Daily Review

Elliott Management acquired QEP Resources for $2.1bn.

Canyon Capital to vote against Ensco’s $2.4bn takeover of The Rowan Companies.

 

Advent International acquired Aimbridge Hospitality from Lee Equity and General Atlantic.

 

 

Zip World is an award-winning outdoor adventure business which features the world’s fastest zip line. The deal values the company at £45m ($57m).

LDC’s investment will support Zip World’s ongoing growth strategy as it looks to add new attractions to its current sites and rollout its adventure experiences across the UK and beyond. The business is aiming to bring its exhilarating adventure experience to more customers with its ambition to double in size over the next three years.

LDC was advised by Geldards, EY, Pragma, Ellis Whittam, FB Systems, Prelude, 3Sixty and JLT. Zip World was advised by Stephen Hughes, Blake Morgan, FRP Advisory, PwC and Lanyon Bowdler. HSBC provided debt financing and was advised by Addleshaw Goddard.

 

Urgent Cargus is a leading courier, express and parcel service provider in Romania. The company was sold by Abris Capital Partners on September 27, 2018. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Gian Sharp, CEO of Urgent Cargus, commented: "Having witnessed the business increase its revenues more than fivefold to become a leader in domestic last mile delivery, I look forward to supporting the new owners in the Company's next phase of development. Urgent Cargus and its management will particularly benefit from Mid Europa's resources and e-commerce experience as the Company continues to grow and introduce high-quality services to the Romanian market."

Abris was advised by Rothschild. Mid Europa was advised by Last Mile Experts, Dechert, EY, Bondoc & Asociatii and White & Case.

 

Rubik's Brand is the London-based company that owns the rights to the world-famous Rubik’s Cube. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The investment by Bancroft is to fuel an ambitious growth strategy utilizing Rubik’s unparalleled global brand-recognition to focus on growth through new channels, products and markets. RBL and Bancroft have recruited a new CEO, Christoph Bettin, to help realize the great potential of the Rubik’s Brand.

 

Deutsche Radiologie offers radiologists and radiotherapists flexible and professional succession solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Succession planning is a highly important topic for owners of small and mid-sized companies across all sectors and regions we operate in. DRH is addressing the increasing demand for succession solutions with a professional offering, tailor made to its target group. We are pleased to work with DRH, its management team and the owners of Tempus Capital on the way forward”, commented Andi Klein, TSM Investment Advisory Committee Member and Investment Advisory Professional to the Triton funds.

 

Granite Underwriting is a leading specialist motor insurance business. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Alan Keating, Managing Director and co-founder of Granite, said: “I am delighted to have found a partner with relevant industry expertise, as well as a strong understanding of how digital enhancement can help improve our business. These traits combined with their experience as a minority investor made them the right backer for us as we look to increase our market share further.”

 

Uform is an Antrim-based kitchen door and component supplier. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

Eamon Donnelly, CEO of Uform, says: “We started a four-phase growth strategy in 2013 and the business has grown rapidly in that time. We’ve invested heavily in doubling the size of our operation and installed state of the art paint lines to increase our productivity and product range. Uform is an ambitious company and we want to continue our pace of growth across the UK and Ireland in the coming years.”

 

Investcorp Technology Partners, successfully closed the transfer of its remaining two portfolio companies in ITP Fund III, with a combined enterprise value of $185m, to a continuation vehicle, Investcorp Secondary Fund 2018 LP which is supported by HarbourVest.

Hazem Ben-Gacem, Investcorp’s Co-Chief Executive Officer and a Managing Partner of the Investcorp Technology Partners group of funds, said: “Our third technology fund has performed very well in recent years. This commitment from HarbourVest demonstrates their belief in us as one of the leading lower mid-market investors in Europe. We look forward to working with them to help realize further growth in these remaining investments whilst continuing to deliver a strong return for our investors and shareholders.”

 

EarlySense, an Israeli maker of medical monitoring systems, raised $39m in a financing round led by medical technology firm Hill-Rom and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, the venture capital arm of Wells Fargo. Other investors included BlueRed Capital, Israel Innovation Fund, Argos Capital and Hotung Capital. Existing investors, including Pitango Venture Capital and JK&B Venture Capital, participated in the round as well.

Elliott Management acquired QEP Resources, which operates as a natural gas and crude oil exploration and production company in the United States, for $2.1bn. The $8.75 per share offer represents a premium of 44%.

Elliott believes QEP "remains deeply undervalued" and says a sale of the company would be the best approach to deliver maximum value to shareholders.

 

Canyon Capital, which holds a 6.3% stake in The Rowan Companies, an offshore drilling contractor that provides well-drilling services to the petroleum industry, announced it would vote against the proposed takeover, claiming that the offer by Ensco undervalues the target.

“Canyon is a strong believer in the strength and quality of the company’s assets,” Canyon said. “Unfortunately, the proposed transaction does not reflect such a belief, and fails to offer Rowan shareholders adequate compensation.”

Rowan is being advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Goldman Sachs, Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins. Ensco is being advised by Citigroup, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Slaughter & May.

 

Aimbridge Hospitality is North America's leading third-party hotel operator. The sellers are Lee Equity Partners and General Atlantic. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Aimbridge has emerged as the clear leader in the fast-growing and fragmented U.S. third-party hotel management industry, and we are thrilled to partner with the organization as we invest in Aimbridge's next chapter of growth," said Jeff Case, a Managing Director at Advent International. "Aimbridge has a unique opportunity to expand its reach globally through both organic growth and strategic opportunities while leveraging technology to better serve its hotel partners."