Private Equity
Public listing preparations of state-run Saudi Aramco have stalled, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
1 min read · 05 July 2018
Canadian mergers-and-acquisitions activity edged lower in the first half of 2018, weighed by trade uncertainty, investment bankers and lawyers said, in contrast to a surge in global dealmaking, Reuters reported. Year-to-date deal volume slipped 2.3 percent to US$130.3 billion ($171 million) from US$133.3 billion in the same period last year, according to data released by Thomson Reuters this week. Factors weighing on market sentiment include fears of a trade war between the United States and other countries, as well as a lack of a resolution of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
2 min read · 05 July 2018
Hudson’s Bay Co has agreed to sell about half of its European business to Austria’s Signa Holding in a deal that will bring together two German department store chains, Reuters reported, citing media stories. A joint venture will be created consisting of Kaufhof, the German chain owned by Canada's Hudson’s Bay, and Karstadt, which is owned by Signa, one story said. The Wall Street Journal said Hudson’s Bay would receive 1.1 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) from Signa as part of the deal, while Signa will assume 750 million in debt.
1 min read · 04 July 2018
Enbridge Inc said this week it would sell its Canadian natural gas gathering and processing business to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP and its institutional partners for about $4.31 billion, as part of a move to recast itself as a pipeline utility, Reuters reported. The business includes 19 natural gas processing plants and liquids handling facilities and is spread across Montney, Peace River Arch, Horn River and Liard basins in British Columbia and Alberta. Calgary-based Enbridge has been under pressure to sell non-core assets and reduce its debt.
2 min read · 04 July 2018
CSC ServiceWorks Inc, one of the largest U.S. vendors of coin-operated laundry machines, is exploring a sale that could value the private equity-owned company in excess of US$3 billion, including debt, sources told Reuters. CSC’s owners, Pamplona Capital Management LLP and Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, have hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to run an auction for CSC, the sources said. Headquartered in Plainview, New York, CSC provides Coinmach laundry machines for apartment communities, co-ops, condos, military housing and public housing properties.
1 min read · 03 July 2018
Selldown of the jumbo US$13.5 billion financing backing Blackstone Group’s US$20 billion buy of a 55 percent stake in Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk unit is under way, sources told Reuters. A US$8 billion-equivalent Term Loan B is being shown to large institutional investors before an expected September launch, and a US$5.5 billion bridge loan to high-yield bond issues has also been launched. The US$13.5 billion financing, led by JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, is the largest buyout financing since the financial crisis.
4 min read · 29 June 2018
German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH is teaming with Canadian startup Mojio to get more vehicles connected wirelessly to a range of digital services, from insurance companies to emergency responders, Reuters reported. Bosch and Mojio aim to connect more vehicles to the internet and gather data to support services for consumers and manufacturers. The initial focus is on vehicle communication, diagnostics and crash detection and notification. Bosch is investing in Vancouver's Mojio as part of the startup’s Series B financing, which has so far raised more than $30 million.
2 min read · 27 June 2018
Blackstone Group has launched a US$5.5 billion bridge loan to support the pending bond issuance for its acquisition of a majority stake in Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk division (F&R), Reuters reported. The bridge loan is separate from a US$8 billion-equivalent term loan B portion of Blackstone’s US$13.5 billion loan and bond financing, which is also being shown to large institutional investors. The financing package supports Blackstone’s US$20 billion buy of a 55 percent stake in the Thomson Reuters unit.
2 min read · 26 June 2018
The US$8 billion-equivalent term loan B portion of the debt financing backing Blackstone Group’s US$20 billion acquisition of a 55 percent stake in Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk (F&R) unit is being shown to large institutional investors before an anticipated September launch, sources told Reuters. The US$13.5 billion financing, which includes loans and bonds, is being led by JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup and is the largest buyout financing since the financial crisis.
3 min read · 26 June 2018
Canada's Hudson’s Bay Co is in discussions with Austrian property and retail group Signa Holding GmbH about a joint venture for its German retail chain Kaufhof, sources told Reuters. The joint ventures calls for Signa’s department store operator Karstadt to acquire half of Kaufhof’s property company, and 51 percent of its operating company, with the option to buy the rest at a later date. Hudson’s Bay rejected Signa’s 3 billion euro bid (US$3.7 billion) for Kaufhof earlier in 2018.
2 min read · 25 June 2018
