Freenet, the largest shareholder of Sunrise Communications, a Swiss telecommunications provider based in Zurich, blocked the $4.1bn capital raising, soon after Sunrise Chairman Peter Kurer expressed his belief that the plan will win shareholder backing. Sunrise plans to raise $4.1bn in capital to help finance its $6.3bn takeover of Swiss cable operator UPC, which was announced in February.
After Sunrise met more than 170 large shareholders and potential investors in recent weeks, “they view the transaction significantly more positively than before,” Mr. Kurer said. He expects regulatory approval for the $6.3bn deal, adding a rival could well buy UPC should Sunrise fail. Freenet previously said it would not take part in the capital hike, saying it was disturbed by how the transaction was structured.
Sunrise is advised by PwC, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Latham & Watkins, Lenz & Staehelin, Meyerlustenberger Lachenal, NautaDutilh, Slaughter & May and Deloitte. Liberty Global is advised by Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, and Lion Tree Advisors.
Horizon Capital, a US private equity firm investing in high growth companies in Ukraine and the near region, invested in Ukraine-based Dobrobut, the leading private healthcare services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are pleased that our investment in Dobrobut will enable Ukraine’s market leader to further strengthen the healthcare services they offer to the community and expand their network of clinics,” said Lenna Koszarny, Horizon Capital’s Founding Partner and CEO. “Horizon Capital’s entry into this strategic sector, together with the backing of our global institutional investors, will play a significant role in the development of healthcare in Ukraine, as it brings capital, transparency, world-class equipment and best practices to this industry.”
Concorde Capital advised Dobrobut.
Investment company KGAL New Frontiers acquired a 22% stake in SunErgy, a Norwegian company delivering innovative solar power infrastructure in emerging markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The goal of the investment is for SunErgy to become one of the leading providers of off-grid power supply within eight years, during which time it plans to primarily be active in Cameroon, with an outlook to further expand into West Africa. Eight solar power plants are set to be commissioned this year.
Garda World Security considers bidding for G4S.
Garda World Security, a Canadian private security firm, is considering bidding for all or part of G4S, a British multinational security services company headquartered in London. The offer could mark a change of fortune for G4S, which is struggling to recover from a string of scandals, notably a failure in 2012 to provide enough guards for the London Olympic Games.
“Garda World notes the recent market speculation in relation to G4S and confirms that it is in the preliminary stages of considering an approach to the board of G4S regarding a possible cash offer for the company, or a part thereof,” Garda said.
G4S stock jumped 18% in response to the news.
Angela Merkel described result of Deutsche, Commerzbank merger talks as “open”.
Reuters reported that Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the result of merger talks between Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank is open, adding that the government should not meddle in the negotiations.
“The result is open,” Merkel said of the talks. “It is not our job to intervene with judgments before the talks have been completed.”
Asked about the risk to taxpayers of any merger, she said: “Banks are subject to a European supervision regime, we have German financial market monitoring and everything that happens with mergers will take very good account of systemic risks.”
EQT considers bidding for Kantar. (FS)
Swedish private equity firm EQT Partners is considering bidding for Kantar, a WPP-owned data, insights and consulting company. The business is valued at approximately £3.5bn ($4.5bn). Reports of a possible Kantar sale first surfaced about a year ago, soon after longtime WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell left his role at the company.
Goldman Sachs is advising WPP on the auction process.
Southhampton FC questioned over Chinese ownership.
British football club Southhampton FC is being investigated by the Premier League to determine whether the Chinese state has gained a significant stake in the club,
Financial Times reported. Gao Jinsheng, a real estate magnate and founder of Shenzhen-listed Lander Sports, which owned Southhampton since 2017, said in a regulatory filing last month that he would sell a 29.9% stake in Landet Sports to the state-owned Chengdu Assets Supervision and Administration Commission for $194m.
Southampton said this week that the club is owned by a UK entity, also called Lander Sports and funded by the Gao family but otherwise unconnected to the China-based company. It said this meant there had been no change in ownership or control.
Metro to pay $225m to divest Real.
Metro, a German retailer, said it would consider spending over $200m to divest its supermarket chain Real. The firm is negotiating a potential deal with Markant. Under the terms Markant would pay $113m for Real, however, Metro pledged to inject $338m into the business before the sale.
Retail property investor X+Bricks is also interested in acquiring the properties of Real. A consortium consisting of ECE, Morgan Stanley and Redos recently dropped out of the bidding process.
Adevinta completed its $6.2bn IPO.
Norway’s Adevinta, one of the global market leaders in online classifieds, completed a long-planned IPO at a $6.2bn valuation. It was Norway's largest IPO since 2006 and the fourth biggest overall, exceeded only by the past listings of Equinor, Telenor and REC Silicon. On the first day off trading, the company's stock jumped 7.2% from its IPO price of NOK78 ($9).
AfricInvest and Cathay Innovation launched a pan-African venture capital fund.
AfricInvest, a private equity firm in Africa with $1.5bn in assets under management, and Cathay Innovation, a global venture capital fund, created in affiliation with Cathay Capital Private Equity, launched a pan-African venture fund, the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund. The new fund will contribute to the development and scaling up of innovative companies that demonstrate strong growth in Africa while being open to international markets.
Aziz Mebarek, co-founder AfricInvest said: “We are excited about the combination of experience, expertise and networks that will be delivered through this partnership between AfricInvest and Cathay, a world-class investor. Our combined objective is to provide support to a new generation of African companies in cutting-edge fields, with the ambition to grow them regionally and globally.
Deutsche Börse, a German marketplace organizer for the trading of shares and other securities, and General Atlantic, a private equity firm, are to acquire Axioma, the leading provider of enterprise risk management, portfolio management, and regulatory reporting solutions, for $850m. Deutsche Boerse and General Atlantic will hold 78% and 19% in the company respectively, while the management will retain 3%. The combination will create a fully integrated, leading buy-side intelligence player that will provide unique products and analytics to meet the growing demand for an end-to-end platform.
Theodor Weimer, CEO of Deutsche Börse, said: “This transaction is a step change for our pre-trading business and fully in line with our Roadmap 2020 strategy, which besides organic growth builds on programmatic M&A and new technologies. We are also excited about the partnership with General Atlantic and believe it will help to further accelerate growth of the combined business and to achieve strong value creation.”
Perella Weinberg Partners, Deutsche Bank, Hengeler Mueller and Cravath, Swaine & Moore are advising Deutsche Börse. Centerview Partners and Sullivan & Cromwell are advising Axioma. Milbank is advising General Atlantic.
Montagu Private Equity closed the $390m acquisition of Kodak's Flexographic Packaging Division. Kodak is a technology company focused on imaging. The deal was announced on November 12, 2018.
“This transaction is an important turning point in our transformation and is a significant, positive development for Kodak,” said Jeff Clarke, CEO, Kodak. “The sale of the Flexographic Packaging Division unlocks value for shareholders and strengthens our financial position by providing a meaningful infusion of cash which allows us to reduce debt, improving the capital structure of the company and enabling greater flexibility to invest in our growth engines.”
Greenbrook, Bain & Co, Ernst & Young and Linklaters advised Montagu. UBS, Freshfields Bruckhaus & Deringer and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld advised Eastman Kodak. O'Melveny & Myers advised UBS.
YieldStreet, a digital wealth management platform, acquired Athena Art Finance, a pioneer in the global art finance market, from The Carlyle Group for $170m. This transaction represents YieldStreet’s first corporate acquisition and comes on the heels of its recently completed $62m Series B funding, the fifth largest fintech Series B funding round ever completed in New York City.
“Our acquisition of Athena demonstrates YieldStreet’s ability to leverage our technology, proprietary origination channels and efficient direct-to-consumer distribution, to take a traditional capital intensive business and make it capital efficient. We’re thrilled to have the Athena team join the YieldStreet family, and look forward to supporting its existing business and continued scale and success,” said YieldStreet Founder and President Michael Weisz.
Evercore advised YieldStreet. Sandler O’Neill advised Athena Art Finance.
Private equity firm Clearlake Capital invested in Insight-backed Appriss Holdings, which provides data and analytics for public and private enterprises that are focused on public safety, fraud prevention and substance abuse. Clearlake will be an equal partner in Appriss alongside management and Insight Partners, which invested in the company in 2014. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Behdad Eghbali, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Clearlake, commented: “Clearlake is thrilled to partner with the world-class management team at Appriss, and join Insight Partners as the company’s lead investors. We see a significant opportunity to build upon Appriss’s leadership position as a provider of critical data and analytics and accelerate its rapid growth.”
William Blair and Jefferies are advising Appriss and Insight Partners. Macquarie and UBS are advising Clearlake. Golub Capital, Antares Capital and Bain Capital Credit provided debt financing.
Private equity firm The Stagwell Group acquired MultiView, a leader in digital marketing solutions for B2B marketers and publishing solutions for associations, from Warburg Pincus. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Programmatic advertising is a small but rapidly growing part of the B2B advertising mix today, and Multiview has unmatched products, data and insights to help B2B buyers leverage this offering,” said Stagwell Group Managing Partner Mark Penn. “From my days with Microsoft, I know B2B marketers need specific solutions and with MultiView as part of the Stagwell family we can deliver those seamlessly.”
GCA Altium and Willkie Farr & Gallagher advised MultiView.
RLJ Equity Partners, an affiliate of the RLJ Companies, acquired Virteva, a managed IT services provider, to merge into Crossfuze, an IT service management company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We believe the Crossfuze and Virteva teams are a winning combination for customers. Combining the strengths of the two entities will advance our strategic vision and accelerate our growth,” said Nigel Howard, principal at RLJ. “Both leadership teams have demonstrated their ability to deliver significant value to customers and partners while providing employees the ability to advance their careers by establishing a culture of innovation and collaboration.”
Piper Jaffrey and Fredrikson & Byron advised Virteva. DLA Piper advised RLJ.
Private equity firm Symphony Technology Group acquired a 70% stake in RedSeal, which provides a cybersecurity analytics solution to Global 2000 organizations and governments that helps maximize their digital resilience, for $70m. With the new investment by STG, RedSeal said it has raised $142m to date.
“We have found a growth partner in STG,” said Ray Rothrock, chairman and CEO of RedSeal. “They are aligned with our digital resilience strategy, and the enormous value that understanding your cyber terrain has on driving down your cybersecurity risks and exposure. STG’s collaboration and investment will help us further strengthen our position in the industry, expand and pursue growth opportunities, and drive increasing value to our customers.”
Atlas Technology Group and Paul Hastings advised STG. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised RedSeal.
Genstar Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments in targeted segments of the industrial technology, healthcare, software, and financial services industries, is to acquire Ohio Transmission Corporation, an industrial automation equipment distributor and technical service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Rob Rutledge, Managing Director at Genstar said: "OTC operates at a pivotal point in the manufacturing sector, benefiting suppliers looking to partner with distributors with broader product and service capabilities and customers who are increasingly relying on distributors with strong technical resources. The company provides a leading brand portfolio of highly technical products, value-added services and specialized solutions with a proven track record of adding new product categories. We look forward to supporting management's strategy of product and geographic expansion organically as well as through strategic acquisitions to better serve OTC's customers."
Weil Gotshal & Manges is advising Genstar Capital.
Rhone Capital-backed Vista Global, a world leader in business flight solutions, is to Acquire JetSmarter, a mobile community for shared and private flights. As part of the transaction, all JetSmarter investors, inclusive of Clearlake Capital and Jefferies Financial Group, will become investors in Vista Global. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Vista Global’s Founder and Chairman Thomas Flohr said: “Today’s acquisition is an important milestone for Vista Global – accelerating and executing our vision of digitizing the entire private aviation offering. Customers today want speed, reliability and value, which in today’s world is only possible with technology. Vista Global’s reach and infrastructure will take JetSmarter to the global stage to fully realize its potential. JetSmarter’s technology will digitalize Vista Global’s market-leading customer offering to Program Members and On Demand customers.”
Jefferies is advising JetSmarter.
Gemspring Capital, a middle-market private equity firm, made a strategic investment in Valant Medical Solutions, a leading provider of behavioral health software for private practices. Financial terms were not disclosed.
David Lischner, CEO of Valant, commented on the transaction: “Partnering with Gemspring is an exciting new chapter for Valant. Gemspring’s expertise and resources will propel Valant’s growth, allowing us to accelerate our product roadmap, launch new sales and marketing initiatives, and provide better business and clinical outcomes for our customers.”
Spurrier Capital Partners advised Valant.
Macquarie to acquire $12bn of assets from Foresters. (FS)
Macquarie Investment Management agreed to acquire the assets related to the mutual fund management business of Toronto-based Foresters Investment Management Company, the investment adviser of the First Investors funds. The deal covers about $12.3bn in assets under management and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.
“The First Investors funds business aligns with our mission to provide clients with investment capabilities across multiple strategies,” said Shawn Lytle, global head of Macquarie Investment Management and president of Delaware Funds by Macquarie. “We look forward to serving our new investors by delivering strong investment performance along with a broad and deep range of strategies across asset classes. We are delighted that Foresters has also selected us as manager of a portion of the Foresters general account.”
EQT, Digital Colony and Stonepeak closing in on a deal to buy Zayo. (FS)
A consortium of private equity firms consisting of EQT Partners, Digital Colony Partners and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners is in exclusive negotiations to buy Zayo Group, a publicly traded communications company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. The deal, potentially one of the biggest leveraged buyouts of the year, would come after activist hedge fund Starboard Value disclosed a 4% stake in Zayo last month and pressed it to seriously consider a sale.
Zayo is valued at approximately $8-9bn, not including its $5.9bn debt pile.
Uber to sell $10bn worth of stock in IPO.
Uber Technologies disclosed that it would sell approximately $10bn worth of shares during its IPO, which is to be registered on Thursday. An IPO of this size would make Uber one of the biggest technology IPOs of all time, and the largest since that of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding in 2014. The company is seeking approximately $100bn in valuation, an increase to its last $76bn private market valuation.
AT&T not interested in selling HBO Europe.
WarnerMedia Chief Executive John Stankey denied reports that AT&T, an American multinational conglomerate holding company, was considering selling its HBO Europe business. AT&T was rumored to be looking to sell the unit to reduce its debt pile.
“We normally do not comment on speculation, but when a news outlet is advised that their reporting is factually incorrect and report it anyway, we feel compelled to set the record straight,” Mr. Stankey said in a statement.
BioTek Instruments sale could fetch $1bn. (FS)
BioTek Instruments, a Vermont–based manufacturer that sells scientific instruments and associated software used in basic research in the life sciences as well in quality assurance in related industries, is reportedly exploring options including a sale. Healthcare companies and investment funds have expressed a preliminary interest in BioTek, which could be valued at as much as $1bn.
TPG Capital led a $70m Series C financing round for Expanse. (FS)
San Francisco-based Expanse, an internet information technology operations management platform, raised $70m in Series C funding round led by TPG Growth. The round also included investments from Arianna Huffington, Peter Thiel, Egon Durban, Taylor Glover, Sam Palmisano, as well as return investments from NEA, IVP, Founders Fund, and MSD Capital.
Expanse plans to apply the funds to accelerate its business' go-to-market strategy, including international expansion beyond its existing overseas customers in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Japan.
