Stories related to: private equity

$24B Buyout Buzz Boosts Macy's Shares

Bloomberg  |  Jul 19, 07 4:50 AM CDT

(Newser) - Shares in Macy's soared amid reports of a pending $24-billion buyout plan by KKR and Goldman Sachs, reports Bloomberg . Stock rose $3.06—7.6%—to $43.09 after Women's Wear Daily reported the news. The Wall Street firms would pay $52 a share—a 30% premium on Wednesday's close, according to the report. More »

Funds Can't Find Friends in Anti-Tax Fight

Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 11, 07 9:01 AM CDT

(Newser) - Wall Street's hedge-fund and private-equity titans are looking for allies in their fight to prevent a tax hike on profits—but they're having trouble recruiting, today's Journal reports. As the first Senate hearings on the proposed hikes get under way, representatives from venture capital, public pension funds, and investment firms are seeking to distance themselves from their lightning-rod siblings. More »

CVC Makes $2B Play for Univar

Bloomberg  |  Jul 9, 07 10:52 AM CDT

(Newser) - Europe's second-largest private equity fund will purchase Univar, one of the world's biggest chemical distributors, in a deal worth $2.1 billion (€1.52 billion), Bloomberg reports. CVC Capital Partners will pay €53.50 per share, a nearly 40% premium over Friday's closing price, to acquire the largest chemical supplier in North America. More »

Euro Hotels Hot After Blackstone Deal

Financial Times (UK)  |  Jul 5, 07 4:34 AM CDT

(Newser) - Investors are snapping up shares of some Europe's biggest hotel chains, the Financial Times reports, as the market bets that more private equity firms will tuck into new cross-Atlantic deals. They're inspired by Blackstone's $26 billion Hilton offer, and a banner year for hotel buyouts more generally. More »

Blackstone Books Hilton For $26B

Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 3, 07 8:38 PM CDT

(Newser) - Blackstone moved to expand its hotel portfolio in a big way late today, making a deal to take Hilton private for $26 billion, including $7.5 billion in debt. The $47.50 per share offer, 40% more than yesterday's close, turned the head of the chain's CEO, who called it "such a compelling price," the Journal reports. More »

KKR Makes IPO Official

Bloomberg  |  Jul 3, 07 7:34 PM CDT

(Newser) - Undeterred by the possibility of potentially devastatingly tax-law changes, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts firmed up its IPO plans today, filing SEC documents that value the issue at up to $1.25 billion. The private (for now) equity firm said it will list as a partnership, like archrival Blackstone, which went public last month to the tune of more than $4 billion. More »

BCE Agrees to Landmark LBO

Globe and Mail  |  Jul 1, 07 10:24 AM CDT

(Newser) - Canada's dominant telecom company will go private in the country's biggest takeover ever, and one of the largest LBOs in the world. A powerful teachers' retirement fund and two American private-equity firms made a deal yesterday for CBE, also known as Bell Canada. The $48.5 billion (C$51.7 billion) bid must still clear regulators and shareholders. More »

Wall Street, GOP Team Up on Tax Bill

Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 28, 07 8:52 AM CDT

(Newser) - Wall Street stormed Washington yesterday, as more than 70 lobbyists for financial firms met with GOP lawmakers to organize opposition to a bill that would raise the tax rate on private-equity partners. The proposal would require managers at private partnerships to pay the normal income tax rate of up to $35% on their cut of profits, rather than the 15% rate they now enjoy. More »

KKR Joins IPO Party

Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 22, 07 9:05 AM CDT

(Newser) - Corporate raiders Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. have announced an initial public offering , on the heels of a wildly successful $34B IPO by rival Blackstone yesterday. The mammoth LBO group, whose boss Henry Kravis maintains a well known rivalry with Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzmann, waited to make sure Blackstone swam before making the announcement. More »

Blackstone IPO Fetches $4.13B

Bloomberg  |  Jun 21, 07 5:05 PM CDT

(Newser) - The Blackstone Group went public today, selling 133.3 million shares at $31 and raking in $4.13 billion, the largest American IPO since 2002. The keenly anticipated issue values the private equity firm, founded by Stephen Schwarzman 27 years ago with $400,000, at $33.5 billion; the price bodes well for other buyout specialists. KKR and Carlyle are also considering going public, Bloomberg reports. More »

Private Equity Pounces on Nuveen

Bloomberg  |  Jun 20, 07 1:32 PM CDT

(Newser) - Private equity fund Madison Dearborn has made the biggest-ever play for an asset management firm, offering $5.75 billion to buy out Chicago-based Nuveen Investments. The $65-per-share offer—a 20% premium over Nuveen's closing price yesterday—signals the growing demand for cash-rich money-management firms as buyout targets. More »

Gambling Firm Agrees to Buyout

Bloomberg  |  Jun 15, 07 4:08 PM CDT

(Newser) - The casino-operator buyout spree continued today as Penn National Gaming agreed to be acquired by two private-equity firms for $8.9 billion. The deal, which allows the company to solicit bids for 45 days, includes $2.8 billion in debt. News of the $67-a-share offer, a 31% premium over yesterday's closing price, drove the stock up to $62.12 at close. More »

Senate Puts Blackstone on Notice

Bloomberg  |  Jun 15, 07 12:48 PM CDT

(Newser) - Less than 2 weeks ahead of Blackstone's IPO, bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate yesterday threatens to hamper or halt the avidly anticipated stock sale. The private equity behemoth's tax bill would more than double if the measure—under which partnerships like Blackstone would pay the 35% corporate rate rather than the 15% capital gains rate that currently applies—passes. More »

KKR Buyout Spree Hits a Snag