Acquisitions Monthly articles from April 2009

Acquisitions Monthly archives from April 2009

Facing the unpalatable truth.(EDITORIAL)
April 1, 2009... Europe's private equity firms are right to be worried about what the European Commission has up its sleeve. Almost any combination of the proposals that Brussels may produce in April is likely to have at least as big an impact on the industry's...

Scorched Spain confronts storm: Spanish companies are buckling down for a severe recession but a wave of restructuring and related activity mean advisers will remain busy.(COUNTRY REPORT: SPAIN)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For a country where unemployment under re-elected prime minister Zapatero, is widely expected to rise to 20% of the working population by the end of the year, advisers on deals are remarkably optimistic. However, a...

Gas natural flared over deal timing: the energy company may have overpaid for Union Fenosa in the short term but the resulting regional utility champion should prosper once hurdles are overcome.(COUNTRY REPORT: SPAIN)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The takeover of Union Fenosa by Gas Natural has been billed by some in Spain as a deal that creates a new national utilities champion in the same league, albeit somewhat smaller, as Endesa, controlled by Italy's...

End game at Endesa: one of the most hotly contested, politically charged and audacious cross-border European M&A deals of the past three years--Enel's acquisition of Spain's largest electricity and gas utility Endesa--has been moving quietly towards its final conclusion.(COUNTRY REPORT: SPAIN)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Italian energy champion Enel is about to gain 92.06% control of Madrid-headquartered Endesa, following a stake acquisition agreed over the weekend of February 21 and 22 with Spanish construction and energy company...

Spain's lenders: the long tail: Spanish banks have not needed state support yet but more uncertain times ahead could provoke consolidation, particularly among the cajas.(COUNTRY REPORT: SPAIN)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Spain's experience since the credit crunch started nearly two years ago has differed from that of many other leading European economies. At a reasonably early stage, signs emerged that Spain would suffer more than...

Spanish builders stumble: holding large amounts of debt in a downturn has forced Ferrovial and other Spanish construction companies to reconsider their overseas acquisitions. However, it's not all one-way traffic.(COUNTRY REPORT: SPAIN)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Spanish construction groups spent much of the years prior to the onset of the credit crunch bulking up: expanding both geographically and across business lines. But the downturn has forced them to reexamine their...

Real estate: real crisis: restructuring deals have characterised Spain's real estate sector over the past 18 months. With no signs of recovery, even restructured companies are far from home and dry.(COUNTRY REPORT: SPAIN)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Spain's real estate sector has come undone in a big way. Geared up to the hilt, the extent of the downturn has left most major players at risk of bankruptcy. Two prominent casualties and a rickety insolvency...

Prisa shelves Digital+ sale: the Spanish media company's efforts to sell its pay-TV business to repay a 2bn [euro] bridge loan have been frustrated by bids below its planned 2.6bn [euro] sale price.(COUNTRY REPORT: SPAIN)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Over the past year, shares in Spain's biggest business media company, Promotora de Informaciones, otherwise known as Prisa, had crashed from 10 [euro] to 0.95 [euro] by early March. This happened the company...

Spanish private equity investors braced for downturn: Spain's private equity sector is set for another year of heavy losses as financing remains jammed and businesses struggle under the country's deepest recession in 15 years.(COUNTRY REPORT: SPAIN)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The decline in private equity investment levels this year could be even steeper than last year's 30% drop, while fundraisings could plunge by a further 50%, according to market participants. The mega buyouts seen...

Europe registers 47.8% drop in Q1 M&A activity: as first-quarter government-backed M&A accounts for 31% of global deal-making the highest percentage since records began, deals in the financial, healthcare and energy and power sectors make up 70% of worldwide activity.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE: REVIEW OF THE YEAR TO-DATE)
April 1, 2009... As economies and businesses battle to stay afloat, first-quarter M&A figures compiled by Thomson Reuters reveal a 29.3% drop in global activity compared with the first quarter of 2008. The first three months of 2009 witnessed announced deals...

Aabar invests 1.95bn [euro] in Daimler: Middle East investment in Daimler held up as model deal as sovereign wealth funds are targeted by would-be investee companies.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
April 1, 2009... In March, Daimler, the German truck and Mercedes-Benz vehicle producer, secured 1.95bn [euro] of fresh capital from new anchor shareholder Aabar Investments in the sort of deal that many large European corporates in recession-battered sectors...

US: Merck & Co Inc (MC) has definitively agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of Schering-Plough Corp (SP), a manufacturer and developer of pharmaceuticals, in a stock-swap transaction valued at US$38.615bn.(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... US: Merck & Co Inc (MC) has definitively agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of Schering-Plough Corp (SP), a manufacturer and developer of pharmaceuticals, in a stock-swap transaction valued at US$38.615bn. MC offered US$10.5 in...

UK: HM Treasury has agreed to raise it interest from 65% to 77% in London-based Lloyds Banking Group PLC by acquiring a 12% stake or 1.961bn ordinary shares for 15.6bn [euro] (US$22.316bn) through a capital increase in a privately negotiated transaction.(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... UK: HM Treasury has agreed to raise it interest from 65% to 77% in London-based Lloyds Banking Group PLC by acquiring a 12% stake or 1.961bn ordinary shares for 15.6bn [euro] (US$22.316bn) through a capital increase in a privately negotiated...

Hungary: OAO Surgutneftegaz of Russia has acquired a 21.22% stake, or 22.179m ordinary shares, in Magyar Olaj es Gazipari Nyilvanosan Mukodo Rt (MOL Group).(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... HUNGARY: OAO Surgutneftegaz of Russia has acquired a 21.22% stake, or 22.179m ordinary shares, in Magyar Olaj es Gazipari Nyilvanosan Mukodo Rt (MOL Group), a Budapest-based oil and gas exploration and production company, from OMV AG, for...

Belgium: Belgian-state owned Fortis Bank SA/NV agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Brussels-based Fortis Insurance Belgium NV (FI), from Fortis NV, for 1.375bn [euro] (US$1.751bn).(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... BELGIUM: Belgian-state owned Fortis Bank SA/NV agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Brussels-based Fortis Insurance Belgium NV (FI), from Fortis NV, for 1.375bn [euro] (US$1.751bn). Previously, BNP Paribas SA of France withdrew its agreement to...

India: Reliance Industries Ltd (RI) is to acquire the 24.62%, or 1.108bn ordinary shares, it does not already own in Reliance Petroleum Ltd, a petroleum product manufacturer and wholesaler, in a stock-swap transaction valued at Rs87.597bn (US$1.745bn).(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... INDIA: Reliance Industries Ltd (RI) is to acquire the 24.62%, or 1.108bn ordinary shares, it does not already own in Reliance Petroleum Ltd, a petroleum product manufacturer and wholesaler, in a stock-swap transaction valued at Rs87.597bn...

Announced deals worldwide: target region transaction volume year-to-date.(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... ANNOUNCED DEALS WORLDWIDE: TARGET REGION TRANSACTION VOLUME YEAR-TO-DATE Americas US$207,393.70m 48.0% Europe US$144,898.87m 33.5% Central Asia/Asia-Pacific US$55,685.85m 12.9% Japan...

Announced deals worldwide: target industry transaction volume year-to-date.(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... ANNOUNCED DEALS WORLDWIDE: TARGET INDUSTRY TRANSACTION VOLUME YEAR-TO-DATE Healthcare US$120,967.85 28.0% Financials US$112,020.60 25.9% Energy and power US$69,790.66 16.1% Materials US$57,092.53...

Hong Kong: Grand Point Investment Ltd, wholly owned by Tianjin Port Development Holdings Ltd (TP), a 67.33%-owned subsidiary of Tsinlien Group Co Ltd (TG).(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... HONG KONG: Grand Point Investment Ltd, wholly owned by Tianjin Port Development Holdings Ltd (TP), a 67.33%-owned subsidiary of Tsinlien Group Co Ltd (TG), which is itself 53.4%-owned by a Tianjin Development Holdings Ltd unit, has agreed to...

US: Gilead Sciences Inc has agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of CV Therapeutics Inc (CV), a biopharmaceutical company, through a tender offer of US$20 in cash per share, or a total value of US$1.33bn.(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... US: Gilead Sciences Inc has agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of CV Therapeutics Inc (CV), a biopharmaceutical company, through a tender offer of US$20 in cash per share, or a total value of US$1.33bn. The offer is conditional...

South Africa: Paulson & Co Inc of the US, through undisclosed investment funds, has acquired an 11.3% stake, or 39.911m ordinary shares, in AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (AA).(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... SOUTH AFRICA: Paulson & Co Inc of the US, through undisclosed investment funds, has acquired an 11.3% stake, or 39.911m ordinary shares, in AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (AA), a Johannesburg-based gold mining company, from Anglo American PLC (AP), for...

US: Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MM) has agreed to acquire the 45.4% it did not already own in Magellan Midstream Holdings LP (MH), a provider of refined petroleum products distribution services, in a stock-swap transaction valued at US$1.148bn.(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... US: Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MM) has agreed to acquire the 45.4% it did not already own in Magellan Midstream Holdings LP (MH), a provider of refined petroleum products distribution services, in a stock-swap transaction valued at...

TOP 10 global deals announced in march 2009.(March snapshot)
April 1, 2009... TOP 10 GLOBAL DEALS ANNOUNCED IN MARCH 2009 Date ann Target 09/03/09 Schering-Plough Corp (US) 07/03/09 Lloyds Banking Group PLC (UK) 23/03/09 Petro-Canada (CA) 30/03/09 MOL Group( HU) 07/03/09 Fortis Insurance...

EADS hasn't shelved US deal: Airbus parent company--the Franco-German political behemoth known as EADS--is still targeting Wyle in the US, Acquisitions Monthly has learnt.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON DEFENCE & AEROSPACE)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EADS, Europe's largest defence and aerospace manufacturer, has not entirely shelved a US deal, it emerged in March, and the US company that it still wants to acquire is Wyle. Although EADS admitted publicly in...

Austria exposed: Austrian banks have been boosted by small government bailouts as CEE's looming crisis threatens its main players and deal activity looks unlikely.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON FIG)
April 1, 2009... Austria's financial sector has seen a steady stream of M&A activity in recent years but, following the global banking crisis and with the more recent danger of the growth story unravelling in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), a region to which...

Nationwide uses Banking Act for Dunfermline swoop: the UK's largest building society has used a new Banking Act, passed in late February, to pick up the rump of collapsed Scottish lender Dunfermline. More consolidation is expected.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON FIG)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nationwide, the UK's largest building society, has taken advantage of the recently passed Banking Act 2009 to take ownership of a number of assets of Scotland's Dunfermline. It is also Nationwide's third building...

Big nuclear player to emerge in UK: at least one big new corporate entity will emerge in the UK power industry from the initial sale of sites for new atomic power stations, the results of which should be announced in early April.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON UTILITIES)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the government body responsible for managing the country's redundant and older nuclear facilities, launched an auction of land at three locations--Bradwell in Essex, Oldbury in...

Taking a different road? Private equity firms are stepping up investments in infrastructure as the banking crisis looks set to cast a long shadow over the leveraged buyout market for the foreseeable future.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON PRIVATE EQUITY)
April 1, 2009... Opportunities for private equity to boost investment in infrastructure are also certain to increase. The US and European governments are looking to boost private sector involvement across a range of projects, as a surge in such investment holds...

European Commission says private equity rules inevitable.(LEGAL & REGULATORY)
April 1, 2009... Europe's private equity industry proposed a unified code of conduct in a bid to avert mandatory EU regulation but the European Commission said at the end of last month that legislative measures were inevitable. Jonathan Russell, chairman...

Private equity ignores restructuring: with financing still restricted, financial investors have little incentive to make distressed investments or save their own ailing assets.(RESTRUCTURING)
April 1, 2009... Restructuring professionals are muttering that private equity firms are attempts to rescue businesses. "There has been a complete collapse in private equity interest in buying assets from distressed companies, even when such businesses...

Private equity makes injections.(RESTRUCTURING)
April 1, 2009... Some significant and groundbreaking private equity deals are now being, or are about to be, restructured. TPG's Vita deal was the largest European buyout for the US firm in six years when it was acquired in 2005 for an equity value of 668m...

Publishers face perilous period: newspaper groups are hoping regulatory changes will allow rescue deals to take place.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS: SECTOR FOCUS)
April 1, 2009... Print publishers of many hues have endured dramatic changes over the past decade as the internet has transformed their traditional business models. However, the current downturn is exacerbating this trend and affecting consumer-facing...

Majestic moves upmarket: Majestic Wine, the UK's largest wine warehouse chain, is to pay up to 6m [pounds sterling] to acquire fine wine specialist Lay & Wheeler.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Family-owned wine merchant Lay & Wheeler has signalled the end of 150 years of independence by agreeing to a takeover by fast-expanding retailer Majestic Wine. The 6m [pounds sterling] deal values the Suffolk-based...

Capita finds hero.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2009... Capita Group has embellished its reputation as one of the most acquisitive FTSE 100 companies, buying personal lines insurance broker Hero Insurance Services from LV for 15m [pounds sterling]. Hero is based in the south of England. Support...

Polyus prevaricates over KazakhGold: Russia's largest gold company has still not posted the offer documents for London-listed KazakhGold, the biggest gold miner in neighbouring Kazakhstan.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Polyus Gold, which is controlled by Russia's richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, has yet to outline in detail its proposed offer for fellow gold miner KazakhGold. The latter company has a listing in London but operates...

Norcliffe wins the GNE prize.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2009... The 20.6m [pounds sterling] bid for GNE Group by Norcliffe Investments has finally gone unconditional with 50.7% of shareholders in the Aim-listed cash shell accepting the 190p per share offer, valuing the company at 26.4m [pounds sterling]....

Escaping Iceland: overseas brokers and merchant bankers, accumulated by Icelandic banks, have been making their way back to independence.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
April 1, 2009... Before Straumur Burdaras was nationalised on 9 March 2009, it was the last major Icelandic bank left standing after the country's financial collapse in October 2008. Now it joins Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir on the list of state-owned...

Bridgepoint capitalises on Hermes strategy shift: Bridgepoint, the pan-European private equity firm, has taken over the direct private equity arm of Hermes Private Equity, formerly the mid-market buyout arm of Hermes Fund Managers, in what may be the first of a wave of management company consolidations.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: PRIVATE EQUITY COLUMN)
April 1, 2009... London-headquartered Bridgepoint has been "mandated" to take on Hermes Private Equity's two previous funds, as well as its 10-strong investment team, which includes chief executive Rod Selkirk. a former staffer at Bridgepoint between 1990 and...

Candover faces shake-up to survive.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: PRIVATE EQUITY COLUMN)
April 1, 2009... UK-based private equity firm Candover has been brought to its knees by the twin strains of its listed investment vehicle running out of cash and a stack of wobbly portfolio companies. The difficulties erupted at the beginning of March when...

World's third largest SWF invests in Prosperity Capital.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: PRIVATE EQUITY COLUMN)
April 1, 2009... Norway's Government Pension Fund--the world's third largest sovereign wealth fund, with US$337bn of assets under management by market value--has allocated a large chunk of its Russian equities portfolio to Prosperity Capital. Prosperity,...

Blackstone eyes US$3bn rescue financing fund.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: PRIVATE EQUITY COLUMN)
April 1, 2009... Blackstone is trying to roll out a new fund geared toward providing financing for struggling companies. The US alternate assets group is hoping to raise as much as US$3bn for a rescue fund that would pro vide financing to cash-strapped entities...

PIPE realities: how should private equity firms go about investing in a UK listed company? And how will it square with existing institutional shareholders? Ian Hamilton and John Newton of law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges write.(CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES)
April 1, 2009... In the current market of limited bank finance it had been expected that PIPE (private investment in public equity) activity would increase greatly as private equity firms looked to put their capital to work in new ways, while...

Essent Milieu bids in: Deutsche's EMEA buyout chief Gaynor moves to RREEF.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2009... First round bids are now in for the auction of Essent Milieu, the Dutch waste management and disposal group. A mix of trade, private equity and infrastructure funds are understood to have bid for the group, though a mooted bid from CVC and KKR...

MBO at Babcock & Brown.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
April 1, 2009... Management teams at collapsed Australian-listed infrastructure investor Babcock & Brown are seeking finance for management buyouts. Antonino Lo Bianco, Babcock's European head of infrastructure, is believed to be seeking backing to buy its...

An alternative to rights issues? A US fund has come up with a clever way for listed companies to raise extra funds by tapping into the liquidity of their shares. It is a welcome addition to a company's fund-raising tools and sits neatly alongside traditional techniques such as rights issues.(ACQUISITION FINANCE)
April 1, 2009... Shareholders are going to be on the receiving end of endless cash I calls from companies, with the debt markets currently being so uninviting. According to Goldman Sachs, listed companies are likely to ask their shareholders for a record 300bn...

Investors keep faith in Egypt: the prospects for M&A in Egypt look positive once the global economy picks up as investors retain faith in the country and its reforms. Nonetheless, tougher reforms now beckon and investors worry that the government might backslide.(REGIONAL REPORTS: FOCUS ON MENA)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Foreign investors retain confidence in Egypt despite the global credit crunch and the sharp price declines of Egyptian shares. For instance, the Egypt CMA General Index has over the last 12 months fallen from around...

Sorting out the aftermath of growth: Gulf Corporates rode the oil boom aggressively and many simply weren't prepared for the more pedestrian growth rates that followed the effects of the credit crunch. Many now need to restructure debts and Islamic loans could be particularly problematic.(REGIONAL REPORTS: FOCUS ON MENA)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dubai's international airport is increasingly filing up with abandoned luxury cars. Their former owners, usually expatriates whose businesses have gone bust, drive to the airport, the finance company saying are in...

Gulf Bank M&A talk intensifies: the credit crunch has added a degree of urgency to bank consolidation in some Gulf countries and deal talk abounds. For the stronger players, it will also be an opportunity to build a presence in promising sectors such as Islamic finance.(REGIONAL REPORTS: FOCUS ON MENA)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Whether it's the regional leader, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), teaming up with Islamic house Boubyan, the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) with Shamil, or a new US$50bn entity linking the National Bank of Abu...

M&A deal data: this country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 18 February 2009 and 19 March 2009.
April 1, 2009... M&A DEAL DATA This country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 18 February 2009 and 19 March 2009. Benelux Target Bidder Union Chimique Belge SA (UCB SA)- Shire PLC...

Designing a new business model.(CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE)
April 1, 2009... Whether driven by a recent merger or acquisition, a need to consolidate several past acquisitions, or to reposition the business for the new world ahead, many companies are likely to undertake some kind of organisational restructuring in the...