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AMERICAS
US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat and frequent merger critic, joined three other lawmakers on July 11 to urge the Defense Department to thoroughly review defense contractor L3Harris Technologies' $4.7bn deal for Aerojet Rocketdyne.
The Defense Department is influential with the antitrust agencies on decisions about approving deals that touch on military issues, and often take too soft an approach, Warren and the other lawmakers wrote.
Aerojet is advised by Citigroup, Evercore, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (led by David A. Katz) and Joele Frank (led by Eric Brielmann), Financial advisors are advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson (led by Roy Tannenbaum and Philip Richter). L3Harris is advised by Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (led by Karen Hsu Kelley).
TransAlta, an electrical power generation assets holder and operator, agreed to acquire the remaining 39.9% stake in TransAlta Renewables, a renewable independent power producer, for $1.04bn.
"With the execution of our Clean Electricity Growth Plan well underway, it is clear that the strategies of both TransAlta and RNW have converged. Now is the right time to bring these two companies together to create a single clean electricity leader. The combined company's greater scale and enhanced positioning will drive benefits and unlock value for all of our shareholders. The combination of the two companies will be underpinned by a single strategy that provides greater clarity to investors and will support future growth," John Kousinioris, TransAlta President and CEO.
TransAlta is advised by RBC Capital Markets and Norton Rose Fulbright. RNW is advised by National Bank Financial, TD Cowen and Stikeman Elliott.
Ring Energy, an oil and natural gas exploration and production company, agreed to acquire central basin platform assets from Founders Oil & Gas, an exploration and production company, for $75m.
“We are pleased to announce our agreement to acquire Founders’ conventional oil and gas assets in Ector County, Texas. These assets strategically expand our existing operations in the southern portion of the Central Basin Platform allowing us to capture operating cost and G&A synergies associated with a larger core operating area. These assets are similar to the Stronghold assets acquired last year, having stacked pay zones of high-quality rock with proven performance. Like the Stronghold assets, we intend to leverage our extensive expertise applying the newest conventional and unconventional technologies to optimally develop the inventory of undeveloped drilling locations afforded by the Transaction," Paul D. McKinney, Ring Energy Chairman and CEO.
Ring Energy is advised by Raymond James (led by Will Hodge and Sonu Johl), Jones & Keller and Al Petrie Advisors (led by Al Petrie). Founders Oil & Gas is advised by TenOaks Energy Advisors and O'Melveny & Myers.
The US Department of Justice is nearing a decision on whether to challenge private equity firm Thoma Bravo's $2.3bn buyout deal for ForgeRock, Politico reported.
The development comes months after ForgeRock said it had received notice from the DOJ demanding more information related to the go-private deal.
"We look forward to completing the review process with the Department of Justice and partnering with Thoma Bravo," ForgeRock.
Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational conglomerate company, agreed to acquire the remaining 50% stake in Cove Point, the owner of the liquified natural gas import facility, from Dominion Energy, an electric services company, for $3.3bn.
“We are proud of our operations at Cove Point and are excited for this opportunity to increase our ownership in these world-class facilities. The Cove Point team will continue to focus on providing safe, affordable and reliable service to its valued customers," Paul Ruppert, Berkshire Hathaway President.
Dominion Energy is advised by Mizuho Securities, RBC Capital Markets, McGuireWoods and Brunswick Group.
Crescent Energy, an independent energy company, completed the acquisition of Western Eagle Ford assets of Mesquite Energy, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company, for $600m.
"We continue to execute on our long-term strategy, which includes opportunistically growing our footprint in the Eagle Ford through accretive M&A while maintaining financial strength and enhancing our capital markets presence. These transactions demonstrate our continued focus on delivering long-term value to investors through increased scale and improved trading liquidity," David Rockecharlie, Crescent CEO.
Blue Owl, an alternative asset management firm, completed a minority investment in Stonepeak, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to partner with Blue Owl, a distinguished investor with a strong track-record of supporting successful investment managers, as we continue to build and scale our platform. Our partnership with Blue Owl will allow us to better serve, and to increase alignment with, our limited partners. We look forward to investing this capital to grow our platform in ways that best serve our clients, while continuing to deliver strong risk adjusted returns for our investors," Michael Dorrell, Stonepeak Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO.
Blue Owl was advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. Stonepeak was advised by Evercore and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Executives at Japan's Universal Entertainment spent much of the past year coming up with creative ways to scuttle the $2.6bn merger of their Okada Manila casino resort unit with a blank-check company, Bloomberg reported.
Jason Ader founded 26 Capital Acquisition, a special-purpose acquisition company, which agreed to combine with the Okada resort to give it a NASDAQ stock listing. But Ader, whose firm sued to revive the failed deal, testified that Universal started working to sabotage the Philippines casino transaction starting in 2022. Universal declared the merger dead on June 30.
RA Capital, a multi-stage investment manager, led a $150m Series B round in Septerna, a biotechnology company discovering and advancing novel oral small molecule medicines, with participation from Third Rock Ventures, Samsara BioCapital, Invus, Catalio Capital Management, BVF Partners, Casdin Capital, Logos Capital, Deep Track Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Vertex Ventures, Mirae Asset Financial, Driehaus Capital Management, Woodline Partners and Soleus Capital.
"We are grateful for the support and enthusiasm from such a prestigious group of investors, which reflects the progress of our GPCR Native Complex™ Platform in delivering a pipeline of first-in-class small molecule programs for well-validated but difficult-to-drug GPCR targets. This milestone marks an important transition for Septerna to a product-development company, with plans to advance our lead PTH1R program to clinical proof-of-mechanism, while building out a multi-product pipeline for a range of diseases. This is an exciting time for GPCR drug development, and we are eager to move our novel products toward clinical development. We have established an incredible team that continues to execute and believe Jake's deep industry insights will be a valuable addition to our board as we continue our work to deliver medicines that improve the lives of patients," Jeffrey Finer, Septerna CEO and Co-Founder.
Septerna was advised by ScientPR and Thrust Strategic Communications (led by Chelcie Lister).
Truelink Capital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Richardson Sales Performance, a sales training and performance improvement company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"At Truelink, we are focused on partnering with great management teams and accelerating growth, and that is how our firm intends to support Richardson. Richardson is an industry leader, with an immensely talented team, experienced leadership and a strong customer value proposition. We are enthusiastic about Richardson's high-quality and adaptable content, and we believe the Company has a solid foundation for growth, industry leading technology and global reach. We are confident that with additional investment, the Company is well-positioned to build upon its positive momentum and reach new heights in its next chapter," Luke Myers, Truelink Co-Founder and Managing Partner.
Richardson was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Allen & Overy.
Lincoln Property, a global, full-service real estate firm, completed the acquisition of RiverRock Real Estate, a property and asset management firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I founded RiverRock in 2003 to provide a better solution for clients, embracing the most successful ideas in customer service, technology, training, and pricing. Now, decades later, I am proud of a legacy of work that has elevated the industry while putting people first. I am honored to embark on this new opportunity to collaborate with Lincoln's leadership and teams to again redefine best-in-class service at the local, national and global level," John Combs, RiverRock Founding Partner.
Lincoln Property was advised by Prosek Partners.
Qatar Investment Authority, an investment company, completed the acquisition of a 5% stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a sports and entertainment company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Qatar Investment Authority owns and operates seven professional and amateur team franchises, six venues and two media networks, among additional assets. MSE is one of the most valuable sports and entertainment enterprises in the world, with one of the most diverse ownership groups in the sports industry," Monumental.
QIA was advised by JP Morgan.
PowerSchool, a provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education, agreed to acquire SchoolMessenger, a platform for school community engagement, from West Technology Group, a communications services provider, for $300m.
"The acquisition of SchoolMessenger is a key step in empowering more students and educators around the world to realize their full potential. We understand how critical family communication is to identifying student needs, improving attendance, and driving stronger student outcomes, and see tremendous opportunity to add value to our 15,000+ customers with the integration of SchoolMessenger into our Student Information Cloud," Hardeep Gulati, PowerSchool CEO.
Core & Main, a company in advancing reliable infrastructure with local service, completed the acquisition of Foster Supply, a full-service provider of precast concrete structures, pipe, drainage materials and related geosynthetics products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Foster Supply is a long-established partner of choice for contractors and municipalities seeking innovative solutions to unique work site challenges. Bringing the Foster Supply team into Core & Main will allow us to combine our collective expertise and differentiated product and service offerings to better meet the needs of our waterworks and geosynthetics customers," Steve LeClair, Core & Main CEO.
Houston Natural Resources, a diversified energy company with oil and gas interests, completed the acquisition of the remaining 90.1% stake in Cunningham Energy, an independent producer of oil and gas. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The company intends to change its name from Houston Natural Resources to Cunningham Natural Resources and CNRC will be focused on traditional oil and gas opportunities and energy transition materials including mining opportunities in copper, lithium, gold, as well as other precious and rare earth metals. The investment focus will be global with sustainability at the core of the strategy.
777 Partners seeks €200m for football investments. (FS)
777 Partners plans to tap growing investor appetite for global football to potentially raise more than €200m ($220m) for its portfolio of clubs, Bloomberg reported.
The Miami-based investment firm has hired sports specialists Tifosy Capital & Advisory to help raise new equity for its football platform. Any money will be used to support 777's investment needs.
Ebanx partners with Nubank to offer payment service to customers.
Brazilian financial technology company Ebanx has signed a deal to partner with digital bank Nubank to offer more payment services for customers as it tries to consolidate and expand operations in Latin America, Reuters reported.
Ebanx will now offer corporate customers the option of paying via NuPay, an alternative payment method developed by Nubank for international purchases. Ebanx's 1.6k corporate clients include Airbnb, Shopee and Uber.
Private equity firms need 'an angle' in tougher times.
Private equity firms have to be more strategic when considering prospective deals, given the fierce competition for the few companies on the market, Bloomberg reported.
"You have to be very disciplined and selective and pick businesses that you know a lot about, where you think you can systematically create value and that you have confidence in over the long term," Martin Nesbitt, Vistria Co-Founder and Co-CEO.
Audax Private Equity raises $7.8bn for flagship fund and Origins Fund I. (FS)
Audax Private Equity, an alternative investment manager and capital partner for North American middle market companies, successfully closed two new funds: Audax Private Equity Fund VII and Audax Private Equity Origins Fund I.
Both funds exceeded their respective fundraising targets. Origins closed on $774m in commitments, while Audax's flagship vehicle, Audax Private Equity Fund VII, hit its hard cap of $5.25bn in commitments. Combined with an additional $1.8bn available through GP co-investment vehicles, the two funds provide Audax with $7.8bn to deploy across the middle and lower middle markets.
Long Ridge banks $730m for private-equity deals. (FS)
Long Ridge Equity Partners collected $730m for its fourth fund in three months, overcoming difficult fundraising conditions brought on by rising interest rates and volatile public markets, Wall Street Journal reported.
The New York private-equity firm, which focuses on backing companies in the financial-technology and business-tech sectors, wrapped up Long Ridge Equity Partners IV with $650m from institutional investors and $80m from Long Ridge executives and advisers.
Sheridan Capital Partners closes Fund III at the hard cap of $575m. (FS)
Sheridan Capital Partners announced the closing of its oversubscribed third buyout fund, Sheridan Capital Partners Fund III and its parallel fund, at $575m in aggregate commitments, exceeding its target of $450m.
Sheridan is focused on making investments in lower middle market companies in recession resistant, non-discretionary markets within the healthcare industry. The Fund will continue Sheridan's strategy of making control investments in North American founder-owned businesses with $3-20m of EBITDA.
Suffolk Technologies closes $110m inaugural venture capital fund. (FS)
Suffolk Technologies, an institutional venture capital firm affiliated with Suffolk, the $5bn national construction firm, announced the close of its inaugural fund with $110m in commitments. Suffolk Technologies Fund I will invest in early-to-growth stage companies across construction technology and property technology that are creating solutions for safer, more sustainable and efficient construction.
These businesses will address issues such as the national lack of affordable housing, high rates of emissions from construction and real estate projects and the increased need for efficient infrastructure investment as a result of the infrastructure investment and jobs act.
Uber CFO to step down in most senior executive exit since IPO. (People)
Uber Technologies CFO Nelson Chai is planning to leave the ride-hailing company, marking the most significant executive departure since the company went public in 2019. Chai informed CEO Dara Khosrowshahi of his intentions to move on, though a decision on timing hasn't been made, Bloomberg reported.
Morgan Stanley hires JPMorgan North America M&A head Caggiano. (People)
Marco Caggiano, JPMorgan Chase head of North America mergers and acquisitions, is leaving the firm for Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg reported.
Caggiano, a 20-year veteran at JPMorgan, will become a vice chairman at Morgan Stanley. Caggiano joined JPMorgan in 2k and was named co-head of North America M&A in 2020.
Activist Irenic calls for chairman of Wagamama owner to resign. (FS, People)
Irenic Capital Management is calling for Restaurant Group Chairman Ken Hanna to step down, alleging corporate governance failures and policy violations, Bloomberg reported.
The activist investor, which holds a stake of about 3%, charged that Hanna has shown "partiality against certain shareholders". Irenic Capital said Hanna refused to consider adding an independent director nominated by "the activist community."
EMEA
NielsenIQ, a global measurement and data analytics company, completed the merger with GfK, a provider of data and intelligence to the consumer goods industry, in a $2.5bn deal. Advent International, Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions and KKR remain invested as significant shareholders in the combined company.
“We are incredibly excited as we combine the strengths of these two great companies to create the future of consumer intelligence. Together, we are powered by more—more global reach, more omnichannel coverage, more granular data, more consumer-sourced insights, and more predictive analytics, which add up to more actionable insights and growth for our customers. Most importantly, we are bringing together innovative industry experts and complementary cultures driven by integrity and the relentless pursuit of delivering the highest quality at all times," Jim Peck, NielsenIQ CEO.
GfK was advised by White & Case (led by James Jian Hu, Matthias Kiesewetter and Alexander Kiefner) and FGS Global (led by Rebekka Koch). KKR was advised by Goldman Sachs, Hengeler Mueller (led by Christian Schwandtner and Elisabeth Kreuzer), Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (led by Mark Pflug) and FGS Global (led by Emily Lagemann). Nuremberg Institute was advised by Rothschild & Co (led by Stephan Bocklet and Martin Suter), BakerHostetler (led by Scott Weiser and Ryan Gorsche) and Fieldfisher. Advent was advised by FGS Global (led by Winnie Lerner). NielsenIQ was advised by Bank of America, HSBC, JP Morgan, PJT Partners, UBS, Covington & Burling (led by Jorn Hirschmann and Henning Bloss), Ropes & Gray (led by Christian Westra), Squire Patton Boggs, Weil Gotshal and Manges and Edelman.
Shares in Marti Technologies, the first Turkish entity to list in New York via a merger with a blank-check company, will start trading on July 11, testing the appetite for deals involving special purpose acquisition companies.
Marti, a mobility app offering vehicle hailing and pooling services, on July 10 completed the merger with the $148m Galata Acquisition vehicle, giving the combined company an enterprise value of $549m.
“Today is an exciting day for our whole team at Marti. Securing significant funding and becoming a public company supports our vision to build the first quintessential mobility super app for Türkiye, and we are excited about the future," Alper Oktem, Marti Founder and CEO.
A trove of documents detailing how the biggest merger in golf history came together is raising antitrust flags as PGA officials defend their agreement before lawmakers for the first time, Bloomberg reported.
Newly released email communications, WhatsApp messages, internal chats and memos involving golf officials unearthed by a Senate investigation ahead of July 11's hearing show discussions dating back to late last year.
Gebrüder Meier, a company that specializes in appliances, electrical, and electronics manufacturing services, completed the acquisition of UIKER Antriebstechnik, a machinery parts manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Gebrüder Meier is a Swiss service provider for electrical machines and mechanical problem solutions. The company’s SAP landscape comprised two systems hosted and operated on its in-house servers. As its server hardware approached the end of its lifecycle, the company needed to plan for a new solution. Its strategy was to migrate its SAP ERP to the cloud, but it needed a project partner with extensive cloud experience.
Siemens taps BNP for potential €3bn Innomotics sale.
Siemens has picked BNP Paribas to advise on options for its motors and large drives business. The German industrial conglomerate is working with BNP as it prepares to gauge interest from potential buyers for the Innomotics unit. Any deal could value the business at €3bn ($3.3bn) or more, Bloomberg reported.
Last year Siemens was examining options such as selling or spinning off the business. This manufactures, among other things, low to high voltage motors, geared motors, medium-voltage converters and motor spindles.
LeapFrog to invest $500m in companies fighting climate change in Asia and Africa. (FS)
Global private investment firm LeapFrog Investments plans to commit $500m to companies combating climate change in Africa and Asia, providing green tools and technologies to 50m low-income people, DealStreetAsia reported.
The firm is aiming to support a transition to green technologies in emerging and low-income markets. The announcement was made at the US-UK Climate Finance Mobilization Forum in the United Kingdom attended by leading investors, companies and philanthropies.
UK's Centrica and Delfin Midstream sign 15-year US LNG supply deal.
British Gas parent firm Centrica has signed a 15-year liquefied natural gas supply agreement with US-based Delfin Midstream, Reuters reported.
Britain and other European countries have turned to the United States for LNG to help reduce their reliance on Russian gas following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. More than 70% of US LNG exports went to Europe last year. The long-term supply deal for 1m tonnes of LNG a year from Delfin's planned Deepwater Port off the coast of Louisiana has a market value of $8bn.
London bank bonuses plunged across board in 2022 M&A drought.
The slump in dealmaking cut pay for investment bankers at almost every level of seniority in London last year, more evidence of the global slowdown in the sector, Bloomberg reported.
The highest tier of vice presidents made 13% less, and all but the most junior associates saw their total compensation fall, according to a survey of about 250 bankers by global recruitment consultancy Dartmouth Partners. While base salaries generally continued to rise, bonuses were slashed as staff shared in a smaller pool of deal fees. The M&A drought has continued into this year, resulting in a wave of redundancies across multiple countries.
Israel's Oddity Tech leads 3 IPOs that could net $625m total.
Israeli beauty and wellness products company Oddity Tech launched plans for an estimated $300m US initial public offering, joined by two biotechnology firms eyeing listings totaling about $325m.
The company plans to price its shares between $27 and $30 each. This move comes as Oddity Tech capitalizes on the recent success of other companies, including Kenvue, Johnson & Johnson's consumer health unit, which have seen strong debuts in the stock market.
APAC
Tower Capital Asia, an Investment company, agreed to acquire a 77.8% stake in AXS, a payments firm, from DBS Bank, a banking and financial services corporation. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The recent explosion in digital payments globally is providing a formidable tailwind for AXS, an established player, to seek growth via new business segments and markets,” Danny Koh, Tower Capital Asia Founder and CEO.
KKR explores options for NVC China including sale. (FS)
KKR is exploring options for its majority stake in a commercial lighting manufacturer in China including a potential sale.
The global buyout firm is working with advisers on a strategic review for its 70% stake in NVC Lighting's China business. A deal may fetch about $1bn and a sale process may formally be launched later this year, though no final decision has been made and KKR could opt to keep the assets for longer, Bloomberg reported.
Tata Group closes in on deal to become first Indian iPhone maker.
Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate, is close to an agreement to acquire an Apple supplier's factory as soon as August, marking the first time a local company would move into the assembly of iPhones, Bloomberg reported.
A takeover of the Wistron factory in southern Karnataka state, potentially valued at more than $600m, would cap about a year of negotiations. The facility employs more than 10k workers, who assemble the latest iPhone 14 model.
LG Chem raising $2bn in exchangeable bonds.
South Korea's LG Chem is raising $2bn in bonds that will exchange for LG Energy Solution shares. The bonds will be sold in five and seven year tranches, raising $1bn each. The five-year bond has a coupon range of 0.75% to 1.25% while the longer dated bond has 1.35% to 1.85% range, Reuters reported.
LG Chem plans to use the newly raised $2bn to finance its facility investment and operations for businesses, including battery-related materials and drug developments. The bonds will be exchangeable into common shares of LG Energy Solution.
Temasek seeks talks with Ant on buyback valuation. (FS)
Singapore state-owned investor Temasek is set to hold talks with Ant Group to understand why it slashed its valuation before it decides whether to take part in a planned share buyback, Bloomberg reported.
Temasek bought shares in the Alibaba Group, an affiliated finance company in 2018, when it was valued at $150bn. Ant's planned repurchase of stock announced on the weekend would value the company at about $78.8bn.
Adani weighs bid for Anil Ambani's bankrupt coal plants.
Billionaire Gautam Adani is weighing a bid for the coal-fired power plants belonging to beleaguered Indian tycoon Anil Ambani that are currently being auctioned by an Indian bankruptcy court, Bloomberg reported.
Adani, fresh from a $2.8bn capital raising, may face intense competition for Vidarbha Industries Power, which operates the 600-megawatt generation facilities in central India.
Wall Street banks court sovereign funds for Syngenta's $9bn IPO.
Wall Street banks are helping approach international investors for Syngenta Group's CNY65bn ($9bn) initial public offering in Shanghai after the Chinese-owned seed giant won regulatory approval for the world's biggest potential listing this year, Bloomberg reported.
Banks including Citigroup, HSBC, JP Morgan and UBS are working on bringing in foreign investors including cornerstone buyers for the IPO. The advisers have reached out to sovereign wealth funds in regions including Europe and the Middle East to gauge their interest.
Genesis MedTech weighs up to $500m HK IPO.
Genesis MedTech, a medical device company, has selected advisers for a potential initial public offering in Hong Kong.
The Singapore-based firm is working with Citic Securities, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on the proposed listing, which could take place as early as next year. Genesis could raise as much as $500m in the IPO, though it could be significantly smaller depending on market conditions. Genesis doesn't have a specific IPO timeline or fundraising amount in mind, Bloomberg reported.
Japanese megabank SMFG to launch $210m venture fund to develop unicorns. (FS)
Japanese megabank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will launch a fund to help startups develop into "unicorns", a fast-growing unlisted companies valued at $1bn or more with a focus on those at a later stage of growth. The scale of investment is expected to be around $210m, DealStreetAsia reported.
SMFG will soon launch a fund in partnership with Global Brain, a prominent Japanese venture capital specialist. The majority of funds will be provided by SMFG, while the actual investments will be made by Global Brain.
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