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AMERICAS
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in the industrial businesses of Roper Technologies, an American diversified industrial company, for $2.6bn.
“This is the final step in Roper’s divestiture strategy to reduce the cyclicality and asset intensity of our enterprise. We have created a meaningfully enhanced and higher-quality go-forward portfolio of market-leading businesses that is better positioned to deliver higher and more resilient organic growth, an improved working capital profile, and strong cash conversion. Selling a majority interest in these industrial businesses will provide Roper with significant upfront cash, while maintaining the ability to receive additional cash proceeds from the future exit of our minority interest,” Neil Hunn, Roper Technologies President and CEO.
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice was advised by BMO Capital Markets, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan, Mizuho Securities, Natixis Partners, RBC Capital Markets, UBS, Debevoise & Plimpton (led by Uri Herzberg and Kevin Rinker). Roper Technologies was advised by Evercore, Jones Day (led by William Zawrotny) and Gasthalter & Co (led by Mark Semer). Debt financing was provided by BMO Capital Markets, BNP Paribas, Mizuho Securities, Natixis Partners, RBC Capital Markets and UBS.
Galaxy Digital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Helios facility of Argo Blockchain, a cryptocurrency mining firm, for $65m.
“This transaction with Galaxy is a transformational one for Argo and benefits the company in several ways. It reduces our debt by $41m (£34m) and provides us with a stronger balance sheet and enhanced liquidity to help ensure continued operations through the ongoing bear market. It also allows us to focus on optimizing our operations with significantly lower capex and opex requirements," Peter Wall, Argo Blockchain CEO.
Galaxy Digital was advised by Berkeley Research Group, Stifel and Kirkland & Ellis. Argo Blockchain was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Tennyson Securities (led by Peter Krens), finnCap (led by Jonny Franklin-Adams), Fladgate, McDermott Will & Emery and Tancredi (led by Salamander Davoudi).
Sitio Royalties, a shareholder returns-driven company focused on large-scale consolidation of high-quality oil & gas mineral and royalty interests, completed the merger with Brigham Minerals, a publicly traded mineral acquisition company, in a $4.8bn deal.
"Our merger with Brigham Minerals brings together two complementary businesses that are aligned in every key way, and further advances the business plan that Sitio outlined earlier in the year following the merger of Sitio’s predecessor companies. Both companies are focused on asset quality, maintain disciplined acquisition underwriting standards, understand the benefits of scale, and prioritize shareholder alignment in our approaches to capital allocation and best-in-class governance. We have been particularly impressed with the asset portfolio that the Brigham team has built and their track record of delivering consistent results every quarter since they became public," Chris Conoscenti, Sitio CEO.
Brigham Minerals was advised by Goldman Sachs and Vinson & Elkins (led by Lande Spottswood and Douglas E. McWilliams). Goldman Sachs was advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (led by James E. Langston). Sitio Royalties was advised by Credit Suisse, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Kekst CNC. Credit Suisse was advised by Alston & Bird (led by Stuart Rogers).
Boralex, a renewable energy company, completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in five wind farms from EDF Renewables, a renewable energy production company, for $250m.
"Located in one of the United States’ most robust wind resources areas, these wind farms will grow and diversify our presence in the United States. This acquisition represents Boralex's entry into the ERCOT and SPP markets. This acquisition highlights the strategic, creative, and persistent approach to acquisitions our reputation is built upon. I am extremely proud of the Boralex team who worked together to make this a reality,” Patrick Decostre, Boralex President and CEO.
Boralex was advised by Triton Advisory, Aon Securities, JP Morgan, Amis Patel & Brewer and KPMG.
IBM, an American multinational technology corporation, completed the acquisition of Octo Consulting Group, a technology firm, from Arlington Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Since our partnership with Octo began in early 2019, the Company has consummated four highly complementary acquisitions, expanding the Company’s healthcare footprint, while also doubling down on its strong positioning with forward-leaning modernization customers within the national security and civilian customer communities. The partnership with the Octo management team and their tireless efforts enabled us to build a great business focused on the infusion of modern technology into government applications and solidified the Company as an attractive workplace for technologists,” Michael Lustbader, Arlington Capital Managing Partner.
Octo was advised by JP Morgan. IBM was advised by Evercore and Cravath Swaine & Moore (led by George Schoen and Keith Hallam). Arlington was advised by Robert W Baird.
BC Partners, a British international investment firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Madison Logic, a software company, from Clarion Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"With the active support of the Clarion team, Madison Logic has grown substantially and established its leadership position in the market. The Madison Logic team and I are thrilled to now continue in the next stage of our very ambitious growth path with BC Partners, and confident that this will unlock significant new growth opportunities across the business. We look forward to a collaborative partnership with BC Partners, which has extensive experience fostering portfolio companies' potential," Tom O'Regan, Madison Logic CEO.
BC Partners are advised by LUMA Partners and Kirkland & Ellis. Clarion Capital Partners are advised by William Blair & Co and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
PetroReconcavo, an independent onshore oil and gas exploration and production operator, agreed to acquire Maha Energy Brasil, an oil company, from Maha Energy, an oil producer, for $174m.
“This divestment is a significant step within the Company’s new strategic positioning, continuously focusing on generating value for shareholders. This transaction will enhance Maha’s balance sheet and enable the Company to pursue accretive opportunities in the O&G space at attractive entry multiples, targeting stronger cash-flow streams and profits," Paulo Thiago Mendonca, Maha CEO.
PetroReconcavo is advised by Morgan Stanley.
Bluestem Equity, an investment management group, completed the acquisition of United Vision Logistics, a land transportation and logistics services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Over the past decade, UVL has been under the ownership of a group of large capital providers and credit managers. Bluestem's purchase allows us to partner with an industrial services leader with similar goals and ambitions. With our renewed emphasis on customers, employees, and partners, Bluestem and UVL will work together to continue to build our business into a formidable presence in the logistics industry," Colby Domingue, UVL President.
Levine Leichtman eyes up to $3.3bn for flagship fund. (FS)
Levine Leichtman Capital Partners is back in the market with a seventh flagship buyout offering set to bring in $3.3bn.
At $3.3bn, Fund VII would be the largest pool in Levine Leichtman’s nearly four-decade history. It would be 32 percent larger than Fund VI, closed in 2019 at $2.5bn.
EMEA
Hitachi, a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, completed the acquisition of the remaining 20% stake in Hitachi Energy, a sustainable energy firm, from ABB, a pioneering technology company, for $1.7bn.
"We are pleased with the progress of Hitachi Energy, and we look forward to supporting the Hitachi Energy 2030 Plan, as announced during Hitachi Investor Day 2022," Yoshihiko Kawamura, Hitachi Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, CFO.
Hitachi was advised by UBS. ABB was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (led by Stephen Hewes).
Inflexion Private Equity, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire a 25% stake in YER, an employment agency, in a €500m ($532m) deal.
"This is a really exciting opportunity for YER and the continued potential for the business in both the Netherlands and internationally is huge. We are confident that Inflexion is the right partner for the next stage of our growth and have been impressed with their global presence and sector knowledge, whilst benefiting from a local presence in the Dutch market. This partnership will allow us to continue building out YER, and we can’t wait to get started," Johan Overgaauw, YER CEO.
YER is advised by Rothschild & Co.
PGE, a state-owned public power company, agreed to acquire PKP Energetyka, a cross-country electricity distributor to the Polish railway network, from CVC Capital Partners, a private equity company, for $436m.
“I am glad that the distribution of electricity for the entire rail transport is back in Polish hands. We will continue to develop the company towards a low-emission economy. Our ambition will be to supply green energy to rail transport,” Wojciech Dąbrowski, PGE CEO.
CVC Capital Partners are advised by Greenberg Traurig.
Mowi, a Norwegian seafood company, completed the acquisition of a 51.28% stake in Arctic Fish Holding, a fish farming company, from SalMar, a Norwegian fish farm company, for $180m.
“The Icelandic salmon farming industry is set for extensive development and growth in the coming years and we take great pleasure in this opportunity to play a part. Icelandic waters provide excellent growth and living conditions for the salmon,” Ivan Vindheim, Mowi CEO.
Swiss asset manager GAM hires bankers to explore sale.
The prominent investment management firm GAM Holding is intensifying discussions over a potential sale months after it was forced to issue a profit warning, SkyNews reported.
GAM, which has assets under management of approximately CHF74.5bn ($80.22bn), is working with bankers at UBS to field interest from prospective bidders. The process is said to be at a preliminary stage with a deal unlikely to be imminent.
Nasdaq Chief sees Swedish IPO drought breaking in mid-2023.
A drought of Swedish initial public offerings is set to break in the middle of next year, provided uncertainty around valuations lifts, according to Nasdaq, which runs the biggest stock exchange in the Nordic country.
Hakan Sjogren, who is responsible for company listings at Nasdaq in Sweden said that Russia’s war in Ukraine and inflation pressures have put a damper on IPOs, creating too much uncertainty around valuations and leaving plenty of companies waiting for the right moment to sell shares on public markets, Bloomberg reported.
Speedinvest raises $532m for European tech startups. (FS)
Speedinvest, a pan-European early-stage venture capital fund, has raised $532m in new capital to help European startups scale, with 90% of that total already committed by the fund’s investors.
Some $319m is being invested into new pre-Seed and Seed tech startups through the firm's fourth flagship fund, Speedinvest 4, while the remaining capital is reserved for selective follow-on co-investments in existing Speedinvest portfolio companies to support their long-term growth.
Australia's Nitro Software, an electronic signature solution company, rejected an alternative takeover offer from private-equity firm Potentia Capital, which gave Nitro shareholders the choice of an all-cash, stock, or a combination of both, at the same offer price.
The company also said it would recommend shareholders to vote for KKR-backed Alludo's all-cash, sweetened takeover offer of $320m and an off-market takeover, Reuters reported.
Nitro Software is advised by Cadence Bank (led by Garren Cronin), UBS, Allens and Cato & Clive (led by Clive Mathieson). Alludo is advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Greenberg Traurig. Potentia Capital is advised by Jarden, Johnson Winter & Slattery (led by James Rozsa) and Domestique (led by Ross Thornton).
MBK Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of a 99.5% stake in Medit, a 3D dental scanner and solutions provider, from Unison Capital, a private equity firm, for $1.89bn.
"We have shared a common view of developing Medit into a globally renowned digital dental platform operator by building an ecosystem encompassing not just dental scanners, but medical teams, dealerships, solutions and devices. We are pleased to partner with Medit," MBK Partners.
Unison Capital was advised by Citigroup.
Link REIT, a real estate investment trust, agreed to acquire a portfolio of Singapore shopping malls from Mercatus, a real estate subsidiary of NTUC Enterprise, for $1.6bn.
“This transaction allows us to build a dedicated team in Singapore and provides a base for Link to expand further into other asset classes and strategies in Asia Pacific,” George Hongchoy, Link CEO.
China Mobile, a mobile telecommunication company, and Hexie Health, an insurance company that offers life, health, pension, accident and other insurance services, led a $215m Series B funding round in Moore Threads, a Chinese fabless semiconductor company, with participation from Dianshi Capital.
“Moore Threads has developed new-generation, multipurpose GPU products to target metacomputing and the next generation of the Internet. Its products integrate visual computing, AI computing, and other multidimensional, multi-component computing platforms, with the capacity to digitise daily office work, customer service, high-definition video processing, AI applications, and beyond,” Lu Di, Miracle Capital CEO.
BlackRock, an American global investment management corporation, completed a $100m investment in Brite Energy Partners, a solar development firm.
“South Korea’s carbon neutrality goal is a core mission for the current generation to accomplish in an accelerated fashion and an overriding obligation we should contribute to the next generations, be it environmental or economic considerations,” Heeseong Brian Kim, BEP CEO and founder.
Eicher Motors, an Indian multinational automotive company, agreed to invest $53m in Stark Future, an electric motorcycle maker.
"This investment will pave the way for a long term partnership in collaborative research and development in electric motorcycles, technology sharing, technical licensing, and manufacturing," Eicher.
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