California Olive Ranch Acquires Lucini Italia Olive Oil

California Olive Ranch, the largest producer of extra virgin olive oil in the United States announces its acquisition of Lucini Italia, a leading producer and importer of premium Italian extra virgin olive oils. In the equity transaction seller Molinos USA retains a significant minority share in the combined company.  California Olive Ranch and Lucini Italia will continue to operate under their own labels. The company will maintain its headquarters in Chico, California.

 

California Olive Ranch CEO Gregg Kelley says:

Lucini shares our standards of quality and authenticity and will continue California Olive Ranch’s mission to bring genuine and delicious extra virgin olive oil to the American consumer. We see strong growth in the premium segment in coming years and we think these two brands are best positioned to prosper as consumers trade up to better quality.

Like wine, olive oils vary according to soil, climate and olive varietal.  Our merger with Lucini will allow us to offer the American olive oil consumer a wider variety of trustworthy oil.  This transaction also allows us to enter the sauce, vinaigrette, and vinegar categories with Lucini’s portfolio of quality products.

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Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. to Attend Upcoming Investor Conferences

Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (CLMT), a leading independent producer of specialty hydrocarbon and fuels products, today announced that members of management will attend the following upcoming investor conferences:

Goldman Sachs Global Energy Conference
January 8, 2015
InterContinental Hotel – Miami, FL

UBS MLP One-on-One Conference
January 14, 2015
St. Regis Deer Valley – Park City, UT

Calumet’s latest investor presentation will be provided at each of these conferences.  Prior to Calumet’s attendance at the listed conferences, the Partnership will post an electronic copy of the presentation it intends to use in the “Investor Relations” section of the Partnership’s corporate website at www.calumetspecialty.com.

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Dawson Geophysical And TGC Industries Announce Filing Of Definitive Proxy Materials And Commencement Of Mailing Definitive Proxy Materials To Their Respective Shareholders

Dawson Geophysical Company (Dawson) (DWSN) and TGC Industries, Inc. (TGC) (TGE) today announced that TGC has filed a definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and that Dawson and TGC have commenced mailing of definitive proxy materials in connection with the proposed strategic business combination between Dawson and TGC.

In connection with the proposed merger, Dawson and TGC will each hold special meetings of their respective shareholders on Monday, February 9, 2015.  The special meeting of Dawson shareholders will be held at 3:00 p.m. central time at the offices of Baker Botts L.L.P. at 2001 Ross Avenue, Suite 1100, Dallas, Texas and the special meeting of TGC’s shareholders will be held at 2:00 p.m. central time at the offices of Haynes and Boone, LLP at 2323 Victory Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas.  Shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 29, 2014, will be entitled to vote at the special meetings.

Stephen Jumper, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dawson, said: “We believe the strategic business combination of these two companies, with over 100 years of existence in the seismic data acquisition industry between them, is in the best interest of the combined shareholders, clients and employees. The combined company puts together two management teams, each with a history of navigating the cyclical nature of the industry, maintaining a strong, conservative balance sheet, and having industry leading technology and talented expertise in various areas of operation.”

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Quindell in talks over possible sale of division

Quindell is exploring the sale of parts of its business, as the UK insurance claim processor attempts to focus on generating cash.

The company has been a target for short sellers that have raised doubts about its business model and have pointed specifically to cash flow as an issue. Quindell said on Friday it had “entered into exclusivity arrangements with a third party in respect of the possible disposal of an operating division of the group”.

It declined to give details on what part of the company was up for sale, but its main operating divisions include professional services, which contains the main insurance claims business, and digital solutions, which develops products such as telematics for cars that report on vehicle performance.

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Top GFI staff seek exit clause if rival BGC bid succeeds

More than 100 senior employees at GFI Group, the US interdealer broker, are seeking changes to their contracts that would allow them to leave the company if a hostile takeover bid by rival BGC Partners is successful.

Dozens of the GFI’s top desk heads and producers have expressed their concern to management in recent months about a BGC purchase, said two people familiar with the situation.

Many are worried about working within BGC’s corporate culture, which incentivises employees via a partnership structure unique in the industry and could lead to bonus cuts.

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KKR sells remaining stake in Alliance Boots

According to Yahoo Finance, KKR today announced the sale of its remaining stake in Alliance Boots to Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., the new holding company of Walgreen & Co., following the exercise by Walgreens of the call option to acquire the remaining 55% of Alliance Boots as the second step of the overall transaction. In August 2012, Walgreens acquired 45% of Alliance Boots in the first step of the overall transaction.

Dominic Murphy, Member, Head of KKR operations in the United Kingdom commented: “The investment in Alliance Boots adds to our track record of partnering with European entrepreneurs to build global companies and industry leaders. Since Alliance Boots was taken private in 2007, a strong investment program has led to a transformation of the company, both at the retail and distribution side, and to a strong international expansion across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In 2012, we created, together with Walgreens, the world’s largest pharmacy-led health and wellbeing enterprise. Since then, Alliance Boots and Walgreens have made strong progress in executing on all synergies and plans, allowing the announcement today of the full combination.””

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Acquisition of Securities of Caza Gold Corp.

Polygon Mining Opportunity Master Fund (the “Fund“), today announced that it has completed the acquisition of 88,160,000 units of Caza Gold Corp. (the “Company“), each unit consisting of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share at a price of $0.05 per share until December 30, 2019, for an aggregate purchase price of CAD$4,408,000 (the “Investment“) by way of private placement pursuant to a definitive investment agreement (the “Investment Agreement“) entered into on December 18, 2014 between the Fund and the Company. A copy of the Investment Agreement can be found on the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com. The Fund is a Cayman Islands exempted company that operates as a private investment fund which invests primarily in mining companies and other mineral related businesses and opportunities.

Pursuant to the Investment and the acquisition of the common shares and warrants thereto, the Fund acquired 88,160,000 common shares and 88,160,000 warrants. Immediately prior to the completion of the Investment, the Fund beneficially owned or exercised control over 21,342,499 common shares and 20,833,333 warrants entitling the holder to purchase one common share. Accordingly, the Fund beneficially owned or exercised control over approximately 49.0% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company on a non-diluted basis and approximately 65.5% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company on a partially-diluted basis (assuming the exercise of its warrants). The Fund now beneficially owns or exercises control over approximately 78.9% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company on a non-diluted basis and, upon exercise of all of its warrants, approximately 88.2% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company on a partially-diluted basis.

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Investments of Macquarie Group Limited in West African Resources Ltd.

According to Yahoo Finance, Macquarie Group Limited (“Macquarie“) announces that, due to the recent acquisition of 40,545,224 options, as compensation for services in connection with a loan, it now has ownership of 40,545,224 options of West African Resources  Ltd (“West African Resources“), each warrant with a strike price of AUD 0.14. To Macquarie’s knowledge, this represents approximately 13.04% of the issued and outstanding shares of West African Resources, on a partially-diluted basis.

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Paper Maker Settles With Justice Department Over Acquisition

Verso Paper said on Wednesday that it would sell two paper mills to settle a government antitrust lawsuit over a $1.4 billion acquisition.

Nearly a year ago, Verso announced that it would acquire NewPage Holdings, which had emerged from bankruptcy in 2012, for $1.4 billion in cash and debt.

In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said that a combination of the two paper makers would eliminate competition in the supply of high-quality coated publication papers used for magazines, catalogs, brochures and the like in North America. Their combined  business for two types of coated papers accounts for more than $5 billion in sales.

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Shake Shack IPO filing comes amid a hunger for premium burgers

According to Reuter, Shake Shack Inc’s filing this week for an initial public offering underscores a question for investors and foodies alike: How hungry are U.S. consumers for another burger chain?

A key part of Shake Shack’s growth strategy involves expanding its locations beyond its New York base, and investors and analysts are bullish on its prospects.

They say there is room for more “fast casual” restaurants that offer higher quality burgers, a variety of toppings and in some cases, beer and wine. Shake Shack’s burgers are described in its preliminary prospectus as all-natural and hormone- and antibiotic-free.

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