VCJ Staff
3M is considering a sale of its pharmaceuticals division (mostly generics), according to The Economic Times. The paper reports that the deal could be worth up to $1 billion, with likely suitors including Warburg Pincus and Indian drug companies Ranbaxy and Wockhardt. www.3m.com
Private equity firms reportedly are abandoning their efforts to acquire France-based sports marketing agency Sportfive SA, due to opposition from France's Football Authority. Interested firms had included Hellman & Friedman (teamed with WPP), Apollo, Cinven and Permira. Only strategic bidders remain. The deal is expected to be worth between 800 million and 1 billion euros. […]
Bain Capital Partners and Catterton Partners have agreed to acquire OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. (NYSE: OSI), a restaurant operator whose brands include Outback Steakhouse, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Roy's and Carrabba's Italian Grill. The deal is for $40 per share, or approximately $3.2 billion (including assumed debt). It is expected to close by next April, with […]
Linde AG has agreed to sell forklift division KION Group to KKR and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for Euro 4 billion (including Euro 400 million of assumed liabilities). www.linde.com
Videndi SA invited KKR to discuss a possible $50 billion buyout of the media conglomerate, but the talks ultimately fell apart, according to the NY Times. Hurdles to such a deal would include potential tax liabilities and French regulations that prevent foreign firms like KKR from holding majority stakes in broadcasters like Vivendi unit Canal […]
Four Seasons Hotels Inc. (NYSE: FS) has received an $82 per share buyout offer from company Cascade Investment (backed by Bill Gates), Kingdom Hotels International (backed by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud) and Four Seasons chairman and CEO Isadore Sharp. The total deal would value Four Seasons at approximately $3.7 billion. www.fourseasons.com
Austin Ventures has sponsored a recapitalization of CreditCards.com, an online destination for consumers to search, compare, and apply for credit cards. No financial terms were disclosed. In related news, former Bankrate CEO Elisabeth DeMarse was named company CEO. American Capital Strategies and CreditCard.com founder Dan Smith also participated in the recap. www.creditcards.com
The Blackstone Group has completed its $6.55 per share buyout of Encore Medical Corp. (Nasdaq: WNMC). The total deal is valued at approximately $887 million. www.blackstone.com www.encoremed.com
Resilience Capital Partners of Cleveland has completed its acquisition of SpecialtyChem Products Corp., a Marinette, Wis.-based chemical company that had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 12. No financial terms were disclosed. www.resiliencecapital.com
Diamond Castle Holdings has agreed to acquire customer relationship services company PRC LLC from IAC/InterActiveCorp (Nasdaq: IACI). No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was done in partnership with PRC management. www.dchold.com www.prcnet.com