Canadian miner Noront Resources agreed to sell itself to Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest's Wyloo Metals, while giving BHP Group five business days to match the offer,
Reuters reported.
Earlier this month, Noront's top shareholder, Wyloo, raised its offer for the remaining shares in the company to $0.85 apiece, outbidding BHP Group by $0.27. The new offer values the miner at $477m and is 57% higher than Wyloo's prior bid.
Noront Resources is advised by Stifel, TD Securities, Bennett Jones and Longview Communications. Wyloo Metals is advised by McCarthy Tetrault. BHP Group is advised by BMO Capital Markets, Blake Cassels & Graydon and Kingsdale Advisors.
Griffon, a multinational conglomerate headquartered in New York, agreed to acquire Hunter Fan Company, a provider of residential ceiling, commercial, and industrial fans, from MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm, for $845m.
"We are excited to add Hunter, the leading US brand of residential ceiling fans, to our family of iconic consumer and professional brands including AMES, True Temper, and ClosetMaid. The acquisition of Hunter, along with the expected sale of Griffon's Defense Electronics business, marks a repositioning and strengthening of the Griffon portfolio which will further accelerate our growth, increase shareholder value, and is an effective use of our capital," Ronald J. Kramer, Griffon CEO.
Hunter Fan Company is advised by Piper Sandler, Raymond James and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Griffon is advised by Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Dechert and ICR. Goldman Sachs is advised by Sullivan & Cromwell. Debt financing is provided by Bank of America.
EVE, a developmer of next-generation urban air mobility solutions, agreed to go public via a SPAC merger with Zanite Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company focused on the aviation sector, in a $2.4bn deal. Transaction includes a PIPE investment from Azorra Aviation, BAE Systems, Bradesco BBI, Falko Regional Aircraft, Republic Airways, Rolls-Royce and SkyWest.
"We believe that the urban air mobility market has enormous potential to expand in the coming years based on an efficient, zero-emissions transport proposition, and that with this business combination, Eve is very well positioned to become one of the major players in this segment. As a global aerospace company, with leadership position in multiple segments, we understand that innovation and technology play a strategic role in driving sustainable growth and redefining the future of aviation," Francisco Gomes Neto, Embraer President and CEO.
EVE is advised by Banco Bradesco, Banco Itau, Raymond James and Santander. Zanite Acquisition is advised by BTIG, Jefferies & Company and White & Case. Embraer is advised by Mattos Filho Veiga Filho Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
GE Healthcare, a global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics and digital solutions innovator, completed the acquisition of BK Medical, a provider of advanced surgical visualization, from Altaris Capital Partners, a private equity firm, for $1.45bn.
"Ultrasound today forms an integral part of many care pathways, and BK Medical is a strategic and highly complementary addition to our growing and profitable Ultrasound business. This transaction helps GE Healthcare continue to expand beyond diagnostics into surgical and therapeutic interventions, simplifying decision-making for clinicians and equipping them with greater insights to deliver faster, more personalized care for their patients—representing another step toward delivering precision health," Kieran Murphy, GE Healthcare President and CEO.
BK Medical was advised by JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Latham & Watkins and Schiff Hardin. GE Healthcare was advised by Evercore, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Joele Frank.
Lundin Mining, a diversified Canadian base metals mining company with operations in Brazil, Chile, Portugal, Sweden and the United States, agreed to acquire Josemaria Resources, a Canadian natural resources company, for $485m.
"The acquisition of the Josemaria project complements Lundin Mining's existing portfolio of high-quality mines and highlights our focus on disciplined copper-focused growth to create long-term shareholder value. Josemaria is a world-class copper-gold project that has many characteristics which makes it the ideal project, at the right time, for Lundin Mining to advance in the next phase of our growth. Building on our strengthened technical expertise, leveraging our financial strength, and drawing on Josemaria Resources' in-country knowledge, we believe this opportunity will create meaningful value for all stakeholders. The addition of Josemaria will elevate Lundin Mining's position to a major base metals producer with high-quality, low-cost copper exposure," Peter Rockandel, Lundin President and CEO.
Josemaria Resources is advised by BMO Capital Markets and Blake Cassels & Graydon. Lundin is advised by Morgan Stanley, TD Securities, Cassels Brock & Blackwell and Fasken.
Senti Biosciences, a company developing cancer therapies using a new programmable biology platform, agreed to go public via merger with Dynamics Special Purpose, a special purpose acquisition company, in a $601m deal. The deal involves a $66m financing from institutional investors including 8VC, Amgen Ventures, funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley Investment Management), Invus, LifeForce Capital, NEA, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and T. Rowe Price.
"Humans have always sought medicines that can treat illnesses with more precision, efficacy, and safety. However, existing drugs are still unable to match the complexity of many diseases, such as cancer and beyond. With recent advances in synthetic biology, computation, and massive biological data generation, I believe that we have a unique opportunity to engineer intelligent cell and gene therapies that directly tackle the heterogeneity and dynamic nature of disease, which have the potential to fundamentally transform our therapeutic arsenal," Tim Lu, Senti Bio CEO.
Senti Bio is advised by Bank of America and Goodwin Procter. Dynamics Special Purpose is advised by Bank of America, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Davis Polk & Wardwell. Financial advisors are advised by Latham & Watkins.
Apollo-backed Athene, a financial services company focused on retirement savings solutions, agreed to acquire Petros PACE Finance, a provider of long-term, 100% financing for energy retrofits on commercial properties. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This transaction is a compelling opportunity to partner with the Company and its best-in-class team at the center of the ESG movement in commercial real estate, while building on our long-standing strategy of investing in businesses that add direct origination sourcing capabilities to our alpha-generating investment portfolio," Jim Belardi, Athene Chairman and CEO.
Petros PACE Finance is advised by Barclays, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Winston & Strawn. Athene is advised by CIBC World Markets, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Sidley Austin.
Peraso Technologies, a fabless semiconductor company, completed the acquisition of MoSys, a provider of semiconductor solutions, for $76m.
"We are pleased to sign the Arrangement Agreement with Peraso, as we believe the Business Combination will provide substantial opportunities for our business across expanded high-growth markets," Dan Lewis, MoSys CEO.
MoSys was advised by Cassel Salpeter & Co, Borden Ladner Gervais and Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp. Peraso Technologies was advised by Evans and Evans, Stikeman Elliott and Shelton Group.
American Securities, a US private equity firm, agreed to acquire Hexion Holdings, a chemicals company, for $1.7bn.
"This transaction, along with the pending sale of our Epoxy Business, is the conclusion of a comprehensive evaluation of strategic actions aimed at maximizing value for our shareholders and best positioning the company for long-term growth. American Securities has a proven track record of partnering with leading companies and its associates to drive collaborative success. Operating under American Securities' ownership, Hexion Holdings has a bright future and is poised to build on its momentum and continue its record of delivering innovative, high-quality products and service to customers," Craig Rogerson, Hexion Chairman, President and CEO.
Hexion is advised by Moelis & Co, Morgan Stanley and Davis Polk & Wardwell. American Securities is advised by Lazard and Kirkland & Ellis.
The Blackstone Group agreed to invest in Supergoop!, the 15-year-old sunscreen brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are on an incredible journey at Supergoop! and are excited for the road ahead. As we look forward to the future, we wanted a partner who could help us drive the business to reach the next level. We're excited to work with the team at Blackstone because they think differently, reinforce our strengths and will help the team scale Supergoop! through expanded brand awareness, international exposure and out-of-the-box product innovation," Amanda Baldwin, Supergoop! CEO.
Supergoop! is advised by Goldman Sachs, Greenberg Traurig and Derris. Blackstone is advised by Raymond James and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Francisco Partners, a global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, agreed to acquire Office Ally, a provider of healthcare clearinghouse and software solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to announce this acquisition by Francisco Partners, which is further validation of the platform that we have built over the last 21 years. Francisco Partners' expertise growing healthcare technology companies will help us expand our ability to provide innovative products with best-in-class customer service to our customers. Our employees should be proud of our accomplishments and excited for the future," Brian O'Neill, Office Ally Founder and CEO.
Office Ally is advised by Lazard, Meridian Capital and K&L Gates. Francisco Partners is advised by Kirkland & Ellis and Sloane & Company.
Advent International, a global private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Encora, a global digital engineering services company, from Warburg Pincus, an American New York-based private equity firm, at a $1.5bn valuation.
"We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with Advent as we continue to scale our differentiated software engineering service offerings. Advent's deep business and technology services sector expertise, along with its global footprint, complements Encora's strengths and creates opportunities to grow our business in key markets around the world. Warburg Pincus has been a great partner to us over the last two and a half years, accelerating our rapid growth to a valuation of approximately $1.5bn. We look forward to continuing to work alongside them in this next phase of growth," Venu Raghavan, Encora CEO.
Encora is advised by JP Morgan and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Advent is advised by Credit Suisse and Weil Gotshal and Manges.
FFL Partners, an American private equity firm, and Two Sigma Investments, a New York City-based hedge fund, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Community Medical Services, a CARF–accredited substance use disorder treatment program providing services in the form of outpatient medication-assisted treatment and private one–on–one and group counseling. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We’re happy to be partnering with Two Sigma Impact and supporting CMS’ innovative, data-based model of care at a time when there’s a huge need for increased access to the care CMS provides. Behavioral healthcare is a long-time focus of FFL’s SEED process to identify sub-sectors where we can add the greatest value, and we look forward to applying this experience to drive CMS’ growth while maintaining the highest standards of patient care," Chris Harris, FFL Partners Managing Partner.
Community Medical Services was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Alston & Bird. Two Sigma Investments was advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher. FFL Partners was advised by Stanton PRM.
Audax Private Equity, an alternative investment manager, completed the investment in Integrate, a marketing software developer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We look forward to partnering with Audax and continuing our momentum following this exceptional year of growth. We believe Audax' expertise and track record of building value will position us well to capitalize on the sizeable and growing core market opportunity, as well as adjacent verticals and geographic expansion opportunities. We are thrilled to have Audax' support as we continue to develop our product set and grow our customer base," Jeremy Bloom, Integrate CEO.
Integrate was advised by BrightTower and Goodwin Procter. Audax was advised by Ropes & Gray and Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Alpargatas, a Brazilian lifestyle brand, agreed to acquire 49.9% stake in Rothy's, an innovative sustainable lifestyle brand, for $475m.
"We are excited to welcome Rothy's to our portfolio, and admire Rothy's entrepreneurial, passionate founders and team. We value their digital-first business and loyal customer base, and view this partnership as an important opportunity to advance our global strategy with increased relevance in the North American market. We are eager to work with Stephen, Roth and the entire Rothy's team to expand the brand's community all over the world through new retail and ecommerce channels," Roberto Funari, Alpargatas CEO.
Rothy's is advised by Goldman Sachs, Cooley and Joele Frank. Alpargatas is advised by Lazard and Mayer Brown.
Tailwater-backed Producers Midstream II, a provider of turnkey midstream solutions, agreed to acquire certain gathering and processing assets from Midcoast Energy, a full-service natural gas and natural gas liquid midstream business. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"These high-quality and complementary assets expand our ability to provide best-in-class midstream infrastructure solutions, positioning our business to create substantial long-term value for our customers. We are excited to welcome the Midcoast team to the Producers organization and look forward to building upon Midcoast's strong foundation," Matt Flory, Producers Midstream CEO.
Tailwater is advised by Kirkland & Ellis and Joele Frank. Midcoast Energy is advised by Moelis & Co and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
CooperCompanies, a global medical device company, completed the acquisition of Generate Life Sciences, a life sciences platform that provides reproductive and newborn stem cell services, from GI Partners, a private investment firm, for $1.6bn.
"This acquisition is a strong strategic fit for CooperSurgical as it allows us to better serve fertility clinics and Ob/Gyns with a more extensive suite of products and services. As a leader in women's healthcare, this is an important addition to our existing offerings and allows us to leverage our infrastructure and expertise, including our sales forces' strong clinical reputation and educational capabilities," Al White, Cooper President and CEO.
Generate Life Sciences was advised by JP Morgan and Paul Hastings. CooperCompanies was advised by Latham & Watkins. GI Partners was advised by Chris Tofalli Public Relations.
Sanofi, a French multinational pharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire Amunix Pharmaceuticals, an immuno-oncology company leveraging our proprietary, clinically validated Pro-XTEN technology platform to discover and develop transformative T cell engagers and cytokine therapies for patients with cancer, for $1bn.
“This acquisition demonstrates our ongoing commitment to investing in promising research and discovery platforms. The Amunix technology platform utilizes a next generation smart biologics approach to precisely tailor-deliver medicines to become active only in tumor tissues while sparing normal tissues, thus bringing the promise of more effective and safer treatment options for cancer patients. We are excited to rapidly advance Amunix’s promising pipeline and to combine their innovative candidate medicines with complementary molecules in Sanofi’s immuno-oncology portfolio,” John Reed, Sanofi Global Head of Research & Development.
Amunix Pharmaceuticals is advised by Centerview Partners and Fenwick & West. Sanofi is advised by Weil Gotshal and Manges.
Evoqua Water Technologies, a provider of mission-critical water treatment solutions, agreed to acquire the renal business of Steris, an Irish-domiciled medical equipment company specializing in sterilization and surgical products for the US healthcare system, for $196m.
"Mar Cor's expertise and extensive network are a natural fit with Evoqua's proven customer-centric water treatment solutions and service. This addition will further strengthen our service footprint in North America while expanding our offerings in the healthcare market," Ron Keating, Evoqua CEO.
Evoqua Water Technologies is advised by BMO Capital Markets and Troutman Pepper. Steris is advised by Jones Day.
Waypoint Capital, an entrepreneurial private investment firm, completed the acquisition of a 70% stake in Allergy Partners, the largest US group of single-specialty allergy and asthma practices. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to be partnering with Waypoint Capital as Allergy Partners looks to increase access to our services for even more patients across the country. Our mission is to be leaders in the development and delivery of high-quality health care for patients with asthma and allergic disease. Our partnership with Waypoint will further that mission as we continue to execute on our strategic initiatives, further build our vast care network, and promote continued research and innovation in the field of allergy and asthma care," David Brown, Allergy Partners CEO.
Waypoint Capital is advised by SVB Leerink, McDermott Will & Emery and Abernathy MacGregor Group.
EuroChem, a global fertilizer producer, agreed to acquire a 51.48% stake in Fertilizantes Heringer, a Brazilian fertilizer distributor, for $97m.
"This acquisition, following anti-trust approval, will enable EuroChem to better serve the total market of Brazil – from north to south – even more reliably, while providing more outlets for our full product line of standard and premium fertilizers," Charles Bendaña, EuroChem Group Global Head of Sales and Distribution.
EuroChem is advised by Credit Suisse and Pinheiro Neto.
Altimeter Capital and Coatue Management led a $150m Series B round in Airbyte, creators of the fastest-growing open source data integration platform, with participation from Thrive Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Benchmark, Accel, and SV Angel.
"We are excited to partner with Airbyte on their Series B. We have spent a lot of time over the years focusing on the various data stack players and were very impressed by the quality of Airbyte's team and developer traction," Caryn Marooney, Coatue General Partner.
Airbyte was advised by Eckert Communications.
Microsoft agreed to acquire Xandr, a global programmatic advertising marketplace, from AT&T, an American multinational conglomerate telecommunications holding company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Microsoft's shared vision of empowering a free and open web and championing an open industry alternative via a global advertising marketplace makes it a great fit for Xandr. We look forward to using our innovative platform to help accelerate Microsoft's digital advertising and retail media capabilities," Mike Welch, Xandr EVP and GM.
Coatue Management, a technology-focused investment manager, led a $145m funding round in Rec Room, a social gaming platform for user-generated content, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures and Madrona Venture Group.
"It's been amazing to watch Rec Room grow from a tiny collection of mini-games into a global platform with millions of experiences built by the community. The platform has become a place where people can come together to form meaningful connections, build communities, and share their creativity. There's still so much more we want to do, and as we head into 2022, we're excited to build more experiences, expand to new platforms, invest in best in class trust and safety systems, and continue to expand our creator tools," Nick Fajt, Rec Room CEO.
CPPIB, Longbow Capital, Pilot Company and Walter Ventures led a $100m funding round in VoltaGrid, an advanced energy management and generation company.
"We continue to be excited about partnering with these leading ESG-focused capital providers while executing our mandate across multiple sectors. By capitalizing on our proven technology, we will continue to provide pressure pumping companies a more efficient electrification solution to deliver improved ESG performance for operators," Nathan Ough, VoltaGrid CEO.
Peak Rock Capital, a middle-market private investment firm, completed the acquisition of Xenon arc, a provider of chemical materials to their SMB customers and segments. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This transaction exemplifies Peak Rock's commitment to invest in high growth technology-enabled services businesses. We continue to seek tech-enabled platforms that we believe can benefit from our ability to drive transformational growth through organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions," Anthony DiSimone, Peak Rock CEO.
Peak Rock Capital was advised by Kekst CNC.
Tide Rock Holdings, an evergreen holding company, agreed to acquire Bayless Manufacturing, a provider of fabricated metal products and services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Tide Rock has been interested in the metals and machining space for a while now. Many of our manufacturing companies' customers have metal fabrication needs. With Bayless, we can now offer them high quality metal fabrication, machining, and coating capabilities based in the US and with capacity to scale," Brooks Kincaid, Tide Rock President.
Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm, led a $110m Series C financing round in Figment, a provider of Proof of Stake blockchains solutions, with participation from Counterpoint, Binance Holdings, Mirae Asset, ParaFi Capital, Avon Ventures, Fidelity Investments, Bitstamp, CMS Holdings, Two Sigma, B Capital Group, Franklin Templeton, DTCP, and StarkWare.
"The caliber of investors in our series C round cements Figment’s position as one of the most trusted and well-established platforms in the Web 3 ecosystem. We're seeing tons of experienced engineers jump from traditional software into this space. Many of these people have joined our team and we have created an amazing Web 3 native organizational culture around them,” Lorien Gabel, Figment Co-Founder and CEO.
B. Riley Financial acquires a receivables portfolio for $400m.
B. Riley Financial, a diversified provider of business advisory and financial services, agreed to acquire a portfolio of performing credit receivables from WS Badcock, a home furnishings company and subsidiary of Franchise Group, for $400m.
"We expect this purchase to be accretive to our EBITDA and to provide additional cash-flow for B. Riley Financial throughout the portfolio's lifecycle. This transaction is also a continuation of our commitment to enable FRG's success as a leading operator in the franchising sector. Utilizing our balance sheet to support our clients has been a proven driver of our ability to deliver for our shareholders. We intend to continue to pursue acquisitions and strategic investments with attractive risk-adjusted returns as a core part of our platform strategy," Bryant Riley, B. Riley Financial Chairman and Co-CEO.
Nordstrom seeking advice for Rack's potential spinoff.
Luxury department store chain Nordstrom is consulting with AlixPartners to review options for its off-price Nordstrom Rack business including a potential spinoff into a separate company,
Reuters reported.
"We have not responded as quickly and as aggressively as we needed to, with Rack in particular... we've been significantly under inventory plans all year," Erik Nordstrom, Nordstrom CEO.
Presidio Petroleum might acquire Exxon Mobil's shale gas wells.
Presidio Petroleum is in advanced talks to acquire around 5k shale gas wells from US oil producer Exxon Mobil,
Reuters reported.
Exxon's XTO Energy unit is seeking buyers for its holdings in the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas, part of the company's drive to raise cash by shedding unwanted assets. Presidio, a closely-held producer backed by Morgan Stanley Energy Partners, buys mature oil and gas fields and strives to boost output.
Sherborne targets Navient. (FS)
Sherborne Investors, led by activist investor Edward Bramson, turned its attention to education loan portfolio manager Navient after failing in its attempt to overhaul British banking company Barclays,
Reuters reported.
One of Sherborne's funds built a stake of about 16% in Navient. The stake makes Sherborn Navient's biggest investor, ahead of mutual fund manager Vanguard Group, which holds a 10.66% interest.
Elliott and Vista to consider a joint bid for Citrix Systems. (FS)
Investment firms Elliott Investment Management and Vista Equity Partners are considering a joint bid for software-maker Citrix Systems,
Bloomberg reported.
Vista is considering using its portfolio company Tibco as part of the transaction.
KKR and BMG buy into ZZ Top’s Music. (FS)
KKR & Co and BMG acquired all of the Texas blues-rock trio ZZ Top’s music interests—the publishing catalog, as well as income from recorded music royalties and performance royalties.
The deal is valued at around $50m.
Aristocrat, which agreed to buy Playtech, has asked the Takeover Panel to rule whether a group of Asian investors in the London-listed company is acting as a concert party.
