Blog

If you were an avid user of the popular email app Mailbox and were worried by the company’s acquisition by Dropbox, never fear. Mailbox isn’t slowing down or turning away from email, as evidenced by Thursday’s launch of the new Mailbox for iPad app and word that an app for Android is in the works.

Mailbox for iPad is the first new product from the company since its Dropbox acquisition, which Om’s sources put above $50 million and potentially closer to $100 million. No matter the exact price tag, it was a significiant deal for the small company, and CEO Gentry Underwood said the transition to working within Dropbox has been remarkably smooth.

The new iPad app will look pretty similar to the existing iPhone app, with a few minor changes to account for the larger screen. Underwood said designing for the iPad is actually a significant challenge, since if you look at it one way it’s an overzized mobile phone, and another way it’s a small computer. Figuring out how to accomodate for the size of the keyboard (or wireless external keyboards), as well as not overcrowding the screen, is tricky.

“We’re trying to create an experience that’s as consistent as possible, that doesn’t misuse all that extra space,” he said, noting that it would be easy to see the larger size of the tablet and cram it with features. “And sometimes it’s like a luxury-sized mobile device and sometimes it’s a desktop replacement.”

Seemingly as soon as Mailbox launched, users were clamoring to download the app, which limited signups and put most people on a reservation list. The full app finally launched to everyone and Mailbox removed the signup list last month. At that point, it was delivering more than 100 million messages a day, and while Underwood said they are reluctant to continue releasing numbers, he said the growth remains strong, and that 40 percent of users hit inbox zero every week.

Mailbox for iPhone and iPad are available in the Apple iTunes store, and a full review of the iPhone app can be found on the GigaOM Pro blog.

Underwood said the company is working on an Android app (the iPad app was in the works before the acquisition), but he wouldn’t say when Android would launch. The company decided to go with iPad first since it was an often-requested feature, and because much of the code was the same for iPad, even if it presented new design challenges, whereas Android would be something of the opposite.

“There’s always this constant tension between, ‘This is great,’ and ‘Oh, there’s so much more we want to do.’”

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Personal tools lead to practical business
• Are Web Apps Becoming Over-Reliant on One Another?
• The 2013 task management tools market

Today marks one year since we released the Digital Government Strategy (PDF/ HTML5), as part of the President’s directive to build a 21st Century Government that delivers better services to the American people.

The Strategy is built on the proposition that all Americans should be able to access information from their Government anywhere, anytime, and on any device; that open government data – data that are publicly accessible in easy-to-use formats – can fuel innovation and economic growth; and that technology can make government more transparent, more efficient, and more effective.

read more

Trevor Bolder, English rock bassist and songwriter who is best known for his time with David Bowie’s The Spiders from Mars and progressive hard rock band Uriah Heep, has died of cancer. He was 62.

Bolder played with Bowie’s The Spiders from Mars across four studio albums: Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups. He also played with The Spiders From Mars with Mick Woodmansey and the late Mick Ronson on the subsequent Bowie tours. In 1976 Bolder joined Uriah Heep, replacing John Wetton.

“Trevor was a wonderful musician and a major inspiration for whichever band he was working with. But he was foremostly a tremendous guy, a great man,” said David Bowie.

Uriah Heep had this to say in a statement on their website:

It is with great sadness that Uriah Heep announce the passing of our friend the amazing Trevor Bolder, who has passed away after his long fight with cancer. Trevor was an all time great, one of the outstanding musicians of his generation, and one of the finest and most influential bass players that Britain ever produced.

His long time membership of Uriah Heep brought the band’s music, and Trevor’s virtuosity and enthusiasm, to hundreds of thousands of fans across the world. He joined the band in 1976 and, barring one short break, was a fixture until his ill health forced him to take a step back early this year.

Mick Box said, “Trevor was a ‘World Class’ bass player, singer & songwriter, and more importantly a World Class friend. He will be sadly missed by family, friends and rock fans all over the world. We are all numb to the core”.

“I had the great pleasure of knowing Trevor for the best part of 30 years, he was one of my idols growing up, I got to know him when Uriah Heep opened for DL on the Pyromania tour in 1983 and we became firm friends. I stayed with him, he stayed with me and we recorded and toured together as The Cybernauts. For myself & Phil it’s devastating because we were looking forward to finishing up some new Cybernauts recording pretty soon, that may now not happen, but our real thoughts right now are with his family. TB was one of the good guys, I’m sure Mick Box & the guys in Heep feel the same way, we have lost a brother, a great bass player, a funny, funny man who lit up any room he walked into. I guess now, him & Ronno have a bit of catching up to do…RIP my friend,” said Def Leppard’s Joe Elliot

Surprising as it may seem, the Egyptian pound has got some fans.  The currency has languished for months at record lows against the dollar and the headlines are alarming — the lack of an IMF aid programme, meagre hard currency reserves, political upheaval. So what’s to like ?

Analysts at Societe Generale say that just looking at the spot exchange rate of the pound is missing the bigger picture. Instead, they advise buying 12-month non-deliverable forwards on the pound — essentially a way of locking into a fixed rate for pound against the dollar in a year’s time depending on where you think it may actually trade. They write:

The implicit yield at this point is 21 percent for the 12m NDF, which we think is quite attractive. The way to think about Egypt NDFs is to approach them as a distressed asset. The risk/reward is quite attractive, and a lot of the bad news has been priced in. Yes, there have been serious delays in the programme negotiations with the IMF and that has clearly been a negative for the overall country view, but I would like to point out that the actual 12m NDF level has hardly budged in the process. This to me suggests that the valuation looks particularly good.

One year  forwards are typically calculated by assuming the currency will depreciate over 12 months by an amount equivalent to the currency’s deposit rate over that period. However, the non-deliverable forward on dollar/pound, a cash-settled FX forward calculated from open market pricing, implied a pound exchange rate at 8.5 pounds per dollar in a year’s time – more than 20 percent weaker than today’s spot price of 6.9 per dollar. This means that there is more than 10 percent pure currency depreciation (i.e. outside of the deposit rate) priced on the NDF. Given that this is well in excess of what many assume will be the actual pound decline, the trade starts to look attractive despite all the economic and political pessimism. In other words, the NDF rate is assumed to have priced in excessive gloom.

Graham Stock, an investment strategist at frontier fund Insparo, also likes the pound. He says a maxi devaluation does not appear on the cards as wealthier neighbours such as Qatar, Libya and Turkey have stepped up with multi-billion dollar loans. The currency collapse that looked imminent at the end of 2012 hasn’t happened as the central bank has managed to stabilise the pound by rationing dollars. Moreover analysts now reckon that Egypt will muddle through without IMF aid this year – instead it may tap the IMF after elections (due later this year) when measures such as scrapping subsidies can be more easily implemented. Meanwhile (Stock says):

You get compensated for taking the risk and you earn good carry. They may not be able to do an IMF deal but they are getting a lot of support from neighbours, there is general willingness to support them. You want the yield which is 15-20 percent.

Not everyone is into the trade though. The implied yield of 18-21 percent — well above what one can earn in other high-yield markets such as India or Brazil — is alluring but risks too are big given Egypt’s balance of payments problem and ugly politics. Luis Costa, head of CEEMEA currency and debt strategy at Citi, first wants to see Egypt cutting energy subsidies which currently eat up a third of government spending. Once  that happens, Costa says, he will take another look at the pound.

Caroline Bibb has joined J.F. Lehman & Co. as an MD, operations. Bibb spent more than a decade at Honeywell International where she most recently served as a Senior Vice President and General Manager.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK – J.F. Lehman & Company, a leading middle-market private equity firm focused on the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, is pleased to announce the addition of Caroline R. Bibb as Managing Director, Operations. Ms. Bibb will be involved in all aspects of the firm’s private equity investment program, from due diligence and evaluation of investment opportunities to development and execution of J.F. Lehman’s strategic plan for new portfolio companies. In particular, Ms. Bibb will focus on the operational evaluation, oversight and direction of portfolio companies from acquisition through exit.
Ms. Bibb brings 30 years of management, operations and engineering experience to her role at J.F. Lehman. For more than a decade at Honeywell International, Ms. Bibb held roles of increasing responsibility and managed operating units ranging in size from $220 million to $900 million and up to 3,000 employees; she most recently served as a Senior Vice President and General Manager. Ms. Bibb also served in a variety of management and engineering roles at AlliedSignal prior to its merger with Honeywell.
“Carol is a seasoned industry executive with a background perfectly suited to her role at J.F. Lehman & Company. We expect she will be an outstanding addition to our operations team,” said Steve Brooks, a Partner with the firm. “We expect our portfolio companies to benefit immensely from Carol’s years of experience in running all aspects of successful businesses.”
Ms. Bibb earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tennessee Tech University and an M.B.A. from The College of William & Mary. She completed the Director Development Program at the Kellogg School of Executive Management at Northwestern University. Ms. Bibb is Six Sigma Black Belt certified.

The post Bibb Joins J.F. Lehman & Co. appeared first on peHUB.

GiftCards.com has agreed to buy Giftly. Financial terms weren’t announced.  San Francisco-based Giftly lets consumers buy and deliver digital gifts via its website and free app.

PRESS RELEASE

PITTSBURGH, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – GiftCards.com™, the leading website for gift cards, today agreed to acquire Giftly, the leading mobile gifting app, to build a digital and mobile commerce platform in the $110 billion gift card industry.
Founded in 1999, GiftCards.com commands strong positions in both the plastic and digital gift card spaces. With long-standing bank relationships and as a certified issuer of all three major payment networks, the company prints on-demand custom gift-cards in its own facility. As the number one gift cards website in traffic and leading organic searches on all things gift cards, it offers the widest range of products: personalized, pre-designed, virtual, local, group, and discount gift cards. It has 3 industry-related patents issued and another 38 pending for game-changing business concepts.
Giftly, a two-year old startup based in San Francisco, enables consumers to buy and deliver digital gifts via its website and free app. Giftly has pioneered a new platform for gift cards which sends gift credits to recipients when they redeem a gift, rather than issuing plastic cards, and requires no point of sale integration.
“Digital and mobile gifting is the future of the industry and we have invested heavily in patenting technologies in this space” stated, Jason Wolfe, CEO of GiftCards.com. “The Giftly acquisition is a logical and exciting step into building the industry’s future with an established partner in the fast-growing m-commerce space.” CEB estimates that 85% of US consumers exchanged gift cards in 2012 and projects electronic gifting will grow to $15 billion by 2015.
Giftly will be rolled into the GiftCards.com operation but will maintain its offices in San Francisco. “This is an exciting opportunity for Giftly,” commented CEO Timothy Bentley, “by partnering with GiftCards.com, we can combine the strengths of a traditional gift card player with the innovative platform that Giftly has developed.”
GiftCards.com is talking to a number of venture firms and strategic investors to raise its first round of funding to accelerate the combined companies’ growth.
About GiftCards.com
GiftCards.com, is the online leader in gift cards, has been selling gift cards online for over 10 years.  GiftCards.com is the most trafficked gift card website, and has sold over 5 million gift cards to consumers and corporations.  GiftCards.com has been a leader in gift card innovation and has over 38 patents filed with 3 issued patents, some patents currently licensed in the gift card industry.
About Giftly
Giftly is pioneering the future of the gift card industry by re-inventing gift cards to incorporate social and mobile technologies. Giftly turns each gift given into an interactive experience. Giftly makes it possible to give a gift card for an item or experience at any merchant nationwide.

The post GiftCards.com Inks Buy of Giftly appeared first on peHUB.

Kim Dotcom enters the spotlight once again after claiming that Google, Facebook, Citibank and Twitter, among others, infringe upon his patent for two-factor authentication. The man is one of the founders of controversial Megaupload and Mega cloud storage lockers and is currently under indictment in the US for copyright infringement.

Dotcom decided to reveal the alleged wrongdoing and mention the patent yesterday, after Twitter enabled the security feature: “Twitter introduces Two-Step-Authentication. Using my invention. But they won’t even verify my Twitter account?!”. The patent in question was filed in 1998 by Kim Schmitz (Dotcom’s birth name) and is named “Method for authorizing in data transmission systems”.

The patent describes the procedures involved in deploying two-step authentication: “The invention relates to a method and to a device for the authorization in data transmission systems employing a transaction authorization number (TAN) or a comparable password”.

Although the man initially mentioned suing the alleged infringing companies, Dotcom later said that he’s actually looking for funds: “Google, Facebook, Twitter, I ask you for help. We are all in the same DMCA boat. Use my patent for free. But please help funding my defense”.

Dotcom hints at a considerable amount: “All of our assets are still frozen without trial. Defending our case will cost USD 50M+. I want to fight to the end because we are innocent”.

The man also tweeted that interested parties can purchase the rights to use his patent: “Want to buy the world wide license to my two-factor-authentication patent? (13 countries incl. US & China) Email: [email protected]”.

Google, Facebook, Citibank and Twitter are just some of the major companies using two-factor authentication. Others like Dropbox, Apple and Microsoft have also enabled the
feature. “Big reveal: 1 billion+ Two-Step-Authentications on the Internet weekly”, says Dotcom.

Considering that two-factor authentication is widely used across a number of popular services and adds an effective security blanket, Dotcom may have a considerable advantage if he decides to go to court.

Photo Credit: Arcady/Shutterstock

WibiData — the big data startup from Cloudera Co-founder Christophe Bisciglia and Aaron Kimball — doesn’t have too big of plans. It only wants to become one of the first, if not the first, company selling off-the-shelf software that lets other companies build valuable, customer-facing applications on Hadoop. On Thursday, WibiData announced $15 million in Series B funding from Canaan Partners, as well as existing investors NEA and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, to help make the goal a reality.

Kidding aside, that’s actually quite an ambitious goal in a Hadoop market that’s big and growing, but that’s exemplified by expensive consulting arrangements and purpose-built applications. Even more so for companies that want to do something other than transforming unstructured data into structured data (often called ETL) or run back-office analytics jobs. In fact, WibiData has spent the last 18 months doing just this type of deal, and Bisciglia says every single customer has already engaged with one of the big three Hadoop vendors (Cloudera, Hortonworks and MapR).

Home energy-management startup Opower is a good example of this process. It’s actually one of Cloudera’s banner customers, but “when they wanted to take [their software-as-a-service tool] beyond batch analysis and ETL workloads,” Bisciglia said, Opower came to WibiData. So whereas the Opower service was originally focused on nightly data analysis comparing users energy usage against other users, it’s now working on dynamic recommendations for users and letting them engage with the application in new ways.

During these engagements, WibiData has been building up its core technology for connecting those brawny back-office Hadoop environments to predictive customer-facing applications – a collection of HBase, data-formatting tools and machine learning algorithms that the company has been slowly open sourcing under the Kiji banner. It has also been learning the similarities among the applications it’s building for customers in the same field, figuring out what’s repeatable. What does any given company in the retail space, for example, need to get started on, say, its own recommendation engine?

And now, Bisciglia says, WibiData is going to double down on building application software based on what it has learned. The first two industries it targets will likely be financial services and retail, two areas where the company has seen a lot of traction. He envisions the finished product including some pre-defined schema for formatting data and some pre-built predictive models, both broadly applicable across that industry rather than specific to a single user.

There will also be different interfaces that allow different types of users (e.g., data scientists, systems engineers and business users) to interact with the data in the ways they need to.

Time will tell if WibiData can actually accomplish its goal of turning Hadoop into a collection of somewhat specialized software packages, but someone has to. Even industry heavyweights like Cloudera see the need, but their hands are full just getting Hadoop integrated into existing environments and getting those early uses up and running. As Cloudera CEO Mike Olson said at Structure: Data in 2012 to anyone ambitious enough to tackle the Hadoop-application gap, “Call me, I’ll connect you with funding. The money is out there.”

If you want to hear more about the need for Hadoop applications, check out this panel from Structure: Data 2013, where I speak with WibiData’s Omer Trajman, Continuuity’s Jonathan Gray and Pivotal’s Muddu Sudhakar.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• A near-term outlook for big data
• Takeaways from the second quarter in cloud and data
• Why the big data startup boom will likely be short-lived

The internet of things poses a variety of design challenges starting with the fact that we’re not exactly sure how most consumers will want to deploy and implement connected devices in their homes and lives. Much like people don’t think about using electricity, but instead they think about turning on the lights, plugging in a TV or other applications, using the internet of things will require applications.

But for the most part, people are selling consumers, not applications, but the links to make applications possible. So the WeMo isn’t just a connected outlet, its analogous to selling someone an outlet for electricity. What would someone in a non electrified world want with an outlet? What does the average consumer want with a WeMo? That was one of many topics that I discussed in this week’s podcast with product designer Carla Diana. Diana is fascinated by the SmartThings, the Twines and the other connected elements that she calls “mavericks” but she’s not sure that’s how the internet of things will actually invade the home.

Hear her discuss this, designing for ambient information without overwhelming users and how the internet of things will help take us away from our screens and embed technology into our lives in ways that make us more efficient and maybe more fun.

(Download this episode)

The GigaOM Podcasts RSS feed

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

Show notes:
Host: Stacey Higginbotham
Guest: Carla Diana, Smart fellow at Smart Design and CEO of Carla Diana Creative

• How do you design something when we’re not even sure how people will use the internet of things?
• The importance of mavericks in the developing ecosystem.
• Pre-made kits may be the best example of how normal people will install the internet of things.
• Thinking about design and using the internet of things for ambient information.
• LEarn why “life now, data later” matters in designing for connected devices.

PREVIOUS IoT PODCASTS:

Podcast: The history of the internet of things includes a Swedish hockey team and LEGOs

IoT Podcast: Where self-milking cows graze fields of data gold

Podcast: Power to the people — and all their connected devices

What you really need to know before buying connected devices

How the internet of things may make parents less worried but more neurotic

Shark Week for the internet of things

What the Internet of Things can learn from Minecraft and Lemmings

Podcast: How IBM uses chaos theory, data and the internet of things to fix traffic

Electric Imp aims to make the Internet of Things devilishly simple

When devices can talk, will they conspire against you?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The Internet of things: creating tomorrow’s health care
• Siri: Say hello to the coming “invisible interface”
• The connected planet: Smartphones aren’t the only player

At the Data Center Jobs Board, we have a new job listing  from Schneider Electric, which is seeking a Critical Facility Technician in Santa Clara, California.

The Critical Facility Technician is responsible for performing daily/weekly/monthly walk-through of customer facilities in support of data center and office operations, supporting equipment includes but is not limited to: electrical switchgear, diesel generators, HVAC/CRAC systems, UPS systems, PDUs, RPPs, BMS systems, and fire alarm and suppression systems, must be available to work emergency service and shift work as required, providing on-site support of client critical systems infrastructure equipment (i.e. electrical switchgear, standby generators, HVAC and fire detection/suppression systems), and monitoring critical facility equipment operation by conducting facility walkthroughs and system monitoring. To view full details and apply, see job listing details.

Are you hiring for your data center? You can list your company’s job openings on the Data Center Jobs Board, and also track new openings via our jobs RSS feed.

Spencer Wang is joining Berenson & Company as senior advisor. Wang is the former Head of US Media & Internet Equity Research at Credit Suisse.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Berenson & Company, a leading independent merchant-banking firm, announced today that Spencer Wang , the former Head of US Media & Internet Equity Research at Credit Suisse, will join Berenson as a Senior Advisor.  Mr. Wang left Credit Suisse in 2012 to pursue a number of media and internet investment opportunities on his own, and will continue to spend time on such activities.

During his career as a top equity analyst, Mr. Wang was named to Institutional Investor’s prestigious All-America Research Team for eight consecutive years in multiple and different categories, including Entertainment, Internet, Cable/Satellite TV, and Broadcasting.  He joined Credit Suisse in 2008 as the senior analyst covering the Internet and Entertainment sectors, and as Sector Head oversaw a team of 12 research professionals across Media, Internet and Telecom. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, he worked in a similar capacity for numerous leading investment banks including Bear Stearns, JP Morgan, and Salomon Smith Barney .
“Spencer is yet another example of how our firm is building a truly proprietary set of capabilities in the Media, Entertainment, Telecom and Technology sectors,” said Jeffrey Sechrest , President of Berenson & Company.  “He is well-known among the major Media and Internet companies for his deep understanding of the convergence of media and technology, and what it means for the future of their businesses.  Spencer joins Jon Newcomb and Keith Cowan as true industry experts we have added over the past year who provide us a level of operational and strategic insight that is unique among investment banks.”
Lisbeth Barron , Head of the Media, Entertainment & Leisure practice at Berenson, added, “I have known Spencer for many years going back to our time together at Bear Stearns, and have been seeking a partnership with him for some time. I am delighted that we will once again be able to work closely together.  He is visionary in his understanding of the media and internet sectors, and is a perfect fit for our strategy of delivering deep domain expertise and unique insights to our clients.”
“The convergence of media, telecom and technology is causing enormous change, which is in turn creating unprecedented opportunity,” said Mr. Wang.  “Berenson & Company is clearly building a franchise to help clients understand and take advantage of those new possibilities, and I very much look forward to leveraging my knowledge and engaging my network as part of the firm.”
Mr. Wang holds a B.S. in International Trade from Johns Hopkins University. He lives in New York City.
About Berenson & Company (www.berensonco.com) 
Founded in 1990, Berenson & Company is an independent investment banking firm that provides high quality financial advice to a broad range of public and private corporations, financial institutions, equity sponsors, management teams and entrepreneurs. The Firm’s investment banking capabilities include a comprehensive suite of mergers & acquisitions advisory services, public and private financings of debt and equity, and financial restructuring and recapitalizations. Its business philosophy is characterized by an objective, client-focused approach, and it is recognized for its unique insights and creative problem-solving in industries that are undergoing significant disruption.

The post Wang Joins Berenson & Co. appeared first on peHUB.

Blackstone Group LP and Prologis Inc have agreed to buy a portfolio of 17 million square feet of warehouse and distribution centers whose majority owner is Lehman Brothers for about $960 million, sources tell Reuters.

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) – Blackstone Group LP and Prologis Inc have agreed to buy a portfolio of 17 million square feet of warehouse and distribution centers whose majority owner is Lehman Brothers for about $960 million, two sources familiar with the deal said on Wednesday.

Under the deal, Blackstone’s IndCor Properties Inc will operate about 9.5 million square feet of properties in Reno, Nevada. Prologis will buy the remaining properties that are chiefly in Pennsylvania and some in Las Vegas, the sources said.

The sources did not want to be named because they were not authorized to speak on the record about the pending deal.

Through a series of deals dating back to 2010, Blackstone will have a portfolio of about 100 million square feet of warehouse and distribution centers, managed under IndCor. That makes Blackstone one of the top three owners of warehouse and distribution centers, typically referred to as industrial real estate. IndCor’s chief executive is Tim Beaudin, the former executive vice president of Catellus Development Corp, which Prologis acquired in 2008.

If Blackstone chooses to take IndCor public, the IPO is not likely to happen this year, one source said.
The deal for the properties, comes after Blackstone announced on Monday it would buy 4 million square feet of warehouse and distribution centers from First Potomac Realty Trust for $241.5 million.

Within the past three years, Blackstone has digested big bites of the industrial real estate sector. Last year, it paid $770 million for 65 U.S. properties owned by Australia’s Dexus Property Group. It also took control of about 95 warehouse and distribution centers, a mostly California-portfolio known as CalWest, from Walton Street Capital LLC by buying the debt on the portfolio.

Rent and occupancy in the U.S. industrial real estate sector have been slowly improving over the past few years, with occupancy picking up at a more rapid rate over the past few quarters, Green Street analyst John Stewart said.

“However, the run up in asset values is definitely outstripping the improvement in fundamentals,” he said. “It says we are in a low-return world.”
Lehman first became involved in the property in 2007 when it agreed to provide about $1.5 billion in the form of a debt and equity loan to Prologis – then known as ProLogis – to acquire the properties known as the Dermody industrial portfolio. But the investment bank got stuck with the majority of the properties during the credit crisis. Lehman got stuck with 80 percent of the portfolio, and Prologis 20 percent.

Representatives from Blackstone declined to comment, and San Francisco-based Prologis was not immediately available to comment. Brokers from Eastdil Secured marketed the portfolio, which attracted “robust” interest, one source said.

This week, Lehman, which emerged from bankruptcy last year, continued its efforts to repay creditors, raising $1.88 billion selling claims it had against its former brokerage.

The post Blackstone, Prologis Pay $960 Mln for Warehouses-Sources appeared first on peHUB.

Building products maker CPG International is being prepared for a sale by its private equity owner, a deal that could fetch between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, sources tell Reuters.

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) – Building products maker CPG International is being prepared for a sale by its private equity owner, a deal that could fetch between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Buyout firm AEA Investors LP has hired Barclays and Deutsche Bank to find a buyer for CPG, which makes building supplies for residential and commercial markets such as outdoor decking and porch boards, the people said on Wednesday.

The company, which was acquired by AEA Investors in 2005 for an undisclosed sum, is expected to start conversations with potential buyers in the next few weeks that could include private equity firms as well as industry rivals, said one of the people.

They asked not to be identified because the sale process is not public. Representatives for AEA Investors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Barclays and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

The potential sale of CPG comes as investors are looking to capitalize on a rebound in the U.S. housing market, which was hit hard by the turmoil in the U.S. credit market in late 2007. Low interest rates and rising rents have pushed many consumers to buy homes, boosting the outlook for the housing and building products markets.
Headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania, CPG International makes synthetic construction and building products to replace wood, metal and other materials, according to its website.

Its products include deck, trim, rail molding; bathroom partitions, lockers and industrial plastic sheet products. They are sold under several brands such as AZEK Building Products, Santana Products and Comtec Industries.

Founded in 1968, AEA focuses on investing in middle-market companies in the industrial products, specialty chemicals, consumer products and services industries.

The post Building Products Maker CPG Hires Banks for $1.5 Bln Sale-Sources appeared first on peHUB.

Shazam released a major update to its iOS app Thursday that turns your iPad into an automated log file for every song you listen to, every TV show you watch and every commercial you’re trying to ignore.

This is possibly due to a new feature dubbed auto tagging: Once turned on, Shazam will automatically listen to everything within reach of the iPad’s microphone, generate an acoustic fingerprint every few seconds and ping Shazam’s servers to look for matches. Identified songs, TV shows and ads are automatically sent to a personal queue within the Shazam app.

Users can then browse through these finds, add songs to their favorites, buy them on iTunes or stream them through Rdio. What’s interesting about this feature is that it also works in the background, while you’re doing something in another app or even when the iPad’s lock screen is enabled. iPad users will know that auto tagging is enabled through the red bar on the top of their screen, just like you’re used to seeing when you’re switching to another app during a Skype call.

That red bar is meant to warn users that their microphone is recording sound — but Shazam EVP of Marketing David Jones wasn’t all that happy about that notion when I talked to him Wednesday about the app update. “We are not recording or storing anything,” he said, adding that the app was “just borrowing the mic.”

Shazam’s new iPad app is one of a growing number of apps and devices that always keep the microphone running in order to react to speech, or in this case music; others include the new Xbox One. It’s a concept that will make some privacy-conscious consumers nervous — but Jones said that there are huge upsides to this approach.

Instead of making users scramble to find and activate the tagging app on the mobile device, auto tagging will let them come back to the music they heard throughout a TV show, or even at the end of a day. To illustrate it, Jones told me that he had his iPad in the car a few days ago, listening to radio program while he was driving. And when he got to work, he had a full queue of recognized songs waiting for him. “My entire commute’s music was sitting there,” he said.

Aside from auto-tagging, Shazam is also adding TV content recognition, social functionality and a mapping feature that shows where people are listening to which songs. Shazam has retired its old, standalone iPad app and is rolling out the update as a universal app, but the iPhone will only get the mapping feature for now.

Jones said that the iPhone is going to get auto-tagging later this summer. It’s unclear yet when Android is going to see auto-tagging, but other features of the new iPad app will find their way to the tablet version of Android within the next two months.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Connected Consumer 2012: A year of consolidation and integration
• Connected consumer third-quarter 2012
• GigaOM Euro 20: the European startups to watch

Title insurer Fidelity National Financial Inc and buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners are in advanced talks to acquire mortgage service provider Lender Processing Services Inc, Reuters reports.

(Reuters) – Title insurer Fidelity National Financial Inc (FNF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners are in advanced talks to acquire mortgage service provider Lender Processing Services Inc (LPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a source familiar with the matter said.

The deal, worth about $2.9 billion, would value Lender Processing shares at around $33 per share, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The buyers would pay with a mix of cash and Fidelity National Financial stock, the paper said, adding that Thomas H. Lee would hold a 19.9 percent stake in Lender Processing.

The deal could be announced as soon as early next week, the source told Reuters.

Fidelity National and Lender Processing Services were not immediately available for comment. Thomas H. Lee declined to comment.

If the deal is completed, Lender Processing Services would become a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial, the Wall Street Journal said.

Shares of Lender Processing closed down 3.2 percent at $29.11 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, while those of Fidelity National Financial were down 4 percent at $24.37.

The post Insurer, Buyout Firm in Talks to Buy Lender Processing: Source appeared first on peHUB.

Do you say “gif”or “jif”? I’ve always been in the gif camp but Steve Wilhite the inventor of the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) says it should be pronounced “jif”. Speaking to the New York Times in the run up to being honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Webby Awards he said he was “annoyed” that there was still debate about how the acronym should be pronounced.

The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations, but there’s long been debate about which one is correct, there’s even a Gif Pronunciation Page dedicated to the argument. It suggests that the reason for the “jif” sound is to associate it with the popular brand of peanut butter — a staple of programmer diets. Of course this only works in the US, here in the UK we think of Jif as a brand of lemon juice or a defunct product for cleaning the sink.

But it doesn’t really matter how Wilhite thinks it should be pronounced. Words have lives of their own and how they’re said is determined by everyday usage. English often has little logic on these things — remember that next time your jirlfriend jives you a jift or you feel jiddy watching a jibbon swing through the trees.

Twitter has been alive with the debate and the general feeling seems to be that it’s “gif” with a hard G, despite what its creator thinks. I say it’s time to live and let live. I say gif, you say jif, let’s call the whole thing off and use PNG.

Europe is not particularly known as a major hub of the semiconductor world, but – if the European Commission gets its way – it will be. The Commission has launched a major seven-year drive to stimulate investment in the microelectronics and nanoelectronics manufacturing sector, aiming to ramp up to a fifth of global production by the end of the decade.

The news of the new EU industrial strategy came just a couple of days after the Geneva-headquartered, French-Italian manufacturer STMicroelectronics launched its own three-year project, worth €360 million ($463 million), aimed at creating a European microelectronics design ecosystem based around its fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) manufacturing process.

Some in the industry, such as chipmaker GlobalFoundries, have previously urged European authorities to back electronics manufacturing on the continent in order to counteract the vast influence of Asia and (to a lesser extent) the U.S. in this field.

Cheaper, faster, smarter

The European Commission’s strategy, announced on Thursday, is intended to make chips cheaper, faster and smarter. It will concentrate on shoring up three existing electronics clusters, namely those in Dresden (Germany), Eindhoven (Netherlands) and Leuven (Belgium), and Grenoble (France). Connections will also be made with other clusters such as that in Cambridge (UK), which is big in the wireless sector.

“I want to double our chip production to around 20 percent of global production,” Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement. “I want Europe to produce more chips in Europe than the United States produces domestically. It’s a realistic goal if we channel our investments properly.”

As per usual, this isn’t a simple public cash splurge. €5 billion in public funds – 30 percent from the EU with the rest coming from national and regional funds – will go to R&D, in order to help stimulate the sector. Overall, the Commission says, industry has indicated it will stump up €100 billion over the seven years: €15 billion in capital expenditure and €85 billion in operational costs.

The kind of electronics we’re talking about could be used in desktop and handheld computers, but the main thrust is for embedded systems and “internet of things” devices, from sensors and smart grids to new healthcare technologies. As Kroes said in a speech, “this isn’t about computers.”

Targeting these areas plays to Europe’s strengths. According to the Commission, Europe already pumps out half of global automotive electronics, 40 percent of electronics used in energy applications, and 35 percent of those used for industrial automation – this will be a reference to the output of companies such as Bosch, which are hugely active despite often being somewhat under-the-radar. Then we also have smaller manufacturers working in high-growth niches, such as health implants and sensors.

And jobs?

The purpose of all this is to make Europe less reliant on manufacturers outside the continent, but job creation is also a major factor. The Commission reckons the European electronics industry already employs 200,000 people directly and supports a further million jobs indirectly.

That said, the Commission also pointed out in its statement that demand for skilled workers in these fields is higher than supply – if this whole strategy is to work, the implication runs, Europe will need to attract more skilled workers. The statement talks of coordinating public efforts across Europe. Perhaps that will mean tweaking immigration rules: something the U.S. tech sector is also heavily vocal about these days.

Meanwhile, STMicro’s push – called, incredibly, “Pilot Lines for Advanced CMOS Enhanced by SOI in 2x nodes, Built in Europe” (Places2Be) – also takes place in the context of a wider European project, the nanoelectronics-focused ENIAC. In a briefing note accompanying Thursday’s announcement, the Commission insisted that ENIAC and ARTEMIS (another project focusing on embedded computing) had been a success, and that the new drive did not denote failure of those two schemes.

The Commission said the new joint undertaking would build on “lessons learnt” from ENIAC and ARTEMIS while providing a “simplified funding structure”.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Google and the Ghost of Silicon Valley Past
• Key technologies for the smart city
• Will Standardizing the Cloud Cause Clarity or Confusion?

A team including former General Motors Co executive Bob Lutz and China’s largest parts maker is looking to buy Fisker Automotive for $20 million, a fraction of the “green” car company’s estimated worth almost a year and a half ago, writes Reuters. In the spring of 2012, Fisker competed a fundraising round that valued the company at $2.2 billion.

Reuters – A team including former General Motors Co (GM.N) executive Bob Lutz and China’s largest parts maker is looking to buy Fisker Automotive for $20 million, a fraction of the “green” car company’s estimated worth almost a year and a half ago.

People familiar with the matter said on Wednesday that VL Automotive, a venture between Lutz and industrialist Gilbert Villarreal, and China’s Wanxiang Group submitted the bid earlier this month to buy Fisker through a prepackaged bankruptcy deal.

This is one of at least two investor groups looking to gain control of Fisker, which has not built a car since July. Earlier this year, the company hired bankruptcy advisers and fired the bulk of its staff, while continuing to seek a buyer.

VL Automotive, Lutz and Pin Ni, president of Wanxiang’s U.S. division, declined to comment. Representatives for Fisker did not immediately comment.

The $20 million bid is a far cry from Fisker’s estimated value during the launch of its flagship Karma plug-in hybrid sports car. In December 2011, Fisker told prospective investors that its total capitalization was “approaching” $2 billion, according to an investor document filing obtained by Reuters.

In the spring of 2012, Fisker competed a fundraising round that valued the company at $2.2 billion, according to regulatory filings analyzed by venture capital data provider VC Experts.

VL Automotive is building a car called the Destino, which has the shell of a Fisker Karma with the powertrain of a Chevrolet Corvette. Wanxiang bought Fisker’s battery supplier out of bankruptcy, a deal that was approved by a U.S. judge this year.

Since its founding in 2007, Fisker has raised $1.2 billion in private funds. The company won a $529 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan, but the department halted payments in mid-2011 after Fisker missed certain performance milestones.

Fisker now owes the DOE about $171 million in loans. A separate team of investors is looking to buy out the DOE’s position in Fisker at a discount, sources previously said.

The DOE declined to comment.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman in Detroit and Norihiko Shirouzu in Tokyo; additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Chris Reese, Bernard Orr)

The post Reuters – Fisker Fields $20m offer from Bob Lutz, Wanxiang appeared first on peHUB.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the credit ratings of DDR Corp. The rating outlook has been revised to stable from positive. The upgrade of the IDR to ‘BBB-’ reflects that pro forma for the $1.46 billion acquisition of a portfolio of power centers from DDR’s joint venture with Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, recurring cash flow will remain in excess of fixed-charges at a level consistent with an investment-grade rating.

PRESS RELEASE

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the credit ratings of DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) as follows: –Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’; –$815 million unsecured revolving credit facilities to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’; –$350 million unsecured term loans to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’; –$2.1 billion senior unsecured notes to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’; –$320.5 million senior unsecured convertible notes to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’; –$405 million preferred stock to ‘BB’ from ‘BB-’. The Rating Outlook has been revised to Stable from Positive. KEY RATING DRIVERS The upgrade of the IDR to ‘BBB-’ reflects that pro forma for the $1.46 billion acquisition of a portfolio of power centers from DDR’s joint venture (JV) with Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, DDR’s recurring cash flow will remain in excess of fixed-charges at a level consistent with an investment-grade rating. The upgrade also takes into account a management team continually focused on improving credit metrics, as well as good liquidity and strong access to capital. Pro forma leverage is high relative to the REIT universe, though expected to be within a range reflective of a ‘BBB-’ rating given DDR’s good portfolio quality. Further, the company continues to grow the unencumbered pool and improve financial flexibility. Blackstone JV Portfolio Purchase a Credit Positive Properties within the Blackstone JV portfolio are located in markets with stronger demographics such as higher household income and greater population density than properties within the existing DDR portfolio. The Blackstone JV portfolio has a larger big-box component than the existing DDR portfolio, as shown by annualized base rents of $13.81 per square foot, which is 5% below the DDR-defined prime portfolio. Notably, DDR has been leasing and managing the portfolio under various ownership structures (i.e., EDT Retail Trust, EPN Group, the Blackstone JV) for more than 10 years, lessening underwriting and operational risk. Improving Fixed-Charge Coverage First quarter 2013 (1Q’13 pro forma fixed-charge coverage is 2.3x compared with 2.0x in 2012 and 1.7x in 2011. Same-store net operating income (NOI) growth (derived from rising occupancy as well as positive lease rollover) along with incremental cash flow from redevelopment activity and joint ventures, and lower fixed charges, drove the increase. Fitch defines fixed-charge coverage as recurring operating EBITDA including Fitch’s estimate of recurring cash distributions from unconsolidated entities less recurring capital expenditures less straight-line rent adjustments, divided by total interest incurred and preferred dividends. Property-level fundamentals are favorable as evidenced by leasing activity on vacant space as well as positive rent rollover. Since reaching a cyclical trough of 90.7% in 1Q’09, the leased percentage stood at 94.4% in 1Q’13. Leasing spreads including new and renewal leases grew by 7.6% in 1Q’13 compared with 6.7% in 2012 and 6.1% in 2011, and rental rate growth should be the primary driver of same-store NOI growth going forward. Same-store NOI increased by 3.3% in 1Q’13, following increases of 4.0% in 2012 and 3.5% in 2011, and Fitch projects 2%-3% same-store growth in 2013 due to a supply-demand dynamic in DDR’s favor. Fitch anticipates that coverage will approach 2.5x in 2014-2015 due to same-store growth along with the full-year impact of the Blackstone JV portfolio NOI, as the acquisition is expected to close in 4Q’13. Coverage in the 2.0x-2.5x range is strong for a shopping center REIT at the ‘BBB-’ level. In a stress case not anticipated by Fitch in which the company repeats its same-store NOI results from 2009-2010, coverage would remain at 2.0x, which is adequate for the ‘BBB-’ rating. Big-Box Retailer Exposure The company’s top tenants as of March 31, 2013 were Walmart (Fitch IDR of ‘AA’ with a Stable Outlook) at 4.0% of pro rata rental revenues followed by TJX Companies at 2.6% and Bed Bath & Beyond at 2.5%, indicative of confined tenant credit risk. Lease expirations are measured, with 1.8%, 6.7%, and 6.8% of revenue on big-box space greater than 10,000 square feet expiring in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. On small-shop space less than 10,000 square feet, 5.1%, 6.5%, and 5.9% of revenues expire in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. DDR has a broad geographic footprint, and its top three geographic regions in 1Q’13 were Brazil at 9.7% of annual base rent, followed by Florida at 8.7% and Georgia at 8.3%. Credit-Focused Management Team Since the 2009-2010 period, DDR’s management team has been steadfast in decreasing leverage via common equity offerings and retained cash flow, extending debt duration, and improving liquidity. The company’s liquidity coverage ratio, calculated as liquidity sources divided by uses, is 2.0x for the period April 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2014, which is strong for the ‘BBB-’ IDR. Liquidity sources include unrestricted cash pro forma for capital raising related to the Blackstone JV portfolio acquisition, availability under unsecured revolving credit facilities, and projected retained cash flows from operating activities after dividends and distributions. Liquidity uses include consolidated and pro rata joint venture debt maturities and projected recurring capital expenditures. When including development cost to complete as a liquidity use, liquidity coverage remains good at 1.7x. Liquidity coverage improves to 4.8x assuming 90% of 2013-2014 secured debt maturities are refinanced. The company has no unsecured debt maturities until May 2015, and pro forma debt maturities are manageable in 2013-2014 when 0.8% and 6.8% of respective pro rata debt matures, followed by 15.6% in 2015. The company’s 1Q’13 adjusted funds from operations payout ratio was 49.3%, up from 41.2% and 20.1% in 2011, but still reflective of strong internally-generated liquidity. Strong Access to Capital Capital access remains solid and terms have continued to improve. In June 2012, the company issued $300 million 4.625% senior unsecured notes due 2022 priced to yield 4.865% to maturity, or 325 basis points over the benchmark treasury rate, and in July 2012, DDR issued $200 million 6.5% class J preferred stock. In November 2012, DDR re-opened the 4.625% notes due 2022 and priced $150 million to yield 3.465% to maturity, or 185 basis points over the benchmark treasury rate. DDR also accessed the secured debt market and its at-the-market equity offering program in 4Q’12. In January 2013, the company refinanced its unsecured revolving credit facilities with a pricing reduction to LIBOR plus 140 basis points (a decrease of 25 basis points from the previous rate) and refinanced its secured term loan with a pricing reduction to LIBOR plus 155 basis points (a decrease of 15 basis points). DDR subsequently issued $150 million of 6.25% class K preferred stock. On May 15, in connection with the Blackstone JV portfolio acquisition, the company forward-funded a follow-on common stock offering for 34 million shares at $18.90 per share, which including the overallotment option will total approximately $739 million. On May 16, the company issued $300 million 3.375% senior unsecured notes due 2023 priced to yield 3.447% to maturity or 158 basis points over the benchmark treasury rate. Fitch has assigned a ‘BBB-’ rating to these securities. Leverage Expected to be Consistent with ‘BBB-’ Pro forma leverage is slightly high for the ‘BBB-’ rating at 7.2x, compared with 8.0x in 2011 and 8.2x in 2010. Debt repayment via follow-on common stock offerings and retained cash flow has accelerated leverage reduction. Fitch projects that leverage will fall below 7.0x in 2014-2015 due to positive fundamentals and the full year impact of the Blackstone JV portfolio NOI. Leverage in the 6.5x-7.0x range is appropriate for a ‘BBB-’ rating for a shopping center REIT. In a stress case not anticipated by Fitch which DDR repeats its same-store NOI results from 2009-2010, leverage would remain around 7.5x, which would be weak for the ‘BBB-’ rating. Growing Unencumbered Pool DDR has incrementally added power centers and other retail assets across multiple MSAs to the unencumbered pool. The company is selectively re-developing unencumbered assets such as Plaza Del Sol in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Aspen Grove in Denver, CO to bolster unencumbered cash flow. Unencumbered properties, defined as pro forma unencumbered NOI divided by a stressed 8% capitalization rate plus a 50% haircut on unencumbered land, covered unsecured debt by 1.8x as of Mar. 31, 2013 pro forma, which is low for the ‘BBB-’ rating. However, a haircut on land is conservative given impairments incurred on DDR’s land during previous years. Stable Outlook The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch’s expectation that coverage will sustain between 2.0x and 2.5x, due principally to 2%-3% same-store NOI growth, that leverage will sustain just below 7.0x, and that unencumbered asset coverage will approach 2.0x as DDR continues to reduce secured debt levels via unsecured debt and common stock offerings. In addition, the covenants in the company’s debt agreements do not restrict financial flexibility. Preferred Stock Notching The ‘BB’ rating of the preferred stock (a two-notch differential from the IDR) is consistent with Fitch’s criteria for corporate entities with an IDR of ‘BBB-’. Based on Fitch’s research on ‘Treatment and Notching of Hybrids in Nonfinancial Corporate and REIT Credit Analysis,’ these preferred securities are deeply subordinated and have loss absorption elements that would likely result in poor recoveries in the event of a corporate default. RATING SENSITIVITIES The following factors may have a positive impact on DDR’s ratings and/or Outlook: –Fitch’s expectation of fixed-charge coverage sustaining above 2.3x (pro forma coverage is 2.3x); –Fitch’s expectation of leverage sustaining below 6.5x (pro forma leverage is 7.2x and leverage is expected to fall below 7.0x in 2014). The following factors may have a negative impact on DDR’s ratings and/or Outlook: –Fitch’s expectation of fixed charge coverage sustaining below 2.0x; –Fitch’s expectation of leverage sustaining above 7.5x; –Base case liquidity coverage sustaining below 1.25x. Contact: Primary Analyst Sean Pattap Senior Director +1-212-908-0642 Fitch Ratings, Inc. One State Street Plaza New York, NY 10004 Secondary Analyst Steven Marks Managing Director +1-212-908-9161 Committee Chairperson Philip Zahn Senior Director +1-312-606-2336 Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212-908-0278, Email: [email protected]. Additional information is available at ‘www.fitchratings.com’. Applicable Criteria and Related Research: –Criteria for Rating U.S. Equity REITs and REOCs (Feb. 26, 2013); –Treatment and Notching of Hybrids in Nonfinancial Corporate and REIT Credit Analysis (Dec. 13, 2012); –Recovery Ratings and Notching Criteria for Equity REITs (Nov. 12, 2012); –Corporate Rating Methodology (Aug. 8, 2012). Applicable Criteria and Related Research: Corporate Rating Methodology here Recovery Ratings and Notching Criteria for Equity REITs here Treatment and Notching of Hybrids in Nonfinancial Corporate and REIT Credit Analysis here Criteria for Rating U.S. Equity REITs and REOCs here Additional Disclosure Solicitation Status here ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: here. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY’S PUBLIC WEBSITE ‘WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM’. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH’S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE ‘CODE OF CONDUCT’ SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

The post Fitch Upgrades DDR’s IDR to BBB- appeared first on peHUB.