THL to Buy Acosta in Deal Said to Be Worth $2 Billion

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-05/thl-said-to-plan-2-billion-takeover-of-aea-s-acosta-marketer.html
Thomas H. Lee Partners LP agreed to buy the Acosta food marketing company from private-equity firm AEA Investors LP, as deals between buyout companies rose to a record.

The transaction, which was announced today in a statement from Jacksonville, Florida-based Acosta Sales & Marketing, values the company at more than $2 billion, according to three people briefed on the talks. The purchase is scheduled to close in the next 60 days and there will be no change to the senior management or operations, Acosta said.

The company, which has more than 17,000 associates in 65 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, is at least the second marketer in two months to announce a switch in private-equity owners. Apax Partners LLP agreed in November to buy a majority of Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc. from J.W. Childs Associates LP and Bank of America Corp.’s private-equity unit. The takeover valued Advantage at about $1.8 billion, a person with knowledge of the transaction said at the time.