Western Europe

Boots shares soar as bidding war erupts(2)

A Terra Firma-led consortium has made a £10.85 billion buyout offer for Alliance Boots, just hours after the UK chemist accepted a sweetened £10.6 billion bid from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The company’s share price soared as investors anticipated a bidding war.

3i mulls £375m Erinaceous bid(2)

UK-listed private equity group 3i has been linked with a £375 million bid for Erinaceous Group, a scandal-hit property business.

VSS buys US cinema group(2)

US media and communications specialist Veronis Suhler Stevenson has bought Amstar Entertainment for its platform company Southern Theatres as the group focuses on multiple acquisitions to build value.

KKR spends another $660 million in Singapore(2)

The shareholders of Singaporean engineering company MMI have accepted a take-private bid from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The S$1.65 per share offer values the company at about $660 million.

Dolphin makes splash in Cyprus(2)

Dolphin Capital Investors, the Fortress-backed private equity firm that focuses on Southeast Europe, is acquiring Aristo Developments for a total of €438m.

Advent buys French discount chain(2)

Advent International has snapped up Stokomani, a French discount retailer, from the Alpha Group.

Bridgepoint cleared for landing at Leeds-Bradford(2)

Buyout firm Bridgepoint Capital has emerged as the preferred bidder for UK-based Leeds Bradford Airport. Its offer, which according to reports is worth about £130 million, has trumped that of four other bidders.

Sainsbury’s shares slide as consortium disintegrates(2)

Shares in Sainsbury’s, a UK retail chain at the centre of a controversial £10 billion private equity bid, slid this morning as two more of the buyout firms involved reportedly pulled out of the deal. The news followed continuing opposition from pension fund trustees and minority shareholders.

Blackstone cedes La Tasca to Tchenguiz(2)

The Blackstone Group has admitted defeat in its attempt to buy La Tasca, a UK tapas chain, after property investor Robert Tchenguiz bought up a blocking stake and trumped its bid for a second time.

ICAP sells Exotix shares to IPGL(2)

ICAP, the world’s largest inter-dealer broker, has sold 58 percent of its stake in the emerging markets broker Exotix to investment group IPGL and the company’s employees.