Acquisitions Monthly articles from July 2003

Acquisitions Monthly archives from July 2003

Dialogue returns to the market: M&A in the first half of 2003 was unsatisfactory but there are early signs of confidence re-emerging. (Market intelligence).
July 1, 2003... The first half's M&A data looks pedestrian. The figures are mostly flat on the first half of 2002, acquisitions driven by corporate growth have been rare, and the large investment banks are still scrapping for small deals. There are plenty of...

Synopses of the largest global deals in July 2003. (Market intelligence).
July 1, 2003... JAPAN: Deposit Insurance Corp of Japan planned to acquire an undisclosed majority interest in Resona Bank (RB), a wholly-owned unit of Resona Holdings, for [yen] 1.96trn (US$16.65bn). The acquisition of a majority interest was to be carried out...

Creditors take control of Drax: bondholders and banks are taking the equity but are not swapping it all for cash. (Restructuring column).
July 1, 2003... The UK'S largest power station at Drax in Yorkshire changed hands at the end of June under a restructuring that saw its lending banks and other main financial creditors take over the plant from US power developer AES. A consortium of 53...

Rallying high yield holds up disposals: strong demand for high yield debt is enabling corporates to avoid disposals. (Restructuring column).
July 1, 2003... Corporates under pressure from their creditors have usually resorted to disposals to generate cash, hut now some are discovering an attractive alternative. Tapping the high yield market by those such as Vivendi Universal, Rhodia and...

The mezzanine report--September 2003. (Market intelligence).
July 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, but...

Premia started 2003 in style. (Market intelligence).
July 1, 2003... The average premia to the target's share price one day and one month before the offer or bid talks were announced rose to a staggering 54% and 75% respectively in the first quarter, the highest quarterly averages ever, and leaving the previous...

The good, the bad and the ugly: whilst M&A activity for 1m [pounds sterling] to 50m [pounds sterling] sized businesses was resilient in the first quarter, overall the market remained subdued. (Market intelligence).
July 1, 2003... The Private Company Price Index increased slightly to 12.3 in the first quarter of 2003, from 12.1 in the previous quarter. By contrast, the FTSE Non-Financials Index fell from 19.4 in the fourth quarter of 2002, to 18.4. While world...

Springer. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The 1.075bn [euro] facility backing Cinven and Candover's buyout of Springer, the world's second largest academic publisher, has been launched to sub-underwriters through sole lead MLA Barclays. The private equity duo bought the German...

Viterra Energy Services. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... General syndication of the 525m [euro] senior debt backing the buyout of Viterra Energy Services is set to be a blow-out success, through mandated lead arrangers CIBC, Goldman Sachs and HVB Group. Joint lead arrangers Commerzbank, Dresdner...

Saffilo. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Credit Suisse First Boston has attributed the delayed launch of Italian premium eyewear company Saffilo's 600m [euro] financing to complications with the timing of the bank presentation. The debt was originally scheduled to be launched in April...

Ferretti. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Banks have been funded into the 474.9m [euro] short term secured credit facilities supporting the 675m [euro] public-to-private of luxury motor yacht maker Ferretti by Permira through mandated lead arrangers Mediobanca and HVB. Banks have...

Telemedia. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... ABN AMRO has signed banks into the oversubscribed 335m [euro] loan backing the MBO of Dutch directories group Telemedia, backed by Veronis Suhler Stevenson and 3i. Bank of Scotland joins as an arranger, while ING and SEB are co-arrangers....

Edscha. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... General syndication of the 453.3m [euro] financing backing Carlyle Group's take-private of German automotive supplier Edscha has been closed and signed through mandated lead arranger HypoVereinsbank. The deal was oversubscribed and underwriting...

Tetra. (M&A capital markets round-up).(ornamental aquarium and pond products company)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The final lender to the 172.5m [euro] of senior and subordinated debt backing AXA Private Equity's buyout of ornamental aquarium and pond products company Tetra signed into the loan on June 13 through mandated lead arranger RBS. The deal was...

Ermewa Group. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Syndication of the 164m [euro] leveraged financing backing Investors in Private Equity and SNCF Participations' 50.4% buyout of Ermewa Group is proceeding well and on schedule through mandated lead arranger CAI. Syndication is very much...

Actaris. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Mizuho Corporate Bank is preparing to launch the 365m [euro] financing backing Montagu Private Equity's secondary buyout of Actaris from LBO France. The deal will be launch in a couple of weeks. The facility is split between a 150m [euro]...

Aviagen. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Details of the senior and subordinated facilities that RBS is arranging to back Advent International's secondary buyout of leading poultry breeder Aviagen from BC Partners have emerged. The senior debt is split into a 57.9m [pounds...

Bonna Sabla. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Banks have signed into the oversubscribed 92.5m [euro] senior debt supporting AXA Private Equity's MBO of Bonna Sabla from Vivendi Environment, through mandated lead arrangers CIC and KBC Bank. In general syndication, lead managers...

First Assist. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Bank of Scotland has quietly sold down 50% of the debt backing Barclays Private Equity's 147m [pounds sterling] MBO of First Assist, the healthcare insurance and related assistance operations of Royal & SunAlliance Insurance that completed in...

Tokheim. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Both the senior and mezzanine tranches of the 126.5m [euro] debt supporting AXA Private Equity's MBO of Tokheim are oversubscribed in general syndication, through mandated lead arranger BNP Paribas. Lead managers were invited to commit...

V-Ships. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Syndication of the US$110.8m leveraged debt backing Close Brothers Private Equity's buyout of V-Ships has been extended to a couple of new banks as mandated lead arrangers Bank of Scotland and BNP Paribas report there is a small amount to sell...

WET Automotive Systems. (M&A capital markets round-up).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... HgCapital has mandated ING to arrange the debt supporting its proposed public-to-private acquisition of WET Automotive Systems, the world's largest manufacturers of car seat heaters. As the 169m [euro] offer is conditional on 95%...

Regent relishes independence: the technology boutique has reshaped itself to cope with a tough environment. (Institutions).
July 1, 2003... Corporate financiers who argue tirelessly that there is an important role for independent M&A advisers will have been cheered recently by the sale of Livingstone Guarantee back to its employees. Three months on, another well-known firm has...

Cavendish celebrates crystal anniversary. (Institutions).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Cavendish Corporate Finance last month celebrated 15 successful years in business. So overwhelming were the RSVP acceptances, that the party, was moved from 40 Portland Place to the only slightly grander setting of Claridge's. In May 1988,...

Valuing insurance in M&A deals: Nathan Sewell, head of the International Mergers & Acquisitions practice at Willis, talked to Keith Boyfield about future prospects. (The AM Interview).
July 1, 2003... Following the damaging fall-out stemming from the Enron debacle and other cases of corporate fraud in the US, arranging appropriate risk cover through the insurance markets is increasingly judged a crucial ingredient in the completion of many...

US media industry post-deregulation? New Federal Communications Commission's rules may get overruled by congress. Howevee, if everything goes according to plan, there will be a M&A frenzy as newspapers buy TV stations and vice versa. (Legal and Regulatory).
July 1, 2003... By all accounts, this summer should have been a king's feast of stateside media deals, with multinational mega-corporations such as AOL Time Warner, News Corporation and Walt Disney Co hungrily gobbling up every remaining independent television...

Merger reviews costs--a regressive tax? Merger reviews can cost large sums in fees. (Legal and Regulatory).
July 1, 2003... The costs of multi-jurisdictional merger reviews are formidable and can act as a regressive "tax" on business, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The good news is, however, that companies are factoring these costs into their...

Skadden, Arps top M&A legal adviser: the value of announced transactions worldwide totalled US$552.4bn, a decline of 5.7% from 2002's half-year total. (Market intelligence).
July 1, 2003... Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom climbed to the top of the worldwide announced legal adviser rankings for the first half of 2003. Despite market conditions yielding a decrease in worldwide rank value of transactions, Skadden Arps actually...

A media merger just too close to call: the prospect of regulatory approval for a merger between ITV groups Carlton communications and Granada is in doubt. (TMT sector report).
July 1, 2003... It would take nerves of steel to bet on the 3.4bn [pounds sterling] (US$5.65bn) merger of the UK's two big ITV broadcasters Granada and Carlton. For those working in the TV industry it is just too tough to call. For them, the arguments between...

Unfolding drama from Silicon Valley: the M&A market continued to heat up this week, with the unfolding drama of Oracle's hostile bid to absorb PeopleSoft and PeopleSoft's equally determined effort to proceed with its friendly acquisition of JD Edwards. (TMT sector report).
July 1, 2003... Larry Ellison, the swashbuckling founder and chairman of Oracle, the world's second largest software company, long predicted that only a few Silicon Valley firms would manage to crawl out of the US$350bn crater left behind by the 1990s'...

Winterthur sparks minor revival: the insurer has achieved the rare feat of finding willing buyers. (FIG sector report).
July 1, 2003... A minor revival in mergers and acquisitions in the insurance sector was sparked by two Credit Suisse group disposals in June. Insurance subsidiary Winterthur did well to find two financial institutions, Royal Bank of Scotland and Italy's...

WestLB troubles postpone AWG: the internal bust-up at German investment bank WestLB has blocked the sale of two UK water companies for the foreseeable future. (Utilities sector report).
July 1, 2003... As the mounting controversy over WestLB's risk management and principal finance unit led to the resignation of its chief executive on June 23, the unit was forced to withdraw as financial backer for the proposed 1bn [pounds sterling]...

SSE's Midland Electricity deal in doubt: Scottish & Southern energy's proposed 1.1bn [pounds sterling] (US$1.8bn) takeover of Midlands Electricity has been thrown into doubt after holders of 660m [pounds sterling] of the distribution company's debt adopted an aggressive stance for improved terms. (Utilities sector report).
July 1, 2003... Those holding the sterling and dollar bonds issued by Midlands' holding company, Avon Energy Partners Holdings, which fall due for repayment from 2006 to 2008, are seeking more than the 86p in the pound or 86 cents on the dollar that the SSE...

Moving in the mid-markets: (US$100m-US$30m).
July 1, 2003... Overview Real estate proved to be the most popular sector in June with a 19% market share according to data from Thomson Financial. Deals include the US$237.8m acquisition of Perisud Office, a Paris-based owner and operator of office...

Health is key in the food sector: the food sector once again remains steady, with joint ventures between trade and VCS, split disposals and expectancy for future M&A in the chilled and pro-biotic arenas coming to the fore. (Sector Watch).
July 1, 2003... The food sector has held up well this year, with two new trends coming into play. The first is the emergence of hybrid investment vehicles, including joint ventures between new investment funds and trade buyers; and the second is the growth of...

Why the clamour for S&N's pubs? The sale of Scottish and Newcastle's pub estate represents one of the few remaining chances for financial players to muscle in on a consolidating market. Ben Harding investigates why the good old British boozer is such a highly prized asset for the financiers. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Scottish and Newcastle Breweries PLC)
July 1, 2003... The 2.3bn [pounds sterling] (US$3.8bn) sell-off of Scottish and Newcastle s pubs has attracted a stampede of financial and corporate bidders. It is understood that at least seven private equity firms, including Cinven, BC Partners, Terra Firma,...

WPP pushes Publicis out in battle for Cordiant. (Moving in the mid-markets).
July 1, 2003... Cordiant Communications, the debt-laden advertising group that owns US agency Bates, has fallen to Sir Martin Sorrell's giant WPP Group. Once again, Sorrell, the advertising world's most adroit deal-maker, saw off a rival bid from French...

British Biotech finds partner: drugs companies British Biotech and Vernalis have announced plans to merge to form a group with a combined value of 90.9m [pounds sterling]. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Consolidation in the UK biotech sector is becoming a trend for 2003. So far this year, Celltech swallowed up Oxford Glycosciences, US-based Chiron bought PowderJect and British Biotech subsumed Ribotargets. And now British Biotech is at it...

Privatisation agency appeals against BTC decision. (Moving in the mid-markets).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency has decided to appeal against a Supreme Court ruling that cancelled its decision to scrap a planned sale of dominant telecoms operator Bulgaria Telecom (BTC) to US private equity house Advent International. ...

Private equity growth capital: a new path for mid-caps? With 3i moving back into its former heartland, growth capital, are we seeing the re-emergence of this form of financing as a fessible option for mid-cap companies. (Mid-markets column).
July 1, 2003... Growth capital could be coming back into vogue. By this we are not talking about early stage investments, but private equity investments in growing businesses to fund their expansion. This is an area which became very unfashionable in the...

Behind the buyouts.(Directory)
July 1, 2003... Overview As Acquisitions Monthly goes to press, a chink of light flickers through the IPO window, as Yell, the directories business owned by Apax and Hicks Muse, is brought back to the market for sale. As with last year's "will it, won't...

Letting go: private equity houses nervously eye the IPO market. (Private equity column).
July 1, 2003... Right now, the private equity industry is looking like one of those awkward men who hold on too long when they shake your hand. They would love to let go, but they cannot stop pumping your hand. Then, they spot another target and move off....

Sale of SEAT Pagine Gialle directories. (Buyout of the month).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Telecom Italia has announced the sale of its 61% stake in Italian directories company SEAT Pagine Gialle to a pan-European private equity consortium comprising BC Partners, CVC Capital Partners, Investitori Associati and Permira, valuing the...

Linpac LBO confirmed. (Behind the buyouts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Montagu Private Equity, previously HSBC Private Equity, is acquiring Birmingham-based paper and packaging company Linpac Group for S860m (US$1.4bn) through special purpose vehicle Picnal. Picnal has been set up by Montagu and Linpac senior...

Debenhams confirms new approach. (Behind the buyouts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Debenhams has confirmed it has received another bid approach, but says it is at an early stage and does not give any further details. The bid could well be from John Lovering, the entrepreneur who thought recently about making a bid for...

Caryle eyes European aerospace convergence. (Behind the buyouts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Carlyle Group and industrial partner Finmeccanica have signed an agreement to acquire the aerospace businesses Of FiatAvio from the Fiat Group for 1.5bn [euro]. The private equity group has also been shortlisted in a hotly contested auction...

NVM exits from SML. (Behind the buyouts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... SML, the vessel tracking and rig safety systems business servicing the off-shore and military sectors, has been sold to Ultra for 6.5m [pounds sterling] (US$10.7m). The founding shareholders of SML, which was started in 1995, were David...

HgCapital goes for self-catering holidays. (Behind the buyouts).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Private equity firm HgCapital has funded the management buyout of the self catering holiday agency Hoseasons, in a deal valued at up to 40m [pounds sterling] (US$66m). Hoseasons joins a long list of companies that HgCapital has funded in the...

Andritz. (Exits).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Carlyle Group announced a second exit from its 1bn [euro] European buyout fund, Carlyle Europe Partners. The partial exit was made through a public offer of shares in Andritz to retail investors in Austria and an international private...

Yell. (Exits).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Britain's largest telephone directories firm, Yell, has resurrected plans for a 2bn [pounds sterling] stock market listing in what would be the UK's largest flotation for two years. The initial IPO of the business, which is majority owned...

Alcala Pharma. (Exits).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Advent International has sold its holding in Spanish pharmaceuticals firm Alcala Pharma. The transaction involved two separate deals, with the generics division of the company being sold to Pliva Pharma and the branded products division going...

Hoseasons. (Exits).(ECI, UK mid-market specialist sale)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... UK mid-market specialist ECI has sold Hoseasons Holiday Group, a UK self-catering holiday specialist, to its senior management team for 40m [pounds sterling] in a secondary buyout, generating a return of more than four times its original...

Frans Bonhomme. (Exits).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... PAI Partners, Cinven and Astorg Partners have realised their investment in French plastic pipe distributor Frans Bonhomme. Apax Partners has bought the business in a tertiary buyout transaction valued at 520m [euro]. Apax invested in the...

Michel Thierry. (Exits).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... There was a further success for PAI Partners in June, which realised its investment in Michel Thierry by selling it to a consortium controlled by the company's management team. The company is a leading European producer of upholstery for car...

Aviagen. (Exits).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... BC Partners has sold its 1994 investment in Aviagen Group to Advent International. BC Partners bought the business from Nutreco for US$550m in 1994, it subsequently acquired Ross Breeders from Hillsdown Holdings for 100m [pounds sterling] in...

HPI. (Exits).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The 70m [pounds sterling] acquisition of HPI Ltd by Phoenix Equity Partners provides an exit for 3i, which bought HPI from Equifax in December 2000. Martin Rowley, co-founder, has rolled over a 15% stake in the equity. The balance is held by...

Cabot Square. (Funds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Cabot Square Capital, the London based private equity firm, has announced the second, and effectively final, closing of CS Capital Partners II at 284m [euro], exceeding its initial target of 250m [euro]. The fund was oversubscribed, with...

Capvis. (Funds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Capvis, the Swiss mid-market buyout firm, has closed its second fund since gaining independence from Swiss Bank Corporation (when it was known as SBC Equity Partners) in 1999. Last year, the Capvis team bought the minority stake that UBS...

Halder. (Funds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Germany and Netherlands-based Halder Invest has announced that it is in the process of launching a 150m [euro] buyout fund for Germany. The new fund will focus on family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Despite the difficulties...

3i. (Funds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... European private equity giant 3i has reached a first close for its mid-market buyout fund, Eurofund IV. Of the total 2.1bn [euro], some 400m [euro] was raised from third-party investors and 1.5bn [euro] from 3i. Investors have expressed...

Procuritas. (Funds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Procuritas Capital, the mid-market Scandinavian buyout specialist, has announced a final closing on its third vehicle, Procuritas Investors III, on 230m [euro]. Despite being the first buyout fund in the region and displaying an historically...

Cape. (Funds).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Cimino & Associato Private Equity (Cape), the Milan-based buyout firm, is planning to raise between 80m [euro] and 110m [euro]. The vehicle will focus on small to mid-cap buy-outs in the North of Italy, particularly in the Milan-Padua-Bologna...

Northern lights: a period of relative stock market stability and a fresh restructuring urge have brought renewed confidence to a moribund market. Ben Harding Assesses Opportunities in Nordic M&A. (Nordic region).
July 1, 2003... As with the rest of Europe, the value and volume of M&A activity in the Nordic region has dropped dramatically in the last two years. But after a boom and bust that was skewed by the region's strength in the telecommunications sector, a sense...

URS: USS Nordic ia a part of URS Corporation and assists multinational industrial corporations and financial investors with creating value and avoiding problems by taking environmental issues into account during target selection, acquisition, ownership, and exit. (Sponsored Profile).
July 1, 2003... URS Corporation (URS) is the world's largest environmental and engineering consultancy with over 25,000 professionals located in more than 300 offices in approximately 30 countries. The firm ,is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has...

Banking competition intensifies in India; India has seen M&A volumes down to 1999 levels and investment banks are fighting hard for market share. (India).
July 1, 2003... The first half of 2003 produced a flat performance as the slowdown seen in the second half of last year continued. Some 246 deals valued at Rs77.326bn (US$1.65bn) were recorded by InData, the lowest half-year level since 1999. Key to this...

M&A deal data.(mergers and acquisitions)
July 1, 2003... M&A deal data Benelux Target Bidder Actaris Metering Systems (BE)-- Investor Group (UK)--Investor group Manufacture gas, water, electricity meters Sales ($): n/a Net Profits Sales...

Monthly sector analysis: this sector analysis includes acquisitions and buyouts announced between 1 June and 30 June. 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. (Minority stakes, Monthly sector analysis).
July 1, 2003... Seller--activity Bidder--activity Price (U$M) Date 10: MINING 1041: Gold ores Anglovaal Mining Ltd Investor Group 232.81 02-May-03 (34.5) (SA)--Gold, (SA)--Investor ferrous metal mining group...