Aggressive private equity houses have bolstered the volume of mergers and acquisitions in 2006 to a record high.
Along with members of the company’s management team, the two firms have agreed to buy Nasdaq-traded Educate in a deal worth $545m. It is Citigroup’s and Sterling’s second education-related deal announced today.
Industri Kapital has made 2.5 times its investment on the sale of Gardena, a gardening tools manufacturer, for €730 million.
In the same week, the New York private equity firm has acquired $74m in Boston properties and closed a net-lease fund on $160m.
Jonny Maxwell, one of the industry’s most high-profile executives, has walked away from the fund of funds business he built over almost two decades after failing to agree a buyout with his employer.
Central bank has called for more and improved data to better understand the potential impact on financial stability posed by hedge funds and their involvement in credit derivatives used by banks to offset risk in lending to buyouts.
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.
Advantage Partners, a Tokyo-based private equity firm raising its fourth fund, has agreed to buy the financial business of Japan’s fallen internet giant Livedoor.