with U.S. private equity firm Lone Star to buy a smaller, 10% stake in Korea Exchange Bank, Reuters reported Friday. Hana agreed to buy Lone Star's 51% stake in KEB late last year, but the deal has been beset by regulatory and legal hold-ups, and disagreements over pricing. Buying a 10% or smaller stake would showing Hana's commitment to the deal and keep the parties at the negotiation table to give them time to save the deal, Reuters wrote.
3 min read · 27 May 2011
British foreign exchange company Travelex, which is owned by private equity firm Apax Partners, has acquired Brazilian peer Grupo Confidence, Reuters reported. The deal is part of Travelex’s strategy to expand into emerging markets. Terms of the deal were not released.
1 min read · 27 May 2011
BizCapital, the small business lending division of Advantage Capital Partners, provided $3.2 million in financing to Thiel Tool & Engineering, a woman-owned metal stamping manufacturer. The money will help Thiel Tool capital for growth over the next year. The company is based in St. Louis, Missouri. The federal New Markets Tax Credit program and the Missouri New Markets Development program are designed to enable job growth and retention in communities that historically have been underserved by traditional sources of investment capital. BizCapital’s investment was made in connection with these programs.
3 min read · 27 May 2011
British specialist insurer Pension Corp. is close to sealing a 500 million pound ($820 million) infusion of capital, most coming from a fund spun off from Swiss luxury goods group Richemont, Reuters reported. The company said Friday it was in exclusive negotiations with Luxemburg-listed Reinet Fund for a 400 million pound investment, Reuters wrote, adding that the remaining100 million pounds would come from existing and new investors. Pension Corp. counts Swiss Re and private equity group JC Flowers among its backers.
2 min read · 27 May 2011
Six months after snagging Time Out’s London business, Oakley Capital has acquired a majority stake in the publisher’s New York business, paying 14.2 million pounds ($23 million), Reuters reported. In November, Oakley Capital had bought a 50% stake in Time Out London, the official travel guide for the 2012 Olympics, for 11.3 million pounds, Reuters wrote. It now owns 65.7% of the New York business, and plans to expand the company’s reach to 50 cities.
2 min read · 27 May 2011
