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AMERICAS
Mars, a provider of confectionery, snacking, food, and pet care products and services, agreed to acquire Kevin's Natural Foods, a paleo friendly food company that makes pre-made, ready to eat entrees, sauces and seasonings, for $800m.
"Joining the Mars Food & Nutrition portfolio of brands will allow us to accelerate the development of more product innovations and support our mission of bringing Kevin’s to more consumers across markets," Kevin McCray, Kevin's Natural Foods Co-Founder and President.
Mars is advised by Citigroup, ArentFox Schiff, Covington & Burling, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Brunswick Group. Kevin's Natural Foods is advised by Wells Fargo Securities and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton.
Brookfield, a global alternative asset manager, agreed to acquire the remaining stake in American Equity Investment Life, an issuer of fixed index annuities, for $4.3bn.
“This transaction represents an important step in the continued growth of our insurance business, further diversifying, and scaling, our insurance capabilities, and is a direct result of the partnership we have developed with AEL since our initial investment in 2020. With this transaction we have now deployed or committed over $10bn of capital since our inception, bringing our total insurance assets to over $100bn, and we remain on track with our growth targets for the business. Brookfield Reinsurance remains well capitalized and committed to meeting the needs of its policyholders and clients,” Sachin Shah, Brookfield Reinsurance CEO.
American Equity Investment Life is advised by Ardea Partners, JP Morgan, Sullivan & Cromwell, FGS Global (led by Jared Levy and Robin Weinberg). Brookfield is advised by Barclays and Debevoise & Plimpton (led by Edward Drew Dutton).
Monroe Capital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Horizon Technology Finance Management, an investment advisor, from Horizon Technology Finance, a specialty finance company.
“As one of the largest US venture debt platforms, Horizon is a strong addition to Monroe’s diverse portfolio of other US direct lending products, including CLOs, lower middle market lending, opportunistic lending and real estate. We look forward to working closely with a best-in-class management team to grow our platform over the long term. The acquisition continues Monroe’s strategy of providing differentiated niche-focused investment solutions to institutional and high net worth clients around the world. We are excited by the prospects of leveraging our platform to offer our limited partners a differentiated lending product in one of the fastest growing segments of private credit,” Ted Koenig, Monroe Chairman and CEO.
Horizon Technology Finance Management was advised by Broadhaven Capital Partners and Dechert (led by Ken Young). Monroe Capital was advised by JMP Securities, Blank Rome and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. Horizon Technology Finance Corporation was advised by ICR (led by Garrett Edson).
Greenbriar Equity, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Towne Park, a tech-enabled, multi-service parking and hospitality solutions provider, from TA Associates, an early modern-era private equity firms. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to partner with Greenbriar as we enter this next phase of Towne Park's growth and success. Our values and approach are very much aligned, and we have a collective commitment to enhancing the Company's capabilities and client solutions to accelerate our growth and provide greater opportunities for our team members. We look forward to working together and benefiting from Greenbriar's significant expertise and successful track-record in expanding and scaling tech-enabled service platforms like Towne Park," Andrew Kerin, Towne Park CEO.
Greenbriar Equity was advised by Kirkland & Ellis. Towne Park was advised by Goodwin Procter. TA Associates was advised by Moelis & Co.
Mercer Advisors, a national registered investment adviser, completed the acquisition of Day & Ennis, a comprehensive wealth management firm headquartered in Macon, Georgia. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"John, Bill, and Matt have built a high-quality business staffed by an exceptional team of professionals. In our industry, you are only as good as your people, and their people, like our people, are top-notch. Overall we believe the winners, are the clients. Day & Ennis are deeply respected in Georgia and the communities they serve, and we are honored to be partnering with them," David Barton, Mercer Advisors Vice Chairman.
Day & Ennis was advised by Park Sutton Advisors. Mercer Advisors was advised by Chris Tofalli Public Relations (led by Chris Tofalli).
Mayville Engineering, a provider of design, prototyping and manufacturing solutions serving diverse end-markets, completed the acquisition of Mid-States Aluminum, a manufacturer of custom aluminum extrusions and fabrications, for $96m.
“MSA is an established provider of aluminum extrusions, whose history of growth and innovation, attractive margin profile, deep customer relationships and diverse end-markets are highly complementary to our existing business. Upon closing of the acquisition, MSA will be immediately accretive, excluding transaction costs, to MEC’s earnings per share, Adjusted EBITDA margin and free cash flow,” Jag Reddy, Mayville Engineering President and CEO.
Mayville Engineering was advised by Vallum Advisors.
Senske Services, a provider of recurring residential lawn care, pest control, and home services, completed the acquisition of National Turf Service, a provider of lawn care solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to welcome the new employees to our team." He went on to convey his excitement about the opportunity to provide customers with an enhanced range of services, including tree care and pest control," Casey Taylor, Senske CEO.
EMEA
ASR Nederland, an insurance services provider, completed the acquisition of the Dutch operations of Aegon, an insurance brokerage firm, in a $5bn deal.
"The completion of this transaction marks a major milestone in Aegon's history and in our long-term ambition to create leaders in investments, protection, and retirement solutions. The combination creates the number two insurance company in the Netherlands, with significant scale across different segments, benefiting all our stakeholders. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the Aegon employees who will now move to a.s.r. for their significant contribution over the years. I wish them all every success for the future," Lard Friese, Aegon CEO.
Syntagma Capital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Erasteel, a conventional and powder metallurgy firm, from Eramet, a French multinational mining and metallurgy company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Despite a very challenging M&A market, we continue to find attractive carve-out opportunities to put capital at work and provide divestiture solutions that deliver speed and certainty. We are excited by Erasteel's potential and look forward to working with management on the global growth of the company," Sebastien Kiekert Le Moult, Syntagma Managing Partner.
LyondellBasell, a chemical company, completed the acquisition of Mepol Group, a manufacturer of recycled, high-performing technical compounds. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition demonstrates LyondellBasell's commitment to move the circular economy forward. With Mepol Group's expertise in sustainable compounds and LyondellBasell's scale, we will enhance our CirculenRecover and other sustainable solutions for our customer," Torkel Rhenman, LyondellBasell Executive Vice President of Advanced Polymer Solutions.
Mepol Group was advised by Special Affairs and Gitti and Partners. LyondellBasell was advised by Jones Day (led by Stefano Crosio) and Wardynski & Partners.
Etteplan, an engineering services company, completed the acquisition of LAE Engineering, an engineering company for automation technology based in Germany. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This transaction marks an important milestone in what has been a very successful journey for LAE Engineering so far, and I am happy that we are now part of the Etteplan. Etteplan shares many of the same success factors as LAE with a vision of collaborative, integrated expertise, a passion for serving customers and a strong focus on innovative solutions. They are a strong partner which will allow us to take the development of LAE further, which will benefit the team as a whole, the market and our clients," Werner Rensch, LAE Engineering Managing Director.
Stirling Square Capital, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Gestion Tributaria Territorial, a company that provides tax management services, from AnaCap, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have been able to implement a vast range of technology sector expertise and operational value-add support to rapidly grow the business through a combination of organic and inorganic strategies across Spain and into Latin America," Nassim Cherchali, AnaCap Co-Managing Partner.
Biocomposites, an international medical devices company, completed the investment in Renovos Biologics, an innovative biologics company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The potential for RENOVITE® as a next-generation drug carrier that can enhance the activity of therapeutic drugs at lower doses, whilst giving the surgeon much greater freedom to use in minimally invasive procedures, is very exciting. Following on from our recent acquisition of Artoss in June this year, and Subiton and Synimed last year, Biocomposites has established itself as the go-to provider for surgeons requiring bone regeneration and/or managing infection in bone and soft tissue," Michael Harris, Biocomposites CEO.
Finma chief calls for watchdog’s powers to be bolstered after Credit Suisse debacle.
Urban Angehrn, Finma CEO, called for three areas in which the regulator’s powers could be bolstered: Finma would like to be able to provide information more actively about its supervisory activities and therefore strengthen confidence in the financial centre; impose fines, and it would like the firms it supervises to allocate clear responsibilities for some of the issues to specific individuals on boards.
Iberdrola, Masdar to develop $1.5bn Baltic wind farm.
Spanish utility Iberdrola has signed an exclusive deal with Abu Dhabi's Masdar to develop a 476 MW offshore wind farm in German waters in the Baltic Sea, Reuters reported.
The Baltic Eagle wind farm being built off Germany's northeastern coast will have 50 wind turbines and is part of Iberdrola's strategy to sell advanced renewable projects to raise cash to help finance its $51.2bn investment plan.
German landlords face risk of large cash calls.
Germany’s real estate companies may need to undertake very large rights issues as refinancing becomes more challenging, Bloomberg reported.
Residential property firms will find it difficult to refinance their debt as loan-to-value ratios spike, and they may need to tap investors for funds through “potentially enormous” rights issues, according to Stifel’s analysis.
Turkey in talks to sell Izmir Port operating rights to Gulf investors.
Turkey is negotiating with Gulf Arab countries to sell the operating rights for Alsancak Port in the Aegean city of Izmir in what would be the first major deal under Turkey's push for foreign investment under its new economic team.
"There are investment talks with countries in the Gulf region, and Alsancak Port is also in the scope of these investments," Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister.
Romania's Hidroelectrica tops $10bn valuation in 'historic' IPO.
Romanian energy producer Hidroelectrica's IPO has been priced at $22.9 per share, implying a market capitalisation of $10.3bn in what a government minister described as a "historic success."
The pricing of the initial public offering, Europe's largest so far this year, was around the middle of an indicated range of $20.6-$24.6, Reuters reported.
Investcorp Capital starts gauging interest for $600m Abu Dhabi IPO. (FS)
Investcorp, the Middle East's biggest alternative asset manager, is planning to start meeting investors for the $600m initial public offering of an investment vehicle in Abu Dhabi.
The Bahrain-based investor is looking to start the meetings as soon as next week. The IPO of the vehicle — Investcorp Capital — could come as soon as September.
Templeton-led fund raises record $1.8bn in Hydropower IPO. (FS)
Franklin Templeton-managed Fondul Proprietatea raised RON8.1bn ($1.8bn) in Romania's largest-ever initial public offering and this year's biggest share sale in Europe.
About 78m shares, or 17.3%, in green energy producer Hidroelectrica will be sold at RON104 ($22.87) each in the IPO, close to the middle of the indicated range. Fondul has 30 days from when the shares start trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on July 12 to decide whether to sell more or even its entire stake of almost 20% in the firm.
APAC
Beijing Financial Street Capital, a venture capital firm, and China Life Private Equity Investment, a professional alternative investment platform under China Life, led the $622m Series C funding round in Hithium, an energy storage firm, with participation from Boc Asset Management, Goldstone Investment, Dinghui Baifu, CMG-SDIC Capital, CICC, China-US Green Fund, Matrix Partners China, Hefei Industry Investment and CDI Energy.
Hithium has raised over $622m in its Series C funding round to finance the expansion of production facilities, acquisition of advanced equipment, technological R&D, and new market exploration.
Chinese VC investor Kai-Fu Lee launches AI startup amid ChatGPT craze.
Computer-scientist-turned venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee unveiled a new generative artificial intelligence company called 01AI, the latest entrant in a race to develop large language models that can power products equivalent to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in China,
The new company was officially launched after three months of incubation by the AI pioneer’s Sinovation Ventures. The new website for the company has come online, DealStreetAsia reported.
Alt assets advisory firm MVision said to exit Hong Kong. (FS)
Alternative assets advisory firm MVision Private Equity Advisers is exiting Hong Kong and will instead serve Asia Pacific from its Sydney and San Francisco offices.
The firm’s strategic repositioning comes at a pivotal moment for Asia-Pacific fundraising, with some LPs rethinking their appetites amid rising geopolitical tensions and regulatory uncertainty in China – the region’s largest private equity market.
OBS Group is nearing a deal for Bayer Pharma assets in Pakistan.
Pakistan's OBS Group, a privately held, diversified group of companies, is nearing a deal to acquire pharmaceutical assets in the country from Bayer.
The Karachi-based pharmaceutical maker is close to buying a manufacturing facility in Lahore and 12 pharmaceutical brands for about PKR7bn ($25m). OBS Group has incorporated a new unit that is partially owned by employees for the acquisition.
China bank shares slump in Hong Kong after Goldman downgrades.
Chinese banking shares listed in Hong Kong tumbled on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs downgraded top lenders, including the Agricultural Bank of China, in a report that deepened worries over a sector already suffering from a weak economy.
The Hang Seng Mainland Banks Index tumbled 3.6% to near four-month lows on its worst day in eight months.
Goldman said in a report that it had downgraded Agbank from "Neutral" to "Sell" while cutting Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Industrial Bank from "Buy" to "Sell", Reuters reported.
China Property pain worsens with failed auction, Sino-Ocean rout.
Fresh signs emerged Wednesday that China is facing yet more challenges in its property debt crisis.
Defaulted developer Shimao Group failed to find a buyer for a $1.8bn project at a forced auction, even at a heavy discount. Sino-Ocean Group saw its bonds tumble on news that the state-backed builder told some creditors it's been working with two major shareholders on its debt load.
Veteran Credit Suisse banker Gozali to join Jefferies. (People)
Rizal Gozali, Credit Suisse Managing Director, is joining Jefferies as the US advisory firm seeks to strengthen its presence in Asia, Bloomberg reported.
He will start his new role at Jefferies in September, helping oversee coverage for Indonesia.
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