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AMERICAS
Blue Owl Capital, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire Prima Capital Advisors, an investment advisor specializing in commercial mortgage investments, for $170m.
"In evaluating the next stage for how we can best serve our stakeholders, we identified Blue Owl as the clear value-driver given the strength of their management team, their exceptional capabilities and strong culture of collaboration. I along with Prima CIO Nilesh Patel, CFO Julia Tcherkassova, and the rest of the Prima team, are excited to join Blue Owl and continue the strong legacy we created over the past three decades," Gregory White, Prima CEO.
Prima Capital Advisors is advised by Morgan Stanley, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Blue Owl Capital is advised by Newmark Group, Berkshire Global Advisors, JP Morgan, Natixis Corporate, Scotiabank, Wells Fargo Securities and Kirkland & Ellis.
General Atlantic, an American growth equity firm, led a $425m investment in Buyers Edge Platform, a data and software tools provider, with participation from Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Morgan Stanley Tactical Value.
“Buyers Edge Platform has always been focused on driving better economic outcomes for foodservice stakeholders through technology. Our new partnership with GA Credit, Blackstone, and Morgan Stanley Tactical Value will enable us to fund key strategic initiatives and provide us with access to these firms’ global platforms and operational resources. Their support will allow us to continue on our mission of delivering even greater efficiency, connectivity, and value to the foodservice ecosystem," John Davie, Buyers Edge Platform Founder and CEO.
Five Arrows, the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co., agreed to acquire Rimes, a provider of EDM -as-a-Service and investment platform solutions to the global investment community, from EQT, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Rimes has been on a significant growth trajectory over the last few years, and I am really proud of what our team has achieved. Today, Rimes combines the customer-centric ethos and deep domain expertise that has differentiated us since 1996 with the industry's most modern technology and an innovative, comprehensive product offering designed to address the investment data challenges of the future. This transformation would not have been possible without the support of EQT and our Board, and I would like to thank them for the highly successful partnership. We look forward to joining forces with Five Arrows to build upon our strong momentum going forward," Brad Hunt, Rimes CEO.
Rimes is advised by Evercore and Latham & Watkins. Five Arrows is advised by Jefferies & Company and Shoosmiths. EQT is advised by Evercore and Latham & Watkins.
Sae-A Trading, a garment manufacturer and supply chain solution provider, agreed to acquire entities in Honduras, El Salvador, and the US from Tegra, a manufacturer of sports apparel products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have been impressed by the commitment of Sae-A to our business, region and customers, and believe this transaction represents an attractive outcome for Tegra, its employees and our stakeholders," Steve Cochran, Tegra CEO.
Sae-A Trading is advised by Ernst & Young and Baker McKenzie. Tegra is advised by Greenhill & Co, Palm Tree and O'Melveny & Myers.
Wind Point backed-Quantix, a supply chain services company to the chemical industry, completed the acquisition of Space City Services, a provider of transportation services for hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals and waste materials. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition is important for Quantix as we continue to lead the chemical industry in being a comprehensive provider of supply chain solutions for every need. Space City builds nicely on our portfolio and further expands the ways in which we can provide the best service to customers," Chris Ball, Quantix President and CEO.
Quantix is advised by KPMG and Kirkland & Ellis.
Grupo Financiero Galicia, a financial services holding company, agreed to acquire the Argentina business of HSBC, a British universal bank and financial services group, for $550m.
“We are pleased to agree the sale of HSBC Argentina. This transaction is another important step in the execution of our strategy and enables us to focus our resources on higher value opportunities across our international network. HSBC Argentina is largely a domestically focused business, with limited connectivity to the rest of our international network. Furthermore, given its size, it also generates substantial earnings volatility for the Group when its results are translated into US dollars. Galicia is better placed to invest in and grow the business," Noel Quinn, HSBC CEO.
HIG Capital, a global alternative investment firm, completed the acquisition of Segers Aero, an aviation company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Over the last five decades, we have made substantial investments in our facility, expertise, and capabilities to position Segers as a best-in-class provider of repair and overhaul services. Given our reputation for safety and providing the highest quality services, our customers are increasingly turning to Segers to meet their needs. We are excited to partner with HIG to leverage their resources and experience to further invest in our capabilities and provide best-in-class service to our customers,” Christo Kok, Segers Aero CEO.
Bain Capital raises $429m with Axis Bank stake sale. (FS)
Bain Capital has sold its Axis Bank stake at INR1,071 ($12.87) per share to raise $429m, Reuters reported.
Bain Capital declined to comment and Axis Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bain sold 33.4m shares in the block trade.
Silver Lake lines up $8.5bn financing for Endeavor buyout. (FS)
Silver Lake Management has lined up as much as $8.5bn of debt financing for its buyout of Endeavor Group Holdings, the talent agency and controlling investor in WWE and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bloomberg reported.
JP Morgan Chase & Co. is leading underwriters on a portion of the financing structured as a leveraged loan. The makeup and amount of debt could still change.
RBC begins integration of HSBC’s Canadian unit without a permanent CFO.
Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest bank by market capitalization, is navigating the early innings of its integration with HSBC’s Canadian business without a permanent finance chief, WSJ reported.
On April 5, Toronto-based RBC fired its chief financial officer, Nadine Ahn, after an investigation found she engaged in an undisclosed relationship with an employee. The relationship led to preferential treatment, including promoting the employee and compensation increases.
EMEA
The sale of Telecom Italia's network is the only "realistic" option for the group, as it grants the survival of the phone company, Italy's economy minister said on April 9, Reuters reported.
"TIM shareholders will decide if the sale of the fixed-line network to KKR will go ahead," Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italian Minister for Economic Development.
KKR is advised by Citigroup, Colombo & Associati (led by Paolo Colombo), JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley (led by Dominique Cahu), UBS (led by Riccardo Mulone), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (led by Michael Hilton), Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners (led by Francesco Gianni) and Community Group (led by Pasquo Cicchini). Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is advised by Evercore. Telecom is advised by Equita SIM (led by Carlo Andrea Volpe), Goldman Sachs (led by Francesco Pascuzzi and Macario Prieto), LionTree Advisors (led by Jake Donavan), Mediobanca (led by Giuseppe Baldelli), UniCredit (led by Andrea Petruzzello), Vitale & Co (led by Francesco Garbin), Clifford Chance, Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici (led by Rossella Pappagallo), Studio Carbonetti (led by Fabrizio Carbonetti), Sullivan & Cromwell (led by Stephen M. Kotran) and Community Group (led by Auro Palomba). Vivendi is advised by Chiomenti (led by Filippo Modulo).
Symphony Technology Group, an American private equity firm, agreed to acquire Gresham Technologies, a mission-critical software and automation solutions provider, for £147m ($185m).
"We couldn't be more excited about bringing together two leading financial technology providers and leveraging the respective strengths of each company to drive greater value for our combined customers. By combining Gresham with Alveo we will create a capital markets data management specialist that offers clients greater scale and a range of solutions to facilitate their business processes. We look forward to welcoming Gresham to the STG family," Marc Bala, STG Partners Managing Director.
Aviva, a multinational insurance company, completed the acquisition of AIG Life, an insurance agency, from Corebridge Financial, an American multinational financial services company, for $563m.
“This acquisition brings significant strategic and financial benefits to Aviva. It strengthens our prospects in the highly attractive UK protection market and continues our progress in repositioning the Group towards capital-light growth. We look forward to welcoming our new customers and colleagues to Aviva.” Amanda Blanc, Aviva Group Chief Executive Officer.
Entrust, a software company, completed the acquisition of Onfido, a cloud-based, AI-powered identity verification technology provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This acquisition comes at an inflection point in the industry. With the acquisition of Onfido, our customers can leverage global-leading identity verification technology to meet the new challenges of cybersecurity in the age of AI. Identity-centric security is the starting point for Zero Trust frameworks and ensures a company’s cyber defense is best positioned to meet today’s threats. Entrust now provides the broadest identity-centric security capabilities in the market, which combine with strong encryption technologies to enable the evolution to Zero Trust,” Todd Wilkinson, Entrust President and CEO.
Blackstone nears buyout of L’Occitane. (FS)
L’Occitane International’s billionaire owner Reinold Geiger is nearing a deal to take the skin-care company private with funding help from Blackstone, potentially ending its 14-year run on Hong Kong’s stock exchange, Bloomberg reported.
The world’s largest alternative asset manager may provide debt financing for the buyout. An announcement may come as soon as in the coming days. Trading of L’Occitane was suspended in Hong Kong on April 9, pending announcement related to takeover codes. The stock closed at HKD29.50 ($3.77) on April 8.
Puig plans €3bn IPO in Spain.
Jean Paul Gaultier owner Puig Brands plans to list the beauty group in Spain through a €3bn stock sale ($3.25bn) that would be the biggest initial public offering globally so far this year, WSJ reported.
The Barcelona-based company—which also owns the Carolina Herrera, Paco Rabanne, and Nina Ricci fashion houses—said April 8 that it intends to apply for a listing in Madrid and other Spanish stock exchanges.
APAC
Hinduja Group-backed IndusInd International Holdings, a Mauritius-based investment holding company, agreed to acquire a 60% stake in Invesco Asset Management India, a financial services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“It was our vision to transform IIHL into a BFSI powerhouse. We are very delighted to team up with Invesco to usher India’s Asset Management industry into a transformational innovation era,” Ashok Hinduja, IndusInd International Holdings Chairman.
UBS weighs Credit Suisse China stake swap with Beijing government. (FS)
UBS Group is in discussions to attain full ownership of its China platform by swapping its holding in Credit Suisse’s onshore securities venture with a Beijing government investment fund, Bloomberg reported.
The Zurich-based lender is proposing to buy the 33% stake held by Beijing State-Owned Assets Management in their joint venture UBS Securities. In return, UBS will sell part of or its entire 51% stake in Credit Suisse Securities (China) to the Beijing government fund.
Tan is said to weigh Starbucks Malaysia owner buyout.
Malaysian tycoon Vincent Tan is considering taking Kuala Lumpur-listed Berjaya Food private, Bloomberg reported.
Tan is in talks with banks about financing for a potential buyout deal for Berjaya Food, which owns 100% of Starbucks' Malaysian operations. Berjaya Food’s stock, which had lost more than a quarter of its value in the past year, jumped as much as 6.5% after the rumour, the biggest intraday gain since September.
Chevron exits Southeast Asian nation.
US supermajor Chevron has finally exited Myanmar, giving away for free its stake in the producing Yadana gas asset to existing operator PTTEP of Thailand and partner state-owned Myanma Oil & Gas.
Chevron early last year had agreed to sell its significant majority stake in the producing Yadana gas field offshore Myanmar to Canada’s MTI Energy, prompting non-governmental lobby group Justice for Myanmar to call for Canadian and UK sanctions on MOGE. However, that proposed deal is now dead in the water.
CDH buys 5% stake in Bach Hoa Xanh for $72m. (FS)
China's CDH Investments said that it completed an investment for a minority interest in grocery chain Bach Hoa Xanh, a unit of Vietnam’s biggest retail group by market value Mobile World.
The deal valued is at $72m and represents 5% of the firm’s charter capital.
Seven & I plans to list supermarket unit Ito-Yokado.
American-Japanese diversified retail holdings company Seven & i is planning to list its supermarket unit Ito-Yokado, which is facing intensifying competition from discount stores and online retailers, Bloomberg reported.
The listing could take years to complete and Seven & i is expected to hold shares in the entity. President and CEO Ryuichi Isaka may announce the plan together with its full-year earnings results.
SUSI Partners invests in Alba Renewables. (FS)
Swiss investment firm SUSI Partners, through the SUSI Asia Energy Transition Fund, has entered into an investment agreement with experienced Southeast Asian developer Alba Renewables to support the development, construction, and operation of utility-scale, ground-mounted solar photovoltaic and onshore wind projects in the Philippines.
The transaction will see SUSI participate in the buildout of a regional utility-scale renewables platform with a focus on the Philippines while supporting Alba’s broader growth plans across Southeast Asia.
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