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AMERICAS
ANI Pharmaceuticals, a diversified biopharmaceutical company, completed the acquisition of Alimera Sciences, a global pharmaceutical company, for $453m.
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with ANI, which we believe recognizes the value we have created at Alimera and creates compelling value for our shareholders. ANI and Alimera share a common mission of putting patients first, and this complementary transaction creates a bigger platform to leverage our global infrastructure and outstanding team. I would like to thank Alimera employees, past and present, for always finding a way to help patients maintain better vision longer. We look forward to working with ANI to complete this transaction and help grow its presence in the ophthalmology segment," Rick Eiswirth, Alimera President and CEO.
Alimera was advised by Centerview Partners, Perella Weinberg Partners, DLA Piper, Core IR (led by Scott Gordon) and Longacre Square Partners (led by Dan Zacchei). Financial advisors were advised by Ropes & Gray. ANI Pharmaceuticals was advised by Guggenheim Partners, Raymond James, Hughes Hubbard & Reed (led by Kenneth A. Lefkowitz), Perez Llorca (led by Javier Gomez) and In-Site Communications (led by Lisa Wilson).
Greatland Gold, a company that engages in the exploration and development of natural resources, agreed to acquire Havieron and Telfer assets from Newmont, a gold mining company, for $475m.
"We are delighted to be combining the Havieron and Telfer projects under our single ownership, making Greatland a material producer of gold and copper. Through constructive bilateral discussions with Newmont, our joint venture partner at Havieron, we now have a compelling opportunity to create value for our shareholders. Havieron is a truly world class orebody with a defined pathway to become a low-cost long life gold-copper asset of significant scale," Shaun Day, Greatland Managing Director.
Fashion holding company Tapestry has room to raise prices and lower discounts on rival Capri's Michael Kors brand if the companies merged, a top Tapestry executive testified on September 10 as regulators sought to block the $8.5bn deal, Reuters reported.
Tapestry's brands include Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman while Capri also owns Jimmy Choo and Versace. On the second day of a trial in federal court in the Southern District Court of New York, the Federal Trade Commission presented slides to support its claim that the merger would lead to higher prices by ending competition between the rivals.
Lenders to discount retailer Big Lots are talking to Nexus Capital Management about how the private equity firm would finance its $760m bid to buy the company and bring it out of bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported.
Nexus has agreed to pay $2.5m in cash plus an amount needed to repay Big Lots’ major lenders. There’s no deal between the banks and Nexus, Big Lots attorney Brian Resnick said during the retailer’s first bankruptcy hearing on September 10. He didn’t name the lenders or provide any other details about the negotiations.
Big Lots is advised by AG Real Estate, AlixPartners, Guggenheim Partners, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Joele Frank (led by Aaron Palash). Nexus Capital is advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
OceanSound Partners, a private equity firm that invests in technology and technology-enabled services companies, completed the acquisition of PAR Excellence, a provider of supply chain integrity and cost management solutions to the healthcare industry, from Northlane Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to partner with OceanSound, whose expertise in government and regulated markets will be valuable to us as we continue our growth trajectory with leading healthcare systems in the government, non-profit, and private markets. The hospital inventory management market is ripe for significant digital transformation, and our team continues to serve our customers with the best products and services in the market. OceanSound’s partnership will enable us to accelerate investments in innovative products to better serve the hospital and health system market,” Thad MacKrell, PAR Excellence CEO.
Sumitomo Electric-backed A.L.M.T, a provider of cutting edge diamond tool solutions, completed the acquisition of Esteves Group, a manufacturer of precision diamond tools for the wire and cable industry worldwide, from Diamond Tools, a manufacturer of diamond cutting tools and diamond wire dies, and Torqx Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Through this acquisition, A.L.M.T. will utilize both companies’ diamond die product lineups, technological capabilities, sales networks, and service bases to further strengthen its global business development, including the expansion of sales channels in Europe and the United States," Sumitomo Electric.
Sumitomo Electric was advised by Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and Stibbe (led by Bjorn van der Klip). Torqx Capital was advised by DC Advisory (led by Paul de Hek) and Loyens & Loeff.
Bonterra, a social good software company creating technology for the greatest good, completed the acquisition of DonorDrive, a provider of peer-to-peer and digital fundraising solutions, from InvoiceCloud, a company that provides modern digital payment, customer engagement, and outbound disbursement solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Now more than ever, supporters want to give more — and nonprofits need more sustainable giving. The key to both is crafting experiences that create meaningful connections between givers and the causes they care about, and DonorDrive is a market leader in doing exactly that. This acquisition is a major win for nonprofits, supporters, and Bonterra’s mission to increase giving to 3% of US GDP by 2033," Scott Brighton, Bonterra Chief Executive Officer.
Bonterra was advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by Ann Beth Stebbins) and The Abbi Agency. InvoiceCloud was advised by Raymond James and Vinson & Elkins.
Voya Financial, an American financial, retirement, investment and insurance company, agreed to acquire the retirement plan business of OneAmerica Financial, an American financial services mutual holding organization. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This announcement is an exciting opportunity to add scale and new capabilities to our Wealth Solutions business that will help advance our growth strategy by offering workplace benefits and savings solutions to more individuals. Voya is a purpose-driven company focused on supporting improved financial outcomes for our customers. OneAmerica is equally passionate about enabling financial security for their customers, making them a strong fit for Voya,” Heather Lavallee, Voya Financial CEO.
Voya Financial is advised by Citigroup and Eversheds Sutherland. OneAmerica Financial is advised by Goldman Sachs and Sidley Austin.
Getinge, a company that provides hospitals and life science institutions with products and solutions, completed the acquisition of Paragonix Technologies, an organ transplant company, from Signet Healthcare, a healthcare growth equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Since our inception, Paragonix’s primary focus has been on improving patient outcomes and increasing the number of successful transplants. We have dedicated ourselves to providing clinicians and their patients with best-in-class solutions while also developing comprehensive clinical data for all solid organs. Our success is a testament to our team’s passion, commitment, and relentless pursuit of excellence. We are excited to join Getinge to bring our innovations, technologies, and services to underserved patient populations worldwide. Each day, we are inspired to deliver novel, life-changing innovations to the transplant and donation communities. We express our deepest gratitude to the clinical and donation community for the opportunity to serve," Dr. Lisa Anderson, Paragonix Founder, President & CEO.
Renovus Capital Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of QualX, a provider of records and information management, digital transformation, and business process improvement services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Renovus is an ideal partner for QualX. We sought a partner with experience and capabilities to complement QualX's strengths and we are enthusiastic to have officially joined Renovus' portfolio of knowledge and talent businesses. This partnership marks the beginning of an exciting chapter for our company," Alan Moon, QualX Founder.
QualX was advised by Monument Capital Partners and Greenberg Traurig. Renovus Capital was advised by DLA Piper.
Angel Studios, the studio empowering everyday fans to greenlight development and distribution of movies and TV shows, agreed to go public via a SPAC merger with Southport Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Angel Studios is a values-based distribution company for stories that amplify light to mainstream audiences. Through the Angel Guild, 375k members choose which film and television projects the studio will market and distribute. 104k Angel Guild members in 155 countries have invested nearly $80m in projects distributed by the studio to date.
Angel Studios is advised by Mayer Brown and MZ Group (led by Shannon Devine). Southport Acquisition is advised by Oppenheimer & Co.
Namoi Cotton’s independent directors have unanimously recommended that shareholders accept Louis Dreyfus’s takeover offer and reject a proposal from Olam Agri, Bloomberg reported.
Despite being marginally higher than Louis Dreyfus’ bid, Olam’s offer price is insufficient given the greater uncertainty associated with it. Rival agricultural trader Olam and Louis Dreyfus have been jostling to buy the Australian cotton processor since January, and both bids have raised competition concerns.
Olam Agri is advised by FGS Global.
Spectral Capital to acquire Crwdunit from CrowdPoint Technologies.
Spectral Capital, a pioneer in Quantum as a Service computing and decentralized cloud infrastructure, agreed to acquire Crwdunit, a software company, form CrowdPoint Technologies, a decentralized cloud provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited about the potential this acquisition brings to Spectral Capital's portfolio. Crwdunit's Quantization Mechanism is perfectly aligned with our Quantum Bridge strategy, providing advanced measurement tools that enhance resource allocation and system performance across decentralized cloud networks. This technology will be integrated with the technology from our recently acquired Quantomo technology and serve as a critical component in optimizing and scaling our Vogon Cloud decentralized edge and hybrid cloud platform," Jenifer Osterwalder, Spectral Capital CEO.
Morgan Stanley expects IPO wave, large M&A deals to hit Germany.
Germany could see a wave of initial public offerings in Germany over the next two years as investors are keen to buy after a drought of transactions, Bloomberg reported.
“I expect as much as 10 large IPOs and would be disappointed to see less than five in Germany over the next 18 months,” Thomas Thurner, Morgan Stanley co-head of equity capital markets for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
EMEA
One Rock Capital, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire Europe Snacks, a private label manufacturer of savory snacks for the European market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Over the past three decades, Europe Snacks has grown to be a leader in the private label market across its key product categories and geographies. We are excited to partner with the team, to build upon their strong heritage and to continue driving growth," Kurt Beyer, One Rock Partner.
One Rock is advised by Natixis Partners, Spayne Lindsay & Co, Latham & Watkins, and Prosek Partners. Debt financing is provided by Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Natixis Partners, Raiffeisen, Rabobank, and Santander.
Nova Ljubljanska Banka, a banking and financial group in Slovenia, completed the acquisition of Summit Leasing, a provider of auto finance in Slovenia, from Apollo, a provider of alternative asset management and retirement solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The closing of the transaction is yet another step in NLB Group's transformation to one of regional champions. It is rendered even more important as with it NLB once again, after almost 30 years, enters the Croatian market, thus becoming the only financial institution from the region that offers at least one form of financing on all the markets of former common country, which remain among the most important trade and business partners until this day. We are extremely proud of having achieved this and even more motivated to further develop leasing services in our neighboring Croatia to the benefit of our clients. Furthermore, we are looking forward to working with many Summit Leasing talents, to whom we are extending a warm welcome in the NLB Group," Blaž Brodnjak, NLB CEO.
Australian real estate listing provider REA Group said its £5.6bn ($7.3bn) takeover offer for Rightmove, the UK's largest online real estate property portal, was rejected.
REA believes the Proposal represents a highly compelling proposition to unlock value for both Rightmove and REA shareholders by creating a global and diversified digital property company, with strong margins and significant cash generation, underpinned by number one positions in Australia and the UK.
UniCredit, an international banking group, completed the acquisition of a 9% stake in Commerzbank, a banking services provider. Financial terms were not provided.
UniCredit's management remains focused on the continued execution of UniCredit Unlocked and the delivery of sustainable profitable growth and distributions for all shareholders. Indeed, this is where UniCredit continues to believe it can extract the most value for its shareholders.
LVMH close to F1 sponsorship deal for range of luxury brands.
LVMH is in late stage talks to become a major sponsor of Formula One, in a deal that would see the French luxury conglomerate promote its major brands on the race track, Bloomberg reported.
The Paris-based company is nearing an agreement where watchmaker Tag Heuer as well as other brands, which could include Moet & Chandon Champagne and possibly its hotel chains, become sponsors of F1 with brand logos and products displayed prominently to race viewers.
US fund Castlelake considering sale of stake in Spain's Aedas. (FS)
US-based investment fund Castlelake is considering selling its majority stake in Spanish real estate group Aedas Homes, Reuters reported.
Castlelake owns a 79% stake with a market value of about €845m ($933m) as the shares are trading at their highest levels in more than two years.
ADNOC expected to make formal offer for Covestro of about $15.9bn.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is expected to make a formal offer to acquire Covestro for about €14.4bn ($15.9bn) including debt, FT reported.
Having circled the German chemicals firm for more than a year, ADNOC in June won the target company over to disclose more data and have in-depth talks, based on an improved indicative bid of €11.7bn ($12.9bn) or €62 ($68) per share.
Labour Peer Mandelson failed to declare stake in PR firm he co-founded.
British Labour Party grandee Peter Mandelson has had to correct the public record about his ownership of a stake in a political consultancy firm after stating he had sold out of the business, Bloomberg reported.
Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords since 2008, has now updated the parliamentary register to say he retains a significant holding in Global Counsel, a firm he co-founded that’s become one of the most influential advisory groups in the UK.
Buyout firm GTCR is in advanced talks to acquire German drugmaker Stada. (FS)
Buyout firm GTCR is in advanced talks on a potential acquisition of German generic drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel, Bloomberg reported.
GTCR is seeking to hammer out terms of a deal after rival bidder Clayton Dubilier & Rice dropped out of the race. It has been discussing a valuation of roughly €10bn ($11bn) for Stada.
Brookfield’s Data4 to invest €300m for new Athens site. (FS)
Brookfield-backed Data4 will invest around €300m ($331m) to build and develop a new hub in Greece amid increasing demand for data centers driven by artificial intelligence services, Bloomberg reported.
The Paris-based company is in talks with existing lenders and Greek banks to fund the majority of the project with new debt. The new campus will be in Paiania, near Athens.
Dubai-based Huda Beauty weighs sale of fragrance division.
Dubai-based cosmetics firm Huda Beauty is considering selling all or part of its fast-growing perfume division, Bloomberg reported.
The firm — with more Instagram followers than Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez’s brands combined — has lined up Goldman Sachs Group as an adviser on the potential sale of Kayali fragrance. A deal will pave the way for the fragrance and cosmetics brands to chart an independent course.
Etihad Airways plans IPO no earlier than 2025.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways plans to make its stock market debut no sooner than 2025, in potentially the first IPO of a major Gulf airline as the UAE's capital ramps up effort to become a global travel hub, Reuters reported.
Etihad, owned by sovereign wealth fund ADQ, had considered listing this year. However, it wants to present investors with 2024 financial results that will show a strong performance. Geopolitical instability in the region has also weighed on timing.
BEX Capital closes BEX Fund V at $765m target in just four months. (FS)
BEX Capital, a private investment firm focused exclusively on secondaries in private equity fund-of-funds, secondaries funds and co-investment funds, has held the final close of BEX Fund V at its target of $765m in capital commitments.
The first fund raised since the management buyout of BEX Capital at the start of the year, BEX Fund V reached its target in just four months having received strong support from existing investors.
APAC
Contact Energy, a New Zealand electricity generator, agreed to acquire Manawa Energy, a New Zealand electricity generation company, for $2.3bn.
“This is an attractive acquisition offer for Manawa and achieves a significant premium to Manawa’s recent share price for shareholders, reflecting the company’s high-quality hydro asset base and its strategic development portfolio. The combination of our hydro schemes with Contact’s generation assets, including its base load geothermal fleet, creates a unique generation portfolio, with significant diversification benefits. Contact will retain various funding options post implementation of the Scheme that mean it will be well-placed to accelerate the progression of Manawa’s development portfolio. Given the majority scrip-based structure of the Consideration, Manawa shareholders will continue to enjoy exposure to the New Zealand electricity sector, becoming owners in a leading New Zealand energy company with the operational advantages arising from the combination of the two companies’ assets and capabilities. Shareholders will also benefit from the synergies expected to arise from combining the two companies via this transaction, as well as a higher expected equivalent dividend per share," Deion Campbell, Manawa Chairman.
Wuxi Hengxin Optoelectronic Materials, a provider of services for electronic components, agreed to acquire the polarizing film business of Samsung SDI, a battery and electronic materials manufacturer, for $836m.
The battery maker said the department making the divestment plans to focus on materials for semiconductors, organic light-emitting diode displays and batteries going forward, to enhance competitiveness and maximize synergy with the battery business through continuous investment.
Samsung SDI is advised by Morgan Stanley.
Nansen, a blockchain analytics platform, completed the acquisition of Stakewithus, a decentralized finance sector via crypto-asset aggregator and portfolio dashboard. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Our goal has always been to empower investors. By adding staking services, we’re giving users the ability to act on their insights without leaving the Nansen platform, providing a smooth and integrated experience,” Alex Svanevik, Nansen CEO.
ANZ is said to revive plan to sell stake in Jakarta-listed bank Panin.
ANZ Group is considering reviving a sale of its stake in PT Bank Pan Indonesia, as the Australian lender seeks to streamline its operations, Bloomberg reported.
ANZ has been working with a financial adviser to help field preliminary interest in its 38.8% holding in the Jakarta-listed lender known as Panin Bank. Potential suitors have included Japanese and Southeast Asian lenders, including from Malaysia.
India targets $500bn electronics sector by 2030.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi trumpeted India’s potential in technology, saying the country aims to increase its electronics sector to $500bn by the end of the decade, Bloomberg reported.
Modi touted the country’s advantages in areas such as semiconductors as he addressed a chip conference on the outskirts of capital New Delhi. The country currently estimates its electronics market at about $155bn.
Hillhouse, GIC are said in talks to invest in Midea’s Hong Kong IPO.
Alternative asset manager Hillhouse Investment and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC are considering investing in appliance maker Midea Group’s Hong Kong listing, Bloomberg reported.
Hillhouse is in talks to place an order for more than $1bn of stock, while GIC is weighing subscribing for about $500m in the share sale. Other investors including Singapore’s Temasek are also in talks to invest in the IPO.
Home-improvement chain Mr DIY’s Indonesian unit is said to eye IPO in late 2024.
Malaysian home-improvement retailer Mr DIY Group is considering listing its Indonesian unit in Jakarta as soon as this year or early 2025, Bloomberg reported.
Mr DIY is working with banks on an initial public offering plan. It could seek to raise as much as $300m, which would give a welcome boost to Indonesia’s lackluster IPO market.
Singapore’s Grand Venture Tech is said to eye Malaysia listing.
Singapore-based Grand Venture Technology, which produces components for semiconductor makers and other industries, is targeting a second listing in Malaysia, Bloomberg reported.
GVT is working with advisers for a listing as soon as 2025. It is considering a listing by introduction, meaning it wouldn’t be raising funds. Deliberations are ongoing.
China's Midea Group to price shares at top of range in Hong Kong listing.
Chinese home appliance maker Midea Group is set to price shares at the top of an indicative range to raise at least $3.46bn in a Hong Kong listing, Reuters reported.
Midea has an option is increase the size of the deal to $3.98bn in the event of strong demand and the firm is expected to exercise that option.
Goldman Sachs appoints three co-heads of Asia M&A to bolster regional presence. (People)
Goldman Sachs has appointed Raghav Maliah, Yoshihiko Yano and Ed Wittig as co-heads of mergers and acquisitions in Asia Pacific to expand and deepen deals coverage in the region, Reuters reported.
Wittig is joining the bank's Asia team later this year from New York, where he is currently global head of Industrials M&A and Aerospace and Defense.
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