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☆ Wood Group shares rally on unsolicited Apollo approach
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Wood Group (WG.L) shares rallied more than 30% on Thursday after the British energy services provider said it had received and then rejected three unsolicited takeover proposals from U.S. private equity group Apollo Global Management (APO.N). "The Board unanimously rejected each of the Proposals, having concluded that they each significantly undervalued the repositioned Group's prospects," the UK-listed company said in a statement late on Wednesday. The most recent approach was a cash offer for the entire capital of Wood Group valuing the company at 230 pence per share, the statement added. By 0824 GMT, Wood Group shares were up 32% after earlier rising as much as 34.4% to 208 pence. Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Amanda CooperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wood Group has grounds to face down Apollo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - John Wood Group (WG.L) has a seriously pushy bidder. While the latest 230 pence a share one represents a 50% premium to Wood Group’s closing price on Wednesday, the target has reasonable grounds to say no. Wood Group’s latest offer implies only around seven times on the same metric. Admittedly Wood Group shares are hovering around 200 pence, far below Apollo’s offer. Still, if he’s right and Wood Group trades on the same multiple at its peers, it would be worth nearly 3.8 billion pounds.

☆ Apollo Global appoints former U.S. Senator Patrick Toomey to board
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) said on Wednesday former U.S. Senator Patrick Toomey has been appointed to its board, effective March 15. In a political career spanning decades, Toomey represented Pennsylvania in the Senate from 2011 to 2023, serving on the Senate banking, housing, and urban affairs, budget, and finance committees. Toomey, a member of the Republican Party, previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, where he was a member of the house budget committee. Earlier in February, New York-based Apollo said its fourth-quarter adjusted net income rose 77% owing to strong earnings from its retirement services business, even as gains were partly offset by a steep decline in its PE portfolio.

☆ Blackstone's Ike leaves to start new investment firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Melvin Ike, a managing director in Blackstone Inc's (BX.N) tactical opportunities group, has resigned to start his own investment firm, the private equity firm told Reuters. Ike's resignation was announced during a meeting of Blackstone's tactical opportunities fund investors held last week in New York, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday. Ike's transactions for Blackstone's tactical opportunities unit include the sale of a majority stake in Wisconsin-based home improvement lender Aqua Finance for $1 billion to Apollo Global Management (APO.N) in 2021. He also led Blackstone's acquisition of a majority stake in collectibles authentication firm Certified Collectibles Group as well as the minority investments in digital marketing firm Recurrent Ventures and Cybersecurity firm Geocomply. Blackstone's tactical opportunities unit, which is run by David Blitzer, invests in assets that typically fall outside the scope of the firm's other funds, from timber and mines to oil tankers and satellites.

☆ Companies Are Slow to Adopt Robot-Operated ‘Dark’ Warehouses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

More companies are exploring ways to staff warehouses with robots but may have to wait a few years for the technology to catch up. It makes the automation much easier to justify,” said Sean Wallingford, president and chief executive of the Americas region for warehouse technology company Swisslog Holding AG. A robotic arm picks and packs orders at online pharmacy company Apo.com’s automated warehouse in the Netherlands. Photo: RIGHTHAND ROBOTICSAbout 20% of warehouses in 2022 used some form of robotics, up from 15% in 2018, according to research firm Interact Analysis. Mr. Jensen said the company made changes after the first fire in 2019, limiting damage from later fires.

☆ Private equity firm TPG's Q4 earnings drop 26% on lower asset sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - TPG Inc (TPG.O) said on Wednesday that its fourth-quarter distributable earnings fell 26% year-on-year as it cashed out fewer investments in its private equity, growth, impact and real estate portfolios. TPG said its net profit from asset sales fell to $95 million in the fourth quarter, down 62% from the $251 million posted a year ago. TPG said its private equity funds appreciated 2.2% in the fourth quarter, its growth funds and impact funds were flat and its real estate funds fell 1.5%. The private equity funds of Blackstone, Carlyle and Apollo appreciated by 3.8%, 1% and 5.4%, respectively, while KKR's private equity funds were flat. TPG ended the fourth quarter with $135 billion in assets under management.

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Target, Micron, Walmart, Lyft, Affirm, Roku & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Bank of America downgrades Deutsche Bank to underperform from neutral Bank of America said it sees waning profitability for the European banking giant. Jefferies reiterates Walmart as buy Jefferies said it's standing by its buy rating on the stock heading into earnings later this month. Guggenheim reiterates Target as buy Guggenheim says it's standing by shares of the e-commerce giant heading into earnings later this month. Oppenheimer reiterates Roku as outperform Oppenheimer said it's standing by its outperform rating on shares of Roku. Bank of America initiates Freyr Battery as buy Bank of America said it sees an attractive risk/reward for the battery company. "

☆ Yahoo to lay off more than 20% of staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Yahoo said on Thursday it plans to lay off more than 20% of its total workforce as part of a major restructuring of its ad tech division. The cuts will impact nearly 50% of Yahoo's ad tech employees by the end of this year, including nearly 1,000 employees this week, the company said. This comes as many advertisers have pared back their marketing budgets in response to record-high inflation rates and continued uncertainty about a recession. Axios first reported the news of the layoffs at Yahoo. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apollo launches new credit firm with bulk of Credit Suisse' assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 8 (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) said on Wednesday it is creating a new credit unit that now oversees majority of assets it purchased from Credit Suisse Group (CSGN.S) as a part of the sale of Securitized Products Group (SPG). Apollo bought most of the SPG assets held by Credit Suisse in November last year as a part of a sweeping revamp for the Swiss bank, without disclosing the sale price at that time. The newly created unit, Atlas SP Partners, will focus on asset-backed financing and capital markets solutions under the leadership Credit Suisse's Jay Kim, with Apollo owning the majority of the unit. "At Apollo, we are excited to partner with ATLAS SP and accelerate our strategy to invest in more long-term, investment grade quality assets for our clients and strategic partners," Apollo's co-President Jim Zelter said in a statement. Reporting by Lavanya Ahire and Shankar Ramakrishnan; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

☆ Apollo assessing possible CS First Boston investment -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) is among a group of financial firms considering investing in Credit Suisse's (CSGN.S) revamped investment bank CS First Boston, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. U.S. asset manager and private equity firm Apollo has been contacted by the Swiss bank about investing in CS First Boston (CSFB) but has yet to make a decision, the source added. It will now focus on managing money for the wealthy and create CSFB to run its investment banking activities. Apollo has already committed to buying the bulk of Credit Suisse's securitized products group, which will be outside CSFB. Credit Suisse, which reports fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 9, said in November that it expects to complete the transaction by mid-2023.

☆ Apollo Global in talks to buy stake in Credit Suisse unit -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Apollo Global Management Inc (APO.N) is among a group of financial firms in talks to buy a stake in Credit Suisse Group's (CSGN.S) revamped investment bank, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The talks with Apollo are continuing and could still fall apart, the report said, without mentioning the size of the potential stake or the potential deal value. Both Apollo Global and Credit Suisse declined to comment on the report. The entity advises on mergers and acquisitions, raises capital for clients through equity and debt markets, and provides leveraged finance as part of its core offerings. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami and Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Carlyle's new boss will be virtuoso second fiddle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That’s the best way of interpreting the private equity firm’s appointment of former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) banker Harvey Schwartz on Monday. He never quite made it to the CEO job at Goldman, though served in a number of high-level roles like chief financial officer and chief operating officer. They felt that the ousted Lee, who pushed hard to diversify Carlyle’s business, hadn’t adequately consulted them on big moves, according to Reuters. The firm’s co-founder Bill Conway, also one of Carlyle’s two co-chairmen, has been filling the role on an interim basis. Schwartz previously held various senior roles including chief financial officer and chief operating officer at investment bank Goldman Sachs, which he left in 2018.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX), the conglomerate controlled by billionaire German Larrea, has secured a $5 billion debt package for its proposed acquisition of Citigroup Inc's (C.N) retail operations in Mexico, according to people familiar with the matter. The move represents a major milestone in Grupo Mexico's efforts to put together the deal for Banamex, the unit that encompasses the Citigroup assets. Several banks, including Barclays Plc (BARC.L) and HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L), have pledged to provide the debt financing, the sources said. Citi, Grupo Mexico, Barclays and HSBC declined to comment. Citi stepped back from conversations with Becker to prioritize a potential deal with Larrea, according to sources.

On Tuesday, Western Digital CEO David Goeckeler said the partnership with Apollo and Elliott would help "facilitate the next stages of Western Digital's strategic review." The latest investment is a precursor to a potential merger between Silicon Valley-based Western Digital and Japan's Kioxia Holdings Corp, according to people familiar with the matter. The sources, who requested anonymity as these discussions are confidential, said the talks between Western Digital and Kioxia are still active. Western Digital and Kioxia jointly produce NAND chips, which are widely used in smartphones, TVs, data center servers and public announcement display panels. Qatalyst Partners, Lazard and J.P. Morgan are serving as Western Digital's financial advisers and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as Western Digital's legal adviser.

HONG KONG/MUMBAI, Jan 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani’s financing options are narrowing fast. That leaves it dependent on a safety net provided by Indian banks. Those concerns exploded after Hindenburg Research last week declared the Indian group was making extensive use of tax havens and “pulling the largest con in corporate history” – allegations Adani dismissed as “misinformation” and “stale, baseless and discredited”. Lending more to the group would protect the capital that banks already have at risk in projects under construction. Shares of Gautam Adani’s listed companies have lost a combined $48 billion in market capitalisation since Jan. 25.

☆ Exclusive: JPMorgan looking to finance Italy's Serie A for up to 1 bln euros -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The sources said the 20 clubs that comprise Serie A were informed of the interest by the U.S. bank at a closed-door meeting of their top executives on Thursday. Serie A has been looking at options to extract more money from its media rights, which account for roughly half the revenues of its clubs. Like other European soccer leagues, Serie A lags England's Premier League in terms of income and is looking at ways to revive its global appeal. The sources said Serie A clubs learnt on Thursday that Apollo Global Management (APO.N) had also come forward, without providing further details. Prior to that meeting, clubs are due to discuss in mid-February the sale process of the media rights, which is expected to start later this year.

☆ Italy's Lottomatica eyes IPO as Q4 core profit rises at least 7%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Elisa Anzolin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It said preliminary results for 2022 showed that it had collected 22.8 billion euros in bets, with revenue of around 1.4 billion euros and earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation of 458 million-462 million euros. Pro-forma EBITDA stands at 516 million-520 million euros in 2022 when taking into account the acquisition of Italian remote gaming and betting collection company Betflag, which Lottomatica completed in November. Apollo Global Management entered the Italian gaming business in 2019 when it bought a large stake in Gamenet and proceeded to buy out other investors and delist it the next year. The private equity firm invested a further 950 million euros in the sector the following year when Gamenet acquired IGT's (IGT.N) Italian gaming machine, sports betting and digital gaming businesses. These businesses were housed in two companies dubbed Lottomatica Videolot Rete and Lottomatica Scommesse, with a valuation at the time of around 1.1 billion euros including debt.

☆ U.S. mattress maker Serta Simmons files for bankruptcy protection
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Doraville, Georgia-based company, whose roots date to 1870, filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on Monday night with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Texas. Serta Simmons also lined up $125 million in financing to keep operating, including to pay its 3,600 employees. The company's brands include Serta, Simmons, Beautyrest and Tuft & Needle. Serta Simmons' advisers include the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Evercore Group LLC and FTI Consulting Inc. The case is In re Serta Simmons Bedding LLC et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas, No.

☆ JPMorgan begins private lending drive with $10 billion - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) has set aside at least $10 billion to back its foray into the world of direct lending, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The Wall Street titan's move into the market is likely to put it head to head with established sector heavyweights such as Ares Management Corp (ARES.N) and Apollo Global Management (APO.N). Last week, JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum told investors the bank was "absolutely open for business" in leveraged lending even as other U.S. banks are expected to book significant losses on risky loans underwritten last year. JPMorgan Asset Management has in recent years separately expanded its private credit platform unit, which targets opportunities in the direct lending segment, with plans to expand into other private credit strategies in the future. Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Private equity acquires a taste for drug development
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( David Carnevali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Private equity firms that deemed drug development too risky for their liking in the past are increasingly investing in the sector, raising dedicated funds and coming up with deals that compensate them for the uncertainty involved. These deals are not structured as the leveraged buyouts that private equity firms are mostly known for. In most cases, the drug makers start paying the money back to the private equity firms when the drug is being developed, either by issuing equity, tapping cash on hand or borrowing. They also share a slice of the newly developed drug's revenue with the private equity firms once it's approved. Private equity firms also provide capital to spin out drugs into new companies.

☆ Direct ChassisLink changes hands in $3.6 billion deal-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The deal marks a win for Apollo, which acquired a majority stake in Charlotte, North Carolina-based Direct ChassisLink and logistics and digital supply chain solutions company Blume Global from EQT in 2019 for around $2.5 billion, including debt. Excluding Blume's remaining value, Apollo made two times the money it invested, according to a person familiar with the matter. Blume separately raised money from outside investors in 2021 at a valuation of $500 million. Direct ChassisLink controls a fleet of over 151,000 marine and 100,000 domestic chassis. Reporting by David Carnevali in New York; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"The successful completion of the capital increase is a key milestone for the new Credit Suisse," its chief executive Ulrich Koerner said in a statement. Credit Suisse had already raised 1.8 billion francs by placing stock with a group of institutional investors led by Saudi National Bank (1180.SE). The exercise of subscription rights left only 16.4 million shares unsold. These are due to be sold on the market at or above the offer price of 2.52 Swiss francs, Credit Suisse said. Credit Suisse, has been battered by mishaps, including a $5.5 billion loss on U.S. investment firm Archegos.

Credit Suisse has already placed some 1.8 billion francs worth of shares with a group of institutional investors led by Saudi National Bank. "The rights issue is the necessary start to the process, said Jerome Legras of Axiom Alternative Investments. REVAMP AND RECORD LOWSCredit Suisse shares, which have plumbed record lows, were buoyed last week as its leadership sought to reassure markets. After closing above 3 Swiss francs on Monday, they have retreated slightly, finishing Wednesday’s session at 2.851 Swiss francs. Crucially, they have held above the deal subscription price of 2.52 Swiss francs and were at 2.821 Swiss francs, down around 1% in mid-session trade on Thursday.

☆ Blackstone gets a slap from efficient markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

NEW YORK, Dec 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Private markets seemed, for a while, the perfect antidote to the weirdness of public markets. Those models typically move much more slowly than the rapidly changing prices served up by public markets. These charms became much more potent during the stresses of Covid-19, when it became clear that public markets are not always a ruthlessly efficient price-discovery mechanism. RESILIENCE OR INTRANSIGENCECovid briefly scrambled the world, but bigger changes are coming that may scramble the calculus for private markets. During Covid, public markets seemed backward-looking, overreacting to the present moment while private markets were able to focus on the future.

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