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AMERICAS
Pan American Silver, a mining company, and Agnico Eagle, a gold producer, completed the acquisition of Yamana Gold, a Canadian-based precious metals producer, for $6.7bn.
"This acquisition is transformative for Pan American, significantly increasing the scale of our operations in Latin America where we have been operating for nearly three decades. We expect a material increase in our production of silver and gold, while we continue to provide a preferred way to invest in silver through large silver mineral reserves and growth opportunities, further enhanced by the increase in our market capitalization and trading liquidity. The acquisition is firmly aligned with our strategy of creating value by pursuing attractive growth opportunities, improving operating margins and extending mine life," Michael Steinmann, Pan American President and Chief Executive Officer.
Yamana Gold was advised by Canaccord Genuity, Scotiabank, Stifel (led by Egizio Bianchini and Matt Gaasenbeek), Cassels Brock & Blackwell (led by Mark T. Bennett) and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison (led by Adam M. Givertz) and FTI Consulting (led by Ben Brewerton and Sara Powell). Agnico was advised by Maxit Capital, Trinity Advisors Corporation and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. Pan Americas was advised by BMO Capital Markets, GenCap Mining Advisory, National Bank Financial, Ashurst (led by Nick Williamson), Borden Ladner Gervais (led by Fred Pletcher) and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by Ryan Dzierniejko and June Dipchand). Gold Fields was advised by Bank of America (led by Benjamin Davies), JP Morgan, Fasken (led by Brian Graves), Linklaters (led by Mike Bienenfeld), Webber Wentzel (led by Jesse Watson), Brunswick Group (led by Jonathan Doorley) and FGS Global (led by Steven Balet and Chris Cernich).
Canada approved Rogers Communications $14.8bn buyout of Shaw Communications after securing binding commitments to pay financial penalties if it failed to create new jobs and invest to expand its network.
The final nod from Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne capped two years of antitrust uncertainty and paves the way for the creation of Canada's No. 2 telecoms firm in a market with some of the highest wireless bills in the world, Reuters reported.
Shaw is advised by CIBC World Markets, TD Securities, Burnet Duckworth & Palmer (led by Grant A. Zawalsky), Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg (led by Brett Seifred and Vincent A. Mercier), Dentons (led by Bill Gilliland and William Jenkins) and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (led by Mark Stagliano and Adam Emmerich). Financial advisors are advised by Osler Hoskin & Harcourt. Rogers is advised by Bank of America, Barclays, Cravath Swaine & Moore (led by Joseph D. Zavaglia, Michael S. Goldman, Andrew C. Elken, and Erik Tavzel), Goodmans (led by Dale Lastman), and Torys (led by Richard Willoughby). Financial advisors are advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell, Latham & Watkins, and McCarthy Tetrault (led by Richard Higa).
Safehold, a real estate company, completed the acquisition of iStar, a real estate investment company, for $5.9bn.
"This transaction is an important step forward in our strategy to significantly expand the use of modern ground leases in commercial real estate and further extend Safehold's position as the pre-eminent ground lease company. By unifying all parts of our ground lease business, we will create an even stronger company, providing building owners and developers with additional modern ground lease options to meet their capital needs, generating sizable cost savings over time, expanding our shareholder base to a much wider audience, and enabling shareholders of both Safehold and iStar to participate in the future growth of the modern ground lease sector they have created," Jay Sugarman, iStar and Safehold Chairman and CEO.
Kohlberg & Company, a private equity firm, completed an investment in United Digestive, a gastroenterology platform, from Frazier Healthcare, a health care company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“During our productive and value-creating partnership with Frazier, United Digestive was able to rapidly expand its footprint and services, while maintaining the highest levels of patient care. We look forward to building off of this strong platform in partnering with Kohlberg and leveraging the firm’s longstanding experience and proven track record in investing in market leading healthcare services companies to accelerate United Digestive’s next phase of growth,” Mark Gilreath, United Digestive Chief Executive Officer.
United Digestive was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Goodwin Procter. Kohlberg & Company was advised by Moelis & Co and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
Madison Square Garden, an American sports and entertainment holding company, agreed to spin off into Sphere Entertainment, a group comprising of Sphere, MSG Networks and Tao Group Hospitality businesses. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“With today’s announcement, we are one step closer toward our goal of creating two distinct companies, each well positioned to generate long-term value for our shareholders," James L. Dolan, Madison Square Chairman and CEO.
Audax Private Equity, a private equity firm, completed an investment in Mosaic Dental Collective, a dental services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to partner with Mosaic. We have known the Mosaic team for years and have been continually impressed with their commitment to quality care and to developing a best-in-class dental services organization. Audax wholly supports Mosaic’s vision to develop the leading doctor-led DSO in the Western U.S. and we are pleased to lend our support to accelerate Mosaic’s growth through operational excellence and M&A," David Goldenheim, Audax Private Equity Managing Director.
Mosaic Dental Collective was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Proskauer Rose and FGS Global. Audax Private Equity was advised by Ropes & Gray (led by Adam Leamon and Christina Bergeron).
Wintershall Dea, an independent natural gas and oil company, completed the acquisition of a 37% stake in Hokchi Block from Hokchi Energy, a Mexican subsidiary of Pan American Energy, an exploration stage company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The interest in the producing Hokchi field is an excellent complement to our strong, balanced portfolio in Mexico, which includes prospective exploration assets, key development projects such as Zama and Polok, and our operated Ogarrio field. We look forward to now starting the joint work of further developing the field with operator Hokchi Energy," Martin Jungbluth, Wintershall Dea Managing Director in Mexico.
Wintershall Dea was advised by Hogan Lovells. Pan American Energy was advised by Jefferies & Company.
Global Infrastructure Partners and Grupo Romero completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in Trabajos Maritimos from Tramarsa. (FS)
Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm, and Grupo Romero, a privately owned diversified conglomerate, completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in Trabajos Maritimos, an integrated port infrastructure platform, from Tramarsa, a port operator. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to partner with Grupo Romero and invest in Tramarsa, which has a track record of over 30 years of strong operational performance and continued growth. We look forward to working with Grupo Romero and Tramarsa, leveraging our operational expertise to build on the company's established ports business and pursue growth and expansion opportunities in the transportation sector in the Andean region," Adebayo Ogunlesi, GIP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
True Value Company, a hardline wholesaler, completed the acquisition of Shur-Line and Wordlock brands of Nova Wildcat Shur-Line, a global manufacturing company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Acquiring Shur-Line's products is an excellent strategic fit for True Value as we continue to invest in our strong portfolio of paint and paint products. For the last three years our team has been manufacturing many of Shur-Line's products in our Cary facility, so we are experts with the Shur-Line portfolio. We are excited to work with retailers to further develop this great brand and continue providing consumers with easy-to-use paint project applicators and tools," John Vanderpool, True Value Divisional President.
Houston Natural Resources, a diversified energy company, completed the acquisition of a 40% stake in Rhino Energy, an energy company. Financial terms were not disclsoed.
Houston Natural Resources has engaged legal counsel, auditors and an underwriter for its listing on to NASDAQ which it expects to file in the second quarter this year.
Apollo Global is exploring a $2.78bn bid for Arconic. (FS)
Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm is considering bidding as much as $2.78bn for equipment and parts manufacturer Arconic.
The firm is looking to make a bid of around $27 or $28 per share by early April. Apollo has completed its site visits as part of due diligence and has lined up financing with banks for its offer.
Arconic has been working with financial advisers on a sale process over the past few months. Other private equity firms are also pursuing Arconic, Bloomberg reported.
US regulator seeks sale of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank portfolios.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has retained advisers to sell the securities portfolios that the new owners of failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank rejected.
The portfolios are comprised of low-yielding assets, such as Treasuries and US government agency-backed securities, that the two regional banks amassed while interest rates were close to zero.
If First Citizens Bancshares, the new owner of Silicon Valley Bank, or New York Community Bancorp, which acquired Signature Bank, had assumed the assets, they would have had to realize losses given that interest rates are now much higher than the yield of these assets. It is unclear how much the FDIC's deposit fund stands to lose on the sale of the portfolios. The fund, used to guarantee deposits at failed lenders, is replenished by a levy on all US banks that are members of the FDIC's deposit insurance scheme, Reuters reported.
Warner Bros Discovery scales back music sale as bids fall short.
Warner Bros Discovery has scaled back plans to cash in on its film soundtracks with a more than billion-dollar music sale after receiving offers that were lower than it had wanted.
Chief executive David Zaslav had been looking to help cut Warner’s debt by capitalising on the hot market for music copyrights. The company has held informal talks with potential buyers over the past few months to gauge what valuation they could achieve.
Warner is now reconsidering and may sell only a piece of the catalogue or abandon the deal entirely. No final decision has been made, FT reported.
EMEA
Britain's competition watchdog said it would refer UnitedHealth Group's $1.5bn acquisition of healthcare technology firm EMIS for a Phase 2 investigation.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it had rejected a remedy offered by US-based UnitedHealth after deeming it did not go far enough in mitigating the potential competitive impact of the combination. The proposed remedy was a divestiture of the domestic Medicines Optimisation and Population Health Management businesses of Optum UK, part of UnitedHealth. EMIS said the merging parties disagreed with the decision and were weighing their next steps, Reuters reported.
EMIS is advised by Numis Securities (led by Simon Willis), Travers Smith and MHP Communications. Optum is advised by Robey Warshaw (led by Simon Warshaw), Slaughter & May, FGS Global (led by John Gray) and Finsbury Glover Hering (led by James Murgatroyd).
TX Group-backed Goldbach Group, a media company, completed the acquisition of the Switzerland business of Clear Channel Outdoor Holding, an out-of-home advertising company, for $93m.
"The sale of our business in Switzerland is the result of our ongoing review of strategic alternatives for our European businesses and moves toward our goal of optimizing our portfolio in the best interests of our shareholders. This transaction allows us to exit a standalone and lower-priority market at a valuation that we believe reflects the quality of our Swiss assets, which are performing well," Scott Wells, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings CEO.
Recharge Industries's attempt to buy the Britishvolt site is at risk of collapsing due to a dispute with administrator EY over a power supply contract signed by the failed battery startup, Reuters reported.
Australia-based Recharge Industries and the British accounting firm hit an impasse over payments related to transferring a grid connection contract with the UK's National Grid.
Britishvolt is advised by Ernst & Young. Recharge is advised by 333 Capital, KordaMentha, Sidley Austin, 56 Degrees North (led by Sophie Ashcroft) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Sartorius, a biotechnology company, agreed to acquire Polyplus, an upstream solutions provider for advanced biologic and cell and gene therapy, for $2.6bn.
The deal, carried out through the German lab equipment maker's French unit Stedim Biotech, is expected to close during the third quarter of 2023.
Polypus is advised by Jefferies & Company and Kirkland & Ellis. Sartorius is advised by William Blair & Co, Jeantet and Milbank.
A consortium of investors including True Global Ventures, Digital Finance Group, and VaynerFund, 10T, Cité Gestion Private Bank, Cap Horn, Morgan Creek, Cathay Innovation, Korelya Capital, and Molten Ventures, led a $109m Series C round in Ledger, a cryptocurrency wallet maker.
"The funds will be used to accelerate our mission to bring a new generation of secure consumer devices to millions of users who are exploring critical digital assets and blockchain-enabled technology," Pascal Gauthier, Ledger Chairman and CEO.
Ledger was advised by Jones Day.
Aeris Communications, an Internet of Things solutions provider, completed the acquisition of IoT business of Ericsson, a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Building the best technology to support the success of our customers and drive innovation in the IoT space have always been at the forefront for Aeris. Our intelligent, software defined IoT network and Ericsson's leading connectivity management platform will provide the leading IoT technology stack in the industry. We look forward to bringing these new, transformational IoT solutions and Ericsson's IoT Accelerator and Connected Vehicle Cloud products to our customers," Marc Jones, Aeris President and CEO.
Amancio Ortega, a Spanish billionaire and Zara founder, completed the acquisition of The Opus 6 Hanover Quay building, a luxury residential building with 120 apartments for rent in Dublin, for $108m.
It is the first residential building that Ortega's firm has bought outside the United States. It was part of its strategy to invest in multiple real estate assets.
Norway wealth fund to consider investing in unlisted equities.
Norway's $1.3tr wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, should assess whether to begin investing in unlisted equities, the finance ministry said on Friday, which would be a brand new asset class for the fund.
The fund pools the Norwegian state's revenues from oil and gas production and invests them abroad in stocks, bonds, property and renewable energy projects.
A decision on whether to do so is ultimately up to the country's government and parliament. It could be presented to parliament next year, Reuters reported.
Cellnex close to hiring adviser as activist TCI pushes for change.
Spain's Cellnex is close to hiring an adviser to help tackle demands made by hedge fund TCI, which has urged the company to reshuffle its board. TCI holds 9% of Cellnex, including 5.9% in derivatives.
The hedge fund's founder Christopher Hohn wrote to Cellnex's board earlier in March urging the company to accelerate the search for a new CEO. He also called for the removal of non-executive chairman Bertrand Kan and directors Peter Shore and Alexandra Reich from the board.
BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan which have advised the company in the past, are contenders for the role, Reuters reported.
Telkom kicks off sale of Openserve.
Telkom has kicked off the sale of a stake in its fibre business, as it seeks to unlock value for shareholders and boost profit.
The South African telecommunications group is working with Bank of America to gauge interest in the Openserve business from potential investors and strategic partners.
Telkom said in February that it had received a number of expressions of interest in the business, and that a formal sales process would be started by the end of its 2023 fiscal year, Bloomberg reported.
ThyssenKrupp revives sale of submarine and marine systems unit.
German industrial group ThyssenKrupp has revived plans to sell its submarine and maritime systems unit, a move likely to face scrutiny from politicians and government officials as Berlin seeks to boost its defence manufacturing.
The decision was announced by employee representatives. Employee representatives make up half of Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board.
A bidding contest is expected to start after Easter. Private equity firms are among the parties interested, FT reported.
APAC
Hapag-Lloyd, a German international shipping and container transportation company, completed the acquisition of a 35% stake in J M Baxi Ports & Logistics, a marine shipping and logistics services provider, from Bain Capital, an American private investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Terminal and infrastructure investments are a crucial element of our strategic agenda and India is one of our key growth markets. Acquiring a significant share in J M Baxi Ports & Logistics Limited will significantly boost our presence in India with a trusted local partner and it is another important step to build up our terminal and infrastructure business,” Rolf Habben Jansen, Hapag-Lloyd CEO.
J M Baxi Ports was advised by Credit Suisse. Bain Capital was advised by Credit Suisse, Kotak Investment Banking and AZB & Partners.
Braze, a customer engagement platform, agreed to acquire North Star, a customer engagement and loyalty services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to officially be joining the Braze team, and look forward to continuing to help ANZ brands realize the promise of customer engagement with the Braze platform," Lewis Barnes, North Star Co-Founder.
Warburg Pincus backed Parksons Packaging, an industrial packaging solutions provider, completed the acquisition of MK Printpack, a manufacturer of paper and foldable cartons. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to welcome MK Printpack to the Parksons family. We look forward to leveraging MK Printpack’s expertise in manufacturing ‘high quality micro flute cartons’ by using its large format printing capability and strategically located manufacturing facilities in Haridwar and Gujarat along with the pharma packaging focused facility in Daman. This acquisition will provide more value to our customers and enhance our ability to serve clients efficiently across the country, giving us access to new growth opportunities," Siddharth Kejriwal, Parksons Packaging Managing Director.
TPG-backed The Rise Fund, a private equity firm, and Hong Leong Group, a trading company, completed the acquisition of Kuala Lumpur’s International Medical University, a medical university for $306m.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education has approved the deal, which also includes the sale of a hospital owned by IMU to Columbia Asia.
Primavera enters bidding for stake in Natura’s Aesop. (FS)
Primavera Capital Group, a private equity firm, has entered the race to acquire a stake in high-end cosmetics brand Aesop.
The Chinese investment firm is through to the latest round of bidding for the holding, Bloomberg reported. Rugby Australia kicks off a sale.
Rugby Australia plans to kick off the search for new investors as soon as in the next two weeks as it gets ready for key international games including the 2029 World Cup and to fund the growth of women’s rugby, Bloomberg reported.
The football league will sound out interest for a stake of as much as 20% and will target overseas private equity firms that have investments in other sports franchises, according to Chief Executive Officer Andy Marinos. Rugby Australia has spoken with key stakeholders including member clubs and the players’ association on their preferences for potential investors, he said.
Alibaba, JD awaken China tech’s long-dormant IPO machine.
Alibaba Group Holding and JD have begun preparations for a trio of the year’s biggest Chinese debuts, heralding a wave of initial public offerings that promise to breathe new life into the struggling technology industry and Hong Kong’s stock market.
Cainiao Network Technology, Alibaba’s logistics arm, kicked off discussions with banks for an IPO. Two JD subsidiaries filed for first-time share sales in the city. Those three listings could raise about $5bn between them.
The moves ignited hopes that Beijing – keen to resuscitate the world’s No. 2 economy – is unfettering the private sector, allowing its biggest names to again pursue business and fund raising. The revival of the Chinese tech IPO train ends a year-long drought that set in after regulators pulled the plug on Ant Group’s record IPO, Bloomberg reported.
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