VCJ Staff

One of Warner Music Group's key shareholders has warned that the company has overvalued a deal with rival EMI. The two groups have each made offers for the other several times before. But Scott Sperling, co-president of buyout firm Thomas H Lee Partners, has said that Warner should not pay “anything near” the 320p per […]

(Thomson IM) Telefonica gives groups including Goldman Sachs, Apax Partners and PAI Partners access to further information in preparation for binding offers. Six bidders have made it through to through to the next round of the auction for Endemol, the television production unit responsible for programmes including Big Brother and Deal or no Deal. The […]

LONDON (Thomson IM) – The CVC-led consortium which was assessing an offer for J Sainsbury PLC has confirmed it is no longer considering making a bid for the UK's third-biggest supermarket chain. The consortium, which also includes Blackstone Group International Ltd and TPG Capital, confirmed it put forward a proposal to the board of Sainsbury […]

(Thomson IM) Berlin's state Ministry of Finance said it has granted due diligence to seven of the nine bidders that have made initial non-binding offers for Landesbank Berlin (LBB). The ministry said that in the second phase of the sales process the possible purchasers will be granted access to further information in order to make […]

Apollo Management has agreed to acquire the aluminum interests of Xstrata PLC for $1.15 billion. Xstrata Aluminum was created from the former Falconbridge Group's aluminum assets, known as Noranda Aluminum, following Xstrata's acquisition of Falconbridge last August. The Apollo acquisition is expected to close later this quarter. www.xstrata.com

Apollo Management has completed its $30 per share take-private buyout of real estate franchisor Realogy Corp. (NYSE: H). The entire deal was valued at approximately $9 billion, including around $1.6 billion in assumed debt and approximately $750 million of other liabilities. Apollo committed around $2 billion of equity, and with leveraged financing provided by JPMorgan, […]

World-Check, a London-based provider of structured intelligence on heightened risk individuals and entities, has received a “significant equity investment” from Spectrum Equity Investors and HarbourVest Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. Portico Capital Securities advised World-Check on the transaction. www.world-check.com

Marwit Capital has acquired Best Vinyl LLC, an American Fork, Utah-based installer of plastic fences. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was first reported by LBO Wire. www.marwit.com www.bestvinyl.com

Medwave Inc. (Nasdaq: MDWV), a St. Paul, Minn.-based maker of blood pressure monitoring devices, said that it will begin a process to explore strategic alternatives, which could include a sale of the company. www.medwave.com

Ready Pac Foods Inc., an Irwindale, Calif.-based provider of fresh-cut produce and fresh prepared foods, has raised an undisclosed amount of strategic funding from Bayside Capital, an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital. www.readypac.com