American Tower, a real estate investment trust, completed the acquisition of CoreSite, a real estate investment trust that invests in carrier-neutral data centers, for $10.1bn.
By combining the capabilities, talent and resources of American Tower and CoreSite, the combined company will be even better equipped to deliver superior service and expanded solutions to customers.
“We are excited to partner with American Tower to expand its communications infrastructure ecosystem and accelerate its edge computing strategy through the addition of CoreSite’s differentiated portfolio of US metro data center campuses. The combined company will be ideally positioned to address the growing need for convergence between mobile network providers, cloud service providers, and other digital platforms as 5G deployments emerge and evolve," Paul Szurek, CoreSite CEO.
CoreSite was advised by Evercore and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. Evercore was advised by Weil Gotshal and Manges. American Tower was advised by CDX Advisors, Houlihan Lokey, JP Morgan, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Joele Frank. Financial advisors were advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell. Debt financing was provided by JP Morgan.
The stockholders of NextGen Acquisition II, a SPAC, approved its $3.2bn business combination with Virgin Orbit, a responsive launch and space solutions company, at a special meeting of stockholders. The closing of the business combination is expected to occur before the end of December 2021, subject to the expected satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions.
“We’re on track to end December with Virgin Orbit as a publicly traded company – a fantastic way to celebrate and cap an incredible year that started with delivering a dozen satellites for its first customer, NASA, into their target orbit in January. With a diverse and global customer base, it is the only launch company that can go anytime, from anywhere, to any orbit. With the company preparing for a third consecutive successful launch in January, I’m thrilled to support Virgin Orbit as it becomes a publicly traded business and builds on the incredible successes that we’ve seen this year," Richard Branson, Virgin Orbit Founder.
Virgin Orbit is advised by Credit Suisse, LionTree Advisors, Perella Weinberg Partners and Latham & Watkins. NextGen Acquisition II is advised by Goldman Sachs, Rothschild & Co and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Financial advisors are advised by Sullivan & Cromwell.
Fortive, an American diversified industrial technology conglomerate company, completed the acquisition of Provation, a provider of software and SaaS-based clinical productivity and workflow automation solutions, from Clearlake, a private equity firm, for $1.43bn.
"This is a very exciting day in the history of Provation. The strategic transformation and journey we've gone through in the past couple of years, with the guidance of Clearlake, has been tremendous and set us up for continued growth. We are exceptionally proud and grateful to Clearlake for the work we've done together. We have an amazing customer base and as we continue to focus on serving them, Fortive will be the perfect home for us. Fortive's commitment to culture, growth, and operational discipline will allow us to continue delivering on our Purpose: to empower Providers to deliver quality healthcare for all," Daniel Hamburger, Provation CEO.
Provation was advised by Credit Suisse, William Blair & Co and Sidley Austin. Fortive was advised by Evercore and Kirkland & Ellis. Clearlake was advised by Jefferies & Company and Lambert & Co.
Athena Technology Acquisition, a publicly-traded SPAC, announced that its stockholders voted to approve the previously announced $2bn business combination with Heliogen, an operator of a clean energy platform intended to eliminate the need for fossil fuels. Investors in PIPE include Counterpoint Global - Morgan Stanley, Salient Partners, Saba Capital, and ArcelorMittal.
More than 91% of the votes cast at the Special Meeting were in favor of the approval of the business combination. Subject to the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions, the business combination is expected to close on December 30, 2021.
Heliogen is advised by Barclays, Cooley and ICR. Athena Technology is advised by Cohen & Company, DLA Piper and Berns Communications Group.
Hain Celestial, a natural and organic beverage, snack, specialty food, and personal care products company, completed the acquisition of two snacking brands ParmCrisps and Thinsters from Clearlake, a private equity firm, for $259m.
“ParmCrisps and Thinsters®are optimally positioned to benefit from consumer preferences for clean-label and high-protein snacks. Both brands have created loyal followings by being true to their unique value propositions. We are excited to welcome them to the Hain family and support the brands’ next chapter as part of our growing snacking platform," Mark Schiller, Hain President and CEO.
Hain Celestial was advised by Bank of America, Piper Sandler, Venable and ICR. Clearlake was advised by Sidley Austin and Lambert & Co.
Stripes, a private equity and venture capital firm, Sapphire, a venture capital firm, and Thoma Bravo led a $200m Series C funding round in Paradox, a developer of a recruitment assistant application. Additional investors include Workday Ventures, Willoughby Capital, Twilio Ventures, Blue Cloud Ventures, Geodesic, Principia Growth, DLA Piper Venture Fund and Brighton Park Capital.
"When we created Paradox, we saw a future where software became invisible — driven by conversations that untether people from their desktop through an assistant who gets work done for them. That vision is now taking hold in some of the biggest companies in the world and we couldn't be prouder of that accomplishment," Aaron Matos, Paradox founder and CEO.
Stripes and Sapphire were advised by Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Thoma Bravo was advised by Kirkland & Ellis. Brighton Park Capital was advised by Willoughby Capital and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Paradox was advised by DLA Piper.
CURO, a technology-enabled consumer finance company, completed the acquisition of Heights Finance, a provider of installment loans and related products, from Milestone Partners, a private equity firm, for $360m.
“By adding Heights Finance’s established base of customers, seasoned loan portfolio and significant branch network, we will solidify our position as a full spectrum non-prime consumer lender in the US. The combination diversifies the product, revenue, customer and geographic mix for our US business and enhances our overall growth, profitability and risk profiles. The transaction brings together two complementary businesses that similarly prioritize credit, risk analytics and regulatory compliance," Don Gayhardt, CURO CEO.
CURO was advised by Jefferies & Company, King & Spalding and Financial Profiles. Heights Finance was advised by Troutman Pepper.
Oaktree Capital, an investment firm, agreed to acquire Nephila Capital-backed Velocity Risk Underwriters, a provider of insurance. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Velocity Risk has established itself as a leading property-focused MGA through the quality of its management team, its strong underwriting results and its investment in enabling technologies. We are excited to partner with the Company and support its track record of driving growth and delivering value for its stakeholders,” Greg Share, Oaktree Managing Director.
Velocity Risk is advised by Evercore and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Oaktree Capital is advised by TigerRisk Capital Markets and Debevoise & Plimpton.
Carmo Energy agreed to acquire 11 producing fields from Petrobras, a Brazilian state-run oil company, for $1.1bn. The transaction is subject to certain precedent conditions including approval by the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency.
Located in different municipalities in the state of Sergipe, the 11 concessions of onshore production fields, including integrated facilities, are jointly called Carmópolis Cluster. The acquisition is expected to enable Carmo Energy to enter the sector of production, processing, flow, storage and transportation of oil and natural gas in Brazil.
Petrobras is advised by Rothschild & Co.
Darling Ingredients, an organic ingredients producer, agreed to acquire Valley Proteins, a providing services company to the meat processing and restaurant industries, for $1.1bn.
"We are pleased to add Valley Proteins to our global ingredient family and we expect this acquisition to be accretive post integration. In the evolving world of ESG and global decarbonization, Valley Proteins will supplement Darling's global supply of waste fats and greases. The new supply will now provide Darling with additional low carbon feedstock to produce renewable diesel and potentially sustainable aviation fuel," Randall C. Stuewe, Darling Ingredients Chairman and CEO.
Essity, a firm that develops, produces, and sells personal care products, agreed to acquire Hydrofera, a company that offers technology and products within advanced wound care, for $131m.
“The acquisition of Hydrofera is yet another great strategic fit for Essity further strengthening our innovation capacity and expanding our offering within advanced wound care. The company has innovations that significantly accelerate healing and reduce the patient's discomfort,” Ulrika Kolsrud, Essity President Health and Medical Solutions.
Sandvik, a Swedish multinational engineering company, completed the acquisition of Dimensional Control Systems, a manufacturing quality software and service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition is in line with our strategic focus to grow in the digital manufacturing space, with special attention on industrial software close to component manufacturing. Dimensional Control System's offering, in combination with our extensive manufacturing know-how, will enhance Sandvik's overall digital offering - and specifically our industrial metrology solutions," Stefan Widing, Sandvik President and CEO.
Leslie Doggett, a Houston-based diversified heavy equipment dealer and distributor, agreed to acquire certain dealerships from Freightliner Group, a carrier of a wide variety of trucks and trailers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Bringing Austin Freightliner into the company culture that has led to all our success will be a win-win for our customers and our team of dedicated folks. Doggett has historically doubled the number of technicians after acquisitions providing best-in-class training, processes, benefits and compensation packages. We plan to dramatically grow Austin Freightliner the same way," Paul Burk, Doggett Executive Vice President and General Manager.
