Buyouts
Billabong still in talks with TPG, presents turnaround strategy
Australian surfwear company Billabong International is understood to be continuing discussions with TPG Capital over a A$694 million ($723 million) buyout offer, even as it unveiled a turnaround strategy regarded as a move to preserve its current status.
Asia PE investment: Korea makes a splash
With four deals of $350m or more in the last few weeks, South Korea has made its mark on Asia’s private equity investment league table. Why is it happening and can it continue?
China take-privates, part 34
One week, two private equity-backed management buyout offers for Chinese companies listed on NASDAQ, and a lot of fuss from (some, but not all) media outlets about how this is the start of something big. It’s not.
MBK agrees $1.1b deal for Korea’s Woongjin Coway
MBK Partners has agreed to pay KRW1.1 trillion ($1.1 billion) for a 31% stake in Woongjin Coway, the water purifier business of South Korean conglomerate Woongjin Holdings. It is the country’s joint-largest private equity transaction this year and brings...
Fosun expresses support for Focus Media take-private
China's Fosun International, Focus Media’s second-largest shareholder, with a 17.2% stake, said the recent take-private proposal for the Shanghai-based advertising company by a private equity consortium is an attractive option for shareholders. Fosun’s...
FountainVest backs LJ International’s privatization
Fountainvest Partners, the Shanghai-based private equity fund founded by former Goldman Sachs and Temasek dealmaker Frank Tang, has teamed up with Yu-Chuan Yih, CEO of Nasdaq-listed jeweler LJ International, to take the company private.
Quadrant and Ironbridge complete Australian retail buyout
Australian private equity groups Quadrant Private Equity and Ironbridge Capital have realized a buyout of specialized retail businesses Super A-Mart and Barbeques Galore.
Focus Media receives $3.5b buyout offer from PE players
US-listed Focus Media has received a $3.5 billion offer from its chief executive and a group of private equity giants to take the company private. If the deal goes through, the leveraged buyout could be China's largest, and Focus Media could be the largest...
Chinese investors sign DreamWorks JV
Media fund China Media Capital, investment company Shanghai Alliance Investment Co and media conglomerate Shanghai Media Group have established a joint venture with American film studio DreamWorks.
Navis profits from Pearson’s expansion drive
Pearson's M&A activity follows a familiar emerging markets theme. In May the education and publishing company bought GlobalEnglish, a cloud-based English-language learning specialist with 75% of its subscribers in Asia and Latin America.
CHAMP Ventures takes majority stake in Ansett Aviation Centre
CHAMP Ventures has taken a majority interest in Ansett Aviation Centre, a training facility bought from administrators in 2004 following the collapse of Ansett Australia, the country’s second-largest carrier. It is the third investment out of CHAMP...
PE firms target ING’s Asian insurance assets – report
ING is said to be in talks with several parties, including Apollo Global Management, J.C. Flowers & Co. and a team backed by The Blackstone Group, over the sale of different parts of its Asian life insurance operations. The initial plan was to divest...
PE firms bid for Korean weapons manufacturer – report
Four private equity firms and a European defense company have reportedly submitted bids for a stake in South Korea’s LIG Nex1. The weapons manufacturer is offloading a 49% interest worth around $440 million.
TPG in rare China leveraged buyout
TPG Capital's full acquisition of packaging firm HCP Holdings, worth approximately $500 million, has a strong claim to be the largest ever leveraged buyout of a Chinese company. This is notoriously difficult territory for dealmakers and PE statisticians...
Southern Capital revises Adventa MBO offer
Southern Capital Group and a director of Adventa have submitted a revised takeover bid for the Malaysian medical products manufacturer. The offer still stands at MYR320.85 ($100 million), or MYR2.10 per share, but now excludes Adventa’s interests in...
Hony, GCS named preferred bidders for Dexia unit – report
Hony Capital has teamed up with GCS Capital, a PE firm founded by former investment banker Guocang Huan, to buy the asset management arm Dexia in a deal worth EUR500 million ($615 million). The Franco-Belgian financial group is one of the biggest victims...
Billabong opens its books to TPG, says buyout offer too low
Billabong International's board has agreed to let TPG Capital conduct due diligence on the company, although it maintains that the private equity firm’s A$694 million ($712 million) buyout offer is too low in the context of a control transaction. TPG’s...
TPG confirms acquisition of China’s HCP
TPG Capital has acquired Chinese packaging company HCP Holdings from its family owners. Sources close to the development told AVCJ the deal is worth around $500 million.
Why Australian take-privates are taking off
A renewal of interest in Billabong International from TPG Capital always seemed likely. When the PE firm first came calling in February with a A$3 per share buyout offer, Billabong’s management refused to budge from its valuation of $4 per share. The...
TPG resumes Billabong pursuit with $712m buyout offer
TPG Capital has renewed its interest in Billabong International, tabling a A$694 million ($712 million) takeover bid for the Australian surfwear manufacturer. The offer is A$147 million lower than the private equity firm’s previous bid for Billabong,...
CHAMP Private Equity’s oOh!media to buy Eye Corp
CHAMP Private Equity’s oOh!media has agreed to buy Eye Corp, Ten Network Holdings’ outdoor advertising business. The deal values Eye at up to A$145 million, of which A$120 million will be paid in cash on completion, with the remainder due in three...
CHAMP in $192m take-private bid for Gerard Lighting
CHAMP Private Equity has launched a A$186 million ($192 million) takeover bid for Australian light fittings distributor Gerard Lighting Group. The bid has won unanimous approval from Gerard’s board and the Gerard family, which has a 52% stake, has said...
Potential PE target Ingham Chicken goes on the block
Ingham Enterprises, Australia’s largest poultry producer, has put itself up for sale, alerting potential private equity bidders. Sole shareholder Bob Ingham he had decided to exit “after long and careful consideration.” Investec has been appointed...
Blackstone to support ex-AIA CEO’s ING Asia bid – report
The Blackstone Group has reportedly agreed to support Mark Wilson, former chief of AIA Group, in his bid for ING’s Asia insurance unit. The sale is expected to generate around $7 billion, with Wilson’s consortium targeting ING’s Southeast Asian...