Buyout giant the Blackstone Group is teaming up with Callaway Golf Co. for a possible bid for Fortune Brands' golf business, Reuters reported. The deal could reach as high as $1 billion, Reuters said. Final bids for the auction are due May 9.
2 min read · 29 April 2011
7-Eleven, the home of the Big Gulp, has paid an undisclosed amount for Buffalo, N.Y.-based convenience store chain Wilson Farms. 7-Eleven is buying the chain from the WFI Group, which is led by buyout firm Bruckmann Rosser Sherrill & Co., and the Nanula Family, which together have managed the stores since 2005. No terms of the deal were released. 7-Eleven is based in Dallas.
3 min read · 29 April 2011
Sanoma Corp. has sold its movie operations to Swedish private equity firm Ratos in a deal valued at 116 million euro ($172.4 million). This is the second recent deal announced by the media company. Sanoma also said it would sell its Finnish literature business to Swedish media group Bonnier, while buying educational publishers Tammi Learning and Bonnier Utbildning from the same company.
1 min read · 29 April 2011
Getty Images will buy image-tracking and copyright protection start-up PicScout. Getty will pay a reported $20 million for PicScout, though specific terms of the deal were not released. Getty has been a major client for the Israel-based start-up. PicScout was formed in 2002.
2 min read · 29 April 2011
BDT Capital Partners and former Murphy Oil Chief Claiborne Deming have invested $110 million in Houston-based energy investment and merchant banking firm Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. The investment consists of the purchase of debentures, a portion of which is convertible into a minority equity stake, the Houston-based company said in a written release. The company will use the infusion to help fuel growth.
3 min read · 29 April 2011
Mid-market private equity firm Symphony Technology Group will pay $165 million to buy Shopzilla Inc. from Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. The deal includes $150 million in immediate cash, and $15 million in deferred payments. Shopzilla is a consumer lead generation platform focused in online retail. The company owns and operates a portfolio of online consumer shopping properties in comparison shopping, product discovery and social shopping.
5 min read · 29 April 2011
Private equity shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is in talks to buy Singapore-listed abalone farmer Oceanus Group Ltd. in a deal that could reach $500 million, Reuters reported. According to Reuters, KKR has lined up as much as $400 million in financing from a group of banks.
1 min read · 29 April 2011
Buyout shop the Blackstone Group has paid $160 million to buy the top floors of the Times Square Building from Africa Israel USA, a unit of Africa Israel Investments, Reuters reported. The deal is for 32,000-square-meters in the building that was once home to the New York Times.
1 min read · 29 April 2011
Chrysler Group LLC plans to repay more than $7 billion in government loans originating from its 2009 bailout, Reuters reported. Chrysler plans to raise $6 billion in term loans and bonds to repay money owed to the U.S. and Canadian governments. The company will also funnel $1.27 billion in cash from Fiat to pay down the remaining debt, Reuters wrote. In addition, Chrysler will raise a $1.5 billion revolving credit facility for general business purposes, Reuters wrote.
4 min read · 28 April 2011
General Electric and unnamed private equity firms are among the bidders for Swiss-based smart metering company Landis+Gyr in an auction that could fetch as much as $2 billion, Reuters reported. The auction has advanced to a second round, Reuters reported. Landis+Gyr makes "smart" meters used for measuring power and other energy uses, and has hired Credit Suisse and Lazard Ltd. to advise on a potential sale.
2 min read · 28 April 2011
