It’s been reported that Bain Capital is inching closer to buying Reed Elsevier’s Business Information unit (RBI) for around $1 billion.  That’s over a $1 billion less than some of the initial bids Reed received for RBI earlier this year when the sales process began.  In February, both strategics and other private equity firms took interest before general nervousness over the economy and a lofty purchase price scared off suitors.

However, despite all the distractions, RBI actually improved both top and bottom line numbers in the first half of ‘08, seeing revenue of £484 (US$726) million in Q1 and Q2  of ‘08 vs £445 (US$668) million in ‘07, and operating profits of £62 (US$93) million in ‘08 vs £55 (US$83) million in ‘07.  While things have certainly changed since the summer, RBI’s overall performance (and a rising dollar) must’ve been a positive sign for Bain.

Either way, a successful close would mark a favorable sign for private equity (at least on the buyside) and m&a in general, as new deals start reflecting reasonable valuations and terms.

Update: Now it sounds like Reed’s getting cold feet.

Tags: Bain Capital

This entry was posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Private Equity Firms, Private Equity News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.