Acquisitions Monthly articles from April 2006

Acquisitions Monthly archives from April 2006

LSE seen ready to turn hunter; as Nasdaq walks away, London Stock Exchange could look to acquire as global stock exchange sector continues to consolidate.(EDITORIAL)
April 1, 2006... Nasdaq's decision to pull its proposed bid for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) raises the prospect that the UK bourse operator could soon turn from hunted to hunter as the global stock exchange sector continues to consolidate. As...

Russia turns up the volume; as cash-rich Russian corporates make ever bigger domestic and cross-border deals, a growing consumer mid-market continues to attract foreign investors.(LEAD FEATURE)
April 1, 2006... "The general expectation is that M&A will develop very fast in Russia--there is a very positive feel about future activity," says Mikhail Tsarev, a partner at KPMG, Russia. The Russian market continues to be dominated by two distinct...

Europe's big appetite: European companies are concentrating on large deals as investors welcome bold steps.(REVIEW OF THE QUARTER)
April 1, 2006... The first quarter of 2006 was one for big deals. It was, indeed, the third biggest quarter ever for European M&A as measured by total value, and it could have been even bigger. At one stage, each of the top 10 bids was worth more than...

March snapshot: synopses of the largest global deals announced last month.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
April 1, 2006... US: AT&T Inc (AT&T) has agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of Bellsouth Corp (BC) in a stock-swap transaction valued at US$72.67bn, including the assumption of US$5.5bn in Cingular Wireless liabilities. AT&T offered 1.325 shares...

Increased activity is reflected in the PCPI; the private company price index has risen to 14.5 over the three months to December 2005, from 13.1 in the previous quarter, Jon Breach, partner of BDO Stoy Hayward, writes.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
April 1, 2006... The PCPI tracks the discount between how public and private companies are being valued. The PCPI is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the P/Es for deals where sufficient information has been disclosed. It has been a busy last six months...

Jefferies could look at acquisitions; the investment bank is aiming to expand in Europe, says European head Bruce Huber.(INSTITUTIONS)
April 1, 2006... Jefferies is developing into a full-service investment bank in Europe and will look at potential acquisitions as it expands, according to Bruce Huber, managing director and head of investment banking in London. Huber also told Acquisitions...

Perella broadens ambitions in Europe; boutique adds fourth European banker as it prepares to launch.(INSTITUTIONS)
April 1, 2006... No one can doubt now that Joseph Perella's nascent boutique will be a serious affair. Perella might have left Morgan Stanley last April, but his new firm will not be merely a collection of disaffected ex-colleagues. He will also be well funded...

Independents make headway; Hawkpoint and Catalyst capture ground from the Big Four accountancy firms.(INSTITUTIONS)
April 1, 2006... Independent corporate finance houses, especially Hawkpoint, have come out well in the latest Hg Capital Rainmaker of the Year awards. The private equity firm, which annually honours the most successful originators in the UK private equity...

Linklaters private equity duo to join Kirkland & Ellis: Charlie Jacobs takes charge following the departure of global private equity head Graham White and partner Raymond McKeeve.(INSTITUTIONS)
April 1, 2006... International law firm Linklaters has lost global head of private equity Graham White and partner Raymond McKeeve to US-based rival Kirkland & Ellis. Charlie Jacobs, a "star" M&A partner at Linklaters, will take responsibility for the...

An M&A feast: convergence and consolidation are the keys to activity in the telecoms industry as fixed line operators, mobile phone companies and service providers all jostle to build up a fully integrated service in this highly competitive environment. The end-result is a glut of M&A and private equity deals in this busy sector.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON TMT)(Company overview)
April 1, 2006... The telecoms sector has thrown up a feast of varied activity over the last 12 months as corporates return to the acquisition trail and give the cash-rich and hungry private equity houses a run for their money. Recent months have not only...

Aviva brushes with Pru; proposal for 36bn [pounds sterling] (US$B3.2bn) merger comes up against Prudential's red brick wall.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON FIG)
April 1, 2006... Aviva, the UK insurer best known in the UK by its Norwich Union brand, announced and subsequently withdrew a proposal for a merger with Prudential, all in the space of a week in March. The all-share takeover proposal, for the venerable UK...

Time for Commission to show some teeth; the European Commission will have to make decisions about gas and power utility mergers in EU member states over the next six months that will prove critical to the development of a single energy market--or the lack of one.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON UTILITIES)
April 1, 2006... The European Commission's Competition Directorate has important rulings to make on the two mega-mergers in the industry that have been proposed in recent months--the one between Germany's E.ON and Spain's Endesa and the other between Gas de...

Private equity confronts the challenge; the US private equity industry needs to source more deals and is looking increasingly to Asia.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: PRIVATE EQUITY COLUMN)
April 1, 2006... "Deal-sourcing is the biggest challenge facing the industry," declared David Wasserman, financial partner at Clayton Dubilier & Rice, at the recent Thomson Financial Buyouts Symposium in New York. As the conference showed, this challenge is...

Healthcare becoming touchstone sector: leveraged buyout deal values in the UK healthcare sector tripled between 2004 and 2005 and could increase by a further 300% to 15bn [pounds sterling] (US$26bn) this year.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2006... Already in 2006, a number of auctions have started, including Four Seasons, Alliance Medical and Paragon, with others, such as General Healthcare, Southern Cross, Choices, Bond Care, Lifestyle Business and possibly Clinovia, due later in the...

Investors fear VNU offer will not be accepted; investors fear that the offer for Dutch media group VNU made by a consortium of six private equity houses will be refused.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2006... Fidelity and Knight Vinke, shareholders with 15% and 2% respectively of VNU. are both expected to reject the offer. VNU is making efforts to convince Fidelity of the reasoning behind its recommendation of the offer. It is understood that VNU...

Whitehall acquires KarstadtQuelle's real estate; Germany's KarstadtQuelle eliminates debt with sale of stake in real estate portfolio to Goldman Sachs unit.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2006... KarstadtQuelle, the listed German retail chain and mail order group, has sold its department store real estate portfolio to a holding company. Whitehall, a property fund owned by US investment bank Goldman Sachs, owns 51% of the holding...

Gant IPO provides opportunities; 3i and L Capital achieve partial exit in Swedish 241m [euro] IPO.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2006... Gant Company, a Swedish company that develops and markets an international lifestyle brand, has announced a 241m [euro] flotation on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The deal will provide an opportunity for partial exits for L Capital, an...

Cinven ties up French cables; UK buyout firm consolidates Francophone cable operations with US$1.5bn UPC France agreement.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2006... US-based cable operator Liberty Global has signed a letter of intent to sell its French operation for 1.25bn [euro] (US$$1.51bn) to Cinven, a UK-based buyout firm that already owns sizeable Francophone cable operations. UPC France has...

Belgium's CNP buys 6.1% in Eiffage.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2006... Compagnie Nationale a Portefeuille, a holding company controlled by Belgian entrepreneur Albert Frere, has bought 6.1% in French construction company Eiffage for 307m [euro]. It did not name the vendor. Earlier this month, Spanish property and...

Elior shares suspended; French catering company readied for US$2.4bn take-private.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2006... Elior, a Paris-listed catering company, has seen its shares suspended on March 27 ahead of a potential buyout of the 1.7bn [euro] (US$2.4bn) company. Euronext Paris-listed Elior saw its share price jump from 11 [euro] to about 13 [euro]...

Eurazeo acquires Europcar; buyout firm pays US$1.5bn in equity for Volkswagen's car rental outfit based in France.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2006... Eurazeo, the French investment firm, has reached an agreement with Germany's Volkswagen to acquire of 100% of the capital of Europcar, the car rental outfit based in France, for 1.26bn [euro] (US$1.Sbn). Eurazeo will also assume 2.06bn [euro]...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 1, 2006... Acquisitions Monthly awarded its Due Diligence Award of the year to L.E.K. Consulting this year. On page 24 of the March 2006 issue we inadvertently misidentified the two LEK partners who went up to receive the award. They were in fact John...

TDC.
April 1, 2006... * Pricing on TDC's [euro] 8.5bn LBO loan backing Apax Partners' consortium-led 15bn [euro] buyout of the Danish telecommunications company has been reverse flexed due to a healthy oversubscription. The PIK tranche has been taken out and the...

Orangina.
April 1, 2006... * Mandated lead arrangers Banc of America Securities, Citigroup and JP Morgan have launched to syndication half of the 279m [euro] mezzanine bridge loan for Orangina's 1.4bn [euro] buyout. The 140m [euro] bridge will be sold out to the high...

Com Hem.
April 1, 2006... * Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Nordea are reported to have begun syndicating the debt backing Providence and Carlyle's circa US$1.2bn secondary LBO of Swedish TV operator Com Hem. The mezzanine is reported to pay 950bp over Euribor and has...

MTU Friedrichshafen.
April 1, 2006... * Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners Barclays, Deutsche Bank and RBS have launched the 1.17bn [euro] debt package backing the buyout of MTU Friedrichshafen from DaimlerChrysler. The sponsor is Swedish private equity firm EQT. The 1.1bn...

AVR.
April 1, 2006... * The 975m [euro] all-senior loan backing the LBO of Dutch waste management company AVR has closed more than 40% oversubscribed. Mandated lead arrangers are ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, CIBC and Lehman Brothers. Debt comprises a 275m [euro]...

Tommy Hilfiger.
April 1, 2006... * Clothing and consumer goods outfit Tommy Hilfiger is expected to bring a loan approaching the 1bn [euro] mark to back its LBO by Apax. Credit Suisse and Citigroup are bookrunning the deal with Fortis as mandated lead arranger. The deal is...

Audatex.
April 1, 2006... * Zurich-headquartered insurance claims services company Audatex has launched an US$825m facility backing its LBO by Solera, a consulting and outsourcing company backed by private equity outfit GTCR. Goldman Sachs is bookrunning the deal. Debt,...

Autodis.
April 1, 2006... * Sole bookrunner Citigroup has brought a 530m [euro] debt package to market backing Investcorp's secondary buyout of Autodis, the holding company for French automotive parts distributor Autodistribution. The loan comprises a 90m [euro] term...

BSN Medical.
April 1, 2006... * Pricing on the B and C tranches of the debt backing Montagu Private Equity's circa 1bn [euro] buyout of BSN Medical has been flexed down 25bp, via mandated lead arrangers JP Morgan and Mizuho Corporate Bank. Post-flex, senior debt comprises a...

Chorion.
April 1, 2006... * Apax Partners has placed an indicative offer for Chorion, the children's toy company that owns the Noddy and Mr Men brands. The bid is just below 120m [pounds sterling], 460 pence per share, significantly higher than the 108m [pounds...

Ewt.
April 1, 2006... * Pricing on the 550m [euro] loan backing ABN AMRO Holdings' and financial investors Aletheia and Hardt's Group's take private of German cable company Ewt has been flexed downwards due to a healthy oversubscription. The leads have reduced the...

FCI.
April 1, 2006... * Trading in the bank tranches of FCI's reworked 642.5m [euro] loan now looks unlikely following banks' discovery that pro-rata elements are to be drawn in Hong Kong dollars. Mandated lead arrangers Banc of America Securities and Goldman Sachs....

CapVest.
April 1, 2006... * Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners Barclays and Merrill Lynch have launched the 560.6m [pounds sterling] equivalent debt backing CapVest's circa 550m [euro] secondary buyout of Swedish frozen food group Findus. EQT is the vendor. Debt...

Grupo Levantina..
April 1, 2006... * BNP Paribas has been mandated to arrange the 358m [euro] all-senior debt package backing Impala Capital Partners and Charterhouse Capital Partner's acquisition of Grupo Levantina. BNP Paribas is sole mandated lead arranger and bookrunner....

JET Aviation.
April 1, 2006... * JET Aviation is in the market with a US$80m add-on to its SFr660m senior and mezzanine package of November last year, via mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners Citigroup, Mizuho Corporate Bank and RBS. The add-on is US dollar denominated...

Multikabel.
April 1, 2006... * The 438m [euro] debt package backing the LBO of Dutch cable operator Multikabel has allocated and is now free to trade, through mandated lead arranger ING. In syndication the institutional and bank pieces were oversubscribed with no fund...

Nocibe.
April 1, 2006... * BNP Paribas has launched the facility backing Charterhouse's LBO of Nocibe, the French perfumery group. Calyon and Fortis joined during the sub underwriting phase. In addition to senior debt totalling 307m [euro], there is a 40m [euro] second...

Nybron.
April 1, 2006... * Swiss flooring manufacturer Nybron is likely to reverse flex the margin on its well-received 450m [euro] secondary LBO loan, which has just closed via mandated lead arranger Credit Suisse. B, C, second lien and mezzanine pieces are all likely...

Spie Batignolles.
April 1, 2006... * Credit Industriel et Commercial and HSBC as mandated lead arrangers have completed the 92.5m [euro] loan backing the buyout of Spie Batignolles, a French construction firm. Sponsors are Barclays Private Equity and Victoria Investissement. The...

Tele Pizza.
April 1, 2006... * ING and RBS have been mandated to arrange the debt backing the circa 572m [euro] LBO of Tele Pizza, a Spanish home delivery and take-away fast food company operating in the Iberian Peninsula, Poland, the Czech Republic and Latin America. The...

UPC Norway.
April 1, 2006... * UPC Norway's NKr1.425bn and 174m [euro] dual currency facility is receiving a sluggish response from banks, despite already having surpassed its fundraising targets for the institutional and mezzanine pieces. Credit Suisse is bookrunner on...

Aster City Cable.
April 1, 2006... * Polish triple play cable provider, Aster City Cable has completed its senior loan through mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners Credit Suisse and GE Commercial Finance. In addition the group signed a 78.126m [euro] mezzanine facility...

Souriau.
April 1, 2006... * The 192m [euro] leveraged loan backing Sagard's secondary buyout of Souriau has closed oversubscribed via mandated lead arranger SG. Debt is split between 161m [euro] in senior facilities and a 31m [euro] mezzanine tranche, which has already...

On the Westside: (US$500m-US$30m): according to the latest figures from EVCA, European fundraising has doubled over the past two years but most of this money has been collected by the larger mega-funds. How did the smaller mid-market funds fare? Sandrine Bradley reports from Geneva.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... Fundraising in European private equity and venture capital reached 60bn [euro] in 2005, more than twice the sum raised in 2004, according to statistics announced at the recent EVCA (European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association)...

Asset-based lending case studies: flexible deal wraps up Sunderland firm's future: we asked practitioners to supply a case study of a recent M&A deal or buyout completed using invoice discounting/asset-based lending.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... When management of a Sunderland-based producer of printed flexible packaging wanted to buy back the shares held by a private equity firm, they turned to asset based lending facilities to fund the refinancing. Sunderland-based EBR uses a...

150 million [pounds sterling] ABL facility to fund MFI turnaround.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... Burdale Financial Limited (Burdale) and Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance have completed one of the UK's largest syndicated asset based lending (ABL) packages to fund MFI Furniture Group Plc's turnaround strategy. As joint lead arrangers and...

Jet Rollers.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... "Leading roller manufacturer, Jet Rollers, has secured its future growth following its management buyout and a 250,000 [pounds sterling] funding line from Cattles Invoice Finance. The firm, which was established in 1987, provides rubber-coated...

Acordis UK.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... "Landsbanki Commercial Finance was launched in August last year and we recently completed our first financing package in the North-East. The facility is a 12m [pounds sterling] asset-based lending package, covering accounts receivable and loans...

Canterbury Foods.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... "A 7m [pounds sterling] management buyout deal, funded by GE Commercial Finance's Business Finance unit, rescued the pastries and savouries division of Canterbury Foods Group in January 2006 from administrative receivership, saving 220 jobs....

Charta Print Group.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... "The key to being a good businessman is knowing when the time is right to take the plunge and acquire a rival business and then knowing how to source the funding. That is what Charta Print Group discovered when it sought cash to acquire another...

Confidential case study.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... "Invoice discounting (ID) has a long history as a revolving credit facility primarily funding working capital. More recently, ID has been viewed as a tool for maximising the value of a key business asset, ie, trade debtors. This has resulted in...

Island Steel.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... "South Wales-based Island Steel recently benefited from a new 10m [pounds sterling] facility put in place by Enterprise Finance Europe (part of the Bank of Ireland Group). Island Steel, which was established in 1994 and employs 36 people, is a...

Medica Packaging.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... "Benson Box, the independent manufacturer of printed folded carton packaging, has acquired Cheshire-based Medica Packaging in a deal funded by the Corporate Banking and Invoice Finance divisions of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Based in...

CitySprint.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2006... "CitySprint, the UK's leading courier network, offers a diverse range of same-day courier, international courier, next-day courier and specialist services. The company can handle anything from the delivery of a confidential document across...

M&A deal data: this country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between February 16 2006 and March 17 2006.
April 1, 2006... M&A DEAL DATA This country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between February 16 2006 and March 17 2006. Benelux Target Bidder Bols Royal Distilleries (NT)-- Investor...

Evident signs of progress in transition: eighteen months after joining the European Union, the eight countries of central Europe and the Baltics continue to experience the benefits from EU accession, while south-eastern Europe remains in the waiting room, with uncertain prospects regarding an accession date for some countries.(OVERVIEW)
April 1, 2006... Jean Lemierre, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said: "In May 2004, a revolution occurred when eight countries of Central Europe joined the European Union, culminating a process of diligent preparation to...

Region's power companies become compelling investments; not only do the rapidly growing economies of Central and Eastern Europe offer better opportunities for growth, but their location also makes them key potential hubs for the import of future fuel supplies from Russia and the Caspian region.(UTILITIES)
April 1, 2006... The largest German, Italian and French utilities--awash with cash on the back of high energy prices over the past 12-18 months--have led the chase for the Central and Eastern European assets. "I think they see it as getting their building...

Airport prices take off in Central Europe; airports have become a big focus of interest for both established operators and financial buyers, as economic growth across the region and the expansion of the European Union promises to boost air travel over the next decade.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
April 1, 2006... BAA made the biggest investment to date by a UK company in Hungary at the end of last year, when it Ipaid Ft464bn (US$2.1bn) for a 75% stake in the Ferihegy Airport that serves the capital Budapest. The price the UK airports operator ended...

Private equity comes of age: liquidity increases as private equity in Central and Eastern Europe finally brings home the bacon.(EQUITY FUNDS)
April 1, 2006... The stuttering growth of the private equity industry in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has seen many casualties fall along the way. The few survivors left in the buyout space, most of which have weathered the storm, are now on to their third...

Turkey turns the corner; after a spectacular 2005, no one is expecting Turkish M&A volumes in 2006 to maintain that same level. However, with EU negotiations now in process there is a sense that the country has turned the corner as far as foreign direct investment is concerned.(SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE)
April 1, 2006... It was certainly a long time coming, but there really was a change in Turkish M&A during 2005. The value of Turkish target M&A deals announced during the year totalled US$29.5bn, a staggering 30 times the level in 2004 (US$999.7m). It was...