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AMERICAS
Starboard Value, an investment advisory company, completed a $500m investment in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, an industrial auctioneer and seller of used heavy industrial equipment.
"We welcome Starboard's strategic investment in Ritchie Bros., which we believe will provide us with additional financial flexibility. Starboard shares our belief in the potential of the combination of Ritchie Bros. and IAA. We look forward to benefitting from Jeff's expertise and working together as we complete this transaction, which we believe will deliver significant value to all our shareholders," Ann Fandozzi, Ritchie Bros CEO.
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers was advised by Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim Partners, Goodwin Procter, McCarthy Tetrault, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Joele Frank. Starboard Value was advised by Evercore and RBC Capital Markets.
Private equity firms Waterfall Asset Management and Atalaya Capital Management completed an investment in OnPoint Warranty Solutions, an insure tech, mobile solutions and warranty services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to be partnering with Chris and Rob to support OnPoint's long-term growth strategy. We believe OnPoint's product sophistication, client-first approach to technology and service, and the addition of Guardian, will continue to help differentiate the company in the marketplace," Gene Weil, Waterfall Managing Director.
OnPoint Warranty was advised by Capstone Partners, Houlihan Lokey, Bevilacqua and Calfee Halter & Griswold. Atalaya was advised by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Waterfall was advised by Mayer Brown.
OceanSound Partners-backed Cash Flow Management, a financial services company, completed the acquisition of NXTsoft, a software developer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Financial institutions struggle to keep pace with their digital transformation goals because of the difficulty that stems from transferring data between their core and new fintech products. CFM and NXTsoft have developed intuitive API solutions that address these challenges by compiling pre-built integrations into one central hub. Their products enable banks and credit unions to build connected experiences for their customers and employees, accelerate time-to-market of new technology, and lower operating costs," Ted Coons, OceanSound Partner.
NXTsoft was advised by Stephens, Burr & Forman and Weil Gotshal and Manges. CFM was advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by Allison Schneirov). OceanSound Partner was advised by Stanton PRM.
PetroRio, an oil and gas company, completed the acquisition of Albacora Leste field from Petrobras, a state-owned Brazilian multinational petrol company, for $2.2bn.
"This operation is in line with the company's portfolio management strategy and the improved allocation of its capital, aiming to maximize value and provide a greater return to society. Petrobras continues to increasingly concentrate its resources on assets that have shown a great competitive advantage over the years, with lower greenhouse gas emissions," Petrobras.
PetroRio was advised by Morgan Stanley and Tauil & Chequer Advogados. Petrobras was advised by Rothschild & Co (led by Marcos Spieler) and Machado Meyer Sendacz e Opice Advogados (led by Daniel Szyfman).
MVB Financial and Integrated Financial Holdings, jointly announced each has received shareholder approval for the $98m merger between MVB and IFHI.
"We are pleased that our shareholders recognize the opportunity this merger achieves, as this is an example of how at MVB we strive to create value for our shareholders. Together we become a national leader in government guaranteed lending, specifically SBA and USDA lending. Both strong companies on our own and even better together, IFH and MVB have an excellent cultural fit and shared strategic focus," Larry F. Mazza, MVB Financial CEO.
Trive Capital, a private equity firm, completed an investment in Kittyhawk, a provider of Hot Isostatic Pressing services for a variety of industries including space, commercial aerospace, defense, and medical applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to partner with a market-leader like Kittyhawk. The Company's talented team, technical capabilities, and geographic presence position us to capture the incredible growth opportunities we see coming from the proliferation of space activity, rebound in commercial aerospace, and rapid adoption of additively manufactured metallic parts," Tanner Cope, Trive Capital Managing Director.
Kittyhawk was advised by KAL Capital Markets and Perkins Coie. Trive Capital was advised by Haynes and Boone.
AutoNation, an automotive retailer, completed the acquisition of RepairSmith, a full-service mobile solution for automotive repair and maintenance, for $190m.
"Apart from the important outcome of adding over 400 talented and dynamic team members, the acquisition of RepairSmith represents a unique opportunity for us across many aspects of the automotive value chain. We have over 11m Customers with different and diverse After-Sales needs. RepairSmith will add additional Customer-centric and convenient repair and service options for our Customers - further improving our penetration and loyalty." Mike Manley, AutoNation CEO.
ArcelorMittal, a steel manufacturing corporation, led a $120m Series C funding round in Boston Metal, a company developing technology to fully decarbonize steel production, with participation from Climate Innovation Fund and SiteGround Capital.
"In Boston Metal, we are investing in a team that has made impressive progress over a relatively short period of time, developing a technology that has exciting potential to revolutionize steelmaking. In our extensive discussions with them, we have been impressed by the passion and vision they have to contribute to the decarbonization of steelmaking. They are an exciting and welcome addition to the XCarb Innovation Fund's portfolio," Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal CEO.
Boston Metal was advised by Antenna Group (led by Annika Harper).
TotalEnergies, a multinational integrated energy and petroleum company, agreed to acquire an additional 6.65% stake in Fort Hills Energy, an oil and gas company, from Teck Resources, a diversified natural resources company, for $233m.
"By seizing this opportunity to grow its business under attractive conditions, TotalEnergies Canada will deliver value to the future shareholders of the spin-off entity," Jean-Pierre Sbraire, TotalEnergies CFO.
Danone is reviewing strategic options for Wallaby and Horizon Organic.
Danone is putting US yogurt brands Wallaby and Horizon Organic under strategic review as part of new Chief Executive Antoine de Saint-Affrique's turnaround plan for the Paris-listed dairy giant.
The former Barry Callebaut boss began his overhaul in March last year, promising to buy or sell lines representing a tenth of his portfolio. Activist investors who helped oust his predecessor Emmanuel Faber called for a focus on higher margin, international brands like Activia, rather than less profitable local ones.
Wallaby and Horizon Organic, which represent 3% of Danone's global revenue, have a portfolio of organic dairy products, including milk, creamers and whiteners, yogurt, cheese, and butter. That likely amounted to about $890m of revenue in 2022, Bloomberg reported.
Warburg Pincus amasses $15.4bn for latest flagship private equity fund. (FS)
Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, disclosed it has amassed $15.4bn for its latest flagship global private equity fund that will acquire companies across industries around the world.
The move brings New York-based Warburg closer to hitting its initial target of collecting $16bn from investors for the fund, Warburg Pincus Global Growth 14. The fund is the largest in the firm's history.
New Enterprise Associates closes on two funds totaling $6.2bn. (FS)
New Enterprise Associates, a private equity firm, announced that it has closed on approximately $6.2bn across two funds, bringing the firm's assets under management to over $25bn as of December 31, 2022.
Both funds will be invested across a broad range of technology and healthcare sectors, including enterprise and consumer technology, digital health and life sciences. Consistent with the firm's strategy over many funds, investing activities will span the entire lifecycle of company building, from incubation and seed-stage investments to fueling the growth of market leaders.
"We are deeply grateful to our Limited Partners for the trust they have placed in our team, and excited to have raised the largest pool of capital in NEA's history at a time of great uncertainty, but also tremendous opportunity. Our own performance over decades strongly affirms the importance of both peaks and troughs in a healthy ecosystem for innovation and company building, and we look forward to supporting founders at every stage with both the capital and the cycle-tested expertise NEA has always brought to bear in tough times," Scott Sandell, NEA Managing General Partner.
EMEA
Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Biffa, a waste management company, for £1.9bn ($2.3bn).
"We are pleased to complete our acquisition of Biffa and to partner with such an exceptional leader in the waste management space. We share the Biffa team's vision to promote a more sustainable, circular economy, and are excited to partner with the Company in its next phase of growth. We are impressed by Biffa's visionary leadership, talented employees and commitment to safety. ECP and Biffa will remain focused on providing the highest levels of service to the Company's customers," Andrew Gilbert, ECP Partner.
Permira, a global private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Acuity Knowledge Partners, a provider of high-value research, analytics and business intelligence to the financial services sector, from Equistone, a mid-market private equity investor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Rob and his team have done a phenomenal job building Acuity to what it is today. The Company stands out because of its domain expertise, scale, long track record serving blue-chip financial institutions and innovative technology solutions. In the context of rising cost pressures facing the financial services industry, the value proposition of Acuity's tech-enabled, global delivery specialists is extremely clear. We see great potential for Acuity to further extend its leadership in existing segments as well as branch into new adjacencies and geographies – growth areas we are very experienced in facilitating via our deep sector knowledge, across both services and technology, and global network," Daniel Tan, Permira Head of Asia.
Acuity is advised by Montieth (led by Cameron Penny). Permira is advised by Jamieson, Robert W Baird, Clifford Chance, Travers Smith and Headland Consultancy (led by Carl Leijonhufvud). Equistone is advised by DC Advisory, Rothschild & Co, Latham & Watkins and Hawthorn Advisors (led by Stephen Atkinson).
Dell, a technology company, completed the acquisition of Cloudify, a cloud orchestration and infrastructure automation services provider, for c.$100m.
"Dell Technologies announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cloudify. The transaction allows Dell to continue to innovate our edge offerings," Dell.
Dell was advised by Jefferies & Company.
Chinachem, a property developer, completed the acquisition of One New Street Square from Land Securities Group, a commercial property development and investment company, for $432m.
"Through this sale we have been able to unlock capital at a rate that has provided strong returns over our 18 years of ownership. Crystallizing these returns enables us to turn towards future opportunities and future growth through balance sheet strength and flexibility," Marcus Geddes, Land Securities Managing Director.
Bosch, an engineering and technology company, agreed to acquire a 12% stake in Husqvarna, a manufacturer of outdoor power products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are pursuing a systematic growth strategy with our business activities for consumers. This also includes strengthening existing partnerships through equity interests. Our 'Power for All Alliance' for rechargeable batteries is a success story that we want to continue," Christian Fischer, Bosch Deputy Chairman.
Messer in talks with sovereign funds over CVC JV buyout. (FS)
German industrial gas maker Messer is in talks with sovereign wealth funds to help finance a buyout of its joint venture with CVC Capital Partners.
The firm was in touch with investors including Singapore's GIC, Abu Dhabi's Investment Authority and EQT's infrastructure arm.
The joint venture, Messer Industries, owns former Linde assets in North and South America and could be valued at up to $7.6bn, Reuters reported.
Qiagen weighs a stake sale in a $1bn bioinformatics division.
Qiagen is weighing the sale of a minority stake in its bioinformatics division, which could value that business at more than $1bn.
The Dutch diagnostics firm is working with a financial adviser as it explores bringing in an investor. Selling a stake in the unit, which provides software for analyzing biological data, could help fund further growth in this business.
The deal is likely to attract interest from private equity firms. Any transaction would see Qiagen keep a majority stake in the bioinformatics business, Bloomberg reported.
Iberdrola considering selling its renewable assets in Spain.
Iberdrola, an energy company, is looking to sell a portfolio of gas, wind and solar assets in Spain which could raise more than $700m.
The Spanish company has said it aims to divest assets in order to finance a three-year plan to invest up to $51bn, keep its credit ratings and maintain a dividend pay-out of up to 75% of its earnings per share.
This involves disposals worth a total of $5.3bn alongside partnerships in projects valued at $2.8bn. Iberdrola is working with Deutsche Bank on the sale of the 2.4GW portfolio, Reuters reported.
Italy starts talks with Lufthansa to sell a minority stake in ITA.
Italy initiated talks with Deutsche Lufthansa to sell a minority stake in ITA Airways, the successor of Alitalia, in a move that may kick off aviation industry consolidation in Europe, Bloomberg reported.
Italy's finance ministry on Friday signed a letter of intent with the German carrier, the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Earlier this month Lufthansa submitted a bid, with a view to buying the remaining shares "at a later date."
"Further talks will primarily focus on the form of a possible equity investment, and the commercial and operational integration of ITA into Lufthansa, the airline said at that time," Lufthansa.
Goldman Sachs among investors interested in financing Italy's Serie A.
Goldman Sachs is considering providing financing to Serie A, a boost to the iconic Italian football league that's struggled to secure backers in recent years.
The US investment bank giant sent a letter to Serie A's top officials expressing a preliminary interest as a financing partner to develop the league's media business, Bloomberg reported.
Stripe hires JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs to explore liquidity raise.
Stripe, one of the world's most valuable startups, has hired JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs as it explores options for raising liquidity. Stripe has approached investors about raising at least $2bn in fresh cash at a valuation of $55bn to $60bn.
The company is weighing a direct listing or a private market capital raise. The hope is that either option would happen in the next year so that veteran employees with expiring restricted stock units can cash in.
Bestway takes a 3.45% stake in J Sainsbury's in $240m.
Bestway Group, a British multinational conglomerate, said that it has bought or agreed to buy shares worth 3.45% of J Sainsbury's issued share capital.
The family-owned multinational business said it acquired or agreed to acquire a total of 80.8m shares in the British grocer, which based upon Sainsbury's closing price of $296.
The company said it intends to hold the shares for investment purpose and looks forward to supporting management. It also said it may look to make further market purchases of shares from time to time, but that it wasn't considering an offer for the company.
Hambro Perks Acquisition in advanced merger talks with Istesso.
Hambro Perks Acquisition, the first SPAC to list in London in the wake of regulatory changes, is in advanced talks to merge with drug developer Istesso, Sky News reported.
A merger would value the company at several hundred million pounds, although a more precise valuation could not be ascertained this weekend.
If successfully completed, the merger would represent a milestone for the London stock market even as scores of so-called special purpose acquisition companies - predominantly in New York - are being wound up following a slump in valuations.
IONOS targets IPO value of up to $3.4bn. (FS)
German web hosting firm IONOS is targeting a market capitalisation of up to $3.42bn in Europe's first major initial public offering since sports car maker Porsche last September.
United Internet and its minority private equity partner Warburg Pincus are each offering 15% of their respective holdings in IONOS at $20.11 to $24.46 a share, resulting in total proceeds of up to $590m.
Subject to regulatory approval of the IPO prospectus, the offer is expected to run from January 30 to February 7. The stock will debut on the Frankfurt bourse the following day. If all the shares are sold, IONOS will have a free float of 17.3%, Reuters reported.
APAC
Accel, Tiger Global to exit Flipkart. (FS)
Accel and Tiger Global are in discussions over the sale of their remaining stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart to US retail giant and majority shareholder Walmart, in a deal valued at around $1.5bn.
Both companies were early backers of Flipkart with Accel now holding a stake of just over 1% of the business and Tiger Global about 4%. The stake would raise Walmart's ownership in the e-commerce giant from the current 72%.
Both investment firms are exiting from Flipkart largely because they need to return money to their limited partners or sponsors from funds that are nearing the end of the maturity cycle, The Economic Times reported.
Elevar Equity raises at least $126m for latest India fund. (FS)
Venture capital firm Elevar Equity Advisors, which is currently on the road to raise its fifth India-focused fund, has garnered as much as $125m so far from US investors.
The total corpus that the social impact investor is targeting to raise for Elevar India is $225m as it looks to invest in growth-stage companies that cater to the marginalised and weaker sections in the country.
The firm seeks to invest in companies across the financial services, education, agriculture, healthcare, and housing sectors, DealStreetAsia reported.
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