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AMERICAS
The European Commission said the proposed $61bn takeover by US chipmaker Broadcom of cloud computing company VMware could restrict competition in the market for certain hardware components, Reuters reported.
The commission said it had informed Broadcom of its preliminary view, which is the result of an in-depth investigation of the takeover that was opened late last year.
Broadcom now has the opportunity to reply to the commission's objections and to request an oral hearing.
VMware is advised by Goldman Sachs (led by Sam Britton and Stephan Feldgoise), JP Morgan (led by Madhu Namburi), Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider (led by John Harkrider), Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (led by Barbara Becker and Andrew Kaplan) and FGS Global (led by Paul Kranhold). Financial advisors are advised by Debevoise & Plimpton (led by Michael Diz) and Sullivan & Cromwell (led by Alison S. Ressler and John L. Savva). Broadcom is advised by Bank of America (led by Kevin Brunner and Ron Eliasek), Barclays (led by Laurence Braham, Richard Hardegree and Gary Posternack), Citigroup (led by Tyler Dickson and Daniel Mallegni), Credit Suisse (led by David Wah), Morgan Stanley (led by Anthony Armstrong), Wells Fargo Securities, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, O'Melveny & Myers (led by Adit Khorana), Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (led by David Karp, Ronald Chen and Viktor Sapezhnikov), Brunswick Group (led by Simon Sporborg) and Joele Frank (led by Joele Frank). Financial advisors are advised by Cooley (led by Ben Beerle). Silver Lake is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (led by Atif Azher).
Brookfield Infrastructure, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire Triton International, a lessor of intermodal freight containers, in a $13.3bn.
"We believe this transaction provides an excellent outcome for all of Triton's stakeholders. The sale price provides significant value to our investors and represents a 35% premium to yesterday's closing share price. For our long-term shareholders, this transaction crystallizes a total shareholder return of approximately 700% since the 2016 merger of Triton and TAL International. For our customers and employees, Brookfield Infrastructure's significant resources and long-term investment horizon will support Triton's franchise, underpin our commitment to providing unrivaled service, and support continued investment in our growing business," Brian M. Sondey, Triton CEO.
Triton International is advised by Goldman Sachs, Appleby and Sullivan & Cromwell. Brookfield is advised by Bank of America, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Securities, Torys, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by Eric Otness and Thomas Greenberg) and Teneo.
Five Arrows, the European private equity arm of Rothschild & Co, agreed to acquire a majority stake in n2y, a provider of comprehensive, technology-powered solutions for students with unique learning challenges, from Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"At n2y, we believe 'Everyone Can Learn'. That mission motivates us to help unique learners achieve and to empower the educators, support staff and parents who are guiding them to independence. We're thrilled that Five Arrows believes in n2y's mission and wants to further our impact across the US and beyond. With their deep global experience in educational technology and long-term investment perspective, Five Arrows was our partner of choice to help us broaden our platform's solution offerings, untap new markets and expand our reach to impact even more children. We are grateful for Providence's support and are pleased they will remain investors," Ed Holmes, n2y CEO.
n2y is advised by Robert W Baird and Weil Gotshal and Manges. Five Arrows is advised by Rothschild & Co, William Blair & Co, Debevoise & Plimpton and Shoosmiths.
Lee Equity Partners, a private equity firm, and Twin Point Capital, a principal investment firm, agreed to acquire TESSCO, a technology distributor, manufacturer, and solutions provider, for $161m.
"This deal is a win for Tessco shareholders and our customers. The transaction price and premium reflect the success of our considerable turnaround efforts over the past three years, as well as Tessco's current growth trajectory. Moreover, our customers will benefit from a greater breadth of products and service options as we team with two companies that are true leaders in serving the wireless industry, and that share our commitment to innovation and customer service," Sandip Mukerjee, Tessco President and CEO.
TESSCO is advised by William Blair & Co, Ballard Spahr and Sharon Merrill Associates. Lee Equity is advised by Harter Secrest & Emery and Weil Gotshal and Manges.
Jefferies, a financial services provider, and Cerbrus, an alternative investment firm, completed the acquisition of FORMA Brands, a builder of beauty brands. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This marks the start of an exciting new chapter for FORMA Brands. With new capital and the support of our Investor Group, we are moving forward with the resources necessary to support the execution of our new long-term growth strategy focused largely on our global wholesale and e-commerce operations. We are excited about the opportunities ahead for FORMA Brands and our multi-category portfolio of innovative beauty brands," Simon Cowell, FORMA Brands President.
Cinven, an international private equity firm, agreed to acquire Archer Technologies from Clearlake Capital, an investment firm, and Symphony Technology Group, a private equity partner. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"It has been a pleasure partnering with Bill and the entire Archer management team in scaling the business. Since the Dell carveout in 2020, we established Archer as a standalone business and drove investments in both product and sales and marketing, which resulted in product innovation and capital efficient growth at the Company. Archer has evolved to become a leader in the SaaS-based integrated risk compliance and management market delivering significant value to its customers and partners," William Chisholm, STG Managing Partner.
Archer Technologies is advised by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Sidley Austin. Clearlake Capital is advised by Lambert & Co (led by Jennifer Hurson).
H.I.G. Capital, a global alternative investment firm, completed the acquisition of Tower Engineering Professionals, a telecommunication engineering and construction services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to enter into this new chapter of growth with H.I.G. TEP is one of the most experienced and successful telecom-focused engineering firms, with a turnkey offering that has resulted in strong growth since the Company’s inception. We look forward to partnering with H.I.G., who brings significant experience and resources in both the infrastructure services and telecom sectors, and continuing to provide industry leading customer service,” Andy Haldane, Tower Engineering Professionals CEO.
Tower Engineering Professionals was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Katten Muchin Rosenman. H.I.G. Capital was advised by Harris Williams & Co and Ropes & Gray.
Blue Sea Capital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Rhino Tool House, an automation machinery manufacturer. from Wincove Private Holdings, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Dan, Chip, and the entire team have done a tremendous job growing the Company and positioning it for future success. We are thrilled to partner with such an outstanding team and look forward to leveraging our expertise and resources to support Rhino Tool House," Eric Hansen, Blue Sea Capital Partner.
Blue Sea Capital was advised by Lincoln International and Kirkland & Ellis. Wincove Private Holdings was advised by Raymond James and Husch Blackwell.
Transom Capital, an operations-focused middle market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Bose Professional, a developer of innovative pro audio solutions, from Bose, a US-based multinational company in audio systems. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We’re proud of what Bose Professional has accomplished – its legacy in the professional AV market and the diverse list of amazing installations it has completed all over the globe. The sale to Transom will provide Bose Professional the additional attention it needs to support the professional audio customer, and to continue to develop products and technologies that stand out in the industry. It will also allow Bose to focus more deeply on our core business – creating amazing audio experiences for on-the-go, at home and in the car,” Lila Snyder, Bose CEO.
Transom Capital was advised by 35th Avenue Partner (led by Sam Butler). Bose was advised by Progress Partners.
Bain Capital, an American private investment firm, led a $215m Series F round in HeartFlow, a precision heart care company, with participation from Janus Henderson Investors, Baillie Gifford, Capricorn Investment Group, Hayfin Capital Management, HealthCor, Martis Capital, USVP and Wellington Management.
"HeartFlow has built a strong intellectual property portfolio, brought to market the only combined anatomy, physiology, and plaque analysis to help diagnose and treat heart disease, and is now in over 725 hospital systems worldwide with over 180k patients served to date. The oversubscription of our Series F funding round, particularly in the current market backdrop, is a strong validation of our technology, our team, and the opportunity in front of us. We appreciate the support of our investors, both existing and new, who share HeartFlow's vision to build a new standard of care for people at risk of heart disease," John Farquhar, HeartFlow CEO.
HeartFlow was advised by JP Morgan.
Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm, led a $125m founding round in Arcadia, a data analytics platform for healthcare.
“Arcadia’s mission is to inform better healthcare decisions by unlocking the power of the vast amount of data that is captured in modern healthcare delivery and operations. Vista Credit Partners is the preferred partner to help us achieve our goals, providing new financing and access to the broader Vista ecosystem which holds deep expertise and resources for scaling HealthTech and enterprise software businesses. We look forward to further investing in our platform, our service delivery and customer relations to solidify our position as the leading data platform for healthcare organizations," Michael Meucci, Arcadia CEO.
Arcadia was advised by Sloane & Company.
KKR, a global investment firm, agreed to invest in FGS Global, a global strategic communications consultancy. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Our investment in FGS is the latest example of our focus on proprietary, strategic partnership investments where we are providing long-term capital and a global network of resources to an entrepreneurial management team and alongside a world-class business. We firmly believe that Alex Geiser, Carter Eskew, Roland Rudd, George Sard and their talented global team are pioneering the next generation of value-add strategic communications services. Stakeholder engagement is a boardroom issue and we are confident that FGS, with whom we have enjoyed a long-term relationship, is well positioned to capitalize on significant growth opportunities ahead as a global category leader in the growing management consulting service industry,” Philipp Freise, KKR Partner and Co-Head of European Private Equity.
Mitratech, a provider of legal, compliance, and HR software, completed the acquisition of software developers Trakstar and Circa from Gauge Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Both Circa and Trakstar are perfect complements to the existing Mitratech platform, and champions of the markets where we see our HR portfolio expanding. Having the ability to intentionally source and recruit underrepresented individuals, as well as analyze and report on labor and compensation data, is critical in today's job market and fundamental to organization's retention strategies – and Circa is a standout in this regard. Layer in the deep workforce analytics, performance management, and learning and development offered by Trakstar, and organizations are now empowered with integrated technologies for optimizing the performance of organizations, teams, and individuals," Mike Williams, Mitratech CEO.
Gauge Capital was advised by Ropes & Gray.
Investcorp, a global alternative investment firm, completed the investment in Shearer Supply, an independent distributor of HVAC equipment for residential and commercial properties. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Shearer operates in a large, resilient and highly fragmented market driven by non-discretionary replacement demand and will continue to benefit from strong secular tailwinds including an aging housing stock, shortening replacement cycles and favorable regulation, in addition to its attractive Southern US geographic footprint. We are excited to partner with the Shearer family to drive organic growth and further expansion. We have experienced robust activity across our North American Private Equity platform this year, underscoring the strength of our strategy in partnering with growing, founder-led businesses as they look to scale their businesses," Dave Tayeh, Investcorp Head of Private Equity of North America.
Investcorp was advised by Prosek Partners.
Brookfield Infrastructure, an infrastructure investor, agreed to acquire Data4, a data centre platforms, from AXA IM, a global company in alternative investments. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This investment marks Brookfield’s first major entry into the European data centre market – a region that is expected to experience significant growth in the years ahead – and further expansion of its global data centre platform. Brookfield will leverage its ecosystem to provide best-in-class greenfield development and renewable power capabilities to further build the business throughout Europe. Data4’s long-term inflation-linked contracted business model, with blue-chip hyperscale customers, provides stable and recurring revenues that fit well within Brookfield’s investment strategy," AXA.
Red Bird-backed SAR Trilogy Management, a private equity firm based in Windermere, Florida, completed the acquisition of Epps Aviation, a fixed base operator. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The Epps family has known the founders of SAR Trilogy Management for almost two decades; we know they appreciate the legacy of Epps Aviation. Michael and Sanjay are hands-on owners with a commitment to customers, safety, and an integrated FBO business model. They are the right team to build on what our father started more than 50 years ago," Elaine Epps, Epps CEO.
SAR Trilogy Management was advised by Moxie Communications Group.
Prysm Capital, a growth equity firm, completed a $270m investment in Clear Street, a New York-based independent prime broker.
“Our team has made incredible strides since our inception in 2018, and this additional funding is further testament to the value that we bring to our clients. Over the past year, the number of institutional clients on our platform increased by 500 percent and our daily transactional volume increased over 300 percent. We’re excited to keep this momentum with support from our continued partnership with Prysm,” Chris Pento, Clear Street Group Co-Founder and CEO.
CapitalG, an independent growth fund, led a $100m funding in AlphaSense, a market intelligence and search platform, with participation from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Viking Global Investors.
"We are proud to support AlphaSense as it powers market intelligence and research for the business world. The AlphaSense platform is really powerful in how it leverages AI to transform and streamline the work of business and finance professionals globally, including investors like ourselves, as well as many happy users at companies like Google, Bank of America, and Merck. We're excited to invest in and partner with a company that is augmenting how so many businesses make strategic decisions by enabling seamless access to high-quality, trustworthy business and market insights," James Luo, CapitalG Partner.
Side View Ventures, a venture capital firm, completed the investment in tree3, a social e-commerce platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Members of Sideview Ventures has helped fund hundreds of consumer product businesses with over $6bn in products sold worldwide. We are proud to have their support and ready to power up their creators and brands with the tree3 platform," Katina Kenyon, tree3 CEO.
Thoma Bravo’s Qualtrics bid scuppered by antitrust concerns.
Private equity giant Thoma Bravo’s plan to buy software company Qualtrics and merge it with rival company Medallia was thwarted by antitrust concerns.
EnCap eyes nearly $3bn of Permian asset sales.
EnCap Investments is exploring the sale of two Permian basin-focused oil and gas producers that could collectively fetch the private equity firm nearly $3bn.
EnCap is working with an investment bank to independently sell Novo Oil & Gas Holdings and Forge Energy II. EnCap's efforts to offload the assets come as it attempts to exit older investments profitably on the back of higher energy prices. Returning cash to investors will also boost EnCap's attempts to secure commitments for its first flagship oil and gas fund since 2017.
Novo could be valued at more than $2bn, while Forge is expected to fetch over $600m, noting volatile commodity prices could influence the final valuations, Reuters reported.
Veritas, Carlyle end talks around Cotiviti stake sale.
Veritas Capital and Carlyle Group have ended their talks for the Washington-based alternative asset manager to take a stake in health-care technology firm Cotiviti, Bloomberg reported.
Veritas Capital, which took Cotiviti private in 2018, began notifying its limited partners of the development. Carlyle attempted to negotiate a lower price before ultimately deciding not to move forward with the investment due to market conditions.
BlackRock to dispose of the assets of Signature, SVB.
BlackRock, the chosen seller of a pile of securities once held by failed banks, faces a dilemma between flooding the market and risking higher costs to hold the debt.
The selection of a top-tier manager by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and assurances that the sales would be "gradual and orderly," helped assuage any concerns the government might choose to quickly offload the securities. Regulators amassed the assets, mostly in the form of mortgage backed securities, from failed lenders Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank.
BlackRock doesn't have an unlimited amount of time to conduct its sales. The FDIC hasn't given a timeline for the sales, but as a practical matter it can't wait forever. It's paying the Federal Reserve interest on credit lines to hold the securities, and holding the assets a long time brings other difficulties.
Blackstone raises $30.4bn for latest real estate fund.
Blackstone had raised $30.4bn for its latest global real estate fund, as the private equity behemoth looks to double down on the industry, Reuters reported.
The fund, called Blackstone Real Estate Partners X, is 48% bigger than the asset management giant's previous real estate fund which closed in 2019.
"Sector selection has never been more critical as we witness the bifurcation of performance within real estate," Ken Caplan, Blackstone Global Co-Head of Real Estate.
HPS Investment Partners raises $17bn for its latest debt fund.
HPS Investment Partners, a private equity firm, closed HPS Strategic Investment Partners V at $17bn in investible capital, which includes $12bn in equity commitments. The total well exceeds the original equity fundraising target of $9.5bn. The manager's fifth flagship junior debt fund focuses on financing solutions for large, established firms in North America and Western Europe.
"We believe the current market environment presents a rich set of opportunities for us to pursue as companies continue to seek strategic partners and scaled platforms that can develop and execute bespoke financing solutions with speed and certainty," Scot French, HPS Governing Partner.
Canaan closes $850m or Fund XIII in additional commitments.
Canaan, an early-stage venture capital firm, raised $850m for Fund XIII and additional commitments.
The raise included Canaan XIII, a $650m fund intended to support seed and early-stage technology companies spanning enterprise, consumer, frontier tech, and fintech through exits including merger and acquisition activity and initial public offerings, and additional $200m of commitments to accelerate the growth of existing portfolio companies across all of Canaan's active funds.
"We are grateful for the support of our limited partners, many of whom have invested with Canaan over many years in numerous funds. Their belief in the firm and our consistent approach to venture allowed for a fast and efficient fundraising process despite market conditions," John J. Pacifico, Canaan General Partner, COO & CFO.
EMEA
SATS, Asia's provider of food solutions and gateway services, completed the acquisition of Worldwide Flight Services, an air cargo logistics provider and providers of ground handling and technical services, from Cerberus Capital, a private equity firm, for €2.25bn ($2.45bn).
"This is a transformational opportunity for SATS and our proposed acquisition of WFS will create a global leader that can become the go-to provider of mission critical aviation services. From our hub in Singapore, and in our newly combined markets, SATS and WFS will be at the heart of global trade flows, operating in the world's busiest airports and supporting the biggest companies," Kerry Mok, SATS President and CEO.
Worldwide Flight Services was advised by Goldman Sachs, Linklaters (led by Robert Cleaver and Tracey Lochhead), Brunswick Group and Deloitte. SATS was advised by Bank of America, Citigroup, DBS Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, AZB & Partners (led by Nandish Vyas), Accura Advokatpartnerselskab (led by Kaare Stolt), Allen & Gledhill, Latham & Watkins (led by Sharon Lau and Michael Sturrock) and FGS Global. Cerberus Capital was advised by WongPartnership (led by NG Wai King) and Joele Frank.
LANXESS, a specialty chemicals company, and Advent International, a private equity investor, completed the acquisition of the engineering materials business of Royal DSM, a corporation active in the fields of health, nutrition and materials, for €3.7bn ($4bn).
"LANXESS will once again become significantly less dependent on economic fluctuations. In addition, we as LANXESS will strengthen our balance sheet with the proceeds from the transaction and gain new scope for the further development of our Group. With the new joint venture, we are forging a strong global player in the field of high-performance polymers. The portfolios, value chains and global positioning of the two businesses complement each other perfectly. With its innovative products, the joint venture will be able to play a key role in shaping future developments - for example in the field of electromobility. In Advent, we have a strong and reliable partner with profound experience in the chemical industry and our customer industries," Matthias Zachert, LANXESS CEO.
Hunter Point Capital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of a minority stake in Coller Capital, an independent investor dedicated to the private capital secondaries market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are delighted to welcome HPC as a shareholder as we continue to innovate in the secondaries market. We look forward to collaborating with Bennett Goodman, Avi Kalichstein and the entire HPC team," Jeremy Coller, Coller Capital Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer.
Coller Capital was advised by Evercore, Morgan Stanley, Kirkland & Ellis and Montfort Communications. Hunter Point Capital was advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson and Prosek Partners.
Francisco and Blackstone-backed Renaissance, an educational technology company, completed the acquisition of GL Education, a provider of educational assessment solutions, from Levine Leichtman, a private equity firm. Financial terms are not disclosed.
“GL Education’s formative assessments, paired with Renaissance’s interconnected solutions, further empower our educators and help leaders leverage data to make meaningful change based on each individual students’ needs. We look forward to joining GL Education in driving growth for our students both in the US and abroad," Chris Bauleke, Renaissance CEO.
Renaissance was advised by RBC Capital Markets. Levine Leichtman was advised by Robert W Baird, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Gasthalter & Co.
San Quirico, an investment holding, completed a €500m ($546m) investment in Minerva Hub, a provider of items for the high-end fashion sector.
This operation will allow MinervaHub's accelerated development thanks to financial, commercial and manufacturing synergies. The plan is to continue to expand MinervaHub through additional mergers and acquisitions strengthening its production capacity and expand its product portfolio.
Xenon Private Equity was advised by Rothschild & Co.
Jeito Capital, a global investment company, led a $105m Series C funding in Alentis Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, with participation from Novo Holdings, RA Capital Management, Pureos Bioventures, Bpifrance and Schroders.
“We are absolutely delighted with this support from our investors. There are huge unmet needs in organ fibrosis and cancer, and this funding enables us to continue with the important work we’re doing in the CLDN1 space and generate clinical data from both our programs. We can now aggressively develop CLDN1 biology in oncology and continue with the recruitment of our organ fibrosis trials while advancing our ADC and bi-specific antibodies,” Roberto Iacone, Alentis Therapeutics CEO.
Alentis Therapeutics was advised by O Public Relations.
Summit Partners, a private equity firm, and Peugeot Invest, a long-term investment company, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Doctirne, a provider of legal intelligence solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Legal professionals across the globe are struggling to keep up with the proliferation of available legal data. Doctrine offers a technological solution to this widespread problem, allowing legal professionals to efficiently and accurately locate, understand and harness massive amounts of information in order to build the most impactful legal strategies," Guillaume Carrère, Doctrine CEO.
Metric Capital Partners, a pan-European private capital fund, agreed to invest in Maileg, a toys designer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to support them in executing their ambitious growth plans by accelerating the firm’s organic growth through both digital and geographic expansion,” John Sinik, Metric Capital Partners Managing Partner.
HIG Capital, a global alternative investment firm, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Office People, a company for personnel management and temporary staffing. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The temporary labor market offers compelling opportunities based on secular growth trends. We are excited to build upon these trends together with Office People's highly experienced founder and management team, leveraging organic growth, add-on acquisitions and a selective internationalization strategy. With our deep knowledge and comprehensive experience in the industry, we are perfectly positioned to support Office People's next growth phase and look forward to working with Mr. Akköse and the entire team," Holger Kleingarn, H.I.G. Managing Director.
Total weighs bid for $5bn oil explorer Neptune.
TotalEnergies is considering a bid for private equity-backed oil and gas explorer Neptune Energy Group. The French company is among suitors that have held early-stage talks with Neptune about a possible takeover.
Neptune, which is backed by Carlyle Group and CVC Capital Partners, could be valued at more than $5bn in a sale. The company had earlier attracted interest from Italian energy group Eni, but this cooled over price expectations, Bloomberg reported.
CVC consortium eyes takeover of $2bn payments firm Network.
A private equity consortium backed by CVC Capital Partners is in talks about a potential acquisition of Middle Eastern credit card processor Network International.
The investor group, which also includes tech-focused buyout firm Francisco Partners, has made a preliminary proposal to take Network private, Bloomberg reported.
PPF seeks to sell Kodak Alaris.
The Pension Protection Fund is close to hiring bankers to oversee a sale of Kodak Alaris, the photographic equipment company it took ownership of in 2020.
The PPF, which is funded through a levy on companies with defined benefit schemes, has owned Kodak Alaris since 2020, and has had an involvement in payments to its retirees since 2013, Sky News reported.
OVH founder in talks to buy Qwant.
The founder of French cloud provider OVH Groupe is seeking to buy the Qwant search engine, in a bid to revive the quest for a European rival to Google and Bing that "respects privacy", Bloomberg reported.
Octave Klaba and his family created a venture called Synfonium, together with Qwant shareholder Caisse des Depots, and are holding exclusive talks to buy Qwant. Caisse des Depots will hold a 25% stake in the company.
Apollo-backed Lottomatica to raise $467m in Milan IPO.
Lottomatica, the Italian gambling company backed by Apollo Global Management, is looking to raise €425m ($467m) of fresh capital in a Milan initial public offering this year, injecting life into Europe’s moribund equity capital market , Bloomberg reported.
The offering will also include an as-yet undisclosed sell-down by existing shareholders. The company is seeking a valuation of around $5bn including debt.
APAC
Walmart Inc-backed PhonePe, a fintech platform, raised $100m in additional funding led by General Atlantic at a pre-money valuation of $12bn, as part of its ongoing round that aims to raise up to $1bn.
This ongoing round aims to raise up to $1bn. This comes less than a month after the company raised $200m in funding from its majority shareholder Walmart.
SoftBank’s decision to sell its South Korea-based venture capital arm to a company recently founded by the brother of its chief executive Masayoshi Son has drawn criticism from analysts over governance standards at the tech conglomerate. SoftBank said The Edgeof, a company established last month by entrepreneur Taizo Son, would buy SoftBank Ventures Asia for an undisclosed sum.
The Japanese group said it had taken appropriate governance measures over the deal, but sellside analysts and governance experts have taken issue with the fact that the latest sale, despite its small size, is just one of several transactions at SoftBank involving its founder and his family, FT reported.
Macquarie weighs sale of $1.5bn India Road Contract.
Financial services group Macquarie is considering selling a portfolio of nine highway projects in India and may seek at least $1.5bn, Bloomberg reported.
The firm is in preliminary discussions with advisers about the potential deal. Deliberations are at an early stage and Macquarie may decide to keep the assets.
CVC mulls stake sale in Malaysia's QSR Brands following delay in IPO.
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is considering selling its 21% stake in QSR Brands after multiple attempts by the regional fast food franchise operator for a domestic listing.
QSR Brands, the Malaysian operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Southeast Asia, has tried to hold an initial public offering on the local stock exchange since 2017, DealStreetAsia reported.
Coller Capital reaches the first close of its maiden RMB secondaries fund.
Coller Capital, a private equity firm, has reached the first close of its maiden RMB secondaries fund, with a target size of 1.5bn yuan ($218m).
The fund – Coller Capital Secondaries RMB I Fund – did not disclose the size of its first close. The fund is the first RMB secondaries fund in China raised by a global private capital secondaries manager with support from local institutional investors, per the statement. It is the first of its kind that has been filed with China's self-regulatory association of fund management companies.
The fund will focus on providing liquidity solutions for investors and general partners in the RMB-denominated private capital market in China.
Vedanta in talks with US-based Farallon to raise $1bn.
Vedanta, billionaire Anil Agarwal's Indian commodities major, is in talks with US-based hedge fund Farallon Capital Management to raise at least $1bn, Bloomberg reported.
The structure of the fund-raising hasn't been finalized, and discussions are ongoing. The proposal, if it comes to fruition, will lessen the need to raise money through a syndicated loan.
HK-based PACM eyes up to $300m special situations fund for developed markets.
Pacific Aegis Capital Management Group, a Hong Kong-based real estate private credit investment management firm, is in the process of raising its second special situations fund to invest up to $300m in opportunities across developed markets.
PACM, which started operations in 2018, has already secured $150m in capital commitments for the new fund, Francis Ng, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer said. The fund is on track to reaching the first close at $200m by the end of H1 2023, DealStreetAsia reported.
Crypto exchange Bitget launches $100m fund to invest in Web3 projects.
Crypto derivatives exchange Bitget has launched a new fund targeting next-generation Web3 projects and businesses in Asia, with an initial investment of $100m, DealStreetAsia reported.
The Seychelles-based firm said the fund is self-funded, adding that Bitget is debt-free with adequate cash flow.
Credit Suisse Australia head Ristevski returns to Macquarie. (People)
Credit Suisse Group’s head of investment banking and capital markets for Australia has departed the firm to rejoin Macquarie Group.
Dragi Ristevski will become Head of Financial Sponsors, Asia Pacific for Macquarie Capital. Based in Sydney, Ristevski will sit on the APAC Group Heads Committee and will work alongside Dieu Ndenzako to build a new specialist private equity coverage team for the Asia-Pacific market, Bloomberg reported.
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