Private Equity
Shares in luxury automaker Aston Martin (AML.L) fell as much as 6.5 percent on their market debut in London on Wednesday as investors and analysts raised concerns over its ability to deliver an ambitious roll-out of new models, Reuters reported.
3 min read · 03 October 2018
Thomson Reuters Corp has completed the sale of a majority stake in its Financial & Risk (F&R) unit to U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group LP, Reuters reported. The news and information provider agreed in January to sell a 55-percent stake in the business, which provides data and news primarily to financial customers, in a deal which values the total F&R business, now called Refinitiv, at about US$20 billion. It gives Thomson Reuters, controlled by Canada’s Thomson family, an ally as it seeks to reinvigorate a business facing challenges from a shrinking and budget-conscious customer base. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and GIC invested in the deal alongside Blackstone.
2 min read · 01 October 2018
Slack Technologies Inc, a provider of chat services for businesses, is preparing for an initial public offering in the first half of 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the company’s plans.
1 min read · 28 September 2018
SIG Combibloc priced its initial public offering at 11.25 Swiss francs per share in a deal that raises 1.49 billion francs (US$1.53 billion) before an overallotment option and values the Swiss packaging maker at around 3.6 billion francs, it said before its market debut on Friday. As well as new shares being issued to reduce debt, Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp, majority owner of the drinks packaging company since 2015, and SIG management are also selling some of their existing holdings. The offer price, which Reuters had reported on Thursday, was towards the lower end of the 11 to 12 franc price range the company had flagged this week.
2 min read · 28 September 2018
Canadian food retailer Empire Co Ltd has agreed to acquire privately held grocer Farm Boy Inc for an enterprise value of $800 million to increase its presence in Ontario, Reuters reported. Ottawa-based Farm Boy, which specializes in “farm-to-table” wholesale, will be acquired from Berkshire Partners, following which it will be set up as a separate company within Empire’s structure. “It will be a growth vehicle in urban and suburban markets,” Empire CEO Michael Medline said, adding that he expected Ebitda to double in five years. Berkshire, a Boston private equity firm, invested in Farm Boy in 2012.
1 min read · 24 September 2018
Distressed investor Marble Ridge Capital LP said in a letter to Neiman Marcus Group Ltd LLC that the U.S. luxury department store company may be in default on its debt after it moved its Mytheresa business into an entity belonging to the retailer’s private equity owners, Reuters reported. Buyout firm Ares Management LP and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) acquired Neiman Marcus for US$6 billion in 2013, saddling the retailer with about US$4.7 billion in debt. Neiman Marcus said this week it moved the Mytheresa online business to an entity owned by Ares and CPPIB.
2 min read · 21 September 2018
Cannabis investor Canopy Rivers, the venture arm of industry giant Canopy Growth Corp went public this week in a debut that gave it a market capitalization of about $1.6 billion, more than double its valuation prior to the listing, Reuters reported. Canopy Rivers has made about a dozen Canadian and international investments, which include licensed producers, pharmaceutical formulators and retail networks. “It’s Canopy Growth’s proxy for Google Ventures,” Bruce Linton, CEO of both the companies, said. Canopy Rivers is currently looking at investments in Europe and South America, he added.
2 min read · 21 September 2018
Privately owned investment firm JAB Holding Co, best known for stirring up the coffee industry with a string of deals, sees huge opportunities for acquisitions in the market for non-alcoholic beverages, one of its senior partners said in an interview with Germany’s Manager Magazin published on Thursday.
2 min read · 20 September 2018
German start-up investor Rocket Internet (RKET.DE) is preparing its African online shopping platform Jumia for a possible New York listing in the first quarter of 2019 which could value the firm at about $1 billion, sources told Reuters.
2 min read · 20 September 2018
Hillhouse Capital, an investor in top Chinese technology firms including Tencent (0700.HK) and Baidu (BIDU.O), has closed its latest funding round at $10.6 billion, it said, making it the region’s biggest private equity capital raising, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 19 September 2018
