Acquisitions Monthly articles from December 2007

Acquisitions Monthly archives from December 2007

Acquisitions Monthly annual awards.(M&A AWARDS 2008)
December 1, 2007... This issue of Acquisitions Monthly is dedicated to the annual M&A and private equity awards, which some lively voting. The awards showcase a fascinating year in takeovers. have emerged following a quarter of intense market scrutiny and The...

Project Arran: the battle for ABN AMRO: the Children's Investment Fund thought of the idea, RBS put in the call to Merrill Lynch and the US bank got the heads of RBS, Santander and Fortis together to form a consortium, outbid Barclays and buy the Dutch bank for a staggering 71.2bn [euro]--the biggest ever banking deal.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: CROSS-BORDER DEAL)
December 1, 2007... Rock, Fire and Sand Stan O'Neil badly miscalculated the US sub-prime mortgage market. He was responsible for Merrill Lynch's worst quarterly result in its 93-year history. The US bank made a pretax loss of US$3.5bn for the third quarter,...

Macquarie's public takeover of Techem: the renewed and successful approach by a financial investor in Germany altered the perception there of financial buyers.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: DOMESTIC DEAL)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Techem is one of Europe's leading providers of services to the housing and real estate industries. Its business activities consist of the provision of metering and billing services, as well as the necessary equipment...

A tale of two deals: the proposals to take private blue-chip retailers Sainsbury and Alliance Boots dominated the big buyout scene this year, and will continue to spark repercussions throughout 2008.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: BUYOUTS)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Following increasingly large raids on the public markets in 2006, analysts at the start of 2007 were questioning whether this would be the year that financial investors would finally take a FTSE 100 company private....

Finding an exit route: Acquisitions Monthly looks at one firm's success at realising value in a chaotic year for the European private equity industry.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: PRIVATE EQUITY EXIT)
December 1, 2007... "If we had a perfect portfolio management, we'd sell every company that we had right before we went into recession, be completely in cash, buy everything again low and ride the cycle up," said Steve Schwarzman, Blackstone's head honcho on the...

Strategic buyers return: in the wake of the credit crunch trade buyers have become more active even if some are backed by private equity firms.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: MIDMARKET DEAL)
December 1, 2007... This year has seen the renaissance of the strategic buyer in the European mid-markets. But there are also signs that, as the credit crunch continues, the deal environment could well become tougher for trade buyers across the mid-markets....

All aboard the restructuring train: Eurotunnel freed itself of debts at last, while advisers and investors have rushed to climb aboard the restructuring train before it leaves.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: RESTRUCTURING)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] passengers waiting at Eurostar's new North London terminal--the Victorian gothic pile of St Pancras, which was refurbished and reopened in November 2007--can enjoy a drink at what boasts to be Europe's longest...

Leading the way in insurance in Emerging Europe: a partnership combining the insurance capabilities of a pan-European player with the market knowledge of a local entrepreneur is a compelling model.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: EMERGING MARKET DEAL)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Acquisitions Monthly's emerging market deal of the year was the largest transaction in the financial sector in Central and Eastern Europe, with a transaction size of 5.1bn [euro]. It created one of the largest...

Bringing insights into defence: in July 2007, Altadis agreed to recommend the sale of the company to Imperial Tobacco through a proposed cash offer of 50 [euro] per Altadis share, representing an enterprise value of 16.6bn [euro].(REVIEW AND AWARDS: DEFENCE)
December 1, 2007... Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Rothschild advised Altadis in relation to its defence and recommended offer of 50 [euro] per share from Imperial Tobacco, valuing the entire issued share capital of Altadis at 12.6bn [euro] (8.5bn...

Consistent strategy and performance: our M&A bank of the year has always had a strong UK franchise in investment banking. Over the last three years it has established leadership in Continental Europe, where most of the growth of the European M&A market has been over the last three to five years.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: M&A BANK OF THE YEAR)(Industry overview)
December 1, 2007... Over the last three years our winner has hired selectively Continental European talent and strategically has focused on big cap deals. This year's roster of deal making has shown the results: UBS, after advising on some of Europe's most high...

The year of living dangerously: private equity firms will be hoping the old adage "whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger" rings true after facing multiple challenges in 2007.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM)
December 1, 2007... How to describe private equity in 2007? A roller-coaster ride? A game of two halves? The year kicked off with ambitions to take private two of the UK's best known and best loved high street chains, rolled into the summer under the scorching...

Law firm praised for Endesa role: the legal strategy developed by Clifford Chance to complement Endesa's business plan has proven to be extraordinarily effective in protecting its shareholders' interests.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: LAW FIRM ADVISER)
December 1, 2007... Clifford Chance's M&A practice continues to advise on some of the world's largest and most complex M&A transactions. The team has shown its strength in a record year for mergers and acquisitions, winning work on a significant number of the most...

Power of the integrated approach: hedge funds were key in 2007 to a target company's outcome but long funds are still the cornerstone of acquirers' support.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: CORPORATE BROKER)
December 1, 2007... Putting the farrago of Sports Direct on one side, Acquisitions Monthly chose Merrill Lynch as corporate broker of the year. The firm performed well in MA& corporate broking league tables and gained a significant number of client wins. Most of...

Open for business: some banks are better placed than others to ride out the credit market crunch that began in Q3 2007 and will continue into 2008 as both sub-prime related transactions and the glut of LBO loans underperform.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: ACQUISITION FINANCE ARRANGERS)
December 1, 2007... The year in acquisition finance was distinctly one of two halves. Structural developments throughout the first half of the year included the growth of second lien, the reduction in mezzanine, loosening of covenants and documentation. At...

Handling the crisis: our mezzanine arranger of the year is now well positioned to compete effectively within the new market paradigm.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: ACQUISITION FINANCE ARRANGERS)
December 1, 2007... ING, our mezzanine provider of the year, is arguably the only bank to have successfully created from scratch a Top 10 leading LBO arranger franchise in recent years. The firm carried out 25 deals totalling 25bn [euro] this year, similar to last...

Emphasising the upside: private equity has proved a boon for due diligence providers but corporate acquirers are also latching on to the benefits.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: DUE DILIGENCE ADVISER)
December 1, 2007... The rise of private equity over the past few years has also greatly benefited providers of due diligence services. A leader of such a practice within one of the four major accountants says: "Corporate acquirers should in theory know the...

Market for independent debt advice: corporates and private equity firms are seeking advice to improve their cost of capital, understanding of debt markets, liquidity and sustainable profitability.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: DEBT ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... Rothschild wins Acquisitions Monthly's independent debt advisory house of the year award. In the past three years, the group has advised 165 clients on raising or refinancing more than 180bn [euro] of debt. In 2007, the team will have advised...

Climate change takes environmental due diligence process by storm: as green issues move up the corporate agenda, many organisations are turning to environmental due diligence providers to help them through the minefield.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISER)
December 1, 2007... Over recent years many companies have recognised the need to be increasingly aware and cautious about assessing the environmental risks when evaluating potential M&A deals. The evaluation process has come a long way from the days when its main...

Business as usual below the storm clouds: the lower mid-market (those operating in the sub-150m [euro] space) was largely unaffected by private equity's big problems in 2007 and, as a result, record a stellar twelve months.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: LOWER MID-MARKET PRIVATE EQUITY)
December 1, 2007... AS the year shifted from record-breaking mega buyouts and the ensuing stakeholder debate to the unseasonal freeze in the credit markets, the lower mid-market has been business as usual, with a relatively unbroken run of management buyouts and...

ICI climax ends in Dutch sale: the iconic chemical company's sale to Akzo Nobel was the culmination of a decade long turnaround for the group, masterminded by the ICI's in house team.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: IN HOUSE M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... Financial advisers are deluding themselves if they believe they can add serious strategic value to their clients. They might be able to proffer a useful second opinion on a particular move, or act as a sounding board for a chief executive and...

Smaller deals resilient: the mid markets have been only marginally affected by the credit crunch, helped by the increasing emergence of international buyers.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: MID-MARKET FINANCIAL ADVISER)
December 1, 2007... During a year that saw the rapid rise and fall of highly leveraged mega buyouts, the mid-markets in Europe have mostly carried on serenely. They have only been moderately affected by the colder credit winds now creating turbulence at the larger...

Mid-markets stand firm in challenging conditions: the continuing M&A activity in the mid-markets has certainly kept advisers busy, with deal figures now within striking distance of 2006 records.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: MID-MARKET LAW FIRM)
December 1, 2007... For law firms operating in the mid-market arena, these are interesting times. For some, their predominant focus on private equity clients has meant that it has been a year of two halves; a frantic first period followed by a more challenging but...

Tough centre keeps mid-market buoyant: a commitment to investment discipline allied with a flexible approach to business lines helped keep private equity firms operating in the mid-market afloat in 2007.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: MID-MARKET PRIVATE EQUITY)
December 1, 2007... Despite ominous thunderclouds covering swathes of big buyout territory from mid-2007 onwards, the UK and European mid-market has remained relatively buoyant throughout the past 12 months. According to figures compiled by Baird in late...

Exit activity by independents: many boutiques were as busy selling their own businesses as their clients' during 2007.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: CORPORATE FINANCE BOUTIQUE)
December 1, 2007... One sign that the market is close to a peak is when advisers spend as much time selling their own businesses as advising clients on the sale of their companies. The first half of this year was undoubtedly a boom time for M&A and it certainly...

Cross-border deals dominate: we have selected as UK M&A adviser of the year a firm that has had a consistent run when advising UK companies investing overseas and overseas companies investing in the UK, and has demonstrated innovation.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: UK M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... Credit Suisse has acted as trusted adviser to a number of leading UK companies, including Barclays, Rio Tinto, Alliance Boots, Smiths Group, Corus, Rexam and MyTravel. Throughout the year, the firm had a consistent run of the most important and...

Benelux M&A activity booms: as the dust settles after the ABN Amro battle, advisers in the Benelux region report a record-breaking year.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: BENELUX M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... Coverage of M&A activity in the Benelux region this year was dominated for a considerable length of time by the battle for ABN AMRO, but with that fight now well and truly settled the region is experiencing a bumper year. Many M&A advisers...

Central Europe attracts buyers: a new entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Central and Eastern Europe, in particular in South-East Europe.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: CENTRAL EUROPE M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Raiffeisen Investment is Acquisitions Monthly's Central and Eastern Europe M&A adviser of the year. In 2007 RIAG worked on 92 mandates in the Central and Eastern Europe region with a total transaction value of more...

French M&A remains buoyant: France has seen much M&A activity this year with an abundance of sizeable transactions including Gaz de France's merger with Suez and Danone's acquisition of Numico.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: FRANCE M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... French firms have been involved as either targets or acquirers in 1,747 deals this year with a total value of US$260.6bn (191.0bn [euro]), running very close to the deal volume and values experienced in 2006, which reached US$264.9bn (205.6bn...

Large German deals stand out: deals this year included Heidelberg's US$19bn acquisition of Hanson and Continental's US$16bn purchase of Siemens' VDO, but the sub-prime mortgage market implosion and spill-over into the wider credit markets smothered deal-making in the fourth quarter.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: GERMANY M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Our winner, Rothschild Frankfurt, showed strong momentum in 2007, improving its ranking in Thomson Financial league tables from eighth in 2006 to third in terms of completed deals. Only Deutsche Bank and Goldman...

Italian champions step forward: domestic banking consolidation came to a head in Italy in 2007, with the creation of two giant competitors, while on the cross-border stage, Enel proved itself a champion.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: ITALY M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Two Italian banking champions, each with more than 5,000 domestic branches in Italy, arose from domestic deals in 2007: Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit Group. Intesa Sanpaolo's 66.5bn [euro] (US$87.7bn merger was...

The US$60bn Russian Christmas cracker: choosing the Russian adviser of year was a close call. In the end, it hinged on the break-up of the country's electricity monopoly UES.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: RUSSIA M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... Three investment banks certainly had a ball in Russia over the past 12 months. For all the disagreements and bravado between the Americans and the Russians about where to put an anti-missile shield to counter any potential nuclear threat from...

Gulf acquisition spree: a tale of three cities: the most visible faces of Middle Eastern capitalism are undoubtedly those of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Sure enough, the three have insatiable ambition and bottomless pockets to match.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: MIDDLE EAST M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... Gulf investors have made some US$70bn of acquisitions so far this year. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The Gulf states could be sitting on up to US$1.5trn in foreign exchange reserves. One of the more interesting themes in the region...

Property fears fail to dent Spanish deals: worries that the construction boom is over has yet to affect the appetite for acquisitions throughout the Iberian peninsula.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: IBERIA M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... After Ferrovial's landmark US$21bn purchase of BAA last year, it was hard to believe that 2007 could be as active a year for Spanish and Portuguese deals. However, deal making across the two countries has continued at intense levels, with...

Nordic region avoids credit freeze: private equity firms were frequently both acquirers and vendors in a number of secondary buyouts as the Nordic region remained relatively steady in a volatile year.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: NORDIC REGION M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the corporate markets, Nordic exchange OMX was a perennial story in 2007, while the likes of Baugur and Kaupthing continued their activity in the UK high street (Baugur built up a small stake in Debenhams,...

African lions: Sub-Saharan countries top world growth leagues: many investors believe that Africa languishes in chaos and economic dislocation, but they couldn't be more wrong. Sub-Saharan economies are booming on the back of favourable global conditions.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: AFRICA M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... Africa is back, that is back in fashion with investors, especially those of a more adventurous disposition. The African lions are currently being driven by some highly favourable dynamics. Consider first that the continent is home to a vast...

Swiss continue on a roll: Swiss M&A activity is following hot on the heels of the 2006 totals, with financials the most targeted sector.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: SWITZERLAND)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Swiss companies have been either the targets or acquirers on 679 deals totalling US$74.7bn (53.9bn [euro]) I this year. Deal volume has outdone that of last year by about 35 transactions so far, while deal value lags...

A puff of smoke and a bit of travel: Imperial Tobacco's acquisition of Altadis was the largest deal in the consumer staples space this year. But it was the 3.7bn [euro] merger of Thomas Cook and MyTravel that was by far the most interesting deal.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: CONSUMER SECTOR ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Citi topped the Thomson Financial league tables for M&A in the consumer staples space. It worked on 16 transactions totalling US$61.5bn, but Rothschild came first in terms of the volume of deals. In this respect, it...

Spain at centre of power struggle: Spanish national energy companies dominated cross-border deals--in a politically charged climate--against the background of the EU authorities taking further steps to establish its future template for the sector.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: ENERGY SECTOR ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... The controversial battle for Endesa, Spain's largest power company, reached its conclusion in April, when a combination of Italian state-owned utility Enel and Spanish construction group Acciona reached an agreement with Germany's E.ON that...

Banking world rocks: pressures on banks going into 2008 have increased: first, the ABN AMRO deal threw the rulebook out of the window, then there was the credit crunch and a bank run.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: FINANCIALS M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The hostile, cross-border and highly opportunistic acquisition of Dutch bank ABN AMRO shook the banking world in 2007. "Hostile" and "cross-border" are not words that are supposed to go together in the description of...

Cross-border M&A activity gives healthcare sector a boost: European healthcare sector consolidation tops US$105bn with cross-border deals contributing 87% of total deal value.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: HEALTH AND PHARMA)
December 1, 2007... The European healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector has had a busy year. Pharmaceuticals companies have continued to drive deals as a means to tackle the off-patent threat that looms in 2011-12; the ever-ageing population and increased...

Engineers stage mini revival: consolidation continues among dominant trade players in certain niches.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: MANUFACTURING SECTOR ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] European makers of reasonably heavy goods have managed to withstand the pressure on most manufacturers to outsource their production to costs make importing such products from far away locations unfeasibly high. ...

Landscape-changing transaction: complex cross-border transactions involving asset splits and multi-regulatory jurisdictions necessitate cross-border advisory teams.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: REAL ESTATE M&A ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The real estate M&A advisory business covers all types of real estate transactions including a wide range of public and private real estate companies: house-builders, hotel, pub and leisure companies; non-real estate...

High prices for steady income: government spending and policies have driven up multiples throughout the support services sector.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: SUPPORT SERVICES ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... The current uncertain credit climate is unwelcome for dealmakers in most sectors. But several advisers in the business services field believe this could provide a fillip for acquirers there. "Outsourcing remains a key trend and if companies...

Vodafone's passage to India; guy hands & his record deal: the tech, media, and telecoms sector has seen some interesting deals this year. The fight for EMI, which has the Beatles and the Rolling Stones on its record label, was one. The other was Vodafone's successful US$13bn purchase of Hutchison Essar, India's fourth largest mobile operator.(REVIEW AND AWARDS: TMT SECTOR ADVISORY)
December 1, 2007... You have to wonder why Asia's richest man, the self-made Li Kashing, who heads up Hutchison Whampoa, decided to exit the Indian telecoms market along with his partner, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris. After all, the sub-continent is the...

North East hits headlines for wrong reasons: despite the problems surrounding Newcastle-based Northern Rock, M&A in the region has been fairly active in 2007, driven by corporate acquisitions rather than private equity. Meanwhile, in Scotland the oil and gas industry continues to be an important driver of deals, while transactions in the financial services sector have been more affected by the credit crunch.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS: UK REGIONAL REPORT)
December 1, 2007... The controversy surrounding Northern Rock, the North East region's only major bank, has perhaps overshadowed other M&A activity in the area. Until its troubles, Northern Rock was one of the region's few FTSE 100 companies and the shortage of...

M&A deal data.
December 1, 2007... M&A DEAL DATA This country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 18 October 2007 and 22 November 2007. Benelux Target Bidder AS Adventure (BL)--Retail Lion...