Duke Street Capital’s sixth fund has broken the €1 billion mark, providing some welcome news to the buyout firm after a summer where it has had to endure some negative coverage.
2 min read · 12 January 2013
Boutique investment bank Augusta & Co believes the credit markets are in a much healthier state than recent coverage might suggest, arguing that the current jitters are due to temporary factors, rather than underlying weakness.
3 min read · 12 January 2013
The JP Morgan-led group of banks that underwrote $10 billion of debt related to Cerberus’ acquisition of Chrysler has sold $6 billion of the debt at 95 percent of par.
2 min read · 12 January 2013
The underwriting banks syndicating the Alliance Boots debt package have pulled the second lien tranche of the debt package, just a week after they were forced to postpone syndication of the senior debt for the deal.
1 min read · 12 January 2013
Richard Lambert, the head of the Confederation of British Industry, a trade body that has been attracting support from some of Europe’s large buyout firms, has criticised private equity’s public relations efforts.
2 min read · 12 January 2013
In Denmark, a law has been passed to remove the favourable tax status enjoyed by leveraged loans.
5 min read · 12 January 2013
In June, London-based Duke Street Capital hit the headlines over pending job losses at portfolio company Burton's Foods and creditor losses at former portfolio company Focus DIY. Following Duke Street's investment in Burton's in March, UK MP Angela Eagle has been campaigning against the firm's plans for a Burton's biscuit factory in her Wallasey constituency, which may cost 660 jobs. Meanwhile the investment in Focus has been branded an example of lenders and bondholders being at risk in LBOs after sponsors cash out through recapitalisations. Duke Street recapitalised what was then Focus Wickes in 2002 and, having sold the Wickes business to a trade buyer, refinanced Focus once more in 2005 on a stand-alone basis. In January, Focus was put up for sale after it became obvious that the company was no longer able to service the £280 million of debt on its balance sheet. In June, US distressed debt specialist Cerberus bought the company for £1. The new owner will pay back £185 million of bank debt while the holders of £100 million worth of bonds will receive 40p in the pound. PEI caught up with Duke Street's managing partner Peter Taylor, who has been asked to appear before the Treasury Select Committee in the House of Commons in the coming weeks (at press time, a date had not yet been agreed), to quiz him about the recent events.
3 min read · 12 January 2013
The pan-European trade body has urged caution after the UK Treasury Select Committee suggested private equity needed closer scrutiny. EVCA has taken the unusual step of wading into a national row because it believes any changes could have far-reaching consequences for the industry across Europe.
2 min read · 12 January 2013
The record debt package financing Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’s landmark £11 billion acquisition of Alliance Boots is proving attractive to debt investors. The buyout firm began its roadshow yesterday.
2 min read · 12 January 2013
London-based Duke Street Capital has amassed a 34 percent stake in Oasis Healthcare and increased its bid to £88.2 million, as the battle for the UK’s biggest dental business heats up.
2 min read · 12 January 2013
