Platinum Equity

Beverly Hills investment firm Platinum Equity, which recently bought the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, has emerged as a possible buyer of the Boston Globe. Platinum Equity has submitted a "preliminary bid" for the paper, according to a person with knowledge of the proposal. The firm is offering to pay $35 million for the paper and assume $59 million in pension liabilities, according to published reports. The New York Times Co. said in a regulatory filing last week that it was considering putting its New England Media Group, which includes the Globe, up for sale.

Christina Aguilera recently closed escrow on a mansion in gated Mulholland Estates, buying the Westside home of Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and his wife, Holly, for $10 million. The Mediterranean, custom-built in 1992, features a family room with exposed beams, a paneled library, two bars, five fireplaces, a screening room, six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and 11,107 square feet of living space. A saltwater swimming pool with spa, a bathhouse and a gazebo also sit on the more than three-quarters of an acre of grounds.

AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, agreed to sell its telemarketing unit to Platinum Equity Holdings of Los Angeles for an undisclosed sum. Closely held Platinum Equity is an investment group that acquires and manages technology and service companies. AMR's TeleService Resources unit had sales of $134 million last year. The sale is the second this month for Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR, which wants to concentrate on running the airline, its core business.

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and his wife, Holly, have sold their house in gated Mulholland Estates on the Westside for $10 million. The Mediterranean, custom built in 1992, features a family room with exposed beams, a paneled library, two bars, five fireplaces, a screening room, six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and 11,107 square feet of living space. A saltwater swimming pool with spa, a bathhouse and a gazebo also sit on the more than three-quarters of an acre of grounds. Billionaire Gores and his Beverly Hills-based private equity firm, Platinum Equity, own Palace Sports & Entertainment, which includes the Pistons.

PPG Industries Inc. agreed to sell its auto-glass businesses to Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity for about $500 million. The deal will add to Platinum's stable of more than 20 companies. In July, Platinum bought Chicago-based steel distributor Ryerson Inc. for about $1 billion.

Beverly Hills-based investment firm Platinum Equity has bought custom wheel maker American Racing Equipment Inc. from Noranda Aluminum Inc. for an undisclosed amount, the companies are expected to announce today. Rancho Dominguez-based American Racing Equipment employs 1,400 people across North America. Founded in 1956 by Romeo Palamides, an early drag racing innovator, the company helped spark the custom wheels craze in the early 1960s with the introduction of its five-spoke Torq Thrust wheel.

Los Angeles-based Platinum Equity said it bought the service division of Kemper Insurance Cos. for an undisclosed sum. Platinum said it would keep the management team at Kemper Services, which handles property and casualty claims management, safety consulting and related services for Kemper and for third-party insurers and employers. Oak Grove, Ill.-based Kemper is exiting the insurance business and selling its assets.

Beverly Hills investment firm Platinum Equity won't find out until next week whether it is the only bidder for bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain, who is overseeing Delphi's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was scheduled to conduct an auction Friday to sell the company's assets, but postponed it until Tuesday. Platinum currently has the only bid on the table for Delphi, one of the world's biggest auto parts makers and a key supplier to General Motors Co.

Beverly Hills-based buyout firm Platinum Equity said Tuesday it had agreed to acquire Ryerson Inc., a Chicago-based steel distributor and processor, for about $1 billion in cash. For Platinum, known for taking over high-tech companies, Ryerson would be its third steel industry acquisition in less than three years. The private equity firm, which is led by billionaire Tom Gores, agreed to pay $34.50 a share for Ryerson and to assume about $1 billion in debt.

Platinum Equity, the big Los Angeles investment firm, said Wednesday that it would buy the logistics unit of London-based Hays for $174 million. The deal would boost Platinum's annual revenue to $5.5 billion from $4 billion and cement its position as Los Angeles County's largest private company, the firm said. It would add 16,000 employees, nearly doubling its global employee base. Platinum led private L.A. companies in fiscal 2002 revenue, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Less than three years ago, the San Diego Union-Tribune was a struggling newspaper sold at a cut-rate price by its longtime owner. The newspaper is changing hands again, but this time in a deal worth about $110 million to a high-profile real estate developer who pledged to inject new life and relevance into the 143-year-old institution. Doug Manchester, a well-known but polarizing San Diego-based developer who refers to himself as "Papa Doug," announced Thursday that he is buying the paper and its website from Platinum Equity, a Los Angeles private equity firm.

The Beverly Hills-based private-equity firm that owns the San Diego Union-Tribune has hired a New York investment bank to explore options for the newspaper, a move often considered a first step for an owner seeking to sell. Platinum Equity, which acquired the paper two years ago from the Copley family, hired Evercore Partners to "evaluate strategic alternatives," said Mark Barnhill, a principal at Platinum. "We manage a large and complex investment portfolio, and routinely consider a range of options that will best position our companies for the future," Barnhill said in a statement.

The parent company of the Orange County Register has begun an auction seeking to sell all or part of the Irvine-based owner of 100 newspapers and eight TV stations. Freedom Communications Inc., which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, was expected to receive bids from a number of suitors before a Thursday deadline set by the company. A spokesman for Freedom declined to provide any information on bids received. Among firms considered likely to make bids for parts of Freedom were Tribune Co. ?

Beverly Hills investment firm Platinum Equity, which recently bought the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, has emerged as a possible buyer of the Boston Globe. Platinum Equity has submitted a "preliminary bid" for the paper, according to a person with knowledge of the proposal. The firm is offering to pay $35 million for the paper and assume $59 million in pension liabilities, according to published reports. The New York Times Co. said in a regulatory filing last week that it was considering putting its New England Media Group, which includes the Globe, up for sale.

Beverly Hills investment firm Platinum Equity has failed in its effort to acquire Delphi Corp. after the bankrupt auto parts maker opted late Monday to accept a competing bid from its creditors. Delphi, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection since 2005, said Monday night that its board of directors had agreed to accept a "pure credit" bid from its bankruptcy lenders.

Beverly Hills investment firm Platinum Equity won't find out until next week whether it is the only bidder for bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain, who is overseeing Delphi's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was scheduled to conduct an auction Friday to sell the company's assets, but postponed it until Tuesday. Platinum currently has the only bid on the table for Delphi, one of the world's biggest auto parts makers and a key supplier to General Motors Co.

Beverly Hills investment firm Platinum Equity has failed in its effort to acquire Delphi Corp. after the bankrupt auto parts maker opted late Monday to accept a competing bid from its creditors. Delphi, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection since 2005, said Monday night that its board of directors had agreed to accept a "pure credit" bid from its bankruptcy lenders.

The Beverly Hills-based private-equity firm that owns the San Diego Union-Tribune has hired a New York investment bank to explore options for the newspaper, a move often considered a first step for an owner seeking to sell. Platinum Equity, which acquired the paper two years ago from the Copley family, hired Evercore Partners to "evaluate strategic alternatives," said Mark Barnhill, a principal at Platinum. "We manage a large and complex investment portfolio, and routinely consider a range of options that will best position our companies for the future," Barnhill said in a statement.

Bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. defended its proposed sale to Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity on Thursday, saying claims that the transaction was a sweetheart deal were unfounded. In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Delphi Chief Financial Officer John Sheehan fired back at criticism from Delphi's creditors, who say the $3.6-billion deal between the two companies had been covertly brokered. The deal has the backing of the U.S.

Platinum Equity, the Beverly Hills investment firm, is hitting a few speed bumps in its quest to buy bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. The proposed $3.6-billion acquisition has the backing of Delphi's former owner and largest customer, General Motors Corp., as well as the federal government. But opposition from some of Delphi's creditors has raised the possibility that other bidders may emerge to challenge Platinum.