Acquisitions Monthly articles from April 2002

Acquisitions Monthly archives from April 2002

Private equity performance reflects economic slowdown; aggregate figures point to a falling market as EVCA and BVCA try to find an acceptable standard. (Insight).(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The relative performance of private equity funds has always been notoriously difficult to gauge. A lack of a clear industry standard has tended to mean that results could be distorted by the often archaic valuation procedures of individual fund...

Synopses of the largest global deals in March 2002. (Market intelligence).(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... UK -- German utility RWE agreed to acquire electric and gas utility Innogy Holdings through a recommended tender offer valued at 5.2bn [pounds sterling] (US$7.4bn), including debt assumed. RWE will offer 2.75 [pounds sterling] (US$3.92) in cash...

Private equity legal changes afoot: "in terms of private equity deals, what changes have, and are being, made to the European legislative climate and what progress has been made towards a level playing field across the EU states?" (Viewpoints).(Industry Overview)
April 1, 2002... "There are definite signs that the private equity market in Europe is moving towards the UK/US financing model. UK/US houses moving into Europe seem intent that their deals should be structured, both in terms of debt and equity, as nearly as...

Shaken, but not stirred: in the last three months of 2001, the private company price index fell marginally to a P/E multiple of 12.1 from 12.6 in the previous quarter. (PCPI focus).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Quoted company multiples, as measured by the FT Non-Financials Index, also declined, to 20.5 from a peak of 31.5 in early 2000. The last quarter of 2001 was a challenging period. The final collapse of the TMT bubble, combined with slowing...

No boom in sight: investment banks could face further consolidation as they fight for a piece of the limited action. (First quarter review).(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... A tough first quarter has dampened hopes of a strong recovery in the M&A market this year and instead there has been fee-cutting, speculation about further consolidation among investment banks, and job cuts. March brought some relief in...

Hawkpoint exploits stability. (People moves).(firm appoints Ben Mingay)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Hawkpoint, the UK-based corporate finance firm, is intent on proving that the middle market is rather more stable than the volatile higher end. It has hired two former bulge-bracket coverage bankers to raise its game. Ben Mingay,...

Mostyn-Williams to lead Cadwalader drive. (Institutions).(Stephen Mostyn-Williams, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Stephen Mostyn-Williams, who is joining the US law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft as senior partner and head of the international banking and finance practice in London, is aiming high. "I want to build a sizeable European franchise as well...

Insecurities: Mauritius and worse. (Institutions).(story of investment banker who takes job at new company)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... "So Julia, we want you. And we can do exactly the package you and I discussed." Hank Tolmey pulled an envelope out of his pocket, put it down by his coffee cup and, using one finger only, slid it across the table. "I hope you're gonna say yes."...

Bank of the year. (Awards).(Goldman Sachs and Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs might seem an obvious winner of the M&A house of the year award but the bank did not always look the bookie's favourite last year. An extraordinary aberration in the first quarter, which saw Goldman...

Corporate broker of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch's corporate broking franchise has expanded rapidly and out of all recognition in the last few years. It is for the pace of this expansion, and also because it topped Thomson Financial's league table of...

Debt provider of the year. (Awards).(Deutsche Bank AG)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank's involvement in the 1.75bn [euro] high-yield bond offering for Kappa may have cemented its place as Acquisitions Monthly's debt provider of the year, but the bank should also be commended for its range...

Equity provider of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Apax Partners Apax Partners has been granted Acquisitions Monthly's equity provider of the year award. The firm has been commended for its impressive portfolio of European deals, in particular, the 2.1bn [pounds sterling]...

Independent corporate finance house. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Greenhill & Co Greenhill was voted Independent Corporate Finance House of the Year after another consistently strong performance in 2001 in terms of deal size. In Thomson Financial's advisory tables for completed deals...

Law firm of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Linklaters & Alliance Linklaters & Alliance cemented its choice as M&A law firm of the year with its advisory mandates on Billiton/BHP, the cross-border deal of the year, and Bank of Scotland-Halifax, the domestic deal of the year....

Mezzanine provider of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Royal Bank of Scotland Mezzanine RBS Mezzanine has quickly established a formidable market position. Formed only in 1997, the operation was ranked first in Thomson Financial/Acquisitions Monthly's league table of leading mezzanine...

Mid-market adviser of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers has been chosen as Mid-market Adviser of the Year for 2001. The firm saw steady flow of deals worldwide during a difficult year. This included several UK public-to-privates in an...

Newcomer of the year. (Awards).(Lexicon Partners)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Lexicon Partners Lexicon Partners, which was formed in 2000 but enjoyed its first full year of deal-making in 2001, has already cut a dash in the market. Reminiscent in many ways of the old Phoenix boutique that was bought by...

Acquisitions Monthly Awards panel 2002. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The Acquisitions Monthly Awards are selected by a panel consisting of the senior editorial team and independent external adjudicators. The judges this year were Robert Bailhache, city editor of The Business; Nick Donaldson, former head of...

Privatisation adviser of the year. (Awards).(UBS Warburg)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: UBS Warburg Last year was another very strong one for UBS Warburg's broader privatisation franchise, and it has been chosen as Privatisation Adviser of the Year. UBS Warburg was active in privatisations in every major geographic...

Buyout of the year. (Awards).(Apax Partners, Hicks Muse Tate & Furst in handling of Yell Group buyout)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Yell Apax Partners and Hicks Muse Tate & Furst scored a hat-trick with the leveraged buyout of Yell. In one of Europe's largest-ever private equity transactions, BT'S directories business fetched a shade over 2.1 bn [pounds...

Cross-border deal of the year. (Awards).(BHP, Billiton merger)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Billiton-BHP Australian mining giant BHP's merger last year with UK counterpart Billiton to create the world's second largest mining and metals company is Acquisitions Monthly's Cross-border Deal of the Year. "It gave us a...

Domestic deal of the year. (Awards).(Bank of Scotland, Halifax merger)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Bank of Scotland-Halifax It turned out to be third time lucky for the Bank of Scotland. The bank agreed a merger deal with Halifax in what may be the last major tie-up among banking institutions in the UK. The deal has been chosen...

Latin American deal of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Banacci-Citigroup Acquisitions Monthly's Latin American Deal of the Year is US-based Citigroup's acquisition of Mexico financial group, Grupo Financiero Banamex Accival (Banacci). At US$12.5bn in cash and stock, the deal,...

Mid-market deal of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Go Airlines The MBO of Go Airlines, led by chief executive Barbara Cassani in conjunction with 3i, has won Acquisitions Monthly Mid-market Deal of the Year award. It was one of the most timely and successful mid-market transactions...

US deal of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: American General-AIG American International Group's acquisition of American General for US$23bn wins the US deal of the year award. It not only represents the largest global insurance M&A deal ever, it was also the largest M&A...

Japan deal of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Japan Telecom and J-Phone-Vodafone From December 2000 to October 2001, Vodafone has carried out a series of five complex cross-border transactions to increase its involvement and holdings in Japan Telecom and its wireless...

Privatisation deal of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: MakTel Hungarian telecoms group Matav won control of Macedonian telecoms group Maktel early last year in a move awarded Acquisitions Monthly's privatisation deal of the year. Matav became the owner of a 51% stake in Macedonia's...

Asian ex-Japan deal of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: Overseas Union Bank-United Overseas Bank The year 2002 saw significant consolidation in Singapore's banking sector, with United Overseas Bank acquiring Overseas Union Bank (OUB). This deal is Acquisitions Monthly's Asia ex-Japan...

Australasian deal of the year. (Awards).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Winner: GKN-Brambles On 19 April 2001, GKN announced its intention to demerge its support services activities and combine them with Brambles, an Australian support services company, via a Dual Listed Company (DLC) structure. Following...

Back to the shareholders to decide? P&O princess shareholders are still deciding which if any of the two proposed link-ups they wish P&O to pursue. (Legal & Regulatory).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Both the 6.4bn [pounds sterling] (US$9.16bn) merger with Miami-based Royal Caribbean or the 4.8bn [pounds sterling] (US$6.88bn) takeover by Carnival are undergoing reviews by competition authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. Although...

Key changes to corporate tax regime; in early April, a number of changes to the CGT and corporation tax regime will have a profound effect on the way in which individuals and companies structure their business activities. (Legal & Regulatory).(corporate tax policy changes)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... From 1 April 2002, the holding company of a trading group can sell shares in a trading subsidiary which it has owned for more than twelve months, and any gains on that sale will be exempt. Correspondingly, losses will not be allowable. ...

Spinning the fortunes of leisure; luck is beginning to change in the UK casino business. Natasha Berg investigates how the deregulation of the industry is expected to open up new opportunities for casino operators.(casino and gambling industry)
April 1, 2002... The UK government's proposals to lift restrictions on gambling, which date back to 1968, are set to create a wave of corporate activity in the casino sector. The proposals, introduced in a White Paper at the end of March 2002, mean UK...

Private equity players wait in the wings; leveraged buyouts could be in the offing in the unloved chemicals sector. (Chemical sector focus).
April 1, 2002... Merger activity in the chemicals sector has suffered a significant downturn over the last few months after having enjoyed a healthy first half of 2001. Never the most popular of sectors among the capital markets community, the chemicals...

Wireless company is consolation prize; mobile phone companies may be about as fashionable on Wall Street as online pet food retailers, but the wireless telecoms sector still managed to produce the biggest TMT deal of March. (TMT sector report).
April 1, 2002... During a month that produced no M&A in the TMT sector worth more than US$2bn, the acquisition of CenturyTel's cellular phone business by Alltel Corporation was by far the most valuable transaction. Alltel's US$1.65bn cash acquisition comes amid...

Middle layer hots up in Italy: Italian fig is warming up but the Bank of Italy is keen to keep foreigners out. (FIG sector report).
April 1, 2002... As the spring weather arrives, things are also warming up in the Italian financial institutions sector. In M&A, the overall theme is one of continued consolidation, both in the insurance and banking sectors, with several doses of regulatory...

Wessex stuns the market: two 10-figure acquisitions in the UK water industry caught M&A bankers by surprise -- for different reasons -- in March, and they may lead to further deals in the sector before the end of the year. (Utilities sector report).
April 1, 2002... On March 25, Malaysian energy group YTL Power International stunned the market by winning the competition for Wessex Water with a bid of 1.24bn [pounds sterling] (US$1.78bn). The deal caught the industry unawares because a financial venture...

Monthly sector analysis: this sector analysis includes acquisitions and buyouts announced between 29 November and 31 December. UK public offers completed between these dates are included, whereas new and pending offers are excluded. The transactions are classified according to the US sic code identifying the industry sector in which the target company is principally engaged. (Monthly sector analysis).(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Monthly Sector Analysis Seller -- activity Bidder -- activity Price Date ($M) 10: MINING 1041: Gold ores Anglovaal Mining (34.9) Anglo American PLC ...

Moving in the mid-markets. (US$500m-US$50m).(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Overview High on the list of sectors to watch last month came biotech, property and business services. But although activity in business services for example is still forecast to be on the up, the tide could well be turning for the...

A falling star? March proved to be a controversial month for the biotech sector, with evidence that the previous shining light on the M&A landscape may well be entering a darker phase. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... M&A activity in the healthcare sector over the past 12 months has been driven by cash-rich biotechs. These companies have taken up the mantle from the larger pharmaceutical groups and entered the M&A fray on the lookout for suitable partners....

Appetite for deals remains healthy; a glut of recent transactions in the food and drink sector shows the appeal of non-cyclical sectors. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... While general M&A and private equity deal completions have fallen rapidly during the last six months, the food and drink sector has proved remarkably resilient. According to Euromonitor International, the global industry is worth more than...

E-business leads the way; the business services industry is beginning to live up to its much hyped potential, with several deals coming to fruition in March. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Business services has been hailed as a sector to watch during 2002, with outsourcing proving to be a recession-resilient sector as companies continue to cut costs. Last month's mid-market activity was no exception to this trend. Activity...

Property proves to be valuable; several major deals with a combined value of more than US$1.5bn last month proved that property companies are still straining at the M&A leash. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... The most notable of the mid-market property deals last month was the final chapter in the troublesome sale of shopping mall operator Rodamco North America (RNA). It came after six months of boardroom and legal wrangling over RNA's assets. ...

Diverse times for manufacturing; it was a busy month for manufacturing, with receiverships and potential public-to-privates driving activity worldwide. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Manufacturing deals have been creating interest in the mid-markets over the past month. However, as has been widely predicted by industry sources, a significant proportion involve companies that have gone into receivership. Such situations...

Motorways for sale; the days of riding free on the open road are gone, as this month's batch of toll road transactions demonstrates. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Stakes in Highway 407, the mammoth Canadian toll road privatisation, have been changing hands in the last month. Macquarie Infrastructure Group of Australia and Spanish player Cintra both boosted their interests in the project, which is near...

Trouble in the supermarket sector. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... European supermarket chain Laurus has pulled back from a potentially serious position after French retailing giant Casino came to its rescue. Laurus, the Dutch number two, faced financial hardship after a difficult year. Casino agreed in...

Behind the buyouts.
April 1, 2002... European buyout supplement A thematic look at private equity across Europe including: * A pan-European review of activity during 2001 and forecasts for 2002 * A focus on the UK market and recent changes in activity * Supply of...

Pub deal beefs up UK buyouts; enterprise inn's private equity-backed buyout of Nomura's two remaining pub chains is the one to beat in the UK market. (Deal of the month).(Nomura International sells Unique Pub Co. and Voyager Group)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... The IBO of the Unique Pub Company and Voyager groups could be evidence that UK has reached the bottom of the market and that confidence is finally returning. Enterprise Inns teamed up with a group of private investors, including Cinven and...

Primary Capital targets Germany with new fund. (Behind the buyouts).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Primary Capital, the independent private equity fund manager, is set to increase its presence in the German LBO market with the raising of its new fund, Primary Capital II. The fund, which closed on March 1 2002 at its target of 100m [pounds...

CBPE closes sixth fund.(Close Brothers Private Equity)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Close Brothers Private Equity (CBPE), the private equity arm of Close Brothers, has closed its sixth fund, CBPE Fund VI, at 202m [pounds sterling] (US$290m), exceeding its original target of 200m [pounds sterling]. The fund, which includes...

Accel fund cut in half.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... US venture capital firm Accel has proposed cutting its US$1.4bn fund in half, in another sign that the industry is cooling following record fundraisings in 2001. Accel proposes to manage a US$700m fund and hold off investing an additional...

Newbridge launches India fund.(Newbridge Capital)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... US-based private equity fund Newbridge Capital has announced the launch of operations in India with initial capital of more than US$700m. The fund, which is backed by Texas Pacific and BLUM Capital Partners, will look to make investments in...

Nestle fund in operation.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Swiss food and beverage giant, Nestle, has announced that its Venture Capital Fund, which was outlined during its 2001 autumn press conference, has now been created and is fully operational. With capital of up to 150m [euro] (US$132m), the...

CapVest acquires Young's.(Young's Bluecrest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... CapVest, a UK-based private equity house backed by American Investment Group, has acquired Young's Bluecrest in a secondary buyout from Legal & General Ventures (L&GV). The company was sold debt-free in a transaction valued at 137m [pounds...

Candover doubles returns.(with exit from Regional Independent Media)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Candover has almost doubled its returns with the exit from Regional Independent Media (RIM). The regional media group has been sold to Johnston Press in a deal worth 560m [pounds sterling] (US$802m). Candover led the acquisition in 1998 of...

Rutland sells Coppice.
April 1, 2002... Rutland Trust has sold its entire interest in aluminium foil manufacturer Coppice Group to MELH 888 Ltd, a new company owned primarily by Lloyds TSB Development Capital. Rutland has received total of 4.65m [pounds sterling] (US$6.6m),...

Steill sold.(to Alfred McAlpine)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... 3i is said to have almost doubled its investment after selling its interest in facilities management specialist Steill, generating a return of 19m [pounds sterling] (US$27m). Steill has been acquired by UK infrastructure services group...

Labeyrie exit.(bought byIndustri Kapital)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Industri Kapital has acquired a 61.5 % stake in French luxury food group Labeyrie in a secondary buyout from Suez Industrie, the private equity arm of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux. The Nordic private equity firm has acquired control of the...

Deliverability at a difficulty time; Peter Gangsted gives an overview of Cinven's investment in Klockner Pentaplast Group. (Sponsored Article).
April 1, 2002... M&A markets in the second half of 2001 placed a high premium on deliverability. In the capital markets turmoil that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, many high profile deals were derailed. Boards across Europe and the US...

M&A deal data.
April 1, 2002... M&A deal data Benelux Target Chelsfield TrizecHahn (LX) 50% -- Investment holding company Sales ($): n/a Net Profits ($): n/a Bidder Chelsfield (UK) -- Real estate investment firm Sales...

Country codes.
April 1, 2002... Country codes AA Albania AB Aruba AD Andorra AF Afghanistan AI Abu Dhabi AJ Ajman AL Algeria AM Armenia AN Angola AQ Antigua AR Argentina AS Austria AU Australia AZ ...

Table criteria -- April 2002.
April 1, 2002... TABLE CRITERIA -- APRIL 2002 PAGE NO TITLE TABLE CRITERIA p49 TECHNOLOGY HIGHTECH DEALS ANNOUNCED Date Announced: 26/2/02 to MARCH 2002, EUROPEAN TARGET 24/3/02; Deal...

Active ownership and value creation: with deal pipelines thinner and new investments harder to pin down, the private equity focus in mainland Europe is falling on add-on acquisitions and restructuring strategies designed to create, greater value within existing portfolio companies. (European review).
April 1, 2002... Private equity investing on the Continent is often a triumph of hope over experience. But the uncertain economic outlook over the last 12 months has highlighted the ephemeral nature of many European MBO markets, testing the mettle of even the...

The tide is turning; private equity has been a difficult game to play in the last quarter but light is appearing on the horizon, characterised by Candover's recent exit from regional independent media. (Private equity institutions).
April 1, 2002... 2001 was a difficult year for private equity players. With pricing expectations unaligned and the IPO market effectively closed, options on investments and realisations were limited. But now it seems the tide is turning. This year so far...

UK pulling in crowds; private equity houses are divided on whether a change in economic climate has led to an appetite for country specialisation. Natasha Berg investigates the future of the UK-centric fund. (Focus on UK market).
April 1, 2002... The pan-European fund has long been recognised as the way forward for the private equity community. Figures published by the Centre for Management Buyout Research (CMBOR), in conjunction with Deloitte & Touche and Barclays Private Equity, show...

French buyout market falls behind; deal value of management buyouts in France fell to 5.3bn [euro] last year from the record 8.5bn [euro] seen in 1999. (France).
April 1, 2002... After the UK, France has traditionally been the leader for management buyouts in Europe. This was certainly the case up to 1999, but in 2000 the value of buyouts in Germany exceeded the level in France for the first time. Several very large...

Germany pulls ahead of France: although the German market last year failed to match the record 15.1bn [euro] reached in 2000, it did manage to consolidate its position as Europe's second largest buyout market by value. (Germany).
April 1, 2002... Provisional figures from CMBOR show that 7.3bn [euro] worth of deals were completed in Germany in 2001, with only the UK recording a higher figure (Figure 1). [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Germany last year accounted for almost a quarter of the...

Iberian buyout markets fail to excite: the Iberian peninsular has yet to capture fully the attention of the private equity market. Spain -- despite being Europe's fourth largest economy -- has seen only moderate levels of growth in the last five years and Portugal has yet to establish itself as a significant region for private equity investment. (Iberia).
April 1, 2002... Provisional figures from CMBOR show the buyout market in Spain consolidated its position during 2001, with a 15% growth in value to end the year at 1.1bn [euro] (Figure 1). This recovery followed the halving of market value to 958m [euro] in...

Italy's promising start to 2002; Italian buyouts in 2002 have had a notable start after a disappointing 2001. By the end of February 2002 Carlo Erba Reagenti had been bought out with the support of Barclays private equity, and Apax Partners had gained approval for its leveraged acquisition of Azimut. (Italy).
April 1, 2002... Early analysis indicates that the Italian buyout market in 2001 dropped to approximately half the previous year's volume and a quarter of the previous year's value. Italian buyout value in 2000 had shown modest growth. The Centre for Management...

Dutch buyout market remains attractive; after falling sharply in 2000 for the second year in succession the value of the Dutch buyout market recovered to achieve a new record value of 4.3bn [euro] in 2001. (The Netherlands).
April 1, 2002... The previous peak of 3.4bn [euro] was recorded in 1998, after which the buyout market value fell to 2.9bn [euro] in 1999 and just 1.8bn [euro] in 2000. The jump in value seen last year was principally due to one deal; the 2.5bn [euro]...

Buyouts in Scandinavia hold up; figures from the Centre for Management Buyout Research show that the Scandinavian market accounted for a higher proportion of total European deal value in 2001. (Nordic Region).(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... After remaining fairly constant in 2000 following the record total of 6.4bn [euro] achieved in 1999, Scandinavian buyouts experienced an 11% fall to 5.5bn [euro] in 2001. The Nordic region accounted for 18% of the total 30bn [euro] worth of...

Debt market standing on its own two feet; the events of September 11 derailed a number of deals but, as David Rothnie reports, the European high-yield market is better placed than ever to withstand shocks from the US. (Debt).
April 1, 2002... The return of valuation benchmarks to reasonable levels and a tightening of high-yield spreads hint at an air of normality. There are a number of significant leveraged buyouts in the pipeline for 2002 and some will be sold exclusively into...

Mezzanine becomes high fashion; it might be expensive but the paucity of other forms of finance is making mezzanine essential for buyouts. (Mezzanine).(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Mezzanine is now a highly fashionable product. A difficult high-yield market combined with a paucity of senior debt has led to a growing demand for subordinate debt despite its expense. Whereas in 1993 the average amount of mezzanine...

Institutions gain the whip hand; after several years of record breaking fundraising, private equity firms face tougher times to come. (Supply of finance).
April 1, 2002... The institutional message from the recent EVCA International Investors Conference in Geneva was very clear: "The balance of power has shifted and we are now calling the shots". After several years of extremely clement fundraising...

Big, not necessarily beautiful. (Supply of finance).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Over the last few years, there appears to have been a dramatic reversal in investor sentiment toward mega-funds -- although, the fact that they continue to raise increasingly large vehicles would appear to contradict this outlook. Once upon a...

CDOs: changing the face of debt markets; Stephen Tang examines the impact of collaterised debt obligations (CDOs) on the European buyout market. (Sponsored Article).
April 1, 2002... One of the key features in the European buyout market over the past 12 months has been the continued growth of collaterised debt obligations (CDOs). CDOs are special purpose vehicles set up typically to invest in corporate loans and bonds...

Welcome to an SMBO world; Mikael Ahlstrom looks at the current situation regarding exit routes in the Nordic private equity markets and makes some predictions for the future. (Sponsored Article).(secondary management buyouts)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... A common feature of the Nordic private equity industry is a lag behind developments in the Anglo--Saxon markets. Recent changes in the composition of exit opportunities constitute no exception. While Scandinavian markets are displaying similar...

AIB Acquisition Finance. (Sponsorship statement).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2002... Allied Irish Banks' (AIB) Acquisition Finance division focuses on the provision of debt finance solutions for acquisitions, buyouts, company recapitalisations and reorganisations. The Acquisition Finance team, headed by Robert Gallagher,...

Procuritas Partners. (Sponsorship statement).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2002... Founded in 1986, Procuritas Partners was the first private equity firm established in Scandinavia focusing on management buyouts. Since inception, the firm has advised or co-advised 15 buyouts with a combined consideration in excess of SKr9bn....