Reuters: Private Equity: TABLE-June US auto sales rise to 14.08 mln annualized rate

Reuters: Private Equity Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

TABLE-June US auto sales rise to 14.08 mln annualized rate Jul 3rd 2012, 20:07 Tue Jul 3, 2012 4:07pm EDT Automakers reported a 22 percent increase in U.S. sales for June from a year earlier. Seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales reached 14.08 million vehicles. The annualized rate is followed by economists and calculated using seasonal factors supplied by the U.S. Commerce Department that account for sales from vehicles produced in North America or overseas. INDUSTRY TOTALS Jun-12 Jun-11 PCT CHNG Total industry 1,285,555 1,053,248 22.1 Total car 659,375 527,344 25.0 Total truck 626,180 525,904 19.1 Domestic car 465,658 363,638 28.1 Domestic truck 545,477 461,455 18.2 Import car 193,717 163,706 18.3 Import truck 80,703 64,449 25.2 YR-TO-DATE PRV YEAR PCT CHNG Total industry 7,272,160 6,332,566 14.8 Total car 3,821,728 3,229,498 18.3 Total truck 3,450,432 3,103,068 11.2 Domestic car 2,612,747 2,212,944 18.1 Domestic truck 2,977,585 2,671,873 11.4 Import car 1,208,981 1,016,554 18.9 Import truck 472,847 431,195 9.7 U.S. seasonally adjusted annualized sales (millions) Jun-12 Jun-11 Domestic car 4.92 3.88 Domestic truck 6.14 5.11 Import car 2.05 1.75 Import truck 0.97 0.80 Total 14.08 11.55 SOURCE: Autodata Corp and Reuters calculations Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Private Equity: TABLE-Top 20 best-selling vehicles in U.S. in June

Reuters: Private Equity Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

TABLE-Top 20 best-selling vehicles in U.S. in June Jul 3rd 2012, 19:35 Tue Jul 3, 2012 3:35pm EDT The following are the 20 top-selling vehicles in the United States in June 2012 as reported by the automakers and ranked by total units. Top 20 best-selling vehicles in U.S. in June RANK VEHICLE JUNE LAST YR % CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 55,025 49,618 +10.9 2 Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 33,566 32,579 +3.0 3 Toyota Camry 32,095 21,328 +50.5 4 Chevrolet Malibu 31,402 23,737 +32.3 5 Honda Accord 28,924 15,712 +84.1 6 Ford Escape 28,500 22,274 +28.0 7 Honda Civic 27,500 17,485 +57.3 8 Toyota Corolla 26,647 18,872 +41.2 9 Ford Fusion 24,433 20,808 +17.4 10 Dodge Ram P/U 23,951 21,362 +12.1 11 Honda CR-V 23,282 15,493 +50.3 12 Nissan Altima 21,812 19,534 +11.7 13 Ford Focus 21,186 21,385 -0.9 14 Hyundai Sonata 20,931 18,644 +12.3 15 Chevrolet Equinox 20,793 17,954 +15.8 16 Toyota Prius 19,150 4,340 +341.2 17 Chevrolet Cruze 18,983 24,896 -23.8 18 Hyundai Elantra 17,655 19,992 -11.7 19 Chevrolet Impala 17,274 16,325 +5.8 20 Toyota RAV4 15,129 9,105 +66.2 Top 20 best-selling vehicles in U.S. through June RANK VEHICLE 2012 2011 % CHNG 1 Ford F-Series P/U 301,141 264,079 +14.0 2 Toyota Camry 213,809 146,546 +45.9 3 Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U 194,508 182,785 +6.4 4 Honda Civic 162,582 127,571 +27.4 5 Nissan Altima 157,101 131,842 +19.2 6 Honda Accord 155,178 127,105 +22.1 7 Toyota Corolla 151,726 136,747 +11.0 8 Honda CR-V 146,682 110,916 +32.2 9 Chevrolet Malibu 141,437 122,783 +15.2 10 Dodge Ram P/U 138,581 111,898 +23.8 11 Ford Fusion 136,849 131,686 +3.9 12 Ford Focus 131,423 98,024 +34.1 13 Ford Escape 127,167 122,607 +3.7 14 Toyota Prius 126,654 66,520 +90.4 15 Hyundai Sonata 117,412 115,014 +2.1 16 Chevrolet Cruze 113,884 122,972 -7.4 17 Chevrolet Equinox 110,890 95,838 +15.7 18 Chevrolet Impala 98,495 103,644 -5.0 19 Hyundai Elantra 97,769 103,301 -5.4 20 Toyota RAV4 89,438 73,155 +22.3 Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Private Equity: Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

Reuters: Private Equity Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions Jul 3rd 2012, 18:00 Tue Jul 3, 2012 2:00pm EDT July 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S., Canadian and Asian companies were reported by 1800 GMT on Tuesday: ** U.S. investment manager BlackRock is buying Swiss Re's European private equity arm, marking the second deal for a private equity fund manager in as many days as sellers contend with a new regulatory landscape and tough trading. ** Hellman & Friedman will take a majority stake in energy analysis group Wood Mackenzie in a deal that values the company at 1.1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) and marks a relatively quick turnaround for seller Charterhouse. ** Italian carmaker Fiat SpA is to exercise an option to buy around 3.3 percent of U.S. peer Chrysler from the VEBA trust fund, boosting its stake to 61.8 percent. An auto analyst, asking not to be named, said a ballpark figure for the price could be 200 million euros ($252 million). ** Technology services firm M*Modal agreed to be acquired in an all-cash deal for about $1.1 billion by One Equity Partners, the private investment arm of JP Morgan Chase & Co. ** British drinks can maker Rexam said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its underperforming personal care business in two parts for $709 million in cash and return about $580.5 million of the proceeds to investors. ** Private equity fund MBK Partners has walked away from the auction of a majority stake in Hi-mart Co, South Korea's biggest electronics retailer, after it found a worse-than-expected deterioration in the business on entering exclusive talks, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. ** Research and advisory company Corporate Executive Board Co plans to buy UK-based SHL from private equity firm HgCapital Trust Plc for $660 million in its largest acquisition yet to boost its talent management business. ** Russian steel maker Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works has dropped its A$554 million ($567 million) bid for Australian iron ore developer Flinders Mines following legal action from a shareholder. ** Credit Suisse has sold a 7 percent stake in fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management, a move which is set to add more than 200 million pounds ($313.8 million) to the Swiss bank's third-quarter earnings and bolster its capital. ** Duke Energy Corp closed its $18 billion acquisition of Progress Energy Inc and said Progress's Chief Executive Bill Johnson has resigned instead of taking the top job at the combined company, as had been previously planned. Duke CEO Jim Rogers will become CEO of the combined company, while remaining chairman, the company said on Tuesday. ** Canadian oil and gas company Peyto Exploration & Development Corp said on Tuesday it will buy Open Range Energy Corp in a deal valued at C$100.2 million ($98.3 million) to boost its presence in the Alberta deep basin area. ** Canada's Winstar Resources Ltd said it is exploring strategic options, including selling itself, four months after the oil and gas company failed to find a partner for its Tunisian assets. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Private Equity: UPDATE 2-Wood Mac valued at 1.1 bln stg in latest buyout

Reuters: Private Equity Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

UPDATE 2-Wood Mac valued at 1.1 bln stg in latest buyout Jul 3rd 2012, 16:22 Tue Jul 3, 2012 12:22pm EDT * Private equity co Hellman & Friedman to take 63 pct stake * Charterhouse keeps 13 pct of Wood Mac, management 24 pct * Deal values Wood Mac at about 12.5 times projected EBITDA * Wood Mac projected to make EBITDA of 88 mln stg in 2012 By Simon Meads LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Hellman & Friedman will take a majority stake in energy analysis group Wood Mackenzie in a deal that values the company at 1.1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) including debt and marks a relatively quick turnaround for seller Charterhouse in an otherwise sluggish buyouts market. The deal comes just three years after Charterhouse acquired the business in a 553 million pound buyout, which ranked as the largest private equity deal in 2009, and could help Wood Mac expand in North America as well as possibly paving the way for a stock market listing in New York. While private equity groups grew rich throughout the middle of the last decade by buying companies and selling them a couple of years later for vast profits, these days buyout firms frequently own businesses for up to seven years before selling. Charterhouse, which has seen the value of the investment double under its ownership, will retain a 13 percent stake in Wood Mac. Charterhouse kicked off the sales process earlier this year, hoping to hook a rival analysis, data or media group such as IHS or McGraw Hill, bankers familiar with the process have said. Hellman & Friedman, also an investor in data company Nielsen, will take a 63 percent stake in Wood Mac and will be the company's third private-equity backer in the last 10 years. Wood Mac's management and staff led by Chief Executive Stephen Halliday will hold a 24 percent equity stake in the company, valued at 132 million pounds under the Hellman deal. The deal gives Edinburgh-based Wood Mac, which produces research on the oil, gas, metals and power markets, a valuation of about 12.5 times projected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, according to one person familiar with the situation. Wood Mac is projected to make EBITDA of 88 million pounds in 2012, rising to 100 million in 2013. The deal will be backed by around 550 million pounds of debt or approximately 6.5 times the company's EBITDA. Financing is being led by Nomura and will consist of senior leveraged loans and mezzanine loans which will be provided by MezzVest, Noonday and Sankaty. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Private Equity: UPDATE 1-Axa Private Equity to buy 11 fund investments from OMERS

Reuters: Private Equity Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

UPDATE 1-Axa Private Equity to buy 11 fund investments from OMERS Jul 3rd 2012, 16:07 July 3 | Tue Jul 3, 2012 12:07pm EDT July 3 (Reuters) - Axa Private Equity, the investment arm of French insurance group Axa, said it would buy a portfolio of 11 private equity fund investments worth about $850 million from the private equity arm of Canadian pension fund OMERS. The portfolio consists of buyout funds including North American and global funds, the companies said in a statement. "This is a large and significant transaction where we have excellent visibility on the assets, especially given that we are an existing investor in many of the funds," Benoit Verbrugghe, Axa Private Equity's head of North America said. Axa bought a $740 million portfolio of private equity holdings from Barclays last year and earlier acquired a $1.7 billion portfolio from Citigroup.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Private Equity: EU mergers and takeovers (July 3)

Reuters: Private Equity Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

EU mergers and takeovers (July 3) Jul 3rd 2012, 14:29 BRUSSELS, July 3 | Tue Jul 3, 2012 10:29am EDT BRUSSELS, July 3 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS -- British telecoms operator Vodafone to acquire telecoms provider Cable & Wireless Worldwide (approved July 3) -- Japanese cash handling machine maker Glory Ltd to acquire Britain's Talaris Topco Ltd (approved July 3) -- Private equity firm Nordic Capital to acquire Finnish discount retailer Tokmanni (approved July 3) -- Swiss commodities trader Glencore to acquire Canadian grain handler Viterra Inc (approved July 3) -- Finnish engineering company Metso to acquire Finnish ship and power plant engine maker Wartsila's holding in their MW Power joint venture. Metso currently owns 60 percent and Wartsila 40 percent of MW Power (approved July 3) -- Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners to acquire HSE24, which operates teleshopping broadcasters in Germany (approved July 3) -- Geneva-based commodities trader Vitol to buy a stake in the Cockett Group which is involved in bunkering activities and is a subsidiary of South African shipping firm Grindrod (approved June 25) NEW LISTINGS None EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES None FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE JULY 4 -- France's La Poste and Switzerland's Swiss Post to set up a joint venture for cross border mail activities (notified May 11/deadline extended to July 4 from June 20 after the companies offered commitments) -- Spanish bank Santander, Hyundai Motor Company , Hyundai Capital Services and Kia Motors UK Ltd to set up a joint venture (notified May 30/deadline July 4/simplified) JULY 5 -- Animal feed producer Forfarmers to acquire holding company Agricola which owns a group of British animal feed suppliers operating under the trade name BOCM Pauls (notified May 31/deadline July 5) JULY 6 -- Swedish paper company SCA to acquire the European tissue operations of Georgia-Pacific Europe (notified May 15/deadline extended to July 6 from June 22 after the companies submitted commitments) JULY 10 -- French insurer Axa and French bank BNP Paribas to jointly acquire a shopping mall in France (notified June 5/deadline July 10/simplified) JULY 12 -- Private equity firm Bain Capital to acquire holding company Scandinavian Installations Refi which owns energy company Bravida with operations in Sweden, Denmark and Norway (notified June 7/deadline July 12/simplified) -- Proposed acquisition of joint control of electronics components maker NEC TOKIN Corp. by KEMET Electronics Corp. and NEC Corp. (notified June 7/deadline July 12) JULY 13 -- OK ekonomisk förening (OKEF) and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation to acquire joint control of Kuwait Petroleum (Danmark) (notified June 8/deadline July 13/simplified) JULY 16 -- Private equity firm Lion Capital to acquire French eyewear retailer Alain Afflelou (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) -- U.S. specialty chemicals maker Cytec Industries to acquire British manufacturer Umeco (notified June 11/deadline July 16) -- European aerospace group EADS and Israeli Aerospace Industries to set up a joint venture (notified June 11/deadline July 16) -- Private equity firm Permira Europe III to acquire Spain's Telepizza (notified June 11/deadline July 16/simplified) JULY 18 -- German grid operator TenneT Offshore GnbH and Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp to acquire joint control of energy company Tennet Offshore 2 (notified June 13/deadline July 18/simplified) JULY 19 -- Swedish company Nuvia, which is a subsidiary of French property company Vinci, and Sweden's Coor Services Management Nuclear AB, which is a unit of private equity firm Cinven, to set up a joint venture (notified June 14/deadline July 19/simplified) -- French cooperative Tereos and Singapore-based Wilmar to set up a starch technology joint venture (notified June 14/deadline July 19/simplified) JULY 20 -- Private equity firm Silver Lake Group to acquire Luxembourg-based sales tax refund services company Global Blue (notified June 15/deadline July 20/simplified) -- Private equity firms L Capital and Paladin Capital Partners to acquire joint control of Italian restaurant developer and operator Cigierre Compagnia Generale Ristorazione (notified June 15/deadline July 20/simplified) -- U.S. mail delivery company United Parcel Service Inc to acquire Dutch peer TNT Express (notified June 15/deadline July 20) -- British chip maker ARM Holdings, Amsterdam-based smart card maker Gemalto and German technology firm Giesecke & Devrient to set up a joint venture on mobile security (notified June 15/deadline July 20) -- U.S. water treatment products company Pentair to acquire U.s. conglomerate Tyco International's flow control business (notified June 15/deadline July 20/simplified) JULY 23 -- French car parts maker Faurecia to acquire French car parts manufacturer Plastal SAS (notified June 18/deadline July 23) -- U.S. network equipment maker Cisco to acquire TV software developer NDS which is 51 percent owned by private equity fund Permira and the rest by News Corp (notified June 18/deadline July 23) -- Polish copper miner KGHM and Polish utility Tauron to set up a joint venture to build a gas steam power unit (notified June 18/deadline July 23) JULY 24 -- Private equity firm Platinum Equity to acquire logistics company Caterpillar Logistics Services (notified June 19/decision July 24/simplified) JULY 25 -- French conglomerate Lagardere and Bouygues to set up a joint venture (notified June 20/deadline July 25/simplified) -- Canadian IT services company CGI Group Inc to acquire Dutch rival Logica Plc (notified June 20/deadline July 25/simplified) JULY 26 -- Spanish lender Banco Santander to purchase Poland's Kredyt Bank from Belgian bank KBC (notified June 21/deadline July 26/simplified) JULY 27 -- French insurer CNP Assurances and French bank BNP Paribas to acquire office property in France (notified June 22/deadline July 27) -- U.S. car parts maker Delphi Automotive Plc to buy FCI Group's motorized vehicles unit (MVL) which is owned by private equity firm Bain Capital (notified June 22/deadline July 27) -- Private equity firm Bain to acquire a stake in Japanese TV shopping station Jupiter Shop Channel which is owned by Japanese group Sumitomo (notified June 22/deadline July 27/simplified) JULY 30 - German insurer Allianz to buy the property and casualty brokerage-related activities of Gan Eurocourtage, a unit of French peer Groupama (notified June 25/deadline July 30) -- Belgian steel cord and wire manufacturer Bekaert and Malaysia's Southern Steel Berhad, which is owned by Hong Leong Corp, to set up a steel manufacturing joint venture (notified June 25/deadline July 30/simplified) JULY 31 -- Russian crude producer Lukoil to increase its stake in Italy-based Isab refinery (notified June 26/deadline July 31/simplified) AUG 31 -- U.S. conglomerate United Technologies Corp to acquire U.S. aircraft components maker Goodrich (notified Feb. 20/deadline extended for the second time to Aug. 31 from Aug. 9/companies offered commitments June 11) SEPT 6 -- Vivendi's Universal Music Group to buy British record label EMI's recorded music unit from Citigroup Inc (notified Feb. 17/deadline extended for the second time to Sept. 6 from Aug. 8 after the Commission asked for more time) SEPT 19 -- Telefonica UK and Vodafone UK to set up a joint venture providing mobile commerce services (notified March 6/deadline extended for the second time to Sept. 19 from Aug. 27 after the companies requested an extension) OCT 24 -- Finnish group Outokumpu to acquire German group ThyssenKrupp's Inoxum stainless steel unit (notified April 10/deadline extended for the second time to Oct. 24 from Sept. 26 after the companies asked for more time) NOV 6 -- Hong Kong's Hutchison 3G, which is part of Hutchison Whampoa, to acquire telecoms operator Orange Austria from France Telecom (notified May 7/deadline extended to Nov. 6 from June 29 after the EU Commission opens an in-depth probe) GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS DEADLINES: The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company's proposed remedies or an EU member state's request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days. SIMPLIFIED: Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified -- that is, ordinary first-stage reviews -- until they are approved. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »

Reuters: Private Equity: UPDATE 1-Wood Mac valued at 1.1 bln stg in latest buyout

Reuters: Private Equity Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

UPDATE 1-Wood Mac valued at 1.1 bln stg in latest buyout Jul 3rd 2012, 14:48 Tue Jul 3, 2012 10:48am EDT * H&F deal values Wood Mac at 1.1 billion pounds * Charterhouse keeps 13 pct of Wood Mac, management 24 pct By Simon Meads LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Hellman & Friedman will take a majority stake in energy analysis group Wood Mackenzie in a deal that values the company at 1.1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) and marks a relatively quick turnaround for seller Charterhouse in an otherwise sluggish buyouts market. The deal comes just three years after Charterhouse acquired the business in a 553 million pound buyout, which ranked as the largest private equity deal in 2009. While private equity groups grew rich throughout the middle of the last decade by buying companies and selling them a couple of years later for vast profits, these days buyout firms frequently own businesses for up to seven years before selling. Charterhouse, which has seen the value of the investment double under its ownership, will retain a 13 percent stake in Wood Mackenzie. Charterhouse kicked off the sales process earlier this year, hoping to hook a rival analysis, data or media group such as IHS or McGraw Hill, bankers familiar with the process have said. Hellman & Friedman, which will take a 63 percent stake in Wood Mackenzie, will be the company's third private-equity backer in the last 10 years. Wood Mackenzie's management and staff will hold a 24 percent interest in the company. The deal gives Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie, which produces research on the oil, gas, metals and power markets, a valuation of about 12.5 times projected earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, according to one person familiar with the situation. Wood Mackenzie is projected to make EBITDA of 88 million pounds in 2012, rising to 100 million in 2013. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Read more »