Private Equity
Neiman Marcus Group Ltd, the U.S. luxury retailer facing a US$2.8 billion loan coming due in two years, has failed to reach an agreement with its noteholders and term lenders to restructure its debt, Reuters reported. The company said in a regulatory filing it was actively pursuing opportunities to improve its capital structure. If it was not able to ink a deal with creditors, its financial condition would be adversely affected, Neiman Marcus said. Neiman Marcus was acquired in 2013 by U.S. private equity firm Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for US$6 billion.
1 min read · 03 December 2018
Telecoms and cable group Altice Europe said its French unit had agreed to sell a 49.99 percent stake in its SFR FTTH fibre optic business to three investment funds for 1.8 billion euros (US$2.05 billion), Reuters reported. Allianz Capital Partners, AXA Investment Managers and OMERS Infrastructure were investing in the unit, Altice said, in a deal that valued the division as a whole at 3.6 billion euros. The consortium was led by OMERS Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). Earlier this month, Reuters reported several groups were bidding for the Altice France fibre network business, including one led by KKR.
2 min read · 30 November 2018
Depressed Canadian oil prices are forcing energy companies to use their shares as a currency to fund acquisitions, but investors have been hard to win over to the strategy, Reuters reported. Unusually large price discounts for crude, due to clogged pipelines, and faltering prices have made growth hard to realize. Some producers have reduced output and lower cash flow has left consolidation using stock as the main option. The Canadian oil patch has made 29 deals so far in the second half, worth US$9.5 billion, the busiest half-year period since the first half of 2017. Further deals may have to rely on shares and private equity, said Andy Mah, CEO of Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd.
3 min read · 29 November 2018
A consortium led by the biggest investor in Intu Properties has scrapped a 2.9 billion-pound bid for the shopping centre owner, Reuters reported. Peel Group, which is the investment vehicle of Intu’s deputy chairman and major investor John Whittaker, Canada's Brookfield Asset Management and Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group said that macroeconomic uncertainty and potential market volatility meant they could not submit an offer for the London-listed business within the timetable set by Britain’s Takeover Code. This is the second time in less than a year a takeover for Intu has collapsed, sending its shares to a record low.
2 min read · 29 November 2018
Buyout firm Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N) has teamed up with regional TV station owner Northwest Broadcasting in its bid to acquire another U.S. TV station owner, Tribune Media Co (TRCO.N), Reuters reported.
2 min read · 29 November 2018
strong>Sears Holdings Corp (SHLDQ.PK) Chairman Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund and Cyrus Capital Partners LP are preparing a potential takeover bid to keep the bankrupt retailer running, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
1 min read · 29 November 2018
Colombia’s government has teamed up with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and local pension funds to create a 3 trillion peso (US$926 million) private equity fund to invest in domestic infrastructure, Reuters reported. The fund will focus on energy, including renewable energy, transportation, water, basic sanitation, telecommunications and other infrastructure. The Caisse, one of Canada’s biggest public pension funds, will contribute 1.53 trillion pesos ($627 million) and the remainder will come from the state’s National Development Financer (FDN) and local pension funds Colfondos, Old Mutual, Porvenir and Proteccion.
1 min read · 27 November 2018
Emera Inc has agreed to sell three of its natural gas-fired power plants in New England to Carlyle Group for $780 million (US$590 million), as part of its efforts to cut debt, Reuters reported. This transaction is part of the three-year funding plan that the Canadian energy company introduced during its third-quarter earnings results, said Chief Executive Officer Scott Balfour. The three units, Bridgeport Energy, Tiverton Power and Rumford Power, will be sold to Cogentrix, an affiliate of Carlyle. Halifax-based Emera, which invests in energy generation and transmission, had a debt of $13.9 billion in 2017.
1 min read · 26 November 2018
Brazil’s XP Investimentos SA is considering an initial public offering (IPO) on the U.S.-based Nasdaq stock exchange, the financial services firm said on Monday.
1 min read · 26 November 2018
British shopping centre owner Intu Properties has again extended the deadline for a consortium led by Deputy Chairman John Whittaker to make a formal offer for the company, Reuters reported. The owner of Manchester’s Trafford Centre said that Whittaker’s Peel Group and its Saudi Arabian and Canadian partners now have until November 30 to make a firm offer or walk away from Intu. The consortium, which includes Brookfield Asset Management and Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group, made a preliminary offer in October.
1 min read · 22 November 2018
