Three private equity firms are left in the running for Dutch trust and corporate management business Intertrust Group after Carlyle and Goldman Sachs Private Equity dropped out, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Blackstone, Cinven and Pamplona are preparing to submit second round bids on Nov. 7 for Intertrust, banking sources said. The firm is being sold in an auction process by private equity company Waterland.
2 min read · 01 November 2012
African phone tower group IHS plans to sell 25 percent stake in its telecom infrastructure business to European investment firm Wendel for $125 million to fund expansion, writes Reuters. IHS said the equity raised from Wendel will help balance its capital structure, fund the purchase of additional towers and make infrastructure improvements throughout Africa and the Middle East.
1 min read · 01 November 2012
ProSiebenSat.1 has attracted three offers worth more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for its Nordic TV channels, which may help to reduce the group's debt, writes Reuters. The bidders are private equity firms Nordic Capital and Providence Equity Partners as well as cable network Discovery Communications.
2 min read · 01 November 2012
Best Busy Co canceled an analyst meeting it had planned to hold in New York this week as the city tries to recover from storm Sandy, postponing chief executive Hubert Joly's opportunity to tell investors how he plans to turn the company around, writes Reuters. No new date has been set for the meeting, which had been scheduled for Thursday.
2 min read · 31 October 2012
PayPal is cutting about 325 jobs as part of a major reorganization by its new president, David Marcus, designed to regain an innovative edge and head off rising competition, Reuters reported Tuesday. PayPal, the online payment pioneer owned by eBay Inc., said on Monday the full-time jobs would be eliminated as it combines nine product-development groups into one. The company is also cutting about 120 contractors.
5 min read · 30 October 2012
Private equity fund Advent International has secured a 98-percent stake in Polish retailer EKO Holding, ending a month-long bidding war with rival fund Mid Europa Partners, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Advent sweetened its bid three times to fend off Mid Europa and its final offer valued the company at 340 million zlotys ($106 million). The private equity firm now wants to squeeze out the remaining shareholders to delist EKO, Advent said.
1 min read · 30 October 2012
U.S. buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management LP is working with a group of real estate firms on a possible bid for supermarket chain Supervalu Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Supervalu is considering a sale after losing customers to competitors like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kroger Co., which has caused the company to close stores and cut costs. The chain is struggling with $6 billion in long term debt and pension liabilities.
2 min read · 30 October 2012
Carlyle Group LP said it will buy a Japanese unit of U.S. food packaging company Sealed Air Corp. at an undisclosed price, in the private equity firm's second Japanese acquisition in a month. Carlyle has agreed to acquire Diversey Japan, a major provider of cleaning, sanitation and hygiene products and services, from Sealed Air, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
1 min read · 30 October 2012
Ron Conway's success with a payroll tax initiative demonstrates a profound transformation playing out in San Francisco's business corridors and its halls of power. As startups blossom, attracting a wave of entrepreneurs and investment dollars, the tech industry is wielding newfound clout in local politics.
7 min read · 29 October 2012
Cerveceria Costa Rica struck a deal to buy privately held North American Breweries, which sells Genesee and Labatt beer in the United States, for $388 million in cash. KPS Capital Partners, the private equity firm that owns North American Breweries, said in a statement on Friday that it expected the deal to close in the fourth quarter. KPS earned a return of more than 9 times invested capital on the sale, according to a source familiar with the matter. Cerveceria Costa Rica is a unit of Florida Ice and Farm Co S.A.
2 min read · 29 October 2012
