Author: Reuters News

IT outsourcing company CompuCom Systems Inc said Monday it is being bought by private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, and a source close to the matter said the price tag will be $1.1 billion. Dallas, Texas based CompuCom had been owned by Court Square Capital Partners, a private equity firm that was spun out of Citigroup Inc in 2006. Platinum Equity had previously sold the technology services company to Court Square in 2007 for approximately $628 million. CompuCom, which provides a broad range of technology that help clients through deployment, management and retirement lifecycle of their IT assets, touts Fortune 100 and 500 businesses among its clients. It reported gross revenue of $2.3 billion in 2012, Reuters wrote.

(Reuters) – IT outsourcing company CompuCom Systems Inc said Monday it is being bought by private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, and a source close to the matter said the price tag will be $1.1 billion.

Dallas, Texas based CompuCom had been owned by Court Square Capital Partners, a private equity firm that was spun out of Citigroup Inc in 2006.

Platinum Equity had previously sold the technology services company to Court Square in 2007 for approximately $628 million.

CompuCom, which provides a broad range of technology that help clients through deployment, management and retirement lifecycle of their IT assets, touts Fortune 100 and 500 businesses among its clients. It reported gross revenue of $2.3 billion in 2012.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc, JP Morgan, BMO Capital Markets and Jefferies Finance LLC are providing committed financing for the transaction.

BMO Capital Markets and Jefferies LLC provided financial advice to THL and Citigroup Global is adviser to CompuCom and Court Square.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

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Nepoch Capital, a new private equity firm founded by the son of a former member of China’s politburo, has launched the first ‘princeling’ fundraising since the new government took power last month vowing to clamp down on cronyism and nepotism, writes Reuters. China’s so-called princelings, the sons and daughters of the country’s elite, have a long association with private equity funds, and their investments – and sometimes bumper profits from a swift exit from lucrative initial public offerings – have drawn accusations of favoritism and corruption, according to Reuters.

Reuters – Nepoch Capital, a new private equity firm founded by the son of a former member of China’s politburo, has launched the first ‘princeling’ fundraising since the new government took power last month vowing to clamp down on cronyism and nepotism.

China’s so-called princelings, the sons and daughters of the country’s elite, have a long association with private equity funds, and their investments – and sometimes bumper profits from a swift exit from lucrative initial public offerings – have drawn accusations of favoritism and corruption.

The view that princelings have the inside track on investments through their families’ political connections is often what attracts investors, industry executives say.

He Jintao, the son of He Guoqiang, who used to be in charge of Communist Party discipline, has quickly raised $200 million from investors despite a tough fundraising climate, and is expected to reach a target of as much as $500 million by the mid-year, two people with knowledge of the plans told Reuters.

The success of He’s fundraising may put Beijing in an awkward position, so soon after Xi Jinping took over as China’s new president pledging to tackle widespread corruption within government. The behavior and wealth of the nation’s princelings came to symbolize that corruption.

Four of the best-known funds with a history of high-level princeling involvement have raised a combined $10.4 billion for investments, according to Thomson Reuters and Preqin data.

Their ranks include Liu Lefei, CEO of CITIC Private Equity Funds Management and the son of politburo standing committee member Liu Yunshan; Winston Wen, co-founder of New Horizon Capital and the son of former premier Wen Jiabao; and Jiang Mianheng, a board member at New Margin Venture Capital in the 1990s and son of former China President Jiang Zemin.

INSIDE TRACK

Despite Xi’s drive for more austere government and a clean-up of official excesses such as lavish banquets that fuelled social resentment, the Nepoch launch shows that princelings are still pursuing business interests, attracting investors through their political ties.

“It’s getting harder to make money in Asia, and you need someone with an inside track,” said one investor in China private equity funds, explaining the strong interest in Nepoch.

Skeptics question whether it’s realistic to expect the government to root out endemic Communist Party favors. They see princelings remaining active, though maybe less in plain view.

“They will eventually find some way to find more distant relatives or find more subtle ways to control these economic resources,” said Ho-fung Hung, associate professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University and author of “China and the Transformation of Global Capitalism”.

Hung believes the opaque nature of private equity makes it more of a safe haven for princelings. “If you say Wen Jiabao’s family has connections to the gem and diamond industry, people immediately understand what that is and how it makes money,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview. “Most people don’t understand how private equity works. That’s why it’s under the radar and people’s reaction won’t be that strong.”

Even if Nepoch’s founder operates entirely outside his father’s circle, the connection between the fund and He Guoqiang’s former position as head of China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection – responsible for stamping out corruption among government officials – is unavoidable.

“In this market, everyone is looking for distinguishing factors. You could say this distinguishes the fund,” said the private equity fund investor.

RESTRICTED INVESTMENT

Investors in private equity funds usually meet the fund’s founders to discuss investment strategies before they commit money. At Nepoch, investors only get to meet He Jintao after they have agreed to invest, said one of the people familiar with the matter.

Nepoch has already made two investments, including one in the technology, media and telecommunications sector, which is a restricted area for foreign investors, said the people with knowledge of the plans. They declined to name the investments.

Duncan Zheng, a former principal at European buyout firm Triton Partners, is a co-founder with He, the people said, declining to be identified as they are not authorized to talk to the media.

Nepoch, He and Zheng did not respond to phone calls and messages seeking comment for this article.

Returns from China private equity have proved disappointing, and fundraising more than halved last year to $23.4 billion, according to Asia Venture Capital Journal data.

(This story is corrected with spelling of Xi Jinping in para 5)

(Additional reporting by Megan Zhao; Editing by Michael Flaherty and Ian Geoghegan)

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Malaysian shipping group MISC Bhd said a revised $3 billion offer from shareholder Petronas to buy out all remaining stock was not fair, because it was lower than the combined valuation of its different divisions, Reuters wrote. State oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, which already owns nearly 63 percent of MISC, on Friday raised its offer to 5.50 ringgit per share from 5.20 ringgit after the Employees Provident Fund, MISC’s other major shareholder with nearly 10 percent, said the original bid was unattractive.

(Reuters) – Malaysian shipping group MISC Bhd said a revised $3 billion offer from shareholder Petronas to buy out all remaining stock was not fair, because it was lower than the combined valuation of its different divisions.

State oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, which already owns nearly 63 percent of MISC, on Friday raised its offer to 5.50 ringgit per share from 5.20 ringgit after the Employees Provident Fund, MISC’s other major shareholder with nearly 10 percent, said the original bid was unattractive.

“The revised offer price is not fair as the indicative sum-of-parts valuation of the MISC group is above the revised offer price,” MISC said in a local stock exchange filing on Monday, basing its opinion on recommendations by independent adviser AmInvestment Bank.

Nevertheless, MISC said it agreed with AmInvestment Bank’s recommendation to shareholders to accept the revised offer, which it said was reasonable in view of the risks and challenges the company faces going forward.

AmInvestment said the shipping business is facing acute overcapacity, low demand and depressed charter rates. High bunker fuel prices will also continue to put downward pressure on MISC’s profitability.

Its shares ended the day 1.10 percent lower at 5.40 ringgit per share, while the benchmark stock index fell 0.04 percent. (Reporting By Yantoultra Ngui; editing by Jane Baird)

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The gap between what major corporations will owe retired workers and how much they have put aside grew last year despite a strong stock market rally, according to a study set to be released on Monday by Wilshire Associates. The cumulative liability among defined benefit pension plans sponsored by companies in the benchmark Standard and Poor’s 500 index increased to $1.56 trillion in 2012 from $1.38 trillion the year before, outpacing the growth in assets. As a result, the overall funding ratio – a measure of a plan’s assets divided by its commitments – for all plans fell from 79.7 percent to 78.1 percent, the study found.

(Reuters) – The gap between what major corporations will owe retired workers and how much they have put aside grew last year despite a strong stock market rally, according to a study set to be released on Monday by Wilshire Associates.

The cumulative liability among defined benefit pension plans sponsored by companies in the benchmark Standard and Poor’s 500 index increased to $1.56 trillion in 2012 from $1.38 trillion the year before, outpacing the growth in assets.

As a result, the overall funding ratio – a measure of a plan’s assets divided by its commitments – for all plans fell from 79.7 percent to 78.1 percent, the study found.

Low interest rates – which are used to calculate future benefits – were a significant factor behind the increase in pension liabilities, said Russell Walker, a vice president at Wilshire and one of the authors of the report. Mergers and acquisitions also increased pension funding liabilities.

United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) saw its liability increase by $5.2 billion after its acquisition of Goodrich Corp, for instance, while the pension obligation at Kraft Foods Group Inc (KRFT.O) increased $7.2 billion as a result of its spinoff of Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ.O).

Walker said plans will either have to invest in riskier, long-duration credit, hope that interest rates rise and/or increase their contributions.

The issue of pension funding will grow in importance to both corporations and investors alike as the oldest members of the baby boom generation retire and draw down assets.

“The huge cohort of upcoming plan beneficiaries are going to put a strain on defined benefit plans,” Walker said. “There’s no question that we are going to see a need to stabilize funding sooner rather than later.”

Approximately 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 each day until 2029, according to estimates from the Pew Research Center. The generation is the last to be widely covered by defined benefit pension plans that guarantee workers a set monthly benefit regardless of market conditions. Most of these plans are closed to new employees, who instead save for retirement in so-called defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s.

The pending deficits of some companies amount to billions of dollars. At $19.7 billion, Boeing Co. (BA.N) had the largest shortfall among the 308 companies studied. General Electric (GE.N), Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), and AT&T (T.N) also had shortfalls of more than $10 billion in fiscal 2012. Pension funding could be a risk that affects the future net earnings of these and other companies, Walker said.

Overall, the plans included in the study had a median rate of return of 11.8 percent in 2012, the fourth consecutive year of gains. Plans invested a median of 49.6 percent of assets in equities, 36.4 percent of assets in fixed income, and the rest in a mix of cash, real estate, and private equity or hedge funds.

Benefit payments rose to $76.5 billion from $72.5 billion the year before.

(Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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Taminco Corp, the chemical maker owned by Apollo Global Management, said it would sell about 15.8 million shares for $18 to $20 each in an initial public offering. At the midpoint of the range, the IPO would raise about $300 million. The company said it intends to use the proceeds of the offering to repay debt. U.S. private equity firm Apollo bought Taminco for about 1.1 billion euros ($1.41 billion) from CVC Capital Partners at the end of 2011.

(Reuters) – Taminco Corp, the chemical maker owned by Apollo Global Management, said it would sell about 15.8 million shares for $18 to $20 each in an initial public offering.

At the midpoint of the range, the IPO would raise about $300 million. The company said it intends to use the proceeds of the offering to repay debt.

U.S. private equity firm Apollo bought Taminco for about 1.1 billion euros ($1.41 billion) from CVC Capital Partners at the end of 2011.

The Belgian company had tried to list its shares in Brussels in 2010. It blamed difficult market conditions for the failure of the IPO, which would have been Belgium’s biggest since 2007.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, the company listed Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, J.P.Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies, Morgan Stanley and UBS as its lead underwriters.

There are 14 banks underwriting the offering.

Taminco said it would list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘TAM’.

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Private equity group Cerberus is mulling listing its German retail property holdings as a real estate investment trust , in a move that could help it avoid paying corporate tax, Reuters wrote. Alternatively, the U.S.-based investor could list the buildings, which are valued at roughly 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), as a normal real estate company, two people familiar with the transaction said on Thursday. International investors are flocking to the German property market as yields on safe assets such as German bonds vanish and as property is considered the next low-risk asset class.

(Reuters) – Private equity group Cerberus is mulling listing its German retail property holdings as a real estate investment trust (REIT), in a move that could help it avoid paying corporate tax, two sources said.

Alternatively, the U.S.-based investor could list the buildings, which are valued at roughly 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), as a normal real estate company, two people familiar with the transaction said on Thursday.

International investors are flocking to the German property market as yields on safe assets such as German bonds vanish and as property is considered the next low-risk asset class.

A decision will be taken later this year when the preparations for the initial public offering (IPO) are gaining pace, said the sources, adding the listing may take place as early as the second half of 2013.

Cerberus declined to comment.

As a REIT, the group could avoid paying corporate level taxes if it distributes at least 90 percent of its taxable income to shareholders in the form of dividend payments.

Germany has not seen REITs being launched since the listing of Prime Office REIT AG in 2011.

Until now, Cerberus’ retail properties – comprising mainly Metro wholesale markets and Woolworth retail outlets – have not been grouped together but held in different areas of Cerberus’ company structure.

Berlin-based Acrest Property Group, which is not owned by Cerberus, is managing the buildings, which have a combined rentable space of about 900,000 square metres.

Cerberus has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs to organise the listing of the German retail properties, the sources said. The banks declined to comment.

German property has been showing a steady rise in value in the last couple of years, contrasting with the boom-and-bust of Spanish and Irish real estate markets.

In January residential property company LEG Immobilien listed on the German Stock Exchange while peer Deutsche Annington, owned by private equity firm Terra Firma , is set to become the next listing later in the second quarter, sources have said.

In the German real estate market, investors can expect yields of about 4.5 percent for the best housing and 6 percent in secondary locations.

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High-end grocery store chain Fairway Market priced its initial public offering of 13.7 million Class A shares at $10 to $12 per share as it looked to raise as much as $164 million, Reuters reported. The company, which traces its origins to a fruit and vegetable stand in New York City in the 1930s, operates in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. At the high end of the price range, the company will be valued at about $495 million. The company, majority-owned by private equity firm Sterling Investment Partners, said in August that it had confidentially filed for an IPO.

(Reuters) – High-end grocery store chain Fairway Market priced its initial public offering of 13.7 million Class A shares at $10 to $12 per share as it looked to raise as much as $164 million.

The company, which traces its origins to a fruit and vegetable stand in New York City in the 1930s, operates in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

At the high end of the price range, the company will be valued at about $495 million.

The company, majority-owned by private equity firm Sterling Investment Partners, said in August that it had confidentially filed for an IPO.

While the company is offering 13.3 million share, its selling shareholders are offering the rest.

Fairway follows in the footsteps of successful public debuts of grocery chains such as Whole Foods Market Inc and Fresh Market Inc, last year.

The company posted a loss of $56.1 million up from a loss of $10 million from the year ago.

Private equity-backed companies queued up to list shares as U.S. stock markets reached record highs, helping boost U.S. IPO volumes by about 65 percent in the first quarter.

Fairway intends to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol “FWM”.

The New York-based company told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Credit Suisse, BofA Merrill Lynch, Jefferies and William Blair will underwrite its IPO.

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Blackstone Group will visit Dell Inc‘s headquarters on Monday to begin an in-depth analysis of the company, sources said, a strong sign the buyout firm is proceeding with an offer that could upset founder Michael Dell’s $24.4 billion buyout bid, Reuters reported. Blackstone and billionaire investor Carl Icahn separately made preliminary proposals in late March that, if finalized, could be superior to the offer on the table from Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP. The outcome of the auction would determine the future of Dell as well as Chief Executive Michael Dell, who founded the company in a dorm room in 1984 and turned it into the world’s No.3 personal computer maker.

(Reuters) – Blackstone Group will visit Dell Inc’s headquarters on Monday to begin an in-depth analysis of the company, sources said, a strong sign the buyout firm is proceeding with an offer that could upset founder Michael Dell’s $24.4 billion buyout bid.

Blackstone and billionaire investor Carl Icahn separately made preliminary proposals in late March that, if finalized, could be superior to the offer on the table from Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP.

The outcome of the auction would determine the future of Dell as well as Chief Executive Michael Dell, who founded the company in a dorm room in 1984 and turned it into the world’s No.3 personal computer maker.

In its first step toward firming up a bid, Blackstone is working closely with Michael Dell in putting together a new business plan and actively talking to him about staying on in his current role as CEO, two people familiar with the matter said.

If Michael Dell gets on board with Blackstone’s still-developing strategy for Dell, he would be Blackstone’s preferred choice running the new company, the sources said. But the buyout firm also is putting an alternative executive plan in place.

Blackstone has hired an executive consulting firm that has reached out to about half a dozen high profile industry executives to help evaluate Dell’s businesses and provide advice around strategy, the sources said.

The New York-based private equity firm and its consultant are also talking to a few of the executives for potentially running Dell, while some others are being considered for board positions, the sources said.

The executives that have been contacted by the executive reference firm include Cisco Systems Inc director Michael Capellas, former IBM Corp services head Michael Daniels, Oracle Corp President Mark Hurd and Hewlett-Packard Co’s PC boss Todd Bradley, the sources said.

Hurd, who sources previously have said was being pursued for a CEO job, has said he is happy at Oracle. Representatives for Capellas and Daniels did not return calls seeking comment. Bradley said in an email he was not contacted for a CEO position.

The leading external candidate for the Dell CEO job is Capellas, who has been in extensive discussions with Blackstone in recent weeks brainstorming on strategy for Dell and evaluating the industry, the sources said.

Capellas, best known as CEO and Chairman of PC maker Compaq, that he sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2002 for $25 billion, has been spotted entering and leaving Blackstone’s Park Avenue headquarters several times over the past few weeks.

In recent years, Capellas served as Chairman and CEO of VCE, a collaboration between EMC Corp, Cisco and VMware Inc . He still remains chairman.

“No one knows who will ultimately sign on yet,” one of the sources said. “(Blackstone) is exploring options with those people.”

Executives from the private equity firm and its consultants will head to the Round Rock, Texas, Dell’s headquarters on Monday, to kick off the due diligence that is expected to last about four weeks, people close to the matter said.

“What Blackstone is trying to do is develop a smarter structure that provides more options than what Michael Dell and Silver Lake seem to be doing,” another said, adding that the firm is trying to figure out a different way for Dell going forward.

All the sources asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential. Spokesmen for Blackstone and Silver Lake declined to comment. A spokesman for Michael Dell was not available for comment.

STRATEGY FOR DELL

Blackstone’s team leaders for the bid include Dell’s former head of strategy, Dave Johnson, currently a senior managing director at Blackstone. In the past, Johnson and Michael Dell have not seen eye-to-eye over a strategy that would take Dell forward, the sources said.

Johnson is working with Chinh Chu, one of Blackstone’s most experienced partners, who has been carrying out transactions for the firm since 1990.

Michael Dell and Silver Lake envision Dell as an integrated company, with the No. 3 PC-maker continuing to focus on a diverse offering that includes enterprise software, servers, PCs and financial services.

Johnson’s strategy, if Blackstone acquires Dell, would be to focus the company on enterprise software and accelerate the effort to bring together all the acquisitions made in this space, a source close to Johnson said.

In addition, under Johnson’s plan, the company would exit its finance business, the source said, adding that Johnson also wants to make the company less Texas-centric and more global to attract more talented employees.

During Johnson’s three years at Dell, he oversaw an aggressive acquisition strategy with some 18 to 20 deals, including the 2009 purchase of Perot Systems Corp, which catapulted Dell into the technology services market alongside IBM and HP.

But one of the sources cautioned that the due diligence process is still in the early stages, and that Blackstone is just starting to put together a business plan.

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Revised takeover offers for Australia’s Billabong International Ltd have come in considerably lower than indicative bids, with the highest valuing the struggling surwear firm at only A$287 million ($300 million), the Australian Financial Review reported on Friday. A consortium comprising Billabong’s former U.S. boss Paul Naude and private equity firm Sycamore Partners has put forward an offer of about A$0.60 cents per share, while a rival group made up of private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners and U.S. clothing group VF Corp has offered less than A$.50 cents per share, it said.

(Reuters) – Revised takeover offers for Australia’s Billabong International Ltd have come in considerably lower than indicative bids, with the highest valuing the struggling surwear firm at only A$287 million ($300 million), the Australian Financial Review reported on Friday.

A consortium comprising Billabong’s former U.S. boss Paul Naude and private equity firm Sycamore Partners has put forward an offer of about A$0.60 cents per share, while a rival group made up of private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners and U.S. clothing group VF Corp has offered less than A$.50 cents per share, it said.

The offers are below Billabong’s share price at its last close on March 28 of A$0.73 and around half the A$1.10 initial indicative bids from both consortiums, which valued the company at A$527 million ($550 million).

Since the initial offers, Billabong has posted a first-half net loss of A$536.6 million and lowered its full-year guidance, citing difficult trading conditions in Europe and a disappointing performance from its Nixon watch brand.

Billabong shares are currently in a trading halt until an announcement on the takeover bids. The stock, which has lost around two-thirds of its value in the past year, sank to an all-time low of A$0.63 last month.

In February 2012, Billabong, the sponsor of current world surfing champion Joel Parkinson, rejected an A$850 million offer from TPG Capital as too low.

Subsequent offers of A$1.45 from TPG and Bain Capital were withdrawn after due diligence.

The company has sold off key assets, replaced its chief executive as a result of profit downgrades and raised A$225 million in a deeply discounted rights issue to cut its debt, which currently totals about A$286 million.

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Private equity group CVC Capital Partners has appointed nine banks for its planned sale of 25 to 30 percent of Belgium’s postal service bpost on the stock market, Reuters reported. The flotation, expected in the coming months, would be the first sizeable initial public offering in Brussels since biotech firm Movetis raised 85 million euros ($109 million) at the end of 2009 and the largest since zinc smelter Nyrstar raised 1.74 billion euros in 2007.

(Reuters) – Private equity group CVC Capital Partners has appointed nine banks for its planned sale of 25 to 30 percent of Belgium’s postal service bpost on the stock market, a source familiar with the company’s thinking said on Thursday.

The flotation, expected in the coming months, would be the first sizeable initial public offering (IPO) in Brussels since biotech firm Movetis raised 85 million euros ($109 million) at the end of 2009 and the largest since zinc smelter Nyrstar raised 1.74 billion euros in 2007.

In the past three years, investor uncertainty due to the euro zone crisis has made companies in Belgium reluctant to float on the stock market.

Belgian business newspapers De Tijd and L’Echo have both said CVC could raise between 550 million and 900 million euros from the flotation.

The source said bpost would be marketed to investors as a high-dividend stock.

De Tijd reported on Thursday that the company would pay out a dividend of 6 percent to 8 percent of its market valuation.

CVC has appointed JP Morgan, Nomura and BNP Paribas Fortis as joint global coordinators, and JP Morgan, Nomura, Morgan Stanley and UBS as joint international bookrunners, the source said.

BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC and ING Belgium have been appointed joint Belgian bookrunners, the source said, while Belfius and Royal Bank of Canada have also been appointed to help with the sale.

CVC declined to comment.

The private equity group owns 50 percent minus one share in bpost.

The Belgian state, which owns the rest, has said it plans to sell around 1 billion euros of assets this year to keep public sector debt below 100 percent of gross domestic product. It has declined to say what it planned to sell.

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Private equity firms TPG Capital and Madison Dearborn Partners are the two finalists bidding for National Financial Partners, a New York-based wealth management company with a market value of nearly $900 million, Reuters reported. NFP – run by Jessica Bibliowicz, the daughter of former Citigroup chief Sandy Weill – could be valued at around $1 billion in a deal, the people said on Wednesday, asking not to be named because details of the auction are confidential.

(Reuters) – Private equity firms TPG Capital and Madison Dearborn Partners are the two finalists bidding for National Financial Partners (NFP.N), a New York-based wealth management company with a market value of nearly $900 million, people familiar with the matter said.

NFP – run by Jessica Bibliowicz, the daughter of former Citigroup chief Sandy Weill – could be valued at around $1 billion in a deal, the people said on Wednesday, asking not to be named because details of the auction are confidential.

NFP said on March 13 that the company has decided to explore a sale following indications of interest from private equity firms, confirming a Reuters report the previous day.

Representatives for NFP, TPG and Madison Dearborn declined to comment.

National Financial, like many independent brokerage firms, experienced difficulties during the market downturn of 2008 and at one point that year saw its stock hit a low of $1.21 per share.

Its stock closed Wednesday at $22.25 per share.

In February, National Financial reported fourth-quarter net income of $19.4 million, or 45 cents per share, up from $11.2 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year ago quarter.

Total revenue for the fourth quarter grew 3.8 percent to $300.1 million from $289.2 million in the prior year’s quarter, beating analysts’ estimates.

A sale of National Financial would come almost a year after Bibliowicz stepped down as president of the company in April 2012. The company announced at that time that she would also be stepping down as chief executive at the end of March 2013, at which point she would become non-executive chair. The firm later amended that timeline and she is now scheduled to relinquish the job of CEO in May.

(Reporting by Jessica Toonkel and Greg Roumeliotis in New York, Editing by Soyoung Kim and Steve Orlofsky)

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AstraZeneca boosted its early-stage pipeline of experimental heart drugs on Wednesday by buying privately held U.S. biotechnology company AlphaCore Pharma, which is developing a new type of cholesterol medicine, Reuters reported. The deal shows AstraZeneca’s new Chief Executive Pascal Soriot taking on more scientific risks by betting on a new and still unproven approach to cardiovascular medicine. Financial details of the acquisition by the British drugmaker’s MedImmune unit were not disclosed but the amount paid will have been modest since AstraZeneca was not obliged to disclose it as a material investment.

(Reuters) – AstraZeneca (AZN.L) boosted its early-stage pipeline of experimental heart drugs on Wednesday by buying privately held U.S. biotechnology company AlphaCore Pharma, which is developing a new type of cholesterol medicine.

The deal shows AstraZeneca’s new Chief Executive Pascal Soriot taking on more scientific risks by betting on a new and still unproven approach to cardiovascular medicine.

Financial details of the acquisition by the British drugmaker’s MedImmune unit were not disclosed but the amount paid will have been modest since AstraZeneca was not obliged to disclose it as a material investment.

Last month it revealed it paid $240 million upfront to Moderna Therapeutics to access its know-how in manipulating RNA, or ribonucleic acid, which helps create proteins inside cells – another example of Soriot placing a bet on new science.

Soriot has stated that he plans to build up the company’s sparse drug pipeline by striking more deals with outside partners as he tries to restock its product portfolio following a wave of patent expiries.

Cardiovascular and metabolic disease – one of three core therapy areas for AstraZeneca, along with oncology and respiratory/inflammation – is a particular priority since the company has few experimental compounds for such conditions.

AlphaCore will help plug the gap, although it will not deliver any marketable products for many years. Its leading drug candidate ACP-501, a genetically engineered liver-derived enzyme called LCAT, only completed Phase I clinical tests last year.

Drugs need to go through three phases of lengthy tests before being approved for sale.

The hope is that ACP-501 will help in the management of cholesterol to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It could also play a role in a rare, hereditary disorder called familial LCAT deficiency in which the LCAT enzyme is absent.

MedImmune head Bahija Jallal said the end result could be new combination or standalone therapies for patients living with chronic and acute cardiovascular diseases.

SMART RISKS

In the past, AstraZeneca has been relatively cautious about exploring new drug approaches but Soriot, who joined from Roche (ROG.VX) last October, has signaled a change of direction.

He complained last month that AstraZeneca had lost some of its scientific confidence. “Smart risk taking is part of how you run an innovation business. There is no innovation without risk,” he said.

Soriot has embarked on a major restructuring of the group, which will cost $2.3 billion and involve shedding one in 10 jobs. At the end of the process, he aims to have a more focused drug research machine, better placed to tap into cutting-edge science.

It promises to be a long haul but AstraZeneca believes it can double the number of drugs in late-stage development by 2016, from just six today.

Industry analysts believe AstraZeneca could spend $20 billion on acquisitions and there has been speculation of a large deal, such as buying on Shire (SHP.L). Soriot, however, favors bolt-on deals and has previously said a major buy is possible but unlikely.

The acquisition of Ann Arbor, Michigan-based AlphaCore and the recent deal with Moderna may be more typical of his style.

(Editing by Tom Pfeiffer and Helen Massy-Beresford)

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Dish Network, controlled by billionaire chairman Charlie Ergen, has priced a debt offering of $2.3 billion, more than double the amount of debt than it said it would offer a day ago, Reuters reported. The company, which made a $2.3 billion bid to buy a minority stake in wireless service provider Clearwire Corp. in January, said the proceeds of the debt offering could be used for “wireless and spectrum-related strategic transactions.”

(Reuters) – Dish Network, controlled by billionaire chairman Charlie Ergen, has priced a debt offering of $2.3 billion, more than double the amount of debt than it said it would offer a day ago.

The company, which made a $2.3 billion bid to buy a minority stake in wireless service provider Clearwire Corp in January, said the proceeds of the debt offering could be used for “wireless and spectrum-related strategic transactions.”

The offering is expected to close April 5, Dish said in a statement. A spokesman for Dish was not immediately available for further comment on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Dish had said it planned to raise $1 billion in senior notes. The larger offering announced on Wednesday signals that demand was strong for Dish’s debt.

Dish has been competing with Sprint for a minority stake in Clearwire. Sprint, already the majority owner of Clearwire, struck a deal in December to buy out the rest of the wireless company. But many Clearwire shareholders said they were unhappy with the Sprint offer, which would need approval from the majority of Clearwire’s minority investors.

Clearwire has said that it would continue talks with Dish but that it has not changed its recommendation in favor of its agreement with No. 3 U.S. mobile provider Sprint.

Dish’s Ergen has bought billions of dollars worth of spectrum in the past few years as the satellite pioneer aims to diversify his company’s pay TV business, which competes in a mature market against cable, telecom and Internet video providers. Dish has more than 14 million satellite TV subscribers, making it one of the largest U.S. pay TV operators.

(Reporting By Liana B. Baker; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit seeking to rescind an allegedly improper loan that the billboard advertising company made to its ailing parent Clear Channel Communications Inc. The loan “so significantly” depleted Clear Channel Outdoor’s cash reserves that the company was forced to borrow $2 billion to fund a special dividend, according to the lawsuit filed in Delaware’s Chancery Court in March last year. Clear Channel Communications Inc and its owners, private equity firms Bain Capital and Thomas H Lee Partners, were also named as defendants.

(Reuters) – Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit seeking to rescind an allegedly improper loan that the billboard advertising company made to its ailing parent Clear Channel Communications Inc.

The loan “so significantly” depleted Clear Channel Outdoor’s cash reserves that the company was forced to borrow $2 billion to fund a special dividend, according to the lawsuit filed in Delaware’s Chancery Court in March last year.

Clear Channel Communications Inc and its owners, private equity firms Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H Lee Partners LLC, were also named as defendants.

As part of the agreement entered into on March 28, Clear Channel Outdoor will demand payment of $200 million under the revolving promissory note from its parent company, and pay a special dividend of the same amount from the proceeds of the repayment. ()

Clear Channel Holdings Inc – the outdoor company’s direct parent and a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications – would receive 89 percent of such a dividend, to be paid out the day the note is repaid.

Clear Channel Communications, which owns 89 percent of Clear Channel Outdoor, was bought by Bain and Thomas H Lee in 2008 for about $18 billion.

Clear Channel Outdoor’s shares were flat at $7.38 in mid-day trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

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Carlyle Group co-Chief Executive David Rubenstein said on Wednesday that inflicting losses on deposits at Cypriot banks has had a chilling effect across the world and could drive investors to pull their money from banks in other countries. A European Union bailout deal to save Cyprus from bankruptcy came with a raid on deposits over 100,000 euros in Cypriot bank accounts, an unprecedented move that has sent jitters across the single currency euro zone and beyond.

(Reuters) – Carlyle Group LP co-Chief Executive David Rubenstein said on Wednesday that inflicting losses on deposits at Cypriot banks has had a chilling effect across the world and could drive investors to pull their money from banks in other countries.

A European Union bailout deal to save Cyprus from bankruptcy came with a raid on deposits over 100,000 euros in Cypriot bank accounts, an unprecedented move that has sent jitters across the single currency euro zone and beyond.

“Cyprus is 0.2 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product so it’s insignificant. The real thing that has resonated around the world is that for the first time, people realized that governments could come in and wipe out their bank accounts,” Rubenstein told Reuters Editor in Chief Stephen Adler at the Thomson Reuters Buyouts East conference in Boston.

“Even in the United States people are beginning to wonder, could the government do that to me someday. It’s unlikely that would ever happen here but the idea that a government could just push a button and all of a sudden 10 percent of your bank account is wiped out, is something that has scared people,” Rubenstein added.

While a much feared run on Cypriot banks did not materialize when they re-opened last week, the country has imposed capital controls to stem a flight of euros from the island.

A lawyer by training, Rubenstein served as a domestic policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter between 1977 and 1981 and in 1987 founded Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle together with William Conway and Daniel D’Aniello.

“If you are in a bank that is not all that strong, in a country that is not all that strong, you might not keep your money there any longer. That’s the real impact of Cyprus; it’s scaring to death a lot of depositors all around the world,” Rubenstein said.

Thanks to support from the European Central Bank, however, the existence of the euro is currently not at threat, Rubenstein added.

Rubenstein, whose net worth is pegged by Forbes at $3 billion, has given away hundreds of millions of dollars to charitable and educational causes and is a signatory to the 2010 Bill Gates-Warren Buffett “Giving Pledge,” having committed to dedicate most of his wealth to philanthropy.

Rooted in private equity, Carlyle has in recent years expanded in other alternative asset classes including corporate credit, real estate and even commodities. It now boasts more than $170 billion of assets under management.

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Sensitive non-public information could be compromised if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fails to take additional steps to improve its internal controls, an agency watchdog has found, Reuters reported. In two separate audits completed late last month, the SEC’s new inspector general, Carl Hoecker, found vulnerabilities in the SEC’s information technology system. The first audit, dated March 25, examined how well the SEC maintains controls to protect sensitive information that it shares with the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, a body of regulators that guard against systemic risks.

(Reuters) – Sensitive non-public information could be compromised if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fails to take additional steps to improve its internal controls, an agency watchdog has found.

In two separate audits completed late last month, the SEC’s new inspector general, Carl Hoecker, found vulnerabilities in the SEC’s information technology system.

The first audit, dated March 25, examined how well the SEC maintains controls to protect sensitive information that it shares with the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, a body of regulators that guards against systemic risks.

The second audit, dated March 29, reviewed the SEC’s compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act, a federal law that lays down a framework for government agencies to protect themselves against threats and ensure data is secure.

Both audits were conducted as routine reviews to ensure compliance with federal rules and regulations, and were not investigating any wrongdoing.

The inspector general’s audits come as Congress and the White House are restarting negotiations on legislation aimed at improving U.S. defenses against cyber attacks.

The White House wants critical companies to comply with minimum security standards and also wants to help protect private information turned over to the government.

Protection of private company data is particularly important for financial market regulators, who routinely use it to help police the marketplace.

Hoecker’s March 25 audit found that the SEC needs to take more steps to safeguard critical information that companies such as hedge funds provide to the SEC on a confidential basis.

That information, which often includes proprietary data, is later reviewed by the FSOC.

The audit found that the SEC does not have controls to restrict or prevent employees and contractors who are accessing their e-mail remotely via the Internet from uploading or saving non-public information to a non-government computer.

“As a result, sensitive or nonpublic information could potentially be saved to a non-SEC computer,” Hoecker wrote. “There is a risk that an unauthorized person could gain access to sensitive or nonpublic SEC information.”

The SEC said the audit did not inquire whether any information was actually compromised.

The second audit found that generally the SEC needs to do more to continually monitor the security of its systems. It also found the SEC did not always properly disable network accounts for employees or contractors who have left the SEC.

“By not disabling these accounts, unauthorized employees/contractors can have access to the SEC’s network,” the report said, adding it was “putting the SEC at a higher risk for malicious acts.”

SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment beyond the agency’s comments attached to the two audits.

The SEC concurred with the recommendations and said it would take steps to correct the problems. (By Sarah N. Lynch)

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Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa SA received four offers for its high-end Alphaville unit, including from Sam Zell’s Equity International, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday. Gafisa owns 80 percent of Alphaville, which could be worth about 1.8 billion reais ($891 million). The sale would help Gafisa reduce its debt, which is among the highest in Brazil’s construction sector.

(Reuters) – Brazilian homebuilder Gafisa SA received four offers for its high-end Alphaville unit, including from Sam Zell’s Equity International, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Gafisa owns 80 percent of Alphaville, which could be worth about 1.8 billion reais ($891 million). The sale would help Gafisa reduce its debt, which is among the highest in Brazil’s construction sector.

For Zell, a deal could mark his return to an operation in which he invested from 2006 through 2011. Equity International led Gafisa’s initial public offering, but sold the last of his stake two years ago.

Other firms interested in Alphaville are asset management company Hemisfério Sul Investimentos, a group formed by Patria Investimentos and Blackstone, and private equity fund VBI Real Estate, according to Valor Economico.

Spokesmen for Gafisa and Equity International were not immediately available for comments.

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The sale of German energy metering firm Ista is heating up as a number of buyout houses including Axa Private Equity and BC Partners prepare to submit second round bids, Reuters wrote on Wednesday. Private equity groups Charterhouse and CVC Capital Partners kicked off the sale of Ista last year, hiring Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs to run the process.

(Reuters) – The sale of German energy metering firm Ista is heating up as a number of buyout houses including Axa Private Equity and BC Partners prepare to submit second round bids, banking sources said on Wednesday.

Private equity groups Charterhouse and CVC Capital Partners kicked off the sale of Ista last year, hiring Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs to run the process.

The sellers are hoping to tap into a growing appetite for deals among private equity groups sitting on large cash piles after a dearth of M&A activity last year, with Ista seen as a solid earner with growth potential.

First round bids were submitted last month for Ista which has a price tag of around 3 billion euros ($3.85 billion), making this one of the biggest private equity transactions in Germany this year.

Charterhouse bought Ista at the height of the buyout boom in 2007 for 2.4 billion euros from CVC, backed with 2.1 billion debt, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. CVC later bought back 24 percent.

Axa and BC are due to submit second round bids later this month as are Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Wendel, bankers said.

Bain Capital, Blackstone, Canada Pension Plan and Cinven are not going through to the second round. Apax expressed initial interest but did not submit a first round bid, bankers said.

All potential bidders and sellers declined to comment or were not immediately available to do so.

The successful buyer will need to write an equity cheque of around 1.1-1.2 billion euros and the rest will be financed with debt.

Bankers are working on debt packages of around 2 billion euros or seven times Ista’s approximate 290 million euros of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), bankers said.

There is enough liquidity in the debt markets to raise around 2 billion euros to back the buyout but senior leveraged loans, mezzanine loans and the high-yield bond market could all need to be tapped to raise it, bankers added.

Deutsche and Goldman Sachs have also put together a ‘staple’ financing package that offers all potential buyers money to pay for the acquisition, to speed the deal along and give buyers confidence that debt can be raised.

Ista, which has energy meters installed in 11 million flats and commercial sites, posted sales of 700 million euros in 2011 and employed 4,600 staff in 25 countries.

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BP has put its U.S. wind farm operation, one of the largest in the country, up for sale, marking the continued retreat of big oil companies from renewable energy investments while oil and gas projects offer them better returns, Reuters reported. The British oil company has already sold or earmarked for sale some $38 billion worth of assets, partly to raise funds to pay for its 2010 U.S. oil spill liabilities, but also to reposition itself as a smaller, leaner company with an emphasis on high-margin oil production and exploration. Reports said the sale could raise a further $1.5 billion.

(Reuters) – BP has put its U.S. wind farm operation, one of the largest in the country, up for sale, marking the continued retreat of big oil companies from renewable energy investments while oil and gas projects offer them better returns.

The British oil company has already sold or earmarked for sale some $38 billion worth of assets, partly to raise funds to pay for its 2010 U.S. oil spill liabilities, but also to reposition itself as a smaller, leaner company with an emphasis on high-margin oil production and exploration. Reports said the sale could raise a further $1.5 billion.

BP would not put a value on any sale, but said in a statement it expected “attractive offers” for the assets. They include interests in 16 operating wind farms in nine states with a combined generating capacity of around 2,600 megawatts of renewable power, as well as a portfolio of projects in various stages of development.

Over a decade ago, big oil companies including BP and Shell began to ramp up investment in renewable energy. But the uncertain outlook for government subsidies and prices in solar, wind and other clean energy areas, along with the re-emergence of strong prices for oil and opportunities to develop large gas fields, have since distracted their attention.

BP, which under former chief executive John Browne once named itself “Beyond Petroleum”, still has a substantial interest in Brazilian biofuels, but has invested only about $1 billion a year in renewables since 2005 from a total capital spending budget of well over $20 billion annually. It has no specific investment plans for the sector in the years ahead.

(Reporting by Andrew Callus; Editing by Mark Potter)

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is emerging as the lead contender in Life Technologies Corp‘s auction, working on a bid that could value the genetic testing maker at as much as $12 billion, Reuters reported. Thermo Fisher, the world’s largest maker of laboratory equipment, is considering a bid of between $65 and $70 per share for Life Tech and is interested in buying the entire company.

(Reuters) – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is emerging as the lead contender in Life Technologies Corp’s auction, working on a bid that could value the genetic testing maker at as much as $12 billion, three people familiar with the matter said.

Thermo Fisher, the world’s largest maker of laboratory equipment, is considering a bid of between $65 and $70 per share for Life Tech and is interested in buying the entire company, two of the people said.

It is expected to have a leg up over private equity bidders because it can squeeze more cost savings than a buyout firm can, as well as over rival trade buyers who may not want all of Life Tech or have not been as aggressive in their pursuit of the company so far, the three sources said.

Bids are due next week and it is still too early to tell the outcome of the auction, the sources said, asking not to be named because the matter is confidential.

Thermo Fisher and Life Tech declined to comment.

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