Middle Market Weekly Outlook

Axial
August 24, 2015

Tags

Baby boomers are making news, as more business owners take advantage of the seller’s market and decide to cash out.

Meanwhile, women are slowly making inroads into the traditionally male-dominated private equity world. Bloomberg profiles a women-led PE firm breaking into fashion, while the Boston Globe reports on a PE firm with a unique benefit for new mothers.

Transactions

Lehman Brothers sells Boot Ranch to Wheelock and Terra Verde Group
Revelstoke-backed Schryver Medical buys B.O.N. Clinical Laboratories
Mexican fund buys stake in Poland’s Amrest from Warburg
Bregal, Pacific Seafood invest in American Seafood
Carrick Capital invests in Launchpoint
BelHealth buys Apothecary by Design
Southfield Capital invests in Vanguard Dealer Services
Canada’s Brookfield buying Australian freight firm Asciano for 6.6 billion
H.I.G. Middle Market to buy HelpSystems

Opinions

M&A activity continued to show strength last month
Family-owned private companies are taking advantage of the seller’s market
Entrepreneurial baby boomers are starting to cash out
Private equity firms without any equity gain steam
One PE firms will pay for new parents to bring their child and a nanny on business trips
The SEC is exploring favoritism for LPs providing debt for deals
The women-led PE firm pushing into the fickle world of fashion
Breaking up with your PE manager
What’s behind healthcare’s M&A boom?
Some PE managers will be required to disclose the fees they’re pocketing from portfolio companies
The days of ultra-cheap credit are nearing an end
Proceed with caution toward private equity funds
Merger Monday isn’t dead
Private equity braces for international tax changes
Hubris is the biggest threat to the M&A craze
The new geography of M&A

This week in history… Workers at the Hormel Company — best known as the makers of Spam — staged what would become a 25 week strike after management decided to cut wages and benefits. The Minnesota State Police and National Guard were at times called to keep the peace. The walkout ended when Hormel recruited replacement workers. (1985)