Daily Review

A little more than an hour after the deal was announced, Republican Senator Josh Hawley blasted Amazon as a “monopoly platform” on Twitter, adding, “This sale should not go through,” and that the company shouldn’t be allowed to buy anything. 

 

 

 

Investment firms FFL Partners and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec completed the acquisition of New Look Vision Group, a provider of eye care products and services in Eastern Canada, for $970m.

 

"The transaction offers significant and immediate value to our shareholders, while also providing New Look Vision with additional capital to further our expansion and strategic investments in technology. With our new partners, we look forward to continuing to invest in our Company to best serve our customers, employees, and business partners," Antoine Amiel, New Look Vision President and CEO.

 

New Look Vision was advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, HPC Puckett & Company, National Bank Financial, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg and McCarthy Tetrault. CPDQ was advised by Barclays and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt. FFL Partners was advised by Stikeman Elliott and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

 

 

Artera Services, a provider of integrated infrastructure services to natural gas and electric industries, agreed to acquire Feeney Utility Services Group, a natural gas utility service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

 

"The FUSG team is a strong commercial, operational and cultural fit with the Artera organization. FUSG is led by an experienced management team with over 1.7k committed and long-tenured employees. The Company's focus on recurring maintenance and repair work on existing infrastructure, strong reputation in the attractive Northeast market, and long-standing customer relationships are extremely complementary to our strategy and core values at Artera," Brian Palmer, Artera CEO.

 

Artera Services is advised by BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Harris Williams & Co, UBS and Debevoise & Plimpton. FUSG is advised by Lincoln International and Mintz Levin.

 

 

Thoma Bravo, a private equity investment firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sector, agreed to acquire Greenphire, a provider of financial lifecycle management software, from private equity firm The Riverside Company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

"Our acquisition by Thoma Bravo is further validation of our strategy and the unique value we provide our clients, particularly as pharmaceutical companies and CROs accelerate trends towards participant centricity in their clinical trials," Jim Murphy, Greenphire CEO.

 

Greenphire is advised by AGC Partners, Jefferies & Company, Jones Day and Zer0 to 5ive. Thoma Bravo is advised by William Blair & Co, Kirkland & Ellis and Finsbury Glover Hering.

 

 

Lectra, a technology company headquartered in Paris, received all regulatory approvals for its $361m acquisition of Gerber Technology, a software company.

 

The acquisition is expected to become final following the June 1, 2021 shareholders' meeting, subject to approval by the shareholders. 

 

Lectra is advised by Lazard and Latham & Watkins. American Industrial Partners is advised by Goldman Sachs, Baker Botts, Gide Loyrette Nouel and Ropes & Gray.

 

 

Acorns, the saving and investing app, agreed to go public via a merger with Pioneer Merger, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, in a $2.2bn deal.

Wellington Management, Senator, Declaration Partners, Greycroft, The Rise Fund, TPG and BlackRock participated in the transaction. 

 

"Acorns is not only a category leader but also a category creator. Its value proposition is built around inclusive, long-term financial wellness. With integrity at its core, the brand has an incredibly loyal following and market leading retention rates. I could not be more excited to partner with Acorns," Jonathan Christodoro, Pioneer Chairman.

 

Acorns is advised by Moelis & Co and Paul Hastings. Pioneer is advised by Citigroup and Kirkland & Ellis. Citigroup is advised by Latham & Watkins.

 

 

Riot Blockchain, a bitcoin mining company, completed the acquisition of Whinstone, a Bitcoin hosting facility operator, from Northern Data, an information technology company, for $651m.

 

"The acquisition of Whinstone is the most significant achievement in Riot's growth to-date and positions Riot as an industry leader in Bitcoin mining. After the consummation of this transaction, we will have created a very clear path for the Company's future growth. Riot will wholly own the largest Bitcoin mining facility in North America, with very low power costs, and one of the most talented development teams in the industry. Whinstone will serve as the foundation of Riot's Bitcoin mining operations, upon which we will drive our goal of increasing the American footprint in the global Bitcoin mining landscape," Jason Les, Riot CEO.

 

Riot Blockchain was advised by XMS Capital Partners and Sidley Austin. Northern Data was advised by Greenhill & Co and Sullivan & Cromwell.

 

 

Press Ganey, a provider of health care consumer and workforce engagement solutions, agreed to acquire SPH Analytics, a provider of member experience measurement and engagement, from Symphony Technology Group, an American private equity firm based in Palo Alto. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

"SPH has created unrivaled impact within the health plan segment helping our clients earn the highest levels of member experience and engagement while driving sustained performance improvement. We look forward to our next chapter with Press Ganey and building upon this strong foundation to immediately bring even greater value to those we serve," Amy Amick, SPH Analytics CEO.

 

SPH Analytics is advised by William Blair & Co and Paul Hastings. Press Ganey is advised by MSLGroup.

 

 

Prestige Consumer Healthcare, an American company that markets and distributes over-the-counter healthcare and household cleaning products, agreed to acquire the consumer health business of Akorn Operating Company, a specialty pharmaceutical company, for $230m.

 

"The sale of the Consumer Health business enables us to optimize our core prescription drug portfolio and enhances our capacity to make growth-oriented investments" Douglas Boothe, Akorn President and CEO.

 

Akorn Operating Company is advised by William Blair & Co and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

 

 

CORE Industrial Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, agreed to acquire Marianna Beauty, a developer and manufacturer of innovative hair, skin and beauty products. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

“The combination of Marianna and Arizona Natural Resources will generate immediate benefits to our customers as we build on the already formidable product capabilities of the two businesses, leverage scale advantages that come with operating a much larger company, and expand our enterprise distribution footprint across the West Coast and Midwest,” Mike Cate, Marianna Chief Executive Officer.

 

CORE Industrial is advised by Norton Rose Fulbright and BackBay Communications.

 

 

SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm, agreed to acquire Canlak, a Canadian coatings company, and Valentus Specialty Chemicals, a holding company focused on partnering with businesses with superior coatings technologies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

“The combined company will offer a comprehensive portfolio of wood coatings products to serve the sports, commercial and residential flooring, cabinet and furniture manufacturing sectors,” Mario Toukan, SK Capital Managing Director.

 

SK Capital is advised by BackBay Communications.

 

 

Cathay Bank, a California state-chartered bank, agreed to acquire 10 retail branches in California from HSBC, a British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

"We are excited to continue our long history of banking in the California community. The transaction complements our footprint and strengthens our ability to serve our communities and clients well and long into the future," Chang M. Liu, Cathay General Bancorp President and CEO.

 

Cathay General Bancorp is advised by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

 

 

IBM, an American multinational technology company, agreed to acquire the copy data management business of Catalogic Software, a provider of smart data protection solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

"IBM Storage has been an important business partner for Catalogic. We built a great team with a strong focus on supporting IBM Storage and we wish that team continued success. I am excited about the future of Catalogic with a stronger focus on building our SaaS platform for protecting hybrid and cloud native environments," Ken Barth, Catalogic Software CEO.

 

IBM is advised by Cravath Swaine & Moore.

 

 

Susquehanna Growth Equity, an entrepreneur-centric growth equity firm, completed the investment in MediSpend, a global technology company providing solutions for the life sciences industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

"We are incredibly excited to partner with the Susquehanna Growth Equity team as we advance into our next stage of company growth. This partnership will promote investments across the company as we expand our product offering to continue our mission to help ensure end-to-end compliance for our customers," Craig Hauben, MediSpend CEO.

 

MediSpend was advised by Gasthalter & Co.

 

 

Tenex Capital Management, a private equity firm that invests in middle-market companies, agreed to invest in JTM Foods, the largest manufacturer of handheld snack pies in North America. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

"We believe Tenex is the ideal partner for JTM and that the team's manufacturing expertise will be highly beneficial as our business continues to grow and we work to enhance our offering and service the needs of our customers," Monty Pooley, JTM Foods President and CEO.

 

 

KKR agreed to invest $55m in eSSENTIAL Accessibility, a provider of Accessibility-as-a-Service.

 

"eSSENTIAL Accessibility provides companies with a complete platform of technology capabilities, user experience design and DevOps integrations, subject matter experts, legal guidance and training, helping them become truly accessible to people with disabilities," Ben Pederson, KKR Principal.

 

 

Colony Capital and Macquarie Group are exploring the sale of Mexico Telecom Partners. The two firms are working with an adviser to consider options for MTP, which describes itself as the largest private-tower company in Mexico, Bloomberg reported. 

 

The company may fetch $1bn or more. MTP works with major carriers in Mexico and has a portfolio of more than 3k towers. Macquarie and Digital Colony’s predecessor, Digital Bridge, formed Mexico City-based MTP in 2014. At the time, it had more than 550 towers in its network. 

 

Azul looking to acquire LATAM Airlines' Brazil operation. 

 

Azul, a Brazilian airline, approached LATAM Airlines Group, Chile’s bankrupt airline operator. Azul’s shares rose more than 9% in Sao Paulo, while LATAM’s shares in Santiago, where the airline is listed, were down 20%.

 

LATAM filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago and, while it has secured new liquidity in that process, it has yet to present a formal restructuring plan, Reuters reported.

During the pandemic, Azul and LATAM developed a codeshare program to avoid competing in Brazil as the market shrank, which regulators blessed. That program suddenly ended this week, which Azul said was a reaction to its consolidation plans.

 

 

Investor Carl Icahn said he’s taken a stake in insurer Allstate, an American insurance company, and endorses the company’s plan to sell coverage directly to consumers. The shares rose on the announcement.

 

The shares climbed as high as $140 after the report. They were up about 1% to $136.53 at 2:33 p.m. in New York, Bloomberg reported. Icahn’s Illinois-based holding is valued at about $400m and was acquired for around $90 a share.

Sequoia Capital India led Series B funding round in Lemonilo, a Jakarta-based healthy food brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Lemonilo will use the fresh funding to expand and strengthen its product distribution network in Indonesia. The company plans to launch more consumer goods products for both online and offline markets.