Recent TowerBrook deals

June 2005 – TowerBrook refinanced portfolio company PolymerLatex, the German latex producer, in a €215 million ($260 million) deal. The refinancing is understood to have paid out €70 million to equity holders while replacing €76 million of senior debt and €70 million of vendor loans with €215 million of senior secured debt and a €30 million revolving credit facility. The improved performance and margins at PolymerLatex allowed TowerBrook to add debt to the business without increasing the level of gearing, and made 1.9 times its initial investment without diluting its holding.

March 2006 – TowerBrook acquired a 67 percent stake in French engineering company GSE for an undisclosed sum. The firm typically invests at a multiple of 0.5 times turnover. Given that Avignonheadquartered GSE reported turnover of approximately €450 million in 2005, the deal value was believed to be worth around €225 million ($272 million). GSE specialises in turnkey construction solutions in the industrial, services and logistical sectors. The company employs 290 people and operates in 15 countries.

March 2006 – TowerBrook backed Dave Checketts' Sports Capital Partners in the acquisition of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. The deal is valued at around $150 million (€125 million). The league was battered by the labor dispute that forced the cancellation of the 2004/2005 season, and during the work stoppage, there were even reports that Bain Capital would put together a bid to acquire the entire league.

While Bain's offer never really got off the ground, other private equity firms have been active in the sector in the past. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has been an investor in the Toronto Maple Leafs since 1994 and bolstered its position in a 2003 recap, while Chartwell Investments, two years ago, lost a heated bidding war to buy the Buffalo Sabres out of bankruptcy.

April 2006 – TowerBrook acquired the pharmaceuticals fine chemicals business of global specialty chemicals company Clariant for CHF110 million (€70 million; $88 million). The Swiss-based pharmaceutical fine chemicals division manufactures building blocks, regulatory starting materials, intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients for the generic pharmaceutical industry. The Clariant transaction will not be TowerBrook's first investment in the specialty chemicals industry in Europe. The firm acquired PolymerLatex, Europe's third-largest latex producer, serving the paper, carpet and molded foam markets, in 2003 for €235 million when it was still the private equity arm of Soros Fund Management