Private Equity

Canary Wharf may yet avoid once-a-decade upheaval

6 Nov 2023

The main landlord of London’s key office district has tended to have a new owner every 10 years. The 300 mln pounds of equity injected by incumbents Brookfield and Qatar suggests they may buck the trend. That gives Canary Wharf scope to address its issues in a stable manner.

Telecom Italia rival plan has too many pitfalls

3 Nov 2023

An ex-executive and a fund say the telco could raise 16 bln euros by offloading a Brazilian unit and other assets to slash its debt pile. That would spare it from selling its prized network to KKR. Yet bagging such valuations while executing a multi-step project looks tricky.

Capital Calls: CVC, Grocer wars, Atos

2 Nov 2023

Concise views on global finance: The European buyout group has postponed its plans to list in Amsterdam; British supermarket Sainsbury’s is thriving, which is bad news for rivals like CD&R-owned Morrisons; French IT firm Onepoint has grabbed a 10% stake in ailing peer Atos.

Apollo deal drought is swamped with success

1 Nov 2023

The $630 bln investment firm delivered disappointing profit and underscored plans to give shareholders less dealmaking lucre. Its market value jumped 8% on the bad news. Increasingly prized fee income helps boss Marc Rowan’s empire overcome higher interest rates squeezing alpha.

Tough dealmaking conditions dull Waystar’s shine

31 Oct 2023

The healthcare technology firm is angling for a stock-market listing on the back of rapid, acquisition-fueled growth. With a sale looking difficult and heavy debt bearing down, an IPO may be its private equity backers’ best option, but a mooted $8 bln valuation looks steep.

Hedge fund battle turns mountain into molehill

27 Oct 2023

Daniel Och is backing a $720 mln sale of Sculptor, the investment firm he founded, after buyer Rithm raised its bid again. The extra $15 mln he gets seems out of proportion to his rage against earlier terms. Maybe sweating the small stuff is what makes millionaires billionaires.

Music fund’s flat deal calls for major key change

25 Oct 2023

Shareholders are pushing Hipgnosis, run by industry veteran Merck Mercuriadis, to overhaul its board and cancel a $440 mln asset sale involving Blackstone. Poor governance and a discount value add weight to their case. A new management team could do better by selling the company.

Sculptor board moves deal goalposts too far

20 Oct 2023

The hedge fund’s founder Daniel Och is suing to stop a $680 mln sale to Rithm Capital, alleging that a higher offer led by Boaz Weinstein has not been given a fair shake. Some of the choices behind the deal decision are defensible. Stacking the shareholder vote, however, is not.

CVC may have guard rails against choppy IPO waters

20 Oct 2023

The European buyout firm is prepping a float valued at over 10 bln euros. Market jitters make it an odd time to do so. Yet securing a share-based M&A currency may matter as much as the IPO price, and the buyers could be sovereign funds that can live with post-listing price dips.

Blackstone’s business is lumpy and that’s OK

19 Oct 2023

The asset manager regularly touts its steady, rising fund fees as a cushion against the stop-start business of buying and selling assets. The problem is that choppy markets have dampened both. They’ll no doubt return – it’s just a reminder that there’s no escaping the cycle.

European payments LBO would be rewarding but messy

18 Oct 2023

CVC may bid for Milan-listed Nexi, Bloomberg reported. A $16 bln buyout could earn handsome returns, even if the group just performs as analysts expect. But Nexi’s private-equity shareholders like Hellman & Friedman know this, forcing buyers to either cough up or bring them in.

Stars align for hard-nosed private equity M&A

17 Oct 2023

French investor Wendel is buying London-based rival IK Partners for $404 mln. Consolidation between buyout barons is rare but will become more common as firms sweat to raise funds. The cheap price on this deal shows it’s a good time to be a buyer.

Capital Calls: BlackRock, Dollar General

13 Oct 2023

Concise views on global finance: Boss Larry Fink squares off with Uncle Sam; Dollar General bets on its ex-boss’s old magic.

Apollo may get noodle LBO thrown back in its face

12 Oct 2023

The buyout group could gobble up the UK-listed owner of the Wagamama chain for $862 mln. It looks like a good deal for the acquirer. Apollo’s decision to drop its John Wood takeover this year shows it’s no soft touch, but investors can still hold out for a better dish.

KKR and Carlyle play zero-sum game in credit

11 Oct 2023

The two investing giants are foregoing any cut of profit for their latest European debt funds, further eroding the 2-and-20 standard. Amid a potential industry shakeout, it’s a sensible way to keep management fees flowing, which are more highly prized by public shareholders.

Sports teams’ trophy status boosts private equity

10 Oct 2023

A stake sale could value the NBA’s Golden State Warriors at $7 bln, making it one of the world’s most valuable teams. Billionaires’ scramble for trophy assets is pumping up price tags. That makes sports one of the safest bets around for buyout shops taking a piece of the action.

Brookfield energy deal changes antitrust climate

10 Oct 2023

An Australian regulator decided speedy emissions reductions outweigh competition fears in the Canadian investor’s $12 bln joint bid for power company Origin. The ACCC’s terms for approving the buyout are a handy base for other watchdogs to build on as climate-driven M&A grows.

 

One $16 bln deal travels lonely dual track

9 Oct 2023

Buyout shops GTCR and Apax may be exploring both a sale and an IPO for insurance broker AssuredPartners. Using two separate paths typically aims to create competitive tension and lift valuations. With equity, debt and M&A markets all cool, neither option poses a plausible threat.

Buyout firms catch second-hand shopping fever

5 Oct 2023

Despite a 31% fall in fundraising across the industry since 2021, Goldman amassed $15 bln just to go thrifting for private equity portfolios. Such deals generally produce steadier returns, but a rush of bargain-hunters could boost valuations, making financial upcycling riskier.

Renk blowup points to winter of IPO discontent

5 Oct 2023

The defence contractor pulled its $2 bln listing in Frankfurt. A slump in defence stocks and a selloff in bond markets explain the abrupt decision. But given the company’s growth prospects and cautious pricing, its failure is likely to deter would-be followers.