AMERICAS
Cinven, a private investment firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in BioAgilytix, a provider of molecular bioanalysis and bioanalytical test services. Cobepa, a private investment firm, and GHO Capital will remain a significant minority investor in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As we move into our next chapter of our evolution, Cinven will provide the additional resources that will empower us to expand not only our geographical reach but will also enable us to invest further in our talent and facilities around the globe to meet the ever-growing needs of our customers," Jim Datin, BioAgilytix President and CEO.
BioAgilytix is advised by Deloitte, Bank of America, Lazard, William Blair & Co and White & Case. Cinven is advised by Rothschild & Co, Kirkland & Ellis and Joele Frank. GHO Capital is advised by Ropes & Gray and Deloitte.
Pfizer, an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, completed the acquisition of Trillium Therapeutics, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company, for $2.26bn.
"We’re delighted to announce Pfizer’s proposed acquisition of Trillium. Today’s announcement reflects Trillium’s potentially best in class SIRPα–CD47 status and contribution to immuno-oncology. Trillium has the only known SIRPα–CD47 targeting molecules with clinically meaningful monotherapy responses as well as a strong basis for combination therapies, which is supported by preclinical evidence with a diverse set of therapeutic agents. With Pfizer’s global reach and deep capabilities, we believe our programs will advance more quickly to the patients we’ve always aspired to serve. We believe this is a good outcome for patients and our shareholders," Jan Skvarka, Trillium CEO.
Trillium Therapeutics was advised by Centerview Partners, Baker McKenzie, Goodwin Procter and Sam Brown. Centerview Partners was advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Pfizer was advised by Bank of America, Norton Rose Fulbright and Ropes & Gray.
Blackstone agreed to invest in Life Science Logistics, a national provider of healthcare supply chain solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to partner with Richard and his team as they embark on their next stage of expansion – leveraging our firm’s global scale, resources and operational expertise to better serve their customers. LSL sits at the intersection of two of Blackstone’s highest-conviction, firmwide investment themes – rapid advancement of life sciences innovation and next-generation logistics,” Ram Jagannath and Todd Hirsch, Global Head of Healthcare and Senior Managing Director.
Life Science Logistics is advised by UBS, McDermott Will & Emery and Melissa Flynn PR. Blackstone is advised by Jefferies & Company, Morgan Stanley, Sidley Austin and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Novo Nordisk, a healthcare company, agreed to acquire Dicerna, a biopharmaceutical company, for $3.3bn.
“The acquisition of Dicerna accelerates Novo Nordisk’s research within RNAi and expands the usage of the RNAi technology. We build on our successful collaboration and by combining Dicerna’s state-of-the-art RNAi drug engine and intracellular delivery with our deep capabilities in disease biology understanding and tissue targeting through peptides and proteins we have the potential to expand our pipeline and deliver life-changing precision medicines for people living with chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and NASH, as well as rare diseases like endocrine disorders and bleeding disorders," Marcus Schindler, Novo Nordisk Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer.
Dicerna is advised by Centerview Partners, SVB Leerink, Goodwin Procter and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Novo Nordisk is advised by Evercore and Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Blackstone completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Spanx, a brand of women's undergarments and underwire accessories, at a $1.2bn valuation. Spanx founder Sara Blakely maintained a significant stake in the company and continued to oversee operations.
“This is a really important moment in time for female entrepreneurs. I started this company with no business experience and very little money, but I cared the most about the customer, and that gave me the courage to launch the company. At SPANX, we have always put the customer at the center of what we do. Now together with Blackstone, we will have even more opportunity to further our mission of making the world a better place,” Sara Blakely, SPANX Founder.
Blackstone was advised by JP Morgan and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Spanx was advised by Allen & Company, Goldman Sachs, Cravath Swaine & Moore and King & Spalding.
Genstar-backed Foreside, a financial advisory firm, is set to merge with Starr Investment-backed ACA Group, a provider of governance, risk, and compliance advisory services and technology solutions. Genstar will be the majority owner of the combined business. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Partnering with Foreside and Genstar will be a game changer in our industry. Both firms share the same commitment to create a category leader in a rapidly evolving space. Foreside and ACA have earned outstanding reputations and our aligned vision, client-centric focus, and commitment to innovation will help our customers navigate their most complex GRC challenges," Shvetank Shah, ACA Group CEO.
ACA is advised by Jefferies & Company and Kirkland & Ellis. Foreside is advised by BackBay Communications. Genstar is advised by Raymond James, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Chris Tofalli Public Relations.
Northern Oil and Gas, an independent energy company, agreed to acquire the non-operated Permian Basin assets from Veritas Energy, an independent, upstream oil and gas company, for $407m.
“This transaction completes the strategic transformation of our business that began in 2018. It will drive immediate significant accretion across the board to our investors, increased cash returns, and importantly, creates a truly diversified business of scale, with substantial free cash flow that can self-fund future growth," Nick O’Grady, Northern Oil and Gas CEO.
Northern Oil and Gas is advised by Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Kirkland & Ellis. Veritas Energy is advised by Tudor Pickering Holt and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Orbital Energy Group, a developer of energy services platform, completed the acquisition of Front Line Power Construction, a full-service electrical infrastructure service company, for $218m.
"Front Line Power is the ideal acquisition to serve as our electric power infrastructure platform and to profitably build revenues both organically and through synergistic acquisitions going forward. Further, it enhances OEG's transformation into a full-service energy infrastructure services platform. FLP's remarkable growth is a testament to its ability to proactively provide customers with a comprehensive range of solutions in a market that has significant momentum driven by aging infrastructure, a transition to renewable generation, and in a state, Texas, that has experienced significant population growth," Jim O'Neil, OEG CEO and Vice-Chairman.
Orbital Energy was advised by Piper Sandler and Three Part Advisors. Debt financing was provided by Angelo Gordon, Barings and Irradiant Partners. Front Line was advised by Romanchuk & Co.
Lithium Americas, a development-stage company focused on advancing to production a lithium brine operation, agreed to acquire Millennial Lithium, an exploration stage mining company, for $400m.
“Millennial’s board and management believe that the LAC Arrangement Agreement provides significant value to Millennial Shareholders. The high premium to the CATL Arrangement Agreement highlights the quality of the Pasto Grandes project and the efforts by the Millennial team over the past four years. Lithium Americas brings significant technical expertise and financial flexibility de-risking the development of Pastos Grandes and generating further upside for Millennial Shareholders," Farhad Abasov, Millennial President and CEO.
Lithium Americas is advised by Greenhill & Co and Cassels Brock & Blackwell. Millennial Lithium is advised by Credit Suisse, Sprott Resource Lending and Dentons.
Bentley Systems, an infrastructure engineering software company, agreed to acquire Power Line Systems, a developer of engineering software, from TA Associates for $700m.
“We are enthused to be joining the like-minded Grid Integration Group within Bentley Systems to enlarge our collective contributions further across the broader grid, further across the infrastructure lifecycle, and further across the world. The community of transmission engineers for whom Power Line Systems has been the go-to software provider will also gain from our expanding scope and reach," Otto Lynch, Power Line Systems CEO.
Power Line Systems is advised by Lazard and Goodwin Procter. Bentley Systems is advised by Goldman Sachs and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
@properties, a real estate brokerage and technology firm, and Quad-C Management, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire Christie's International Real Estate from Christie's, an operator of an auction house. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"@properties is one of the largest US luxury real estate companies by sales volume and a clear leader in the field. We chose to pursue this new direction for Christie's International Real Estate for two strategic reasons—first, because @properties possesses the unique resources and capabilities to invest in expanding the Christie's International Real Estate brand and its affiliate network both within the US and on a global scale; and second, because this will enable Christie's to focus our resources on the core priorities of our business in the art and luxury goods market," Ben Gore, Christie's COO.
@properties is advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Lathrop GPM. Christie's is advised by Centerview Partners and Allen & Overy.
Stewart Information Services, a real estate services company, agreed to acquire PropStream, a provider of residential real estate data and analytics for investors, realtors, real estate agents, brokers and lenders, for $175m.
“Through our agreement to acquire PropStream, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to creating a robust suite of digital, data and analytics products and services to better serve our customers. PropStream offers an impressive residential real estate property data platform that gives customers the ability to generate insights and better target selling, investing and other business opportunities,” Fred Eppinger, Stewart CEO.
Stewart is advised by Locke Lord. PropStream is advised by Houlihan Lokey and Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell.
Ankura, a management consulting firm, agreed to acquire McLarty Associates, a provider of commercial, financial, legal, governmental, cross-border and domestic business consultancy services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"McLarty Associates and its unrivaled commercial diplomacy capabilities make Ankura the first consulting firm that can truly address these challenges comprehensively. My colleagues and I are incredibly proud and excited to welcome the McLarty Associates team into the Ankura family. Our collaborative culture and complementary client services will enable us to deliver powerful results for clients around the world," Kevin Lavin, Ankura CEO.
Ankura is advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell. McLarty Associates is advised by Holland & Knight.
Coatue led a $150m Series C round in CloudWalk. Additional investors included DST Global, A-Star, The Hive Brazil, Plug and Play Ventures, Valor Capital Group, Gokul Rajaram, Larry Fitzgerald and Kelvin Beachum.
"With this additional capital, we will be well-positioned to continue creating products that make our customers’ lives easier. As the global payments market rapidly evolves, we believe that blockchain will soon become the dominant source for all future payment processes. This investment represents confidence in our ability to meet customers’ unique and evolving needs with our current portfolio, while also providing flexibility to drive further growth by deploying capital to hire exceptional talent, fund product innovation and drive increased research and development. We are excited to continue scaling our next-generation payments platform that will continue to drive low fees for merchants and offer world-class customer service," Luis Silva, CloudWalk Founder and CEO.
CloudWalk was advised by Financial Technology Partners and Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Cleveland-Cliffs, an independent iron ore mining company, completed the acquisition of Ferrous Processing and Trading, a scrap metal processing company, for $775m.
"The acquisition of FPT will enhance our ability to buy back prime scrap directly from our clients, cutting the middlemen and improving the margin contribution from scrap for both Cleveland-Cliffs and for the manufacturing and service center clients that will be able to sell scrap directly back to us," Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO.
Cleveland-Cliffs was advised by Jones Day.
Flagship Pioneering, a venture capital firm, led a $370m Series B round in Generate Biomedicines, a biotechnological company. Additional investors included Alaska Permanent Fund, Altitude Life Science Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Morningside Ventures, and T. Rowe Price Associates.
“Generate is deploying machine learning at scale to understand the genetic code underlying the function of proteins. We are pioneering the field of Generative Biology – a revolutionary approach to drug development that allows us to program novel protein therapeutics capable of performing almost any desired biological function. Since launch, we have made incredible strides in advancing our technology platform and will have multiple preclinical programs by year-end with several in the clinic in 2023. With financial support from a world-class group of committed co-investors, we will rapidly scale our organization and begin to realize the transformational power of our platform," Mike Nally, Generate Biomedicines CEO.
Generate Biomedicines was advised by ScientPR.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, an investment manager, led a $100m Series A funding round in PLACE, a real estate industry's only all-in-one technology and business services platform. 3L Capital also participated.
"This Goldman Sachs-led round of financing will allow for the continued expansion of the PLACE platform as well as the services needed by agents and teams to stay ahead of the ever-changing demands of the real estate consumer," Chris Suarez, PLACE Co-Founder.
PLACE was advised by Lumina Communications.
Riverside, a private equity firm, completed the investment in Care Executive, a provider of non-medical, in-home services for senior citizens and physically handicapped or injured individuals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"With Executive Care’s wide range of home care services and team of dedicated caregivers, we believe they are well positioned for continued growth in the home services industry," Loren Schlachet, Riverside Managing Partner.
Riverside was advised by Jones Day.
Thompson Street-backed BCM One, a technology solutions provider, completed the acquisition of CoreDial, a software platform, from LLR Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The acquisition of CoreDial supports the continued strategic growth of BCM One. As part of the Company’s SkySwitch UCaaS solutions, we now have more than 600,000 seats with our partners who rely on our solutions to meet their communications needs. We are excited about the opportunity to work with CoreDial’s existing partners and customers to offer a deeper set of products and solutions to help them navigate their voice, data and networking needs," Geoff Bloss, BCM One CEO.
Thompson Street was advised by BackBay Communications.
Signet Jewelers, a retailer of diamond jewelry, completed the acquisition of Diamonds Direct, a direct-to-consumer destination jewelry retailer, for $490m.
"Today we officially welcome Diamonds Direct to the Signet team. This immediately accretive acquisition accelerates our growth strategy and gives our customers even more choice across our differentiated banners. Diamonds Direct strategically expands our market in accessible luxury and bridal, provides access to a new customer base and furthers our opportunity to build lifetime customer relationships. Just as we accelerated our digital transformation using learnings from our acquisition of fast-growing digital pure-play James Allen, we believe we can further drive modern consumer experiences learning from Diamonds Direct's differentiated model as they have consistently and profitably grown revenues in highly productive store formats. Our intention is to grow Diamonds Direct while driving operating margin expansion over time through operating synergies in purchasing, targeted marketing, Connected Commerce and jewelry services," Virginia Drosos, Signet CEO.
Fidelity Management & Research, an investment manager, led a $300m in Series G round in Farmers Business Network, a farmer-to-farmer network tech company. Additional investors included LN Mittal Family Office, ADM Ventures Investment, Colle Capital Partners, Walleye Capital, Tudor Investment, BlackRock, Fidelity Investments Canada, Temasek, T. Rowe Price Associates, GV, Baron Capital Group, DBL Partners, and BAM Elevate.
"Our mission is always to increase the profit potential of family farms and this investment will enable us to continue to innovate for our network of more than 33k farmers whose operations span North America and Australia. We continue to invest in IP and technology that deliver industry-leading efficiency, choice and price transparency for purchasing ag inputs while we scale our fintech and sustainability platforms to provide farmers the information and data they need to make the best choices for their own bottom lines," Amol Deshpande, FBN CEO and Co-Founder.
Baillie Gifford, an investment management firm, led a $200m funding round in Grammarly, a developer of a digital communication assistant. BlackRock also participated.
Grammarly plans to use the funding to continue making investments in its AI technology. The company will also continue to advance its natural language processing and machine learning tech to deliver personalized communication feedback to its users.
“We believe this funding round is a great validation of our business strength. We’ve been cash flow positive from the very early days. The round also validates the strength of our mission to improve lives through improving communication. This funding round comes in the context of product innovation and product scaling," Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, Grammarly Global Head of Product.
Tiger Global led a $200m Series E funding round in GrubMarket, a food technology company. Additional investors include BlackRock, Liberty Street Funds, Apeira Capital, Japan Post Capital, Celtic House Asia Partners, We Capital and Walleye Capital.
"In the next 2-10 years, GrubMarket will also play a critical role in reviving the food ecosystem in the Midwest, and addressing the demographical inequalities surrounding access to fresh, healthy food, between the West Coast, East Coast, and central regions of the US," Mike Xu, GrubMarket CEO.
Sanofi, an innovative therapeutic solutions provider, completed a $180m investment in Owkin, a machine learning provider.
"Owkin’s unique methodology, which applies AI on patient data from partnerships with multiple academic medical centers, supports our ambition to leverage data in innovative ways in R&D. We are striving to advance precision medicine to the next level and to discover innovative treatment methods with the greatest benefits for patients," Arnaud Robert, Sanofi Executive Vice Presidenta and Chief Digital Officer.
CapitalG, a private equity firm, and Paladin Capital, a private equity firm, led a $140m Series E funding round in Expel, a managed detection and response provider. Additional investors include Cisco Investments, March Capital, Index Ventures, Scale Venture Partners and Greycroft.
“Expel not only delivers world-class, next-generation security at the flip of a switch; it is also the leader in security operations innovation addressing the most pressing current and emerging threats. We’re excited to double down on our journey with Expel as the company becomes a must-have strategic partner for its customers' security and response needs," Gene Frantz, CapitalG General Partner.
Bessemer Venture, a venture capital firm, led a $105 Series D funding round in Netlify, a developer of web development tool. Additional investors include Andreessen Horowitz, BOND, EQT Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Mango Capital and Menlo Ventures.
"Netlify doubled the number of developers who have used their platform this year, and the Jamstack ecosystem is growing equally as fast. Matt, Chris, and the team are true developer champions and are delivering a premium experience for the builders of the web. We're happy to support Netlify as it becomes the next big developer-first success story," Jay Simons, BOND General Partner.
Warburg Pincus, a growth investor, and Schlumberger, a provider of technology to the global energy industry, led a $100m Series C round in Gradiant, a developer of cleantech water projects for advanced water and wastewater treatment.
“Gradiant is on an exciting growth trajectory, led by a strong management team with a deep understanding of the water solutions required for their customers to increase sustainability in the supply chain,” Roy Ben-Dor, Warburg Pincus Managing Director.
ARCH Precision Components, a provider of manufacturing expertise for critical applications, completed the acquisition of Metalcraft Technologies, a manufacturer of complex aircraft components. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“ARCH Precision Components is a solid fit for MTI. We complement each other’s strengths in ways that will improve the organization as a whole. I am very appreciative of David Grant and the other legacy owners for the great company they have built over the years. It was important to find someone who could honor that legacy and carry us forward into a new phase of growth and development. We feel ARCH really understands us and our business, and right from the beginning we felt a sense of trust and alignment. That is important in a partnership," Corey Judd, Metalcraft President.
Ford steps into the chips business.
Ford Motor, an American multinational automobile manufacturer, entered a strategic agreement with GlobalFoundries, a chip maker, to develop chips, since the company is looking to get into the semiconductor business, WSJ reported.
"We feel like we can really boost our product performance and our tech independence at the same time," Chuck Gray, Ford Vice President of vehicle embedded software and controls.
Manulife is looking for buyers for Canadian variable annuity business.
Manulife, a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider, is looking for buyers for its Canadian variable annuities business.
"The true value of our company isn't being appreciated, and to some extent, that is a function of the fact that we do have some legacy businesses that, at the very least, create uncertainty and concern," Roy Gori, Manulife CEO.
Takeaway wants partnerships for Grubhub.
Just Eat Takeaway, a food delivery company, does not plan to sell Grubhub, an American online and mobile prepared food ordering and delivery platform, but looks for a strategic partnership.
Eletrobras expects privatization by May, 2022.
Eletrobras, a power company, said that the follow-on share offering for its privatization is expected to happen by May, 2022, Reuters reported.
The company decided to delay the transaction, which was previously expected to happen in February.
Definity raises $1.1bn in Canadian IPO.
Definity, a Canadian property & casualty insurance company known as Economical Insurance, raised about $1.1bn in Canadian IPO.
A total of 63.6m shares were sold for $17.5 per share. The company is also selling another $556m in shares in a private placement to the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Swiss Re.
Sweetgreen raises $364m in IPO.
Sweetgreen, the salad restaurant chain, raised $364m in an IPO priced above a marketed range.
The company sold 13m shares for $28 each. At the IPO price, Sweetgreen has a market value of almost $3bn based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sweetgreen was advised Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Allen & Company, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Cowen, Oppenheimer & Co, RBC Capital Markets, William Blair, Amerivet Securities and Blaylock Van.
EMEA
Playtech, a British online gambling software developer, said it had been approached for a potential takeover by JKO Play, following buyout interest from Aristocrat Leisure, a supplier of premier gaming content and technology.
Eddie Jordan, JKO co-owner, is part of a consortium plotting a more than $4.05bn bid for Playtech. JKO is seeking access to due diligence information in order to explore the terms of a potential takeover offer, Reuters reported.
Aristocrat said in a statement that it continued to work together with Playtech to complete the proposed acquisition, adding, the regulatory approval process was on track.
Playtech is advised by Goodbody, Jefferies & Company, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and Headland Consultancy. Aristocrat Leisure is advised by Goldman Sachs, Allens, Linklaters and Finsbury Glover Hering.
IHS Towers, a provider of telecom and communication infrastructure services, agreed to acquire telecommunication towers in South Africa from Mobile Telephone Networks, a mobile telecommunications operator in South Africa, for $413m.
“I am exceptionally proud to announce IHS’ creation of the largest independent tower operator in South Africa, which represents the start of a new chapter in South Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure sector. The country has a growing population of almost 60m people and we are committed to utilizing our operational expertise to invest in the towers acquired and provide cutting edge power services where necessary," Sam Darwish, IHS Towers Chairman and CEO.
MTN is advised by Citigroup, Standard Bank of South Africa and Webber Wentzel.
Flutter Entertainment, a bookmaking company, completed the acquisition of Tombola, an online bingo operator, for $541m.
“As the world’s leading online gambling operator, Flutter is delighted to add Tombola, the UK’s premier bingo brand to the Group. Tombola is a business we have long admired for its product expertise, highly recreational customer base and focus on sustainable play. The brand aligns closely with Flutter’s safer gambling strategy, a key area of focus for us. I am excited to combine Flutter’s digital marketing expertise with Tombola’s operational capabilities within the UK & Ireland division. As the time comes for Phil to hand over the reins, I would like to thank him for building the success story that the business is today, and I look forward to welcoming the Tombola team to Flutter and growing a sustainable business for the future together," Peter Jackson, Flutter CEO.
Flutter was advised by Drury Porter Novelli and Finsbury Glover Hering.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, a state-owned oil company, and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, a government controlled energy holding company, agreed to form a global renewable energy and green hydrogen joint venture. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Today’s strategic partnership between two Abu Dhabi energy giants future-proofs ADNOC’s business model, creating compelling business and commercial opportunities, as we fully embrace the energy transition. This innovative and collaborative venture is a bold new initiative, as it combines both companies’ respective areas of expertise and paves the way for our viable entry into the clean energy space. This platform will enable ADNOC to capitalize on the many renewable energy and hydrogen opportunities, both locally and globally," Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO.
ADNOC is advised by Moelis & Co. TAQA is advised by Citigroup.
CVC Capital Partners agreed to acquire ekaterra, a tea business of Unilever, a consumer goods company, for $5.1bn.
"The evolution of our portfolio into higher growth spaces is an important part of our growth strategy for Unilever. Our decision to sell ekaterra demonstrates further progress in delivering against our plans. We are proud of the place that our Tea business has in our company's history. We look forward to seeing ekaterra, with its strong brands and global footprint, prosper under CVC Fund VIII's ownership," Alan Jope, Unilever CEO.
Unilever is advised by Tulchan Communications.
JBS, a meat processing company, agreed to acquire Biotech Foods, a cultivated meat producer based in Spain. Financial terms were not disclosed.
JBS clearly recognizes that the future lies in alt meat. Aside from operating its plant-based brand Planterra, the meat giant has been steadily making moves into the sector.
GII nears a $600m Almeswak deal. (FS)
Gulf Islamic Investments, a Dubai-based investment company, is nearing a $600m deal to acquire a 70% stake in Almeswak, a chain of dental clinics, from Jadwa Investment, a Saudi closed joint stock company, Bloomberg reported.
The sale of Almeswak underscores the growing appeal of health-care assets in the Gulf region.
Deutsche Telekom prepares T-Systems sale.
Deutsche Telekom, a German telecommunications company, is preparing to sell T-Systems, an IT unit of the company.
The company plans to start talks with potential buyers in February, 2022, with a deal expected in September, Reuters reported.
Orange CFO forecasts merger within French telecoms.
France will "inevitably" see the number of telecom operators fall from four to three, said Ramon Fernandez, Orange CFO.
Conditions for a merger could be improved by the recent take-private deals of Iliad and Altice, two of France's telecommunications company.
Metro Bank shares slide as Carlyle takeover talks end. (FS)
Carlyle, a private equity firm, ended talks about a possible takeover offer for Metro Bank, a retail and commercial bank, Reuters reported.
Shares in Metro Bank, which had a market capitalisation of $307m, fell 16% to $1.5.
Bayer does not plan to split businesses.
Bayer, a German drugs and pesticides maker, has no plans to split its three main businesses into separately traded companies.
The decision to continue running the three units under the same roof was made by the company's management and supported by its supervisory board, said Werner Baumann, Bayer CEO.
Thyssenkrupp plans more listings as turnaround benefits seen.
Thyssenkrupp, a German multinational conglomerate with focus on industrial engineering and steel production, plans to break off further parts of its sprawling empire, Reuters reported.
"We’ve left no stone unturned in our business to improve our performance. After a good two years of intensive transformation work, we can now say that the turnaround is evident," Martina Merz, Thyssenkrupp CEO.
APAC
Bitdeer, a provider of digital asset mining service, agreed to go public via a SPAC merger with Blue Safari Group Acquisition in a $4bn deal.
"We are excited to enter into the Transaction and proud to partner with the Blue Safari team in bringing our combined company to the capital market. As a leader in crypto mining, we will continue to solidify our leading position in the crypto mining space. Today marks a significant milestone for Bitdeer, and we strive to create value for our broader group of stakeholders in the future, including our clients, employees and shareholders," Jihan Wu, Bitdeer Chairman and Founder.
Bitdeer is advised by China Renaissance Securities, Cooley and Travers Thorp Alberga. Blue Safari is advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell, Haiwen & Partners and Ogier.
Citic, a provider of financial services, advanced intelligent manufacturing, advanced materials, new consumption and new-type urbanisation, China Cinda Asset Management, a merchant bank and asset management company, and China Life Insurance, a provider of long-term individual and group life insurance policies, agreed to invest $6.59bn in China Huarong Asset Management, an asset manager.
"It is of the view that the issuance is the only practical measure to solve the capital insufficiency difficulty of the company and to satisfy the regulatory requirement," Huarong.
Lone Pine Capital, a hedge fund, led a $100m Series E1 round in Airwallex, a fintech platform. Additional investors included 1835i Ventures and Sequoia Capital China.
“Our record performance last quarter demonstrates the tremendous demand from customers who are seeking better solutions to operate their businesses. As we approach our sixth anniversary, we want to continue to connect entrepreneurs, business builders, and makers with opportunities in every corner of the world. This new capital injection will allow us to do just that, fuelling M&A opportunities that will accelerate our global expansion plans, pursuing our mission to empower businesses to grow without borders," Jack Zhang, Airwallex Co-founder and CEO.
Country Garden Services raises $1bn via share sale.
Country Garden Services, a property management unit of a property development company Country Garden, raised $1bn from the sale of 150m new shares at $6.85 per share.
The number of shares represents 4.5% of enlarged share capital, and the selling price compared to the last traded price of $7.57 on November 18, 2021, Reuters reported.
bitFlyer weighs acquisition to boost firm.
bitFlyer, a Japan-based bitcoin exchange, is considering acquiring a small domestic or foreign rival to scale up its business.
"We are thinking of acquiring a small exchange because we are not super big. It could be in Japan or in a different country," Yuzo Kano, bitFlyer CEO.
Japan court declines to block Tokyo Kikai's poison pill defence.
Japan's supreme court dismissed a request to block a plan to launch a "poison pill" takeover defence by Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho, a printing machinery equipment manufacturer, Reuters reported.
The company Tokyo can now issue new shares that would dilute the top shareholder's stake of 40%. A measure already approved by shareholders.
HengTen may benefit from China Evergrande's stake sale.
Shares of HengTen, an internet-powered streaming media, have jumped after Evergrande, a property developer, said it plans to sell its entire stake in the company for $274m.
Evergrande intends to sell its entire 18% stake in HengTen for $0.16 per share, which represents a 24.3% discount.
Paytm crashes in market debut.
Paytm, a digital payments company, fell 25% on its maiden day of trade, with investors questioning its lack of profits and the lofty valuations it gained in the IPO, Reuters reported.
While some investors had questioned Paytm’s lack of profits and its lofty enterprise value of around 27 times gross profit, the extent of its price fall shocked many and wiped more than $5bn off Paytm’s IPO valuation.
Paytm was advised by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Axis Capital, ICICI Bank, JP Morgan, Citigroup and HDFC.
Vinfast plans US listing.
VinFast, a Vietnamese automaker, plans to list on the US stock market within the next couple of years.
"Of course we work through different options. But yes, we will also go after an IPO in the United States in the next one or two years," Michael Lohscheller, VinFast CEO.
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