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AMERICAS
Murano, a real estate developer, agreed to go public via a SPAC merger with HCM Acquisition, a blank cheque company, in an $810m deal.
“Our experience and view of the market demonstrate to us that Mexico will provide a platform for robust growth that will facilitate expansion abroad over time. We are thrilled to be partnering with HCM to facilitate and expedite growth fueled by access to US capital markets,” Elias Sacal, Murano Chairman.
Murano is advised by Clifford Chance, Nader Hayaux y Goebel and ICR. HCM Acquisition is advised by Cohen & Company Capital Markets, JVB Financial, Galicia Abogados, King & Spalding and Loyens & Loeff (led by Michel van Agt).
Kelsian Group, an Australian transport company, agreed to acquire All Aboard America!, a motorcoach operator, for $325m.
“AAAHI has achieved significant growth over the last decade, including multiple successful acquisitions, and we are incredibly excited to continue that trajectory with Kelsian’s support and capabilities. We see strong cultural alignment between the two businesses and hope to leverage shared operational expertise to optimise performance and drive on-going growth. We were very impressed by the Kelsian business and think that Kelsian USA will be a great place for our employees to call home," Bill Trimarco, AAAHI CEO.
AAAHI is advised by Robert W Baird. Kelsian is advised by Gresham, Macquarie Group, Taylor Collison, Kain Lawyers, Piper Alderman, White & Case and Citadel Magnus.
Republic Bank, a Caribbean financial institution, completed the acquisition of CBank, a banking institution, for $51m.
“This opportunity for CBank to combine with Republic Bank — one of the highest performing and most community-oriented financial institutions in the Midwest and Southeast — is extremely exciting. CBank’s notable and well-established track record in commercial lending and private banking will be further strengthened by this merger with Republic Bank. Republic Bank’s larger capital base and resources will provide larger loan opportunities for our customers and prospects, and a greater depth of products and services for our expanding client base. I am eager to work with Republic Bank’s talented team to provide exceptional community banking service,” Dean Meiszer, CBank CEO.
CBank was advised by Raymond James and Dinsmore & Shohl. Republic Bank was advised by Piper Sandler and Frost Brown Todd.
Exchange Income Corporation, a diversified, acquisition-oriented corporation, agreed to acquire BVGlazing Systems, a glazing systems manufacturer, for $95m.
“Our team is excited about taking this next step in our company’s growth. Quest has a great reputation in the market, and we’ve seen how they’ve grown since EIC’s investment. Their strong presence in the US, with both a large manufacturing facility and internal installation capabilities, are true differentiators. Working together with EIC and our new sister company Quest, we’ll be able to offer our customers even greater value through our combined capacity. This means we’ll be much better positioned to compete for jobs across North America,” Mike Cornacchia, BVGlazing President.
Exchange Income Corporation is advised by National Bank Financial and MLT Aikins. BVGlazing Systems is advised by KPMG and Fogler Rubinoff.
CORE Industrial Partners-backed RE3DTECH, a 3D printing services provider, agreed to acquire Phoenix Proto Technologies, a rapid tooling and injection molding company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Since I founded Phoenix Proto, we have been committed to helping our customers turn their design concepts into quality products by leveraging our depth of technical knowledge and best-in-class engineering solutions. Our family, along with a great employee base, have built a differentiated business over the last 15 years, and we believe RE3DTECH is a perfect fit in terms of both culture and long-term strategy. We’re proud and excited to have CORE as a partner as we enter a new chapter of growth for Phoenix Proto,” Bob Lammon, Phoenix Proto Founder.
CORE Industrial Partners is advised by Winston & Strawn and BackBay Communications (led by Jeremy Milner).
General Catalyst, a private equity company, and Spark Capital, a venture capital firm, led a $350m funding round in Adept, an AI startup, with participation from Addition, Greylock, Atlassian Ventures, Microsoft, Nvidia, Workday Ventures, Caterina Fake, Frontiers Capital, PSP Growth, SV Angel and A.Capital.
“Adept possesses a depth of expertise to deliver a commercial product that pushes the generative AI frontier beyond text and image modalities into the practical realm of knowledge worker actions. Excitingly, ACT-1 has the potential to lower the barrier to entry within the enterprise workforce and thus may yield greater inclusive prosperity,” Deep Nishar, General Catalyst Managing Director.
First Republic Bank is exploring options including a sale.
First Republic Bank, the San Francisco-based lender that was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, is exploring strategic options including a sale.
The bank, which is also weighing options for shoring up liquidity, is expected to draw interest from larger rivals. No decision has been reached and the bank could still choose to remain independent, Bloomberg reported.
Biden’s antitrust push across agencies is working to block deals. (FS)
The Biden administration’s strategy of leaning on industry regulators to block deals that might be tricky for the Justice Department to challenge in court is working.
In the past month alone, telecom and airline regulators have moved to nix Standard General’s deal to buy broadcaster Tegna and JetBlue Airways’s acquisition of Spirit Airlines, Bloomberg reported.
WeWork nears deal for capital injection and debt conversion.
WeWork, the New York-based coworking company, is nearing a deal for a major financial restructuring in which key investor SoftBank Group will convert about $1bn of debt into equity.
WeWork is also close to securing funding and capital commitments of more than $1bn, most of it debt. The deal could be announced as soon as Thursday, Bloomberg reported.
EMEA
Prax, an oil refining, storage, distribution and sales conglomerate dealing in crude oil, petroleum products and bio-fuels, agreed to acquire Hurricane Energy, an oil exploration and production company, for $300m.
"I am pleased by the outcome of what has been a thorough and exhaustive formal sale process. The Hurricane Board believes that the Acquisition will deliver more cash than Hurricane Shareholders are likely to have received from Hurricane's Lancaster oil field, on a much expedited timeframe, as well as mitigating the risks associated with production from a single well development. In addition, the Deferred Consideration Units offer the opportunity to share in future production out-performance or higher oil prices, as well as revenue from future acquisitions by Hurricane. Accordingly, the Board of Hurricane is pleased to recommend the Acquisition to Shareholders." Philip Wolfe, Hurricane Chairman.
Providence Equity Partners, a specialist private equity investment firm, agreed to acquire Hyve Group, an exhibitions and conferences organizer, for £481m ($582m).
“The Board believes the offer represents value for shareholders and that Providence, with their knowledge of the sector and belief in the business and management team, will be a good partner for Hyve. I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the exceptional contribution of our people, whose commitment and hard work have fundamentally changed Hyve for the better, and place us at the forefront of our industry,” Richard Last, Hyve Group Chairman.
Hyve Group is advised by Goldman Sachs, Numis Securities, Macfarlanes and Camarco. Providence Equity Partners is advised by Deutsche Bank, Weil Gotshal and Manges, Perella Weinberg Partners and FGS Global.
Eurowag, a provider of payment services, completed the acquisition of Inelo, a provider of work time management systems, from Innova Capital, a private equity firm, for €306m ($326m).
"This strategically important transaction not only brings additional scale to Eurowag, it also takes us significantly closer to achieving our ambition of delivering a fully integrated, digital end-to-end platform for customers in the commercial road transportation sector. Inelo adds approximately 87k connected trucks to our network and solidifies our position as a leading provider of fleet management solutions to the CRT industry in the CEE region. Importantly, it also adds exciting new products to our platform in working time management solutions, which provide mission critical services to customers and drive excellent customer retention," Martin Vohánka, Eurowag Founder and CEO.
Eurowag was advised by Jefferies & Company, White & Case (led by Rafal Kaminski and Marek Sawicki) and Instinctif Partners (led by Tim McCall). Innova Capital was advised by Rothschild & Co.
London-based cinema operator Vue International has not been able to pursue discussions about a deal for struggling rival Cineworld Group, after it was frozen out of a sale process run by Cineworld's advisers.
Cineworld, the world's second-largest cinema chain operator, is exploring a sale and looking at a possible plan of reorganisation to fix its debt-ridden balance sheet as it aims to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the first half of this year, Reuters reported.
Alimentation Couche-Tard, a convenience store company, agreed to acquire European retail assets of TotalEnergies, a multi-energy company, for €3.1bn ($3.3bn).
"We are excited to welcome the TotalEnergies employees and stores into the Couche-Tard family. As we learned more about their business, it became clear that we share the same customer-centric approach, values, and focus on an engaged workforce. We have deep respect for its operations, management, and people as well as great confidence that by joining forces together, we will build a winning global retail operation in the region. We see this as a strong geographical fit with our existing European network, which will allow us to grow together in some of Europe's strongest economies and move forward in our vision to become the world's preferred destination for convenience and mobility," Brian Hannasch, Alimentation Couche-Tard President and CEO.
Debt Financing is provided by National Bank Financial, Bank of Nova Scotia and RBC Capital Markets.
SWOCTEM, a subsidiary of Friedhelm Loh, agreed to acquire a 5% stake in Klöckner & Co, a producer-independent steel and metal distributor, in a $1.39bn deal.
“As a long-term oriented investor, SWOCTEM is interested in sustainably strengthening the position of Klöckner & Co as a producer-independent distributor of steel and metal products and steel service company in the international competition. The aim is to enable the Company to face the macroeconomic environment, which is characterized by numerous challenges, on a legally and economically stable basis. In addition, we want to promote the further strategic and entrepreneurial development of the Klöckner Group in the best interests of the company and all stakeholders," Friedhelm Loh, SWOCTEM CEO.
Topdanmark Forsikring, an insurance services provider, agreed to acquire Oona Health, a healthcare services provider, from AnaCap Financial Partners, a private equity firm, for $322m.
“The strategy of Topdanmark is to create profitable growth in our core business. This includes offering market leading, innovative and attractive health products and services to our customers. The acquisition of Oona Health fulfils this strategic ambition and we are looking forward to creating and gaining mutual synergies for the benefit of our customers, employees and shareholders," Peter Hermann, Topdanmark CEO.
Topdanmark Forsikring is advised by Carnegie Investment Bank and Accura Advokatpartnerselskab.
Hutchison Ports, a global port operator, agreed to acquire Ain Sokhna Port, Egypt's major port, and B100, a new container terminal in the Port of Alexandria, for $700m.
“We are delighted to announce our investment in Sokhna and B100, which reflects our commitment to Egypt and the wider African market. These investments will enable us to provide high-quality services to our customers and contribute to the growth and development of the local economy," Eric Ip, Hutchison Ports Managing Director.
Chancellor welcomes decision to give Credit Suisse £44.5bn lifeline as shares bounce back.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has welcomed the Swiss central bank's decision to give Credit Suisse a lifeline of CHF50bn (£44.5bn).
The bank was taking decisive action to pre-emptively strengthen its liquidity with the central bank loan after shares plunged about 30% - intensifying fears of a global financial crisis, SkyNews reported.
EY breakup plan stalled on partners split.
Ernst & Young’s breakup plan is in jeopardy and the accounting firm’s leaders are trying to salvage the deal by placating restive US partners without pushing its overseas executives too far.
The Big Four accounting firm has suffered a series of delays in its plan to split its global auditing and consulting businesses. Now, top executives are considering several backup options, including selling off just the non-US consulting operation, likely to a private-equity buyer. Votes on the split, originally due to start last year, were rescheduled for next month. That timing is now up in the air.
EY’s US leaders responded with a new plan for the split, which would move more of the tax practice to the audit side. That proposal is now under negotiation with the rest of the firm, WSJ reported.
Ageas begins talks with Carac to sell French business.
Ageas, an insurance brokerage firm, has commenced exclusive talks with insurer La Mutuelle Epargne Retraite Prévoyance Carac to sell its French life insurance, savings and pension business.
The insurance firm’s French life and pension businesses consist of Ageas France, Ageas Retraite, Ageas Patrimoine and Sicavonline. Consultation with French staff representatives will be the next step in the process. The completion of the sale is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.
Carac is advised by Centerview Partners. Ageas is advised by Gide Loyrette Nouel.
Stock sales are vanishing as Credit Suisse fuels contagion fears.
Equity fundraising slammed to a halt in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, and now the turmoil at Credit Suisse Group is dashing hopes for a recovery anytime soon as investors flee anything that smells like risk.
Just one stock offering by a US-listed company has priced. And there have been no offerings brought by selling stockholders in that span. That’s a jarring switch from recent weeks, when companies and their largest investors were pricing equity offerings at the fastest pace in a year, Bloomberg reported.
Saudi eyecare group Magrabi pauses hospitals IPO plan.
Magrabi Medical Group, an operator of eyewear stores and clinics in the Middle East, has paused plans for an initial public offering of its hospitals business in Saudi Arabia.
The family-owned company put the IPO on ice after deciding the business needs more time to develop before going public, Bloomberg reported .
SWEN closes 'ocean health' VC fund above target.
SWEN Capital Partners, a €7.7bn ($8.19bn) private investment firm focused on responsible investment in unlisted assets in Europe, has closed its Blue Ocean fund with €170m ($180m) in capital commitments, exceeding its stated target of €120m ($127m).
The fund was originally launched in September 2021 in scientific partnership with Ifremer to finance 20 to 25 innovative companies across sustainable aquaculture, ocean data, plant and cell-based seafood, alternatives to single-use plastic, renewable marine energies and decarbonization of maritime transport.
APAC
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a private equity firm, agreed to invest $500m in Lenskart, an Indian multinational optical prescription eyewear retail chain.
“Lenskart has rapidly established itself as one of the largest and most innovative eyewear companies globally. Given its unique technology-enabled and vertically integrated business model, we believe the company remains well positioned to build on its leadership position. This investment is a continuation of our strategy of investing in highly differentiated, market leading businesses in Asia linked to the region’s consumption-driven growth and rapid technological advancement,” Hamad Shahwan Al Dhaheri, ADIA Executive Director.
Lenskart is advised by Avendus, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Khaitan & Co and Rajaram Legal. ADIA is advised by Ernst & Young, AZB & Partners and Allen & Overy.
Shareholders of YS Biopharma and Summit Healthcare Acquisition announced that the SPAC business combination was approved at an extraordinary general meeting. YS Biopharma will remain as the combined company and its shares and warrants are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols "YS" and "YSBPW."
"Going public is a natural step for YS Biopharma right now. We are pleased that the shareholders of Summit have, through approval of the business combination, reaffirmed their belief in our vision and future for the company. We have built an innovative portfolio and recorded strong product revenue growth and financial performance over recent years. Looking forward, our strategy is to drive continuous organic growth through innovation and geographic expansion for our pipeline products, combined with disciplined investment in new technology and clinical development. The business combination with Summit brings us one step closer to realizing our foremost goals as a leading global biopharma company," David Hui Shao, YS Biopharma CEO.
YS Biopharma is advised by Jingtian & Gongcheng, Maples Group and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Summit Healthcare is advised by Cooley (led by Steven Holm) and Ogier.
CVC Capital Partners, a private equity company, completed the acquisition of a minority stake in Samator Indo Gas, an industrial gas company, for $155m.
“CVC Funds’ investment in a home-grown, family-owned business is a testament to the quality and strength of the business developed throughout its long heritage. It also highlights global investor confidence in the attractive growth prospects of Indonesia. We look forward to working with our new partner to further grow the Company and bring Samator Indo Gas to greater heights,” Rachmat Harsono, Samator Indo Gas President.
Indonesian wealth fund INA eyes $1bn investments this year. (FS)
The Indonesian Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is targeting investments worth $1bn this year, mainly across the energy, infrastructure, digital, and healthcare space.
DealStreetAsia reported that, Arief Budiman, INA Deputy CEO, said as of 2022-end, INA had secured investment commitments worth $27bn, including $10bn from the UAE; $3bn from the Chinese Silk Road Fund; $500m from Denmark SWF IFU; $3bn from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, APG Asset Management and a unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for a toll road platform; and $7.5bn from DP World.
Petronas offers $460m for 20% stake in green arm of NTPC.
Malaysia's Petronas has offered 38bn rupees ($460m) to buy a 20% stake in the green energy arm of India’s largest power producer, NTPC, in the first deal of its kind by a state-run firm, DealStreetAsia reported.
The offer price was higher than the 30bn ($363m) rupees NTPC had been expecting when it asked for expressions of interest in NTPC Green Energy (NGEL) last year and was 78% above the second-highest bidder. It values the NGEL at $2.3bn.
PLDT nears $200m tower sale to KKR-backed Frontier. (FS)
PLDT is nearing a deal to sell a portfolio of over 1k telecommunications towers to a firm backed by KKR & Co for more than $200m.
The Philippines-based telecom and digital services provider could announce the sale to Frontier Towers, Bloomberg reported.
TikTok says US threatens ban if Chinese owners don't sell stakes.
The Biden administration has demanded that TikTok's Chinese owners divest their stakes in the popular video app or face a possible US ban, Reuters reported.
The move is the most dramatic in a series of recent steps by US officials and legislators who have raised fears that TikTok's US user data could be passed on to China's government. ByteDance-owned TikTok has more than 100m US users.
CP Group mulls $1bn Thai IPO of feed, seed business.
Charoen Pokphand Group is exploring an initial public offering of its seed and animal feed business in Thailand that could raise as much as $1bn, Bloomberg reported.
The Thai conglomerate is restructuring its upstream agricultural operations to prepare for the potential spinoff, which could include its animal feed and seed businesses under Charoen Pokphand Foods and Chia Tai. CP Group has held initial discussions with prospective advisers on the listing, which could happen as soon as next year. A share sale could raise $600m to $1bn depending on market conditions.
ThaiBev exploring options for spirits unit including IPO.
Thai Beverage is exploring options for its spirits business including an initial public offering in Singapore, Bloomberg reported.
The firm controlled by Thailand’s richest man has held initial discussions with banks on alternatives including selling a stake in the maker of the country’s best-selling liquor brands Mekhong and Ruang Khao.
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