AMERICAS
Lumentum, a holding company that supplies optical and photonic products, offered to acquire Coherent, a global company that manufactures and sells a variety of laser-based photonic products, for $6.4bn. Lumentum is competing against II-VI, a manufacturer of optical materials and semiconductors, to buy Coherent.
"Combining with Coherent helps us to diversify our business and achieve scale in important and growing markets. The combined company will have a strong financial profile with a more diversified revenue mix and significant synergy opportunities that will deliver enhanced value to our stockholders. The Lumentum-Coherent transaction continues to have a clear path to completion and we are moving forward expeditiously to achieve the remaining approvals necessary to complete the transaction," Alan Lowe, Lumentum President and CEO.
Coherent is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Brunswick Group. Lumentum is advised by Deutsche Bank, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Joele Frank. II-VI is advised by Allen & Company, JP Morgan, K&L Gates, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Sard Verbinnen & Co. MKS Insruments is advised by Barclays, Lazard and WilmerHale.
Hilton Grand Vacations, a global timeshare company, agreed to acquire Diamond Resorts International, a timeshare company, from Apollo Global Management and Reverence Capital Partners for $1.4bn. Upon transaction close, existing HGV shareholders will own c. 72% and the Apollo Funds will own c. 28% of the combined company.
"This strategic combination will leverage the strengths of each company, positioning us to drive significant Net Owner Growth while enhancing efficiencies of scale and generating significant shareholder value. Diamond's extensive regional, drive-to network of resorts and expanded demographics uniquely complement HGV's best-in-class lead generation, world-class hospitality, and premier destinations backed by the strength of the Hilton brand. For our valued team members, owners and guests, this combination creates new opportunities to provide exciting destinations and memorable vacation experiences while continuing to provide exceptional levels of service," Mark Wang, Hilton Grand Vacations President and CEO.
Diamond is advised by Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and Goldin Solutions. Hilton is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Alston & Bird, Foley & Lardner and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Debt financing is provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and PJT Partners.
AerCap, a global provider of aircraft leasing, agreed to acquire GE Capital Aviation Services, an aircraft-leasing business, from General Electric, an American multinational conglomerate, for $30bn.
"GECAS is a highly attractive business and this transaction continues our strong track record of capital allocation. As the recovery in air travel gathers pace, this transaction represents a unique opportunity that we believe will create long-term value for our investors. This business combination will also strengthen our longstanding partnership with GE Aviation, which we look forward to working with closely in the future," Aengus Kelly, AerCap Chief Executive Officer.
AerCap is advised by KPMG, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Cravath Swaine & Moore, McCann FitzGerald and NautaDutilh. General Electric is advised by Evercore, Goldman Sachs, PJT Partners, A&L Goodbody, Clifford Chance and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
Inter Pipeline, a multinational petroleum transportation and infrastructure limited partnership, asked shareholders to reject Brookfield Infrastructure Partners' hostile bid, saying the offer "significantly undervalues" the Canadian oil and gas transportation company, Reuters reported. Brookfield last month launched a hostile $5.6bn bid with the same $13-per-share offer that IPL had previously rejected as inadequate.
"The board is confident there will be others that are interested in Inter Pipeline. We have the tailwind of much stronger oil and petrochemical prices," Christian Bayle, IPL Chief Executive.
Brookfield is advised by BMO Capital Markets, Barclays, McCarthy Tetrault, White & Case, Laurel Hill, TD Securities, JP Morgan, Kingsdale Advisors and Longview Communications. Inter Pipeline is advised by Burnet Duckworth & Palmer and Dentons.
Talend, a provider of a single suite of cloud apps for data integration and data integrity, agreed to go private via a $2.4bn deal with Thoma Bravo.
"Our Board is focused on driving shareholder value and has periodically evaluated potential transaction alternatives in the context of our standalone plan over the past several years. With the successful advancement of our transformation effort led by our CEO over the past year, the Talend Board and management team conducted a targeted process with potential financial and strategic parties to determine the best path forward for the company. We believe the transaction with Thoma Bravo validates the Talend team's success in building a data market leader," Steve Singh, Talend Chairman of the Board.
Talend is advised by Qatalyst Partners, Gide Loyrette Nouel, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Joele Frank. Thoma Bravo is advised by Kirkland & Ellis and Finsbury Glover Hering.
Northern Oil and Gas, an independent energy company, announced that EQT and certain other parties have exercised their preferential rights to purchase certain properties that would have otherwise been included in Northern's recently announced Marcellus Shale acquisition from Reliance Marcellus. Unadjusted cash purchase price reduced by $49m to reflect excluded properties, from $175m to $126m.
"We expect this change to have minimal impact to the company's free cash flow profile. The exercise of this right immediately reduces our indebtedness and boosts the returns on the acquisition. The JDA assets represent less than 15% of the projected five-year cash flows on the assets and only about 1% of the net inventory, despite reducing the purchase price by approximately 28%," Nick O'Grady, Northern Chief Executive Officer.
Reliance is advised by Citigroup and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Northern is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Securities and Kirkland & Ellis.
CUNA Mutual Group, an insurance, investment and financial services company, agreed to acquire Global Preneed, a prearranged funeral insurance and final expense business, from Assurant, a global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions for $1.3bn. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the third quarter, subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
“This transaction represents a successful outcome for all of our stakeholders, including our Global Preneed employees, clients, partners, policyholders and shareholders, The sale of Global Preneed is another important milestone in our transformation of Assurant, sharpening our focus on our market-leading lifestyle and housing businesses, and better positioning our company to capitalize on future growth opportunities emerging around the connected consumer,” Alan Colberg, Assurant President and CEO.
Assurant is advised by Goldman Sachs and Debevoise & Plimpton. CUMA Mutual is advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Foley & Lardner.
Totvs, a Brazilian technology company, agreed to acquire RD Station, a marketing automation software firm, for $318m.
“We found the company to be the ideal partner to accompany us in the next cycle, as it recognized the impact we generate on the ecosystem, the value of our product and business model and the strength of our corporate culture," Eric Santos, RD Station Co-Founder and CEO.
RD Station is advised by Morgan Stanley and FM Derraik. Totvs is advised by Rothschild & Co and Lefosse Advogados.
Zayo Group Holdings, a communications infrastructure services provider, agreed to acquire Intelligent Fiber Network, which provides fiber-based connectivity solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The combination of IFN and Zayo will enable significantly enhanced reach and value to our customers and our legacy owners. Together, the combined companies will help drive investment and growth in Indiana's communications infrastructure and advance the ubiquity of high speed connectivity throughout the state," Jim Turner, IFN CEO.
Intelligent Fiber Network is advised by Dentons, Stifel, Dittoe PR and Houlihan Lokey. Zayo is advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
iM Global Partner, a Paris, France-based owner of asset management firms internationally that currently manages about $20bn, agreed to acquire Litman Gregory Asset Management, a Walnut Creek, California-based wealth and asset management firm that manages and oversees $6.2bn in assets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“iM Global Partner brings complementary global research resources and strong alignment on total client focus. The combination of our organizations is a natural fit because of our shared research DNA, commitment to independent thinking, integrity and total client focus,” Steve Savage, Litman Gregory CEO.
iM Global is advised by Berkshire Global Advisors and Seward & Kissel. Litman Gregory is advised by Raymond James and WilmerHale.
The Pritzker Organization, a private investment firm, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Crown Health Care Laundry Services, an independent, full-service healthcare laundry processor and linen management company, from Quilvest, an independent wealth manager and private equity company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The TPO team has a clear understanding of our customer-first service model and our strategy to further expand our customer base, geographic presence and facility network and we are excited to work together to drive growth over the long term," Don Haferkamp, Crown CEO.
Crown and Quilvest were advised by Piper Sandler and Dechert. TPO was advised by Latham & Watkins.
Mercer Global Advisors, an investment manager, agreed to acquire Epstein & White Financial, a wealth management firm serving approximately 1,3k clients with client assets of c.$740m. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We believe we can take what Brad is doing in Southern California and syndicate his programs nationwide adding more firepower to our already significant marketing and sales platform. Not to be overlooked, Brad's team is experienced, highly credentialed, and adds to our already deep bench in San Diego," David Barton, Mercer Advisors Vice Chairman.
Epstein & White Financial is advised by Park Sutton Advisors and Riezman Berger. Mercer is advised by Chris Tofalli.
Insight Partners, a private equity firm, led a $100m series C funding round in Corvus Insurance, a provider of smart commercial insurance products powered by AI-driven risk data.
“Our proven ability to extract actionable insights from novel data using AI and then apply those insights to improve our underwriting, the broker/client experience, and loss prevention for our policyholders will enable us to continue to grow in a fast and scalable way across many product lines,” Mike Lloyd, Corvus Co-founder and Chief Product Officer.
Corvus was advised by InkHouse.
BelFlex Staffing Network, a staffing and flexible workforce solutions firm in the commercial and professional services industries, completed the acquisition of the consumer & food division of YourEncore, which offers both on-demand expertise and integrated solutions that help companies research, develop, manufacture and commercialize fast-moving, consumer packaged goods. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Our first priority is to ensure they have continuity throughout this shift in leadership and that we make ourselves available to address any of their questions or concerns," Amy Langston, BelFlex's Division Director of Professional Services.
BelFlex was advised by ClearEdge Marketing.
QOMPLX, a provider of cloud-native risk analytics, agreed to acquire Sentar, a cyber-intelligence company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sentar is the perfect catalyst and partner for QOMPLX to scale a unique combined offering bridging technology and domain expertise across the national security and broader government sector in this critical time. Very tactically, we are excited about the future opportunities to advance our robust capabilities in Active Directory and authentication security, industrial control systems and operational technology, and healthcare-related security offerings. We are heartened by the opportunities for long-term strategic partnership between QOMPLX, the joining Sentar team, and the important clients who are so well served by the Sentar team," Jason Crabtree, QOMPLX Co-Founder and CEO.
QOMPLX is advised by Moxie Communications Group.
Granite Creek-backed Sunset Pacific, a provider of freight consolidation, larger volume LTL, partial shipment, and other logistics solutions, completed the acquisition of Radius Global Solutions, a third-party logistics provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of Radius Logistics represents a significant addition to the fast-growing Sunset Pacific platform, bringing together two operationally-strong companies and expanding their geographic footprint to include two of North America's major logistics hubs. In particular, the acquisition of Radius Global Solutions will provide Sunset Pacific with a strong footprint in Canada," Brian Boorstein, Granite Creek Co-Founding Partner.
Granite Creek was advised by LCH Communications.
Nestle USA, a multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation, completed the acquisition of Essentia Water, a premium functional water brand, from First Bev, a private equity firm focused exclusively on the beverage industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Essentia exemplifies the success that can be achieved through a strong vision and the expertise to execute on a winning strategy. We saw an opportunity to add real value and to partner with an outstanding executive team led by Ken Uptain, a smart and committed founder. We are excited and grateful for what Ken and his team were able to create with Essentia, and we look forward to its continued success with Nestle," Bill Anderson, First Bev Founder.
Essentie was advised by DLA Piper.
Dropbox, a file hosting service, agreed to acquire DocSend, a secure document sharing and analytics company, for $165m.
"DocSend is a perfect complement to our product roadmap and we're thrilled to welcome them to our team. By bringing Dropbox, HelloSign, and DocSend together, we'll be able to offer a full suite of secure, self-serve products to help them manage critical document workflows from start to finish," Drew Houston, Dropbox Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
Investment consortium-backed Via Transportation, a TransitTech provider, agreed to acquire Remix, the San Francisco-based startup that developed mapping software used by cities for transportation planning and street design for $100m in cash and equity. Via is backed by Exor, as well as Macquarie Capital, Mori Building, Broadscale Group, Ervington Investments, Hearst Ventures, Planven Ventures, Pitango and RiverPark Ventures.
“We share a vision for working alongside our partners to create transit systems that are equitable, accessible, and efficient for riders and cities alike. Together, we have ambitious plans to invest in and expand the Remix product suite to offer enhanced capabilities for planning and bus scheduling and operations,” Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, Via Co-Founders.
CanDeal Data and Analytics, a provider of Canadian financial markets' OTC data and information services, agreed to acquire the fixed income data business of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition comes at a time of expansion and evolution in the Canadian fixed income markets, where greater emphasis is being put on data quality and accessibility. CanDeal DNA's acquisition of CIBC's fixed income data business reinforces and enhances our suite of services for Canadian market participants, democratizing access to the most informed bond pricing services available," Andre Craig, CanDeal DNA Executive Vice President.
Honeywell, an American multinational conglomerate company that produces commercial and consumer products, engineering services and aerospace systems, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Fiplex Communications, a Miami-based company that develops in-building communications systems. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Honeywell has long demonstrated leadership in the fire and life safety industry, and we are pleased to join their team. We look forward to working with Honeywell to expand our technological advancements and to support the creation of better-connected buildings," Matias de Goycoechea, Fiplex Chairman and CTO.
Relation Insurance, a national insurance agency, completed the acquisition of McGhee Insurance Northwest Arkansas, an auto insurance agency. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We believe the culture at McGhee aligns perfectly with Relation and we have an excellent partner in Brandi McKinney to help drive growth throughout the region," Russell Brown, Relation's Chief Revenue Officer and President of Relation's Central Region.
Greensill in sale talks with Apollo-backed Athene stalled. (FS)
Greensill Capital's talks to sell parts of its operating business to Athene Holding have stalled, Bloomberg reported. The deal talks between Athene, an annuity seller backed by Apollo Global Management, and Greensill have been held up by a breakdown in discussions with Taulia, crucial technology supplier.
Greensill Capital filed for administration in the UK, and Athene emerged as the only credible potential buyer after the supply-chain finance company's swift collapse. The two sides have been in talks for at least a week, with Athene offering about $60m for Greensill's IT and intellectual property.
"Following the recent, well-documented challenges faced by Greensill, we have been working to ensure that our clients have continued choice over their funding source(s) and continuation of funding," Taulia spokesman.
Conagra considers selling Hebrew National to JBS.
Conagra Brands is in talks to sell the famous hot dog brand to Brazil's JBS, WSJ reported.
A deal, which the people said could also include the Egg Beaters and Odom's Tennessee Pride brands, could be valued at around $700m. Any agreement is likely weeks away, and Conagra could end up keeping the business or selling it to someone else.
Conagra, in April 2019, said Hebrew National's sales over the previous year were $170m, and Egg Beaters' were $78m. Conagra, which has a market value of around $17.6bn, has been retooling its portfolio to boost its frozen food and snack brands such as Healthy Choice and Slim Jim.
Roblox priced its direct listing at $30bn valuation.
The New York Stock Exchange set a reference price of $45 for the direct listing of Roblox, the online games company that initially planned to go public via a traditional IPO, Bloomberg reported.
As with previous direct listings, the company won't issue new shares at a set price. Instead, current investors can begin selling shares based on demand when trading opens.
Setting a reference price is a requirement for trading to begin. Unlike the share price in a standard IPO, it is not a direct indicator of the company's market capitalization. At $45 a share, though, the company would have a market value of about $30bn.
McLaughlin seeks a bigger deal after upsized SPAC IPO. (FS)
The blank check firm co-founded by Steve McLaughlin, a US financial technology investment banker, will broaden its search for merger partners to companies worth up to $10bn after pricing a larger IPO.
Steve McLaughlin started FT Partners in 2001, and since then, the fintech-focused investment bank has worked on mergers and acquisitions and public and private fundraising for the likes of BlackRock, StoneCo, and GreenSky.
Cerberus Business Finance raised $4.4bn of additional capital for the US direct lending strategy. (FS)
Cerberus Capital Management, and its middle-market direct lending platform, Cerberus Business Finance, completed the final close of its latest flagship fund, Cerberus Levered Loan Opportunities Fund IV.
Fund IV closed with $2.4bn of equity commitments and, in total, Cerberus Business Finance raised more than $4.4bn of equity commitments for its strategy across Fund IV and separately managed accounts. Together with additional fund-level leverage commitments, this raise brings Cerberus Business Finance's total capital to over $20bn.
"The close of Fund IV is the latest milestone for our direct lending platform. For a quarter of a century, we have provided premier financial sponsors and leading businesses with one-stop financing solutions. Our long-term clients are able to turn to us for the certainty of transaction closure and terms, flexible capital structures, and speed of execution," Daniel Wolf, Cerberus Business Finance CEO.
SoftBank-backed Coupang raising its IPO pricing to $34 per share. (FS)
Coupang, a Korean e-commerce site, plans to sell 100m shares priced between $32 and $34 per share. Coupang assumes $3.2bn in net proceeds from the public offering, assuming an IPO price of $33. With about 1.72bn shares expected to be outstanding after the IPO, the expected pricing could value that company at up to $58.3bn.
Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and JP Morgan are the lead underwriters. The company plans to use the proceeds for general business purposes, including working capital and capital expenditures. Coupang had revenue of $3.8bn in the fourth-quarter of 2020 and a loss of $475m for the year.
McKinsey chooses Bob Sternfels as a new global managing partner.
McKinsey names Bob Sternfels as its global managing partner in July after its current leader, Kevin Sneader, failed to win a second term amid internal dissatisfaction with his handling of several crises at the elite consulting firm, WSJ reported.
Mr. Sternfels, a San Francisco-based senior partner who is effectively the firm's chief operating officer in his current role, will become the 13th partner to head McKinsey since its founding in 1926. He succeeds Mr. Sneader, the first McKinsey leader in decades, not to win a second, three-year term. McKinsey's 650 senior partners effectively voted Mr. Sneader out of the role last month by not awarding him enough ballots to proceed to a final voting round.
"Working together with my partners and colleagues, I am determined to use this moment to make our partnership stronger, more inclusive, and better able to help our clients thrive in a fast-changing world," Bob Sternfels, McKinsey New Global Managing Partner.
Health IQ considers $1.5bn SPAC merger. (FS)
Health IQ weighs strategic options, including a merger with a blank-check acquisition firm that could take the digital health insurance provider public at a valuation of more than $1.5bn, Reuters reported.
Health IQ is currently working with an investment bank that has reached out to a small number of parties, including so-called SPACs, to solicit their interest in a deal. Insurance technology companies have been growing in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, as consumers seek out digital platforms to buy financial products.
GSSG Solar raised $196m for its GSSG Solar Partners III. (FS)
GSSG Solar, a solar-focused renewable energy investment manager, has held the final closing of GSSG Solar Partners III and affiliated funds with $196m in aggregate capital commitments.
Over 95% of investors from GSSG's previous fund made commitments to Fund III along with a marquee set of institutional investors, endowments, and family offices. Each of the fund's target markets is supported by high-quality feed-in-tariffs designed to stimulate the local renewable generation and clean energy jobs in these developed APAC economies.
"We have begun to invest Fund III with our first Taiwanese project now in the portfolio. Across our three primary offices, all members of the GSSG team look forward to delivering top-tier financial results while contributing to the decarbonization of the global energy supply," Tomakin Archambault, GSSG Managing Partner, and co-founder.
GSSG is advised by Morrison & Foerster.
IronNet seeks to go public via Gabelli's LGL Systems.
IronNet Cybersecurity, a company started by a retired four-star general of the US Army, is in talks to go public through a merger with LGL Systems Acquisition, an aerospace and defense communications SPAC traded on the NYSE, Bloomberg reported.
The SPAC is discussing raising new equity to support a transaction that's set to value the combined entity at about $1.2bn.
EMEA
Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire a majority stake in Oikos Group, a European provider of prefabricated houses, from Equistone Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Together with Equistone, we have been able to strengthen our leading position across Europe, targeting important areas such as digitalization as well as the expanding our competence in ESG and a sustainable marketing strategy. We look forward to continuing this successful growth trajectory with Goldman Sachs in the future," Marco Hammer, Oikos Group CEO.
Goldman Sachs is advised Roland Berger, ERM Group, Aon Securities, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Herter, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Ernst & Young, Arup and CBRE. Herter is advised by Allen & Overy. Equistone is advised by Boston Consulting Group, ERM Group, Alantra, Ernst & Young, Latham & Watkins and IWK Communication Partner.
Nova Resources said the level of acceptances for its Kaz Minerals acquisition at the end of its first closing date is just under 20%. The offer by the vehicle of Kaz's chair, will now remain open until March 23.
"Kaz Minerals shareholders who have not yet accepted the increased offer and who wish to do so, are urged to do so as soon as possible," Nova Resources.
In early February, Nova agreed on a significantly increased 780 pence per share cash offer for miner Kaz amid a rally in copper prices since October, valuing Kaz as a whole at £3.7bn ($5.13bn). This is a 22% premium to the original 640 pence per share offer price announced October 2020.
Kaz Minerals is advised by Citigroup, UBS, Linklaters and Brunswick Group. Nova Resources is advised by VTB Capital and Clifford Chance. Financial advisors are advised by Latham & Watkins, Macfarlanes and Walkers. Debt financing is provided by VTB Capital.
Curaleaf, a US provider of consumer products in cannabis, agreed to acquire EMMAC Life Sciences, the vertically integrated independent cannabis company in Europe, for $286m.
"The consumer and political liberalization trends around cannabis that are sweeping the US are also increasingly taking hold in Europe. Curaleaf will seek to leverage our branded cannabis consumer packaged goods strategy across Europe, a market which provides for cross-border cannabis distribution. The European cannabis market has the potential to exceed the US cannabis market over the long-term and will help fuel our growth for years to come," Boris Jordan, Curaleaf Executive Chairman.
EMMAC is advised by Canaccord Genuity, Hill Dickinson, Norton Rose Fulbright and Buchanan. Curaleaf is advised by Eight Capital, Memery Crystal and Stikeman Elliott.
Preservation Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in the financial services sector, agreed to acquire Parmenion, an investment adviser platform, from Standard Life Aberdeen, an investment and asset management company, for £102m.
“Parmenion has enjoyed strong growth in recent years, and we are delighted that Preservation Capital has recognised the potential in our business, and share our future vision. Their belief in us, our teams and what we deliver every day to advisers and their clients means there is total alignment of interests, and we are genuinely excited about our future,” Martin Jennings, Parmenion CEO.
Preservation is advised by Armstrong Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hannam & Partners and Kirkland & Ellis. SLA is advised by Fenchurch Advisory Partners and Pinsent Masons.
EQT-backed FocusVision, an insight software solutions provider, completed the merger with Verdane-backed Confirmit, a software solutions provider. Financial terms were not disclosed. EQT and Verdane are committed to investing in the combined company to support accelerated growth in North America and Europe.
"What started as an aspiration has become a reality. The coming together of two great companies to create a world-class business that will reinvent the global insights industry is now within our reach. As we build our new organization, we will continue to exceed our clients' expectations, innovate a best-of-breed technology approach, and ensure that we continue to be a great place to work for our people, while attracting the best talent in the industry," Kyle Ferguson, combined business appointed CEO.
EQT was advised by Sidley Austin and Kekst CNC. Verdane was advised by Morrison & Foerster. Confirmit was advised by Matter Communications.
Norway suspends Rolls-Royce asset sale on security grounds.
Norway has suspended the sale of a Norwegian engine maker owned by Rolls-Royce to a Russian-controlled company while it assesses the security implications for the country’s navy and the civilian sector, Reuters reported.
Norway’s NSM security agency is assessing the €150m ($178m) sale announced on February 4 of Bergen Engines to a company controlled by Russia’s TMH Group.
TMH is advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Rolls-Royce is advised by Brunswick Group.
QOMPLX, a provider of cloud-native risk analytics, agreed to acquire RPC Tyche, an insurance software modeling and consulting firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The talents of Alun and his highly experienced team are central to our own business and will continue to be instrumental to supporting digital transformation efforts inside our (re)insurance partners in both Life and Non-life use cases," Jason Crabtree, QOMPLX's Co-Founder and CEO.
QOMPLX is advised by Moxie Communications Group.
Investment companies Accel and Tiger Global led a $300m Series E round in Snyk, a developer of security analysis tools and operating systems, with participation from existing investors Addition Ventures, Boldstart Ventures, Canaan Partners, Coatue, Google Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Stripes, BlackRock and new investors include Alkeon, Atlassian Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Geodesic Capital, Sands Capital Ventures and Temasek.
"Our relentless focus on the experience of the 2.2m developers building applications of all kinds securely with Snyk has resulted in our success to date, and we believe there is an exponential, generational opportunity still in front of us. This latest investment allows us to accelerate our growth at every level – doubling down on our successful product led growth strategy, adding to our customer roster, recruiting talent to our team worldwide and expanding geographically," Peter McKay, Snyk CEO.
AK Jensen Group, an asset manager, agreed to acquire NexGen Management, a Cayman ManCo with an established history of supporting both traditional and crypto funds. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The team at NexGen have achieved a lot within a relatively short period of time, and their capabilities will play an important role in helping to shape our trajectory. We are anticipating an exciting road ahead," Neal Mitra, AKJ Crypto CEO.
Bouygues successfully completes sale of Alstom shares.
Bouygues, a diversified services group operating in over 80 countries, announces the successful sale of 12m shares in Alstom, representing 3.23% of Alstom share capital, at a price of €41.65 ($49.5) per share, a total amount of €499.8m ($594), in an accelerated bookbuilt offering to qualified investors.
Rothschild & Co and Perella Weinberg Partners acted as financial advisers to Bouygues. BNP Paribas and JP Morgan acted as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale, acted as Joint Bookrunners of the offering.
Apax Partners seeks to raise $1.5bn for the second midmarket digital fund. (FS)
Apax Partners, a buyout firm, is pitching its second digital fund focused on mid-market technology companies just weeks after collecting $11bn for its latest main investment pool.
London-based Apax is seeking $1.5bn for Apax Digital II and expects to hold a first close for it in May or June, according to documents presented by investment adviser Hamilton Lane and investment staff of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System at a public meeting of the pension fund's board of trustees last week.
The $64.2bn pension system's trustees approved a $175m commitment for Apax's new digital fund during the meeting.
Maersk considers divesting $1bn cold container unit.
Moller-Maersk is considering selling its refrigerated container business as demand for the cold storage units surges during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bloomberg reported.
The Danish shipping giant is working with an adviser on the proposed divestment of the Maersk Container Industry, which could be valued at as much as $1bn.
Founded in 1991, MCI manufactures refrigerated containers and refrigeration machines for the intermodal freight industry. The chilled containers are used in the transportation of fruit, vegetables, and other foodstuffs.
Credit Agricole pushed to raise Creval bid by Alta Global.
Alta Global, one of Credito Valtellinese's biggest shareholders, is urging Credit Agricole to increase its all cash-offer for the Italian lender, boosting the camp of shareholders pushing back against the current bid.
The fund, which owns more than 5% of the Italian lender, is joining smaller shareholders Hosking Partners and Petrus Advisers in rejecting Credit Agricole’s bid. In November, the French lender offered to buy Creval for about €737m ($876m), or €10.5 ($12.5) per share, as consolidation accelerates in European banking.
"At the current offer price, Alta Global will not adhere to the bid. At this stage, it doesn’t reflect Creval fair value. We believe that the total M&A valuation per share for Creval is between €15 ($17.8) and €22 ($26.1)," Viatcheslav Pivovarov, Altera Capital founder and CEO.
Bure Equity to establish the first Swedish SPAC. (FS)
Bure Equity, a Stockholm-based investment firm, establishes a SPAC with an intention is to list the shares of ACQ on Nasdaq Stockholm and, in connection with the IPO, raise capital amounting to approximately SEK3.5bn ($410m), which will be used to acquire an unlisted company within 36 months from listing.
Bure intends to invest SEK700m ($81.9m) in ACQ, which corresponds to approximately 20% of the total outstanding shares in ACQ after the offering. Additionally, ahead of the contemplated IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm, cornerstone investors, including AMF Pensionsförsäkring, AMF Fonder, The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund, SEB Fonder, and SEB-Stiftelsen, have undertaken to subscribe for shares in the offering corresponding to a total of approximately 40% of the total outstanding shares in ACQ after the offering.
Bure is advised by SEB.
Kaefer investigates stake sale.
Kaefer, a German industrial insulation specialist, is exploring a sale of a minority stake as it seeks to cope with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and low oil prices and to bolster its finances for future expansion, Reuters reported.
The family-owned company has asked Deutsche Bank to find an investor for Kaefer, which in 2019 reported revenues of €1.7bn ($2bn). The Bremen-based company, which employs 28k staff, was founded in 1918 by Carl Kaefer, who used peat to insulate the walls of cold storage spaces and whose company later expanded into access solutions, surface protection, passive fire protection, refractory, and interior outfitting of buildings and ship cabins.
Foodhub seeks to raise £100m for the acquisition drive.
Foodhub, a UK-based takeaway delivery app, hopes to raise £100m ($139m) in private equity funding to drive its global expansion and grow through acquisitions. The Stoke-on-Trent company has already expanded across numerous continents through acquisitions, including the USA, Mexico, New Zealand, and, most recently, Australia.
Foodhub, founded in 2017, has rapidly emerged as a genuine challenger to industry giants Just Eat and UberEats. The company works with 22k restaurants, more than UberEats' 18k, and has seen its turnover rise from £3m ($4.16m) to nearly £30m ($41.6m) since 2017.
"The reason we've been able to go from tech start-up to a major player in the industry is because we have a completely unique offering: we're the only large takeaway app to offer a 0% commission model, meaning that its cheaper and more manageable to trade through Foodhub than it is through other apps," Ardian Mula, Foodhub CEO.
APAC
Temasek, an investment company headquartered in Singapore, agreed to invest $500m in LeapFrog Investments, an Australian fund.
“There is an urgent and pressing need to address the critical social and environmental challenges that the world is facing. We believe in the potential of impact investing to unlock the capital to meet these challenges. Our partnership with LeapFrog, with its focus on serving underserved markets, underscores Temasek’s commitment to investing for impact, and the contributions these investments make towards shaping a better world for our communities,” Benoit Valentin, Temasek Head Impact Investing.
LeapFrog is advised by Debevoise & Plimpton.
Venture capital firm Loyal Valley Capital led a $100m series B financing round in Arctic Vision, a China-based clinical-stage ophthalmology company. The round had participation from Tencent, Octagon Capital, and Dr. Adrian Cheng, renowned entrepreneur from New World Development Group, along with existing investors Nan Fung Life Sciences, Pivotal bioVenture Partners China and Morningside Ventures.
"We are confident to leverage the proceeds from this financing round to further accelerate the clinical development of our pipeline assets and enhance commercialization capabilities, thus organically combining our in-house R&D efforts with external technologies to deliver safe and efficacious clinical solutions to patients. At the same time, we look forward to expanding our focus and attention to other countries in Asia, with the aim of addressing the unmet medical needs of even more patients across the region," Dr. Eddy Wu, Founder, Arctic Vision CEO and Board Director.
SoftBank-backed Grab considers US IPO through SPAC merger. (FS)
Grab Holdings is exploring going public in the US through a merger with a blank-check company as the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and delivery giant seeks to expedite its listing process, Bloomberg reported.
JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, which are already advising Grab on its IPO plans, are working with the startup to identify SPAC that it could combine with. Still, a US listing via a traditional IPO is not off the table.
DoubleDragon, Filinvest Land advance with REIT listing.
DoubleDragon Properties, Philippine-listed real estate developers, and Filinvest Land are lining up shares sales of their REIT subsidiaries in a move that could transform the local bourse as the region’s hotspot for IPOs this year.
DoubleDragon and Filinvest Land's REIT listing will be the second and third in the country, respectively, following Ayala Land's AREIT's IPO that raised $280m last year, when regulators sweetened the rules on REITs.
Philippine developer DoubleDragon Properties is seeking to raise up to $302m after setting the final offer price for the IPO of its REIT. The final offer price is the higher end of the range due to strong demand during the bookbuild process, DoubleDragon told the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Swat Mobility targets Japanese IPO.
Swat Mobility, an on-demand bus service provider, is considering an IPO in Japan to bankroll its expansion, DealStreetAsia reported.
The Singapore-based startup recently appointed an international auditing firm as it contemplates listing on the Tokyo stock exchange. Swat Mobility uses high-precision route-optimizing technology to pool multiple passengers. It sees Japan as a promising market for on-demand bus services in the wake of fatal accidents involving elderly drivers.
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