Buyouts
China value-add: Empty promises?
Pulled by a desire to buy and build or pushed by a need to address restricted exit options, PE firms in China are placing greater emphasis on operational value-add. LPs must decide who’s all talk and who is action
KKR exits Australia's Seven West Media
KKR has exited its stake in Australia’s Seven West Media via the public market, raising around A$265 million ($260 million). The private equity firm invested in what was then Seven Media Group in 2006 at the height of the buyout boom, before merging...
Blackstone tables $660m take-private bid for China’s Pactera
The Blackstone Group has joined the flood of private equity firms targeting China take-privates, backing a management buyout of US-listed tech outsourcing firm Pactera Technology International. It takes the number of private equity-supported transactions...
Cerberus extends tender for Seibu shares
Cerberus Capital Management is to extend the deadline to buy more shares in Japan's Seibu Holdings until May 31. The US private equity firm, already the largest shareholder in Seibu with a 32.44% stake, has been trying to boost its holding to 44.7% through...
Palisade, Northleaf invest in Australian wind farm
Palisade Investment Partners and Northleaf Capital Partners have refinanced and bought a 75% interest in an Australian wind farm from EnergyAustralia, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed CLP Holdings. The seller will realize proceeds of A$228 million ($228...
Gresham-owned mining contractor refinances $485m in debt
Barminco Holdings, an Australian mining contractor owned by Gresham Private Equity, has refinanced its debt through a $485 million senior note offering. The offering was oversubscribed, allowing the company to upsize the Australian dollar value to take...
Japan’s Indonesian ambitions
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) is paying a princely sum for a slice of Indonesia's financial services sector. The price-to-book (P/B) valuation of the $1.56 billion it has agreed to pay for a 40% stake in Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN)...
Navis commits up to $150m to SE Asia e-waste specialist
Navis Capital Partners has acquired a majority interest in TES-Envirocorp, a Singapore-headquartered electronic waste (e-waste) company. According to sources familiar with the transaction, the GP invested $100-150 million.
Bain-owned MYOB completes BankLink bolt-on
Bain Capital-owned accounting software firm MYOB has agreed to buy BankLink, an accounting services provider, from New Zealand-based Media Transfer Services. The private equity firm will contribute NZ$61 million ($50.6 million) in equity funding to support...
AsiaInfo-Linkage finally accepts CITIC-backed MBO offer
Chinese telecom software provider AsiaInfo-Linkage has accepted a take-private offer from CITIC Capital Partners that values the company at approximately $890 million. The initial offer was made last January but has taken the AsiaInfo board about 16 months...
Ares Management buys AREA Property Partners
Global alternative asset manager Ares Management has acquired AREA Property Partners, a New York-headquartered real estate management firm investing across North America, Europe and India.
Carlyle pursues Rio Tinto's Australia mining asset - report
The Carlyle Group is said to have made an initial bid for Rio Tinto's 80% stake in an Australian copper-gold mine. KKR previously showed an interest in the Northparkes mine in New South Wales but didn't follow up with a bid.
Hony-invested Biosensors completes bolt-on
Biosensors International, a Singapore-listed medical device company backed by Hony Capital, has acquired Spectrum Dynamics, an Israel-based medical imaging and clinical applications company, for $51.13 million.
PEP-owned Hoyts seeks US debt financing
Australian movie theater operator Hoyts Group, which is owned by Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), is looking to raise $450 million in the US high-yield debt market. It is the latest in a string of Australian corporates to take advantage of strong liquidity...
Carlyle confirms appointment of Indonesia head
The Carlyle Group has confirmed the appointment of Rajiv Louis as managing director with responsibility for investment activity in Indonesia. He previously spent nearly 10 years at UBS, most recently serving as managing director and country head in Indonesia...
Have your say in the AVCJ China Awards
The China take-private, at least among companies listed in the US, is a relatively new phenomenon in private equity. As it stands, six - soon to be seven - deals have been successfully concluded and a further seven have received board approval, with only...
Portfolio: Bain Capital and Domino's Pizza Japan
The US consumer cred of Domino’s Pizza means little in Japan where consumer tastes and cultural norms are very different to the West. Bain Capital took an innovative approach to cornering a competitive sector
Singapore’s GIC backs BMC Software take-private
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) is participating in the $6.9 billion take-private of US enterprise software provider BMC Software, led by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital. It is the third-largest global PE deal announced so far...
Carlyle launches Japan fund with $2b target - report
Carlyle is said to have launched its latest Japan-focused buyout fund with a target of $2 billion.
Baring Asia-owned Nord Anglia completes WCL bolt-on
Nord Anglia Education, an international schools operator owned by Baring Private Equity Asia, has completed the bolt-on acquisition of WCL Group for $222 million. The deal strengthens Nord Anglia’s presence in North America and the Middle East, taking...
Hahn & Co. to buy stake in South Korea’s STX Energy - UPDATE
Hahn & Co. has agreed to buy a 43.15% stake in STX Energy, a subsidiary of beleaguered South Korean conglomerate STX Corp. AVCJ understands that the transaction a couple of months away from completion, and the terms could change pending the resolution...
Baring Asia in talks to buy stake in Lafarge India unit
Baring Private Equity Asia is in advanced talks with the Indian arm of French cement maker Lafarge for a minority stake in the unit.
Focus Media's PE-backed MBO clears final hurdle
Focus Media will be privatized next month after shareholders voted in favor of a private equity-backed management buyout that values the company at $3.7 billion. It is the largest buyout transaction ever completed in China.
Fosun Pharma, Pramerica-Fosun buy Israel’s Alma Lasers
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaaceutical, a subsidiary of China’s Fosun International, and the Pramerica-Fosun China Opportunity Fund, will be around $240 million to acquire up to 95.6% of Israel-based Alma Lasers.