Baiting PEU Ports Deal with Local Tax Windfall

The Daily Press reported:

Newport News stands to gain $2 million a year in tax revenues, Norfolk would get an extra $14.5 million, and Portsmouth $3.2 million, if port operations in those cities are privatized, according to analysis by state transportation officials.

State transportation officials are virtually alone in predicting local tax windfalls.  The Carlyle Group stated in their conceptual proposal that they'd "pay property taxes, or payment in lieu of taxes, similar to the current revenue stream they (Hampton Roads municipalities) currently receive from the Port Facilities."

Newport News city manager Neil Morgan said the analysis seems to adopt a rosier interpretation of state tax law as far as the city and other port cities are concerned.

Morgan said Newport News had expected that port equipment and real estate currently shielded from taxes would remain so based on an analysis of the deals performed by city officials.

Carlyle's conceptual proposal lacks significant detail on any deal.  The rush to privatize slowed a bit with state officials pushing back the timeline ever so slightly.  A busy holiday season can divert citizens from a potentially contentious issue.  PEU's and their purchased politicians often hide insider deals behind lofty language.

Virginia could privatize its port operations for 48 to 50 years.  What will ships and docks look like in five decades?  What currency will be in use?  How many times will PEU's like Carlyle have flipped Virginia's Port Operations?  At what point will the purchase price be too great and the Port default?

I expect none of these questions are in the state's analysis.  Governor Bob McDonald needs a banner privatization deal to further his career, political and PEU.  Virginia's Ports may be that deal.

Concordia Kids' Extreme Luck Uneclipsed

The Western sun continues to shine on Matthew Swift and Nicholas Logothesis, founders of the Concordia Summit.  Concordia's upcoming meeting will focus on extremism and how governments can address extremism through public-private partnerships.  Their latest luck came from Middle Eastern outrage over the anti-Prophet movie trailer on the anniversary of 9-11.  It followed landing President George W. Bush, just weeks after conceiving of their summit idea.

The Kids incredible luck continued to the extreme.  A French magazine ran a cartoon of a naked Muhammed.  Next up is an ad campaign that displays Muslim extremists as savages.  It will run in the New York subway, which oddly has its own spate of savages.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cited the problem of extremism.   It happens President Bill Clinton is the headline speaker for the extremist oriented Concordia Kids.

One couldn't ask for better public events to drive interest pre-meeting.  The Concordia Summit starts a week from today.  It seems the world conspires toward the Concordia Kids ascendancy.

Update 9-23-12:  The Kids' meeting runs right after the Clinton Global Initiative, which will draw leaders from Egypt and Libya.  Might they stay for the Kids' event?  President Barack Obama and hopeful Mitt Romney will make the pilgrimage to feet of Bill Clinton, who shares a PEU background.  

Update 9-24-12:  Hillary kicked off "Extremist Week" in New York at her husband's Clinton Global Initiative. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did his part at the United Nations.

Debt Holders Save Carlyle's LifeCare from Immediate Default

The Carlyle Group twisted LifeCare debt holders' arms enough to get LifeCare Holdings a forty-six day extension to restructure its debt.  The Sacramento Bee picked up the company's press release:

LifeCare Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") has obtained loan waivers from its Senior Secured Lenders and more than a majority of its Senior Subordinated Noteholders.  The waivers, which expire on November 1, 2012, provide the Company additional time to continue discussions with its creditors, potential buyers and other interested parties as it pursues longer−term solutions for its debt structure.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/18/4832352/lifecare-holdings-inc-obtains.html#storylink=cpy

This move shows debt holders aren't particularly interested in taking over LifeCare.  Oddly, Carlyle took over Brintons and Mrs. Fields in the same manner it may lose LifeCare. In the Brintons' move Carlyle dumped the pension on the British public.

I'm curious as to how much LifeCare debt Carlyle holds and whether other Carlyle funds have wagers on LifeCare's credit failure?  I hope LifeCare's debt holders understand how much Carlyle co-founder Bill Conway hates a level playing field.

Update 9-22-12:  Conway recently bragged about doing deals at 6% interest.  LifeCare's debt tacked on an extra 2% during the waiver period.

Luck of the Concordia Kids!

What if two kids, shortly out of college, got the idea to hold a summit on counter-extremism and an ex-President and members of his Homeland Security apparatus showed up?

In the summer of 2011, friends and business partners Nick Logothetis and Matt Swift had an idea for convening a group of thought leaders in the midst of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 to discuss the importance of partnerships in combating extremism. 

President George W. Bush, Frances Townsend and John Negroponte did just that for Matthew Swift and Nicholas Logothetis, founders of the Concordia Summit.

On September 20th, 2011 the inaugural event of The Concordia Summit convened in New York City to examine the international fight against terrorism and the struggle to combat the breeding of extremist thought.

The cards fell in place for this pair to pull off a high profile meeting of international leaders in a few short months.

What if the next year they land another ex-President and an esteemed Senator, runner up in the last Presidential Campaign?  President Bill Clinton and Senator John McCain will headline the boys' second summit.

What if a movie trailer displaying the Prophet Muhammed in a vile light got widespread play in the Muslim world on the anniversary of 9-11 and incited deadly protests at American embassies?  That would generate huge interest in a counter-extremism summit.

To counter "extremism", one needs large displays of extremism.

I expect the vile video to be a major topic at Concordia.  Which public-private partnership made the mysterious video?  How would the country of origin rate in the yet to be revealed Concordia Index?

What if the summit attracted a Rothschild?

To have the luck of the Concordia Kids, focusing on extremism at just the right time!

Update 9-18-12:  A French satirical magazine will run Prophet cartoons   Go long on the Concordia Kids Index!

Update 11-28-22:  The Concordia Kids are still going.   Their Leadership Council has KKR's David Petraeus, Enlightenment Capital's Jeh Johnson and Fran Townsend, the author of the abysmal Lessons Learned report on Hurricane Katrina.

Carlyle Re-Sponsors Landmark Aviation

Private Jet Investor reported:

The Carlyle Group has announced that it has agreed to acquire Landmark Aviation from GTCR and Platform Partners.

Equity capital for the transaction will come from Carlyle Partners V, a $13.7 billion buyout fund. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Here's what Private Jet Investor missed:  Carlyle owned Landmark Aviation from  August 2004 until August 2007.  It sold Landmark, along with Standard Aero to Dubai Aerospace for $1.9 billion.  Dubai Aerospace offloaded Landmark to GTCR for a reported $435 million.  

Reuter's sources suggest GTCR could've gotten as much as $700 million for Landmark.  PEHub said the deal went at $625 million.   That's still a $190 million profit over five years.  That beats Carlyle's profit on their other nightmarish trade, LifeCare Holdings.

Carlyle has until today to make good on an interest payment on LifeCare's debt.  If not, it's default time.

Update 2-14-16:  Carlyle sold Landmark to London based BBA Aviation for $2 billion.

Carlyle to Retake Rendition Flyer Landmark Aviation?

 AIN Onliine reported:

While current private equity owners GTCR Golder Rauner and Platform Partners have yet to confirm reports that FBO chain Landmark Aviation is for sale, industry sources say that a deal for the services provider is close to being struck.

According to several insiders, the Carlyle Group investment fund manager–which owned the service provider (formerly known as Garrett/Piedmont-Hawthorne/Associated until its rebranding as Landmark) before its 2007 sale to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE)–will once again acquire the U.S.-based group.

Carlyle's co-founders know how to read tea leaves.  Landmark operates flight based operations at 52 U.S. airports.  FBO's serve private jets owned by Carlyle's billionaire cofounders and their PEU peers.

Rumors had Landmark flying rendition flights for Uncle Sam. Someone released a film trailer trashing the Prophet Muhammed to coincide with the eleventh anniversary of 9-11.  Middle East anger is squarely aimed at U.S. Embassies.  Murderers of U.S. Ambassador to Libya may find themselves on a rendition flight.

Flying Billionaires have meetings to attend, the Carlyle Group investor meeting, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Milken Institute, the World Economic Forum in Davos and the curious Concordia Kids meeting which drew Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in successive years.  The Kids' partnership to combat extremism got a great shot in the arm from this week's events.

Carlyle and GTCR know there's big money to be made off fear and nightmares. It's scary how Carlyle and GTCR trade nightmarish companies.  Might GTCR get back an underwater (bankrupt) LifeCare Hospitals? 

Carlyle's Investor Conference Sans LifeCare

WaPo reported:

The Carlyle Group is gearing up its annual investor conference in downtown Washington this week on the heels of a buying binge that constitutes a big bet on the U.S. manufacturing sector.

The investors gathering at the meeting represent the pension funds, foundations, universities, sovereign wealth funds and rich people who give Carlyle their money in hopes of making more with it.

Carlyle's marketing scheme had co-founder David Rubenstein bragging of 30% annual returns on equity investment.

Fellow co-founder William Conway believes Carlyle has a unique, refreshing story to tell at their annual investor meeting.  Part of that story is the U.S. is a great place to invest. 

“We track that growth through data in our portfolio companies, which helps us make smart new investments and best manage current investments,” said Conway, a data hound who scrounges through obscure metrics in search of “ahas.”

“We, in some ways, have better data than economists and some government people. That data tells us things like cargo-shipping rates, leisure-car rentals from Hertz and commercial building-supply sales." 

He bragged about cheap debt for corporate buyouts:

“The last six deals we’ve done, the average cost of borrowing was 6 percent,” said the former chief financial officer of MCI Communications. “That may sound like a lot, but when I was CFO of MCI in the early 1980s, we were paying 15 percent for debt.”

Conway's enthusiasm is in contrast to his former pessimism on the U.S. and his love for China

Conway said the United States continues to have the strongest, deepest and most flexible financial markets in the world, which also makes it a magnet for investment and creates the climate for growth.

“The U.S. is still the center of technological innovation. We have the best university system in the world. The best hospital system in the world. Best medical labs. I like the U.S. for all those reasons.”

Somehow WaPo missed the current state of Carlyle's hospital company, LifeCare Holdings. Carlyle's LifeCare skipped their debt interest payment, due on August 15.  They have four days left to make good, before going into default.

Oddly, LifeCare's interest rates are at Conway's MCI levels, according to Deal Pipeline:

There was $316.8 million of its first-lien loan outstanding as of March 31, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission said, and the weighted average interest rate on it was 13.83%.

Will Carlyle let LifeCare implode like Carlyle Capital Corporation, BlueWave Partners, SemGroup, Oriental Trading, Hawaiian Telecom, Edscha, IMO Carwash, Willcom, Verari, Stallion Oilfield Services and Church Street Management?  Or is Carlyle using Rothschild's to strong arm its lenders?

For Carlyle it is the best of times.  It was the worst of times for 25 patients in LifeCare's unit in Memorial Medical Center during Hurricane Katrina.  D.C. caters to the Carlyle's.  It should be one heck of an investors meeting.  The PEU stories they'll tell.

P.S.  Unit holders are not invited.  The impact of PE-Ubiquitousness can be seen in America's growing income gap.