Acquisitions Monthly articles from March 2006

Acquisitions Monthly archives from March 2006

Cash & country: Arcelor has asked for it, Endesa likes it, but full cash does not always transcend national boundaries.(EDITORIAL)
March 1, 2006... The board of Endesa, in response to the 29.1bn [euro] (US$34.8bn) cash offer from E.ON, has responded with encouragement by stating that compared with Gas Natural's offer (which is not just 29% lower but also two-thirds in paper), the "full...

Bankers profit from real estate boom: the European property market has profited from the move away from equities that was triggered by the dotcom crash. With a decent income yield, as well as capital and income growth potential, the asset class suits the mood of the times and is stimulating an M&A boom.(LEAD FEATURE REAL ESTATE)
March 1, 2006... "A lot of European institutions progressively disinvested in real estate over the last 30 years as they moved into equities," says Edmund Craston, head of European real estate at Lehman Brothers. "Now we are witnessing a move in the other...

FTSE 350face hostile forces: hostile bids are on the increase and a number of UK companies, notably Unilever, BOC and Royal & Sun Alliance, could be vulnerable to predators.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
March 1, 2006... There have been five hostile bids globally worth a total of US$53bn so far in 2006, including the US$25bn Mittal bid for Arcelor, and there could soon be more. These figures exclude the US$35bn E.ON bid for Endesa, but include Sonae's bid for...

Central and eastern Europe report: April 2006.
March 1, 2006... In this report, Acquisitions Monthly explores the M&A landscape across "New Europe", seeking to identify investment opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe for acquisitive corporates and private equity firms. Much of Eastern Europe has...

February snapshot; synopses of the largest global deals announced last month.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
March 1, 2006... SPAIN -- E ON AG of Germany planned to launch an unsolicited challenging tender offer to acquire the entire ordinary share capital and American Depositary shares, of Endesa SA (ES), a Madrid-based electric and gas utility, for 27.5 [euro]...

Significant increase in average premia paid in the fourth quarter: the final quarter of 2005 stole the show in terms of the premia paid on eligible completed UK public offers.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
March 1, 2006... The average premia to the target share price one day and one month before the offer or bid talks were announced were 46% and 47% respectively. Not only were these significantly up on the one-day and one-month averages of 26% and 27% paid during...

Awards 2006.
March 1, 2006... Annual Awards Dinner held on Thursday 19 January 2006 at Hilton, Park Lane. The winners were influenced by the submissions received and by meetings with short-listed firms, as well as the views of the external judges. The final judgements were...

Brokers fight on: there will be fewer FTSE-100 brokerships up for grabs this year, but just as many people determined to win them.(INSTITUTIONS)
March 1, 2006... It seems puzzling now that corporate broking ever went out of fashion. Once seen as an Attic, mildly amusing, eccentricity peculiar to the English, its leading purveyors are now impressively innovative American, Swiss, German and Dutch banks....

Freeman raises the game: the Competition Commission's new chairman wants the regulator to handle merger mania more efficiently and swiftly, but events beyond his control threaten to outweigh his initiatives.(LEGAL & REGULATORY)
March 1, 2006... Peter Freeman, the Competition Commission's new chairman, is unlikely to win a popularity contest. This is no slight on his character and professional ability, which are widely and enthusiastically admired, but heading an integral cog in the...

E.ON bids 29.1bn [euro] for Spain's Endesa: there should be another wave of 11-figure acquisitions among Europe's energy utilities, as rivals seek to match the presence that the deal will give the German giant in the pan-European market of the future.(FOCUS ON UTILITIES)
March 1, 2006... The E.ON/Endesa combination will create a company with 50m customers in more than 30 countries and supplant Electricite de France as the European leader--a position EDF has indicated that it is determined to defend. Italy's Enel is also on the...

RWE hurries up sale of Thames: private equity firms and/or other financial buyers seem sure to submit bids of well over 6bn [pounds sterling] (US$10.5bn) for Thames Water in the coming weeks, as German owner RWE seeks to cash in on rampant investor demand for UK water stocks.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON UTILITIES)
March 1, 2006... When RWE announced in November that it was going to sell its UK and US water interests, it indicated that it would initiate the process for American Water first and then rum to Thames with a view to completing both transactions by mid-2007. ...

A whole strategy: as the frenzy for new products overtakes the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, the large companies are beginning to rethink their M&A strategies.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON BIOTECH)
March 1, 2006... The biotech sector this year is experiencing yet another twist in its evolution with the emergence of a new trend--that of large biopharmaceutical companies acquiring small early-stage private biotech businesses, This is an exciting and very...

Springer to appeal: Axel Springer files appeal against prohibition notice of German Cartel Office.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON TMT)
March 1, 2006... Axel Springer has decided to appeal against the German cartel commission's prohibition of the intended takeover of of ProSiebenSat1 media. The German listed publisher said it had filed an appeal against the prohibition notice that the...

Fund manager consolidation underway: the BlackRock and Merrill Lynch merger is a sign of times with consolidation among fund managers expected to continue as giant US deals reshape the industry.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON FIG)
March 1, 2006... BlackRock has completed its merger with Merrill Lynch's fund management business--having dropped out of talks with Morgan Stanley after reported disagreements over control. The merged business is valued at US$19bn, based on assets under...

KPMG holds court: US$500m-US$30m: the top four accountants dominate deal flow in Europe at the lower end of the mid-markets.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
March 1, 2006... The latest mid-market league tables from Thomson Financial show that when it comes to announced European deals of up to US$200m, the big four accountants take the lead. KPMG takes top slot across the deal ranges up to US$200m with an impressive...

Servicing the North West: the North West region has had a great year of private equity driven activity. 2006 is expected to throw up more of the same helped by a revitalized market in Liverpool.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
March 1, 2006... The North-West is feeling very satisfied with itself at the moment. Not only is Manchester continuing its reputation as a consistent and professional deal hub but Liverpool, formerly the poor cousin, is now making waves and re-establishing its...

Private equity assists trade in dodging competition rules: a new report on the potential competition advantages of joint bids between private equity and trade buyers has come out as the trend looks to be on the increase.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: PRIVATE EQUITY COLUMN)
March 1, 2006... Trade buyers, frustrated by commies that make it difficult for them to buy their direct competitors and that are determined to avoid them falling into other hands, are seeking private equity houses to take controlling stakes in those...

3i to take charge of Mr Men; firm in US$193.4m deal for publishing rights company.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
March 1, 2006... UK-listed private equity firm 3i has offered 425p per share to buy entertainment rights company Chorion for an equity value of 110.7m [pounds sterling] (US$193.4m), excluding about 20m [pounds sterling] of debt. The price is a 23.2%...

Duke Street Capital acquires Deloro Stellite from Vision Capital: engineering firm originally taken over by Morgan Grenfell Private Equity is sold on.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
March 1, 2006... Duke Street Capital has acquired Deloro Stellite, a UK-based group of engineering businesses, for 165m [euro]. The vendor, Vision Capital is a secondary private equity player backed by Goldman Sachs. Vision Capital had itself acquired Deloro...

European private equity supplement: May 2006.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
March 1, 2006... Private equity and perception--the looming PR battle As deal sizes get bigger and more blue-chip companies come on to the private equity radar screen, there will be greater political and media scrutiny of the industry. Deal scarcity and...

Dr Reddy's Labs win betapharm auction: firm in US$193.4m deal for publishing rights company.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
March 1, 2006... 3i, the UK-based private equity company, has sold German generic pharmaceutical company betapharm Arzneimittel to Indian peer Dr Reddy's Laboratories. The transaction value amounts to 480m [euro] (US$570m). The sale also includes the...

Platinum Equity to acquire PNA Group from TUI: TUI disposes of industrial heritage to focus on tourism.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
March 1, 2006... Platinum Equity, the US-based buyout firm, announced on February 16 that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire US-based PNA Group, a processor and distributor of steel products with annual revenues of about US$1.2bn. The seller...

Gilde acquires Continental unit.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
March 1, 2006... Continental, the listed German tyre manufacturer, has sold its Stankiewicz unit to Gilde Buyout Fund. Stankiewicz belonged to the ContiTech division of Continental and was taken over by Continental as a part of Phoenix in 2004. Stankiewicz...

Rexel buys Nexans in Switzerland: French electrical products wholesaler pays US$250m for Swiss operations.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
March 1, 2006... Private equity-backed electrical products wholesaler Rexel has agreed to buy Electro-Materiel, the Swiss distribution activities of France's Nexans, for 206m [euro] (US$247.1m). In 2005, Electro-Materiel had sales of 189m [euro]. Gerard...

Jet aviation buys midcoast.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
March 1, 2006... Permira, a UK-based buyout firm, has made its first bolt-on purchase to add to Jet Aviation, a Switzerland-based airline service company acquired for about US$600m last year. Jet Aviation said it would buy US-based Midcoast Aviation, a...

M&A capital markets review: Acquisitions Monthly reviews the financing of the leading M & A transactions during February, providing details and pricing on deals.(ACQUISITION FINANCE)
March 1, 2006... * The institutional tranches of the 8.5bn [euro] senior debt backing an Apax Partners-led consortium's US $15bn buyout of Danish telecommunications giant TDC, the largest buyout in European history, is already oversubscribed. Mandated lead...

France appealing to foreign investors: Clara Gaymard, Special representative of France for International Investment & President of the Invest in France Agency talks to Keith Boyfield.(AN INTERVIEW: FOCUS ON FRANCE)(Interview)
March 1, 2006... Clara Gaymard is passionate role as France's Ambassador responsible for attracting foreign into the country. She heads the Invest in France Agency, a government body established to attract international direct investment. France is often...

The potential for French M&A in 2006: there is sees plenty of potential for acquisitions of French companies in 2006 and corporate buyers are expected to push financial sponsors hard for the most valued businesses. We asked some experts on the French market how do you see the prospects for the year ahead, and which sectors, companies and private equity firms do you think will be most active?".(VIEWPOINT: FOCUS ON FRANCE)
March 1, 2006... "Transaction flow in France is extremely robust and one has to go back to 1999 to find such a level of activity. Interestingly, we see a strong rise in hostile activity, as investors welcome transforming transactions. As CEOs realise the market...

France report: June 2006.(VIEWPOINTS: FOCUS ON FRANCE)
March 1, 2006... France saw a 30% increase in the total value of M&A in 2005 as CAC-40 companies began to use their surplus cash, and as private equity continued to invest in the country. Increasingly, the large-caps are looking outside France for acquisitions,...

M&A deal data: this country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 20 January 2006 and 15 February 2006.
March 1, 2006... M&A DEAL DATA This country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 20 January 2006 and 15 February 2006. Benelux Target Bidder Arcelor SA (Lx)--Manufacture, Mittal...