Blackstone-Owned SeaWorld Readies IPO
The theme park operator is going public, probably launching its IPO this month. SeaWorld will offer 20 million shares, expecting to price them between $24-27 apiece.
Private equity
Founders Taking Their Firms Private: A New Wall Street Trend?
Barnes & Noble's Leonard Riggio, Dell's Michael Dell and Best Buy's Richard Schulze each want to save the troubled companies they founded from the pains of publicly traded life. But are their plans powered by sound thinking, or wishful thinking?
Microsoft in Talks to Invest Up to $3 Billion in Dell: CNBC
Microsoft is in discussions to invest between $1 billion and $3 billion of mezzanine financing in a buyout of Dell, CNBC cited unidentified sources as saying on Tuesday. Private equity outfit Silver Lake Partners is trying to finalize a bidding group to take the world's No. 3 PC maker private.
What Private-Equity Firms and Vampires Have In Common
The answer: dividend recaps. You see, you may think that when private-equity firms buy troubled companies, their plan is to fix them up and resell them. But often, the real plan is to load the companies up with debt, suck huge sums out of them, and stick the next set of investors with the bill.
This May Be Best Buy's Last Hope
Best Buy founder Richard Schulze apparently isn't giving up on his dream of taking back his company. Reuters reports that Schulze and a consortium of at least four private equity firms are studying the struggling consumer electronics retailer's books to explore what sources say may be an $11 billion buyout.
Best Buy Buyout Is No Sure Thing
Shares of Best Buy soared Monday after founder Richard Schulze said he wanted to buy the company. In private hands, Best Buy would be able to attempt a turnaround outside of the public limelight, but it won't be easy to get to the fairy tale ending.
Best Buy Buyout? Why Founder's Bid May Be Retailer's Best Bet
Sources say Best Buy founder Richard Schulze -- who stepped down as chairman this month -- intends to attempt to take the company private. It's not exactly a layup -- but he may be the only one ready and able to turn the struggling consumer electronics giant around.
Best Buy Founder Mulling Bid to Take Electronics Retailer Private
Best Buy stock pushed higher on word that founder Richard Schulze may be considering a bid to take the electronics retailer private, according to The Wall Street Journal. But Schulze, who owns 20% of the company, may yet decide to sell his stake instead.
Mitt's Profit from Bain's Buyouts: Up to $20,000 Per Laid-off Worker
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney spends a lot of time touting his record on job creation. But when he ran Bain Capital, he also made jaw-dropping profits in leveraged buyouts of companies that later went bust, costing more than 11,000 Americans their jobs.
Private Equity Can Do Good, Says Clinton on Romney's Bain Career
President Obama has made assailing Bain Capital a centerpiece of his campaign against Mitt Romney, the private equity firm's former CEO. But former President Clinton isn't on board with that line of attack.
P.F. Chang's to Go Private: Buyout Bid Adds a 30% Tip to Stock
Shares of P.F. Chang's soared nearly 30% Tuesday after the restaurant chain agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Centerbridge Partners in a $1.1 billion deal. Here's what it all means for the rest of the dynamic casual dining industry.
The Buffett Rule: Tax Reform Plan Is a Perfect Fit for Obama 2012
President Obama is making the Buffett Rule -- a minimum tax on millionaires who get off easy under the current tax code -- one of the centerpiece of his re-election campaign. Here's what adoption of the tax might mean for all of us.
How the JOBS Act Turns Ordinary Joes Into Venture Capitalists
On Thursday afternoon, President Obama signed the JOBS Act, and among the changes it will bring to the world of business startups is one that makes use of a rising trend: The power of crowdsourcing.
Liquid Assets: Apollo Buys Indoor Waterpark Leader
Apollo Global Management is shelling out $703 million for Great Wolf Resorts, the leading operator of indoor water park resorts. The $5-a-share offer is better than the stock has seen since 2008, but people who bought it around its 2004 IPO will end up taking a real bath.
Leveraged Buyout Trailblazer Ted Forstmann Dead at 71
Theodore J. "Ted" Forstmann died on Sunday from complications related to brain cancer. The private equity pioneer's firm, Forstmann Little & Co., was one of the first to engage in leveraged buyouts -- using borrowed money to buy companies.