GetYourGuide, the booking platform for travel experiences, raised $484m in Series E financing led by the SoftBank Vision Fund which was joined by co-investors Temasek, Lakestar, Korelya Capital and Heartcore Capital, while original investors such as Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank continued their support of the company. As part of the investment, Ted Fike, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, will join GetYourGuide's Board of Directors.
Ted Fike, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers said, "Consumers, especially millennials, are spending an increasing portion of their disposable income on travel experiences. We believe GetYourGuide is leading this seismic shift by consolidating the fragmented global supply base of tour operators and modernizing access for travelers globally. This combination creates powerful network effects for their business that is fueling their strong growth. We are excited to partner with their passionate and talented leadership team."
JP Morgan acted as placement agent, and Latham & Watkins and Walder Wyss advised GetYourGuide. Homburger and Weil Gotshal and Manges advised Softbank Vision Fund.
Amazon is leading a new $575m Series G preferred shared funding round for Deliveroo, British online food delivery company, alongside existing investors T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Greenoaks. This takes the total Deliveroo has raised to date to $1.5bn.
Will Shu, founder, and CEO of Deliveroo said: "This new investment will help Deliveroo to grow and to offer customers even more choice, tailored to their personal tastes, offer restaurants greater opportunities to grow and expand their businesses, and to create more flexible, well-paid work for riders.
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investment fund LetterOne won control of Spanish retailer DIA. However, with three days to go before a financing deadline, it has not yet secured support from all of the loss-making group's creditors. LetterOne announced in February a bid to buy the roughly 70% of DIA it did not already own, which has been accepted by holders of 40.76% of the group's shares, giving LetterOne a 69.76% stake.
LetterOne reached an agreement to back DIA's capital with 16 of its 17 lenders, which hold 77.5% of its €912m ($1bn) syndicated bank debt. However, all of DIA's creditors need to agree on a refinancing plan by May 20 to pave the way for a planned €500m ($558m) capital raising.
LetterOne's offer had been accepted by holders of 29.36% of DIA's shares, giving it a 58.36% stake, as of midnight on Thursday.
BofA Merrill Lynch, Clifford Chance, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advise DIA. Perez-Llorca, Camarco, and Estudio de Comunicacion advise LetterOne. Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, Societe Generale, and UBS are debt providers.
PETRONAS Chemicals Group agreed to acquire 100% of Da Vinci, a holding company for BRB International, producer of silicones, additives, and chemicals, from its shareholders including Bencis Capital Partner. Financial terms were not officially disclosed. However, the deal is rumored to be valued at €163m ($182m).
Elaborating on the acquisition, PCG Chief Executive Officer Datuk Sazali Hamzah said, "The acquisition is a strategic entry point for PCG's specialty chemicals portfolio. The acquisition accelerates the realization of PCG's vision to create value by diversifying its product portfolio into differentiated and specialty chemicals."
Lincoln International, Allen & Overy, and PwC advised the sellside. Standard Chartered, Jones Day and EY advised PETRONAS.
Britain's competition watchdog is planning to review if JD Sports Fashion's acquisition of smaller rival Footasylum "substantially" reduced competition in the sector. The deal was announced in March and valued Footasylum at £90m ($119m) and represents a 41% premium to the undistributed share price.
Addleshaw Goddard, Rothschild & Co and MHP Communications advised JD Sports Fashion. GCA Altium and Powerscourt advised Footasylum. Ashurst advised Rothschild & Co.
EP Logistics International, a Czech wholly-owned subsidiary of Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding, agreed to acquire the German rail carrier LOCON Logistik & Consulting. The transaction will be closed upon the approval of the appropriate antimonopoly authorities. EP Logistics International will make through this acquisition another important step in its strategy of developing and strengthening the East-West transport corridor Financial terms were not disclosed.
"In this way, we will be able to offer our existing and future business partners a broad portfolio of services, based on the experience of the successful railway undertaking Locon Logistik & Consulting and the strong international group EP Logistics International," said Zbigniew Klepacki, CEO of EP Logistics International.
Alexander Schütz, C-Quadrat's founder and chief executive, together with board member Cristobal Mendez de Vigo will buy HNA's 74% in Austrian asset manager C-Quadrat, the vehicle through which HNA held the bulk of its stake in Deutsche Bank. Jebsen Group, a family-owned Hong Kong-based luxury goods distributor, is also taking a minority stake in C-Quadrant. Financial terms were not disclosed.
HNA said that the sale of C-Quadrat was "consistent with HNA Group's progress in sharpening its strategic focus, strengthening its balance sheet and improving overall performance across the group."
French Naval Group considers Thyssenkrupp's marine unit acquisition.
According to
Reuters, Naval Group will consider buying Thyssenkrupp's marine division if the German steel-to-submarines conglomerate would offer the unit for sale.
After abandoning a plan to spin off its capital goods business - car parts, plant engineering, and elevators - following a collapse in its share price, the group is now pursuing an IPO of its elevator business. It has also said it would be open to new ownership structures for its car parts, plant engineering, and marine systems units.
Goldman Sachs close to acquiring PAI's B&B hotels for €2bn. (FS)
According to
Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs is close to a deal to acquire the B&B Hotels chain from PAI Partners for about €2bn ($2.2bn). At that price, the Paris-based private equity firm will make a return of three times its initial investment. Goldman Sachs is doing the deal through its merchant banking division, which includes private equity deals.
Amplats considers a sale of Twickenham and Bokoni mines.
Anglo American Platinum is considering the divestiture of its Bokoni and Twickenham mines in South Africa, which would mostly complete the group's divestment strategy. Amplats, the producer of the precious metals, sold many of its mines as it departs from the labor-intensive methods which defined South African platinum mining to more mechanized operations. However, it struggled to divest the loss-making Bokoni.
Planned partial privatization of Swiss energy supplier Axpo.
Switzerland is preparing to part-privatize Axpo, the country's largest electricity producer. The government will allow private investors to buy up to 49% of the company. Axpo struggled with losses in recent years as electricity from its dams, and nuclear plants cost more to generate than can command on European power markets.
The proposed changes, part of more extensive Swiss market liberalization plans and posted in documents this month by the canton of Thurgau, would take effect in 2021 should they win support from Axpo's government owners, including the cantons of Zurich, Aargau, Glarus and Zug in the coming months.
Fresenius won't make any significant acquisitions this year.
German healthcare group probably will not make any significant acquisitions this year.
"I am certain there will be more large takeovers ... But when, exactly? I cannot say yet. Probably not this year; more likely from 2020," said Stephan Sturm, Fresenius CEO.
Alpiq to sell Czech power plants to Sev.en Energy for $313m.
Swiss electricity producer Alpiq agreed to sell its two Czech power plants, 516-MW coal and gas-fired plant at Kladno near Prague and its 64-MW plant in the eastern city of Zlin, to the Czech Sev.en Energy, owned by investor Pavel Tykac, for around €280m ($313m). The divestiture of the two plants, Kladno and Zlín, is expected to strengthen Alpiq's business model further. Completion of the deal is subject to standard closing conditions and approval of the Czech competition authorities.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise agreed to acquire Cray, a global supercomputer maker, for $35.00 per share in cash, in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3bn, net of cash. The price of $35.00 per share implies a premium of 17.4% to the closing price on a day before the announcement.
"By combining our world-class teams and technology, we will have the opportunity to drive the next generation of high performance computing and play an important part in advancing the way people live and work," said Antonio Neri, President, and CEO, HPE.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to acquire InstaMed, a leading US healthcare technology company that specializes in healthcare payments. The acquisition will expand the bank's suite of payment services designed specifically for healthcare consumers, providers, and payers. Financial terms were not officially disclosed. However, the deal is rumored to be valued at more than $500m.
"We've made significant investments in our Wholesale Payments business over the years and this acquisition will give us a unique advantage in one of the fastest growing sectors. With InstaMed, we combine the strength and scale of JPMorgan Chase's payments capabilities with a leading healthcare payments solution for consumers, providers and payers," said Takis Georgakopoulos, Global Head of Wholesale Payments, JPMorgan Chase.
FT Partners advised InstaMed.
After SNC agreed to sell its 10.01% stake in the Highway 407 toll road operator to Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System for CAD3bn ($2.3bn) in April, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Cintra Global, a unit of Spain's Ferrovial, both exercised their rights of first refusal to buy the stake under the same terms as the OMERS deal.
A dispute between bidders for SNC-Lavalin Group's stake in a Canadian toll highway will delay the deal, as the conflict was headed to Ontario Superior Court on June 21 to settle which one of them have the right of first refusal. SNC said the stake should go to CPPIB, arguing that Cintra agreed in 2002 to waive its right of first refusal over future sales of shares in Highway 407.
Ferrovial owns 43.23% of the Highway 407 operator, with CPPIB owning 40%, and SNC-Lavalin owning 16.77%.
Macquarie Group, Scotiabank, McCarthy Tetrault, and Finsbury advise OMERS. CIBC World Markets and RBC Capital Markets advise SNC-Lavalin.
Blackstone's Strategic Capital Group, which specializes in minority partnerships with leading alternative asset managers, made a passive, minority investment in Marlin Equity Partners. This investment will allow Marlin to continue to expand its global investment platform and leverage the global resources and capabilities of Blackstone. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"This investment by Blackstone further validates the best-in-class organization we have built and the true value proposition of our relationship-driven approach to investing," says David McGovern, Founder, and CEO of Marlin. "We are excited to welcome Blackstone as a strategic partner, and look forward to leveraging their expertise and extensive breadth of resources to continue to invest in and position our global platform for long-term success."
Evercore and Kirkland & Ellis advised Marlin Equity. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised Blackstone.
GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, acquired a minority equity stake in WaterBridge Resources, operator of water infrastructure networks, from Five Point Energy, a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on the midstream energy sector. The minority equity position was acquired from Five Point Energy and WaterBridge management. The transaction has closed and is not subject to any additional conditions. The purchase price implies a WaterBridge enterprise value of approximately $2.8bn.
Stephen Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of WaterBridge, said, "We are very pleased to partner with such a reputable financial institution that shares our vision in building the premier water midstream company. Through our combined resources, WaterBridge has unparalleled access to the capital needed to continue executing the Company's growth strategy."
Barclays and Latham & Watkins advised Five Point Energy and WaterBridge. Kirkland & Ellis advised GIC.
HIG Capital, a leading global private equity investment firm, agreed to make a growth investment in Riveron, a national business advisory firm. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of May, were not disclosed.
HIG's investment will support Riveron's plans to strengthen its existing capabilities and to continue growth in new geographies and new service lines, including the recently launched restructuring and tax advisory practices.
Keval Patel, Managing Director at HIG, said, "Riveron has become a market-leading advisory firm that is known for its deep accounting and finance expertise and strong track record of helping clients maximize the value of strategic change. We have been extremely impressed with Riveron's management team and the quality of their people, a testament to the strong and unique culture that underpins how Riveron approaches clients. We look forward to partnering with Landon and the entire management team to support Riveron's continued growth."
Chico's FAS, women's apparel retailer, unanimously rejected Sycamore Partners' offer to take the company private in a deal valued at $408m. The company said Sycamore's offer of $3.50 per share substantially undervalued the retailer. Earlier, Chico's rejected a higher $4.30 per share offer from Sycamore, which owns a 6.6% stake in the company.
Goldman Sachs and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison advise Chico's FAS.
EiKO Global, a manufacturer of advanced lighting solutions and Inverness Graham Investments' portfolio company, acquired Xeleum Lighting, manufacturer of intelligent LED lighting fixtures and controls. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
"Xeleum and EiKO provide complimentary product offerings that will enable the combined platform to increase wallet share with the existing customers at both companies. We are looking forward to leveraging these newly acquired capabilities as we continue to build a globally integrated and connected smart-LED platform," says Michael Morrissey, Managing Principal of Inverness Graham.
Paul Hastings advised EiKO Global.
Brookfield wants Oaktree to keep investing. (FS)
Perella Weinberg Partners, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Munger Tolles & Olsen advised Oaktree. Weil Gotshal & Manges and Torys advised Brookfield. Sandler O'Neill & Partners and Mayer Brown advised the Special Committee of Oaktree's Board of Directors.
CBS plans to acquire Starz from Lions Gate for $5.5bn.
According to
the Information, CBS Corp expressed interest in acquiring cable channel Starz from Lions Gate Entertainment. The broadcasting giant recently talked to Lions Gate Entertainment about buying Starz cable network. This deal could happen alongside a potential purchase of Viacom. Earlier, CBS made an informal bid of around $5bn that was rejected. Lions Gate bought Starz for $4.4bn in a cash-and-stock deal in 2016.
Shares of Lions Gate rose nearly 13% on the report.
Iamgold explores a possible sale.
According to
Bloomberg, Canadian miner Iamgold Corporation is exploring a possible sale of all or part of the company, which follows a wave of consolidation in the gold sector. Shares of Iamgold closed up 9.4%, valuing the company at about $1.6bn.
Select Energy considers a sale.
According to
Bloomberg, Select Energy Services, a provider of water to shale drillers, is in the early stages of considering a sale. The company also operates a division for handling chemicals used in fracking. Select Energy Services shares rose as much as 7.6% in New York trading Friday, which valued the company at $1.3bn. The company is yet to make a final decision and could opt to remain independent.
Wynn and MGM in talks about the sale of $2.6bn Encore Boston casino.
Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International said in a joint statement they've engaged in conversations about the potential sale of nearly finished $2.6bn Encore Boston Harbor. A deal would be complicated for MGM, which has a casino in Springfield, as according to the state's gaming commission Massachusetts forbids companies from holding more than one casino license in the state.
Texas oil producer 1776 Energy to go on sale. (FS)
1776 Energy Operators, the Houston-based firm, which drills for oil and gas in the Eagle Ford shale, will put itself up for sale. The company is expected to be valued at around $1.5bn, including debt. Private equity-backed producers are likely bidders for the company because they have shown a good appetite for Eagle Ford acreage in recent times.
