AMERICAS
Tiffany said that Australian regulators need more time to review LVMH’s $16.2bn purchase of the US jeweller due to the coronavirus outbreak, potentially delaying the closure of the deal, Reuters reported.
Tiffany said it still aimed to close the deal by the middle of 2020, subject to the review by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board. The FIRB is experiencing delays in processing transactions and requested extending the statutory review deadline of April 8 to until October 6, which LVMH has accepted.
Tiffany is advised by Centerview Partners, Goldman Sachs, Sullivan & Cromwell, Weil Gotshal and Manges, and Sard Verbinnen & Co. LVMH is advised by Citigroup, JP Morgan, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, White & Case, Allen & Overy, Brunswick Group, DGM Conseil, Deluxewords, Kekst CNC, Montfort Communications, Publicis Consultants, and SEC and Partners.
Two independent WeWork directors sued SoftBank Group, its biggest shareholder, after the Japanese investor scrapped a $3bn deal to buy stock from ex-Chief Executive Officer Adam Neumann and other shareholders to bail out the struggling workplace provider.
SoftBank reneged on promises to “use its reasonable best efforts to consummate” the stock-purchase agreement because of “buyer’s remorse,” the directors which make up a special committee of WeWork’s board said.
“Instead of abiding by its contractual obligations, SoftBank, under increasing pressure from activist investors, has engaged in a purposeful campaign to avoid completion of the tender offer,” Bruce Dunlevie and Lew Frankfort, WeWork Directors.
Wework is advised by Perella Weinberg Partners, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Joele Frank. Softbank Vision Fund is advised by Houlihan Lokey and Lazard. Softbank Group is advised by The Raine Group, Morrison & Foerster, Weil Gotshal and Manges and Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Novelis, a provider of aluminium rolling and recycling, received the final clearance needed to complete its acquisition of Aleris, a global supplier of rolled aluminium products, for $2.6bn. Novelis satisfied the European Commission's condition to divest Aleris' plant in Duffel, Belgium to a third party, Liberty House Group, which is a part of the Gupta Family Group.
"Novelis has completed the regulatory review process and is now prepared to close the acquisition and begin integrating Aleris into Novelis. This will allow Novelis to further extend our position as the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling and meet increasing customer demand for high-performing, sustainable aluminium solutions," Steve Fisher, Novelis President and CEO.
Aleris is advised by Deutsche Bank, Moelis & Co and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. Novelis is advised by Goldman Sachs and Latham & Watkins. Oaktree Capital Management is advised by Sard Verbinnen & Co.
SoFi, an online personal finance company, is set to acquire Galileo Financial Technologies, a financial services API and payments platform, for $1.2bn.
"SoFi has built a very strong diversified financial services company focusing on a full suite of financial services. We're excited to work with SoFi to build on the services that have made Galileo the leading supplier of infrastructure services to leading financial, technology, and fintech companies. With the help of SoFi, we intend to continue to grow with and support all of our existing clients and the product roadmaps that they have defined," Clay Wilkes, Galileo CEO.
Galileo is advised by Qatalyst Partners and Dorsey & Whitney. SoFi is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and WilmerHale.
Organovo, an early-stage medical laboratory and research company, terminated the merger agreement with Tarveda Therapeutics, a privately-held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, following the emergence of unanticipated, late opposition to the proposed transaction by major Organovo stockholders.
“We are disappointed that we will be unable to proceed with the planned transaction with Organovo. While surprised by the late decision of Organovo’s major stockholders to vote against the recommendation of Organovo’s special committee with the apparent intent to pursue a strategy which may include 3D bioprinting, we respect their decision,” Drew Fromkin, Tarveda Chief Executive Officer.
Gas and oil company Diversified Gas & Oil agreed to acquire certain conventional Appalachian upstream and midstream assets from Carbon Energy for $110m. The assets are located within DGO's existing West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee footprint and further increase its operating scale and efficiencies.
"DGO is uniquely positioned to capitalise on compelling opportunities in the current market and moved quickly to secure exclusivity on this value accretive package. We can comfortably fund the acquisition without dilution to our loyal shareholders using our existing credit facility. This proposed complementary acquisition, if completed, remains consistent with our commitment to pursue prudent growth that enhances our dividend per share to shareholders," Rusty Hutson, DGO CEO.
DGO is advised by Mirabaud Securities, Stifel, Cenkos Securities, and Buchanan.
Turning Point Brands, a US provider of other tobacco products and adult consumer alternatives, agreed to merge with Standard Diversified, which engages in the other tobacco products and outdoor advertising activities in the US, in a $178m deal.
Under the terms of the agreement, the holders of SDI’s Class A Common Stock and SDI’s Class B Common Stock will receive in the aggregate, in return for their SDI Common Stock, TPB Voting Common Stock at a ratio of 0.97 of a share of TPB Common Stock for each share of TPB Common Stock held by SDI.
Standard Diversified is advised by The Equity Group. TPB is advised by Duff & Phelps and Houlihan Lokey.
Bregal Sagemount, a growth-focused private capital firm, completed a $120m investment in Accellion, a private cloud solutions company focused on secure file sharing and collaboration.
“Companies are increasingly required to choose between security and functionality when it comes to email encryption, secure file transfer, secure collaboration, MFT, and other communications with the outside world. The unique Accellion content firewall platform provides the best of both worlds. Accellion’s market positioning has allowed it to build a unique suite of technology solutions to help companies maintain high levels of security across a rapidly evolving landscape,” Michael Kosty, Bregal Sagemount Founder and Partner.
Accellion was advised by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Bregal Sagemount was advised by Goodwin Procter.
Judge Leonard Stark of the US District Court in Delaware ruled that travel technology firm Sabre may purchase Farelogix after the Justice Department sued to stop the planned $360m acquisition, Reuters reported. Sabre said it welcomed the decision and was waiting to hear from a British antitrust enforcer this week.
“This federal court ruling supports our view that the Sabre-Farelogix acquisition is not anti-competitive. We appreciate the consideration the court gave to these important issues,” Kristin Hays, Sabre spokeswoman.
Sabre is advised by Hogan Lovells.
Levine Leichtman-backed Therapeutic Research Center, a provider of original, independent, and clinically referenced recommendations and education on drug therapy and medication management for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, completed the acquisition of CriticalPoint, a provider of training programs and educational offerings, and Clinical IQ, a provider of consulting services in the areas of compounding. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to add CriticalPoint and Clinical IQ to our industry-leading education platform, further supporting our market-leading position. The acquisition bolsters TRC's domain expertise in the area of sterile compounding and furthers our mission of empowering clinicians to improve patient care," Wes Crews, TRC CEO.
LLCP was advised by Kekst CNC.
StatLab Medical Products, a developer and manufacturer of diagnostic supplies for the anatomic pathology laboratory industry, completed the acquisition of BBC Biochemical, an anatomic pathology analysis service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have worked hard to provide high-quality products and excellent service to each laboratory and partner we work with. This partnership with StatLab brings even greater product access, faster delivery, and product support to our customers,” Adrian Biesecker, BBC Biochemical President.
StatLab was advised by Ropes & Gray.
Marlin Equity Partners completed the acquisition of AVI-SPL, a digital workplace services provider that works with organizations globally to improve team collaboration and unlock new business value, from HIG Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The digital workplace services industry has an incredible amount of untapped potential. The combined company significantly benefits from deeper resources and enhanced local presence that will fuel communication and collaboration, while offering a world-class experience for remote working, distance learning, meeting rooms, and more. We look forward to bringing together two highly synergistic industry leaders to help them fully reach their potential and accelerate the combined company’s growth,” Alex Beregovsky, Marlin Managing Director.
AVI-SPL was advised by William Blair & Co.
Utah-based SaaS startup Podium closed a $125m Series C round led by Y Combinator’s Continuity fund, with participation from Sapphire Ventures, Alkeon and Recruit. Prior investors IVP, GV, Summit, and Accel also took part in the funding event.
The new capital values Podium at around $1.5bn, and brings the company’s known capital raised to just under $218m.
Arlington-backed AEgis Technologies, a provider of advanced engineering solutions across the space superiority, directed energy, missile defense, EW & cyber, C4ISR, and intelligence markets, completed the acquisition of Excivity, which creates and deploys mission-enabling technologies, including specialized security applications and situational awareness toolsets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Excivity has earned the trust of its customers by developing innovative solutions across the realms of cybersecurity and secure communications. The acquisition adds complementary technologies, deep industry relationships, and a highly technical employee base to the AEgis platform. We will continue to pursue strategic acquisitions that add cutting-edge capabilities in our target mission areas," Henry Albers, Arlington Vice President.
Activant Capital doubles in size with new $257m fund. (FS)
Activant Capital announced a new $257m fund to invest in commerce infrastructure technology. The new fund will bring Activant’s total funds under management to over $500m.
"We’re not in a rush to exit. We can be patient, and we can continue to invest post-IPO. We appreciate the strong support of the current and new investors and are excited to partner with the next batch of transformative technology companies," Steve Sarracino, Activant Founder.
Activant Capital was advised by Rede Partners and Latham & Watkins.
EMEA
EQT Partners, a private equity firm, is set to acquire Schulke & Mayr, a manufacturer of medical equipment, from Air Liquide, a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to final agreement and regulatory approval.
“Schulke is really busy working night and day to deliver its important products to the market...our strategy was to deliver something concrete and rapid. EQT is using a higher proportion of equity than we would have one quarter ago. In this marketplace you’re not looking to maximise leverage because that would be extremely expensive,” Christian Sinding, EQT CEO.
EQT is advised by Goldman Sachs, Deloitte and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
The UK’s merger watchdog said Circle Health Holdings must address competition concerns following its purchase of private hospitals - even though that capacity is currently under government control.
Circle Health’s acquisition of BMI Healthcare would hurt competition in two British cities, the Competition and Markets Authority said. The deal will be referred to an in-depth probe unless the parties offer remedies.
“We recognize that this is a difficult time, with private hospitals having effectively put their entire hospital capacity temporarily under the control of the NHS to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak. It remains important that we protect competition between private healthcare providers and the benefits it can bring to patients,” Joel Bamford, CMA director.
BMI Healthcare was advised by Rothschild & Co. Circle Health was advised by Barclays.
Callista Private Equity, a private equity firm, is set to acquire engineering technologies marketing, a manufacturer of automobile parts, from BOS, an automotive supplier group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Callista intends to continue the strategic repositioning of etm and to expand the company's customer base. In the future, etm will also benefit from the extensive economies of scale and process expertise in connection with Callista's existing portfolio.
BOS was advised by IMAP.
Blackstone raises $10.7bn for European real estate fund. (FS)
Blackstone finished raising a $10.7bn fund which will target European real estate. The fund swells the firm’s uninvested capital for opportunistic property bets to about $30bn just as the coronavirus outbreak roils markets worldwide. It is also the largest private equity capital raising to complete since the pandemic’s outbreak, Bloomberg reported.
“Despite the uncertain economic environment, the significant demand we have seen from around the world is testament to the continued confidence our investors have in our ability to deploy strategic long-term capital to assets and businesses across Europe,” James Seppala, Blackstone Real Estate Europe Head.
Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe VI made its first investment toward the end of last year when it purchased Dream Global Real Estate Investment Trust. The $4.4bn deal was completed in December and added European office and industrial assets to Blackstone’s property portfolio, currently the world’s largest.
TVS Motor might target Norton Motorcycles.
India’s TVS Motor is among prospective bidders considering making an offer for Norton Motorcycles of the UK, Bloomberg reported. TVS approached Norton’s administrators about a potential deal. The British firm is being overseen by BDO.
Norton, which made its first motorcycle in the 1902, changed hands multiple times over the years. Its most recent owner was entrepreneur Stuart Garner, who tried to revive the brand with modern versions of its Commando and Dominator models.
UK regulator relaxes standards for firms raising capital. (FS)
The UK financial markets regulator is easing requirements on companies to help them raise capital as the coronavirus pandemic undermines the global economy. UK issuers will be allowed to disclose their worst-case assumptions about the fallout on their business, without having to say they face challenges to working capital, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.
The FCA move, which breaks with standards set by other European Union regulators, is a key change to rules for issuers, and the regulator said that without acting a significant number of companies would probably need to say they do not have sufficient capital to last a year.
Asos plans to seek over $250m in share sale. (FS)
Asos, the UK online fashion retailer, is planning to seek more than $250m in a share sale to shore up its finances, Bloomberg reported. The London-listed company is close to finalizing a potential equity issuance. Asos, which has a market value of about $1.6bn, is also working to extend its debt facilities.
“Whilst the company’s financial position remains robust, the duration and impact of the Covid-19 related crisis remains uncertain. Asos wants to ensure it can weather and exit the current trading environment in a position of strength,” Asos.
Saudi wealth fund builds $200m stake in Equinor. (FS)
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund built a stake worth about $200m in Equinor as the kingdom navigates the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and plummeting crude prices.
The Public Investment Fund amassed its holding in Norway’s largest crude producer mostly through the open market some time last week. It’s not clear exactly when PIF bought the holding and if the fund is still buying shares.
Crescent Capital Group closes second European speciality lending fund at c. €1.6bn. (FS)
Crescent Capital Group, an alternative credit investment firm, announced the final closing of its second European speciality lending fund with total limited partner equity commitments of c. €1.6bn ($1.7bn).
The fund has both levered and unlevered sleeves. CESL II was meaningfully oversubscribed, exceeding its initial target of €1bn ($1.1bn) as well as its initial hard cap. This fundraise represents a significant increase from its predecessor fund, which announced its final close in December 2015 at €500m ($540m) of LP capital commitments.
APAC
Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets completed the acquisition of an 88% stake in AirTrunk, a hyperscale data centre platform for large cloud, content and enterprise customers across APAC, from Goldman Sachs, Sixth Street Partners and founder, Robin Khuda, for $1.8bn.
"The global data centre industry has grown significantly in recent years, driven by an exponential increase in data consumption, increasing cloud applications and the shift from internal IT infrastructure to outsourced resources. In the Asia-Pacific, this thematic is amplified by the region's emerging economies and growing populations, leading to increasing data usage and a greater need for in-country computing workloads and storage," Frank Kwok, MIRA Head of Asia-Pacific.
AirTrunk was advised by DLA Piper, Goldman Sachs, Grant Samuel, Hogan Lovells, KPMG, Norton Rose Fulbright, PwC and Hill+Knowlton Strategies. MIRA was advised by Baker McKenzie, King & Wood Mallesons, KPMG and Macquarie Capital. Debt financing was provided by Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank was advised by Gilbert + Tobin.
The CMA referred FNZ Group's acquisition of GBST, which provides custom technology solutions for the financial service sector, for an in-depth investigation on April 8, 2020.
GBST was advised by Allens. FNZ was advised by Herbert Smith Freehills.
Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, the sole owner of Malaysia Airlines, is sceptical about a $2.5bn proposal by privately held Golden Skies Ventures to acquire the national carrier, Reuters reported.
Khazanah Managing director Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan is skeptical of the proposal as Golden Skies had not been able to prove its source of funding, despite the latter claiming to have financial support from a European bank. Shahril said the sovereign wealth fund would be “cautious” on whether the offer was made with financial backing, given the global airline crisis and credit risk aversion.
Khazanah is advised by Morgan Stanley.
Private equity firms Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital and DST Global, are set to invest $150m in online grocery delivery startup Kurly.
The Series E financing round values the startup, which operates online premium grocery service Market Kurly, at around $780m. The three investors had participated in Kurly’s $109m Series D a year ago.
Yum China, the largest restaurant company in China, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Huang Ji Huang, a Chinese-style casual dining franchise business. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Following the acquisition, Yum China will establish a Chinese Dining Business Unit comprising three core Chinese dining brands, Little Sheep, East Dawning, and Huang Ji Huang. The company aims to gain a stronger foothold and enhanced know-how in the Chinese dining space, which represents a significant share of the dining market in China. With Yum China's scale and system capabilities, and Huang Ji Huang's track record and capabilities of product R&D, franchisee management, and Chinese dining know-how, the acquisition is expected to create synergies.
Citi replaces Credit Suisse in WeDoctor's $1bn Hong Kong IPO.
Citigroup picked up a senior role on WeDoctor's IPO in Hong Kong that could be worth up to $1bn after Credit Suisse was dropped from the deal, Reuters reported.
The deal, slated to occur later this year dependent on financial market conditions, will be led by China Merchants Bank International, Citigroup and JP Morgan and could value the Chinese online health platform at up to $10bn.
Temasek’s selling spree raises $779m. (FS)
Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings has been selling stakes in companies from its portfolio recently, raising a total of $779m in the past two weeks.
Temasek fetched $186m through the sale of shares in Thailand’s Intouch Holdings, while last week it raised $507m from two block trades in South Korea’s Celltrion and its distribution affiliate Celltrion Healthcare.
Other firms in Asia have also sought to take advantage of a market rebound to sell stock after the coronavirus pandemic sent many of the world’s equity indexes into bear markets. While deals fell off a cliff as issuers and sellers stayed on the sidelines during the rout, they have recently picked up: block trades raised $2bn in the week of March 30, the most this year. Companies have also been tapping the market for funding by selling additional shares.
Singapore’s SPH puts investments on hold amid coronavirus crisis. (FS, RE)
Singapore Press Holdings put investments on hold as it seeks to conserve cash that will sustain its business amid the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“With the uncertainty over the depth and duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, we will need to adopt a prudent approach in managing our cashflows and our investment activities,” Ng Yat Chung, SPH CEO.
As part of the move, SPH recently terminated its agreement to acquire a portfolio of six senior housing properties in Canada for about $174m, which was first announced in February.
QingCloud eyes $168m STAR Market IPO. (FS)
Chinese enterprise-level cloud computing products and solutions developer QingCloud is targeting to raise nearly $168m in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq-style STAR Market, DealStreetAsia reported.
Beijing-based QingCloud, which plans to offer no more than 12m shares, is the latest Chinese cloud service company to move towards an IPO on the startup board, following its homegrown peer UCloud Technology. UCloud floated an IPO of about $275m in January 2020 as the first listed firm with a dual-class share structure on the mainland stock market.
Nomura hires StanChart’s Sarab Bhutani as SE Asia investment bank head. (People)
Nomura hired Sarab Bhutani from Standard Chartered as head of its southeast Asian investment banking business. Mr. Bhutani joins Nomura after spending more than a decade at Standard Chartered, where he held several roles including global head of general industries and regional head of financial sponsors.
CDH Investments closes mezzanine fund at $1.13bn. (FS)
Chinese alternative asset management major CDH Investments announced the final close of its fifth mezzanine fund at over $1.13bn, which has more than doubled the $495m predecessor fund.
Ninja Van sells $124m of Series D shares. (FS)
Singapore-based last-mile logistics player Ninja Van raised at least $124m of new Series D equity capital since April 2019 that includes a substantial investment from the Brunei sovereign wealth fund, DealStreetAsia reported.
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