UNQUOTE

Blockbuster season

Blockbuster season
  • Emanuel Eftimiu
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The industry is certainly in better shape than 12 months ago. The latest unquoteт€ Private Equity Barometer confirmed the sentiment, showing total private equity investment has more than doubled to т‚Ќ25.5bn in the first half of the year compared to H1 2009. And while deal-doing continued to tick over at the lower end of the market in the past few weeks, one was treated to a sneak preview of blockbusters in the weeks to come.

Blackstone and PAI partners put United Biscuits up for sale with an expected price tag of £2bn, which would make it the largest UK exit of the year. Indeed, so far large exits in the UK have been conspicuous by their absence, while other European regions have witnessed substantial transactions, including the IPOs of Brenntag and Kabel Deutschland in Germany earlier this year, as well as the recent €3.1bn trade sale of Cognis and €1.2bn Belgian secondary buyout of Ontex.

On the buy side, components manufacturer Tomkins is about to be acquired by Canadian private equity investor Onex Corp and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for £2.9bn, in line with the emerging theme of Canadian investors looking for assets in the UK. Additionally, Sir Richard Branson was said to be in talks to sell health and fitness chain Virgin Active with several private equity houses being circulated as potential suitors.

Optimism abounds it seems, with fears of a double-dip abating - for the time being. But now that momentum has started to gather, can the industry keep apace?

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