Acquisitions Monthly articles from April 2003

Acquisitions Monthly archives from April 2003

US M&A activity sinks to 1Q94 level: worldwide M&A volume edged higher in 1Q03 as European volumes rose. (Insight).(mergers and acquisitions)
April 1, 2003... War concerns, accounting scandals and general economic malaise are turning the US mergers and acquisitions market into barren ground, and Europe is picking up the slack. We expect the market to thaw in the US later this year when the war in...

Spain and Italy lead in Europe: the first quarter saw European deal values shoot up while volumes declined, with figures heavily influenced by the Natural Gas/Iberdrola and Telecom Italia/Olivetti deals. (Q1 Review).
April 1, 2003... Last year boasted only a handful of deals over the US$10bn mark; 2003 by contrast has started with something of a bang. Deal values have shot up compared with this time last year, with European targets accounting for 56% of the global...

Synopses of largest M&A global deals in March 2003. (Market intelligence).(acquisitions and mergers)
April 1, 2003... ITALY: Olivetti (OLV) said it planned to acquire the remaining 45.05% interest, or 2.37bn ordinary shares, plus the entire savings share capital of Telecom Italia SpA (TI), the Torino-based provider of telecoms services, in a stock swap...

Procter & Gamble buys Wella. (Deal of the month: Wella).
April 1, 2003... Procter & Gamble (P&G), the US consumer goods group, has bought the German haircare group Wella for 6.5bn [euro] in a deal that also attracted interest from Anglo-Dutch Unilever and French company L'Oreal. The P&G price is 22% above the closing...

Robert Bosch bids for Buderus.
April 1, 2003... In a second major takeover bid in Germany last month, engineering group Robert Bosch agreed to buy the remaining 30.2% stake in Buderus from construction company Bilfinger Berger for US$591m. The company already owns a 17% stake, which includes...

M&A capital markets round-up: a review of M&A activity in the capital markets in the month of March providing details and pricing of deals. (M&A capital markets round-up).
April 1, 2003... Gala Group Gala Group's 805m [pounds sterling] tertiary buyout facility has been launched to sub-underwriters, through mandated lead arrangers CSFB and Merrill Lynch and is generating strong interest. Based on the response so far, the deal...

Mid-market proves resilient: the performance of the private company price index suggests that there is an appetite to do deals at the right prices for good quality businesses. (Private Company Price Index).
April 1, 2003... In the fourth quarter of 2002, the Private Company Price Index (PCPI) remained stable, falling slightly to a P/E multiple of 12.1 from 12.5 in the previous quarter. Similarly, the quoted sector, as measured by the FTSE Non-Financials Index,...

Steven Berger joins Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. (Institutions).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has hired Steven Berger as executive chairman of its corporate finance and advisory (CF&A) business. Berger, whose appointment is effective immediately, joins DrKW as a managing director, based in London....

Building in Germany. (Institutions).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Two leading advisory houses are building up their presence in Germany. Lazard and Rothschild have each been hiring to consolidate and develop their positions in this market. Bankers away from the two houses interpreted the hires as a long-term...

David Verey joins Blackstone. (Institutions).(Blackstone Group )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... David Verey has joined the Blackstone Group as senior adviser to the firm in Europe. After a less than happy spell working recently at the broking firm Cazenove & Co, the world of private equity should be able to make more effective use of...

LG buys independence: Tenon Group's strategic review results in the sale of most of the corporate finance business. (Institutions).(Livingstone Guarantee)
April 1, 2003... As was foreshadowed in the arch issue of Acquisitions Monthly, Livingstone Guarantee (LG) has bought itself out of Tenon, only 17 months after it was sold to the financial services group. A separate corporate finance business within the group,...

Carlyle's venture unit evolves: recent deals suggest greater collaboration between venture and buyout units as Carlyle beefs up its advisory board. (Institutions).
April 1, 2003... The border between Carlyle's venture and buyout businesses is becoming increasingly blurred. Complex financial engineering skills, which were once the exclusive preserve of the buyout team, are becoming increasingly relevant to the technology...

Restructuring firms step up hiring: Germany is the next focus of interest for turnaround firms. (Restructuring column).
April 1, 2003... The growing scope for restructuring and business recovery work is being underlined by moves made by accountancy and turnaround firms. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is seeking to hire a number of professionals in Germany after moving partner...

Marconi generates revenue--for advisers. (Restructuring column).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Marconi continues, in sickness as in health, to be a valuable source of revenue for advisory firms. As the UK group submits a voluminous scheme of arrangement to the High Court, it has been disclosed that the firm has paid some 75m [pounds...

Gamekeeper turned poacher: Sir Steve Robson talks with Keith Boyfield. (The AM interview).(Interview)
April 1, 2003... Sir Steve Robson is about as far away as one can get from the classic caricature of a Treasury mandarin. He is an astute, no-nonsense Yorkshireman with a sincere belief in public service. When New Labour first entered government in 1997, he...

Seize the day: in today's uncertain M&A climate, acquirers must be able to demonstrate the benefits of a deal in even greater detail, and that means sorting out any integration issues up front. (Post-merger integration).
April 1, 2003... For the swashbuckling dealmaker, integration is a dull and dirty word. The protracted bear market has shouldered much of the blame for M&A deals falling short of expectations over the last three years, when in reality the failure can be...

Price-fixing : a damaging proposition: price-fixing cartels are under increasing pressure in both the US and Europe. (Legal and Regulatory).
April 1, 2003... In the last decade the US has cracked more cartels and imprisoned more executives for price-fixing than in the previous 100 years of US anti-trust law. Equally, the EU has imposed more fines in the last six years than in the previous 30. In...

Linklaters retains top position; for the third consecutive year Linklaters came first in the league table for worldwide announced transactions based on rank value for the first quarter. (Legal and Regulatory).(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Linklaters continued its presence in first place in the worldwide announced table after advising on 66 deals with a total value of US$62.9bn. The modest increase in total deal value compared with its first-quarter 2002 total of US$55.9bn can...

Olivetti agrees Telecom Italia merger; Olivetti has agreed to merge with Telecom Italia on the basis of seven of its own shares for every one of the Telecoms operator's. (TMT sector report).
April 1, 2003... Olivetti, the Italian diversified technology group, has agreed to acquire the 45.05% it does not own of Telecom Italia, involving 2.37bn ordinary shares plus the entire savings share capital of the Torin-based telecoms group, in a stock-swap...

Toro proves the value of an auction; a publisher comes forward to buy Fiat's insurance subsidiary. (FIG sector report).
April 1, 2003... The unusual 2.4bn [euro] (US$2.58bn) sale of Toro, Italy's fourth largest insurer, to a publishing group might not herald a new trend of wide significance in the insurance industry. But it does highlight the attractive investment opportunities...

Suez disposal sails into choppy waters; doubts arose late last month that the Suez group will realise the 2bn [pounds sterling] (US$3.12bn) it hopes from the sale of Northumbrian water. (Utilities sector report).
April 1, 2003... It was reported that industry regulator Ofwat had decided to discourage any more highly geared debt financings of UK water companies. As the six final bidders for Northumbrian including Apax Partners, CVC Capital Partners and the private equity...

WestLB expected to bid for AWG. (Utilities sector report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The principal finance group of German investment bank WestLB--led by the high-profile Robin Saunders--is expected to make a formal hostile bid for AWG, the owner of Anglian Water, within the next few weeks following the sudden resignation of...

Better the devil you know: BP's investment in a joint venture that will become Russia's third largest oil company could prove even more significant for the industry than the spate of mega-mergers it instigated with its 1998 takeover of Amoco. (Utilities sector report).
April 1, 2003... In a US$6.75bn transaction, BP has contributed its entire Russian upstream interests to a joint venture with the two industrial conglomerates, which currently hold controlling interests in domestic oil companies TNK and Sidanco. The transaction...

Czech power merger goes ahead; the largest utility in Eastern Europe has acquired government stakes in eight profitable distributors. (Utilities sector report).
April 1, 2003... Czech national power utility CEZ completed the Kc32bn (US$1.08bn) acquisition of majority stakes in five of the country's eight regional distribution companies and minority holdings in three others on April 1. The deal went through after...

Central Europe's OMV continues acquisitive strategy. (Utilities sector report).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... OMV, the European oil and gas group, has made a number of recent acquisitions of retail filling stations with the aim of establishing itself as the leading brand in the retail and commercial station business. OMV'S area of expansion...

Moving in the mid-markets (US$300m-US$30m).
April 1, 2003... SANDRINE BRADLEY TEL: +44(0)20 7369 7769 E-MAIL: sandrine.bradley@tfn.com Overview The financials sector has moved up to take top slot this month with a market share of 15.7%. Activity in this sector was led by Germany with an...

The restructuring of manufacturing: the manufacturing sector has long been suffering and as 2003 progresses a large number of assets are expected to come on to the market as restructuring gets under way in earnest. (Moving in the mid-markets).
April 1, 2003... Although March saw a relatively strong element of manufacturing activity, in general it is a sector that has suffered a steady decline over the last couple of years. "2002 was a bad year for manufacturing, with hardly any companies...

New bidders enter fray for OGS: interest in OGS from biotech entrepreneurs Sir Christopher Evans and Alan Goodman is enthusiastically seen as a sign that VCS are now entering the troubled sector. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Oxford GlycoSciences)
April 1, 2003... The battle for Oxford GlycoSciences (OGS) hotted up last month with OGS actively seeking new bidders after withdrawing its support for the offer from Cambridge Antibody Technology Group (CAT). CAT, which launched an all share offer...

Reshuffling the hotel pack: new investment vehicle acquires two properties from Le Meridien. (Moving in the mid-markets).
April 1, 2003... Quintessential Hotels, a new investment vehicle established by management at Paramount Hotels and majority owner private equity group Alchemy Partners, has acquired two hotels from Le Meridien. The newco has paid 40m [pounds sterling] (US$62m)...

Behind the buyouts.
April 1, 2003... European buyout supplement CVC Capital Partners has entered into exclusive talks with German utility group E.ON to acquire its energy metering business for about 1bn [euro]. The Carlyle Group has also entered into exclusivity with Fiat...

Governing private equity: Ben Harding talks to Simon Thornton about EVCA's governing principles. (Behind the buyouts).(European Venture Capital Association)
April 1, 2003... As well as threat of war, the shadow of Ahold hung over the recent EVCA Investor's conference in Geneva. When Enron, Tyco, WorldCom et al hit the wall in a blaze of scandal in the US, there was a smug assumption that the same could not happen...

HSBC PE becomes Montagu. (Behind the buyouts).(HSBC Private Equity completes a management buyout from HSBC Holdings and is renamed Montagu Private Equity)
April 1, 2003... HSBC Private Equity, the mid-market private equity outfit, has completed a management buyout from parent HSBC Holdings to become Montagu Private Equity. Although full financial terms are not being disclosed, HSBC will retain a 20% stake in the...

Advent backs furniture self-assembly: PE firm sees buy-and-build opportunity in consolidating European market. (Behind the buyouts).(Advent International acquires ILVA)
April 1, 2003... Advent International has acquired Danish Furniture retailer ILVA as a first step in a European consolidation play. Although financial details are not being disclosed, it is understood that the enterprise value of the business was in the region...

Candover buys Wellstream: UK buyout house aims to profit from increased offshore exploration. (Behind the buyouts).
April 1, 2003... Candover aims to capitalise on the wave of offshore platforms that are being developed through the acquisition of Wellstream, a manufacturer of flexible pipe applications for the offshore deep-water oil and gas sector. As existing reserves...

Electra acquires Ashbourne Care Homes. (Behind the buyouts).(Electra Partners leads a management buy-in of AShbourne Care Homes)
April 1, 2003... Elderly Care homes were top of the agenda in the healthcare arena last month with Ashbourne Care Homes, the UK's fourth largest operator, being the subject of a management buy-in led by Electra Partners. Electra is making an initial...

Greenpark rounds off debut on US$200m: the European secondary private equity market is finally beginning to look more diverse as Greenpark secures US$200m. (Behind the buyouts).(Greenpark Capital)
April 1, 2003... Greenpark Capital has finalised fundraising for its debut vehicle, Greenpark International Investors I, at US$200m. The vehicle has secured commitments from a broad range of investors in Europe, the US and the Middle East. Most invested on a...

ECI exits Holiday Autos. (Exits).(ECI sells its investment in Holiday Autos to lastminute.com)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... UK mid-market buyout house ECI has realised its eight-year investment in leisure car rental broker Holiday Autos in a deal worth 39.7m [pounds sterling]. The business has been sold to travel and leisure website lastminute.com. ECI will receive...

Bridgepoint exits Lloyd Werft. (Exits).(Bridgepoint sells its majority stake in Lloyd Werft)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Bridgepoint has sold its majority stake in Lloyd Werft, a Germany-based specialist in ship repair and conversion, to management for an undisclosed sum. The firm backed the 31m [euro] buyout of the company in 1998. The firm was founded in...

Isis sells Tricom. (Exits).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... UK-based Isis Equity Partners has realised its investment in Tricom Group, which has been sold to plumbing and heating company BSS for 31.8m [pounds sterling]. The deal generated an annual rate of return of more than 50% and 4.3 times the...

Lake Capital raises US$500m fund. (Funds).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Lake Capital, a transatlantic private equity firm, has raised US$500m for its first formal institutional fund. The firm has a proven track record in the business services industry and the new fund will continue to make investments in that...

B&S exceeds target. (Funds).(B&S Private Equity Group)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... B&S Private Equity Group, the Italian mid-market private equity firm, has surpassed its 500m [euro] target for its fourth fund within seven months of its launch. Italian Private Equity Fund IV (IPEF IV) held a first close of the fund on...

Nmas 1 closes on 175m [euro]. (Funds).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Spanish private equity group Nmas 1, has announced the final closing of its new fund, Nmas 1 Private Equity LP, at 175m [euro], surpassing the original target of 150m [euro]. The new fund will invest in parallel with Dinamia, a 154m [euro]...

Barclays & Invex buy accessories. (Behind the buyouts).(Barclays Private Equity, Invex Capital Partners back DCK Concessions management buyout)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Private equity groups team up to acquire jewellery concession Barclays Private Equity, which recently completed the management buyout of UK-based retailer Hobbs, has added to its fashion portfolio by backing the 44m [euro] management buyout...

Offer period for M&B. (Behind the buyouts).(Mitchells and Butlers)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Private equity firm BC Partners has said that it remains interested in tabling a bid for Mitchells and Butlers (M&B), the pub business of Six Continents. As a consequence, M&B is deemed to have entered an offer period even though its shares...

Zenith MBO in TV production sector. (Behind the buyouts).(Beringea consortium acquires Zenith Entertainment)
April 1, 2003... A private equity consortium led by Beringea, the private equity firm formed from the merger of UK-based ProVen and GMA Capital in the US, has acquired independent TV production company Zenith Entertainment alongside existing and incoming...

Non-core sales drive buyout activity in Spain: greater levels of indebtedness and the arrival of the shareholder agenda could lead to more Spanish corporates turning to private equity firms in search of financial solutions. (Behind the buyouts: focus on Spain).
April 1, 2003... A recent survey of buyout activity in Spain by the Centre of Management Buyout Research (CMBOR) shows that in 2002 the sector was unusually active, with the final buyout total standing at 2bn [euro]. It is not surprising that the majority...

Gas Natural bids for Iberdrola: Gas Natural last month launched an audacious hostile cash and share bid worth 14bn [euro] (US$15.25bn) for Iberdrola. (Focus on Spain).
April 1, 2003... If successful the proposed Gas Natural-Iberdrola deal would create a national energy champion by combining Spain's largest gas distributor with its number two power utility and a firm that would become the world's fifth largest electricity...

M&A deal data. (Benelux, France, Germany).(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... M&A deal data Benelux Target Bidder IT Masters NV (BL) - BMC Software Inc (US) - Application Application Services Provider Services Provider {ASP} {ASP} Sales ($): n/a Net Profits ...

Monthly sector analysis: this sector analysis includes acquisitions and buyouts announced during march. 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.(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Monthly Sector Analysis Seller - activity Bidder - activity Price Date ($M) 08: AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, AND FISHING 0811: Timber tracts Snoqualmie...

Bank of Ireland Acquisition Finance. (Sponsorship statement).
April 1, 2003... Established in 1996 Bank of Ireland Acquisition Finance provides a full range of financing solutions for leveraged finance transactions including management buy-outs, Public to Private's, recapitalisations and corporate acquisitions. Since...

AIB Acquisition Finance. (Sponsorship statement).
April 1, 2003... AIB Acquisition Finance is a leading participant in the European Leveraged Finance market, focusing on the provision of debt finance for management and institutional buyouts, acquisitions, company recapitalisations and corporate...

Procuritas Partners. (Sponsorship statement).
April 1, 2003... Founded in 1986, Procuritas Partners was the first private equity firm in Scandinavia focusing on management buyouts. Since its inception, the firm has advised or co-advised on 15 buyouts with a combined consideration in excess of 1bn [euro]....

Challenges and opportunities for 2003. (Insight).
April 1, 2003... The private equity industry itself did not quite have the same swagger about it in 2002 as it has done in recent years. Its ability to suck in new institutional cash was challenged when the amount of capital raised dropped to 19bn [euro],...

Pricing gap narrows: purchase prices in Europe's LBO market have dropped in the past three years, however, as private-sector prices were never as over-inflated as those in the public markets, the falls have been far less dramatic. (Finance).
April 1, 2003... Sharp falls in the public markets, on which private equity assets are loosely benchmarked, are filtering through into the pricing of private assets. The cautious attitude towards risk assumed by banks in the wake of the telecom sector's...

UK buyouts looks healthy: 2002 was the seventh year in succession to see more than 600 buyouts, volume fell only slightly last year. (UK).(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... The year-end figures produced by Centre for Management Buyout Research (CMBOR) for 2002 showed a further fall in total market value, after 2001 had produced the first drop in seven years. Both market value and volume fell back in 2002, with the...

Investment overtakes fundraising: for the first time in a decade investment eclipsed fundraising in 2002. Ben Harding assesses the opportunities for 2003. (Fundraising).
April 1, 2003... According to European Venture Capital Association figures, fundraising for European private equity halved last year, from 38bn [euro] in 2001 to 19bn [euro] in 2002. At the same time, Venture Economics statistics show that the long-term...

Ireland--the buyout capital of Europe: Tom Hayes reviews the stellar performance of the private equity market in the Republic of Ireland last year and looks to the future. (Sponsored Articles).
April 1, 2003... The take-private of Jefferson Smurfit Group by Madison Dearborn in September 2002 was the largest leveraged buyout ever completed in the Irish market. At 2.5bn [euro], the senior debt facility that supported the buyout was also the largest to...

A dominant quartet? The Big Four accountants are in a powerful position having largely seen off bulge-bracket competition from their fief. But they need to look at their Continental coverage. (Advisers).
April 1, 2003... Corporate financiers at the Big Four accountancy firms are continuing to dominate the market for advisory work on mid-market buyouts. With buyouts accounting for a growing proportion of M&A, they have encountered more competition but they have...

The Continental leader: France's buyouts market is now again easily ahead of Germany's. (France).(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... 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. In 2001, French deal...

Specialist due diligence breaks through: as the ever cautious but still busy private equity market demands more from its due diligence providers, specialist consultants are lining themselves up with the accountants. But are they here to stay? (Due diligence).
April 1, 2003... The general take is that due diligence in a downturn is deeper and takes longer, with a broad as well as in-depth picture being required by purchasers, as cautiousness over buying decisions takes precedence. With this backdrop it could be...

German buyout market slips back: buyout volume is still relatively robust in Germany even if total value has fallen sharply. (Germany).(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Having established itself as Continental Europe's largest buyout market by value over the previous two years, the German market was eclipsed in 2002 by the huge rise in value experienced in France. The German total of 7.1bn [euro] was less than...

Recap, the alternative exit route? Glenn Clarke examines the use of recapitalisations as an alternative exit route or tool for restructuring. (Sponsored Article).
April 1, 2003... The concept of large recapitalisations (recaps) of leveraged borrowers is relatively new to the European buyout market, although common practice for the European mid-market and US market through the 1990s. Over the past three years the number...

Corporate sell-offs sustain Dutch market: price expectations have come down but deal selection takes longer. (The Netherlands).(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... According to the Dutch Venture Capital Association (NVP), the total amount invested in buyouts in the Netherlands rose slightly last year to 243m [euro], although the total investment made by Dutch venture capitalist firms fell by 13% to 1.08bn...

The changing face of buyouts: Mikael Ahlstrom and Mattias Olson look at how the buyout scene in Scandinavia has evolved over the last decade. (Sponsored Article).
April 1, 2003... The Scandinavian economies have experienced a bumpy journey over the last decade with a severe crisis in the first half of the 1990s, a very strong recovery at the end of the decade and another sharp decline in equity values from 2000. ...

Southern buyout markets boom: the main Southern European countries experienced significant growth in buyouts last year. Here, we focus on trends in Italy, Spain and Portugal. (Southern Europe).(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Italy Italy's buyout market had a remarkable year in 2002. The dramatic drop recorded in 2001 was followed by a 2-1/2 times increase last year. Italian buyout value increased nearly five-fold to 3.5bn [euro] in 2002 from 727m [euro] in...

Value of Nordic market falls: Denmark shines as the value of Nordic market falls to seven per cent of the continental buyout market. (Scandinavia).(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... Scandinavian buyouts accounted for just over seven per cent of the total record-breaking 44.8bn [euro] of Continental European buyouts in 2002, down significantly from a sixth of the total in 2001. The combined value of the Scandinavian market...

Data.(Illustration)
April 1, 2003... EUROPEAN BUYOUTS ANNOUNCED DURING 2002 Date Target Acquirer 29/07/02 Legrand (FR) Investor Group 17/06/02 Jefferson Smurfit Group (IR) MDP Acquisitions 08/03/02 Southern...