21 Invest France, subsidiary of 21 Invest, formerly known as 21 Partners, has acquired ProductLife Group with the company's management team also investing significantly in operation. ProductLife Group is a specialist in regulatory affairs outsourced management and pharmacovigilance for the Healthcare and Life Sciences industries and more specifically for pharmaceutical laboratories.
Fabrice Voituron, Partner at 21 Invest France, says: "ProductLife is ideally positioned in a booming market. We are delighted to accompany the team in the realisation of its project combining resilience, strong growth and acquisition opportunities allowing ProductLife to reveal its full potential and become an undisputed leader on its market."
21 Invest was advised by KPMG, Roland Berger, J-P Milon and De Pardieu Brocas Maffei. ProductLife Group was advised by Adviso Partners, Villechenon, RothPartners and Grant Thornton.
Capzine invested in Intescia Group, a business intelligence software publisher, by acquiring a minority stake from Andera Partners, BNP Paribas Developpement and the management. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Intescia Group offers a range of B2B services in SaaS mode in the area of SmartData and Business Intelligence through four operational entities: DoubleTrade, Edisys, Corporama and Scores&Decisions.
Alexandre Sidommo, Intescia Group CEO, said: "We are happy to start the second part of our project initiated in 2013 with Andera and which continues with Capzanine, a major player that we needed to take full advantage of the new industrial revolution ahead of us. It will allow us to play a leading role by applying artificial intelligence to our business information databases and our tools, allowing our customers to have useful and up-to-date information in their systems (CRM, ERP) that can contribute to increase their turnover."
Andera Partners and BNP Paribas were advised by Rothschild & Co.
Silverfleet acquired a majority stake in STAXS.
Silverfleet Capital, the leading Pan-European private equity firm, has acquired a majority stake in STAXS Contamination Control Experts, a Benelux specialist in a value-added distribution of consumable products for cleanrooms in the Life Sciences and other industries. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Silverfleet Capital's investment will enable STAXS® to continue its strong growth trajectory by expanding its product range, customer base and geographic reach, as well as helping to build out the organisation. Initial projects include expanding the Heerenveen premises to increase capacity, partly to accommodate the increasing volumes of products sold under its brand, DOTCH. Additionally, Silverfleet will apply its extensive expertise in the Healthcare sector having made several successful prior investments including pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing business, and a contract sterilisation services company.
Silverfleet was advised by Deloitte, CIL, Stek and AJ Gallagher.
Go Plant Fleet Services, a portfolio company of private equity firm Endless, has acquired a large proportion of the business and assets of Gulliver's Truck Hire in a deal worth more than £13m ($17m).
Mark Gallimore, Commercial Director of Go Plant Fleet Services, said: "This is a significant deal that will support major progress in key areas of our business. We've developed our nationwide operation with a series of acquisitions in the last 12 months and have taken care to ensure our growth is entirely sustainable. This latest acquisition strengthens both our contract hire and spot hire fleets, reinforces our status as a market leader and further enhances our capacity to deliver an all-encompassing solution for specialist commercial vehicles."
Family firm Gulliver's went into administration in December, but customers affected by the acquisition have experienced a seamless transition to Go Plant Fleet Services with minimal disruption, according to Gallimore.
Naxicap Partners sold its stake in Jaguar Network to Iliad Group for €100m.
Iliad has bought a 75% stake in the business based on a multiple of 10.6x EBITDA, for just under €100m ($113m). Jaguar's founder and chief executive officer Kevin Polizzi has retained a 25% stake.
The company provides IT services to over 1.2k private and public sector clients in France. Jaguar develops technology for the cloud, telecommunications and smart cities sectors.
Naxicap first backed the business in 2014, appointing managing director Angèle Faugier and investment director Philippe Predhumeau to oversee the investment.
Cinven and Advent to bid in an auction for Nestle's skin health business.
Cinven and Advent have teamed up to bid in an auction that could value Nestle's skin health business at about CHF7bn ($7bn). Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, CVC, EQT and Partners Group are also expected to bid and might look for partners.
Nestle launched a review of the unit in September as company ditches underperforming businesses and fends off criticism from an activist investor who wants an overhaul. Information memorandums on the skin health business sale, being run by Credit Suisse and Evercore, are expected to be sent by the end of January and first-round bids are likely to be submitted in early March.
Nestle Skin Health, which sells Cetaphil and Proactiv skin care products, Restylane wrinkle fillers and prescription dermatology medicines, had sales of CHF2.7bn ($2.7bn) last year, accounting for about 3% of Nestle's total.
Industry players which are said to might take part in the auction included Beiersdorf, Allergan, Henkel, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oreal, Pfizer and Unilever.
Autogrill submitted a bid for Elior's Areas business.
Italy's Autogrill has submitted a bid for the railways, motorway and airport catering business of France's Elior. According to press, around 10 private equity funds - including KKR, Lone Star and Blackstone - are considering making a bid. Italian food producer and distributor Cremonini and French group Lagardere have both said they did not plan to table offers to buy Elior's assets.
Analysts value Areas at a value of between €1.5-2bn ($1.7-2.3bn). Preferred bidders are expected to be chosen by the start of March.
BC Partners is looking to sell Acuris.
Goldman Sachs & JP Morgan were hired to advise BC Partners on the sale of financial news and information company Acuris, formerly known as Mergermarket.
The London-based private equity firm is looking to sell Acuris, which includes the Mergermarket and Debtwire brands, for more than £1bn ($1.3bn). Negotiations are still at an early stage and final details have yet to be decided.
It was first reported in November 2018 that BC Partners is planning to sell its portfolio company for more than £1bn ($1.3bn).
Elliott to explore buying a stake in Dixons Carphone.
Shares in British electricals and mobile phone retailer Dixons Carphone rose as much as 7.6% after the news reported that activist investor Elliott Advisors is exploring plans to buy a "big stake" in the firm. It was said that Elliott has been undertaking a detailed analysis of Dixons Carphone's finances for several weeks.
Wealth Technologies, the leading provider of algorithmic financial planning and advice, announced that Broadhaven Capital Partners has invested in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Since its founding in 2016, WealthTech has developed the technology to generate professional financial planning and advice for individuals regardless of their level of wealth, and solutions to deliver this advice in a timely manner through both mobile applications and human-advised businesses.
"WealthTech has made conceptual breakthroughs in providing financial advice to large, diverse segments of the population," said Greg Phillips, Co-Founder of Broadhaven and WealthTech investor. "Their highly experienced and accomplished team has developed intelligent, algorithmic solutions that address both the scalability and economics of the business model that could profoundly impact how personal financial services will be delivered in the future."
Nordic Capital acquired a stake in Orchid Orthopedic Solutions from Altor, who will retain a significant minority holding in the company. Headquartered in Holt, Michigan, Orchid is a world leader in the design and manufacture of implants to the global orthopedic market. Orchid's leading offerings span hip, knee, trauma, extremity and spinal implant products, as well as single-use and multi-use complex instruments used in implant-related surgical procedures. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are impressed by Orchid's strong management team and attractive position in the growing orthopedic implant market, and look forward to supporting the company through its next phase of development. Orchid has a unique set of implant manufacturing capabilities across product categories, and is a true innovator simplifying and improving its customers' supply chains. We are fully committed to supporting Orchid's growth strategy in close partnership with management," says Jonas Agnblad, Partner and Co-head of Healthcare at the advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds.
Nordic Capital was advised by Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Kirkland & Ellis.
San Francisco Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in jane iredale.
San Francisco Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in jane iredale, a globally recognized makeup and skincare company that embraces a holistic approach to beauty. SFEP will partner with founder Jane Iredale and her management team as the company embarks on its next phase of growth. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This is a brand with uniquely strong products and unsurpassed consumer loyalty. We are thrilled to be chosen by Jane to help guide the brand to new heights,” said Scott Potter, Managing Partner of SFEP.
The Sage Group served as exclusive financial advisor to jane iredale.
Perforce Software, a global provider of enterprise-grade DevOps-focused software solutions, backed by Clearlake Capital Group, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Rogue Wave Software, a leading independent provider of cross-platform software developer tools and embedded components. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The combination of Perforce and Rogue Wave delivers a full suite of solutions that measurably improves developer productivity while fueling DevOps at scale.
“The momentum at both Perforce and Rogue Wave is impressive and we look forward to capitalizing on the significant market trends around enterprise DevOps at scale,” added Prashant Mehrotra and Paul Huber of Clearlake. “We are excited to continue to support Mark and the collective management team as they drive consolidation in the industry and increase the breadth of their platform, both organically and inorganically.”
Financing for the acquisition was led by Antares Capital with joint lead arrangers Ares Capital Management, AB Private Credit Investors, Barings Finance, PennantPark Investment Advisers, and Varagon Capital Partners. William Blair and Shea & Company acted as financial advisors to Rogue Wave.
PSAV, a global leader in event experiences, and The Freeman Company have entered into a purchase agreement for PSAV to acquire Encore Event Technologies, a global provider of event technology, staging and production services. The transaction is expected to be finalized later this year. Terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.
The combination of PSAV and Encore will join two companies with deep expertise and a shared commitment to be an invaluable global partner for the meeting industry. This transaction reinforces PSAV’s mission of Connecting and Inspiring People by expanding the breadth of its capabilities throughout North America and Asia Pacific.
“Encore is an ideal partner for the PSAV family of companies given its shared commitment to meeting and event planners, and strong alignment with our purpose and mission,” said Mike McIlwain, CEO of PSAV.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is serving as legal counsel to PSAV. JP Morgan is serving as financial advisor to Freeman and Encore, and Baker McKenzie is serving as legal counsel.
Arconic no longer pursuing potential sale.
Arconic shares fell 25% on Tuesday after the aluminum products maker said it was no longer pursuing a sale of the company, following reports that it was in talks with Apollo Global Management to sell itself for more than $10bn.
The negotiations with Apollo ended on Monday after Arconic's board rejected an entirely financed $22.20 per share bid for the company, saying the offer was inadequate. Apollo had initially offered more for Arconic, but lowered its offer as its due diligence revealed potential legal liabilities.
