Acquisitions Monthly articles from August 2008

Acquisitions Monthly archives from August 2008

July snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
August 1, 2008... US: Roche Holding AG said it would launch an unsolicited tender offer to acquire the 44.1% stake plus options, or 534.491m common shares, it did not already own, in Genentech Inc, a biotechnology company, for US$89 in cash per share, or a total...

High premia continue into Q2: AIM-listed groups go under the hammer as TripleArc shareholders secure highest premia.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
August 1, 2008... Bid premia levels continued to escalate during the three-month period from April to June, with average premia reaching the 50% mark for the third quarter in a row. The number of eligible offers for UK public companies included in the survey...

Can an organisation's culture be a deal maker or breaker? We know that some deals have not gone ahead because of cultural issues. Equally, integrations have foundered as management teams find themselves with radically different visions of the future to their counterparts. Ben de Haldevang and Ann Elliot, directors in the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP post Merger Integration team write.(POST MERGER INTEGRATION)
August 1, 2008... Looking back at some of the M&A activity of 10 years ago, we'd be forgiven for thinking that all that was required for a deal to go ahead was opportunity, the application of some financial metrics across two potentially compatible businesses...

Last orders for Britain's pubs: the UK pubs industry is under attack from all sides, as the economic downturn worsens and thirsty punters head to the supermarkets for cheaper alcohol. Distressed pub sales are the M&A trend.(PUBS)(Industry overview)
August 1, 2008... They say the last thing to close in a recession is a brewery but it is the first to open again in an upturn. (Most people like a drink or two.) You would think the same would ring true for pubs, but they are already closing, going into...

The holiday makers: Thomas Cook and TUI Travel share the driving seat of the European travel operator sector. Disposing of airlines in Europe while circling opportunities in emerging markets are the themes dominating travel in 2008.(LEISURE FEATURE: TRAVEL OPERATORS)
August 1, 2008... Given the mega-mergers of 2007, when Europe's four largest operators became two, there are no large deals on the horizon. Tougher trading conditions are causing pain for smaller operators and with private equity forced to take a back seat due...

Private equity checks out: after a restructuring phase, how is the hotel and hospitality sector placed going into the downturn and where are the deals?(LEISURE FEATURE: HOTELS)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The high point for M&A in the hotels and hospitality sector was reached on July 1 2007, with the announced US$26.7bn acquisition of Hilton Hotels by US private equity firm Blackstone Group. In every way--size,...

Gazprom factor stifles European power plays: high energy prices--and the likelihood of further rises in the short to medium term--seem certain to inhibit large-scale acquisitions in the gas and power industry, as they inevitably heighten fears over security of supply and lead to more political intervention in deals considered to have strategic significance.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON UTILITIES)
August 1, 2008... Nowhere is this trend more apparent than in Europe, where up to the middle of last year most bankers and analysts were confident that the big utilities were about to embark on a "final phase" of consolidation, on the back of further EU...

Crashing: the UK's property market is imploding and house builders are taking the brunt of the fallout. However, survivors from the wreckage are likely to consolidate their positions and grow even stronger on the next upturn.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON HOUSEBUILDERS)
August 1, 2008... Just out of prison? Bankrupt? No income? And need a mortgage? No problem! This was apparently the wording of an advertisement for mortgages that appeared in California just before the credit crisis broke and it was such reckless and...

Somerfield sellers settle for less than they hoped: the purchase price is well below the potential value of 2bn [pounds sterling] reported in April, but still looks a fair price given where the market is at.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON RETAIL)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The consortium that recently sold Somerfield to rival supermarket chain Co-op Group, comprising Apax, Barclays Capital, Kaupthing Bank and property magnate Robert Tchenguiz, had to settle for 1.57bn [pounds sterling]...

Aldgate buys gaming companies: AIM-listed fund will be renamed Praesepe after US$50m purchase of two slot machine arcade groups.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS: LEISURE FEATURE)
August 1, 2008... AIM-listed shell company Aldgate Capital has agreed to buy 31 slot machine arcades for 25m [pounds sterling] (US$50m) cash in its first deal since appointing industry veteran Nick Harding as chief executive. Harding used to run arcade operator...

"Will mid-market M&A remain resilient during the second half? If so, why?".(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
August 1, 2008... "The one feature of the current market that many people will not have experienced before is the speed of change. From one week to the next sentiment is shifting and there is a strong feeling among many that we have now talked ourselves into a...

South remains reasonably buoyant: in spite of the "credit crunch" and talk of recession, M&A professionals based in the South of England say they are as busy or even busier than at the same time last year.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)(Company overview)
August 1, 2008... Deals are being done in the South of England--such as the buyouts of Maidstone-based James Villas and Farnborough-based Pims Group--and many potential acquirers are seeing the current climate as an opportunity, rather than a threat. "So...

Off the menu? Can private equity afford to dine out on the UK restaurant sector now that the economic downturn has made deal ingredients less palatable?(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: LEISURE FEATURE)
August 1, 2008... In late July, Domino's Pizza, the "world's leading pizza delivery company" and a London Stock Exchange-listed entity since May this year (it had traded on AIM since 1999), had good news and bad news to report. The good news was that...

Making a stand: globalisation has been a bugbear for unions, which see it as a race to the bottom in terms of workers' wages, and one of the UK's largest unions is internationalising in a bid to fight the trend.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... When the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union or "Wobblies" was formed in the US in 1905 by 200 anarchists, socialists and radical trade unionists it had the aim of overthrowing the employing class. Its motto was "an injury to one is an...

Unions need facts not action: on Global Day of Action, unions around the world will protest against private equity practices. What they need to do, however, is detail those practices.(UNIONS NEED FACTS NOT ACTION)
August 1, 2008... Last year, UK private equity came under merciless attack from unions and politicians, the latter in the form of the Treasury Select Committee. Then came the credit crunch and a year of silence. Until now. Unite, the UK's largest union, has...

Lion bags frozen food mega-deal: the 1.1 bn [pounds sterling] FoodVest deal does not signify big deals are back on the menu but Candover Barometer shows total value of private equity deals jump 15% in Q2.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... Lion Capital's 1.4bn [euro] (1.1bn [pounds sterling]) acquisition of frozen food manufacturer FoodVest should not be viewed as a sign that conditions in the illiquid debt markets are easing. "It is very difficult to get a deal of this size...

KKR to meet the public.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is to retire its Euronext-listed investment fund KKR Private Equity Investors (KPE) later this year as part of an innovative move to take the New York-based buyout giant's management company public. In a move...

Sharp fall in optimism among SMEs: UK companies with revenues under 100m [pounds sterling] are gloomy as activity in the lower mid-market slows.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... A recent survey reveals that the gloomy outlook for growth has infected the lower end of the UK economy. The number of entrepreneurial managers that felt optimistic about their companies' prospects fell from 76.3% in January this year to 66.7%...

Media the spotlight.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... The UK publishing sector could become one of the few bright spots in the European leverage market as discussions around the buyouts of Informa and Reed Business Information continue. Despite the apparent burst of activity, few expect...

Dutch delay on private equity tax hike.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... Attempts to impose the highest rate of capital gains tax in Europe have been temporarily derailed by the Dutch government. The Netherlands has decided to postpone voting on a bill to raise the maximum tax rate on profits paid to private equity...

Fidelity snaps Picsolve.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)(Company overview)
August 1, 2008... Fidelity Equity Partners, an investment firm focusing on high-growth, leveraged buyout investments in Europe and North America, has acquired Picsolve International, a photographic service provider to leisure attraction operators. The...

Take-private back on private equity radar.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... Private equity has turned its attention back to the public markets, if current speculation is anything to go by. Over the past fortnight, global private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has been linked with UK fund manager Friends Provident's...

PAI and Goldman Sachs celebrate 2008's largest buyout in Germany.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... The mood among buyout players has been lifted by news that PAI Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (GSCP) have completed the largest buyout in Germany this year with the acquisition of building materials company Xella International. The...

Investcorp acquires coffee machine pump maker.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
August 1, 2008... Investcorp, the Bahrain-based alternative investor, has acquired CEME Group, the Italian manufacturer of pumps and fluid control mechanisms, from Barclays Private Equity for an undisclosed amount. Senior debt financing of 119.5m [euro] for...

M&A deal data.
August 1, 2008... This country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 19 June 2008 and 22 July 2008. Benelux Target Bidder ABN AMRO-Business Unit Deutsche Bank AG (Germany)--Bank,...