Hugh Osmond snaps up power firm APR in deal worth £527m June 13, 2011 HUGH Osmond, the entrepreneur behind Pizza Express and Punch Taverns, is to buy US temporary power provider APR energy in an $855m (£527m) deal. Horizon Acquisition, a cash shell that Osmond floated on the alternative investment market in February 2010, announced yesterday that it will pay $395m cash and $495m in shares for a 59 [...]
Osmond in talks for APR June 12, 2011 HUGH Osmond, the co-founder of Pizza Express and Punch Taverns, is poised to buy a controlling stake in US power supply firm APR Energy. The City financier is in advanced talks with funds backed by George Soros, the US hedge fund billionaire, and Madeleine Albright, former US secretary of state, over a purchase. Osmond will [...]
Overhaul for Crest Nicholson October 13, 2010 TROUBLED housebuilder Crest Nicholson faces another financial restructuring as new majority shareholder Varde examines the company’s finances, people close to the business said yesterday. US-based Varde is working with advisers Lazard and Bingham McCutchen on the options for Crest, which became 90 per cent owned by its lenders following a £648m debt for equity swap [...]
Lloyds offloads Crest Nicholson stake to Varde September 8, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group confirmed last night it has agreed to sell its interest in bank-owned housebuilder Crest Nicholson to US investment fund Varde. Lloyd’s has held around a quarter of Crest’s debt and 30 per cent of its equity since January 2009 when it took part in a debt-for-equity swap. The construction firm remains around [...]
Phoenix rises from ashes to the FTSE 250 September 8, 2010 SERIAL entrepreneur Hugh?Osmond has seen his Phoenix Group life insurance consolidation vehicle promoted to the FTSE 250. Phoenix said its £1.2bn market value would make it one of the larger players in the index. In a quarterly rejig, Home Retail Group, Segro and Cable & Wireless Worldwide will drop out of Britain’s FTSE 100 later [...]
Advent in £800m bid July 4, 2010 ADVENT International has launched an £800m bid for struggling care-home operator Four Seasons Healthcare. The move comes after weeks of speculation surrounding the firm, which was forced to beg bondholders to extend the maturity of a £600m loan for an extra two years to avoid defaulting on its debt. The firm, which provides respite care [...]
OSMOND HIKES PHOENIX STAKE June 29, 2010 HUGH Osmond, the entrepreneur, has spent around £1.4m to raise his stake in the closed life funds bid vehicle Phoenix Group. After buying 212,000 shares at 640p per share, Osmond’s Sun Capital unit now owns more than 19 per cent of Phoenix, with a further 18 per cent held by private equity firm TDR. Phoenix [...]
Phoenix float almost there May 31, 2010 PHOENIX Group is set to announce its premium listing on the London Stock Exchange this week . It has been involved in crunch talks with investors, including its founder, pizza entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, over a number of special shares. The contingent rights were issued when investors agreed to take a 70 per cent hit on [...]
Hugh Osmond bidding for UK building firm April 25, 2010 PIZZA-to-pubs entrepreneur Hugh Osmond has made a takeover offer for Crest Nicholson that values the UK housebuilder at £300-350m. Horizon Acquisition, Osmond’s quoted vehicle, put the takeover plan to a meeting of Crest’s 40 owner banks on Wednesday. The potential deal is part of bold plans by Osmond to consolidate the recession-hit housebuilding sector. According [...]
Pizza boss Osmond to get a slice of £100m from Pearl April 5, 2010 Private equity owners Hugh Osmond and Manjit Dale stand to gain more than £100m in the run-in to the summer listing of Phoenix. The pair, through their respective vehicles Sun Capital and TDR Capital, own contingent rights to more than 20m unissued shares in Phoenix, the new name for zombie life assurance fund Pearl. These [...]