Jenny Bollen
Bear Stearns Merchant Banking has sealed its first deal, paying an undisclosed sum for two Latin American consumer finance businesses.
Lloyds Development Capital’s failing music retailer Music Zone is looking for buyers after entering administration as competition with online sales stiffens.
Private equity houses have bucked the consensus that leverage ratios will rise in 2007 as 40 percent predict a decrease.
Aggressive private equity houses have bolstered the volume of mergers and acquisitions in 2006 to a record high.
Industri Kapital has made 2.5 times its investment on the sale of Gardena, a gardening tools manufacturer, for €730 million.
Investcorp will lose 100 percent of its stake in printing business Polestar in a restructuring, after struggling in the sector.
Analysts Moody’s Investors Services highlights that a debt issuer rated one category below investment grade will double its default risk when acquired by a private equity sponsor.
The ratings agency says infrastructure is overvalued, blaming private equity interest in the sector and cheap financing.
Warburg Pincus has bought easycash, a German point of sale network service provider, from First Data International for an undisclosed sum.
The UK mid-market firm has sold its stake in a UK healthfood supplier, making six times its investment.