EMEA
EU antitrust regulators want to know whether the €43bn ($48bn) takeover of Innogy, an energy company based in Essen, by E.ON, a European electric services company, will hurt competition and drive prices up. The European Commission, which is examining the deal, recently sent out lengthy questionnaires with more than 200 questions to competitors and customers of E.ON and Innogy. The deal has triggered criticism from numerous municipalities and small energy providers.
The questionnaire looked into the impact of the deal on electric vehicle charging stations and if E.ON and Innogy have a competitive advantage. The preliminary review of the deal ends on March 7.
E.ON was advised by BNP, PWP and Linklaters. RWE, the previous owner of Innogy, was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Rothschild and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Coca-Cola HBC, the world's third-largest Coca-Cola anchor bottler in terms of volume, acquired Bambi, a leading regional confectionery business in Serbia, from Mid Europa Partners for €260m ($293m). The acquisition adds market-leading iconic brands in a relevant, adjacent category to the Coca-Cola HBC portfolio in Serbia and in the Western Balkans. The Bambi business also brings a strong distribution network and product portfolio in strategically important channels such as traditional retail and HoReCa.
Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC, commented: "This acquisition represents an excellent opportunity to create additional value for Coca-Cola HBC, its customers and shareholders. It adds iconic, complementary consumer brands to our portfolio of leading beverage brands, as well as consumer-focused innovation capabilities. It further strengthens our relevance with customers and allows us to increase our presence in key consumption occasions, such as the start of the day, on the go and at home snacking and refreshment."
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, White & Case, Dechert and KPMG advised Mid Europa Partners. BDK Advokati, Teneo and V+O Communications advised Coca-Cola HBC.
Innova Capital sold Neomedic, a leading neonatology and obstetrics hospital group in southern Poland, to Medicover, a leading international healthcare and diagnostic services company, for €70m ($79m). Innova Capital invested in Neomedic in Oct. 2012 by taking over nearly 70% of its shares.
“The management of Neomedic is delighted that the Medicover Group will become the new owner of the Company. Medicover is present in Poland for many years and we value highly its experience in the healthcare sector, especially as the operator of the largest private hospital in Poland – the Medicover Hospital in Wilanów. We see a lot of benefits in exchanging know-how and working together to further expand the gynecology and obstetrics practices. We are looking forward to continuing our mission of growing the Company with their support. Our plans focus on strengthening of our offer in Kraków and the Małopolska region and we will also be looking for opportunities in other locations,” said Tomasz Wiśniewski, CEO of Neomedic.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering entered exclusive negotiations to acquire Thermocoax for €158m. (FS)
Spirax-Sarco Engineering, the world leader in the control and efficient use of steam, electrical thermal energy solutions and peristaltic pumping and associated fluid path technologies, announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with a view to acquiring Thermocoax Developpement and all of its group companies from Chequers Capital, TCR Capital and other minority shareholders for €158m ($178m). Thermocoax is a leading designer and manufacturer of highly engineered electrical thermal solutions for critical applications in high added value industries.
Nicholas Anderson, Group Chief Executive of Spirax-Sarco Engineering, said:
"We look forward to welcoming Thermocoax, its management and employees into the Spirax Sarco family. The combination of Thermocoax and Chromalox will significantly strengthen our electrical thermal energy solutions presence in Europe while expanding our technology and product offering worldwide. We believe that the global Spirax Sarco footprint will allow both businesses to expand more rapidly into new geographic areas providing sustainable value creation for customers and shareholders."
Rothschild is advising Spirax-Sarco.
JAB Holdings looking to hire a new managing partner. (FS)
JAB Holdings, the investment group whose portfolio includes Pret A Manger and Keurig Dr. Pepper, is looking to recruit a new managing partner to replace Bart Brecht, who recently left the group after a disagreement over strategy.
Peter Harf, JAB chairman, told the Financial Times that the 29-person investment group and its portfolio companies were stocked with “young talent” who could be promoted if they showed the right combination of skills and ambition.
“We need someone who is incredibly honest, humble, and of course who has a stellar track record,” said Mr. Harf in an interview. “I have options in mind.”
Norwegian Air to sell new shares at a discount.
Norwegian Air, a Norwegian low-cost airline and Norway's largest airline, said it would sell new shares at just a third of the current market price since the loss-making company seeks to raise money from its owners in the next few weeks. The firm plans to raise $348m to bolster its finances.
In the rights issue, Norwegian’s shareholders will get two subscription rights to buy shares for every share they currently own, and new shares will be sold at NOK33 ($3.8) each, compared with Friday’s closing price of NOK97 ($11.2).
Saudi-based Saad Group filed for bankruptcy.
Saad Group, a Saudi bank owned by billionaire Maan al-Sanea, filed for bankruptcy under a new Saudi law. The company defaulted in 2009, leaving its creditors with an unpaid debt of about $10-16bn. The creditors have been pursuing the group for repayment for the past decade. The new bankruptcy law, which came into effect last August, is part of the Saudi government’s efforts to make the Arab world’s largest economy more attractive to investors.
Orchard Corporate Strategy is advising Saad Group in the debt restructuring process. EY is advising the creditors.
Citigroup to buy Canary Wharf headquarters. (FS)
Citigroup is in talks to buy the 25 Canada Square office tower which it occupies in London’s Canary Wharf, as part of the bank’s goal of taking direct control of its most important properties. The bank offered AGC Equity Partners, the building’s current owner, to acquire the asset for £1.2bn ($1.5bn). Citi hopes to strike the deal in the next few weeks.
If the transaction goes through, Citigroup would relocate the staff it has operating in the neighboring 33 Canada Square when the lease expires and move them into number 25.
SoftBank backs Mubadala’s $400m European tech fund. (FS)
Japan’s SoftBank made a significant investment in Mubadala’s $400m tech fund that aims to back European start-ups. Mubadala, which is a big investor in SoftBank‘s Vision Fund, will use the fund to invest between $5m and $30m in European start-ups. The European venture fund, which has already made a few undisclosed investments, will be run from a new office in London.
iwoca raised £150m in financing. (FS)
iwoca, one of Europe’s fastest growing small business lenders, has raised an additional £150m ($193m) in equity and debt capital. The investment brings iwoca’s total funding to £350m ($450m). iwoca’s most recent fundraising included a Series D equity round led by Augmentum Fintech, the specialist fintech venture capital investor. NIBC Bank and other existing investors, including Prime Ventures, also participated.
Christoph Rieche, co-founder and CEO of iwoca, said: “iwoca continues to grow rapidly while bank lending to small companies has dwindled. We are on track to fund 100k small businesses in the next five years and our mission is to help one million small businesses succeed by opening up access to finance.”
Fire to boost assets in preparation for IPO. (FS)
Italian bad loan investor Fire is seeking to add €1bn ($1.1bn) worth of assets to its portfolio in preparation for a future market listing. The company currently holds €9bn ($9.9bn) worth of assets under management.
Fire CEO, Claudio Manetti, said that the company would look to boost assets through an acquisition of a debt collection unit of a small Italian bank. Fire previously a takeover of rival debt collector CAF, which would’ve been supported by TPG Capital. The deal fell through when CAF was bought by Sweden’s Intrum Justitia.
AMERICAS
Pearson, a British multinational publishing and education company, sold its US K12 Courseware business, which provides textbooks and instructional resources to help teachers and students at every stage of K12 learning in the United States, to Nexus Capital Management for $250m. Total proceeds comprise an initial cash payment of $25m and an unconditional vendor note for $225m expected to be repaid in three to seven years.
John Fallon, Pearson's chief executive, said: "School publishing in America has been an important part of Pearson for many years, and what it does matters to teachers and students across the country. We're pleased to have found new owners who are committed to its future, and we wish it every success. The sale frees us up to focus on the digital-first strategy that will drive our future growth. Through our assessment, virtual school, advanced placement and career and technical education programmes, we will still serve schools across America and we will now be better placed to focus on the areas in which we can best help their students to be successful in their studies and future careers."
Barclays, Citigroup and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius advised Pearson. Kirkland & Ellis advised Nexus Capital Management.
John Schnatter, the founder of pizza restaurant franchise Papa John's, said that he welcomes hedge fund Starboard Value’s investment in the restaurant chain, even as he filed an updated lawsuit against the company. Papa John’s this month unveiled Starboard’s investment of up to $250m and named the fund’s chief executive, Jeff Smith, as its chairman. Mr. Schnatter's influence over the company has been diluted by the investment, which increased the number of board members from six to nine.
“Mr. Schnatter welcomes the comments that have come from Mr. Smith and the company in the past few days,” Schnatter’s attorney Garland Kelley said in a statement. “Today’s amended lawsuit reflects support for Mr. Smith and his plans to invigorate the company for the benefit of all shareholders.”
In his amended lawsuit filed under seal in the Delaware Court of Chancery, Mr. Schnatter aims to undo a new provision of a voting agreement between Papa John’s and Starboard that requires the hedge fund vote its company shares in favor of Papa John’s preferred directors.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Lazard, Hogan Lovells and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld advised Papa John's.
LDC-backed Lucid Group, a global family of healthcare communications agencies, acquired Bluedog, a digital consultancy business. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Dennis O’Brien, Lucid CEO commented: “This is a perfect match and builds on Lucid’s leadership position in medical communications. We have developed a reputation for excellent content and scientific storytelling. The capability that Bluedog bring is a key piece of the jigsaw. Bluedog’s talent and capability will be instrumental in enhancing our audience reach and engagement, helping transform lives. This helps us deliver our mission of improving patients’ lives through communication.”
Tiger Global sold its 2.5% stake in Barclays. (FS)
Hedge fund Tiger Global sold its entire stake in Britain’s Barclays, a multinational investment bank and financial services company. The hedge fund, which had a stake of about 2.5% in the bank, began reducing its holding last summer before selling the entire stake. The holding was acquired in November 2017 for a price of $1bn.
Future Ventures launched a $200m VC fund. (FS)
Future Ventures launched an oversubscribed fund of $200m to invest in frontier technologies across diverse industries including machine intelligence, sustainable mobility, the future of food, computational biology, high-performance computing, aerospace, and more.
“Identifying and supporting the leading new entrepreneurs in world-changing fields is my core focus at Future Ventures. We’re interested in ideas, technologies, and products that will be transformative for generations to come, not just in our lifetime,” said Steve Jurvetson, Co-Founding Partner, Future Ventures. “Much venture capital today is put to work seeking quick wins. Yet we believe the greatest opportunities lie in the technologies that few can imagine and even fewer can bring to market. This work is fascinating, exhilarating, and all-consuming – it takes dedication, passion, creativity, and teamwork. Alongside Maryanna, I’m thrilled to be working at a startup again myself, putting in the energy that’s required to support the teams who build our collective future.”
APAC
Bain Capital acquired Xiamen Qinhhaui Technology, the data centers unit of Wangsu Science & Technology, a China-based company that provides content delivery network and Internet data center services, for $146m. Xiamen Qinhuai is a Malaysian subsidiary of Wangsu Science and Technology that operates nine data centers in China.
Wangsu, which owns 90% of the data center subsidiary, said it will implement the transaction through two steps, first buying the remaining 10% from Xiamen Qinhuai Technology chairman, then offloading to the Bain Capital unit.
Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, invested in PowerShare, a Chinese electric vehicle charging network. Financial terms were not disclosed.
François Dossa, Alliance Global Vice President, Ventures and Open Innovation, said: "PowerShare's expertise fits with the Alliance's objective to maintain our leadership in vehicle electrification. A solid infrastructure network must be established to accelerate the deployment of EV and new mobility services, and we expect PowerShare's technology to help make that happen. Additionally, PowerShare's base in China aligns with our strong focus on the market as a strategic hub."
Anacacia Capital sold RISsafety, which designs, manufactures and distributes a range of products for height safety and access needs, to Bricktop Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Jeremy Samuel, Managing Director of Anacacia Capital, said: “This is a great outcome for the RISsafety team – staying independent and focused on its clients and with the support of investors that know the sector well. We wish all the RISsafety team the very best for the future.”
HNA Group considers $1bn sale of its aircraft maintenance firm. (FS)
HNA Group, a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Haikou, is exploring a sale of its Swiss aircraft maintenance firm, SR Technics. The 80% stake which HNA holds could be worth between $700m and $1bn. No final decision has been made, and HNA could still decide to pursue other options for SR Technics or retain its ownership of the company.
HNA bought its controlling stake in the company from Mubadala Development, which still holds a 20% stake in SR Technics.
Khazanah to declare a $240m dividend payout.
Malaysia’s $39bn sovereign wealth fund Khazanah is set to declare more than $240m in dividend payout to the government for 2019, according to its CEO Shahril Ridza Ridzuan. The fund recently changed its strategy, deciding to increase cash deliveries to the government by shedding some of its non-core assets. Among the biggest divestments made by Khazanah last year was selling its 16% stake in Malaysia-based healthcare group IHH Healthcare to Japan’s Mitsui & Co for $2bn in cash.
Actis abandoned plans to acquire solar assets in India.
UK-based Actis scrapped its plan to buy the solar assets of debt-laden Essel Infraprojects, the infrastructure arm of the Essel group, a 90-year-old diversified conglomerate. The potential deal with Actis had an estimated value of $657m for 685 megawatts of installed and under-construction projects.
Essel is said to be in negotiations to sell the same assets to ACME Solar Holdings.
|
