Private equity firms Bridgepoint, Cinven, PAI Partners and Warburg Pincus had all joined the first round of bidding for AstraZeneca's dental implants and medical devices division Astra Tech, Reuters reported, citing a report by the Mail on Sunday newspaper. The firms are competing with U.S. orthopaedic devices maker Zimmer for the unit. The sale is expected to fetch about 1.3 billion pounds ($2.1 billion).
1 min read · 18 April 2011
Clayton Dubilier & Rice is leading a pack of potential bidders for RAC, the roadside rescue business being sold by British insurer Aviva, Reuters reported, citing an article in the Sunday Times. The buyout shop plans to run Aviva alongside BCA Europe, the European second-hand car dealer it bought last year, according to the Times. The Carlyle Group is also among potential bidders.
1 min read · 18 April 2011
Donut and coffee company Dunkin Brands, which is owned by which is owned by the Carlyle Group, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, has named bookrunners for its planned IPO, Reuters reported. Barclays, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were named as active bookrunners, and Bank of America and Goldman Sachs as passive bookrunners. The company plans its IPO for sometime this summer, Reuters said.
1 min read · 18 April 2011
Polyconcept North America, a division of promotional products supplier Polyconcept, said that it has acquired Canadian apparel company Trimark Sportswear Group. Trimark was backed by private equity firm Weston Presidio. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Trimark is based in Toronto. With offices in Boston and San Francisco, Weston Presidio focuses on middle-market investments.
4 min read · 15 April 2011
2 min read · 15 April 2011
German diesel engine maker Tognum said a 3.2 billion euro ($4.6 billion) offer by Daimler and Rolls-Royce was too low, and it would not recommend it to shareholders, Reuters reported. The 24 euro-per-share offer was less that the current trading price of Tognum stock. Daimler once owned all of Tognum but sold it to Swedish private equity group EQT for 1.6 billion euros in December 2005. It then bought back more than 20% in April 2008, Reuters wrote.
2 min read · 15 April 2011
U.S. solar start-up Suniva Inc., which is backed by a long line of brand-name investors including Warburg Pincus and New Enterprise Associates, has closed on $94.3 million of a proposed $115 million equity financing round, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
1 min read · 15 April 2011
A Morgan Stanley property fund failed to repay $3.3 billion in debt on a Tokyo property, which means that keys to a central Tokyo office building are now in the hands of buyout shop Blackstone Group and other investors, Reuters reported. The debt payments were due Friday, Reuters said, adding that this is the largest repayment failure of its kind in Japan.
2 min read · 15 April 2011
Centurion Private Equity, an affiliate of Roswell Capital Partners, has upped its equity investment in Saskatchewan-based Clean Power Concepts Inc. to $30 million. In March, Centurion announced that it had signed a non-binding term sheet to provide a $15 million equity funding facility to Clean Power Concepts. Intellivest Securities arranged the funding.
2 min read · 15 April 2011
Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd is in talks with a buyer for its cinema chain Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group, the firm’s founder Guy Hands said. The name of the potential buyer was not released. Reuters reported that the firm would want a minimum of $1.96 billion for the company.
1 min read · 15 April 2011
