Acquisitions Monthly articles from August 2003

Acquisitions Monthly archives from August 2003

New alternative for LBO financing.(Insight)(leveraged buyouts)
August 1, 2003... After a protracted stand-off between senior lenders and high-yield bond arrangers, The Royal Bank of Scotland and ING have finally launched a hybrid product to support the refinancing of Focus Wickes. The deal, which was priced successfully on...

Synopses of the largest global deals in July 2003.(Market intelligence)
August 1, 2003... US: Liberty Media Corp (LM) agreed to acquire the 58% interest it did not already own in QVC Inc, an owner and operator of cable TV stations, from Comcast Corp for an estimated US$7.9bn in cash, three-year unsecured notes and Class A LM common...

Bid premia back to realistic levels: after such a phenomenal start to the year's premia figures, the second quarter cannot claim to break any records.(Market intelligence)
August 1, 2003... The average premia over the target share price one day and one month before the offer or bid talks were announced were 28% and 54% respectively in the second quarter this year, down on the equivalent record breaking first quarter premia of 54%...

Le Pont de la Tour: in the first in a new series, Simon Walsh enjoys a visit to one of the premier Conran group restaurants, one which has just gained a new chef from Mirabelle.(Meals & Appetites)(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2003... Sir Terence Conran has to be one of the most influential restaurateurs of the late 20th century. Interestingly, he is one of the very few who is not a trained chef, even if his design credentials are beyond question. His empire takes in...

Christopher Gilmour has announced the closure of his eponymous eaterie in Victoria after failing to negotiate a deal with site owners Thistle Hotels.(News & Views)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Christopher Gilmour has announced the closure of his eponymous eaterie in Victoria after failing to negotiate a deal with site owners Thistle Hotels. The management is looking for an alternative in the area and it's business as usual for...

A new opening for Hampstead: Fay Maschler's sister Beth Coventry and Tom Etridge of Golborne House have opened The Wells (30 Well Walk, NW3).(News & Views)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... * A new opening for Hampstead: Fay Maschler's sister Beth Coventry and Tom Etridge of Golborne House have opened The Wells (30 Well Walk, NW3). Posh pub-grub and private rooms.

Wanting to make the most of what remains of the summer?(News & Views)
August 1, 2003... * Wanting to make the most of what remains of the summer? Indulge in a hamper from Carluccio's. Delicious salads, cheeses, antipasti and pastries are on offer. A snip at 10 [pounds sterling].

Marco Pierre White has taken over Gary Rhodes' Rhodes in the City, off Holborn.(News & Views)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... * Marco Pierre White has taken over Gary Rhodes' Rhodes in the City, off Holborn. MPW stalwart Adam Clark offers the best of traditional French and British, and the only thing to change is the art adorning the walls. As "Whites" it risks...

Cablecom: a hostile takeover? Cablecom is arranging a debt-for-equity swap with a consortium of creditors, wiping out more than half of its debt mountain.(Restructuring column)
August 1, 2003... Points of principle are being finalised on Switzerland's Cablecom SFr2.1bn (US$1.54bn) debt-for-equity swap, the rescue deal first announced on June 20 this year and expected to be signed off by the end of the summer holidays. The deal may be...

Reid Scott seeks to build a mini-Rothschild: Hawkpoint's chairman is determined to take the firm into the corporate finance elite and is not afraid of the challenges. Neil Sen talks to him about his career and his ambitions.(AM Interview)(Interview)
August 1, 2003... David Reid Scott's Anglo-Irish and Etonian background unfortunately lends itself to stereotyping in these egalitarian, chippy times. For many, his move to Hawkpoint might be seen as a leisurely, patrician saunter to the pavilion after a fine...

Deloitte counts the benefits of Andersen: Deloitte has continued to invest despite the difficult climate says corporate finance head Ian Jamieson.(Institutions)
August 1, 2003... One year on from its acquisition of Andersen's UK corporate financiers, Deloitte & Touche declares itself very happy with the progress of its corporate finance business. It points in particular to its role in the 860m [pounds sterling] buyout...

Charles Floe to boost healthcare at DrKW.(Institutions)
August 1, 2003... Chad Floe is joining Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) as a managing director and head of the healthcare sector group. Steve Berger, corporate finance executive chairman at DrKW, said: "Chad is an experienced corporate finance...

Cinven recruits on the Continent.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... European private equity house Cinven has recruited Thierry Celestin and Bruno Schick to bolster its Continental European operations. For the past five years Celestin has worked in the UK corporate finance division at Lazard, where he...

Hunting for acquirers: a modest revival in FIG M&A cannot disguise a real dearth of potential acquirers in the market.(FIG sector focus)(financial institutions group)
August 1, 2003... Most of 2002 was such a funereal period in financial institutions mergers and acquisitions that 2003 inevitably seems much brighter. Globally, the FIG sector was the leading industry in M&A this year, according to Thomson Financial data. In the...

Will Sarin stop deal-making at Vodafone? Much has been written about Chris Gent's amazing empire-building leadership. But his successor Arun Sarin is not entirely averse to deals either.(TMT sector report)
August 1, 2003... Chris Gent, who bowed out as head of Vodafone on July 31, has drawn resounding praise for his 6-1/2 years at the helm. After all, his was no mean feat. Gent, a flamboyant and consummate deal-maker, created Vodafone--now the only rally global...

QVC move complicates Vivendi auction; John Malone, King of Cable, spends US$7.9bn on home shopping. Vivendi Universal auction gets more complicated.(TMT sector report)
August 1, 2003... John Malone may be known as the "King of Cable" on Wall Street, but his Liberty Media group has long been regarded as a rather unappetising stew of unrelated media investments. Indeed, some have suggested that Liberty could end up being...

BT focus of Mmo2 takeover talk.(TMT sector report)(rumored deals in telecommunications industry)
August 1, 2003... Despite growing speculation over incumbent telecom operators looking to buy back their wireless offspring in a hid to cash in on new growth in the mobile market, British Telecom has dismissed talk that it is planning a move on Mmo2, the...

Summer sale: the season has brought a dizzying round of courtship in the retail sector as a wide array of suitors try to tempt away from the glare of public scrutiny.(Retail sector report)
August 1, 2003... In a sudden flurry, some of the UK's most venerable retail assets have been put on the block. Leaving the well ploughed furrow of food retail aside, the last year has seen Selfridges, Hamleys, Debenhams, BHS, Arcadia Group, House of Fraser,...

UK water regulator open to mergers: Ofwat says that it is willing to consider consolidation proposals from water companies on merit.(Utilities sector report)(Office of Water Services)
August 1, 2003... Water regulator Ofwat indicated at the end of July that it might be more amenable to mergers in the industry--particularly where they offer saving through economies of scale. "We are ready to listen to arguments if there are advantages for...

Russian mega deals to survive Kremlin probe.(Utilities sector report)
August 1, 2003... The two Russian oil industry mergers with a combined value of more than US$40bn that were announced earlier this year should survive the Kremlin-led investigation into the privatisation of the country's second largest oil company, industry...

Moving in the mid-markets (US$500m-US$30m).(Overview)(statistical data included)
August 1, 2003... (US$500m-US$30m) Real estate once again came in at the top of the pile in July with a 22.3% market share, according to data from Thomson Financial, up from 19% in June. In the UK, Noriba Bank of Bahrain, a unit of UBS AG, acquired the...

UK regional mid-markets round-up: 'what factors are currently driving M&A activity in the mid-market in your particular region?'.(Moving in the mid-markets)
August 1, 2003... Even though it's at an early stage, we are detecting a general feeling of more confidence in the North West region. One of the reasons for this is that some uncertainties such as the war in Iraq have been cleared out of the way. Many corporate...

Baugur shows determination.(Deal of the month)(Baugur HF won Tim Waterstone's bid over bying Hamleys PLC)
August 1, 2003... The competition between Iceland's Baugur and Tim Waterstone to win the hand of UK retailer Hamleys worked well for the vendor. But the 58.7m [pounds sterling] (US$94.1m) take-private deal disguised a wider lack of interest in making an...

Needles in haystacks: this month Jeremy Furniss, a partner at Livingstone guarantee, discusses the continuing difficulty in identifying strategic purchasers for companies considering a divestment.(Mid-market column)
August 1, 2003... The 1990s saw a profound structural shift in the way ambitious groups approached acquisition-led growth. Shoulder to shoulder, large corporates took up the chant of "back to basics", focusing management energies and financial resources on their...

Forced selling or long-term trend? Investment in the hotel sector is at a four year high. But are deals being spurred by a difficult operating climate or by a long-term trend in real estate disposals by global hotel groups?(Sector watch: hotels)
August 1, 2003... The first half of this year saw the highest volume of single asset transactions in the European hotel sector of any six months in the last four years, according to hotel investment services group Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. With a total...

A private equity boost for biotech? A busy few months in biotech means consolidation remains a plausible prospect.(Moving in the mid-markets)
August 1, 2003... With UK firm Biomedix announcing that it is in merger talks with an undisclosed party, the biotech sector once again looks to be on the brink of consolidation. Will it happen this time? In general terms, there has been a lot more activity...

M&A mid-market forum: it's not what you know that matters ... it's who you know.
August 1, 2003... THE M&A MID-MARKET FORUM If you are serious about M&A in the mid-market, this is the only forum that provides an opportunity to meet peers, seek advice and understand the conditions in all the leading industrial countries. By meeting...

Behind the buyouts.(Overview)(top 15 deals announced)
August 1, 2003... Assets that passed into private equity hands last month included the oldest continually operating ferry company in the world and an online betting company. Montagu Private Equity acquired the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for 142m [pounds...

Carry on? How do you keep star deal-doers happy in the absence of carry?(Private equity column)
August 1, 2003... The gravy train has bit the buffers. Public markets have lingered in the doldrums for too long. Exits have grown thinner. Distributions are less frequent. Private equity returns ate down. All of this is bad news for investors, but perhaps...

IG Group going private.(Buyout of the month)
August 1, 2003... IG Group, the UK spread-betting business, is to be taken private by a management team. The 143m [pounds sterling] (US$202m) offer is backed by 70% of shareholders, including founder and chairman Smart Wheeler. Private equity firm CVC Capital...

Cinven, Carlyle and Apax sell Aprovia UK.(Buyout of the month)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Publisher United Business Media has acquired London-based Aprovia UK, a subsidiary of Aprovia, from Cinven Group, the Carlyle Group and Apax Partners for 79m [pounds sterling] (US$131.3m) in cash. Reed Elsevier, Wolters Kluwer and Emap were...

LBO France gets exclusivity for Materis.(Behind the buyouts)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Paris-based investment group LBO France has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire 90% of speciality building materials group Materis in a secondary buyout from CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and the Carlyle Group for 1.1bn...

Have we got deals for you: a combination of legislative changes in media ownership and a consolidating market for TV production has made independent production companies attractive targets for private equity groups.(Behind the buyouts)
August 1, 2003... In the last two months popular UK-TV programmes from Have I Got News For You through Byker Grove to Inspector Morse, have fallen into private equity hands in a fragmented sector that has traditionally been shunned by the financiers. This...

The mezzanine report--September 2003.(Behind the buyouts)
August 1, 2003... The importance of mezzanine finance in European leveraged buyouts has been increasing steadily over the past few years. The instrument is no longer just viewed as a useful fallback for when Europe's temperamental high-yield market closes, bar...

Permira off to a flyer.(Funds)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Champagne corks must be popping at UK-based buyout giant Permira. Not only has it had achieved the most high-profile exit in the last year with Homebase, it also won the highly competitive auction to acquire SEAT Pagine, looks well placed to...

Mezz moves East.(Funds)(Mezzanine Management launches Central European fund)
August 1, 2003... UK-based Mezzanine Management has announced the final closing at 115m [euro] of its debut Central European mezzanine fund, Accession Mezzanine Capital (AMC). In a region that is still poorly served by senior lenders, AMC is, not surprisingly,...

Hicks Muse leaves target blank.(Funds)(Hicks Muse Tate and Furst's European takeover fund)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... In a somewhat novel approach to fundraising, Hicks Muse Tate & Furst has not set a target for its latest European vehicle, preferring instead to leave investors to decide how much it should raise. Although unprecedented, the strategy is perhaps...

Lexington raises US$2bn for secondaries.(Funds)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Lexington Partners has closed its most recent secondaries fund at US$2bn, proving appetite for this niche of the private equity market is still strong. At the end of last year Coller Capital closed the largest ever secondaries fund at US$2.5bn....

More exits for 3i.(Exits)(sells Paragon Publishing, Careshare)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... 3i has realised its 1997 investment in publisher Paragon. Highbury House will acquire the consumer magazines business for about 32m [pounds sterling]. 3i has made an IRR of 40% on its investment. The firm invested 12m [pounds sterling] for a...

PAI sells CEVA to IK.(Exits)(Industri Kapital)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... France-based buyout house PAI Partners has announced the sale of its controlling stake in CEVA Sante Animale to a newco backed by Industri Kapital and the company's management. CEVA was acquired from Sanofi-Synthelabo in October 1999. It...

Fives Lille recap.(Exits)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Following an unexpectedly strong performance, Industri Kapital has also achieved a partial exit from its investment in French engineering firm Fives-Lilles. The company has completed a 135m [euro] refinancing that will allow it to repay...

PPM Ventures offloads seafood business.(Exits)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A consortium of UK-based private equity houses, led by PPM Ventures, has realised its investment in Lyons Seafoods, one of Europe's largest processors of prawns and speciality seafood, through a sale of the company to SIF Group, an...

Yell.(Exits)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The offering for directories company Yell was increased last month from 850m [pounds sterling] to 1.14bn [pounds sterling](400m ordinary shares) due to strong institutional demand. The IPO provides a partial exit for private equity backers Apax...

M&A deal data.
August 1, 2003... Benelux Target Credibe NV-Mortgage Portfolio (BE)--Mortgage bank Sales ($): n/a Net Profits ($): n/a France Target Entenial SA (FR) 72.2%--Bank (foreign) Sales ($): 827.50m ...

Monthly sector analysis: this sector analysis includes acquisitions and buyout announced between 1 July and 31 July, 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.
August 1, 2003... Seller--activity Bidder--activity Price Dated (U$M) 10: MINING 1041: Gold ores Anglovaal Mining Ltd Investor Group (SA) 232.81 02-May-03...

Simmons & Simmons expertise in cartel and criminal investigations.(Sponsored Profile)
August 1, 2003... Simmons & Simmons has a team of lawyers with the expertise necessary to advise on the criminal cartel regime under the Enterprise Act, including investigations under the Act. The team combines lawyers with competition law experience and...

Why should business care? Executives ignore 21st century cartel busting at their peril. Either take some cheap steps now to remove danger of liability or face the painful consequences later.(Legal report)
August 1, 2003... Many executives watching Alfred Taubman, the former chairman of Sothebys, being led away to the cells are likely to have felt that Taubman's activities had nothing to do with them. Price-fixing between fine art dealers Sotheby's and Christies...

The new UK cartel offence: the UK government has produced a formidable competition regime in the UK as fierce as any in Europe. Behind the banner headlines, what has changed? Charles Bankes and Nick Benwell, partners of law firm Simmons & Simmons, explains.(Sponsored Article)
August 1, 2003... When the Competition Act 1998 came into force in March 2000, businesses were cautioned that it marked the start of a new era of tougher competition law in the UK. That Act introduced into UK law prohibitions on anti-competitive agreements and...

Criminal antitrust: only for the Brits? The fact that executives are outside the UK may not protect them as they could be extradited. Anyone who has made a cartel is subject to the law.(Legal report)
August 1, 2003... OK, so the mad Eurosceptic Brits have criminalised antitrust. Does this matter to the rest of Europe? Should price-fixers in Zurich, Asterdam and Madrid be worried? Oh yes they should, oh yes. There are three key points for Continental...

Doing cartel due diligence: during a big deal the last thing a dealmaker is likely to think about is antitrust liabilities. However, given the potential damage a revelation of antitrust liability can bring it is vital that dealmakers are aware of two key issues, succession liability and due diligence.(Legal report)
August 1, 2003... What's the damage? The damage for a firm involved in a major price-fixing cartel is far greater than is usually recognised. It is not just a fine that the firm can be faced with. The executives may be jailed; victims of the cartel may well...

Oxford criminal antitrust lessons: the Regulatory Policy Institute recently gave business, lawyers and regulators a taste of what a criminal antitrust trial might look like and the lessons that could be learned.(Legal report)
August 1, 2003... A European criminal antitrust trial is a rare beast. Until recently there has been virtually no effective criminal antitrust laws in Europe. As a result, no one, not executives, lawyers, or regulators have any real experience of how a criminal...

Case study: the Vitamins cartel: the vitamins conspiracy is the largest cartel--international or domestic--ever uncovered by the world's antitrust authorities (including those of the US, Europe, Australia (1), Canada (2), Switzerland, Brazil, Japan and Mexico).(Legal report)
August 1, 2003... The cartel involved a succession of meetings among high level executives of several multinational vitamin companies to fix prices for different vitamin products, allocate sales quotas, agree on and implement price increases and issue price...

Cartels: the merger sanction: cartel and merger regulation cannot be put in different boxes, writes Alan Riley of the Centre for Legal Research at Nottingham Law School.(Legal and regulatory column)
August 1, 2003... Cartels and mergers may be dealt with by different officials, divisions or agencies, however, there is only one economics. This means that officials looking at cartels will consider the effects of a merger on suspected cartel activity and, more...

SG Corporate & Investment Banking Leveraged Finance in Germany: SG Corporate & Investment Banking takes another major step towards a pan-European coverage.(Sponsored profile: SG Corporate & Investment Banking)
August 1, 2003... Since Rene de Laigue, Global Head of SG Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB)'s Leveraged Finance activity, resumed responsibility for operations of Leveraged Finance and Strategic Acquisition Finance in March 2001, the European activities...

Apax Partners.(Sponsored Profile)
August 1, 2003... Apax Partners is one of the world's leading private equity and venture capital firms. We are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build world class companies. Our track record of working with entrepreneurs from start-ups to leveraged transactions...

Bain & Company.(Sponsored Profile)
August 1, 2003... Bain & Company was founded in Boston 1973. Worldwide, we are present in 18 countries with 29 offices and a total of 2,800 employees. Today, in the German language area, Bain & Company has an office in Munich (founded 1982) with 180 employees...

On the mend: the outlook for reforms in Germany has improved slightly recently.(Germany Report)
August 1, 2003... With the global economic environment remaining weak--especially in the aftermath of the war in Iraq--and domestic demand hampered by, among other things, tax hikes, it is hardly surprising that there has been no uplift in demand in Germany....

Banks unravelling shareholdings: 'do you see a shake-up in German banking and the continued unravelling of cross-shareholdings leading to further M&A activity? If so, in which companies and sectors?'.(Germany Report)
August 1, 2003... "An overview of the shareholding structures of the German DAX 30 companies looks like this country is firmly in the hands of banks and insurance companies--especially the likes of Deutsche Bank and Allianz that seem to have their tentacles...

Challenges of succession in family-owned companies: Max Burger-Calderon a founding partner of Apax Partners, Munich, maps out possible funding solutions for owner-managed businesses.(Sponsored article: Max Burger-Calderon)
August 1, 2003... Today, Germany's owner-managed businesses find themselves in a tight financing squeeze. When small and medium-size enterprises turn to their bank managers to discuss loan issues, the response elicited--to put it mildly--is usually one of...

Fewer but larger deals: private equity takes its place firmly in the German arena as restructuring, distressed assets and large buyouts characterise the transaction landscape going forward. Sandrine Bradley reports from Frankfurt.
August 1, 2003... The German economy does not look good but players in the corporate finance world are red up with talk of doom and gloom. They argue that with the unrealistic hype and the over-inflated expectations of single events such as Basle II and the...

Private equity is the lazy prodigy: Germany's buyout market always seems to disappoint, but it cannot be ignored by private equity firms.(Germany report)
August 1, 2003... The German private equity market stutters on like the lazy genius that everyone loved to hate in school. Just when you least expect it, the sector performs miracles with apparent effortless ease, restocking its store of charm; but when you most...

The art of finding a new angle: Dr. Ekkehard Franzke of Bain & Company Germany, discusses the winning factors in private equity auctions--and the alternatives.(Sponsored Article)
August 1, 2003... There is life after exiting: while a few foreign players exited the German private equity market in disappointment after its dramatic crash in 2001, the buyout business experienced a renewed upsurge in 2002. The total value of buyouts with a...

Restructuring still the big driver: as restructuring continues to throw up the bulk of activity in the German M&A market the disposal of distressed assets and the spectre of insolvency's become ever more pertinent.(Germany report)
August 1, 2003... It appears that 2003 is a year very similar to 2002, with deals once again driven by corporate restructuring and disposals as companies look to increase liquidity and refocus on core competencies. The general theme, most argue, is of fewer but...

Independence is popular: in a tough market the smaller banks in Germany have been steadily stealing market share from their bulge bracket rivals.(Germany report)
August 1, 2003... Rothschild, Lazard and Drueker & Co have pushed themselves up the Thomson Financial advisory league tables for the first half of 2003, over-taking some of their larger rivals such as Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Credit Suisse First Boston. ...

Realising potential in the German market: Claus Peter and SG CIB's Frankfurt team have a key strength that plays well in the leveraged finance market in Germany: a long-term familiarity with the private equity landscape.(Sponsored article: SG Corporate & Investment Banking)
August 1, 2003... There have been a number of reinvigorating moves recently in the German private equity market. Permira has taken a slice of media assets with the acquisition of Premiere, the pay television channel, from Kirch Group. CVC made a major impact on...

Basle II remains an uncertain issue: the large commercial banks in Germany argue that Basle II will not affect the Mittelstand. Others players say we have only seen the tip of the Basle II Iceberg.(Germany report)
August 1, 2003... The introduction of Basle II and the ground-breaking agreement between Berlin and Brussels to phase out state guarantees for the public banks over four years threw up the spectre of private equity finally entering the Mittelstand. But has it...

The end of the beginning: Deutsche Telekom has finally offloaded its cable TV assets, but it is last month's acquisition of Tele Columbus by BC Partners that could be the sign of things to come in the messy saga of the German pay TV market.(German report)
August 1, 2003... The protracted saga of Deutsche Telekom's cable disposals finally culminated last month with a private equity consortium consisting of Apax Partners, Goldman Sachas and Providence Equity Partners acquiring the six remaining franchises for...

Restructuring German utilities: electricity prices, regulation and acquisition risk are the major investment issues going forward for both E.ON and RWE.
August 1, 2003... In contrast to the energy-only focus of larger rival E.ON, RWF has turned itself into a multi-utility that offers water and waste services in addition to power and gas. RWE and several private equity firms are among those vying to buy...