Read on...
Scroll down to read deal descriptions. Your suggestions and comments support the democratisation of M&A data. If you'd like to contribute to the future editions, drop us a line.
AMERICAS
Clayton Dubilier & Rice-backed Resideo Technologies, a manufacturer and distributor of technology-driven products and solutions, completed the acquisition of Snap One, a provider of smart-living products, services, and software to professional integrators, from Hellman & Friedman, an American private equity firm, for $1.4bn.
"We are pleased to complete this transaction and excited to officially welcome the Snap One team to Resideo. This is an important step in our ongoing transformation across Resideo as we focus on accelerating profitable growth. The combination better positions the business in attractive growth categories, adds new higher-margin proprietary products and services, and broadens ADI's customer base. Resideo's future is bright as we work to simplify the connected world, creating value for our customers and shareholders," Jay Geldmacher, Resideo President and CEO.
Snap One was advised by JP Morgan, Moelis & Co, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and H/Advisors Abernathy. Financial advisors were advised by Cravath Swaine & Moore (led by Matthew G. Jones and George Schoen). Resideo Technologies was advised by Evercore, Raymond James and Willkie Farr & Gallagher (led by Jared Fertman, Tej Prakash, Russell Leaf and Sean Ewen). Debt financing was provided by Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
Peoples Financial Services and FNCB Bancorp announced receipt of all required regulatory approvals or waivers necessary to complete the previously announced merger.
FNCB Bancorp is advised by Stephens, Cozen O'Connor and Stevens & Lee. Peoples Financial is advised by Cedar Hill Advisors, D.A. Davidson & Co and Troutman Pepper (led by Donald R. Readlinger).
The Simply Good Foods, a developer, marketer and seller of branded nutritional foods and snacking products, completed the acquisition of Only What You Need, a protein shake brand, from GroundForce Capital, an investment management firm, for $280m.
"The acquisition of Only What You Need is strategically compelling as it brings a third, complementary brand to Simply Good Foods and further enhances our presence in the fast-growing RTD shake segment," Geoff Tanner, Simply Good Foods President and CEO.
OWYN was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Greenberg Traurig. Simply Good Foods was advised by Centerview Partners and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson.
Clearhaven Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Zixi, a software developer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Zixi is a bullseye fit for Clearhaven's investment. We have long admired Zixi's differentiated technology, unrivaled ecosystem integrations and position as a trusted technology partner to discerning global technology and media companies. As importantly, we are pleased to partner with Gordon and the Zixi management team and to complement the innovation and brand strength of Zixi with our skills in efficiently scaling enterprise software businesses in this exciting next chapter," Michelle Noon, Clearhaven Partners Founder and Managing Partner.
Zixi was advised by Raymond James and Goulston & Storrs. Clearhaven Partners was advised by Kirkland & Ellis and Meitar Law Offices.
MC Bancshares, the holding company for M C Bank & Trust Company, a Louisiana-chartered bank, terminated the acquisition of Heritage NOLA Bancorp, the holding company of Heritage Bank of St. Tammany, a federally chartered savings bank. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"While it is unfortunate that we could not finalize this deal, M C Bank remains a very strong and well-capitalized community bank. We will continue to focus on our human-centric approach to banking and on strengthening the communities we serve, while staying ready for new partnership opportunities," Chris LeBato, M C Bank President and CEO.
Shift4, an integrated payments and commerce technology company, completed the acquisition of Revel Systems, an open cloud order management platform for restaurant and retail brands, for $250m.
"Revel was an organization that intentionally overlooked payments for a very long time. So instantly, you have the ability to pursue existing customers switching over to payments. You don't need two restaurant products. You're going to take the best capabilities out of Revel for QSR and enterprise and bring them over into SkyTab," Jared Isaacman, Shift4 Founder and CEO.
Revel was advised by Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi. Shift4 was advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Gleiss Lutz.
White Cap, a distributor of specialty construction supplies and safety products for professional contractors, completed the acquisition of Dayton Superior, a provider of highly engineered accessories, chemicals and forming solutions within the concrete construction industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"White Cap has relied on Dayton Superior as an established industry leader and close trusted partner for many years now. This transaction is both a continuation and deepening of this strong relationship to benefit our customers and associates. Dayton Superior's strong teams have the technical and operational expertise to help White Cap expand our value-added services and grow our one-stop shop," Alan Sollenberger, White Cap CEO.
Dayton Superior was advised by RBC Capital Markets and Thompson Hine. White Cap was advised by Debevoise & Plimpton (led by Chris Anthony and Spencer Gilbert).
Tallgrass Energy, a midstream company, agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Rockies Express Pipeline, a high-pressure natural gas pipeline system, from Phillips 66, an energy company, in a $1.27bn deal.
"This sale is an important step in our commitment to deliver over $3bn in asset divestitures. We are committed to managing our portfolio and monetizing assets that no longer fit our long-term strategy," Mark Lashier, Phillips 66 Chairman and CEO.
Tallgrass Energy is advised by Citigroup. Phillips 66 is advised by RBC Capital Markets.
Shift4, an integrated payments and commerce technology, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Vectron Systems, a supplier of point-of-sale systems to the restaurant and hospitality verticals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Shift4 was at the forefront of the convergence between software and payments in the restaurant and hospitality verticals in the US. We see an incredible amount of demand for a similar all-in-one solution across Europe. With our integrated payments and SkyTab offering, we believe we have the best solution at the right price point. Vectron will provide valuable local expertise, infrastructure, and the distribution necessary to meet the demand. This acquisition is right out of the Shift4 playbook – enabling us to unlock synergies, expand our distribution, and monetize payments for a large existing install base," Jared Isaacman, Shift4 CEO.
Shift4 is advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Gleiss Lutz.
Olympus Partners-backed Rise Baking, a bakery manufacturer, completed the acquisition of Table Talk Pies, a full-line pie producer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We're excited to welcome Table Talk and its employees to the Rise team. As our second pie acquisition, we're eager to grow our slice of the pie industry, unlocking new possibilities while preserving the valued heritage of the Table Talk brand," Brian Zellmer, Rise Baking CEO.
An investor consortium led an additional $55m funding in a Series B2 round in Enveda Biosciences, a biotechnology company using AI to translate nature into new medicines, with participation from Premji Invest, Lingotto Investment Fund, Microsoft, The Nature Conservancy, Kinnevik, True Ventures, FPV, Level Ventures, and Jazz Venture Partners.
"The investors who joined in this round recognize our rapid progress, as well as our expansive potential and vision. In combination with our deep bench of top tier investors, we are in an ideal position to advance our novel medicines into the clinic and to bring hope to waiting patients," Viswa Colluru, Enveda CEO and Founder.
Agora, a real estate investment management solutions provider, agreed to acquire the real estate division of Clearshift, a comprehensive software solution provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"After years of refining our fund manager payment solution, it became clear to us that our clients would truly benefit from a full investor management solution with seamless payment integration. Agora's cutting-edge product and talented team are exactly what we were looking for," Ari Dobner, Clearshift CEO.
Carlyle explores a $4bn sale of Cogentrix Energy. (FS)
Carlyle is exploring a sale of power producer Cogentrix Energy, one of the largest owners of power plants in the US, as a wave of deals for utilities accelerates because of soaring energy demands from digital networks.
The private capital group has hired advisers to explore a sale that could value Cogentrix at as much as $3bn-$4bn, generating a large windfall for Carlyle's infrastructure arm. It was also selling other power assets owned by its infrastructure business in separate processes.
Investment bank Lazard and law firm Latham & Watkins had been hired to advise on the sale, FT reported.
Starwood near sale of 1 Hotel Central Park to Host. (FS)
Starwood Capital Group is nearing a deal to sell the 1 Hotel Central Park to Host Hotels & Resorts as high room rates drive investor interest in Manhattan's lodging market.
The deal isn't final and could still fall through. Starwood sought more than $1m per room for the property in a 2016 effort that did not lead to a sale. The hotel has about 230 rooms, Bloomberg reported.
Ares explores a deal for GLP Capital Partners. (FS)
Ares Management is exploring a potential deal for real estate investment firm GLP Capital Partners, which could rank as one of the biggest combinations in the alternative asset management industry in recent years.
The Los Angeles-based firm is in talks on a possible merger with GCP's operations outside China. The latest potential deal would rank among the sector's biggest combinations of the past few years based on the amount of capital GCP oversees, Bloomberg reported.
Tempus AI raises $410m in IPO.
Tempus AI, a technology platform company using artificial intelligence to process medical data, priced its initial public offering at the top of a marketed range to raise $410m.
Joining a rush of companies going public while touting their AI credentials, Tempus sold 11.1m shares for $37 each after offering them for $35 to $37. At the IPO price, the company has a market value of $6.1bn based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Tempus AI was advised by Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Allen & Co, Bloomberg reported.
EMEA
Ardian, a private equity investment firm, and Public Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund by the government of Saudi Arabia, revised their bid to acquire a 37.6% stake in Heathrow Airport from Ferrovial for £3.26bn ($4.17bn).
Ardian will acquire c. 22.6% while Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will acquire c. 15%. In November, Ferrovial said it was planning to offload its stake, with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund taking 10% and the other 15% going to French private equity group Ardian.
PIF is advised by Barclays and Latham & Watkins. Ardian is advised by Bank of America, RBC Capital Markets, Santander, Clifford Chance, 5654 & Company, Brunswick Group and Kekst CNC. Ferrovial is advised by JP Morgan and Allen & Overy.
Logistea, a a real estate company, agreed to acquire KMC Properties, a real estate company focusing on industrial and logistic properties, in a $309m deal.
"We are very pleased to announce this transformational transaction where we combine two attractive and similar companies and property portfolios into one. I am looking forward to develop Logistea with my current and new colleagues with the aim to strengthen the offer to our tenants and becoming the natural choice for logistics and industrial companies," Niklas Zuckerman, Logistea CEO.
KMC Properties is advised by Carnegie Investment Bank, DNB Bank, Thommessen and Vinge. Logistea was advised by ABG Sundal Collier, Nordea Bank, Cederquist and Wiersholm.
Spain's Sabadell has postponed the completion of the sale of its retailers' payments business to Nexi, opens new tab after becoming the target of a hostile takeover by BBVA.
BBVA expects the regulatory process and the tender period to take up to eight months and its takeover deal to be completed by mid-2025, Reuters reported.
Nexi is advised by Boston Consulting Group, Jefferies & Company, KPMG, Rothschild & Co, Allen & Overy and Barabino & Partners. Sabadell is advised by Barclays.
Lufthansa is likely to secure EU antitrust approval for its bid to buy a stake in state-owned Italian airline ITA, with regulators leaning towards clearing the deal, Reuters reported.
The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, has however yet to make a final decision. EU approval for the deal would be a big win for Italy which injected millions of euros into loss-making Alitalia over the years. The Commission, which has set a July 4 deadline for its decision.
ITA Airways is advised by JP Morgan, Mediobanca and Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners. Lufthansa is advised by BonelliErede and FGS Global.
SLB, an American oilfield services company, completed the acquisition of an 80% stake in Aker Carbon Capture, a pure-play carbon capture company, for $382m.
"There is no credible pathway toward net zero without deploying carbon capture and sequestration at scale. In the next few decades, many industries that are crucial to our modern world must rapidly adopt CCS to decarbonize. Through the joint venture, we are excited to accelerate disruptive carbon capture technologies globally," Gavin Rennick, SLB President New Energy business.
Cristiano Ronaldo agreed to acquire a 10% stake in Vista Alegre Atlantis, a porcelain manufacturer from Grupo Visabeira, a holding company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro are brands that I have always had great admiration for and am a regular customer of. The chance to support Vista Alegre's globalization strategy as a luxury lifestyle brand is a source of pride for me as a Portuguese. Together we will do everything within our means to promote this national icon of excellence and place it among the world's top brands," Cristiano Ronaldo.
Carlyle, KfW join forces in effort to buy Thyssenkrupp warship division. (FS)
Private equity firm The Carlyle Group and German development bank KfW are in talks to jointly buy most of thyssenkrupp's submarine unit. All three parties are holding talks about a deal that would hand Carlyle, a majority stake in TKMS, while state-owned lender KfW would hold a blocking minority. Thyssenkrupp would own a minority stake.
The plan to join forces and take a majority stake in thyssenkrupp Marine Systems reflects growing investor interest in defence assets as well as efforts by Berlin to keep control over what it considers to be key military technology.
Thyssenkrupp is currently running a dual-track process for TKMS, which could result in either a sale or spin-off of the division that makes submarines, frigates as well as sensor and mine-hunting technology, Reuters reported.
United Group owner seeks July bids as PE firms join fray. (FS)
United Group's private equity backer has asked for non-binding bids in July for the eastern European carrier. Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus are in the early stages of considering potential bids for part or all of United Group, which is controlled by BC Partners.
They would compete with Emirates Telecommunications and Saudi Telecom, which have separately been exploring offers. Orange, Telekom Austria and French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel's Iliad are also among potential buyers that have been approached. BC Partners may seek a valuation of about $8.6bn including debt for the business, Bloomberg reported.
Atos gets a €700m bid from France.
The French government has offered to buy some of Atos operations in its big data and security unit for an enterprise value of €700m ($751m) as part of discussions to restructure the embattled IT company.
The non-binding bid, part of talks previously disclosed in April, is for the company's supercomputers, "mission-critical" systems and cybersecurity activities in the Atos unit known as BDS. No final deal has been reached and discussions are continuing, Bloomberg reported.
Mubadala proposes a $595m sale of Wefox. (FS)
Mubadala has proposed selling troubled insurance tech startup Wefox to UK insurance broker Ardonagh Group in a deal opposed by the German firm's founders.
The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund has told Wefox shareholders it expects an offer from Ardonagh that would give the German firm an enterprise value of as much as $595m.
Wefox's founders and some early investors oppose the deal as it would put them at risk of losing their entire investment, and they have fielded an alternative one. Instead of a sale, they're proposing a new funding round by existing investors, Bloomberg reported.
Dan Friedkin is in advanced talks for Everton. (FS)
AS Roma owner Dan Friedkin is in advanced talks to acquire financially-troubled Everton from owner Farhad Moshiri.
Moshiri currently favors Friedkin's proposal for the Premier League football club and is seeking to hammer out detailed terms of a deal. It is not clear whether Moshiri will keep a part of his 94% shareholding in the club if the deal goes through.
Everton has been in play since Moshiri's exclusivity period to be acquired by 777 Partners expired on May 31, opening the door to other bidders, Bloomberg reported.
Ethiopia plans to allow foreign banks to acquire local lenders.
Ethiopia's Council of Ministers approved a bill that would pave the way for overseas banks to acquire stakes in domestic lenders, marking the end of a three-decade-old policy to keep foreigners out of the industry.
The proposal, which still requires approval from lawmakers, allows overseas firms to buy stakes in existing or new domestic banks, set up subsidiaries, open branches or establish representative offices. The proposal also seeks to permit foreign banks on an exceptional basis to take over a distressed lender to preserve financial stability.
The bill limits direct shareholding by a strategic foreign investor to 30% and the total holdings by non-citizens and foreign-owned companies to 40%. The investment can only be in foreign currency, Bloomberg reported.
Flix eyes stake sale in IPO rethink. (FS)
German bus and train services company Flix is seeking alternatives to a stock market listing and is in talks with investors including private equity firm EQT on a potential stake sale. Talks are at an early stage, Reuters reported.
The company could be valued at $3.4bn in a deal. The banks involved were JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas.
HMH picks JP Morgan, Piper Sandler and Evercore for a $1.5bn IPO.
HMH, an oil field services joint venture between two sector giants, has selected banks for a planned US initial public offering. HMH is seeking a valuation including debt of about $1.5bn and perhaps more. The company, a joint venture between Norway's Akastor and Baker Hughes, filed confidentially for an IPO.
JP Morgan, Piper Sandler and Evercore are underwriting on the Houston-based company's IPO. A listing could take place as soon as late September.
Deliberations are ongoing, details such as the valuation and timing could change, and more banks could be added to the lineup, Bloomberg reported.
APAC
Great Eastern's independent financial adviser said it supports a $1.03bn offer by Oversea-Chinese Banking to take full control of the Singapore-based insurer.
EY, which was auditor to Great Eastern for about two decades, was hired to give an independent opinion on the price which some holders argue is below par. The opinion helps smooth the way for Singapore's second-biggest bank to take its listed insurance division private at the third attempt, facing down opposition from some minority shareholders, Bloomberg reported.
"The financial terms of the offer are, on balance, not fair but reasonable. Taking the factors we have considered, we advise the independent directors to recommend that shareholders accept the offer," EY.
Great Eastern is advised by Ernst & Young. OCBC Bank is advised by JP Morgan and Allen & Gledhill.
Kirin, a Japanese beer and beverage holding company, offered to acquire the remaining 77% stake in FANCL, a cosmetics and dietary supplements company, for $1.4bn.
With FANCL as a wholly-owned subsidiary, Kirin will accelerate the creation of a competitive business model by mutually complementing each company's unique strengths through the mutual utilization of management resources and the promotion of integrated management. By commercializing ingredients created through the natural technology of fermentation, leveraging customer understanding gained from Kirin's and FANCL's strong relationships with consumers, and delivering them to consumers through multiple channels in the Asia-Pacific region, the Kirin Group will contribute to solving consumers' health issues in both the cosmetics and health food businesses and further enhance its presence in the global market in addition to Japan.
Kirin is advised by Nomura.
Hibiscus Petroleum, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, agreed to acquire the Brunei subsidiary from TotalEnergies, a global integrated energy company, for $259m.
"This transaction fits with our strategy to actively manage our portfolio by monetizing mature assets and to allocate our talents to the most promising assets," Jean-Pierre Sbraire, TotalEnergies CFO.
Vodafone plans to sell $2.3bn stake sale in Indus.
Vodafone Group is seeking to sell its entire $2.3bn stake in India's Indus Towers through block deals next week.
Vodafone owns about 21.5% of the Indian tower company and may sell less than the entire stake if there is insufficient demand. Vodafone's Chief Executive Officer Margherita Della Valle, who took the reigns last year, has sold off underperforming markets and worked to scale back a sprawling empire that at one point stretched from the US to Africa.
The final size of the stake sale is yet to be decided and could be lower than 21.5% if demand, which is still being assessed, is insufficient.
Vodafone plans to sell the stake via block deals in Indian stock markets next week and has hired Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas to manage the deal.
Income Insurance in talks with Allianz on potential deal.
Singapore's Income Insurance said it is in talks with Allianz, about a possible tie-up, saying only that any potential deal related to its shares.
The statement suggests Allianz could take a stake in the Singapore insurer or the two companies could form some sort of partnership. There is no assurance that any transaction will materialise or that any definitive or binding agreement will be reached, Reuters reported.
UBS nears a sale of Credit Suisse China unit to Beijing Fund. (FS)
UBS Group has entered final negotiations with a Beijing-backed fund over the sale of Credit Suisse's money-losing China venture as talks with Citadel Securities stalled.
UBS is now in exclusive talks with its Chinese partner, Beijing State-Owned Assets Management on the deal. A final decision and an agreement with the buyer could be reached as soon as the end of this month.
As part of the proposed two-step transaction, the Swiss lender plans to first sell most of its stake in Credit Suisse Securities (China) to the Beijing government, which will ultimately own 85% of the venture. It will then buy Beijing's 33% holding in UBS Securities to attain full ownership. UBS would still retain 15% of the Credit Suisse venture after the transaction, with the Beijing city government holding the rest, Bloomberg reported.
Banks said to urge Hong Kong to be more flexible on convertible bonds and stock buybacks.
Major investment banks are asking Hong Kong's stock exchange to allow companies with a primary listing in the city to do share buybacks and convertible bond sales simultaneously.
The request follows a flurry of high-profile issuances by Chinese technology companies including Alibaba Group, JD and Trip, which raised billions of dollars in convertible bond sales and used some of the proceeds to repurchase their American depositary receipts. They could do that as their main listings are in the US. In Hong Kong it wouldn't be possible, Bloomberg reported.
Hyundai Motor India looks to raise $3bn in potentially India's largest IPO.
Hyundai Motor India is preparing for a massive initial public offering that could set a new record in the Indian stock market. According to the draft red herring prospectus, HMIL will offer up to 142.2m equity shares, representing 17.5% of the post-offer paid-up equity share capital.
While the exact amount to be raised has not been specified, bankers aware of the IPO details suggest that the carmaker aims to raise approximately $2.5bn to $3bn, valuing the company at $25-30bn.
This proposed IPO could surpass the record set by the Life Insurance Corp of India's $2.46bn issue in May 2022, making it the largest in the country's history. Further, the company intends to offer 35% of the total equity on offer for sale in the IPO to retail individual investors.
Hyundai Motor India is advised by Kotak Mahindra Capital, Citigroup, HSBC, Capital Markets, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, Live Mint reported.
CDH Investments partners China's state capital investor for $345m mezzanine fund. (FS)
China-focused CDH Investments, which manages over $27bn, has joined hands with a state capital investor for the launch of a mezzanine fund to deploy about $345m in internet data centre infrastructure.
Alternative asset management firm CDH Investments set up the fund, dubbed "CDH Zhiwen Mezzanine Fund," in partnership with Fuzhou State-Owned Capital Investment and Operation Group to invest in modern IDC infrastructure to boost "the high-quality development of a digital economy," the state capital investor announced earlier last week.
Designed for a hybrid of debt and equity financing, a mezzanine fund offers a complex form of business loan that gives the lender the right to convert a debt to an equity interest in the company after a predetermined payback time frame has passed, DealStreetAsia reported.
|
