Daily Review

Paine Schwartz Partners, a private equity firm specializing in sustainable food chain investing, agreed to acquire stake in Hendrix Genetics, a multi-species animal genetics and technology company, from NPM Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"This strategic investment in Hendrix Genetics is directly aligned with our long-term thesis of identifying companies that sustainably increase productivity in the production of agriculture commodities, which is required to feed an ever-growing global population. We are pleased to be joined in this investment by co-investors who also recognize the significant value creation opportunity ahead for Hendrix Genetics and its data and technology-enabled breeding programs. We look forward to working in partnership with Thijs and Antoon to support Jolanda and the entire Hendrix Genetics team to drive the company's next phase of growth," Kevin Schwartz, Paine Schwartz CEO.

Hendrix Genetics is advised by Rothschild & Co and Loyens & Loeff. Paine Schwartz is advised by De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Kirkland & Ellis and Joele Frank.

Advent International and Centerbridge Partners to acquire Aareal Bank for $1.9bn. (FS)

Advent International, a private equity firm, and Centerbridge Partners, a multi-strategy private investment firm, agreed to acquire Aareal Bank, a company which specialises in real-estate lending, for $1.9bn.

“The great interest shown by Advent and Centerbridge and the intended offer by the Bidder are clear evidence of the attractiveness and sustainability of our business model. We have considerable growth potential in all three segments. In our discussions we have come to the conviction that we can tap this potential even better together, through heavy investments as well as through our combined expertise and our market access. The announced offer is therefore in the best interests of our company and its stakeholders," Jochen Kloesges, Aareal CEO.

Aareal Bank is advised by Deutsche Bank, Perella Weinberg Partners, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Latham & Watkins.

 

Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, agreed to acquire Caldic, a global premium provider of value-added life sciences and specialty chemicals solutions, from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, an investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Caldic has a well-established market position and very attractive growth opportunities. Its strengths lie in its global network combined with local expertise, giving the flexibility to meet customer-specific requirements. Combining this business with GTM, the leader in chemicals in the Latin-American market, will create a truly global industry leader," Patrice Etlin, Advent International Managing Partner.

Caldic is advised by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Advent is advised by Citigroup.

 

Altus Capital Partners-backed MGC Diagnostics, a global medical technology company dedicated to cardiorespiratory health solutions, agreed to acquire Lemon Medical, a medical technology company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"MGC Diagnostics is excited to further strengthen its in-house manufacturing capabilities, product offering, and European presence through this acquisition of Lemon. We are thrilled about the opportunities this partnership will provide," Greg Greenberg, Altus Capital Partners Co-Founder and Senior Partner.

Altus Capital is advised by Marketcom PR.

 

Credera, a global, boutique consulting firm focused on strategy, transformation, data, and technology, completed the acquisition of BrightGen, a software company in Witham, England. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We remain committed to prioritizing investment in organizations that create remarkable customer experiences with meaningful outcomes for our diverse client base, and we have tremendous confidence that BrightGen's depth of expertise will better enable us to do just that. We saw in BrightGen a clear strategic fit, as well as a strong cultural alignment with shared values for excellence and integrity," Justin Bell, Credera President and CEO.

 

Karo Pharma, a company that provides a portfolio of everyday healthcare products and services that help prevent illness and treat health problems, agreed to acquire Sylphar, a Belgium-based company developing and marketing OTC products worldwide, from Vendis Capital, a private equity firm, for $326m.

"Sylphar is highly complementary to Karo with an excellent fit to our strategy and vision. The acquisition brings fast growing consumer oriented brands and cutting edge team excelling in e-commerce and digital marketing. We are impressed by Sylphar's development, market positions and strong leadership team. The combination is a real win-win where we jointly will benefit from the strengths of the respective companies," Christoffer Lorenzen, Karo Pharma CEO.

 

Marks & Spencer, a major British multinational retailer, completed the acquisition of a 25% stake in Nobody's Child, an eco-conscious fashion brand for women. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"From the outset, Nobody’s Child was popular on M&S.com and it continues to drive traffic as the most visited guest brand," Steve Rowe, Marks & Spencer CEO.

 

Netflix, an American subscription streaming service and production company, agreed to acquire Scanline VFX, a globally active German visual effects and animation company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Netflix will invest in Scanline's pipeline, infrastructure and workforce and continue to support the pioneering work that Scanline's Eyeline Studios is doing in virtual production to push the boundaries of what is visibly possible," Netflix.

 

Getir, a Turkish 10min-delivery-app, agreed to acquire Weezy, a 15min delivery services of supermarket fare provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

“Teaming up with Weezy, which has quickly established itself across the UK, is an exciting opportunity and one that complements our people-first belief and business approach,” Turancan Salur, Getir General Manager.

 

Dutch financial services company Intertrust said on it had received multiple takeover offers, following its earlier announcement of discussions with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, Reuters reported.

Intertrust, which did not name the interested parties, or provide a number thereof, said that each of them had submitted a conditional and non-binding proposal to buy all its issued and outstanding shares at offer prices ranging up to $24 per share.

Last week, the company, which offers administrative, fund and private wealth services in more than 30 jurisdictions worldwide, entered into exclusive talks over a potential $1.83bn takeover by CVC Capital Partners, which offered $20 per outstanding Intertrust share.

 

Orange, a French telecoms operator, agreed to acquire a 75% stake in VOO, a telecoms operator that owns the cable network in the Walloon region and part of the Brussels region, for $1.5bn.

After 25 years of Orange's presence in Belgium, the acquisition of VOO will enable Orange Belgium to operate a very high-speed network in Wallonia and part of Brussels, thereby reinforcing the deployment of its convergent strategy at a national level.

 

Vivendi has no plans to sell its stake in Telecom Italia, said the French group, reiterating it was a long-term investor in Italy's biggest phone group and wanted to work with all stakeholders for its success, Reuters reported.

The comments came after US fund KKR made a non-binding proposal for the former phone monopoly at an indicative price of $0.56 a share, which Vivendi said did not adequately reflect Telecom Italia's value.

 

Premier Miton Group has approached River and Mercantile Group, its fellow London-listed asset manager, about a merger that would be the latest consolidation play in an increasingly deal-hungry industry, SkyNews reported.

Premier Miton, which had nearly $18.7bn under management at the end of September, has moved to swoop on the rump of R&M following confirmation last month that it had agreed the sale of one of its two divisions to shareholders for $308m.
 

OX2, a wind and solar firm, acquired the rights to two solar energy projects in Skåne, Sweden, from Helios Nordic Energy, a renewable energy development company. Once in operation the projects are estimated to have a capacity of 45MW. The acquisition is part of OX2's increased focus on solar energy.

According to the agreement the parties will jointly develop the project until the necessary permits are obtained, then OX2 will later be responsible for construction and operation. The projects are estimated to have a capacity of 45MW and will be part of OX2's early stage project development portfolio.

 

Spain's cabinet is poised to approve a one-year extension to restrictions on foreign takeovers of Spanish companies deemed to be of strategic importance, Reuters reported.

As part of the measures to protect the economy in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, government approval is required for the acquisition of more than 10% of a company deemed strategic, as was the case with Australian fund IFM's takeover bid for Naturgy.

 

Bulb's prospective special administrator is expected to hire Lazard within days to oversee an auction of the UK's seventh-biggest energy supplier.

One energy supplier anticipated "significant" interest in acquiring Bulb once it has been unshackled from hundreds of millions of pounds of financial liabilities.
 

Exeger, a solar technology firm backed by SoftBank Group, hired accountants to explore an initial public offering in either its home market of Sweden or the US, Bloomberg reported.

“PwC is helping us to do the IPO readiness. When that is done, we will make an assessment together with a suitable investment bank,” Giovanni Fili, Exeger CEO.
 

The Paris-based private equity firm Ardian has begun internal preparations for a possible initial public offering, following recent successful listings by other alternative investment firms in Europe, Bloomberg reported.

Ardian is speaking with potential advisers as it weighs the timeline for an IPO. Yet, deliberations are in the early stages and there’s no certainty that Ardian will decide to proceed with plans for an IPO.

 

 

EU antitrust regulators have resumed their investigation into Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings bid for rival Daewoo Shipbuilding after a temporary halt of more than a year, setting a January 20 deadline for their decision on the deal, Reuters reported.

The European Commission, which paused its probe in July last year while waiting for the companies to provide requested data, had previously expressed concerns that the deal could inflate prices and reduce competition in cargo shipbuilding.

Team Global led a $100m Series A round in AutoFlight, a global electric vertical take-off and landing startup.

The capital from the financing will be used for international expansion as well as scaling cargo eVTOL production for customers.

 

General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, Tiger Global, an investment firm, and Moore, a venture capital firm, led a $210m Series E funding round in NoBroker, a real estate buying and renting platform.

“We have raised $210m fund from investors for our expansion plan. The latest round of funding will help us further build our technology prowess and further invest in our home services and financial services," Akhil Gupta, NoBroker Co-founder.

 

Warburg Pincus is exploring a potential acquisition of business services provider Vistra Group amid increasing investor appetite in the industry, Bloomberg reported.

The buyout firm is in talks with Vistra’s owner, Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia, about a potential transaction. A sale could value closely held Vistra at about $4bn to $5bn.