Fitch Downgrades UBS (WSJ)
Zynga $ZNGA to Debut on NASDAQ (NYTimes)
Zynga, the online gaming giant, is one step closer to the public markets. The San Francisco-based company announced in a securities filing late Thursday that it would trade on the Nasdaq when it goes public, under the ticker symbol “ZNGA.” Zynga is pressing ahead with its initial public offering plans amid continuing market volatility, which has recently delayed or derailed several I.P.O.’s.
Bausch & Lomb Considers IPO (Reuters)
After four years in private hands, Bausch & Lomb may soon head back to the public market as Chief Executive Brent Saunders is setting sights on an IPO for the U.S. eye-care giant “in the next couple of years.” Saunders, a CEO of a year and a half, is also focusing on at least two other targets: growth in emerging markets and boosting the company’s pharmaceutical business.
EQT Raises Over €4.75 Billion (FT)
EQT Partners, Scandinavia’s largest private equity group, has raised €4.75bn in fresh capital in less than nine months in the biggest European buy-out fund raising to close since the height of the financial crisis. Demand for the Swedish private equity group’s sixth fund has by far outreached its initial target of €4.25bn,. It is set to be surpassed soon by the expected closing of BC Partners buy-out fund, which is expected to reach almost €6.5bn.
Hulu Calls Off Plans to Sell (NYTimes)
Hulu’s owners, including the News Corporation, the Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners, have decided not to sell the online video hub, the consortium announced late Thursday. In a short statement, the owner group said that each of its members found value in holding on to the Web video company instead of selling it to any of a number of potential bidders.
Ubiquiti Prices IPO (FT)
Ubiquiti Networks has become the first US initial public offering to price since mid-August, though it sold shares at the bottom of an already reduced price range. The US equity capital markets have been virtually shut for the past two months amid a surge of market volatility, with only a handful of secondary sales of shares and no IPOs pricing on an exchange. Bankers tend to avoid volatile markets when pricing IPOs, as companies would prefer to wait for steady times to ensure that they raise enough cash in the sale.
