EMEA
UBS not looking to merge with any other bank.
AMERICAS
Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired Celgene for $90bn.
Providence raised $4.4bn for its new fund. (FS)
Atlas Venture closes $250m Opportunity Fund. (FS)
Antengene rises $120m in Series B fundraising.
Aphria neglects Green Growth's takeover attempt.
APAC
Jangho Group offered $1.4bn for Healius.
Nexon founder plans to sell a controlling stake in Korean video games maker for $9bn. (FS)
The world's largest cigarettes maker plans an IPO.
Minsheng Education and CICC Capital plan to set up $1.5bn M&A educational fund. (FS)
National Commercial Bank and Riyad Bank seek advisors.
Noor Bank win right to swap Abraaj Debt for fund stake.
GIC-backed Luckin Coffee looks to overtake Starbucks after raising $200m. (FS)
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Latest Deals
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EMEA
Whitbread announced that it has completed the sale of Costa Coffee to The Coca-Cola. The sale proceeds of £3.9bn ($5bn) have been received in cash.
Costa Coffee was advised by Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Slaughter & May. Coca-Cola was advised by Rothschild & Co and Clifford Chance. Whitbread was advised by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Ashurst.
DNA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, announced that it has decided to extend for a further 14 days its 12 December 2018 cash offer for DNO at 152 pence per share, notwithstanding the significant deterioration in oil and equity markets and a stream of disappointing exploration news from Faroe.
DNO said that it now owns 30% of Faroe and also has acceptance for control of a further 13.1% stake from shareholders willing to sell, giving it effectively 43% control. However, it still falls short of the 50% control now required to give it a majority shareholding. DNO’s original target of owning 57.5% was set to protect the firm from the dilution of its stake from a potential Faroe share issue.
Faroe Petroleum was advised by FTI Consulting, BMO Capital Markets, Rothschild & Co, Stifel Nicolaus, Ashurst and K&L Gates. DNO was advised by Brunswick Group, Pareto Securities and Lambert Energy Advisory.
Aareal Bank has completed its acquisition of Düsseldorfer Hypothekenbank for around €162m ($185m). The transaction will lead to a positive one-off effect, which will boost Aareal's 2018 profit by around €52m ($59m). The Düsseldorf-based mortgage lender no longer originates new property finance business and has been undergoing an orderly wind-down process since 2015.
UBS not looking to merge with any other bank.
Swiss bank UBS is not looking to merge with any other bank, Chairman Axel Weber told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper amid speculation that UBS could join forces with Deutsche Bank.
“Every company has to think things over, but it makes little sense to consider mergers at group level now. These paralyze companies for years,” Axel Weber, UBS Chairman.
“UBS is much stronger today than before the financial crisis, but combining with another bank - no matter which - would be premature at this moment. We want to grow primarily organically and we surely have to be able to walk before we want to run.”
AMERICAS
Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired Celgene for $90bn.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company will acquire Celgene for $90bn in cash and stock (incl. debt). Under the terms of the agreement, Celgene shareholders will receive 1 Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50 in cash for each share of Celgene. When completed, Bristol-Myers Squibb shareholders are expected to own approximately 69% of the company, and Celgene shareholders are expected to own approximately 31%.
The transaction will create a leading focused specialty biopharma company well positioned to address the needs of patients with cancer, inflammatory and immunologic disease and cardiovascular disease through high-value innovative medicines and leading scientific capabilities. With complementary areas of focus, the combined company will operate with global reach and scale, maintaining the speed and agility that is core to each company’s strategic approach.
“As a combined entity, we will enhance our leadership positions across our portfolio, including in cancer and immunology and inflammation. We will also benefit from an expanded early- and late-stage pipeline that includes six expected near-term product launches. Together, our pipeline holds significant promise for patients, allowing us to accelerate new options through a broader range of cutting-edge technologies and discovery platforms.” Giovanni Caforio, M.D., Bristol-Myers Squibb Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Celgene was advised by Citigroup, JP Morgan and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. Bristol-Myers Squibb was advised by Dyal Co., Evercore, Morgan Stanley, Kirkland & Ellis. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi Group and Morgan Stanley acted as debt providers.
Omega Healthcare Investors and MedEquities Realty Trust reached a definitive merger agreement under which Omega will acquire all of the outstanding shares of MedEquities. The transaction represents an enterprise value of approximately $600m for MedEquities and further diversifies Omega’s assets and operators.
“John and his team have built a high-quality diversified portfolio, which should provide Omega with meaningful future growth opportunities. This acquisition reinforces our commitment to the skilled nursing and senior housing industry while adding new asset types to our portfolio furthering our strategic objectives.” Taylor Pickett, Omega’s Chief Executive Officer.
MedEquities Realty Trust was advised by Citigroup and Morison & Foerster. Omega Healthcare was advised by Centerview Partners, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and Goodwin Procter.
Aspect Software, a leading provider of fully integrated customer engagement, workforce optimization, and self-service omni-channel solutions, announced to be acquired by Vector Capital, a leading private equity firm specializing in transformational investments in established technology businesses.
Vector Capital will invest more than $100m of equity capital in Aspect’s business, and Aspect’s existing lenders will continue to support the company by providing Aspect with a new credit facility at closing.
“We are excited to partner with Vector Capital as we continue to accelerate Aspect’s strategic transformation, execute on our growth plans and refine our go-forward strategy. Vector Capital brings substantial operational and financial resources as well as a proven track record of helping enterprise software companies invest in new products, accelerate innovation, and build market-leading businesses.” Chris Koziol, Aspect President, and Chief Executive Officer.
Aspect was advised by Jefferies, DCS Advisory and AkinGump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Vector Capital’s was advised by Paul Hastings.
Providence raised $4.4bn for its new fund. (FS)
Providence Equity Partners raised $4.4bn toward a reported $5bn target for the firm's eighth flagship fund. Providence raised $5bn for its seventh flagship fund, which closed in 2013. The Rhode Island-based firm typically invests in the B2C, B2B and IT industries.
Atlas Venture closes $250m Opportunity Fund. (FS)
Atlas Venture, a venture capital firm investing in breakthrough biotech innovation, has closed its first Opportunity Fund, raising $250m in an oversubscribed fundraise.
With Atlas Venture Opportunity Fund I, the firm will invest in existing Atlas portfolio companies as they progress.
“We are delighted and humbled by the support of our limited partners in this natural extension of our venture creation investment model. Atlas’ longstanding and new limited partners alike have demonstrated their conviction in the ability of our portfolio companies to advance innovative therapeutics for patients in need.” Kevin Bitterman, Atlas Partner.
Antengene rises $120m in Series B fundraising.
Antengene, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on creating drug treatments for cancer patients in the Asia-Pacific region, has secured a $120m round led by Boyu Capital and FountainVest. The Shanghai-based business raised $21m in 2017 in a round led by Qiming Venture Partners. It will use the new funds in part to commercially launch its products and develop a research facility in Shaoxing, China.
Aphria neglects Green Growth's takeover attempt.
Canadian cannabis producer Aphria has advised investors to decline an offer from Ohio-based Green Growth Brands, saying it significantly undervalues the company and adding that the proposed deal is based on GGB's "hypothetical valuation" of itself. The proposal would see an exchange of 1.6 GGB shares for each Aphria share.
APAC
Jangho Group offered $1.4bn for Healius.
Healius announced that it has received an unsolicited and highly conditional proposal from Jangho Hong Kong, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Jangho Group, to acquire all of the shares in Healius that it does not already own by way of a Scheme of Arrangement. The Jangho Group, through its subsidiaries, currently holds in aggregate 15.9% of the issued share capital of Healius.
Healius provides services for healthcare industry in Australia.
The Proposal is stated to be a preliminary, non‐binding indication of interest. The indicative cash price offered under the Proposal is $3.25 per share. The price will be reduced for the value of any dividends proposed, declared or paid.
Healius is being advised by UBS, King & Wood Mallesons as advisors.
Nexon founder plans to sell a controlling stake in Korean video games maker for $9bn. (FS)
The founder of South Korean gaming company Nexon is set to sell a controlling stake worth around $9bn in Nexon’s holding firm NXC Corp.
The potential buyers include domestic industry rivals Kakao and Netmarble, as well as Chinese tech giant Tencent and U.S. video game publisher Electronic Arts.
Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley have been selected to manage the sale.
World's largest cigarettes maker plans an IPO.
China National Tobacco, a state monopoly that’s by far the biggest cigarette maker in the world, plans to list its international unit on the Hong Kong stock exchange even as pressure increases on the government to curb smoking.
The unit, China Tobacco International, is primarily responsible for procuring overseas tobacco leaf from countries like Brazil and Canada for the cigarette giant, which churns out four of every 10 sticks made in the world.
In 2016, the industry contributed profit and tax of 1.1tn yuan ($160bn), according to China Tobacco’s website.
National Commercial Bank and Riyad Bank seek advisors for a possible merger.
National Commercial Bank and Riyad Bank are seeking advisors for a potential merger that would create the Gulf region’s third-biggest lender with $182bn in assets.
The banks have sent out RFPs to Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, and UBS.
Formal advisors for the deal, which could be the biggest bank merger for almost three years, could be appointed this month. The proposed combination has the backing of the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund that owns about 44% of National Commercial Bank and 22% of Riyad Bank. No final decisions have been made and the banks may choose other advisers.
Minsheng Education and CICC Capital plan to set up $1.5bn M&A educational fund. (FS)
Minsheng Education Group will set up a M&A fund with investment bank CICC Capital, according to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing. The fund aims to raise 10bn yuan ($1.5bn) over four phases to invest in the private higher education industry.
Li Xuechun, Minsheng Education Group Chairman, said the company will have the first priority to acquire assets being disposed of by the M&A fund at the same terms as other potential buyers. Minsheng has stakes in eight private colleges, of which six are in mainland China, one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore.
Noor Bank won the right to swap Abraaj Debt for fund stakes.
Noor Bank, which provided a $100m loan to the collapsed Abraaj Group, won the right to swap the debt for stakes in some of the Dubai-based buyout firm’s funds.
Privately-held Noor Bank won approval from a court in the Cayman Islands, where Abraaj is undergoing a supervised restructuring, to take ownership of stakes in the funds that were pledged against the loan.
GIC-backed Luckin Coffee looks to overtake Starbucks after raising $200m. (FS)
Chinese coffee startup Luckin is aiming to open 2.5k new stores this year and overtake Starbucks as the largest coffee chain by a number of outlets in the world’s second-biggest economy. The firm, which only officially launched its business at the start of last year, has expanded at breakneck speed, propelled by a focus on technology, delivery, and heavy discounting even at the cost of mounting losses.
“What we want at the moment is scale and speed.” Yang Fei, Luckin‘s Chief Marketing Officer.
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