| Following the Era of Large Buyouts, Private Equity Funds Find New Ways to Compete
Now that credit has dried up, the future of large private equity buyouts has become uncertain. Limited by the lack of available debt financing, buyout firms are looking to compete in middle-market and foreign deals and, in many cases, are teaming up with strategic buyers and corporations in new types of transactions. Not surprisingly, the economic downturn has also paved the way for a resurgence in distressed investing, as lenders and investors alike begin to adjust to new pricing realities. According to Jack Daly, a managing director at Goldman Sachs focusing on large-cap leveraged buyouts in the U.S. industrial sector, 2007 was a "tale of two markets." In the first half of the year, private equity sponsors enjoyed easy access to debt which led to previously unthinkable discussions about deals valued at up to $100 billion.
Uganda: Equity Purchase of UML Rattles Banks, Ups Sector Competition
The US$26.7 million takeover of Uganda Microfinance Limited (UML) by Equity Bank of Kenya has undoubtedly rattled Uganda's retail segment of the banking market but the transaction is likely to result in a lot of activity in the microfinance sector. A veteran and keen analyst of the microfinance sector in Uganda said in an interview last week that the apparent push by commercial banks into the retail segment of the market will result in more takeovers, mergers or part purchases. .
Home Financial Bancorp Announces Third Quarter Results
Home Financial Bancorp ("Company") (OTCBB:HWEN), an Indiana corporation which is the holding company for Owen Community Bank, s.b., ("Bank") based in Spencer, Indiana, announces results for the third quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2008. Third Quarter Highlights: -- Non-interest income jumped 62%, or $64,000; -- Non-interest expense fell 10%, or $77,000; -- Net income improved to $111,000. Nine Month Highlights: .
1Q home values fall 7.7% nationwide and 8% in the Providence metro area
SEATTLE � In the first quarter, �median U.S. home values experienced the most significant year-over-year decline in 12 years, pushing values back to 2005 levels,� online real estate data publisher Zillow.com said today. �Meanwhile, one out of every two homeowners who purchased during the market peak in 2006 is now underwater on their mortgage.� The average home value nationwide in the January through March period was $213,000, a decline of 1.6 percent compared with the fourth quarter and 7.7 percent compared with the year-ago period, Zillow found. �The median U.S. home value has not been this low since the second quarter of 2005,� the company said in a statement. Its quarterly reports now include data for 160 metropolitan statistical areas, including Greater Providence.
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