Hilton Worldwide Holdings filing on Thursday to go public appears that one of the biggest deals of the buyout boom that is headed toward a successful completion.
But other big buyouts led by private equity from that overheated period have not made as much progress.
Hilton, which was bought by the Blackstone Group for $26 billion in 2007, has experienced a remarkable turnaround, despite initially coming to symbolize the excesses of the years before the financial crisis, when private equity firms took on huge targets.
Some of the biggest of those companies â€" including Energy Future Holdings, First Data and Clear Channel Communications â€" remain in the hands of their private equity buyers, which are reshaping the companies with varying degrees of success. Others, however, have achieved a sale or initial public offering â€" commonly referred to in the industry as an exit.
Below is a scorecard of where some of the most prominent deals from the buyout boom are today.
Still owned by private equity
TXU | It was the largest leveraged buyout ever, and perhaps the most disappointing as well. K.K.R., TPG Capital, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley agreed to buy the Texas energy giant TXU, which later was renamed Energy Future Holdings, for about $45 billion in 2007. Since then, it has struggled as natural gas prices have fallen. Now, groups of investors are battling over the company’s future.
First Data | The credit card processing company First Data has struggled to turn a profit in the years since it was acquired for $29 billion by K.K.R. in 2007. This year, Frank J. Bisignano, a senior JPMorgan Chase executive, took over as First Data’s chief executive, and the company has tried unusual strategies to improve its numbers.
Clear Channel Communications | Clear Channel, a radio and outdoor advertising company, began to face challenges soon after being bought by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners for $19.5 billion in 2008. With revenue falling in 2009, it became harder for the company to make payments on its billions of dollars in debt. Since then, Clear Channel has turned to the debt markets to raise more money and gain breathing room.
SunGard Data Systems | The software maker SunGard, which was bought by seven private equity firms for $11.3 billion in 2005, has been engaging in corporate maneuvers. The owners â€" Silver Lake, Bain Capital, the Blackstone Group, GS Capital Partners, TPG Capital, Providence Equity Partners and K.K.R. â€" took out a $720 million dividend last year through borrowing. In June, the company was reported to be considering a sale of a unit.
Toys “R†Us | The retailer filed to go public in 2010, but, after no deal materialized, it ended up withdrawing the filing this year, despite a buoyant stock market. The company â€" which was bought by Bain Capital and K.K.R., along with the real estate developer Vornado Realty Trust, for $6.6 billion in 2005 â€" was “grappling with how to grow,†The New York Times wrote last year.
Sold or taken public
HCA | The hospital chain went public in 2011 after paying hefty dividends to its private equity owners, allowing them to recoup their investment and then some. The 2006 buyout of HCA by Bain Capital, K.K.R. and Merrill Lynch’s private equity arm, worth about $33 billion, was regarded as one of the more successful of the credit boom.
Alliance Boots | K.K.R.’s $22 billion acquisition of the European pharmacy retailer Alliance Boots in 2007 was the Continent’s largest leveraged buyout. It has turned out to be a success. Last year, Walgreen agreed to a deal that would give it full control of Alliance Boots by 2015, providing a sizable return for K.K.R.
Freescale Semiconductor | After being bought for $17.6 billion in 2006 by TPG Capital, the Blackstone Group, the Carlyle Group and Permira, the computer chip maker Freescale struggled with weakened customer demand and a heavy debt load. When it went public in 2011, it was forced to price its shares at the low end of an expected price range.
Neiman Marcus | The luxury retail chain was sold this week to a group led by Ares Management and a Canadian pension plan for $6 billion. The private equity owners, TPG and Warburg Pincus, paid about $5.1 billion for Neiman in 2005.
