| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
A jump-start for megabuyouts may be in the works as private equity firms are kicking the tires on multibillion-dollar bids for Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc's insurance arm. Texas-based buyout shop TPG Capital is reportedly considering a $15.9 billion offer for the unit.
A Reuters report attributes the information to a source close to a source familiar with the matter who said: "TPG is doing its homework on the business now. It is very premature
and no decision has yet been made to bid for it, but TPG is interested."
Nor is TPG the only the private equity firm showing interest in RBS' insurance unit. On April 25, The Deal's Jonathan Braude wrote: Apax Partners Worldwide LLP is looking into a possible bid for all or part of Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc's insurance arm after the bank signaled it would be prepared to sell to help repair its balance sheet. ... A source familiar with the situation said Apax and its financial adviser, Lehman Brothers Inc., were only at the very early stages of looking at the situation and that much would depend on the actual size and range of businesses the bank ultimately puts up for sale. RBS' insurance arm, Britain's largest provider of auto insurance, has seen its valuations vary from around £5 billion ($9.9 billion) to as high as £12 billion. An in-depth April 18 report by financial services analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Ltd. said the likely price would be £6 billion or above. RBS is selling assets and new shares to boost its capital following write-downs related to subprime mortgages and leveraged buyouts. An offer by either of these buyout firms on the insurance unit would be a big test of the debt markets, which have been virtually frozen for multibillion dollar LBOs since last summer when the credit crunch hit, leaving banks with upwards of $250 billion in debt commitments. The state of the debt markets will be the subject of a panel at The Deal's Private Capital Symposium on May 14, which will feature John Eydenberg, head of leveraged finance at Deutsche Bank Securities; Alan Jones, co-head of global private equity at Morgan Stanley; and Mathew Lori, a managing director at New Mountain Capital. - George White See Reuters story See Apax/RBS story on TheDeal.com See more on the Private Capital Symposium Categories Deal Video
    Community
 Elsewhere on The Deal.comDealwatch
The Deal MagazineCorporate Dealmaker
The Deal VideoCategories
Blog roll
Archives
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
©Copyright 2009, The Deal, LLC. All rights reserved. Please send all technical questions, comments or concerns to the Webmaster.
