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AMERICAS
A small shareholder has come out against Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers's acquisition of IAA, opposing a merger that’s received support by the activist Starboard Value, Bloomberg reported..
Jordan Moelis, managing partner of Deep Field Asset Management, said Ritchie paid an “extraordinary price” to get the backing of Starboard for the proposed deal and shareholders should reject it.
IAA is advised by JP Morgan, Blake Cassels & Graydon, Cooley (led by Ian A. Nussbaum and Jamie Leigh) and ICR (led by Farah Soi). JP Morgan is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (led by Caroline Gottschalk and Jakob Rendtorff). Ritchie is advised by Evercore, Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim Partners, RBC Capital Markets, Dorsey & Whitney (led by Michael R. Mills and Christopher L. Doerksen), Goodwin Procter (led by Stuart Cable, Lisa Haddad and Mark Opper), McCarthy Tetrault (led by David Frost and Shea T. Small), Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by Gregg Noel) and Joele Frank (led by Daniel Katcher and Joele Frank). Financial advisor is advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (led by Paul Tiger).
GIC, an investment firm, and Oak Street, a real estate investment firm, completed the acquisition of STORE Capital, an internally managed net-lease real estate investment trust, for $15bn.
“We are thrilled to complete the STORE Capital acquisition. As one of the largest M&A transactions in the US real estate market, it highlights GIC’s ability to execute at scale in areas we have high conviction in. With GIC’s long-term, committed capital and STORE’s demonstrated operational expertise, we will continue to prudently grow the company and drive strong returns for our portfolio,” Lee Kok Sun, GIC Chief Investment Officer.
Sealed Air, a provider of food packaging products, completed the acquisition of Liquibox, a producer of bag-in-box packaging and related filling equipment systems, from Olympus Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm, for $1.15bn.
"Today is an exciting day for SEE as we welcome the global team at Liquibox. This is a powerful combination, bringing together our people, cultures, solution portfolios and global footprints that will deliver more innovative and sustainable solutions to the customers and markets we serve. Finalizing this strategic acquisition is an important step in our journey to world-class status, fueling growth, expanding market penetration and driving earnings power for our SEE Operating Engine," Ted Doheny, SEE President and CEO.
Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm specializing in retail, consumer and distribution-related investments, completed the acquisition of the Canadian retail business of Lowe's, an American retail company specializing in home improvement, for $400m.
"We are excited to announce that RONA is once again an independent company headquartered in Boucherville, Quebec. We are honored that Lowe's has entrusted Sycamore Partners to lead RONA into its next chapter and build upon RONA's 84-year history serving communities across Canada. We look forward to working with RONA's 26,000 associates and over 200 dealer partners to meet the home improvement needs of Canadian families, builders, and contractors," Stefan Kaluzny, Sycamore Partners Managing Director.
"This additional investment in FirstEnergy Transmission demonstrates our commitment to building strong partnerships with premier infrastructure asset owners and operators, like FirstEnergy, that share our focus on long-term value creation. This is a very attractive opportunity that firmly aligns with BSIP's strategy of investing in high quality, resilient businesses that combine growth and defensive characteristics to generate stable cash flows across market cycles," Eduardo Salgado, Brookfield Managing Partner of Infrastructure.
Insurance services providers Westfield Insurance and Enstar Group, completed the acquisition of the Lloyd’s Syndicate 1200 business of Argo Group, a reinsurance services provider, for $125m.
“As part of our review of strategic alternatives, we are taking decisive actions to optimize our operations and business structure, better positioning the company for continued profitable growth and returns in the US as we strive to maximize value for shareholders. We believe Westfield and our Lloyd’s team members are well positioned for future growth and success, and we thank the Argo employees within those business units for their dedication to improving operational results in recent periods," Tom Bradley, Argo Chairman and CEO.
Leeds Equity Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of TalentNeuron, a software solutions provider from Gartner, a management consulting company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Business leaders face significant ongoing challenges with how to make informed human capital decisions and manage their global talent and skills strategies, all in the midst of substantial changes in the workplace. How companies work has and will continue to evolve, the supply and demand for talent is global, and enterprises understand the need to drive workplace diversity. TalentNeuron with its technology-enabled data platform and deep market insights serves as a critical partner to these business leaders and their talent analytics teams as they successfully execute on these mission critical initiatives," Jacques Galante, Leeds Equity Partner.
Leeds Equity Partners was advised by Alvarez & Marsal and Latham & Watkins. Gartner was advised by Evercore and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
Suncor Energy, an integrated energy company, completed the acquisition of a 21.3% stake in Fort Hills Energy, a sand mining company, from Teck Resources, a diversified natural resources company, for $1bn.
"This transaction advances our strategy of pursuing industry leading copper growth and rebalancing our portfolio of high-quality assets to low carbon metals," Jonathan Price, Teck Resources CEO.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice, a private investment firm, agreed to acquire Focus Financial Partners, a partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms, for $4.1bn.
CD&R has communicated that its latest non-binding offer of $53 per share represented its "best and final" offer and that it was submitted with the understanding that there would be no further price negotiations. CD&R has also proposed that the transaction would be subject to a non-waivable approval of a majority of the voting power of disinterested shareholders.
Focus is advised by Goldman Sachs and Jefferies & Company.
Essent Group, a holding company, agreed to acquire bank holding and financial services companies Agents National Title and Boston National Holdings from Finance of America Companies, a consumer lending company, for $100m.
“Title insurance is a natural complement to our MI business with relatively low and stable loss ratios historically. The acquisitions of Agents National Title and Boston National Title add a team of seasoned title professionals to Essent and provide a platform to leverage our capital position, lender network and operational expertise across an adjacent real estate sector as we continue to expand our franchise," Mark Casale, Essent Chairman and CEO.
SLB, a technology company, completed the acquisiiton of Gyrodata, a company specializing in gyroscopic wellbore positioning and survey technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The integration of Gyrodata’s innovative sensors and proprietary technologies within SLB’s drilling and logging suites will result in the most accurate and highly optimized well placement services in the industry. This will transform drilling technology designs while advancing SLB’s autonomous, self-steering capabilities. I am excited about welcoming the Gyrodata team into SLB’s Well Construction division," Jesus Lamas, SLB President.
Gyrodata was advised by Tudor Pickering Holt. SLB was advised by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (led by W. Robert Shearer).
American Pacific Group, a private equity firm, completed an investment in Media One Digital Imaging, a distributor of digital printing solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Media One is an innovator in the digital textile printing space and is led by an outstanding leadership team that is well-respected in the industry. We look forward to playing a strategic part of the next stage of Media One's growth story by supporting Jason and his team in executing against our shared goals for the company's future," Fraser Preston, APG Managing Partner.
Timken, an industrial manufacturer in engineered bearings and industrial motion products, completed the acquisition of American Roller Bearing, a manufacturer of industrial bearings. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"ARB's end-market mix, customer base and aftermarket position fit our Timken business model extremely well. We're proud to welcome ARB and its employees into The Timken Company," Richard G. Kyle, Timken President and CEO.
Marqeta, a global modern card issuing platform, completed the acquisition of Power Finance, a financial services company, for $275m.
“Companies like ours were made possible because of the path Marqeta blazed in modern card issuing, demonstrating the possibilities in payments with flexible and modern payment infrastructure. At Power, we built a full-stack, cloud-native credit card issuance platform, and by becoming a part of Marqeta we have the ability now to bring this innovation to a much larger market at global scale,” Randy Fernando, Power Finance Co-Founder and CEO.
Schwartz is top contender for Carlyle CEO. (FS, People)
Former Goldman Sachs President Harvey Schwartz is in talks with Carlyle Group to become the private equity firm's next CEO and has a emerged as a top contender for the job.
Carlyle board members and shareholders have discussed Schwartz's candidacy in recent weeks. His arrival at Carlyle would resolve a long-running succession challenge at the Washington-based firm.
EMEA
DigitalBridge, a provider of infrastructure solutions, and Brookfield, an alternative asset management company, completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in GD Towers, German and Austrian tower assets of Deutsche Telekom, a telecommunications company, for $8.93bn.
“The partnership being formed today is about building the next generation digital infrastructure champion of Europe. The combination of Deutsche Telekom’s leading mobile network and market position, alongside one of the largest real asset managers in the world in Brookfield, combined with the digital infrastructure domain expertise of DigitalBridge, creates a team of unmatched capabilities to support GD Towers as it grows to meet the evolving network demands of enterprises and consumers across Europe," Marc Ganzi, DigitalBridge CEO.
DigitalBridge was advised by Ernst & Young, Barclays (led by Scott Schaevitz and Ragavan Bala), Evercore, Perella Weinberg Partners, Allen & Overy, Dorda Rechtsanwalte (led by Andreas Mayr), Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Vinson & Elkins (led by James Fox) and Joele Frank (led by Jonathan Keehner). Brookfield was advised by JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley (led by Dominique Cahu), PricewaterhouseCoopers, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (led by Christian Sistermann) and Brunswick Group. Debt financing was provided by Ares Capital, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Intesa SanPaolo, MUFG Bank, Natixis Partners, Santander and UniCredit. Deutsche Telekom was advised by Goldman Sachs (led by Marco Prieto) and Gleiss Lutz (led by Adrian Bingel), Noerr (led by Baerbel Sachs), P+P Poellath + Partners and Schoenherr.
TeamSystem, an Italian tech company, agreed to acquire the MailUp, Contactlab and Acumbamail business units of Growens, a cloud marketing and messaging solutions provider, for €70m ($77m)..
"Thanks to the acquisition of MailUp, Contactlab and Acumbamail, we can strengthen our positioning in high-potential markets such as automated marketing and data economy, which we believe will grow at considerable rates in the coming years, in view of the continued spread of ecommerce. Furthermore, this operation follows integration of e-commerce solutions, B2B digital payments and CRM, thus positioning us as the ideal partner alongside around 1.7m business customers who will have the opportunity to significantly increase their competitiveness by digitizing their business and customer relations," Federico Leproux, TeamSystem CEO.
TeamSystem is advised by BCGL, Ernst & Young, JP Morgan, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Barabino & Partners. Growens is advised by Corporate Family Office Sim, Intermonte and iCorporate.
Migros, a retail company, completed the acquisition of the Swiss business of Zur Rose Group, a pharma wholesaling company, for $396m.
"With a clear focus on our B2C core business we will put patients and customers even more at the centre. In addition, this transaction will further strengthen our excellent position for the upcoming e-prescription rollout in Germany. At the same time, Migros is the ideal future owner for all our employees in Switzerland, under which Zur Rose can continue to develop successfully," Walter Hess, Zur Rose Group CEO.
KKR agreed to acquire a stake in TIM, an Italian telecommunications company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The offer matches with the fixed-line network management and infrastructure perimeter, including FiberCop's assets and activities, and a stake in Sparkle.
KKR is advised by Morgan Stanley.
An initial investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority has found that a merger between 2 dental providers would not harm the majority of patients in the United Kingdom, but action is needed to address specific competition concerns for those living in the South West and North East of England.
The CMA carried out a Phase 1 investigation into the anticipated purchase of Dentex Healthcare Group by Portman Healthcare, which is owned by Core Equity Holdings. The companies would together operate approximately 400 dental practices across the United Kingdom.
"Everyone should have access to dental treatment wherever they live in the UK. Competition between dental practices is crucial to ensure patients have access to good quality services at competitive prices. While in the majority of areas the deal will not harm patients, we are concerned that it could lead to less choice, lower quality and higher prices for patients in certain parts of the UK," Sorcha O’Carroll, CMA Senior Director.
Dentex is advised by Jefferies & Company.
The Knot Worldwide, a global authority in the wedding planning industry, completed the acquisition of Zankyou, a global wedding marketplace company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We’re thrilled to have Zankyou join The Knot Worldwide family of brands. We are extremely proud of the Zankyou team’s innovation and passion that helped build a strong global brand in weddings. We’ve closely admired what The Knot Worldwide has built throughout the years and are incredibly excited for the future of the combined business,” Guillermo Fernandez-Riba and Javier Calleja Arregui, Zankyou Co-Founders.
Italy will study KKR's $37bn Telecom Italia acquisition. (FS)
The government, a stakeholder of the beleaguered phone carrier, will "evaluate the offer when it has full information on it." The minister reiterated that the government's goal is public control of the network, Bloomberg reported.
CVC in talks to acquire Scan Global Logistics. (FS)
CVC Capital Partners is nearing a deal to acquire Danish transport company Scan Global Logistics, Bloomberg reported.
The private equity firm is working through the final details of an agreement with Scan Global's owner, AEA Investors.
Ferretti seeks approval for the Milan listing.
Italian luxury yachtmaker Ferretti is seeking Hong Kong regulatory approval for its planned Milan share sale, in what's set to be the first-ever dual listing between the two cities, Bloomberg reported.
Ferretti, which floated in Hong Kong last year, is expecting a decision from authorities in the Asian financial center in the next few weeks. It's considering listing in Milan as soon as the second quarter.
APAC
Bharti Airtel, a telecom operator, completed the merger of Nettle Infrastructure and Telesonic Networks, a end to end wire line network management and transformation provider, in a $2bn deal.
"Both Nettle and Telesonic stand dissolved and amalgamated with the Company w.e.f. February 01, 2023 and all assets, liabilities, contracts, deeds, bonds and other Instruments etc. of Nettle and Telesonic stand transferred to the company," Bharti.
Bharti Airtel was advised by AZB & Partners (led by Bharat Apte).
Sumitomo Electric Industries, a manufacturer of electric wire and optical fiber cables, agreed to acquire the remaining stake in Nissin Electric, an electrical equipment company, and Techno Associe, a manufacturer and seller of screws. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"By making Nissin Electric and TECHNO ASSOCIE its wholly-owned subsidiaries, the Company will further reinforce the Group's integrated power and will make efforts to further enhance the corporate value of the Group as a whole," Sumitomo.
Nissin Electric is advised by Morgan Stanley.
AXA Investment Managers, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of 33 rental apartments in Japan for $460m.
Spread across Tokyo, Greater Osaka, and Nagoya with close access to mass transit, the portfolio comprises high-quality residential buildings, predominantly one-bed apartments.
Thungela Resources, a pure-play producer and exporter of high quality, low-cost thermal coal in South Africa, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Ensham coal mine, an Australian mine, for $189m.
Thungela said a long-term incentive plan will also be put in place under which the shareholding could increase by a further 5% if certain milestones are achieved.
Morgan Stanley wins China fund control.
Morgan Stanley gained full control of its fund management joint venture in China, joining rival JPMorgan Chase. in buying out local partners to boost their presence in the nation's $3.86tn market, Bloomberg reported.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission gave approval to the US bank to boost its stake in the Shenzhen-based Morgan Stanley Huaxin Fund Management to 100%.
Navis hopes to acquire ISA TanTec. (FS)
Navis Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on Southeast Asia, is considering a sale of its controlling stake in leather and sustainable materials supplier ISA TanTec, Bloomberg reported.
A transaction could value the Macau-based business at about $300m to $400m. Other investment firms and industrial players could be interested in acquiring the company.
Petronas in advanced talks to acquire Wirsol Australian renewable energy assets.
Malaysia's Petronas is finalising its first acquisition of an Australian renewable energy business, set to pick up German firm Wirsol's solar farms and a large development pipeline. The sale price could be between $620m to $705m.
The potential deal comes as Petronas looks to build a renewables business through its company Gentari, formed last year, which aims to have 30GW - 40GW of renewable energy capacity, particularly in solar, by 2030. Wirsol, owned by Wircon put its Australian renewables business up for sale last year after scrapping plans to publicly list the business, Reuters reported.
Binance said it acquired a stake in GOPAX.
Binance Holdings acquired a majority stake in the troubled South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange GOPAX, returning the biggest digital-asset trading platform operator to a market that it exited two years ago.
The firm has taken a "meaningful" equity position in GOPAX, which halted withdrawals from certain products in November, Bloomberg reported.
Pertamina tightens IPO worth up to $611m.
Indonesia's Pertamina Geothermal Energy, a unit of state energy company Pertamina, has narrowed the price range for its initial public offering, Reuters reported.
The top end of the range of between $0.0584 and $0.0587 a piece values the IPO at up to $611m, the largest in Indonesia in almost a year after the $1.1bn listing of tech firm GoTo in April. The range is tighter than the $0.0547 to $0.063 range set out in a prospectus.
China's latest IPO reform is unlikely to flood markets with new issuance.
China's move this week to streamline stock market listing rules is unlikely to result in a flood of initial public offerings, bankers say, citing the prospect of state intervention on national security and other grounds that would result in delays.
Under the new system, China's stock exchanges will themselves vet IPOs with a focus on information disclosure. Currently, IPOs on China's blue-chip boards need clearance from the China Securities Regulatory Commission under an approval-based system - one that means long delays and IPO prices capped by the regulators, Reuters reported.
Oakley closes the fifth fund at €2.5bn. (FS)
Oakley Capital, a pan-European, mid-market private equity investor, announced the close of Oakley Capital V at its hard cap and exceeding its €2.5bn ($2.7bn) target.
Fund V hits hard cap, nearly doubling the size of its predecessor fund, with fund target raised in just over six months. Oakley welcomes 25 new institutional investors from across N America & EMEA. The strategy will pursue a continued focus on backing ambitious entrepreneurs and fast-growing, European businesses across core sectors of technology, consumer and education.
Dexus raising $300m for two property funds. (FS)
Australia-listed real estate group Dexus announced raising an aggregate of $300m for its two property funds — Dexus Real Estate Partnership 1 and Dexus Healthcare Property Fund, DealStreetAsia reported.
DREP1 is a close-ended fund seeded by Dexus with three assets: a Melbourne office development, an industrial project in Sydney, and a construction loan.
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