News and Analysis

Shares of Vince Holding Corp, controlled by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc, rose about 50 percent in their market debut, valuing the luxury apparel company at about $1.08 billion, sister news service Reuters reported.

Party City Holdings Inc, the largest U.S. party goods retailer acquired just over a year ago by buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP for $2.69 billion, is preparing for an initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, sister news service Reuters reported.

BC Partners Ltd, Onex Corp and American Securities LLC are competing for Ikaria Inc, a private equity and venture capital-backed specialty drug company that may fetch up to $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, sister news service Reuters reported.

The Riverside Company has begun pre-marketing for its first non-control credit vehicle under the name Riverside Strategic Capital Fund, as it gets closer to wrapping up its flagship Riverside Capital Appreciation Fund and continues work on Riverside Asia-Pacific Fund II, according to a person familiar with the firm.

Private equity firms are circling UK mutual The Co-operative Group, hoping the food-to-funerals group will be forced into selling off parts of its business as it battles to contain a scandal engulfing its banking arm, sister news service Reuters reported.

Carlyle Group LP and a consortium of Danaher Corp and Blackstone Group LP have advanced to the final stage of negotiations for Johnson & Johnson’s diagnostics unit, according to people familiar with the matter, sister news service Reuters reported.

Private equity dealmakers in the financial sector expect fear of regulation to dampen appetite for risk and M&A activity among major banks in 2014, although specialty finance firms will continue to thrive and command lofty valuations.

Private equity firm Bain Capital LLC has ended advanced talks with auto parts supplier TI Automotive Ltd over a possible buyout after failing to meet TI’s price expectations of close to $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, sister news service Reuters reported.

Private equity firm Silver Lake has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co, Barclays Plc and Morgan Stanley to lead a potential initial public offering of Mercury Payment Systems LLC, according to people familiar with the matter, sister news service Reuters reported.

PSP Investments, one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers, sold a roughly $1.5 billion portfolio of private equity holdings around the end of the third quarter, according to three people with knowledge of the deal, sister publication peHUB reported.