Japanese information technology provider NEC Corp is looking at buying British software company Civica for 900 million pounds (US$1.2 billion) and has hired advisors to work on an offer, Reuters reported, citing a Sky News story. An auction for Civica, one of the United Kingdom's biggest public sector software providers, began several weeks ago and has drawn initial offers from three private equity firms: London-based BC Partners, Boston-based Berkshire Partners and the Swiss-based Partners Group, Sky News said. OMERS Private Equity (OPE) acquired Civica from 3i Group in 2013 for 390 million pounds (US$606 million). Reuters reported in May that OPE hired Goldman Sachs to assist with selling the company.
2 min read · 14 July 2017
Private equity funds have increased their total of assets under management in emerging markets funds to more than $500 billion, a survey of private capital found, a sign the sector could begin to catch up with other regions if the trend continues, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 13 July 2017
The U.S. Senate confirmed private equity executive William Hagerty on Thursday as President Donald Trump's ambassador to Japan, filling a post considered especially crucial in light of neighboring North Korea's recent missile tests, Reuters reported.
1 min read · 13 July 2017
Canada's Brookfield Asset Management has signed an exclusivity agreement to acquire power transmission lines owned by Brazil's J&F Investimentos SA, which is selling off assets to pay a record corruption-related fine, sources told Reuters. Brookfield is offering up to 1 billion reais (US$311 million) for the majority stake that J&F's electricity unit Ambar Energia Ltda has in an 880 kilometre-long grid of transmission lines, one source said. J&F is accelerating the pace of talks to sell assets as creditors pressure leading shareholders to renegotiate more than 30 billion reais their companies amassed in recent years.
1 min read · 13 July 2017
The reluctance of Renova Energia SA's largest shareholder to give up management of the debt-laden Brazilian renewable power company threatens to derail takeover talks with Brookfield Asset Management Inc, sources told Reuters. Power utility Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA wants to be part of a Brookfield-led turnaround of Renova. The utility known as Cemig owns 34.2 percent of Renova. That stance could sink Brookfield's proposed 1.6 billion-real (US$499 million) cash offer for control. Cemig plans to first sound out interest from distressed debt giant Oaktree Capital Management LP and two other unidentified funds in Renova, the sources said.
2 min read · 13 July 2017
Janitorial services provider ABM Industries Inc said it would buy privately held rival GCA Services Group for about $1.25 billion, more than tripling revenue at its high-margin business that provides services to schools and colleges.
2 min read · 13 July 2017
Bahrain-based asset manager Investcorp has agreed to sell Esmalglass, a supplier of intermediate products for the ceramic industry, to U.S. buyout firm Lone Star Fund X for an enterprise value of 605 million euros ($693 million), Reuters reported.
1 min read · 13 July 2017
Uber and Yandex, the "Google of Russia," have agreed to combine their Russian ride-sharing businesses, with Yandex becoming the leading partner in a deal that extends to five neighboring markets, Reuters reported.
3 min read · 13 July 2017
Buyout firm KKR & Co LLP (KKR.N) is in advanced talks to buy Envision Healthcare Corp's (EVHC.N) ambulance business and merge it with Air Medical Group, a medical helicopter operator it acquired two years ago, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 13 July 2017
Not all founders of tech companies have been coding since they could clutch a sippy-cup. Ryan Holmes, the 42-year-old founder and CEO of the Canadian social-media management platform Hootsuite, had an off-the-grid upbringing that saw him tending to animals instead of web pages. For the latest in Reuters' "Life Lessons" series, Holmes spoke about how he transitioned from farm boy to running a company that is said to be at or near "unicorn"-level valuation of more than US$1 billion.
4 min read · 12 July 2017
