Daily Review

 

 

 

 

A consortium of investors including Polish Development Fund agreed to buy the country's largest container terminal in Gdańsk from the Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in a deal worth more than PLN5bn ($1.3bn).

DCT Gdańsk is situated at the crossroads of the Baltic deep-sea trading routes and holds a strategic position as a major gateway into Poland and Central-Eastern European markets. DCT Gdańsk is the fastest growing container port in Europe and is ranked amongst the 15 largest container ports on the continent.

Paweł Borys, CEO of PFR said: "We are pleased that we managed to successfully complete the acquisition of a special asset - the only deep-water container terminal in Poland and the entire Baltic Sea basin. I believe that the unique combination of local and international content, as well as PSA's operational know-how will reinforce DCT Gdańsk for further growth. The new owners support DCT's ambitious expansion plans, including construction of a new terminal in the coming years to utilize and leverage economic growth of Poland and the CEE."

Clifford Chance and NBS Communications acted as advisors for Macquarie. FTI Consulting acted as PR advisor for IFM Investors.

 

 

Roper Technologies, a leading diversified technology company, agreed to acquire Foundry, a leading global developer of high‑end visual effects and 3D design software from HgCapital for £410m ($544m) in cash.

Craig Rodgerson, CEO, Foundry said: "Hg has been a great partner to Foundry over the last few years, helping us to evolve from a number of category-leading products into a truly cloud-enabled platform positioned for growth across industry segments and geographies. We look forward to partnering with Roper Technologies to continue our ambition to be the leading provider of software to professional users in creative industries."

Arma Partners, Skadden and Deloitte advised Foundry.

 

 

ams, a leading worldwide supplier of high-performance sensor solutions, and Wise Road Capital, a global private equity firm focusing on the semiconductor industry, agreed to create a joint venture to advance the development and sales of environmental, flow and pressure sensor solutions for the global market. The agreement encompasses an investment valuing the joint venture business at approximately $120m and is expected to conclude in fall 2019.

ams will transfer its current environmental sensor solution portfolio covering air quality, relative humidity, and temperature sensing, which are used in automotive, smart building and air quality monitoring infrastructure applications. Wise Road Capital, in turn, will advise the new company, opening up its extensive network and resources from well-known global industry partners.

"Wise Road Capital sees immense potential in marketing the excellent technology and products developed by ams. We look forward to applying our expertise and leveraging our relationships to make this a very successful joint venture. Not only do we have resources and networks in China, but also our close ties with leading technology companies and research institutes globally will make a valuable contribution to the joint venture," said Mr. Michael Zhang, Managing Partner, Wise Road Capital.

 

 

TDR Capital, a UK based private equity investor, agreed to buy 100% of NKD Group, the leading 'value retailers' and local suppliers to the textiles retail trade in Central Europe, from OpCapita. The transaction is subject to the customary antitrust approval.

Ulrich Hanfeld, CEO of NKD Group, says: "We would like to thank the OpCapita team for their invaluable support and guidance. We have mastered a successful turnaround in recent years, thereby paving the way for ongoing sales growth and a further increase in profitability. With TDR Capital, we have found the perfect partner to accompany us during the next stage of our company's development. We are expecting to see robust sales growth and a further increase in our profitability in the years to come – both in comparable sales areas and as a result of expansion. For the current 2019 financial year, we are again planning a strong expansion of our existing markets, with a clear focus on our German home market. We will be managing our growth strategies from our corporate headquarters in Bindlach and are planning to create more jobs across all areas of the company."

Greenbrook acted as PR advisor to OpCapita.

 

 

According to Bloomberg, Abu Dhabi's state-backed investment firm is reviving plans to sell Falcon Private Bank in Switzerland as it wants to distance itself from the 1MDB money laundering scandal.

Mubadala Development is looking for bids for at least CHF5bn ($5bn) of assets managed by Zurich-based Falcon. The bank had held unsuccessful talks with potential buyers last year.

 

 

According to Reuters, a series of buyout funds including Advent and Blackstone are in talks with advertising group WPP to explore bids for a majority stake in its data analytics unit Kantar. Hellman & Friedman and CVC Capital Partners are also working on the deal. Bain Capital has also expressed interest in making a bid for Kantar, and it might later decide to team up with one of the other buyout funds in the race.

The sale, led by Goldman Sachs, may value Kantar at up to £3.5bn ($4.7bn), but some private equity investors are fretting over the decline in profits and revenues that the business has suffered in recent years. WPP sent out confidential information packs this week, with non-binding offers expected in April, the report said.

 

 

According to Bloomberg, GEMS Education, the Dubai-based school operator, is in advanced talks to invest in Saudi Arabia's Maarif for Education & Training chain of schools.

The deal for the largest owner of private schools in the kingdom could be worth about $400m.

Samba Capital is rumoured to be advising the owners who are seeking to sell all or part of the company.

 

 

Stadler Rail will float on the SIX Swiss Exchange in the next few months selling shares from the 80% stake owned by billionaire Peter Spuhler. After the announcement of flotation, Stadler Rail said it is looking at potential acquisitions in the rail maintenance sector to help accelerate growth.

"There is potential to do some acquisitions. ..it is always attractive to take over certain services," Chief Executive Thomas Ahlburg said. "There is good potential to see further growth in services."

 

 

 

The special committee of cosmetics giant Coty after establishing measures to protect minority shareholders has recommended that the deal is allowed to proceed.

JAB, which already owns a 40% stake in Coty, making it the beauty company's largest shareholder, has offered to acquire a further 150m shares in the cosmetics conglomerate at $11.65 per share. The transaction, which would bring JAB's stake in Coty up to 60%, has been valued at $1.7bn.

Centerview Partners, Sidley Austin, and Richards Layton & Finger advise the special committee of Coty. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advises JAB.

 

 

INEOS Enterprises agreed to purchase The North American business of National Titanium Dioxide Company (Cristal) from Tronox for $700. Cristal's North American business includes two plants. The deal forms the proposed remedy package submitted to the US Federal Trade Commission by Tronox ahead of its proposed acquisition of Cristal's global titanium dioxide business.

The proposed sale of the North American business to INEOS, received support from Cristal and Tronox's North American customers and will make INEOS the second largest producer of this essential product in the country. The broader transaction and remedy proposal is subject to clearance by the Federal Trade Commission.

Ashley Reed, CEO of INEOS Enterprises said, "This is a great opportunity for INEOS to enter the pigments market, by acquiring a competitive business, with excellent people and assets. INEOS has a strong track record of manufacturing excellence, running its businesses safely and reliably and working closely with customers to meet their growth aspirations."

 

 

3i Group will invest in Magnitude Software, the leader in unified application data management solutions, in a deal valued at $340m. The investment will allow the software company's current private-equity backer, Audax Group, to exit its stake. Chris Ney, Chairman, and CEO of Magnitude will maintain a significant minority stake in the business.

Andrew Olinick, Co-Head 3i North America, added: "Magnitude provides a highly attractive market and business growth opportunity backed by a strong executive team, led by Chris Ney. Management has a track record of building great teams, delivering broad customer success and rapid growth. The data opportunity, and challenge, is only getting larger with the increasing amount of data that companies generate and need to analyze."

 

 

Standard Industrial Manufacturing Partners merged with DH Pump and Supply, a manufacturer and repairer of nickel and tungsten carbide coated metal plungers. A private equity fund managed by Hicks Equity Partners, the Dallas-based private equity arm of the Thomas O. Hicks family office, initially invested in Standard alongside its former CEO, Jack Sitton. Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed.

Thomas O. Hicks, Founder, and Chairman of HEP added, "The combination of Standard and DH Pump is a perfect fit. For 40 years, Standard has been a leader in supplying replacement parts for pumps used in production applications. While DH Pump's history is more limited, its talented team has rapidly established DH Pump as a leading provider of replacement parts for hydraulic fracturing pumps. By combining Standard and DH Pump, Standard will become one of the country's largest manufacturers and distributors of consumable products used in oil and gas pump applications."

Standard was advised on the transaction by Wick Phillips, Montgomery Coscia Greilich, RCP Advisors and ORIX Energy Capital advised Standard. Infinity Capital Partners, Kessler Collins advised DH Pump.

 

 

According to the Wall Street Journal, Blackstone is near closing an agreement to acquire cleaning- and emergency-restoration services provider Servpro Industries for more than $1bn enterprise value.

The private-equity firm has reportedly emerged as the winner in an auction for Servpro run by investment bank Harris Williams.

 

 

French insurer AXA put 40m shares of AXA Equitable Holdings on sale through a secondary offering as part of its plan to gradually divest from its US life insurance business. If the secondary offering is successful, AXA will sell 30m additional shares to AXA Equitable in a share buyback transaction.

Through the two operations, AXA, which currently controls about 60% of the US insurance company, intends to reduce its stake in AXA Equitable to below 50%, the French company said. The sale of a majority stake in AXA Equitable is part of a plan by AXA to raise cash to pay for its $15bn acquisition of Bermuda-based rival XL last year. 

JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup act as underwriters for the secondary offering.

 

 

According to Bloomberg, Carrizo Oil & Gas is weighing a tie-up with US energy explorer SM Energy. Carrizo held early-stage discussions with SM about a potential combination. There's no certainty the deliberations will lead to a transaction.

 

 

According to Reuters, several top private equity managers, including Blackstone, KKR and BlackRock, have raised billions of dollars from Mexican pension funds, known as afores, since new rules were enacted early last year.

Blackstone raised $695m from Mexican pension funds for its first two local private equity funds, filings showed, joining BlackRock and KKR in expanding in Mexico following regulatory changes.

BlackRock was one of the first foreign asset managers to expand into Mexico, raising $615m for two funds, one of which will focus on infrastructure investments, a non-public document detailing fundraising activity, which was reviewed by Reuters, showed.

KKR raised $683m for two funds, including one that will invest across private equity, growth equity, real assets as well as special situations hedge funds and private credit funds, the document showed.