Download PDF Introduction Len Blavatnik, a Russian-born American billionaire who made his first fortune in post-Soviet Russia, is well known to many readers of financial news for his hugely profitable ownership of Warner Music [NASDAQ: WMG], which he took public in 2020, making a paper profit of as much as Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Since Joe Biden was elected President of the United States in late 2020, antitrust enforcement action has, in the general population’s mind, moved from something we read about in history textbooks to something dominating the headlines. Whether it is through challenging the latest multi-billion dollar merger or Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Following the recent re-opening of the IPO market, CVC Capital Partners, the venerable European private equity firm, is said to be preparing to go public. This raises the question of whether doing so is a good idea. It is easy to say that going public is just Read more…
Download PDF Introduction In 2005, Blackstone’s [NYSE: BX] private equity fund made a, for its size, relatively modest investment of £102m to acquire Merlin Entertainment, a theme parks company, from the private equity fund Hermes Equity Partners. This was the first step in its strategy of rolling up the attractions Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Wm Morrisons, the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, is pushing ahead with their plan to sell its fuel forecourts business to Motor Fuel Group (MFG), the largest independent forecourt operator in the UK, for up to £2.5bn. Both firms are controlled and owned by Read more…
Download PDF Introduction February 26th 2007 marked one of the peaks of the pre-financial crisis exuberance: KKR [NYSE: KKR] and TPG [NASDAQ: TPG], together with a number of banks including Goldman Sachs [NYSE: GS] and Lehman Brothers, announced the acquisition of the Texas power company TXU for an astounding $44.3bn Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Lackluster equity capital markets are showing signs of recovery, after almost two years of low activity. The downturn was initially caused by rising uncertainty as high inflation, rising interest rates and a gloomy economic outlook that encouraged investors to ditch growth stocks and turn to safer, more Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The Issa Borthers, along with their private equity partner TDR, made the headlines in early 2021 when, out of relative obscurity, they acquired the UK supermarket chain ASDA from the US giant Walmart [NYSE: WMT] for an enterprise value of £6.8bn. Despite having acquired susbtancial wealth through Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Subscription models are not a novel concept, in fact it can be traced back to its origins in 17th century England. Now, though, subscriptions are everywhere, from paying your phone bill to subscribing to your local gym or even for your monthly coffee delivery. Subscription models have Read more…
Download PDF Introduction After years marked by scandals, accounting malpractices, poor strategic decisions, and an overall faulty corporate governance, Toshiba seems to have found a buyer. On March 23, 2023, the Board of Directors approved a $15bn offer from a consortium of 17 domestic companies and 6 financial institutions, led Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Over the past decade, private equity firms, previously known for their aggressive takeovers of large corporations, entered the relatively somber world of insurance. Apollo Global Management [NYSE: APO], under the initiative of co-founder Marc Rowan, entered the world of insurance through building Athene. The idea was that Read more…
Download PDF What is an emerging market? The term “emerging market” was first coined by Antoine Van Agtmael, a former economist at the International Finance Corporation, in the early 1980s. At the time, Van Agtmael was working on a project to identify new investment opportunities for the IFC, which was Read more…
Download PDF The Change in Deal Structure Recent macroeconomic activity has impacted the private equity industry dramatically. A strong reliance on leverage in your business model means that when the market for leveraged loans tightens significantly, you must resort to using lower levels of leverage. In December 2022 the private Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Once seen as too unpredictable, consumer brand leveraged buyouts have grown in popularity over the past two decades. Fashion cycles and shifts in consumer preferences increase the risk of such buyouts, as cash flow generation is, in general, less certain. Yet deals such as Permira’s acquisition of Read more…
Download PDF Introduction On November 10th 2022, Origin Energy Ltd. [ASX : ORG], received and backed an $11.8bn takeover bid from a consortium led by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management [NYSE : BAM] and private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners. The business is to be split up, with Brookfield acquiring Read more…