(Wansquare) The Kooples: fashion, more than ever coveted by the private

LBO France is selling 20% ​​stake in The Kooples since 2011. Private equity funds are scrambling for a sector that has made the success of strong brands such as Maje Sandro but also known duds.

Barely a month after finalizing the acquisition of the IKKS brand, LBO France is preparing to part with one of its active beacon of fashion, The Kooples, and mandated the California investment bank Sage, sector specialist to support him in the process. The fund led by Robert Daussun had taken a 20% share in this basic house dedicated to couples in 2011, a valuation of 250 million euros and then accompanied her
development, in France and abroad. Revenues rose 120 million euros in 2011 to about 220 million euros in the current fiscal year, which closes at the end of August, for an EBITDA of 38 million euros.

This is due to an active program of store openings in France and abroad. While the fashion house that was present when entering the United Kingdom LBO France, it has since opened shops in 30 countries and put its energy today on the United States. After getting a place in the big stores like Macy's and Bloomingdale's, she opened five outlets in clean, between East and West coast, since the beginning of the year and plans to open 35 new within four years. A strategy that diverges local partnerships usually used by groups prêtàporter to break into new territories.

If it has not yet reached critical mass, the brand has become known for its advertising campaigns featuring modern couples reminds runaway success of Sandro Maje. After only two and a half years in the portfolio, L Capital (LVMH galaxy funds) and Florac (holding the Dreyfus family) had sold the company to KKR for 650 million euros, or 11 times its EBITDA, in spring 2013. At this level of multiple, The Kooples could be valued over EUR 400 million.

The contenders were bound for the asset, which certainly requires significant cash flows for international development and its second brand, The Kooples Sport. LBO France has decided to activate a sale after receiving expressions of interest from two funds Permira, which recorded a net return of 1.2 billion euros through the sale of its share in Hugo Boss and Valentino, and lost the bidding for a stake in Roberto Cavalli. And General Atlantic, a US fund also shareholder of Airbnb and Uber. A sign that does not lie on the reputation that the brand has already gained in a short time in the land of Uncle Sam. In addition, L Capital, which has taken root in bash earlier this year, also showed his activism in the sector in France. Before him, Zadig & Voltaire had sold 30% of its capital to another US fund TA Associates in 2012.

But if success stories exist, they must not forget that the sector can save serious setbacks when flagship brands are losing popularity. That's what happened to Gerard Darel, bought by fund Advent for 300 million euros in 2008, which had enjoyed success with his bag 24 hours but failed to renew itself since, and was placed in receivership. In 2008, it was Morgan, owned by Apax Partners, which had to be placed in judicial proceedings because of the crisis. The context today is very different for The
Kooples, which can count on the manna of the US market, certainly very competitive, to meet its target of generating 350 million euros in 2018, of which 100 million Atlantic.

>>> Fitch issues commentary on EU auto makers - Fitch: China's slowing economy a

Fitch issues commentary on EU auto makers 

- Fitch: China's slowing economy and the recent sharp falls in its stock market are likely to pose a bigger challenge for European carmakers than a moderately weaker yuan. We believe that the sudden yuan devaluation of around 4% on Tuesday and Wednesday will not significantly affect European carmakers' sales and earnings in 2015, although it could reduce cash generation. But the recent fall in share prices on China's stock market and a weakening economy have harmed consumer sentiment and wealth. This contributed to a deceleration in new vehicle sales growth rates in China in the past 12 months, including the recent year-on-year sales declines in June and July. - Source TradeTheNews.com

FT : El Corte Inglés stake sale sparks board clash


The sale of a €1bn stake in El Corte Inglés to a prominent Qatari investor has sparked a public dispute between top shareholders at the Spanish department store chain, amid complaints that the deal undervalues the group and includes several contentious conditions.
Ceslar, a family-owned investment vehicle that owns close to 10 per cent of El Corte Inglés, issued a statement on Wednesday denouncing the sale as a “manoeuvre to sideline traditional investors and secure the power of current management”. Ceslar was one of two large shareholders that refused to support the deal at a July board meeting, but both were ultimately outvoted.

El Corte Inglés announced last month that it was selling a 10 per cent stake in the group to Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, a former Qatari prime minister and high-profile dealmaker. His investment was made in the form of a “convertible instrument” that will convert into shares after three years. The shares will be taken from treasury stock held by El Corte Inglés.
According to Ceslar, the group has committed to pay Sheikh Hamad an annual interest of at least 5.25 per cent, which could rise to as much as 7.5 per cent if certain growth targets are not met. “[We] regret that this contract involves interest payments far above the market rate, and with a series of penalties that always favour the Qatari investor and that in any case lack any justification,” the investor said.
Ceslar also criticised the payment of what it said was an “elevated commission, worth millions of euros” to an unspecified company involved in the transaction.
El Corte Inglés did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When the deal was announced, the group said in a statement that the Qatari investment was “very satisfying for both sides”. It added: “The new shareholder will accompany us in our growth and expansion, in a spirit of co-operation.”
For Sheikh Hamad, who is also a former head of the Qatar Investment Authority, the deal with the Spanish retailer was the latest in a string of recent acquisitions. Last year he bought Heritage Oil, an independent producer with a focus on Africa, for £924m and invested €1.75bn in Deutsche Bank.
The El Corte Inglés transaction was formally approved by the board in July, but can only proceed once the group amends its statutes. The board is expected to vote on the change later this month — offering Ceslar another opportunity to register its protest.
El Corte Inglés is one of the best-known Spanish companies, thanks to its eponymous chain of department stores that often dominate high streets in major cities across the country. The group also owns supermarkets and hypermarkets, travel agents, opticians and mobile phone stores.

(BFW) Merlin Properties Acquires 41.4M Testa Shares From Sacyr

BN 08/12 12:34 *MERLIN AGREES WITH SACYR FOR DELIVERY OF PART OF TESTA SHARES
Merlin Properties Acquires 41.4M Testa Shares From Sacyr
2015-08-12 12:43:05.171 GMT


By Charles Penty
(Bloomberg) -- Merlin Properties acquires 41.4m Testa
shares, or 26.91% of its capital, voting rights, from Sacyr, co.
says.

* These shares, added to those subscribed by Merlin in capital
increase and those acquired under July announcement by
Merlin, add up to 77.01% of Testa
* Merlin comments in regulatory filing: Link

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Link to Company News:{SCYR SM <Equity> CN <GO>}

For Related News and Information:
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First Word newswire: {NH BFW<GO>}

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Charles Penty at +34-91-700-9654 or
cpenty@bloomberg.net

(BN) Citigroup: Something Big and Fundamental Has Changed in Markets

Citigroup: Something Big and Fundamental Has Changed in Markets
2015-08-12 12:36:52.466 GMT


By Tracy Alloway
(Bloomberg Business) -- Liquidity in bond markets has
grabbed all the headlines in recent months (and years).
The ability to trade fixed income securities without overly
impacting prices is front and center in the minds of many
investors, traders and regulators, though there's plenty of
disagreement as to the extent of the so-called liquidity issue
and the reasons behind it.
New regulations that have made it more difficult or more
expensive for banks to hold bonds on their balance sheets and
facilitate trades for their clients are an oft-cited culprit,
though the growth of the big investors who buy such assets is
another factor.
In a new presentation, Citigroup Strategist Matt King
argues that the liquidity issue is a pervasive one that expands
beyond fixed income and cannot be solely attributed to shrinking
bank balance sheets.
In the 42-page presentation, King points to increasing
concentration and one-way positioning by large investors as a
major factor behind current liquidity woes.
The crux of this argument is that markets used to be self-
limiting. Prices of securities would move up to a point where
their yields would become unattractive, at which time investors
would leave trim some of their positions, causing prices to go
down and yields to recover. Now the intense search for returns
has altered that dynamic, with investors chasing inflows as a
means of getting higher prices and higher profits.
While the notion of value investing disappearing in a
market that has moved ever upwards for the past five years is
not exactly new, King's presentation here is stark. Investors
have been moving in tandem, he says, making markets far more
homogenous. The below shows investor positioning in credit
markets, where the number of longs has vastly outnumbered the
shorts, as well as the International Monetary Fund's herding
metric. In short, investors across a number of asset classes are
going mooo as one-way positioning dominates.
When investors decide to change positions all at once,
liquidity understandably, evaporates.
The good news here is that some of that herding behavior
may fall to the wayside as the U.S. raises interest rates,
global economies begin to diverge and cracks emerge within asset
classes. The bad news is we're vulnerable to hitting market air
pockets, so to speak, until then. 
Here's King's conclusion:
 Buckle up.

To contact the author on this story:
Tracy Alloway at talloway@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor on this story:
Joe Weisenthal at jweisenthal@bloomberg.net

>>> ROG/ABBV : Phase II Study of Venetoclax Met Primary Endpoint AbbVie announce

Phase II Study of Venetoclax Met Primary Endpoint AbbVie announced that a Phase 2 trial of its investigational medicine venetoclax met its primary endpoint of achieving overall response rates in patients with relapsed/refractory or previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with 17p deletion, according to an independent review analysis. The open-label study evaluated the efficacy and safety of venetoclax, an inhibitor of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein that is being developed in partnership with Genentech and Roche.

>>> US Gapping Up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: EVDY +14.3%, HTM +13%, ZFGN +10%, W +6.6%, EZCH +6.5%, LUNA +5.2%, SMED +5.2%, CBLI +4.1%, TIK +3.8%, INGN +3.7%, VCEL +3.1%, FOGO +2.5%, CDXS +0.7%, MRKT +0.7%, VWR +0.6%, TPVG +0.5%, HIIQ +0.5%, CSC +0.5%

M&A news: CDK +9.2% (reports it is exploring a sale)

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: SA +4.2%, EGO +3.7%, KGC +2.4%, ABX +2%, GFI +1.8%, PAAS +1.8%, GG +1.7%, NEM +1.3%, GDX +1%, GOLD +0.8%, AU +0.8%

Other news: AQXP +6.6% (cont strength), ATLS +4.2% (Leon Cooperman (Omega Advisors) disclosed 20.04% active stake in 13D filing), CLBS +2.2% (co's President/CFO disclosed purchase of 81000 shares, worth total of $100.2K), SUNE +2% (SunEdison and TerraForm Power (TERP) announce the syndication of a $280 million), PSTI +1.4% (receives safety clearance in Japan for PLX-PAD cells use in clinical trials), AL +1.3% (announced pricing of public offering of $500 mln of 2.625% unsecured senior notes due 2018)

Analyst comments: GOOGL +0.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley), TGTX +0.9% (resumed with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright
)