Barrick Gold Corporation, the largest gold mining company in the world, withdrew its $18bn hostile bid for rival Newmont Mining. The companies instead opted to form a joint venture in Nevada. The bid, which was announced last month, was firmly rejected by Newmont.
“We are finally taking down the fences to operate Nevada as a single entity in order to deliver full value to both sets of shareholders,” Barrick Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said in a statement.
CIBC, M. Klein, Cravath Swaine & Moore and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg advised Barrick Gold Corporation. BMO Capital Markets, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Goodmans, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and White & Case advised Newmont.
Goldcorp, a gold production company headquartered in Vancouver, received criticism from gold research company Shareholders’ Gold Council, for its decision to approve an additional payment for chairman Ian Telfer with regard to its proposed $10bn merger with Newmont Mining. According to a Goldcorp circular cited by SGC, Telfer will be entitled to a lump sum retirement allowance of about $12m. He was previously entitled to $4.5m.
“While Goldcorp is telling its shareholders to sell their shares close to a 13-year low, Goldcorp management stands to reap over $33m in potential change of control payments,” the statement said.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Fort Capital Partners, TD Securities, Cassels Brock & Blackwell, Neal Gerber & Eisenberg, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advised Goldcorp. BMO, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Goodmans, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, White & Case and Joele Frank advised Newmont.
CCMP Capital Advisors acquired BGIS, a leading integrated facilities management company, from Brookfield Business Partners for $1bn. Leading the global real estate industry with innovative outsourcing and fully integrated solutions since 1992, BGIS provides a full spectrum of customized facility management services, project delivery services, energy and sustainability solutions, asset management, workplace advisory and management, and real estate services to real estate and infrastructure owners and occupiers.
“We have been very impressed by the industry-leading business the experienced BGIS management team has built over the years, rooted in a strong culture of caring, innovation and high-performance,” said Greg Brenneman, Executive Chairman of CCMP. “We are excited to partner with Gord and his team to continue to grow BGIS for the benefit of customers and employees.”
CCMP was advised by Ropes & Gray, McCarthy Tétrault, Clayton Utz and Morgan Stanley. Brookfield Business Partners was advised by Citigroup, CIBC Capital Markets, TD Securities, Stikeman Elliott, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and interEllison.
Buyout firm TPG Capital acquired Goodnight Midstream, a leading midstream produced water infrastructure company, for $930m. TPG is acquiring the company from Tailwater Capital and private investors. Existing shareholders, including management, will retain a significant minority interest in the company.
“The team at Goodnight Midstream has created a differentiated approach to providing produced water services through a dynamic midstream model,” said Christopher Ortega, Partner at TPG Capital. “As the midstream water sector continues to develop and mature, we believe the company is well positioned to emerge as a leading provider of scale. We’re excited to support the company through its next chapter of growth.”
BMO and Kirkland & Ellis advised TPG. Jefferies, Credit Suisse and Vinson & Elkins advised Goodnight Midstream.
The New York Yankees, an American professional baseball team, together with private equity firm Blackstone Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns local TV stations across the country, and online retailing giant Amazon, acquired Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network from Disney for $3.4bn. Under the terms of the deal, the Yankees will be the majority owner of the YES network, which airs the Yankees games as well as games of other New York teams including the Brooklyn Nets and New York City Football Club.
Investment company ACON Investments acquired a stake in JD Beauty, the company behind the popular WetBrush branded hair care accessories, Bio Ionic hair styling tools and Ouidad hair care, from Topspin Partners. JD Beauty will merge with ACON portfolio company Goody Products. No financial terms were disclosed.
Ken Brotman, Founding and Managing Partner at ACON commented: “The combination of JD Beauty and Goody creates a formidable supplier within the industry. We look forward to working with Jeffrey and the entire JD Beauty and Goody teams to continue a growth trajectory for the integrated company.”
Intrepid Advisors and Lowenstein Sandler advised JD Beauty. Hogan Lovells advised ACON.
Private equity firm Greenbriar Equity acquired Dart Aerospace, a leading provider of mission equipment and aftermarket components for the helicopter and fixed-wing industries, from Era Group and Eagle Copters, two aerospace companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Noah Roy, Managing Partner of Greenbriar, commented: “Dart is well recognized in the industry for its engineering-led culture of innovation and success developing critical aftermarket and OEM components to support customers worldwide. We look forward to supporting Dart’s world-class management team and employees during this next chapter of the Company’s growth.”
Houlihan Lokey advised the sellers.
American Express, an American multinational financial services corporation, acquired San Francisco-based LoungeBuddy, a digital platform that enables travelers to discover, book and access airport lounges worldwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The expansive airport lounge access we offer our premium Card Members through the Global Lounge Collection is among the most popular travel benefits we offer, which is why we continue to invest in enhancing the lounge access and services we provide,” said Chris Cracchiolo, Senior Vice President, Global Loyalty and Benefits, American Express. “With the acquisition of LoungeBuddy, we will be able to leverage its cutting-edge platform to develop additional ways to become an essential part of our Card Members’ digital lives.”
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advised American Express.
Blackstone Infrastructure Partners invested in Carrix, the largest marine terminal operator in the US and the Americas. Carrix is the parent company of SSA Marine and its related affiliates with combined operations at over 250 port and rail locations worldwide, including 16 container terminals in Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma, Panama, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Vietnam. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We are pleased that BIP has invested in Carrix and will be working with us to continue our on-going growth and development,” said Jon Hemingway, Chairman of Carrix. “Along with its affiliates, BIP brings an amazing network of highly skilled and experienced people, global relationships, expertise in a diverse array of businesses, and myriad capabilities to apply. When combined with our experience in the port industry and infrastructure development, we have substantially broadened what our shareholders and directors can do to support Carrix and its management team.”
Private equity firm Behrman Capital made a significant investment in The Emmes Corporation, a leading contract research organization that partners with government, private foundation, and commercial clients to develop treatments for diseases and disorders impacting public health. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Grant G. Behrman, Managing Partner of Behrman Capital, said: "Emmes has built a strong and enduring heritage as a trusted and collaborative research partner. The Company is well positioned for growth in the near- and long-term, across a number of therapeutic areas of focus including infectious disease, oncology and ophthalmology. We look forward to partnering with Anne, Sal, and Emmes' world-class team to increase the scope and scale of the business through organic initiatives and accretive acquisitions."
Helen of Troy ponders the sale of its personal care business.
Consumer products and appliance maker Helen of Troy said it was exploring a sale of its ill-performing personal care business that includes Pert shampoo and Brut perfume brands. The company said a divestiture would allow it to focus on core brands such as Honeywell air purifiers and OXO kitchenware. The sale could fetch approximately $300m.
Helen of Troy, which has a market capitalization of $2.8bn, is just the latest company to look to offload its personal care business. Nestle in September said it was looking to divest its skin health division.
Shares of the company rose about 1% to $111.52 in morning trading.
Newcrest acquired a copper and gold mine in Canada for $807m.
Newcrest Mining, an Australian-based corporation which engages in the exploration, development, mining and sale of gold and gold-copper concentrate, acquired 70% stake in a copper and gold mine in Canada for $807m. The mine was sold by Imperial Metals Corporation, a Canadian metals and mining company.
The acquisition of Red Chris mine comes amid a shakeup in the gold industry after Barrick Gold Corp’s offer for Newmont Mining in an $18bn deal that would have made a global gold giant. Newcrest has been touted as a potential buyer of Newmont’s Australian assets.
Azul acquired Avianca Brasil’s assets for $105m.
Brazilian airline Azul acquired certain assets of Avianca Brasil, a Brazilian airline based in São Paulo, for $105m. Azul said the non-binding purchase agreement would involve 70 pairs of slots, which grant airlines the rights to operate regular flights between airports. The sale would more than double Azul’s presence at Congonhas, Sao Paulo’s busy domestic airport, a source familiar with the deal told
Reuters.
GCP Applied Technologies closing in on a board deal with Starboard. (FS)
American construction and building materials supplier GCP Applied Technologies is nearing a deal over the composition of its board with activist hedge fund Starboard Value. Starboard recently acquired a 4.6% stake in the company and put forth five nominations to its board. GCP agreed to appoint at least two of Starboard’s nominees. The agreement could be reached as early as this week.
Alpine Investors targets $750m for its seventh fund. (FS)
Alpine Investors is seeking to raise $750m for its seventh fund, according to an SEC filing. Based in San Francisco, Alpine focuses on small to medium-sized businesses. To date, Alpine Investors has landed a total of $532m across two funds.
Alpine Investors is a private equity firm specializing in investments in and acquisitions of small to mid-sized companies and also considers minority investments for growth. The firm typically invests through recapitalizations, asset purchases, and stock purchases. Its investments may be used to provide full or partial liquidity to entrepreneurs, family members, estates, passive investors, and corporate owners. The company generates approximately $17m in revenue annually.
