Briefcase

Portland-based firm to buy Todd Shipyards

Seattle – Todd Shipyards, a fixture on the Seattle waterfront for nearly a century, probably will have a new owner in a few weeks.

The company has agreed to be acquired by Portland-based Vigor Industrial for about $130 million in cash, the firms said.

Executives with Todd and Vigor said no changes in daily operations are expected at Todd’s Puget Sound sites if Todd shareholders approve the sale. Employment levels should not be affected, they added.

Todd employs nearly 1,000 at its Harbor Island shipyard and facilities in Everett and Bremerton. Its management and contracts will remain in place, the companies said.

Vigor subsidiaries in Portland build barges and operate the West Coast’s largest ship-repair yard. The company also does repair work at sites in Puget Sound and California.

Seattle Times

GE Capital selling Mexico loan portfolio

Indianapolis – GE Capital will sell its $2 billion Mexican consumer mortgage portfolio to Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, in the latest sale of real estate assets for a business that was stung badly during the recession.

The lending unit of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co. will receive about $170 million, according to a company official.

That figure does not include debt.

GE has provided consumer mortgages in Mexico since 2002. The sale of its Mexican consumer mortgage business is part of a push to shrink its balance sheet by dumping non-strategic businesses that lack scale.

GE said Friday it plans to continue investing in “core industrial and commercial finance platforms,” including those in Mexico.

Santander said the deal will make it one of the biggest mortgage providers in Mexico.

Associated Press

Jo-Ann Stores acquired in private equity buyout

New York – Fabric and craft store chain Jo-Ann Stores Inc. is being taken private by investment firm Leonard Green & Partners LP for about $1.6 billion, the latest in a series of billion-dollar retail buyouts.

The deal is the most recent in a flurry of retail buyouts that have occurred in the past three months. Last month preppy fashion retailer J. Crew Group Inc. agreed to be purchased for $3 billion in a deal that also involves Leonard Green & Partners, along with private equity firm TPG Capital.

And in October, Gymboree Corp. agreed to be acquired by Bain Capital in a $1.8 billion deal that closed in November.

Private equity buyouts such as these are on the rise after a lull during the recession. Industry experts believe many of the recent deals were for companies that investment firms feel are stable and safe, making them attractive. But they’re also a bet that consumer spending, which has shown signs of life, will continue to rebound.

News of the Jo-Ann deal sent the company’s stock up $14.56, or 32 percent, to $60.19 on Thursday. The shares hit a new 52-week high of $60.80 earlier.

The transaction is valued at $61 per share cash, a 34 percent premium to Jo-Ann’s Wednesday closing price of $45.63.

Associated Press