A collapse of private equity investment this year seems increasingly emblematic of France's deep-seated economic problems and how hard it may prove to change a vicious cycle of poor growth and weakened companies, writes Reuters. Deals in a sector that is often essential to fuel the expansion of small and medium-sized businesses have slowed to a trickle and sector players say there is little prospect of a pickup anytime soon, writes Reuters.
4 min read · 30 April 2013
U.S.-Israeli company SundaySky expects its sales to triple annually as companies increasingly use personalised videos to win over new customers and retain existing ones, writes Reuters. Founded in 2007 in Israel, SundaySky is headquartered in New York and has raised over $17 million from Carmel Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Globespan Capital.
2 min read · 30 April 2013
U.S. retailer Best Buy Co Inc is selling its 50 percent stake in a joint venture with Europe'sindependent mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse Group back to its European partner for about 500 million pounds (or $775 million), writes Reuters. Best Buy bought 50 percent of Carphone's retail operations for about $2.1 billion in 2008 to tap the British firm's expertise in mobile phones and to act as a springboard for expansion across Europe, writes Reuters.
3 min read · 30 April 2013
Belgium has pared back its public debt with the sale of the structured credit portfolio held by its 'bad bank, Royal Park Investments, to U.S. private equity firm Lone Star and Credit Suisse, writes Reuters. Finance minister Koen Geens said in March that Belgium needed to find a further 1 billion euros ($1.30 billion) from asset sales to ensure that national debt did not rise above GDP, writes Reuters.
2 min read · 29 April 2013
Private equity firm PAI Partners plans to finance its acquisition of R&R Ice Cream from Oaktree with a 253 million euros ($331.2 million) five-year Payment-In-Kind Toggle note, according to Thomson Reuters' publication IFR.
1 min read · 29 April 2013
Private equity firm KKR has agreed to give Spain's Uralita a 320 million euro ($417 million), seven-year loan, the Spanish firm said in a regulatory filing, writes Reuters. Uralita, a construction materials manufacturer, said the agreement would allow it to repay its bank creditors and bondholders while providing more time and funds to develop its future plans.
1 min read · 29 April 2013
Virtus Health, an in-vitro fertilization business backed by Australian buyout firm Quadrant Private Equity, launched an up to $300 million initial public offering, writes Reuters. The offering for Virtus Health, the largest IVF group in the Asia-Pacific region, is for 51.3 million to 53.7 million shares in an indicative range of A$4.92-5.68, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication.
1 min read · 29 April 2013
Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp is in advanced talks to buy a $1.3 billion stake in BTPN, an Indonesian lender backed by TPG Capital, writes Reuters. In 2008, TPG Capital Management acquired a 71.6 percent stake in the Indonesian pensioners' savings bank, named Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk PT, for $195 million.
4 min read · 29 April 2013
Private equity firms Cinven and Warburg Pincus and co-investors completed their exit from Dutch cable firm Ziggo on Friday in a placement of their remaining holdings for about 875 million euros ($1.14 billion).
2 min read · 26 April 2013
Private equity firm KKR & Co LP posted a 10.9 percent quarterly decline in earnings on Thursday due to a slower appreciation of its funds and said it will share 40 percent of profits from its own investments with shareholders.
3 min read · 25 April 2013
