Acquisitions Monthly articles from August 2006

Acquisitions Monthly archives from August 2006

July snapshot: synopses of largest global deals announced last month.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
August 1, 2006... US An investor group comprising Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, a unit of Merrill Lynch & Co Inc, and HCA Inc (HCA) founder Thomas F Frist, definitively agreed to acquire HCA, an owner and...

Bid premia report.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
August 1, 2006... Bid premia report UK PUBLIC COMPLETED BIDS Target Description Adviser ebookers PLC Online travel agency Credit Suisse First services Boston...

Clash of the titans: winning the hearts and minds of shareholders on either side of the prolonged six-month battle for Arcelor by Mittal Steel was no picnic.(LEAD FEATURE: ARCELOR MITTAL)
August 1, 2006... "We still have a huge amount of work," sighs Martine Hue, who heads investor relations for Luxembourg-based Arcelor It's July 18 and she's eagerly awaiting the final results of the tender offer to Arcelor shareholders while preparing the steel...

Putin blows out foreign oil companies: what will the changed climate will mean for future oil and gas investments in Russia and elsewhere?(SECTOR REPORTS: RUSSIAN OIL & GAS)
August 1, 2006... It seems hard to believe that just three years ago ExxonMobil was ready to spend US$40bn on a 25% stake in Yukos--Russia's leading oil company at the time. Not only will the remaining remnants of Yukos be sold out of bankruptcy proceedings in...

Institutional investors move in on property.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON PROPERTY)
August 1, 2006... New players from the private equity and hedge fund world are entering the property market and the arrival of real estate investment trusts (REITS) is impending in the UK and Germany. There has also been an increase in property-linked M&A...

Tech boom sparks private equity interest: the UK technology sector is among the most buoyant in Europe with recent levels of activity set to continue.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON HIGH TECH)
August 1, 2006... M&A deal activity in the tech space shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Total acquisitions of UK tech targets are looking particularly buoyant, already standing at US$4.3bn for the year to date, with 2006 looking set to overtake 2005...

Fiat and Credit Agricole create JV: Italian vehicle group and French bank announce US$2.5bn consumer finance business.(SECTOR REPORTS: FIG REVIEW)
August 1, 2006... Italian industrial group Fiat's car making unit Fiat Auto has agreed a deal to establish a 50:50 financial services joint venture with French bank Credit Agricole to manage Fiat Auto's financial activities in Europe. Credit Agricole will pay...

Martin Gudgeon new Close CEO: Close Brothers gears up for the next restructuring wave. Richard Grainger becomes chairman.(INSTITUTIONS)
August 1, 2006... Martin Gudgeon has taken over the steering wheel at Close Brothers, replacing Richard Grainger as chief executive. Gudgeon, recognised as a heavyweight in the restructuring world, will keep his previous position as head of special...

Greenough to rebuild Lovells.(INSTITUTIONS)
August 1, 2006... Lovells is making steps towards rebuilding its London private equity practice by hiring Alan Greenough from White & Case. Greenough joined White & Case at the beginning of 2004 to build a UK law private equity practice. He was previously...

UK drives European market: Sullivan & Cromwell leads global rankings of law firms and Linklaters moved into top position in European tables.(LEGAL & REGULATORY)
August 1, 2006... M&A volume in the first half of 2006 jumped to US$1.Strn, a 44% increase from the US$1.3trn recorded during the same period last year. European announced M&A volume reached US$905.9bn for the first half of 2006. This represented a significant...

Winning in Italy: how private equity firms win deals and make money in Italy's increasingly mature and competitive market. Quentin Carruthers reports from Milan.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: PRIVATE EQUITY COLUMN)
August 1, 2006... Star, the iconic, family-owned producer of stock cubes--which is a vital ingredient in Italian national dishes such as risotto--attracted interest from more than half of Italy's private equity community when it announced that it was considering...

Cinven and Warburg Pincus acquire Casema.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2006... Cinven and Warburg Pincus have agreed to acquire Casema from a group of investors including Carlyle Group, Providence Equity Partners and GMT Communications Partners for 2.1bn [euro]. Warburg Pincus is adding its stake in Dutch cable...

Bidding war over McCarthy & Stone.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2006... Shareholders of UK retirement homes builder are gearing up for a competitive bidding contest. A bid consortium comprising HBOS and property entrepreneurs Simon and David Reuben were talking with McCarthy & Stone with a view to topping the 1bn...

Victory for Goldman over AB Ports.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2006... Goldman Sachs Group has increased its bid for Associated British Ports Holdings to 2.8bn [pounds sterling] (US$5.1bn), topping an offer from Macquarie Bank for the UK's biggest port operator. Goldman's bid of 910p a share, which was 8.3% higher...

Lion Capital buys American Safety Razor.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2006... Lion Capital is to acquire American Safety Razor, a leading global manufacturer of razors and blades, from JW Childs, a private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The which is expected to be completed in late July 2006, values the...

Terra Firma sells waste business.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2006... Terra Firma, the UK private equity firm, will hold on to the waste-to-energy arm of Waste Recycling Group, which analysts say could be worth 650m [euro], following a sale of the waste disposal business to FCC of Spain. Terra Firma Capital...

Cauldron of activity: activity levels remain high across the South of England, as they have done since September last year, and the picture is consistent across most sectors and all sizes of business.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS: (US$500M-US$30M))
August 1, 2006... One of the most headline-grabbing deals of the year to-date is the takeover of airport operator BAA by the Spanish group Ferrovial. BAA has a number of airports in the south, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Southampton, so this transaction will...

M&A deals under US$500m rise 10%: Fortis, KPMG and UBS top worldwide mid-market rankings. Rothschild advises on the most French deals and, with KPMG, heads the UK tables. Ernst & Young is prominent in Germany.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
August 1, 2006... The global volume of announced M&A transactions with a rank value of up to US$500m reached US$367.8bn during the first half of 2006, a 9.8% increase from the same period last year. US M&A deals valued at up to US$500m helped drive this...

On a roll: despite relatively strong equity markets, M&A activity in India continues the momentum from 2005. Sridar Swamy of India Advisory Partners reports.(REGIONAL REPORT: INDIA)
August 1, 2006... While the Indian stock markets have been relatively strong this year, corporate finance activity in India has kept up the momentum seen in the second half of 2005. From to June in the current year were 318 deals announced worth Rs447.4bn...

M&A deal data: this country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 20 June 2006 and 18 July 2006.
August 1, 2006... M&A DEAL DATA This country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 20 June 2006 and 18 July 2006. Benelux Target Bidder Carestel NV (BE) 61.5%--Own, Edizione Holding...

Country codes.
August 1, 2006... AA Albania AB Aruba AD Andorra AF Afghanistan AI Abu Dhabi AJ Ajman AL Algeria AM Armenia AN Angola AQ Antigua AR Argentina AS Austria AU Australia AZ Azerbaijan BA Bahrain...