Wealth management company National Financial Partners said it agreed to be bought by private equity investment firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC for about $1.3 billion, including debt, Reuters reported. Madison Dearborn will pay $25.35 for each National Financial share, a premium of about 8 percent to the stock's Friday close. National Financial shares were up about 6 percent before the bell on Monday.
1 min read · 15 April 2013
U.S. cable firm Liberty Global won unconditional EU regulatory approval on Monday for its $15.8 billion takeover of Virgin Media, a deal that pits the group against Rupert Murdoch's British satellite TV operation BSkyB, Reuters reported. The European Commission said it did not have any competition concerns regarding the takeover, confirming a Reuters report last week.
1 min read · 15 April 2013
Swiss company Alpiq has asked for improved offers for two Czech power plants after bids were well below its expectations, Czech newspaper Hospodarske Noviny reported on Monday. The newspaper cited a partner in one bidding group, Petr Paukner, as saying that bids for the two plants together came in well below 400 million euros ($523.90 million).
1 min read · 15 April 2013
A private equity fund sponsored by French luxury brand LVMH Group has snapped up just under half of Australia's R.M. Williams in deal aimed at helping the bushwear firm expand further overseas, Reuters wrote. The sale of the 49.9 percent holding was valued at around A$52 million ($55 million), said a source close to the deal who was not authorised to speak on the record. Singapore-based L Capital Asia, which is also backed by Groupe Arnault, the holding company of LVMH chairman and chief executive Bernard Arnault, and Malaysia's YTL Corp, specialises in developing distinctive but affordable brands in the Asia-Pacific region.
2 min read · 15 April 2013
U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC has bought a minority stake in Indian engineering equipment maker Avtec Ltd, but the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Reuters reported. The investment will provide an exit to British investor Actis and will be utilised to fund future growth of the company, Avtec said in a statement. In 2005, Actis invested $17.8 million to buy a 30 percent stake in the company, promoted by diversified C.K. Birla Group.
1 min read · 15 April 2013
Thermo Fisher Scientific is nearing a deal to buy genetic testing equipment maker Life Technologies for close to $13 billion, writes Reuters. Life Technologies' board chose Thermo Fisher over Sigma-Aldrich Corp, a maker of chemicals for research laboratories, and a private equity consortium consisting of Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, KKR and Temasek Holdings, writes Reuters.
4 min read · 15 April 2013
A private equity fund sponsored by French luxury brand LVMH Group has snapped up just under half of Australia's R.M. Williams, writes Reuters. The sale of the 49.9 percent holding was valued at around A$52 million ($55 million), writes Reuters.
1 min read · 15 April 2013
CVC Capital Partners is in talks about making a takeover offer for the British online gambling firm Betfair, writes Reuters. CVC said it had held preliminary discussions with investors Richard Koch, Antony Ball and other partners about Betfair, which could include an offer for the firm by funds advised by CVC together with the two men and partners.
2 min read · 15 April 2013
(Reuters) - Shares of Evertec Inc. rose as much as 10 percent in their market debut, valuing the payment processor at $1.75 billion. Apollo Global Management LLC, which acquired it from Puerto Rican lender Popular Inc. in September 2010, held a 51 percent stake in the company prior to the IPO.
2 min read · 12 April 2013
Business technology maker BMC Software Inc is expected to receive final takeover bids on April 22, with potential buyers pared down to two private equity groups, sources tell Reuters.
2 min read · 12 April 2013
