Warburg returns to the well on Bridgepoint Posted on New York private equity firm Warburg Pincus is set to collect another round of profits from Bridgepoint Education Inc via a roughly $269 million secondary offering only a few months after taking the company public. If the transaction is pulled off at the company's current stock price, Warburg is poised to reap as much as a 32 fold return on paper. Bridgepoint said Wednesday that its main shareholder, Warburg Pincus, and management planned to sell 11 million shares of its common stock to the public. 
Share:  <span class="sent">Warburg returns to the well on Bridgepoint Posted on New York private equity firm <span class="company">Warburg Pincus</span> is set to collect another round of profits from Bridgepoint Education Inc via a roughly $269 million secondary offering only a few months after taking the company public. </span> If the transaction is pulled off at the company's current stock price, Warburg is poised to reap as much as a 32 fold return on paper. Bridgepoint said Wednesday that its main shareholder, <span class="company">Warburg Pincus</span>, and management planned to sell 11 million shares of its common stock to the public. Tweet this 

Typical behavior in an extraordinary deal Posted on Bank of America Corp and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission both believe that U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff should approve the $33 million settlement of the agency's lawsuit against the company, but they offered strikingly different reasons for their position in briefs filed with the court on Monday. The SEC brought a case on Aug. 3 in which it claimed the bank violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose that Merrill Lynch & Co planned on paying its employees billions of dollars in bonuses before Bank of America closed its acquisition of Merrill on Jan. 1. The parties proposed the settlement to Rakoff a week later, but he refused to approve the settlement until he received more information from the parties about how, when, and by whom the bonuses were approved. 
Share:  <span class="sent">Typical behavior in an extraordinary deal Posted on <span class="company">Bank of America</span> Corp and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission both believe that U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff should approve the $33 million settlement of the agency's lawsuit against the company, but they offered strikingly different reasons for their position in briefs filed with the court on Monday. </span> The SEC brought a case on Aug. 3 in which it claimed the bank violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose that Merrill Lynch & Co planned on paying its employees billions of dollars in bonuses before <span class="company">Bank of America</span> closed its acquisition of Merrill on Jan. 1. The parties proposed the settlement to Rakoff a week later, but he refused to approve the settlement until he received more information from the parties about how, when, and by whom the bonuses were approved. Tweet this 

General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) is sounding the alarms and may cast off its security unit. The Stamford, Conn. based conglomerate reportedly has hired J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) to find a buyer for its security division, which may ultimately sell for as much as $2 billion, according to Bloomberg . The conglomerate has tried to keep the early sale process under wraps, but Bloomberg has learned that the company has gone so far as to ask potential buyers to send preliminary bids as early as a month ago. 
Share:  <span class="sent">General Electric Co (<span class="company">NYSE:GE</span>) is sounding the alarms and may cast off its security unit. The Stamford, Conn. based conglomerate reportedly has hired J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) to find a buyer for its security division, which may ultimately sell for as much as $2 billion, according to Bloomberg . </span> The conglomerate has tried to keep the early sale process under wraps, but Bloomberg has learned that the company has gone so far as to ask potential buyers to send preliminary bids as early as a month ago. Tweet this 

Future of Opel still in flux Posted on The drawn out auction of General Motor Co.'s Adam Opel GmbH unit got more tangled Wednesday, with the British government offering financial assistance, Italy's Fiat SpA reportedly re entering the fray and German Chancellor Angela Merkel renewing her government's support for a sale to Canada's Magna International Inc. The British government said it is ready to commit money to any viable business plan for Rüsselsheim, Germany based Opel. GM's European operations. 
Share:  <span class="sent">Future of Opel still in flux Posted on The drawn out auction of <span class="company">General</span> Motor Co.'s Adam Opel GmbH unit got more tangled Wednesday, with the British government offering financial assistance, Italy's Fiat SpA reportedly re entering the fray and German Chancellor Angela Merkel renewing her government's support for a sale to Canada's Magna International Inc. </span> The British government said it is ready to commit money to any viable business plan for Rüsselsheim, Germany based Opel. GM's European operations. Tweet this 

Private equity firm Advent International Corp said former Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON) executive Nance Dicciani joined as an operating partner to focus on investment opportunities in the chemicals and materials industry. She joins the Boston office. Before retiring in 2008, Dicciani was president and CEO of Honeywell's Specialty Materials division. 
Share:  <span class="sent">Private equity firm Advent International Corp said former Honeywell International Inc (<span class="company">NYSE:HON</span>) executive Nance Dicciani joined as an operating partner to focus on investment opportunities in the chemicals and materials industry. </span> She joins the Boston office. Before retiring in 2008, Dicciani was president and CEO of Honeywell's Specialty Materials division. Tweet this 

That is, coercing UBS clients with large sums of non reported assets  to come forward, offering protection from prosecution in exchange for information about which other foreign based institutions are hiding Americans' money. "It's like ping pong" Raskolnikov explains. "[The IRS] is using investors to scare banks and using banks to scare investors." . 
Share:  <span class="sent">That is, coercing <span class="company">UBS</span> clients with large sums of non reported assets  to come forward, offering protection from prosecution in exchange for information about which other foreign based institutions are hiding Americans' money. </span> "It's like ping pong" Raskolnikov explains. "[The IRS] is using investors to scare banks and using banks to scare investors." . Tweet this 

Centre Partners puts Uno Restaurant on the block Posted on Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp is once again looking to clean the debt out of its ovens. The pizza restaurant chain's owner, Los Angeles private equity firm Centre Partners Management LLC, has hired Jefferies & Co to work on a debt restructuring or a debt for equity swap for the chain, sources said. It is the second time in a year the PE owner has undertaken a review of this type. 
Share:  <span class="sent"><span class="company">Centre Partners</span> puts Uno Restaurant on the block Posted on Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp is once again looking to clean the debt out of its ovens. </span> The pizza restaurant chain's owner, Los Angeles private equity firm <span class="company">Centre Partners</span> Management LLC, has hired Jefferies & Co to work on a debt restructuring or a debt for equity swap for the chain, sources said. It is the second time in a year the PE owner has undertaken a review of this type. Tweet this 

The CtW Investment Group, a part of the Change to Win federation of unions that advocates on behalf of workers' investment in pension funds, has had enough of Whole Foods Markets Inc (NASDAQ:WFMI) chairman John Mackey's big mouth. The organization sent a letter Monday to Whole Foods' lead independent director, Dr. John Elstrott, asking for Mackey's dismissal over his most recent controversial comments he made in a Wall Street op ed piece titled The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare . CtW Investment Group executive director Bill Patterson said: . 
Share:  <span class="sent">The CtW Investment Group, a part of the Change to Win federation of unions that advocates on behalf of workers' investment in pension funds, has had enough of <span class="company">Whole Foods</span> Markets Inc (NASDAQ:WFMI) chairman John Mackey's big mouth. </span> The organization sent a letter Monday to <span class="company">Whole Foods</span>' lead independent director, Dr. John Elstrott, asking for Mackey's dismissal over his most recent controversial comments he made in a Wall Street op ed piece titled The <span class="company">Whole Foods</span> Alternative to ObamaCare . CtW Investment Group executive director Bill Patterson said: . Tweet this 

Syniverse to buy VeriSign unit Posted on Mobile phone services provider Syniverse Technologies Inc agreed Tuesday, Aug. 25, to buy the messaging business of VeriSign Inc for about $175 million to expand its geographic footprint, range of products and profit. Tampa, Fla. based Syniverse said in a statement the purchase, which is subject to working capital adjustments, will expand the mobile messaging capabilities of its products. The acquired business had an annual revenue run rate of $140 million over the last 12 months and the buyer expects it will add to earnings per share immediately. 
Share:  <span class="sent"><span class="company">Syniverse</span> to buy VeriSign unit Posted on Mobile phone services provider <span class="company">Syniverse</span> Technologies Inc agreed Tuesday, Aug. 25, to buy the messaging business of VeriSign Inc for about $175 million to expand its geographic footprint, range of products and profit. </span> Tampa, Fla. based <span class="company">Syniverse</span> said in a statement the purchase, which is subject to working capital adjustments, will expand the mobile messaging capabilities of its products. The acquired business had an annual revenue run rate of $140 million over the last 12 months and the buyer expects it will add to earnings per share immediately. Tweet this 

When the "super jock" of sports retailing Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) acquired soccer merchandiser Umbro plc in 2007 for $582 million, the Beaverton, Ore. based company also inherited a professional soccer league, the United Soccer League, as part of the acquisition. Now, nearly two years later, Nike wants to stick to selling soccer equipment from its Umbro unit and is putting the USL on the auction block, according to The New York Times . The most logical buyer for the USL is the better known Major League Soccer, but it looks like no deal will happen. 
Share:  <span class="sent">When the "super jock" of sports retailing Nike Inc (<span class="company">NYSE:NKE</span>) acquired soccer merchandiser Umbro plc in 2007 for $582 million, the Beaverton, Ore. based company also inherited a professional soccer league, the United Soccer League, as part of the acquisition. </span> Now, nearly two years later, Nike wants to stick to selling soccer equipment from its Umbro unit and is putting the USL on the auction block, according to The New York Times . The most logical buyer for the USL is the better known Major League Soccer, but it looks like no deal will happen. Tweet this