The past two years have been terrible for private equity firms. But, now we're seeing signs of life.
If fact, this week there was a liquidity event. That is, the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) and Lion Capital have received a binding offer to sell Orangina Schweppes to Suntory (a major Japanese drinks company). It appears that the price tag comes to $3.82 billion.
Back in the mid 1930s, Orangina got its start from a Spanish pharmacist, Dr. Trigo. He created a new drink from orange juice and pulp. It was a big hit. Now, Orangina is the number two player in the still soft drinks market in Europe, behind Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). Last year, the company posted revenues of about $1.5 billion.
In 2006 -- at the height of the private equity boom -- Blackstone and Lion Capital purchased Orangina for $2.24 billion. The company was spun-off from Cadbury PLC.
And, given the large amount of debt in the transaction, Blackstone and Lion stand to realize a nice profit.
Early in Wednesday's trading, Blackstone's shares rose 1% to $14.85.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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