The US Federal Trade Commission, which assesses mergers to ensure they comply with antitrust law, has put off a vote on Lockheed Martin's purchase of Aerojet Rocketdyne for as much as two weeks,
Reuters reported.
The vote had initially been scheduled for midweek. The extension would allow the FTC more time to evaluate terms for the merger. Aerojet shares were up more than 3% in after-market trading as investors viewed the delay as a positive sign that the deal would go through.
Aerojet Rocketdyne is advised by Citigroup, Evercore, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Joele Frank, Sullivan & Cromwell, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Jenner & Block. Lockheed Marting is advised by Joele Frank, Goldman Sachs, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Hogan Lovells.
Zendesk investor Janus Henderson Investors did not see a strategic advantage to the software firm's proposed acquisition of Momentive Global, joining activist investor Jana Partners in opposing the deal,
Reuters reported.
Zendesk agreed in late October to buy Momentive, the parent of online survey portal SurveyMonkey, in an all-stock deal, which at the time was valued at nearly $4bn.
Momentive is advised by Allen & Company, JP Morgan, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Joele Frank, White & Case and Latham & Watkins. Zendesk is advised by Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners, Hogan Lovells, Sullivan Cromwell and Sard Verbinnen.
Desert Peak Minerals, an independent Permian Basin pure-play mineral and royalty company, agreed to merge with Falcon Minerals, a C-corporation formed to manage and acquire high growth oil-weighted mineral rights in premier US basins, in a $1.9bn deal.
“We are excited to announce our merger with Falcon, which brings together two premier liquids-weighted and geographically focused asset bases to create a leading public minerals company with a strong growth trajectory. We believe the ownership of Permian minerals and royalties is trending toward larger-scale, more efficient institutional ownership. Our strategy is to be the leading consolidator of these high quality Permian assets. We believe our scale is a clear strategic advantage in the minerals business as we are able to drive down fixed costs per unit of production with each acquisition, enhancing our cash margins. We would like to thank the Board of Directors, management and employees of Falcon for all of their efforts and partnership as we have worked towards this announcement," Chris Conoscenti, Desert Peak CEO.
Desert Peak Minerals is advised by Vinson & Elkins. Falcon Minerals is advised by Barclays, Houlihan Lokey, Latham & Watkins, White & Case and Kekst CNC.
Genstar Capital-backed Marcone, a distributor of home appliance, HVAC, and plumbing repair parts and equipment, completed the acquisition of Munch's Supply, a distributor of HVAC equipment, parts and supplies, from Ridgemont Equity, a middle market buyout and growth equity investor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have built Munch's over the decades into a one-stop-shop that ensures our customers have a consistent and trusted partner to access the industry's most iconic brands, enabling them to perform critical installation, repair and service work with minimal downtime. Our growing eCommerce presence will also provide best-in-class technology capabilities and deliver seamless integration with our suppliers and customers. Munch's local approach to serving the needs of suppliers, customers, and employees is a strong cultural fit with Marcone, and we look forward to becoming part of their family and building Marcone's HVAC service capabilities to broader geographies," Bob Munch, Munch's CEO.
Marcone was advised by BMO Capital Markets, Weil Gotshal and Manges and Chris Tofalli Public Relations. Munch's Supply was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Robert W Baird and Alston & Bird.
Leonard Green & Partners, an American private equity investment firm, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Pace, a provider of environmental and life sciences testing services. Aurora Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, has reinvested alongside LGP as part of the transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As a market leader with a highly resilient business model, multiple avenues for growth, and world-class management team, Pace has been an ideal fit for the Aurora program. We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue partnering with Pace and to work with the LGP team to help the Company capitalize on the many organic and inorganic opportunities we see across the business. We also thank Steve Vanderboom, Pace's founder, for selecting us as his partner in 2016, and congratulate him on his retirement," Randy Moser, Aurora Partner.
Leonard Green & Partners was advised by Latham & Watkins. Pace was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Robert W Baird and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Aurora Capital was advised by Kirkland & Ellis and ASC Advisors.
Audax, an investment firm, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Centerline Communications, a provider of turnkey wireless telecommunications infrastructure services, from Wincove Private, an investment holding company, and Stone-Goff Partners, a private equity investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We believe this partnership will help us to meet the growing demand within our customers to work with larger, self-performing service organizations that can provide turn-key solutions to critical infrastructure within their national networks. We are excited to have expanded our coverage through our recent acquisitions and to be diversifying our services within the platform to better support our customers," Josh Delman, Centerline Founder and CEO.
Audax was advised by Fredrikson & Byron, Ropes & Gray and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Centerline Communications was advised by KeyBanc Capital Markets and Husch Blackwell.
Mizuho Bank, a banking services provider, agreed to acquire Capstone Partners, a independent, middle-market placement agent focused on fundraising and advisory services to private equity, credit, real assets, and infrastructure investment firms. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Capstone is an excellent example of a firm that offers sponsor clients with a strategic value-add solution, which aligns well with our integrated and global coverage approach,” Shuji Matsuura, Mizuho Bank Chairman & CEO.
Capstone Partners is advised by Keefe Bruyette & Woods and Vinson & Elkins. Mizuho Bank is advised by Houlihan Lokey, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Debevoise & Plimpton.
Kudu Investment, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of a minority stake in Radcliffe Capital Management, an investment adviser specializing in defensive credit and opportunistic strategies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Our investment in Radcliffe represents a terrific opportunity to diversify our portfolio. We have long admired Radcliffe's management team, distinct defensive investment philosophy, proven track record of performance, and focus on measured growth," Rob Jakacki, Kudu CEO.
Radcliffe was advised by Piper Sandler and Dechert. Kudu was advised by Seward & Kissel.
Flashpoint Venture and lool ventures-backed MarketMan, a developer of cost management software, agreed to merge with Meal Ticket, a developer of a digital marketing and analytics platform, in a $100m deal. PSG backed the transaction.
"Meal Ticket and MarketMan are natural complements to each other’s businesses. Meal Ticket analyzes over $40bn in supply chain transactions from its food distributor customers, while MarketMan has a significant footprint of over 7k paying restaurant locations around the globe buying from thousands of distributors. Together, we have the ability to enhance the restaurant operator's experience, create new software for the foodservice supply chain, and offer ordering and payment solutions that benefit restaurants and distributors," Wink Jones, Meal Ticket CEO.
PSG is advised by Prosek Partners. MarketMan is advised by Oppenheimer & Co.
American Pacific Group, a private equity firm, completed the investment in two businesses engaged in coaching and training for fitness and exercise facilities Gym Launch and Prestige Labs. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This is an exciting moment in our Company’s history. We are proud to have built a Company that makes such a big impact on gym owners and their communities. We feel like we have just scratched the surface on the value we can provide, and the time is right to bring on a partner who can help us accelerate our growth. American Pacific Group has demonstrated they have the experience and resources to help us foundationally transform the gym industry as a whole and become the company we envision," Alex and Leila Hormozi, Gym Launch and Prestige Labs Founders.
Gym Launch and Prestige Labs were advised by Capstone Partners. APG was advised by Jones Day.
Redfin, a real estate brokerage, agreed to acquire Bay Equity Home Loans, a national, full-service mortgage lender, for $135m.
“With Bay Equity’s geographic presence and full product suite, we’ll be able to offer mortgages to a larger share of Redfin’s home-buying customers right away, including jumbo loans and loans for veterans and folks with lower credit scores. Perhaps most important of all, Bay Equity shares Redfin’s commitment to customer service. Our customers and agents have worked with Bay Equity to finance hundreds of purchases and the customer ratings are top-notch," Adam Wiener, Redfin President of Real Estate Operations.
Redfin is advised by Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
First American, a global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions, agreed to acquire Mother Lode Holding Company, a California-based provider of title insurance, underwriting and escrow services for residential and commercial real estate transactions. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Mother Lode Holding Company’s reach, expertise and commitment to superior customer service aligns well with our existing operations and will augment our efforts to expand our coverage in key growth markets. With Mother Lode Holding Company and its subsidiaries, we will expand our ability to serve customers throughout many of the strongest housing markets in the US," Dennis J. Gilmore, First American CEO.
MLHC is advised by Houlihan Lokey.
Clearlake Capital-backed TEAM Technologies, a healthcare specialty manufacturer, completed the acquisition of iiMED, a specialty manufacturer of FDA Class I & II consumable medical devices, from ACON Investments, an international private equity investment company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to welcome iiMED's customer partners and talented employees to the TEAM family. We have been impressed with iiMED's rapid growth and deep expertise across an array of specialty manufacturing solutions, and we look forward to working with the iiMED team to grow our combined business to better serve our healthcare customers. As our communities continue working through the implications of severe supply chain constraints and disruption, TEAM remains committed to building a North American footprint of scale and manufacturing excellence to aid our customers in their pursuit of enhanced procurement continuity and accelerated time-to-market for their critical healthcare solutions," Marshall White, TEAM President and CEO.
Clearlake Capital was advised by Lambert & Co.
Thoma Bravo, TPG and Goldman Sachs Asset Management led a $420m financing round in project44, a supply chain visibility platform, with participation from Emergence Capital, Insight Partners, Chicago Ventures, Generation Investment Management, Sapphire, Sixth Street and Sozo Ventures.
“Today, project44 is helping companies solve supply chain challenges ranging from inflationary pressure and lockdowns to unpredictable weather and bottlenecks at ports. Our growth over the past year speaks to these macroeconomic tailwinds and the competitive edge we can provide to our customers,” Jett McCandless, project44 Founder and CEO.
Investment companies Greenoaks Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures led a $300m Series D-2 funding round in Brex, a fintech company.
“We are grateful for the ongoing commitment and belief our investors have in Brex, and for the opportunity to continue to invest in how we serve our customers. As we expand our product portfolio, we are incredibly lucky to have Karandeep join the team to lead this important initiative. Karandeep understands our customers and knows how to build and scale business products with consumer-grade ease to meet the needs of fast-growing companies," Henrique Dubugras, Brex Co-CEO.
Kinnevik, a Swedish investment company, and Human Capital, a venture capital firm, led a $200m Series C funding round in Transcarent, a developer of consumer-directed health and care platform. Additional investors include Ally Bridge Group, Northwell Health, Intermountain Healthcare, Rush University Medical Center, General Catalyst, 7wireVentures, Alta Partners, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Jove Equity Partners, Threshold Ventures, and GreatPoint Ventures.
“For years, we’ve been anxiously waiting for more wide-ranging reform towards value in the healthcare industry and felt it has never been fully addressed – mostly because no one entity was willing to build a better end-to-end health and care experience from the ground up. We see Transcarent as the first company to address the challenge head on in a new and different way that is focused, first and foremost, on the consumer,” Christian Scherrer, Kinnevik Investment Manager.
Inszone Insurance Services, a provider of insurance brokerage services, agreed to acquire Lamb, Little & Co, an insurance agency. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to welcome Lamb, Little & Co, into the Inszone Insurance family. Lamb, Little & Co, is the first acquisition for Inszone in the state of Illinois and it’s a big step for our plan to continue to grow, not only in Illinois but the whole Midwest Region," Norm Hudson, Inszone Insurance CEO.
Exxon Mobil launches sale of US shale gas properties.
Exxon Mobil launched the sale of shale gas properties stretching across 27k acres in the Appalachian basin of Ohio, the company confirmed, part of an ongoing divestiture of US assets,
Reuters reported.
The top US oil producer is marketing 61 wells that last year produced around 81m cubic feet per day equivalent of natural gas. The sale includes another 274 wells operated by other companies.
Citi to exit Citibanamex as part of a strategy revamp.
Citigroup announced that it will exit its Citibanamex consumer banking business in Mexico, ending its 20-year retail presence in the country that was the last of its overseas consumer businesses.
Citigroup’s decision to sell or spin off Citibanamex, Mexico’s third biggest bank by assets as of June, is part of chief executive Jane Fraser’s strategy to bring Citigroup’s profitability and share price performance inline with its peers.
Suneva is in talks for Viveon Health SPAC deal.
Suneva Medical, which sells beauty and anti-aging products to doctors’ offices, is in advanced talks to go public through a merger with blank-check company Viveon Health Acquisition,
Bloomberg reported.
The deal is expected to value San Diego-based Suneva at about $511m including debt. Viveon Health Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, raised $201m in its initial public offering in 2020.
General Motors to launch an online used car marketplace.
General Motors said it will launch an online used vehicle market called CarBravo that will allow the automaker and its dealers to challenge Carvana, CarMax and others profiting from selling secondhand vehicles.
GM's CarBravo site will aggregate vehicles owned by Chevrolet, Buick and GMC dealers, as well as cars and trucks that GM Financial, the automaker's consumer finance arm, controls after taking them back from rental car agencies or vehicle leases. GM officials said the company's dealers have about 400k used vehicles in stock. GM said CarBravo will launch to consumers this spring,
Reuters reported.
Kleiner Perkins raised $1.8bn for two new funds. (FS)
Kleiner Perkins, one of Silicon Valley’s legacy venture capital firms, is kicking off 2022 right by celebrating five decades in business and $1.8bn in funds raised for two new funds — KP20 and Select2.
KP20 is an $800m venture fund focused on early-stage investments in enterprise, consumer, hardtech, fintech and healthcare companies, while Select2 is a $1bn fund — the most the firm has raised at once — that extends its core investment strategy to focus on high inflection investments across those same five areas.
Owl Ventures closed over $1bn in new funds. (FS)
Owl Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in education technology, has just closed over $1bn across multiple funds.
The Silicon Valley-based firm has raised $640m for its fifth fund and $270m for a second opportunities fund, along with more than $100m in special purpose vehicles. The additional firepower comes just 16 months after Owl closed its previous set of funds at a total of $585m.
