cvc-buys-taiwanese-curtain-maker

CVC buys Taiwanese curtain maker

Buoyed by Oaktree's success with the Fu Sheng deal, CVC launches a $549 million bid to privatise Taiwanese curtain manufacturer Nien Made.
In Taiwan's latest private equity buyout, CVC Capital Partners Asia-Pacific has agreed to pay NT$18 billion ($549 million) for curtain and blind maker, Nien Made Enterprises.

CVC will pay NT$41.28 a share for full ownership of the company, Nien Made said in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange. The price represents a 13.6% premium over Monday's closing price of NT$36.35.

But it isn't certain how long this premium will prevail. On Tuesday, investors responded positively to the news of CVC's bid by pushing the share price up by 7% to touch NT$38.85. At Tuesday's price, the premium being offered by CVC drops to just 6.25%.

The offer is contingent upon CVC reaching an acceptance level of 51% and the firm is said to have already reached agreements with key shareholders for 40% of Nien Made's outstanding equity.

Nien Made was founded by Norman Nien in 1974 and has grown from a small, specialised window blinds manufacturer to a company which has the largest range of blinds in the world. Nien Made is headquartered in Taiwan, has manufacturing facilities in China and a marketing subsidiary in the US. It has been listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange since 1993.

For calendar 2006, Nien Made earned NT$1.33 billion of profit on a turnover of NT$9.2 billion.

Neither Norman Nien nor the company's designated spokesperson, Michael Nien, were available for comment. Citi is advisor to the buyout consortium comprising management and CVC Asia Pacific. Citi declined to comment.

The deal follows close on the heels of final approval for the Oaktree-led buyout of golf club head manufacturer, Fu Sheng. That deal closed at the end of last week after being delayed by a month when regulatory approvals weren't received within the earlier envisaged time frame.

Market observers were worried that the Fu Sheng deal would go the same way as Carlyle's bid to delist Taiwanese semiconductor company ASE in April. Carlyle abandoned the bid citing valuation differences, but it was presumed that an inability to gain regulatory approvals also played a role in the failure of the deal.

CVC no doubt closely followed developments on other deals in Taiwan before announcing the Nien Made transaction. CVC must now be hopeful that it will replicate Oaktree's success, on all fronts, in delisting Fu Sheng.
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