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Showing entries from: June 2008 (Show all)
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Another counter-cyclical MBO 23 Jun 2008
This is confusing: right at the time when deal-doing is thought to have been hit by economic woes and the festering sore of limited access to debt, we keep getting good news. Take this item about the £16m MBO of Rock Asphalte. Sounds terrific: MD and FD team up to buy the business with PE backing, a classic lower-mid-market... Read more
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Are you “glass half full”? 13 Jun 2008
If you're interested in working with private equity-backed companies during a period of slow economic growth, it's probably wise to highlight your turnaround credentials. The good news is that FCs and other finance function folk are critical to managing distressed businesses. Driving cash is important to PE backers at the best of times - in a downturn, it'... Read more
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Even retail is selling 12 Jun 2008
Gosh: amid all the uncertainty - recession? Prolonged credit crunch? New private Equity disclosures? - there are still plenty of deals being done. Noteworthy today is Phoenix Equity Partner's purchase of LK Bennett. Linda Bennett sold up for something less than £100m (although somewhat more than £80m - who said PE was getting more transparent...?), which sounds... Read more
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So what is going on with debt? 9 Jun 2008
We all know that the volume and value of big leveraged deals has taken a hit in the credit crunch; and that Big Debt is harder to come by. Or is it? According to this post referencing the Financial Times, S&P says the amount of debt in European deals is actually increasing. Which begs the question: why? Why... Read more
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More on the big LBO “double down” 5 Jun 2008
I like blackjack (the casino variety, that is - although the penny chews were nice, the cosh is rarely a practical weapon). And one of the critical strategies in the game is doubling down - deciding to re-wager on an initial deal or 9, 10 or 11. It's hard to not to see the big LBO funds' purchase of their own debt... Read more
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PE shakeout: good thing, too 4 Jun 2008
Check out this interesting post from The Prince of Wall Street. Key lines: "We should welcome the shakeout because it will make distinctions between different private equity funds much more apparent. The funds that claim they add value to operations will have to prove their claims. Funds that have been getting by based mostly on leverage will be tarnished. Funds... Read more
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Not big, not clever 4 Jun 2008
Actually, the news that private equity funds are buying back the debt they borrowed to do leveraged deals from banks that no longer have balance sheets strong enough to support the loans probably classifies as both "big" and "clever". Especially when you factor in the "synthetic leverage" (I don't understand it - and if you're an FC who... Read more
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Ready for the upturn 2 Jun 2008
I feel something in the air - and I think it's an upturn in mid-market private equity activity. Why? Three reasons.First, there's still loads of money sloshing around PE funds. Terra Firma boss Guy Hands has even suggested giving some of it back to investors (well, telling them it's no longer "committed", anyway). But other options... Read more