On December 19th, a Republican-controlled Congress narrowly passed a tax reform bill. This bill represents the most significant tax overhaul since 1986 and has profound implications for the private equity industry. Although this administration is often chastised for being overly friendly to private equity barons, the reality of this bill is far more complicated.
ARES MANAGEMENT MAKES CORPORATE CONVERSION
res Management L.P., one of the largest global alternative asset managers with $106.4 billion in AUM, has decided to convert from its current structure as a limited partnership to a standard C corporation, as a result of the recent decrease in the US corporate tax rate. In doing so, Ares becomes the first publicly listed alternative asset manager in the US to take such a step, amidst growing speculation that some alternative asset managers would be making the conversion.
AN APOLLO BACKED-IPO: GOOD FOR ADT?
On the morning of January 18th 2018, it was made public that home-security company ADT Services would go public with an IPO of $14 per share. Because ADT is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC, the implications of this initial public offering are more complex than may first seem.
SOFTBANK OFFERS UBER A RIDE
The board at Uber, which is planning an initial public offering in 2019, made their final concessions to pave the way for the SoftBank deal in early November. The deal, concluded on January 18, includes a large purchase of shares from existing Uber investors and employees at a discounted valuation for the company of $48 billion, a 30 percent drop from Uber's most recent valuation of $68 billion.
KEURIG AND DR. PEPPER MERGER
On January 29th, 2018, Keurig Green Mountain and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group announced an $18.7 billion merger, creating an $11 billion revenue company: Keurig Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper Snapple shareholders will receive a cash dividend of $103.75 per share. After the deal was announced, Dr. Pepper Snapple’s shares rose 22% to $117.07, with a market value of $21.6 billion (compared to a market value of $17 billion pre-announcement).