Press Releases

When Martin Warner brought Michelmersh Brick (LON:MBH) to the Alternative Investment Market in 2004, he had already built the business into the largest producer of handmade bricks in the UK. Since starting the business in the late 1990s, Warner and Chairman Eric Gadsden have built a portfolio of niche players supplying local markets and now oversee a group that owns most of the top-end brick makers in the country. Indeed, it was one of Michelmersh’s divisions, Charnwood Forest Brick that supplied the facing bricks for the regeneration of the prestigious Grade 1 listed London St Pancras Station. He believes the company is now well placed to grow in a market that is expected to see significant shifts in power among the industry’s main players in the near future. Last year there were 1.35 billion bricks produced in the UK – a near halving of the 2006 figure of 2.5 billion. The country’s house building sector, which collapsed during the economic...

Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE: GHL) announced today that it has completed the sale of substantially all of its interests in Greenhill Capital Partners II, L.P. and its affiliated funds to certain investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management and certain principals of GCP Capital Partners, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $45 million. The firm continues to own interests in several other funds that were previously affiliated with it, as well as a substantial equity interest in Iridium Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM). "We are pleased to have had the opportunity to realize immediate value from a significant portion of our principal investment portfolio through the sale of substantially all of our investment in a private equity fund we sponsored, rather than wait for the liquidation of the fund's portfolio companies over a period of years," said Scott L. Bok, Chief Executive Officer of Greenhill. "This transaction accelerates the realization of cash proceeds, but has essentially no income statement impact...

VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC) and The Timberland Company (NYSE: TBL) today jointly announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement. VF will pay Timberland shareholders $43 per share, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $2 billion net of cash acquired. The merger agreement was unanimously approved by both companies' Boards of Directors. Timberland is a global footwear and apparel company with expected 2011 revenues of $1.6 billion, over half of which are generated internationally. “The Timberland® brand is synonymous with high quality outdoor footwear and apparel," said Eric Wiseman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VF Corporation. "We believe the unique rugged outdoor positioning of the Timberland® brand will perfectly complement the premium, technical positioning of The North Face® brand, while the Smartwool® brand will provide us with a leadership position in a new category. This acquisition will continue the transformation of VF's portfolio, propelling VF's Outdoor & Action Sports businesses to 50% of total revenues." He continued, "This will...

First Midwest Bancorp (NASDAQ: FMBI) today announced that on June 20, 2011 Mark G. Sander will join First Midwest as President and Chief Operating Officer of First Midwest Bank and Senior Executive Vice President of the Company. "I am extremely pleased to welcome Mark to First Midwest," said Michael L. Scudder, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. "Mark's proven leadership skills, extensive commercial banking expertise and market knowledge will be of tremendous value as we look to maximize the many market opportunities available to us." "I look forward to joining the First Midwest team," said Mr. Sander. "First Midwest has a well-deserved reputation as a strong and trusted financial partner, committed to meeting the needs of its clients.

Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. (NYSE: WEN), today announced a definitive agreement for the sale of Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. to a buyer formed by Roark Capital Group. Wendy's/Arby's Group will retain an 18.5% ownership interest in the Arby's® business. Atlanta-based Arby's is the second largest quick-service sandwich chain in the U.S. with more than 3,600 restaurants systemwide. Roark Capital Group is an Atlanta-based private equity firm that focuses on investing in franchise, brand management and restaurant companies. Wendy's/Arby's Group had previously announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives for Arby's. The aggregate transaction value is estimated to be $430 million. The terms of the agreement provide for Wendy's/Arby's Group to receive at closing approximately $130 million of cash, subject to customary adjustments, and retain an 18.5% common stock interest in the Arby's business expected to be valued at approximately $30 million. The buyer will assume approximately $190 million of Arby's-related debt, consisting primarily of capital lease and sale-leaseback obligations.

Asian stocks fell today as oil expanded its gains, which increased worries about the effect of the rising energy prices on the global recovery. The Japanese car producing companies saw a decline in their shares today after City Group lowered their rating today. The MSCI Asia Pacific was almost unchanged today at 136.63 at 13:55 in Tokyo. The yen started rising again against the dollar, which brought more losses to the Japanese companies. Nikkei 225 Nikkei 225 fell today by 0.50% or 48.38 points closing at 9719.70. From 225 shares, 90 advanced, 119 declined and 16 unchanged. Sectors leading the decline were the industrials that lost 16.73 points and consumer goods that lost 15.19 points. Lagging shares today were TDK Corp which fell by 3.06% closing at 4600 yen, second was Honda Motor Co Ltd which fell by 2.22% closing at 2903 yen. And Kyocera Corp which fell by 1.40% closing at 8460 yen. Among the shares that Secom co Ltd topped the list by...

Apple is rumored to be unveiling a major overhaul of its video editing software Final Cut Pro at the annual National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas next week. According a report in Filmmakers Magazine and a MacRumors blog post, the update will be announced at the Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet on April 12.  

Apple is rumored to be unveiling a major overhaul of its video editing software Final Cut Pro at the annual National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas next week. According a report in Filmmakers Magazine and a MacRumors blog post, the update will be announced at the Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet on April 12.  

From Bloomberg, a shocking comparison of the advantage the US corporate tax code affords online retailers and multinationals (emphasis added): Anyone who wants a Nintendo Wii console or the latest John Grisham novel can pick it up at the nearest Target (TGT) store or log on to Amazon.com (AMZN) and have it delivered. The similarities between the two retailers aren’t as apparent when it comes to taxes. Amazon’s effective rate—the total it pays in federal, state, local, and international income taxes after deductions, along with its sales and property levies—has been more than 10 percentage points lower than Target’s for the past four years. Target’s effective tax rate in 2010 was 35.1 percent, compared with Amazon’s 23.5 percent. Amazon in 2010 owed $352 million in income taxes worldwide on income of $1.5 billion, according to its SEC filings, while Target owed $1.58 billion on income of $4.5 billion. Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has successfully resisted efforts from politicians to make...