AMERICAS
The Blackstone Group and Vista Equity agreed to acquire Ellucian, a higher education technology solutions provider, from TPG Capital and Leonard Green. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to be partnered with Vista, and look forward to working with Laura and Ellucian's first-class management team to accelerate growth and drive the company's global expansion," Martin Brand, Blackstone Head of North American Private Equity.
Ellucian is advised by Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Ropes & Gray. Vista Equity is advised by Morgan Stanley, Kirkland & Ellis and Laurel Strategies. Blackstone is advised by RBC Capital Markets and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. TPG is advised by UBS.
Stagwell, a media group, lowered its offer for MDC Partners, a marketing and communications network, from $982m to $954m.
"We continue to support the combination of MDC and Stagwell, which offers MDC the chance to partner with a leading digital and technology-focused marketing business to create profitable growth opportunities and a better company. The Special Committee is encouraged by Stagwell's attention to the views shared by certain MDC shareholders and welcomes Stagwell's willingness to address that feedback in a meaningful way. The Special Committee and its advisors will move quickly to review and evaluate Stagwell's proposal in order to make a recommendation to MDC shareholders as soon as practicable with respect to the revised offer," MDC.
MDC Partners is advised by Canaccord Genuity, Moelis & Co, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, DLA Piper, Fasken, Kingsdale Advisors and Sloane & Company. Stagwell is advised by JP Morgan, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, McCarthy Tetrault and Sloane & Company.
Boxed, an e-commerce grocery shopping platform selling bulk consumables to households and businesses, is set to go public via a merger with Seven Oaks Acquisition, a SPAC, in a $900m deal.The combined company is expected to receive $334m in net cash proceeds from Seven Oaks' cash in trust of c. $259m, as well as a $120m PIPE by Brigade Capital, Avanda Investment, and Onex Credit.
"We are excited to take this important step forward to position Boxed for our next phase of growth. This transaction will allow Boxed to capitalize on the tailwinds that e-commerce businesses are experiencing. This capital will also allow us to fund B2B growth, third-party marketplace expansion and drive our unique SaaS business. We look forward to partnering with the seasoned team at Seven Oaks as we leverage their operational and public company expertise," Chieh Huang, Boxed CEO.
Boxed is advised by BTIG, Citigroup, PJ Solomon, Latham & Watkins and ICR. SVOX is advised by JonesTrading Institutional Services, Nomura, Wells Fargo Securities, Winston & Strawn and Proskauer Rose.
Booz Allen Hamilton, an American management and information technology consulting firm, completed the acquisition of Liberty IT Solutions, an information technology and services firm, for $725m.
"This acquisition is directly on strategy and will fuel our growth. Booz Allen and Liberty share a passion for people, innovation, and technical excellence. I am pleased to welcome an exceptional team of colleagues with an equal commitment to helping clients use disruptive technology to transform and advance missions," Horacio Rozanski, Booz Allen President and Chief Executive Officer.
Liberty IT was advised by Robert W Baird and Holland & Knight. Booz was advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Avascent Group, Jefferies & Company and King & Spalding.
Graham Holdings, a diversified American conglomerate holding company, completed the acquisition of Leaf Group, an American content company, for $323m.
"Together, we look forward to continuing to build on the strong momentum Leaf Group generated over the past year, with the additional resources and expertise of Graham Holdings helping us further grow the reach of our young brands and innovate for our customers, creators and audiences,” Sean Moriarty, Leaf Group CEO.
Leaf was advised by Canaccord Genuity, Moorgate Securities, Goodwin Procter and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Graham was advised by Covington & Burling.
Humana, a health and well-being company, agreed to acquire onehome, a home health care service in Miramar, Florida, from WayPoint Capital Partners, the private equity affiliate of a New York-based family investment office. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of onehome is a key component of that strategy. It complements our recent announcement to fully acquire and integrate Kindred at Home, and brings together additional capabilities that will allow Humana to deliver value-based home health at a national scale. By combining onehome's value-based approach with Kindred's home health services and Humana's analytical capabilities and clinical expertise, we believe we can create a transformational value-based offering to serve more people, including non-Humana plan members, nationwide," Susan Diamond, Humana Segment President for Home Business and Interim CFO.
onehome is advised by Alvarez & Marsal, MTS Health Partners and Winston & Strawn. Humana is advised by Ernst & Young and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson.
KKR-backed Burning Glass, a database of job openings and career histories, agreed to merge with Emsi, an economic data and analytics firm. Strada Education Network, Emsi's current owner, will exit its investment. KKR is making a follow-on investment in the combined company. Financial terms were not disclosed
"Burning Glass and Emsi are two companies with a common mission: to unlock opportunity, mobility, and equity for everyone. We are deeply committed to the dignity and value of work, as well as to ensuring that employers, educators, governments, and workers are ready to meet the rapidly changing future. Our complementary capabilities in data analytics and product development will give us the scale and resources to deliver even greater value to our customers through new, enhanced products. We are looking forward to working together to continue to drive transformative change in the labor market," Matt Sigelman, Burning Glass CEO.
Emsi is advised by Piper Sandler and Taft Stettinius & Hollister. Burning Glass is advised by Macquarie Capital and Kirkland & Ellis.
Parsons, an American technology-focused defense, intelligence, security, and infrastructure engineering firm, agreed to acquire BlackHorse Solutions, a developer of cyber, electromagnetic warfare, and information operations, for $203m.
"Adding BlackHorse increases our scale in the areas of cyber, electronic warfare, and information dominance, enhancing Parsons' position to pursue and win upcoming large joint all-domain contract opportunities, which is a key component of our national defense strategy," Chuck Harrington, Parsons Chairman and CEO.
BlackHorse Solutions is advised by Raymond James and Cooley. Parsons is advised by Robert W Baird and Latham & Watkins.
Clearlake and TA Associates-backed Precisely, a data integrity software provider, agreed to acquire Winshuttle, a process automation and master data management software provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Adding Winshuttle's process automation and master data management software, with its deep expertise in SAP environments, will enable Precisely to extend our portfolio of differentiated solutions and further our customers' journeys to achieving data integrity," Josh Rogers, Precisely CEO.
Winshuttle is advised by Spurrier Capital Partners. TA Associates is advised by BackBay Communications. Clearlake is advised by Lambert & Co.
Z Capital-backed Affinity Gaming, a diversified national casino gaming operator, agreed to merge with Sports Information Group, a New York-based B2B and B2C global omnichannel sports, technology, digital, media and wagering business. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This merger has been contemplated for quite some time, and with the expansion of online gaming in the US and abroad, we look forward to bringing together these two highly complementary businesses and leveraging their combined strengths to create a significant gaming, digital and media platform with even greater growth opportunities globally as Affinity Interactive," James Zenni, ZCG Founder, President and CEO.
Sports Information Group is advised by Massumi + Consoli. Affinity Gaming is advised by Sidley Austin and Joele Frank.
Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire Novellus Therapeutics, a company developing next-generation engineered mesenchymal stem cell therapies, for $125m.
"If acquisition of Novellus is transacted, Brooklyn would achieve both strategic and economic benefits. This acquisition would further advance Brooklyn's evolution into a platform company with a pipeline of next-generation gene and cell therapy programs. We believe Novellus' next-generation engineered MSC platform can position Brooklyn to become a leader in stem cell therapies, with the ability to develop multiple therapeutic candidates rapidly," Howard J Federoff, Brooklyn CEO and President.
Brooklyn is advised by Core IR.
Cano Health, a value-based primary care provider for seniors and underserved communities, agreed to acquire University Health Care, a private medical provider dedicated to comprehensive, dependable medical services in local communities, for $600m.
"This transaction is a significant step forward for Cano Health and our patients, as it will allow us to bring our brand of affordable, high-quality primary care to more patients in the Florida market and accelerate Cano Health's profitable growth," Marlow Hernandez, Cano Health Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO.
Access Industries led a $127m Series B round in Cerebral, an online provider of psychiatric and behavioral therapy services, with participation from WestCap, Silver Lake Waterman, Artis Ventures, Bill Ackman, Oak HC/FT, Chris Burch and AirAngels.
"I am humbled to work with a talented, mission-driven team to transform access to high-quality mental health care and provide the best care to everyone who needs it. We will not stop building, growing, and iterating until everyone, everywhere can access high-quality mental health care without the high cost, wait times, and stigma seen in traditional care," Kyle Robertson, Cerebral Founder and CEO.
BTG Pactual, a Brazilian bank, completed the acquisition of a minority stake in Perfin, an asset manager and wealth management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal could be an attempt to scale BTG's existing investment platform BTG Digita.
Shell weighs a sale of Texas shale assets. (FS)
Royal Dutch Shell, a petroleum corporation, is reviewing a potential sale of Texas shale assets, the largest US oil field, to shift away from fossil fuels as it faces growing pressure to slash carbon emissions. The assets could be valued at $10bn, Reuters reported.
The sale could be for part or all of Shell's position in the US Permian Basin, which accounted for around 6% of the Anglo-Dutch company's total oil and gas output last year.
Shell's energy transition plan aims to gradually reduce oil and gas output and boost spending on renewables, hydrogen, and low-carbon technologies. The major energy plans to reduce oil output by 1% to 2% per year by 2030 through lower investment and disposals.
Technology companies face demands to downsize.
Amazon.com, Apple and other US-based technology companies would have to divest their key businesses under sweeping antitrust legislation proposed by House lawmakers.
House Democrats and Republicans introduced new bills that could be new constraints for tech platforms on how they run their businesses and give antitrust enforcers more legal authority to take on some of the country's largest and most lucrative businesses, Bloomberg reported.
The bills would toughen merger reviews for tech companies, prohibit them from offering certain products and services, and restrict how they treat other businesses that depend on their platforms.
"Unregulated tech monopolies have too much power over our economy. Our agenda will level the playing field and ensure the wealthiest, most powerful tech monopolies play by the same rules as the rest of us," David Cicilline, Representative and Rhode Island Democrat.
EMEA
Heubach Group, a pigments production company, and SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm, agreed to acquire the pigments business of Clariant, a specialty chemical company, for $952m. The deal value includes a potential earnout of $56m.
"We are pleased to announce the agreement with Heubach and SK Capital for the sale of our Pigments business. This achievement represents a final step in the divestment program and portfolio repositioning announced in July 2018. We are confident that with Heubach and SK Capital, we have found the right owners of this business, for our customers, our colleagues, and our other stakeholders. Now our focus can fully be on growing revenue and profitability of our core business areas: care chemicals, catalysis and natural resources," Conrad Keijzer, Clariant CEO.
SK Capital and Heubach are advised by Bank of America, Citigroup, Valence Group, Kirkland & Ellis, Lenz & Staehelin and BackBay Communications. Debt financing is provided by Bank of America and Citigroup. Heubach is advised by Milbank. Clariant is advised by Deutsche Bank and Homburger.
National Grid, an owner and operator of the electricity transmission network in England and Wales, completed the acquisition of Western Power Distribution, an electricity distribution network operator, from PPL, a utility holding company, for $20bn.
"The strategic transactions we are announcing today immediately unlock value for shareowners and achieve the objectives we set out in launching the process to sell our UK utility business. They will refocus our business mix squarely on strong, rate-regulated US utilities, strengthen our credit metrics, enhance long-term earnings growth and predictability, and provide us with greater financial flexibility to invest in sustainable energy solutions for those we serve," Vincent Sorgi, PPL President and CEO.
National Grid was advised by Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Robey Warshaw, Cravath Swaine & Moore, Herbert Smith Freehills, Brunswick Group and Teneo. PPL was advised by JP Morgan, Ashurst and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
JLEN Environmental Assets Group, the listed environmental infrastructure fund, agreed to acquire Cramlington Renewable Energy Developments, which owns a biomass combined heat and power plant. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are happy to announce JLEN's first investment into large-scale biomass CHP, which leverages the knowledge and experience gained in owning a number of bioenergy assets already. We believe that assets such as these provide a sustainable source of renewable heat and power that can be utilized as baseload power to the grid and a direct provision to nearby industrial customers. The plant has a strong operational track record and we look forward to optimizing this asset for the future," Richard Morse, JLEN Chairman.
JLEN is advised by Foresight Group, Praxis Fund Services, Winterflood Investment Trusts and SEC Newgate.
Lifespot Capital, a technology and solutions provider in the field of eHealth, agreed to acquire Munich Hotel Partners, a German hotel investment and hotel management platform, for €59m ($72m).
MHP group has established itself in the acquisition of existing upper-upmarket hotels. MHP currently operates four Le Méridien brand hotels in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Munich and Vienna, as well as the Sheraton Düsseldorf Airport Hotel.
Munich Hotel Partners is advised by Hengeler Mueller.
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in Away Resorts, a British holiday park operator, from Freshstream, a capital market company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have been hugely impressed by the success of Away Resorts' differentiated, family-oriented holiday park proposition. The business is well-positioned in a fragmented and growing market that benefits from strong consumer tailwinds. We are excited to be partnering with Carl and the Away Resorts team to support the development of the platform they have built and accelerate their ambitious expansion plans, through investing in existing parks and by significantly growing the estate over the years to come," David Wells, CVC Capital Partners Managing Director.
Freshstream is advised by Rothschild & Co.
Helios Technologies, a provider of motion control and electronic controls technology, agreed to acquire NEM, an innovative hydraulic solutions company providing customized material handling, construction, industrial vehicle and agricultural applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This strategic flywheel acquisition demonstrates our continued commitment to our hydraulics segment and growing our core platform. Leveraging NEM's strong brand name in the Cartridge Valve Technology (CVT) OEM European markets, along with shared synergies, will further advance our technology. This acquisition will optimize Helios's position to expand our geographic reach, particularly in electro-hydraulics, by growing our OEM business throughout the world. In addition, this acquisition gives us more CVT manufacturing capability in Europe. We look forward to welcoming the NEM team to the Helios family as we continue to drive growth and create shareholder value," Josef Matosevic, Helios President and CEO.
Helios is advised by Kei Advisors.
All3Media, a British worldwide independent television, film and digital production and distribution company, agreed to acquire NENT Studios UK, a content distribution business, from Nordic Entertainment Group, a pan-Nordic media and entertainment company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"All3Media's position as a global distributor and storyteller makes it an ideal home for NENT Studios' UK distribution business. This agreement and the ongoing sale of our Nordic non-scripted businesses are in line with NENT Group's strategy of focusing on scripted content for our fast-expanding Viaplay streaming service, which will be available in at least 15 countries by 2023," Gabriel Catrina, NENT Group EVP & CFO.
NENT is advised by Dentons.
Equinix, a digital infrastructure company, and GIC agreed to form a data center joint venture. The data center sites would be scattered across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas. GIC will own an 80% equity interest in joint ventures and Equinix will own 20% equity interest. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"By building upon the xScale portfolio, Equinix is well-positioned to further accelerate the adoption of hybrid and multicloud as the IT architecture of choice for today's businesses, while meeting hyperscalers' needs for operational reliability, global reach and interconnectivity to rich ecosystems that are critical to serving their customers worldwide," Jabez Tan, Structure Research Head of Research.
Hims & Hers, a multi-specialty telehealth platform focused on providing modern personalized health and wellness experiences, agreed to acquire Honest Health, a hair loss-related products provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Honest Health has demonstrated a powerful combination of leadership, passion and innovation in digital health -- at scale -- that will further elevate our ability to provide the Hims & Hers personalized healthcare experience to a new segment of consumers in the United Kingdom," Andrew Dudum, Hims & Hers CEO.
Calibre Scientific, a diversified global provider of life science reagents, tools, instruments, and other consumables, agreed to acquire LINARIS Biologische Produkte, a life science distributor with headquarters outside of Frankfurt. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Calibre Scientific has built a unique platform in the life science and diagnostics space: with this transition, I have the utmost confidence that the company I founded three decades ago will be in good hands for decades to come. BIOZOL has deep expertise in our market, and I trust them to carry on my mission of providing excellent products and service to our customers," Peter Harbarth, LINARIS Managing Director and CEO.
Accenture, an Irish-domiciled multinational company that provides consulting and processing services, agreed to acquire umlaut, an engineering consulting and services firm headquartered in Aachen, Germany. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The move will significantly scale Accenture's deep engineering capabilities to help companies use digital technologies like cloud, artificial intelligence, and 5G to transform how they design, engineer and manufacture their products as well as embed sustainability.
JX Nippon weights a $2bn North Sea asset sale.
JX Nippon Exploration and Production, an energy company, explores a sale of its UK North Sea assets as it conducts a review of its global portfolio, Bloomberg reported.
Preparations for a potential sale include JX's stakes in Mariner and Culzean, which are operated by Equinor, an international energy company, and Total, an integrated oil and gas company, respectively. The assets could be valued at as much as $2bn.
JX Nippon is advised by Bank of America and Kirk Lovegrove & Co.
Alpha Bank seeks shareholders' approval for the share offering.
Alpha Bank, a bank offering financial products and services, nears securing shareholder approval for a planned $969m share offering. Reuters reported that share sale will be conducted via a book-building process to international institutional investors and a simultaneous public offering in Greece.
Alpha Bank's shareholders are planning to support the proposal, which will need the backing of at least two-thirds of those at the extraordinary general meeting and a 50% quorum for the offering to proceed. The supporters include Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, a major shareholder which holds nearly 11%.
Alpha Bank is advised by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Barclays and Axia Ventures.
ADIA reviews real estate strategy because of the pandemic. (FS)
Bloomberg reported that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a property investor focusing on long-term value creation, considers changes to its real estate strategy after some of its major holdings suffered from the coronavirus pandemic.
The fund is reviewing the performance of its property assets due to weakness in a number of the shopping malls and office buildings in its portfolio. ADIA may consider cutting its shareholding in some troubled investments.
ADIA could shift its focus for future deals and increase exposure to areas like warehouses, life sciences properties, technology hubs, and affordable housing.
Ethiopia seeks investors for 40% in ETC.
Ethiopia seeks interest for a minority stake in Ethiopian Telecommunications, a state-controlled telecommunications company. The authorities started the process of recruiting a second major investor into the country in less than a month, Bloomberg reported.
Investors have a month to submit interest for 40% in ETC. The government will retain 55% of the company, while 5% will probably be provided to Ethiopian investors via an IPO.
The sale comes on the heels of a new telecommunications license awarded to a Safaricom-led consortium last month and attracting more foreign capital and maintain one of the fastest economic growth rates in Africa, and create more jobs.
Huvepharma plans a $363m Amsterdam listing.
Huvepharma, an animal health firm, plans an IPO in Amsterdam, planning to raise $363m from selling new shares, Reuters reported.
Huvepharma intends to use capital to fund and accelerate its growth capital expenditure and repay part of its outstanding debt. It will also sell a to-be-decided portion of shares held by its current owners.
Huvepharma is advised by JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, ING Bank and UniCredit.
OVHcloud re-commits to IPO. (FS)
OVHcloud, a French cloud computing services provider, re-committed to an IPO on Euronext’s Paris stock exchange but provided no timetable and no fundraising target, Reuters reported.
The company is backed by US investment firms KKR and TowerBrook Capital Partners which own 20% of the firm's capital. Klaba family owns the rest of the shares. The family-owned company had initially announced its plans in March, however a major blaze destroyed one of its data centres what had raised concerns about its capacity to go public.
Sales in 2020 grew about 5% from a year earlier, according to a 2019 revenue figures. OVHcloudreported its revenues grew at an average annual rate of over 20% in the last 10 years.
David Cumming leaves Aviva Investors. (FS, People)
David Cumming, Aviva Investors Chief Investment Officer for equities, is to leave the firm, and other roles in the equity fund management team are also at risk, Reuters reported.
“We have taken the decision to focus our equities business on sustainable outcomes and core strategies where there is clear client demand, namely UK and global equities, while retaining sufficient coverage to support our multi-asset strategies,” Aviva Investors.
The announcement comes as Cevian, an activist investor, had taken a 5% stake in Aviva, an asset management company, and called on it to return $7.06bn to shareholders and cut costs. More changes are required to restructure its investment management unit.
APAC
Google-backed Glance, a lock screen-based content discovery platform and owner of a video platform, agreed to acquire Shop101, a full-stack e-commerce platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As leaders in the mobile content space, both Glance and Roposo are disrupting the way users create, discover, and consume content, making them the preferred platforms for top celebrities and creators to connect with their audience. With the addition of Shop101, we aim to make these platforms the top shopping destinations for millions of users as well. With Shop101's technology, partners and hugely talented team, we are in a great position to create this new form of mobile commerce at a global scale," Piyush Shah, Glance President & COO.
Glance is advised by Genesis BCW.
Indian government seeks anchor investors to invest up to $3.4bn in LIC's IPO.
The Indian government plans to bring anchor investors to invest up to $3.4bn in the IPO of Life Insurance, an insurance company. The insurer will change its board structure and adopt new accounting norms before the IPO, DealStreetAsia reported.
"Anchor investors will buy LIC's shares to help measure market demand. They will buy a portion of the shares meant for qualified institutional buyers. If anchor investors pay a certain amount and the market is ready to pay more than that on the day of IPO, the anchor investors will have to bring in the extra amount to match the market price. If the market shows a demand of less, we don't have to refund the extra amount to anchor investors. This is the benefit of having anchor investors," Indian official.
PEXA prepares for $2.31bn Australian IPO in July 2021.
Property Exchange Australia, an online property exchange network, is set to make its Australian market debut on July 1 after filing a prospectus, Reuters reported. PEXA expects to raise $909m from the IPO at an offer price of $13.2 what could value the company at more than $2.31bn.
Link Administration, PEXA largest shareholder and administrator of financial ownership data and drives user engagement, will have the option to raise its stake in PEXA to 47% from 44%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia will also be able to increase its holding to 29%. Morgan Stanley plans to sell its entire 40% interest in PEXA.
PEXA is advised by Barrenjoey, Macquarie Capital, Morgan Stanley and UBS.
Vedant Fashions-owned Manyavar starts work on a $273m IPO.
Vedant Fashions-owned Manyavar, an Indian ethnic wear brand, prepares for $273m IPO and has hired investment banks Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Bank, Isec and IIFL to prepare its draft red herring prospectus. Kedaara Capital, an existing private equity investor, is expected to sell a significant part of its stake, DealStreetAsia reported.
Kedaara Capital has around 7.5% stake in the company, while the rest is held by Ravi Modi and his family.
