Daily Review

Harborside, a California-focused, vertically integrated cannabis enterprise, agreed to acquire Urbn Leaf, a top California cannabis retailer with a dominant position in Southern California, and Loudpack, a manufacturer, cultivator and distributor of award-winning cannabis brands, for c. $100m.

"The cannabis industry in California has reached an important tipping point, and with the collective strengths of these three companies and the benefits of integration, we have the right combination of assets and skills to set a new standard, offering consumers the widest variety of products with best-in-class customer service," Ed Schmults, Urbn Leaf CEO.

Urbn Leaf is advised by PGP Capital Advisors and Burns & Levinson. Loudpack is advised by Beacon Securities, Ducera Partners and Feuerstein Kulick. Harborside is advised by ATB Capital, PI Financial, Stoic Advisory, Cassels Brock & Blackwell and Duane Morris.

 

Innovid, a marketing and advertising company, went public via a SPAC merger with ION Acquisition 2, a special purpose acquisition company, in a $1.3bn deal. Innovid also secured approximately $150m of PIPE financing anchored by top-tier institutional investors including Fidelity Management and Research Company, Baron Capital Group and others including funds affiliated with ION and Phoenix Group.

"Innovid is entering an exciting new chapter of growth as a public company, a major milestone that corresponds with rising adoption and demands for streaming television. As a public company, we expect that we will be able to build on our leading market position, accelerate the growth of our business, and remain the independent platform trusted by the world's largest TV advertisers," Zvika Netter, Innovid Co-Founder and CEO.

Innovid was advised by Evercore, FWMK Law Offices, Latham & Watkins and Crenshaw Communications. ION was advised by Ernst & Young, Morgan Stanley, Debevoise & Plimpton, Goldfarb Seligman & Co and White & Case.

Exor's PartnerRe sale to free $10bn for investments. (FS)

Exor, the holding company of Italy's Agnelli family, will have about $10.2bn available for investments next year once it completes the sale of reinsurer PartnerRe, Reuters reported.

The company will also make available another $560m to spend on a share buyback between 2022 and 2024 and $560m to reduce debt next year to $4.5bn. The company will remain open to other industries and geographies.

Covea Mutual Insurance Group is advised by Barclays, JP Morgan, Rothschild & Co, Bredin Prat, Debevoise & Plimpton and Pedersoli Studio Legale. Exor is advised by Goldman Sachs, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and Sullivan & Cromwell.

 

CNH Industrial, a company operating in the capital goods sector, completed the acquisition of Raven Industries, a precision agriculture technology company, for $2.1bn. 

"Raven has been a pioneer in precision agriculture for decades, and their deep product experience, customer-driven software expertise and engineering acumen offer a significant boost to our capabilities. This acquisition emphasizes our commitment to enhance our precision farming portfolio and aligns with our digital transformation strategy. The combination of Raven's technologies and CNH Industrial's strong current and new product portfolio will provide our customers with novel, connected technologies, allowing them to be more productive and efficient," Scott Wine, CNH Industrial CEO.

Raven Industries was advised by JP Morgan, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Joele Frank. JP Morgan was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. CNH Industrial was advised by Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Mayer Brown and Sullivan & Cromwell.

 

Trilantic and Cornell Capital-backed Ingenovis Health, a tech-enabled platform for healthcare staffing, agreed to acquire HealthCare Support, a national healthcare staffing platform providing a full range of customized hiring solutions across the United States. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Since its founding, HealthCare Support has been a true differentiator, with national reach, diversified offerings across a wide range of healthcare settings, and a long track record of growth. We are excited to add such a high-performing business to the Ingenovis platform along with HSS management, who have decades of industry experience and a demonstrated ability to execute and scale. We share a commitment to providing much-needed staffing services across the healthcare industry, and we look forward to adding HSS employees' knowledge and passion to the Ingenovis team as we accelerate our growth plans," Bart Valdez, Ingenovis Health CEO.

HealthCare Support is advised by Wells Fargo Securities and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Ingenovis Health is advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell. Cornell Capital is advised by Joele Frank. Debt financing is provided by Citizens Bank and UBS.

 

Edgewell Personal Care, an American consumer products corporation, agreed to acquire Billie, a US-based consumer brand company that offers a broad portfolio of personal care products for women, for $310m.

"We are thrilled to add Billie to our portfolio of brands. We are focused on our stated goal of building on our leading position in the women's shave category and executing on our M&A strategy with discipline and precision, both of which this acquisition accomplishes. Edgewell has been a strategic supplier to Billie since its inception, and we view this acquisition as a natural evolution of the partnership between our two companies. This acquisition immediately enhances the consumer-centric, digital capabilities of our organization and elevates our presence in the important mid-tier value segment of women's shaving in the US, while bolstering Billie's ability to capitalize on significant growth opportunities by leveraging our retail distribution platform and marketing channels. Additionally, the acquisition provides us with a unique opportunity to further broaden Billie's reach beyond razors and blades," Rod Little, Edgewell President and CEO.

Billie is advised by Goldman Sachs, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer and Fenwick & West. Edgewell is advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

 

Athene, a retirement services company, and Apollo Global Management, an investment firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Aqua Finance, a fast-growing consumer lending platform, from The Blackstone Group at a $1bn valuation.

"Aqua Finance is an exciting opportunity for Athene to invest in a leading consumer finance platform, to provide capital and expertise to continue to grow the business, and to execute on our strategy with Apollo to invest in high-quality origination platforms," Jim Belardi, Athene CEO.

Aqua Finance is advised by Goldman Sachs, Lazard and Weil Gotshal and Manges. Apollo is advised by Sidley Austin.

 

Fenway Sports Group, a global sports, marketing, media, entertainment, and real estate company, agreed to invest in Pittsburgh Penguins, a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"The Pittsburgh Penguins are a premier National Hockey League franchise with a very strong organization, a terrific history and a vibrant, passionate fan base. We will work diligently to continue building on the remarkable Penguins' tradition of championships and exciting play," Tom Werner, FSG Chairman.

Pittsburgh Penguins is advised by Citigroup and Reed Smith. FSG is advised by Bank of America and Shearman & Sterling.

Chatham Asset Management increased its offer for RR Donnelley to $10.25 per share in cash. (FS)

Chatham Asset Management, a private investment firm, increased its offer for the remaining stake in RR Donnelley, an American Fortune 500 integrated communications company that provides marketing and business communications, commercial printing, and related services, to $632m.

"Despite our efforts to engage with the Board on ways to position the business for long-term success, we no longer have confidence in RRD's ability to achieve full and fair value as a public company under the current Board and management team. As longstanding investors in RRD, we believe our offer presents the best path forward for the Company to unlock its intrinsic value, while also providing shareholders immediate and substantial cash," Chatham.

Chatam Asset Management is advised by Jefferies & Company, Lowenstein Sandler, Olshan Frome Wolosky and Gasthalter & Co.

 

Monomoy Capital Partners, a middle-market private investment firm focused on operational value creation, agreed to acquire Thetford, a provider of sanitation and care products for the RV, marine, camping and truck markets, from The Dyson-Kissner-Moran, a privately-owned, international holding company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We are excited to partner with Stéphane Cordeille and the rest of the Thetford management team. Thetford’s management team has built a global brand within the RV market that has a long-standing, enthusiast customer base. It has developed strong customer relationships driven by its focus on product quality and customer service. We look forward to growing the business organically as well as through M&A and believe Thetford is uniquely positioned to benefit from strong RV demand and an increasing RV installed base that will provide the opportunity to grow its aftermarket business for years to come,” Justin Hillenbrand, Monomoy Co-CEO.

Thetford is advised by Greenhill & Co and Torys. Monomoy Capital Partners is advised by Ropes & Gray and MiddleM Creative.

 

Britain's competition regulator told Facebook owner Meta Platforms to sell animated images platform Giphy after finding that the acquisition could harm social media users and UK advertisers, Reuters reported.

The Competition and Markers Authority said the decision was in line with provisional findings that Facebook's acquisition of Giphy in May last year would reduce competition between social media platforms and in the display advertising market.

Giphy was advised by JP Morgan and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian. Facebook was advised by Latham & Watkins.

 

GB Group, a digital location, identity, and identity fraud software manufacturer, completed the acquisition of Acuant, an identity verification and KYC/AML compliance provider, for $736m.

"This is an exciting day for Acuant. We are very proud of everything that Acuant has achieved to date – building a world-class technology portfolio and a strong market position across multiple sectors. There is still significant opportunity ahead and joining the GBG family is the best way for us to capitalize on those opportunities. Our customer, technology and geographical mix are complementary and culturally we are aligned in our mission, vision, and how we invest in our people and look after our customers. We are very much looking forward to working together in the years ahead," Yossi Zekri, Acuant CEO.

GB Group was advised by Jefferies & Company, Peel Hunt and Tulchan Communications.

 

Ardian and MidOcean-backed Florida Food Products, an international agribusiness, agreed to acquire Comax Flavors, a provider of clean label flavor solutions focused on the beverage and nutrition markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We are thrilled to welcome Comax to the FFP family, and to partner with the Calabretta family. Comax has built an impressive portfolio of natural flavors, which we intend to augment with FFP's industry-leading extraction, drying, and fermentation capabilities. Our acquisition of Comax represents our first major investment of the Ardian and MidOcean partnership and accelerates our objective of becoming the industry's largest independent provider of natural ingredients," Jim Holdrieth, FFP CEO.

Florida Food Products is advised by Houlihan Lokey and Weil Gotshal and Manges.

 

Pivotal bioVenture Partners led a $100m Series C round in HotSpot Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, with participation from LSP, B Capital Group, Monashee Investment Management, CaaS Capital Management, Revelation Partners, Pavilion Capital, Atlas Venture, Sofinnova Partners, SR One Capital Management, Tekla Capital Management and MRL Ventures Fund.

"With the support of top-tier healthcare and technology investors, we will expand on the significant productivity of the Smart Allostery™ platform to enable a treasure trove of sought-after disease targets and thereby develop medicines that broadly benefit patients," Jonathan Montagu, HotSpot Therapeutics CEO.

HotSpot Therapeutics was advised by Verge Scientific Communications.

 

Concentric Equity Partners-backed Riverbend Sandler Pools, a residential pool construction, service, and maintenance provider, agreed to acquire Pulliam Pools, a provider of pool construction, remodeling, and repair services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Pulliam has flourished under Debra's leadership and grown to become one of the largest pool builders in DFW. Debra has built an impressive company with a trusted and recognized brand name, and we're honored to carry her legacy forward," Charles Barnes, Riverbend Sandler Founder and Chairman.

 

First Onsite Property Restoration, a disaster recovery and restoration provider, completed the acquisition of Kauai Restoration & Cleaning, a water restoration, mitigation and reconstruction service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"This is a unique and exciting acquisition for First Onsite. Gabe's industry leadership combined with Kauai Restoration & Cleaning's competitive momentum fits perfectly with the First Onsite culture," Stacy Mazur, First Onsite CEO.

 

DNA Capital, an investment partnership, agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Inspirali, a medical education provider, from Anima Holding, a Brazilian education holding company, for $179m.

"We always think that this integrates very well with other investments, we believe it was a complement to a move to participate in the training of the doctor of the future, influencing medical training from the beginning to impact the health system in Brazil," Luiz Felipe Costa, DNA Capital Partner.

 

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sold half of his stake in the company in a series of transactions last week, divesting about 840k shares for a sum of more than $285m, GeekWire reported.

Nadella sold the shares for personal financial planning and diversification reasons. He is committed to the continued success of the company and his holdings significantly exceed the holding requirements set by the Microsoft Board of Directors, the Redmond-based company said in a statement Monday afternoon. 

It comes in advance of Washington state implementing a controversial new capital gains tax. Passed by lawmakers in April, it primarily targets stock and business ownership sales with a 7% tax on long-term capital gains of more than $250k.

Hertz hopes to buy back $2bn shares.

Hertz Global Holdings unveiled a plan to buy back as much as $2bn of its stock, a move that would return more capital to investors who stood by the car-rental company through its bankruptcy filing last year, WSJ repoted.

Hertz shares rose 6% on Monday. The stock has declined since relisting on Nasdaq earlier this month, but is still well above the low levels where it was trading earlier in the pandemic, when Hertz warned shareholders their holdings might go to zero.
 

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Tontine Holdings will need to make a new law to defeat investors' claims that it's operating illegally, said George Assad, who sued the SPAC. Assad asked the judge to deny Ackman's request that the suit be thrown out, Bloomberg reported.

"Defendants cannot cite any authority in which the SEC or the courts have knowingly authorized any issuer to offer redemption rights in a pool of securities comprising 100% of its assets with no operating business for two and a half years without becoming an investment company," Assad.
 

Thoma Bravo, the private equity firm led by Orlando Bravo, is exploring a sale of automation software provider Kofax, Bloomberg reported.

Thoma Bravo is working with an adviser to solicit potential interest in the Irvine, California-based company, which could fetch about $3bn including debt. No final decisions have been made and Thoma Bravo could opt to keep Kofax.
 

Software company HashiCorp is targeting a valuation of up to $13bn in its initial public offering in the United States, as the company seeks to take advantage of the high investor interest around enterprise software firms, Reuters reported.

HashiCorp's investors include venture capital firms Mayfield and GGV Capital. The company will list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol "HCP".

HashiCorp is advised by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.
 

Brazilian online lender Nubank is considering cutting the potential valuation of its initial public offering by nearly $10bn to up to $41.5bn, following a slump in technology stocks globally, Reuters reported.

Earlier this month, the Sao Paulo-based company aimed to raise nearly $3bn at a valuation of more than $50bn.
 

Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey is stepping down from his role and Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal will now lead the company, Reuters reported.

Twitter shares surged nearly 10% after the announcement and close down 2.7%.