Alstom, a French TGV high-speed train maker, intends to stick to the terms of its previously-agreed rail deal with Bombardier, stated Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Alstom Chairman and CEO.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory clearance, is expected to close in the first half of 2021.
Bombardier is advised by Citigroup, National Bank Financial, Rockefeller Capital Management, UBS, Jones Day and Norton Rose Fulbright. CDPQ is advised by HSBC, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and McCarthy Tetrault. Alstom is advised by Rothschild & Co, Societe Generale and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Debt financing is provided by Credit Agricole, HSBC and Societe Generale.
A special committee of WeWork board members filed a motion in Delaware to prevent it from being disbanded, as it pursues legal action against majority owner SoftBank Group over an abandoned $3bn tender offer for the office space-sharing start-up, Reuters reported.
WeWork's special committee filed a "status quo order" which would preserve the committee's authority pending the outcome of the legal case between WeWork and SoftBank. A judge in Delaware court last month set the trial date for the case for early January.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice agreed to acquire Radio Systems, a developer and distributor of durable pet products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Radio Systems is a differentiated market leader with a talented management team, dedicated, hard-working employees, a product portfolio that pet owners truly value, and a three-decade track record of product-driven innovation and strong overall results. We believe Radio Systems is a great fit with CD&R's experience helping businesses prosper over the long term," John Compton, CD&R Operating Partner.
Radio Systems is advised by Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. CD&R is advised by BMO Capital, BNP Paribas, Fifth Third Bancorp, UBS and Debevoise & Plimpton.
APC Holdings, an investment firm formed to acquire and scale Fortune 500 suppliers, completed a majority investment in Sequential Technology International, a solutions provider in the software, consulting and BPO sectors. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are very excited to partner with the APCH team. APCH possesses a wide network of contacts with Fortune 500 companies that will serve as a growth catalyst for our business. The team has a proven track record in the BPO sector and is exceptionally engaged and committed to the success of the management team, the employees and our customers. We look forward to creating an amazing next chapter in the STI story with our new partners," Kent Mathy, STI President and CEO.
STI was advised by Raymond James and Jones Day. APCH was advised by Greenberg Traurig.
Melody Investment Advisors, an alternative asset manager focused on communications infrastructure, agreed to acquire a 90% stake in Uniti Towers, the wireless tower business of real estate investment trust Uniti Group, for $220m.
"As the transition to 5G continues, communications infrastructure is one of the fastest-growing, most stable and critical segments of the economy. We are excited about the addition of these towers to our expanding portfolio and the benefits they will bring both to our carrier partners and to our investors. We look forward to working with Uniti as we continue to grow and invest in our wireless infrastructure platform while seeking further growth through acquisitions," Omar Jaffrey, Melody Investment Advisors Managing Partner and Founder.
Uniti Group is advised by Goldman Sachs.
Stellar IT Solutions, an information technology design, development, product solution and talent management company, completed the acquisition of StanSource, an information technology services and solutions provider based in Dulles, Virginia. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Stellar serves as a main source of talent for our clients, and the acquisition of StanSource allows us to expand our talent footprint in the Washington, DC, area. This, in turn, allows us to respond quickly to the talent needs of diverse clients," Dipak Thakker, Stellar CEO and President.
PNC Financial Services considers divesting its BlackRock stake to free cash. (FS)
PNC Financial Services Group is cashing out one of the financial industry's most lucrative bets, selling off its BlackRock stake. The move will bolster the bank amid the coronavirus pandemic and allow it to seize opportunities to grow if rivals stumble.
The Pittsburgh-based lender announced plans to unload its roughly $17bn holding in the world's largest asset manager through a public offering. BlackRock will file a preliminary prospectus supplement relating to the offering of BlackRock shares. PNC currently holds 34.8m common, and Series B preferred shares of BlackRock, representing 22.4% ownership.
"As good stewards of shareholder capital, we have consistently reviewed options to unlock the value of our investment. We feel the time is now right to do just that, realizing a substantial return on our investment, significantly enhancing our already strong balance sheet and liquidity, and leaving PNC very well-positioned to take advantage of potential investment opportunities that history has shown can arise in disrupted markets," William S. Demchak, PNC Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Richard Branson to divest a 12% stake in Virgin Galactic. (FS)
Richard Branson's Virgin Group plans to sell as much as 12% of Virgin Galactic Holdings, a spaceflight company, to shore up its other travel and tourism businesses.
In a regulatory filing Monday, Virgin said it would sell as many as 25m shares in the company, to raise funds to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses. Those businesses, including a cruise line and two airlines, have been hit hard by a drop in demand amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
Collier Creek considers acquiring Utz Quality Food.
Utz Quality Foods, a potato chip-maker, is in talks to be acquired by Collier Creek Holdings, a blank-check company started by former Blackstone Group executives, Bloomberg reported.
A deal valuing the maker of cheese balls and potato stix at more than $1bn, including debt, could be reached as soon as this month. The companies have been in talks since before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Collier, a special purpose acquisition company, raised $440m in an IPO in October 2018 with a focus on buying consumer goods and related businesses.
Amazon considers the acquisition of AMC Entertainment.
AMC Entertainment Holdings jumped as much as 56% on a media report that Amazon had discussed a potential takeover of the largest US movie-theatre owner.
It's unclear if the talks are active or will lead to a deal.
ZoomInfo considers an IPO. (FS)
ZoomInfo Technologies, a business intelligence platform owned by private equity firms, plans to go public as early as June in what could be one of the first technology listings since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported.
The Vancouver, Washington-based company may launch a virtual roadshow to market its stock as soon as this month. ZoomInfo updated its filing for an IPO with its latest financial information.
EMEA
Vodafone stated it had no plans to gatecrash the £31bn ($38bn) merger of rivals Virgin Media and O2 as it reported strong full-year results and maintained its dividend, FT reported.
The British company has long been seen as a potential merger partner for Liberty Global's cable business, Virgin Media, and has held discussions with the US company in the past. Some analysts and bankers thought Liberty's deal with O2 would be a potential trigger for Vodafone to make a rival offer.
Telefonica is advised by Citigroup, Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills. Liberty Global is advised by JP Morgan, LionTree Advisors, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling.
Tongaat Hulett, South Africa's sugar producer, is in a deadlock over the sale of its starch business to Barloworld, an industrial brand management company, over a condition set during the signing of the deal.
The deal is subject to certain conditions including that no "material adverse changes" must occur after the signing of the agreement that could affect the business.
Barloworld stated that an MAC had occurred given the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which is likely to lead to a drop of c. 82.5% in EBITDA at the starch business for the financial year ending March 31, 2021.
Barloworld is advised by Absa Corporate Banking and DLA Piper. Debt financing is provided by Nedbank.
Growth investor Mandarin Capital Partners completed the acquisition of Klapp Cosmetics, a family-run beauty products enterprise. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Our cooperation with cosmetics institutes is and will remain, our core business. This is precisely where we will invest heavily to offer our customers perceivable added value. We also see other growth potential besides this: we want to drive out international expansion – in its capacity as a leading innovator for cosmetics products, the Klapp Cosmetics brand is predestined for further expansion. 'Made in Germany' is an important argument, especially on international markets. This will help strengthen our company's long-term competitiveness," Reiner Engert, Klapp Cosmetics CEO.
Klapp Cosmetics was advised by JB Business Consulting. Mandarin Capital Partners was advised by Clairfield.
KKR & Co completed the acquisition of a 5.2% stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media, a European mass media company based in Germany. ProSieben disclosed KKR's stake in line with German stock exchange rules which trigger a mandatory filing at a threshold of 5%. KKR owns a 3.2% stake directly and 2.0% via unspecified instruments.
"We have decided to reinvest into ProSiebenSat.1 based on our belief that markets are currently undervaluing the company. We view this as a financial investment," KKR.
Main Capital Partners-backed GBTEC, a software and consulting specialist, completed the acquisition of avedos, a Vienna-based GRC software provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are very pleased to welcome avedos to the GBTEC Group. The strategic combination with avedos is a great starting point in our international buy-and-build strategy with the aim to turn GBTEC into the European market leader in BPM. The comprehensive and complimentary GRC solution of avedos adds further depth to GBTEC's vertical offering and we are confident that we can quickly leverage the synergies in products and business models for the benefit of existing and new customers," Sven van Berge Henegouwen, Main Capital Partners Partner.
Emerging Markets Property Group, which owns and operates bespoke property verticals in emerging markets, primarily in the Middle East and South Asia, agreed to acquire Lamudi Global, an online property platform focused on emerging markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We welcome the Lamudi Global teams to the EMPG family. They bring with them a lot of experience and domain knowledge, and we value the people who have been with the business since the beginning. We look forward to working with the team to continue growing the business, and EMPG will provide strategic, technological and financial support as needed," Imran Ali Khan, EMPG CEO.
Main Capital Partners raised €564m for its Main Capital VI fund. (FS)
Main Capital Partners, a private equity company, executed the final closing of Main Capital VI on the hard cap of €564m ($610m), well above the target size. Main Capital VI will continue with the strategy to invest in majority buyouts of stable, profitable and growing Enterprise Software companies in our key focus regions Benelux, DACH and Nordics.
"We are very grateful for our investors' continued support and strive to continue to support and build successful and resilient enterprise software companies together with the founders and management teams of our companies. The goal is to achieve value for all stakeholders," Charly Zwemstra, Main Capital Partners Managing Partner.
Cathay Innovation raises $550m for the second fund. (FS)
Cathay Innovation, a venture capital fund affiliated with Cathay Capital Private Equity, raised $550m for its second global vehicle that invests across Europe, China, the US and most recently, Southeast Asia.
APAC
Bain Capital completed an $817m majority investment in Showa Aircraft Industry, which manufactures aircraft equipment and speciality vehicles such as tank lorries and arm elevators. Bain Capital now fully owns the business and Showa Aircraft Industry has been delisted from the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
"We are pleased to partner with Showa Aircraft, a well-established company that contributed significantly to the development of Japan's transportation industry for more than 80 years. Through the redevelopment of Showa Aircraft's real estate assets, we hope to support the local economy in Akishima and meet the growing demands of the city's expanding population. We will leverage our deep operational expertise to support and grow the company's manufacturing business," David Gross-Loh, Bain Capital Managing Director.
Bain Capital was advised by Ropes & Gray.
Tencent, a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company, completed an investment in Tim Hortons China, a fast-food restaurant chain. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Tim Hortons will use the funds to upgrade digital infrastructure and open more stores in China. The company said it would expand store numbers in China from 50 now to 1.5k.
Cartesian Capital was advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
Global investment management company First State Investments agreed to acquire Ultrafast Fibre, which owns and operates fibre networks, from WEL Networks and Waipa Networks for $519m.
"The UFF sale enables WEL Networks to strengthen the core electricity business balance sheet, allowing us to pursue new opportunities and invest in innovative energy solutions in accordance with our business strategy. The investment in fibre has both delivered valuable infrastructure to our communities and proved a very successful investment for WEL," Rob Campbell, WEL Group Chairman.
Novast, a pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes generic drugs, raised c. $141m in a Legend Capital-led funding round. Shiyu Capital, Xiamen C&D, the Ministry of Commerce, China Merchants Group, Highlight Capital and Highsino Group also participated in the round.
"The first goal of Novast is to achieve a breakthrough in the internationalization of high-end oral solid preparations made in China and to provide high-quality and inexpensive drugs for the US prescription drug market. The company's second goal is to bring high-end pharmaceutical products into the domestic market and into other counties for the benefit of mankind," Zhang Guohua, Novast Founder and President.
Kopi Kenangan, an Indonesian coffee chain, raised $109m in a Sequoia Capital-led Series B funding round, with the participation of B Capital, Horizons Ventures, Verlinvest, Kunlun, Sofina and Alpha JWC.
The company plans on using the capital to strengthen its operations in Indonesia, launch new products, invest in technology to serve its customers better, and protect employees amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The hospitality industry is facing the biggest existential crisis of our generation. It's hard to tell when the sector will return to normal, but when it does, it will look very different. As a growing start-up, we are adapting quickly to the challenge through contactless commerce and uncompromising hygiene standards throughout our stores," Edward Tirtanata, Kopi Kenangan Co-Founder and CEO.
Brookfield and Rahul Bhatia consider bidding for Virgin Australia. (FS)
Brookfield Asset Management and Indian aviation tycoon Rahul Bhatia are considering bids for Virgin Australia Holdings, joining a number of suitors seeking to capitalize on Asia's first airline casualty from the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported.
Brookfield, which manages more than $540bn, is planning to make its own indicative offer before the end of this week. It could team up with other bidders later in the process.
Bhatia, the billionaire co-founder of Indian budget carrier IndiGo, is separately evaluating the information on the Australian airline and finalizing his strategy for a potential bid. The proposal is being prepared by Bhatia's private holding company InterGlobe Enterprises and does not involve IndiGo.
Anil Agarwal considers buyout of Vedanta. (FS)
Billionaire Anil Agarwal is exploring a potential deal to take Indian commodities giant Vedanta private, Bloomberg reported. The tycoon is speaking with advisers about the possibility of buying out minority shareholders of the Mumbai-listed company. While talks are advanced, a deal could still be delayed or fall apart.
Vedanta shares have fallen more than 40% this year, giving the company a market value of about $4.4bn. Companies controlled by Agarwal and his family own 50.1% of Vedanta.
Kotak Mahindra picks Bank of America and Morgan Stanley for $1bn share sale.
Kotak Mahindra Bank picked Bank of America and Morgan Stanley to work on a proposed $1bn share sale, Bloomberg reported.
The fundraising could happen as soon as next month. Kotak Mahindra in April announced a plan to sell as many as 65m new shares. The Indian lender did not provide pricing details, though following the formula set out by regulators, the offering could be worth about $1bn in total. Kotak Mahindra Capital, the lender's investment bank, will also participate in the issue.
Sequoia-backed Dingdong Maicai said to raise $300m. (FS)
Sequoia-backed Dingdong Maicai, a fresh produce and grocery e-commerce platform, raised $300m in a new funding round that values it at $2bn, as the online grocer benefits from a rise in demand for fresh food delivery amid coronavirus-related restrictions, DealStreetAsia reported.
New Horizon Health picks Goldman Sachs and UBS for IPO. (FS)
New Horizon Health, a Chinese maker of home test kits for colon cancer, has picked Goldman Sachs Group and UBS Group to arrange its planned IPO in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.
The seven-year-old company is considering raising about $300m from the share sale. The startup, which counts Qiming Venture Partners and Duke Management among its investors, aims to kick off the share sale as soon as the third quarter.
Qi An Xin plans to raise $634m in STAR Market IPO.
Qi An Xin Group, a Chinese cybersecurity major, which raised CNY1.5bn ($210m) about seven months ago, filed a prospectus with the Nasdaq-style STAR Market on Monday to move towards an IPO of CNY4.5bn ($634m).
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