Text size [+][-] Saturday May 17 2008GLOBAL EDITION
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KKR is raising a $5bn infrastructure fund. It seems like an odd time given such deals depend heavily on leverage. But the US housing meltdown has hurt states' and municipalities' finances. That could encourage infrastructure sales, and funds like KKR's could take advantage.
Banks are close to selling at least £2.6bn of loans used for the LBO of the UK pharmacy chain, some at a 15% discount to Goldman Sachs and the rest to private equity at 9% off. The deals may not set Europe’s leveraged loan market moving at a pace, but they should give it a start.
The Citigroup chief has been bombarding many of the bank’s 200 million clients with a pep-talk email about the ailing firm’s ambitions. It was a tad light on detail, so breakingviews has penned how we think his first draft might have read before his marketing team cleaned it up.
The UK airline has achieved the holy grail of a 10% operating margin for 2007/8 and is restoring its dividend. But it’s all downhill from here, with soaring oil prices and a hairy economic outlook. In that context, cutting capacity looks like a wise choice.
The Danish brewer is lucky to get such good underwriting terms for its $6bn rights issue. Carlsberg is highly leveraged, the new shares carry virtually no votes, and the controlling shareholder can’t put in any cash of its own. The banks must really want the bragging rights.
Carlyle is buying part of Booz Allen Hamilton. That looks smart. But Lauren Silva says the deal could have made more sense.
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