Private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and BC Partners are readying a bid for France's Elior that values the catering company at 3.5 billion euros ($4.67 billion) including debt, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The bid would be for all of Elior and not just the catering unit owner Charterhouse Capital Partners had initially planned to sell, the financial daily said on its website citing people with knowledge of the matter. Charterhouse and its advisers want to take the time to persuade other bidders to come forth and make an offer before launching a formal auction, the Financial Times said.
2 min read · 20 February 2013
The investment committee of Calpers, the biggest U.S. pension fund, voted on Tuesday to divest its holding in two manufacturers of guns and high-capacity ammunition clips banned in California.
2 min read · 19 February 2013
The Philippine unit of Macau casino company Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. said on Tuesday it plans to sell up to 1 billion shares as it prepares to develop a $1 billion casino-resort project with local partner Belle Corp., Reuters wrote. Shareholders of Manchester International Holdings Unlimited Corp., which will be renamed Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp, approved the equity offering on Tuesday, but terms and conditions and the timing of the offer have yet to be set, the company said in a filing to the stock exchange.
2 min read · 19 February 2013
Vodafone's interest in Germany's biggest cable company Kabel Deutschland could foreshadow more fixed network acquisitions, notably in Spain, as it tries to keep up with tightening competition in Europe, Reuters reported. The reason: Vodafone is facing a squeeze between low-cost mobile challengers and telecom and cable rivals increasingly pushing discounted, all-included mobile and fixed bundles to keep customers. It paid $2.2 billion last year for Cable and Wireless Worldwide in Britain and Telstra in New Zealand and also looked at buying Kabel Deutschland before it went public in 2010.
5 min read · 19 February 2013
Standard Chartered's private equity arm is looking for more deals in Zimbabwe, writes Reuters. The British bank, whose private equity business has assets under management of about $4.5 billion, made an investment in Zimbabwean agri-business Ariston Holdings through one of its portfolio companies, Afrifresh Group, last year.
2 min read · 19 February 2013
Qatar Holding, a unit of the Gulf Arab state's sovereign wealth fund, will launch a new investment firm worth $12 billion to purchase assets globally, writes Reuters. Qatar Holding vice-chairman, Hussain al-Abdullah, who is also a board member of Qatar Investment Authority, said the company would be listed on the Doha stock exchange in six to eight weeks.
1 min read · 19 February 2013
Belgian chemicals firm Taminco is considering a US flotation after it abandoned plans to list in Brussels during the euro zone crisis, writes Reuters. The firm, which makes ingredients for crop protection products and animal feeds, has filed a provisional listing prospectus with the SEC, the US regulator.
1 min read · 19 February 2013
Blackstone Group, one of the world's most powerful hedge fund investors, is largely sticking with Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors but has negotiated more favorable liquidity terms, spokesman Peter Rose said in a statement. The news came on the day investors had to notify Cohen's $14 billion fund whether they were sticking with him or leaving as the firm faces heightened scrutiny in the government's insider trading investigation, Reuters wrote.
1 min read · 15 February 2013
Brazilian dairy producer Lacteos Brasil SA LBR, which is partly owned by private equity firm Laep Investment Ltd, filed for bankruptcy protection under Brazilian law late on Thursday, according to a securities filing. Laep has an indirect stake in LBR through investment holding company Monticiano SA. It had announced last month the sale of $10 million of shares to bolster its capital against potential losses in key investments, Reuters reported.
1 min read · 15 February 2013
Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. is exploring strategic options including a possible sale, Reuters reported this week. The company, which has a market capitalization of over $1.8 billion, is being advised by JP Morgan, said the sources, who declined to be named because the process is confidential. Large grocery chains like Kroger Co., Publix Super Markets Inc. and Koninklijke Ahold NV are likely to take a look at Harris Teeter, Reuters wrote.
2 min read · 14 February 2013
