AMERICAS
Intelsat, a communications satellite services provider, completed the acquisition of the commercial aviation business of Gogo, a provider of in-flight broadband Internet service and other connectivity services for commercial and business aircraft, for $400m.
"The completion of the sale of our CA business to Intelsat marks the beginning of a new chapter for Gogo; we are a leader in business aviation and now turn our singular focus toward serving that attractive market. Our business aviation division has proven resilient in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the number of business aircraft online today has nearly returned to January levels," Oakleigh Thorne, Gogo President and CEO.
Gogo was advised by BDT & Co, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Debevoise & Plimpton and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Intelsat was advised by Alvarez & Marsal, Altman Solon, PJT Partners, Kirkland & Ellis and Kekst CNC.
AdaptHealth, a provider of home healthcare equipment, medical supplies to the home and related services, agreed to acquire AeroCare, a national technology-enabled respiratory and home medical equipment distribution platform, for $2bn, with a cash consideration of $1.1bn and 31m shares of AdaptHealth common stock.
"Joining forces with AdaptHealth strengthens our combined ability to transform our industry and positively impact the lives of chronically ill patients across the country. I am very excited to partner with Luke, Josh and the AdaptHealth team to build an even stronger business, sharing best practices across each organization to drive operational efficiencies and create enhanced opportunities for our employees, patients, referral sources and other stakeholders," Steve Griggs, AeroCare CEO.
AeroCare is advised by Morgan Stanley, Brown & Fortunato and Goodwin Procter. AdaptHealth is advised by Jefferies & Company, Truist Bank, K&L Gates, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and The Equity Group. Debt financing is provided by Jefferies & Company.
Advent-backed Dufry, a Swiss-based travel retailer which operates duty-free and duty-paid shops and convenience stores, completed the acquisition of Hudson, a North America travel retailer, for $311m.
"While our ownership structure will change as a result of the proposed transaction, the re-integration of Hudson into Dufry will further facilitate the execution of our business strategy. Hudson successfully implemented its business and growth plans as a wholly-owned Dufry subsidiary for nearly nine years prior to our initial public offering in 2018. Our strategy remains unchanged to serve as the all-encompassing travel partner and we will continue to focus on our four key pillars: travel convenience, specialty retail, duty free, and food and beverage," Roger Fordyce, Hudson CEO.
Hudson was advised by Lazard, Santander, Cravath Swaine & Moore. Lazard and Santander were advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Dufry was advised by UBS, Appleby, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Homburger.
Francisco Partners agreed to acquire International business segment, a provider of automotive retail software solutions in EMEA and Asia, from CDK Global, a global provider of integrated information technology solutions to the automotive retail and adjacent industries, for $1.45bn.
“We are impressed with the recent product developments and innovation at CDKI. We believe the CDKI team has a sound strategy and strong foundation to leverage towards the goal of becoming the future automotive retail software platform of choice. We will seek to utilize our substantial resources and experience in helping other similarly situated software companies to accelerate the realization of CDKI’s vision,” Matt Spetzler, Francisco Partners Partner.
Francisco Partners is advised by Portico Capital, Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Hastings, RL Frey and Sloane & Company. CDK Global is advised by Credit Suisse and Mayer Brown.
CF Finance Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, agreed to merge with View, a smart window company, in a $1.6bn deal. The combined company will be called View and will be publicly listed on the NASDAQ market following the close of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
"As we become a public company and continue on our growth strategy, we are very excited to partner with Howard Lutnick and the team at Newmark, which will enable us to leverage their deep commercial real estate expertise," Rao Mulpuri, View CEO.
View is advised by Goldman Sachs and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. CF Finance Acquisition is advised by Cantor Fitzgerald, Ellenoff Grossman & Schole, Hughes Hubbard & Reed and Brunswick Group.
McCormick, a global flavor company, completed the acquisition of Cholula Hot Sauce, a premium hot sauce brand, from L Catterton, an American private equity firm, for $800m.
"We are very excited about the acquisition of Cholula as it reinforces our overarching focus on growth and creating long-term shareholder value. Cholula is a great strategic addition accelerating our condiment growth opportunities with a complementary authentic Mexican flavor hot sauce. The talented employees of Cholula have built a strong foundation, and when combined with McCormick's operational expertise and infrastructure, we plan to drive further growth of this iconic brand," Lawrence E. Kurzius, McCormick Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
McCormick was advised by Goldman Sachs and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. L Catterton was advised by Morgan Stanley, Kirkland & Ellis and Joele Frank. Cholula was advised by Houlihan Lokey.
Vista Equity Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in Gainsight, a provider of innovative technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We learned about Vista because many of their portfolio companies are Gainsight customers and we saw how they partner with leading enterprise software businesses to accelerate success. Reaching unicorn status and working with Vista is validation of how far the Customer Success community has come over the last seven years and how important our work is to the growth and financial strength of some of the world’s leading businesses. I couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Vista team to drive more innovation, more impact and continued success for the community as a whole,” Nick Mehta, Gainsight CEO.
Gainsight is advised by Qatalyst Partners and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Vista is advised by Kirkland & Ellis and Laurel Strategies.
Varsity Healthcare Partners-backed DuvaSawko, a provider of emergency medicine revenue cycle management services, completed the merger with abeo Management, a provider of healthcare billing services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to join with the recognized leadership of DuvaSawko and their capital partners, Varsity Healthcare Partners. This strategic combination will enable both businesses to benefit from greater scale, diversification, and enhanced sales, service and managerial infrastructure. We also expect continuing growth, through renewed investment in identified organic opportunities and a well-developed acquisition strategy that will add complimentary tools and technology to our service capabilities," Michael O'Boyle, abeo CEO.
DuvaSawko and Varsity Healthcare Partners were advised by Prosek Partners, Kirkland & Ellis and Houlihan Lokey. Debt financing was provided by Twin Brook Capital Partners.
MidOcean Partners, a premier middle-market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of FullSpeed Automotive, an independent American franchisor of automotive service centers, from CenterOak Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"MidOcean has been evaluating the auto aftermarket services space for a number of years and is thrilled to partner with FullSpeed's exceptional management team for the company's next phase of growth. We believe FullSpeed will continue to experience strong growth from its existing locations with industry leading customer service and robust performance metrics. We also plan to support the company's existing aggressive M&A strategy, as well as to drive franchise development in new and existing markets," Daniel Penn, MidOcean Managing Director.
MidOcean was advised by Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn. FullSpeed Automotive was advised by Harris Williams & Co. CenterOak was advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
Tiger Global led a $225.5m funding round in Olive, a provider of artificial intelligence and RPA solutions for the healthcare industry. The round was also joined by General Catalyst, Drive Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, GV, Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group and Transformation Capital Partners.
"For every dollar Olive makes, healthcare saves five. That amounts to pretty incredible cost savings throughout the industry, and it's helped us become an indispensable part of hospitals' recovery plan during the pandemic. In the year ahead, we're setting our sights on the big picture - investing in R&D to bring more solutions to hospitals and health systems that not only disrupt the industry, but also help to fix a broken system at a critical time for humanity," Sean Lane, Olive CEO.
Olive was advised by Finn Partners.
Facebook agreed to acquire Kustomer, a provider of customer relationship platform, for $1bn. This transaction will be subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.
"Once the acquisition closes, we look forward to working closely with Facebook, where we will continue to serve our customers and work with our partners as part of the Facebook family. With our complementary capabilities, we will be able to help more people benefit from customer service that is faster, richer and available whenever and however they need it–via phone, email, text, web chat or messaging. In particular, we look forward to enhancing the messaging experience which is one of the fastest growing ways for people and businesses to engage," Brad Birnbaum, Kustomer CEO.
SYNNEX, a technological distributor, completed the spin off its business units into two publicly traded companies, SYNNEX Technology Solutions, an IT distribution, services, and integrated solutions company, and Concentrix, a CX solutions company.
"We are pleased to announce the completion of the separation transaction and wish the Concentrix team well as an independent publicly-traded company. I am excited for the future of SYNNEX and the ongoing value we expect to deliver to our vendors, customers, associates and shareholders," Dennis Polk, SYNNEX President, and CEO.
Charterhouse Capital-backed SERB, a European specialty pharmaceutical group, and Stark International Lux, a holding company, agreed to acquire the BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals business from Boston Scientific, a provider of medical solutions, for $800m. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2021, subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
"This transaction will help the BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals business enhance its potential as a fully integrated specialty pharmaceuticals platform. We believe our capabilities and portfolio strongly complement those of SERB, and we look forward to this next chapter as we continue to positively impact the lives of patients and the people who care for them," Anthony Higham, BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals President.
Zimmer Biomet, a medical device company, completed the acquisition of A&E Medical, a manufacturer of medical devices, from Vance Street Capital, a private equity firm, for $150m in cash at closing and $100m in cash payable in 2021.
"A&E Medical's high-growth business and innovative products are highly complementary to our current portfolio and will allow us to offer a comprehensive suite of sternal closure products, including rigid fixation, which has the potential to shift the standard of care and address a variety of unmet patient and surgical needs. This deal aligns with our active portfolio management strategy and the ongoing transformation of our business that will position Zimmer Biomet for long-term growth," Bryan Hanson, Zimmer Biomet President and CEO.
ServiceNow, an American software company, agreed to acquire Element AI, an artificial intelligence company. ServiceNow expects to complete the acquisition in early 2021. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"ServiceNow is leading this once-in-a-generation opportunity to make work, work better for people. With Element AI's powerful capabilities and world class talent, ServiceNow will empower employees and customers to focus on areas where only humans excel – creative thinking, customer interactions, and unpredictable work. That's a smarter way to workflow," Vijay Narayanan, ServiceNow Chief AI Officer.
Tate & Lyle, a global provider of food and beverage ingredients and solutions, agreed to acquire Sweet Green Fields, a global stevia solutions business. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sweet Green Fields is an exceptional business with a leading portfolio of stevia solutions, a strong team of stevia experts and an impressive, fully-integrated supply chain. We are delighted to take our relationship to the next level by bringing Sweet Green Fields into the Tate & Lyle family. This acquisition supports our strategy to grow our sweetener solutions portfolio and our purpose of Improving Lives for Generations by helping us to deliver tasty food and beverages with less sugar to consumers worldwide," Nick Hampton, Tate & Lyle Chief Executive.
Swish Data, a provider of technology solutions and engineering services, completed the acquisition of Titania Solutions Group, a professional services firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I could not be more proud of the company we have built and I'm very happy to find a like-minded company in Swish that will continue to nurture our employees and create opportunities to excel, all the while providing valuable, mission-critical services to our country," Jodi Johnson, Titania Founder and Former CEO.
Penske Logistics, a provider of logistics services and solutions, agreed to acquire Black Horse Carriers, a Chicago-based trucking company. The parties involved anticipate closing the transaction on December 31, 2020. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The Penske organization has had a longstanding and valued relationship with Black Horse Carriers for many years. This acquisition will be complementary to our existing portfolio of customers and industries within our dedicated contract carriage business. We look forward to working with the Black Horse Carriers team on this acquisition and the integration of our operations," Marc Althen, Penske Logistics President.
Timken, a provider of bearings and power transmission product, completed the acquisition of Aurora Bearing Company, a manufacturer of rod ends and spherical plain bearings. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Aurora builds on our global leadership position in engineered bearings by increasing our product breadth, which will help us serve the bearing space more completely. The Aurora product line and market mix complements our portfolio very well," Christopher A. Coughlin, Timken Executive Vice President and Group President.
Dyal Capital and Wafra plan to acquire a minority stake in NEA. (FS)
An investor group led by Neuberger Berman-backed Dyal Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and Wafra, an investment company, is in talks to acquire a minority stake in New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm, Bloomberg reported.
A deal is slated to be completed by year-end. The stake represents about 15% of NEA. NEA has backed companies including Salesforce, Groupon, Robinhood Markets, Workday and Goop.
Mirae receives approval for termination of $5.8bn Anbang hotels deal. (RE)
Mirae, a South Korean asset manager, had legally terminated a $5.8bn deal with China’s Anbang to acquire 15 US luxury hotels, FT reported.
Anbang had made extensive changes during the pandemic to the way it ran its hotels that were in breach of the merger agreement.
Travis Laster, a judge, said Anbang failed to seek consent from Mirae before taking drastic actions in response to the pandemic, such as furloughing staff and closing properties included in its Strategic Hotels & Resorts portfolio.
Airbnb targets $35bn valuation in IPO.
Airbnb, a home-rental platform, and existing investors are seeking to raise as much as $2.6bn in a long-awaited IPO expected to cap one of the busiest years ever for US listings, Bloomberg reported.
Airbnb is offering 52m shares at $44 to $50 apiece. It would have a fully-diluted market value of nearly $35bn at the top end of the indicative range. That figure includes employee stock options as well as restricted share units.
Airbnb is advised by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Allen & Co, Bank of America, Barclays and Citigroup.
DoorDash plans to raise $2.8bn in IPO.
DoorDash, a US food delivery company, is seeking to raise as much as $2.8bn in an IPO that’s part of an end-of-year US listings rush, Bloomberg reported.
The San Francisco-based company plans to sell 33m shares for $75 to $85 each. The company could be valued at about $32bn, taking into account the outstanding shares listed in its filing, as well as employee stock options and restricted stock units.
The company’s IPO price range could still change depending on demand for its stock on its roadshow with investors over the next week.
DoorDash is advised by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets and UBS.
Former Arconic CEO plans US SPAC Listing.
Klaus Kleinfeld, Arconic former CEO, is planning to raise money for deals through a blank-check company, Bloomberg reported.
The German businessman is preparing to list a SPAC called Constellation in New York in December, that could raise more than $300m.
Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are advising on the listing.
EMEA
Breedon, a construction materials group in Great Britain and Ireland, notes the announcement on December 1, 2020, by the Competition and Markets Authority that it has accepted Breedon's undertakings in lieu of a reference to a Phase 2 investigation in respect of its acquisition of certain assets from CEMEX.
"We now expect the disposal of certain assets to Tillicoultry Quarries Limited to complete shortly," Breedon.
Breedon was advised by Cenkos Securities, Numis Securities, Moelis & Co and Teneo. CEMEX was advised by HSBC and Slaughter & May.
Grafton Group, a building materials distributor and DIY retailer, agreed to acquire StairBox, a UK manufacturer and distributor of bespoke wooden staircases, for $58m.
"StairBox is a dynamic manufacturing business with a best in class on-line solution at its core. It has an efficient production process, nationwide distribution and strong growth potential. The acquisition of StairBox is in line with our strategy of acquiring specialist high quality businesses with attractive returns. We are delighted with this acquisition opportunity and the skills and experience that the management team under the leadership of Alex Hancock will bring to the Group," Gavin Slark, Grafton Chief Executive Officer.
Grafton is advised by MHP Communications and Murray Consultant
Linnaeus Group, a veterinary group operating over 150 veterinary clinics across the UK and a subsidiary of Mars Veterinary Health, agreed to acquire five Specialist referral practices from Pets at Home Group, a pet care business, for $133m.
"Pets at Home is the UK's leading pet care business, across our retail and veterinary operations. This disposal does not deviate from our core focus of providing customers with affordable, convenient, engaging and flexible pet care solutions through our growing online platform and estate of 440 First Opinion veterinary practices and 451 stores," Peter Pritchard, Pets at Home Group Chief Executive Officer.
Pets at Home Group is advised by Maitland.
CVC Capital Partners offered to acquire Vivartia, a food production conglomerate brand in Greece, from Marfin Investment Group, a Greek investment company, for $209m.
Vivartia operates across three divisions: dairy & drinks, frozen foods and food services & entertainment.
Aptean, a global provider of mission-critical enterprise software solutions, agreed to acquire Modula, a provider of ERP and MES solutions for the German-speaking manufacturing market, from Alpina Capital Partners, a European technology growth investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Modula offers best-in-class solutions to its customers and we have been impressed by their team’s substantial investments in product development over the past several years. Our two companies serve a similar customer base in different parts of the world and we are eager to bolster our presence in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Modula has an experienced management team with a demonstrated track record of success, and we look forward to working with their team to further enhance Modula’s market-leading suite of discrete manufacturing ERP and MES products,” TVN Reddy, Aptean CEO.
Bayer raises $1.6bn by selling a stake in Elanco.
Bayer, a producer and distributor of drugs, raised $1.6bn by selling most of its stake in Elanco Animal Health, shoring up cash as the German drugmaker faces legal bills over the weedkiller Roundup, Bloomberg reported.
Bayer sold 54m Elanco shares at $30.25 each in a placement. Bayer has given the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase as many as 8m more shares at the same conditions.
The German company obtained a 15.5% stake and $5.3bn in cash in exchange for selling its animal-health business to Elanco earlier this year. Bayer plans to divest the remaining stake eventually.
Future of Debenhams in doubt as JD Sports pursues takeover.
The future of Debenhams, a British department store chain, is in doubt after JD Sports Fashion, a chain of retail stores which sell brand-name sports and leisure wear, said it would not pursue a rescue takeover, Reuters reported.
“JD Sports Fashion confirms that discussions with the administrators of Debenhams regarding a potential acquisition of the UK business have now been terminated,” JD Sports.
Softbank-backed SB Management buys a 10.1% stake in Sinch.
Softbank-owned SB Management, a provider investment advisory services, bought a 10.1% stake in Sinch, a Swedish cloud computing services provider, acquiring stakes from some major shareholders and participating in a directed share issue, Reuters reported.
Sinch issued 3.2m new shares at a subscription price of $0.12 per share, a 6.6% discount to Monday's closing price, raising about $386m for the firm.
"The company intends to mainly use the proceeds from the share issue to increase the company's financial flexibility for new acquisitions," Sinch.
Adnoc considers acquiring offshore oil services firm.
Abu Dhabi National Oil, a company that explores and produces petrochemical products, is a potential contender to acquire a local offshore oil-services firm that counts the state-owned crude producer among its major clients, Bloomberg reported.
Zakher Marine International, a provider of services to the offshore energy industry, is working with Bank of America as it weighs its strategic options, including a sale.
Bridgepoint-backed Diaverum withdraws IPO. (FS)
Bridgepoint-backed Diaverum, a dialysis clinic operator, has scrapped its plans for an IPO, two weeks after it announced its intention to float on Nasdaq Stockholm.
“Despite strong interest from potential investors, including several high quality pension funds, who recognised Diaverum’s impressive underlying performance and ability to grow both revenues and earnings year on year, indications received did not fully reflect the fundamental value of the business. For this reason, we have decided to withdraw the IPO," Martin Dunn, Diaverum Member of the Board of Directors and Bridgepoint Partner.
Far Peak Acquisition announces the launch of IPO.
Far Peak Acquisition, a blank check company, has commenced its IPO of 55m units at a price of $10 per unit. The company intends to grant the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 8m units.
Each unit issued in the IPO will consist of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.5 per share.
Far Peak is advised by Wells Fargo.
AIIM increases its third fund to $400m. (FS)
African Infrastructure Investment Managers, a manager of private equity infrastructure funds, has brought its third pan-continental infra fund to $400m through a capital increase.
The extra $80m represents one of the largest capital raises closed for an African fund since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are delighted with the continued faith placed in AIIM’s strategy for AIIF3 by some of the most experienced African fund investors. AIIF3 continues its strategy of targeting mid-market opportunities, focusing on executing deals in the $20m $60m range – a space we believe is less competitive and carries less execution risk than some of the large-cap deals," Paul Frankish, AIIM Investment Director.
Arcano Capital closed its sustainability fund at €292m. (FS)
Arcano Capital has hit a €292m ($349m) final close for a new fund of funds targeting sustainable infrastructure investments.
Arcano Earth Fund, which targets Europe and North America, has already deployed more than 86% of its capital to 18 investments, 13 of which are funds and five direct co-investments.
Target segments for the fund include energy transition, water, digital infrastructure, and sustainable transport, with the firm looking to provide a positive, measurable, and tangible impact on global sustainability while delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns and efficient diversification across sectors and geographies.
APAC
China Distance Education, a provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China, agreed to go private via a merger with Champion Distance Education Investments.
Upon the effectiveness of the merger, all outstanding ordinary shares of the China Distance Education, including ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares, each representing four ordinary shares, other than excluded shares and ADSs representing excluded shares, will be cancelled in exchange for the right of the holders thereof to receive $2.45 in cash per Ordinary Share or $9.80 in cash per ADS.
China Distance Education is advised by Duff & Phelps, Conyers Dill & Pearman, Goulston & Storrs, Morgan Lewis & Bockius and The Piacente Group. Champion Distance Education is advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell and Maples Group.
Shenzhen Capital Group, a venture capital company, and Shenzhen Luohu Guide Fund Investment, an investment company, led a $912m Series A funding round in Yunwang Wandian, Suning's internet platform business.
Yunwang Wandian will use its parent's information technology infrastructure while Suning's supply chain and logistics units will provide services to the new subsidiary.
Haitong Innovation Capital Management, an investment platform, led a $375m funding round in Chang Guang Satellite Technology, a developer of commercial remote sensing satellites. The round was also joined by Shenzhen Capital Group, China Capital Investment Group, Matrix Partners China and iFlyTek.
The proceeds will be used for the construction of the company's Jilin-1 satellite "constellation", the development of remote sensing data applications and team building.
Korean Air's Asiana acquisition on track as Seoul court refuses injunction.
A Seoul court allowed Korean Air Lines’ parent company to go ahead with a stock issuance, clearing the way for the provider of domestic and international airline services planned acquisition of Asiana Airlines, Reuters reported.
The Seoul central district court declined a request to bar the Hanjin Kal, an airline’s parent, from issuing new shares to state-run Korea Development Bank.
CapitaLand divests 3 Japan shopping malls and Korea office property for $335m. (RE)
CapitaLand, a real estate company focused on investment holding, has divested three Japan shopping malls and South Korean office property for $335m to unrelated third parties, DealStreetAsia reported.
“The divestment of these mature malls and office asset is part of CapitaLand’s capital recycling strategy to unlock value by reinvesting the capital into new growth opportunities such as the logistics sector in Japan,” Jason Leow, CapitaLand Group President for Singapore and International.
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