AMERICAS
Apollo Global Management completed the acquisition of EmployBridge, the largest industrial staffing company in the United States. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"EmployBridge is a leading provider of specialized workforce solutions and uniquely positioned to support the increasing and complex demands of corporations across the supply chain. Looking forward, we see a significant opportunity to grow and enhance the EmployBridge platform through investments in technology and the associate experience and continuing to introduce innovative new engagement models. We are excited to work with Michael and the broader EmployBridge leadership team on this next phase of development and have tremendous respect for all that they have accomplished," Robert Kalsow-Ramos, Apollo Partner.
EmployBridge was advised by Credit Suisse, William Blair & Co and Milbank. Apollo was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Royal Bank of Canada, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Debt financing was provided by Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Macquarie Group, Mizuho Securities, Royal Bank of Canada and Wells Fargo Securities.
US senator Elizabeth Warren resorted to FTC to take a closer look on defense mergers and questioned the accepted measures proposed by Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace and defense company, to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne, a maker of rocket motors.
Specifically, the senator pointed out the possible lack of efficacy of internal firewalls meant to protect competitor intellectual property, pricing and product progress. Lockheed proposed to ensure it does not get the monopoly on the market by implementing them, according to
Reuters.
Aerojet is advised by Citigroup, Evercore, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Joele Frank. Financial advisors are advised by Sullivan & Cromwell. Lockheed is advised by Goldman Sachs, Hogan Lovells and Joele Frank. Financial advisors are advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
Herman Miller, an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings, completed the acquisition of Knoll, an American design firm that produces office systems, seating, files and storage, tables and desks, textiles, and accessories, from Investindustrial, a European investment group for $1.8bn.
"This combination validates the strategic direction and our success in building a preeminent constellation of design-driven brands and leaders, and is a testament to the achievements of the entire Knoll team in bringing a contemporary perspective to how we work and live," Andrew Cogan, Knoll Chairman and CEO.
Knoll was advised by Bank of America and Sullivan & Cromwell. Bank of America was advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Herman Miller was advised by Goldman Sachs, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Joele Frank. Investindustrial was advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
Opportunity Financial, a financial technology platform, went public via merger with FG New America Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition corporation, in an $800m deal.
"I am extremely proud of the success and growth OppFi has experienced since its inception. More importantly, we help customers access a better financial path with the superior experience they deserve. This is an exciting stage in the company's evolution, which we believe will enable us to further expand our mission and be the financial destination for the tens of millions of everyday consumers that need access more than ever," Todd Schwartz, OppFi Founder and Executive Chairman.
Opportunity Financial was advised by Moelis & Co and DLA Piper. FG New America Acquisition was advised by Needham & Co, Northland Capital Partners, Piper Sandler, ThinkEquity and White & Case. Schwarz Capital was advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors, and Talend, a provider of a single suite of cloud apps for data integration and data integrity, received all required regulatory approvals for their $2.4bn deal.
"Our Board is focused on driving shareholder value and has periodically evaluated potential transaction alternatives in the context of our standalone plan over the past several years. With the successful advancement of our transformation effort led by our CEO over the past year, the Talend Board and management team conducted a targeted process with potential financial and strategic parties to determine the best path forward for the company. We believe the transaction with Thoma Bravo validates the Talend team's success in building a data market leader," Steve Singh, Talend Chairman of the Board.
Talend is advised by Qatalyst Partners, Gide Loyrette Nouel, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Joele Frank. Thoma Bravo is advised by Kirkland & Ellis and Finsbury Glover Hering.
Clearlake, an investment firm, agreed to acquire BakeMark, a manufacturer and distributor of bakery ingredients, products, and supplies, from Pamplona Capital Management, a specialist investment manager. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to partner with BakeMark and support the Company in its next stage of accelerated growth," José E. Feliciano, Clearlake Co-Founder and Managing Partner.
Clearlake is advised by Credit Suisse and Lambert & Co. Debt financing is provided by BMO Capital Markets, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. Pamplona is advised by Harris Williams & Co, Houlihan Lokey and TB Cardew.
Monomoy Capital Partners, a middle market private investment firm which invests in the debt and equity of manufacturing, agreed to acquire Liberty Safe, a residential and commercial safe manufacturer located in Payson, Utah, from Compass Diversified, a publicly-traded investment and holding company, for $147m.
"Today's announcement is the culmination of a journey that began in 2010. With CODI's partnership, Liberty is now an industry leading, national brand for American-made safes with world-class manufacturing capabilities. We believe Liberty is well positioned for long term success as it continues to serve its customers with the highest quality and most reliable products in the industry, and we thank CODI for their support over the past decade," Stephen Allred, Liberty Safe CEO.
Monomoy Capital Partners is advised by Ropes & Gray. Compass Diversified is advised by Lincoln International, Squire Patton Boggs, Joele Frank and The IGB Group.
Pacific Biosciences, a provider of high-quality, long-read sequencing platforms, agreed to acquire Omniome, a San Diego-based company developing a highly differentiated, proprietary short-read sequencing platform capable of delivering high accuracy, for $800m.
"The team at Omniome has spent several years developing a new and differentiated sequencing chemistry, Sequencing by Binding. We developed this chemistry because clinical applications require a level of accuracy that is difficult to achieve with current sequencing technologies. SBB has fundamental advantages over other technologies and the potential to deliver higher sensitivity at a lower cost to unlock new markets," Richard Shen, Omniome President.
Omniome is advised by Jefferies & Company and Cooley. Pacific Biosciences is advised by Cowen & Company, Centerview Partners and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
BBQGuys, a specialty e-commerce platform for higher-end BBQ grills, agreed to go public via a merger with &vest-backed Velocity Acquisition, a SPAC, in an $839m deal. Upon the closing of the transaction, existing BBQGuys shareholders, including BVP, are expected to own 71% of the combined company, the Velocity sponsors are expected to own 5% of the combined company, and public stockholders are expected to own 24% of the combined company.
"With our highly capital efficient structure and defensible platform informed by more than 20 years of proprietary customer data, we expect our growth to accelerate as we continue to build the BBQGuys brand among consumers and professionals. We are excited to team up with Velocity and continue partnering with BVP," Russ Wheeler BBQGuys CEO.
BBQGuys is advised by Credit Suisse, Sidley Austin and ICR. Velocity is advised by Canaccord Genuity, Citigroup, Jefferies & Company and Winston & Strawn.
Trinseo, a global materials company, agreed to acquire Aristech Surfaces, a North America manufacturer and global provider of polymethyl methacrylates, from Falcon Private, a private investment firm, for $445m.
"The acquisition of Aristech allows us to provide a full offering of PMMA technologies and innovative products that serve customers in new, high-growth markets," Frank Bozich, Trinseo President and Chief Executive Officer.
Aristech is advised by Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Valence Group. Trinseo is advised by Centerview Partners and Reed Smith.
Western & Southern Financial-backed Touchstone Investments, an asset manager, completed the acquisition of the mutual fund business of American International Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We remain dedicated to our sub-advised mutual fund approach and are committed to offering investment solutions based on partnerships with premier institutional asset managers. This acquisition reflects Touchstone's continued commitment to providing investors with access to best-in-class investment management through our mutual funds," Blake Moore, Touchstone Investments President and CEO.
Touchstone Investments was advised by JP Morgan and K&L Gates. AIG was advised by Piper Sandler and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
The Carlyle Group agreed to acquire LiveU, a provider of live video streaming and remote production solutions, from Francisco Partners, a global investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We’re excited to partner with Carlyle as we look to expand LiveU’s global footprint and service offering. This is a significant milestone for LiveU and represents a strong vote of confidence in our business. Carlyle brings deep industry expertise with their track record in the media and technology space alongside a global network. We greatly thank Francisco Partners and IGP Capital for their support and partnership over the last few years," Samuel Wasserman, LiveU CEO and Co-Founder.
LiveU is advised by GCA Altium. Francisco Partners is advised by Sloane & Company.
Winnebago Industries, an outdoor lifestyle product manufacturer, agreed to acquire Barletta Pontoon Boats, a pontoon boat manufacturer, for $270m. The $65m from $310m is payable upon the achievement of performance milestones at the end of calendar 2021, 2022 and 2023.
"Barletta's premium, innovative pontoon boats are a natural fit with our broader brand portfolio, with shared appeal among families looking to create great experiences and memories on land or on water. Barletta's commitment to quality, innovation and service – the same golden threads that unite all Winnebago Industries brands – and strong relationships with its dealer partners, has driven tremendous growth, enabling Barletta to become a rising force in the industry in a short period of time. We look forward to leveraging our operational excellence, functional resources and proven expertise in nurturing and growing outdoor lifestyle brands to fuel the organic expansion of Barletta's product line, market share and margins," Michael Happe, Winnebago President and CEO.
Winnebago is advised by Lazard and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.
JFrog, a liquid software company, completed the acquisition of Vdoo, which has built an AI-based platform that can be used to detect and fix vulnerabilities in the software systems, for $300m.
"We are excited to have Vdoo join the JFrog family. It is clear to us that the joint vision of changing the way software is being created, released, and updated to the edge will be our compass as we offer the market a binary-focused solution to secure their organization's software assets. This move will amplify JFrog's current success with our security solution, JFrog Xray, and create the expectation that 'fearless releases' will be the experience for both Security and Development teams," Shlomi Ben Haim, JFrog CEO.
JFrog was advised by BOCA Communications.
Aalberts, a Dutch manufacturer, agreed to acquire Premier Thermal Solutions, a provider of metal processing services, from Z Capital Group, a privately held investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The extensive support from the ZCG team to execute on a shared long-term vision for PTS has generated exceptional results. Our business is now positioned to grow, scale and capitalize on new market opportunities with Aalberts, and we look forward to building on this success and identifying more unique and efficient ways to provide our customers with the critical services they rely on us for," Steve Wyatt, PTS President and CEO.
Z Capital Group is advised by Joele Frank.
Vontier, a global industrial technology company focused on transportation and mobility solutions, agreed to acquire DRB Systems, a provider of point of sale, workflow software, and control solutions to the car wash industry, from New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm, for $965m.
"The acquisition of DRB is expected to accelerate our portfolio diversification strategy toward long-term secular growth drivers in attractive markets and establish a $500m Retail Solutions portfolio. DRB's focus on technology and software solutions complements our existing point of sale and payment offerings and enhances our growth and recurring revenue profile, profitability, and free cash flow generation," Mark Morelli, Vontier President and CEO.
Bill.com, a provider of cloud-based software that simplifies, digitizes, and automates complex back-office financial operations for small and midsize businesses, agreed to acquire Invoice2go, a mobile-first accounts receivable software provider, for $625m.
"We are investing to accelerate the adoption of our accounts receivable offering. The acquisition of Invoice2go will bring a leading product and a very talented team to Bill.com. It supports our strategy to invest in our platform to be a one-stop shop solution for businesses to transform their financial operations, make and receive payments, and manage their cash flow. Invoice2go's international team and customer base will enable us to serve more businesses around the globe," René Lacerte, Bill.com CEO and Founder.
T. Rowe Price led the $500m Series F round in Rappi, a Colombian delivery startup. Other investors included Baillie Gifford, Third Point, Octahedron, GIC and SoftBank.
This round marks the valuation milestone of the company at $5.25bn. The startup operates in 250 cities of Latin America and nine countries.
General Atlantic, a growth equity firm, led a $235m funding round in Tilting Point, a free-to-play games publisher founded in 2012, with participation from Red Ventures and Kamerra.
The company will use the investment to accelerate its progressive publishing model by signing more developers in live publishing, co-developing more titles, acquiring more studios and partnering with developers on top intellectual property launches.
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a $200m Series D round in Go1, one of the world’s largest corporate education content hub for on-demand training and resources, with participation from AirTree Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Blue Cloud Ventures, Larsen Ventures, Scott Shleifer and John Curtius from Tiger Global, and TEN13.
“The support and funding that Go1 has received in its lifetime have been monumental to the company’s growth thus far. However, this is just the beginning. Expanding in the US will allow Go1 to better engage, communicate and support customers and partners, especially as they consider a new hybrid work model. As society transitions out of the pandemic, ensuring that employees have opportunities to explore learning and development resources will be essential for team retention and encouraging employee growth within the organization," Andrew Barnes, Go1 CEO.
Manitowoc, a global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions, agreed to acquire the crane business of H&E Equipment Services, one of the largest rental equipment companies in the US, for $130m.
The acquisition of H&E's crane business will expand Manitowoc's ability to provide rentals, new sales, used sales, aftermarket parts, and service to a variety of end market customers. H&E's crane business operates with eleven full-service branch locations.
Accenture, an Irish-domiciled multinational company that provides consulting and professional services, completed the acquisition of Cloudworks, a Toronto-based Oracle Cloud implementation service provider across North America. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As organizations across Canada continue to accelerate their technology transformation programs, we anticipate the demand for Oracle solutions to grow significantly. By acquiring Cloudworks, we add a highly talented team with industry-specific experience in combining the power of Oracle with the ingenuity of people to unlock new possibilities for clients," Jeffrey Russell, Accenture President.
GlobalFoundries is sticking to the 2022 IPO plan. (FS)
GlobalFoundries, a chipmaker owned by an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, sticks with its plan for an initial public offering next year, said Tom Caulfield, GlobalFoundries CEO.
Intel, an American multinational corporation and technology company, studied the feasibility of buying US-based GlobalFoundries. Still, no formal takeover approach has been made to Mubadala, the owner of GlobalFoundries.
Level Equity looks to raise $900m for two new funds. (FS)
Level Equity, a private equity firm in New York City, is targeting $900m for a duo of funds: $650m for its fifth namesake growth partners fund and $250m for its Opportunities Fund 2021.
Level Equity focuses on growth investments in companies spanning the software and technology-enabled services sectors.
EMEA
Apollo said it looks to join the consortium instead of doing the solo bid for Morrison Supermarkets, a supermarket chain operator. The company is currently in talks about team-up.
"Should these discussions lead to any transaction, Apollo would be fully supportive of Fortress's stated intentions regarding Morrisons," Apollo.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets is advised by Jefferies & Company, Rothschild & Co, Shore Capital & Corporate, Ashurst and Citigate Dewe Rogerson. Clayton Dubilier & Rice is advised by Goldman Sachs and Teneo. Koch Real Estate is advised by Jones Day. Fortress Investment is advised by HSBC, RBC Capital Markets, Slaughter & May and TB Cardew.
Elba Assicurazioni, an insurance company in Milan, Italy, agreed to go public via merger with REVO, a special purpose acquisition company, in a $190m deal.
"Elba represents the ideal target for the launch and future development of the project, being in one of the business lines to be developed by REVO. When selecting the target, REVO highly valued the profitability and financial solidity of the Company, which has shown consistent growth regarding the economic and financial results over the last few years," REVO.
Elba is advised by Rothschild & Co and Clifford Chance. REVO is advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Equita SIM, Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners and Incontra.
Azrieli Group, an Israeli real estate and holding company, agreed to acquire Green Mountain, a private company which was incorporated in Norway in 2009, which has been operating in the field of server farms since its incorporation, for $850m.
"Acquiring Green Mountain is a key milestone in realizing Azrieli Group's strategy for building international operations in the Data Centers sector. The combination of the operations in North America through Compass with the acquisition of Green Mountain in Europe will allow Azrieli Group to become a significant global player in this growing and developing arena," Danna Azrieli, Azrieli Group Chairman.
Azrieli is advised by Rothschild & Co and DLA Piper.
LVMH agreed to acquire a 60% stake in Off-White, a streetwear company, from Virgil Abloh, an American designer. Mr. Abloh will serve as creative director of Off-White. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The partnership would be used to diversify Off-White's offering and enter markets as cosmetics, homewares and leather goods, according to Mr. Abloh.
LVMH is advised by Montfort Communications.
ChargePoint, an electric vehicle charging network operating in North America and Europe, agreed to acquire has to be, e-mobility provider with a charging software platform, from Volkswagen for $295m.
"We're excited to announce our agreement to acquire has·to·be, a leader in its own right with a talented team, an impressive base of customers committed to e-mobility and robust technology. Our combined assets should position us to accelerate our leadership as electrification continues to take hold across continents," Pasquale Romano, ChargePoint President and CEO.
ABB, a global technology company, agreed to acquire ASTI Mobile Robotics, a global autonomous mobile robot manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"With this acquisition, ABB will be the only company to offer a full automation portfolio of AMRs, robots and machine automation solutions, from production to logistics to point of consumption. This is a gamechanger for our customers as they adapt to the individualized consumer and seize opportunities presented by significant changes in consumer demand," Sami Atiya, ABB President.
Enel in final talks to buy Erg's hydro, gas assets.
Enel, an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas, is in talks to buy hydroelectric and gas assets from ERG, an Italian renewable energy company, beating rival offers from competitors, including Total, a French multinational integrated oil and gas company.
Enel's bid is prioritized after Erg has received offers from all contenders for assets worth more than $1.2bn.
Snam set to make offer for Asja Ambiente biogas plants.
Snam, an energy infrastructure operator, is set to make a binding offer to buy 11 biogas plants from Asja Ambiente, an international group of companies that design, build and manage renewable power plants, valuing the company at $413m.
The pipeline operator has almost finished its due diligence on the group after a period of exclusive negotiations. The offer for renewable gas plants would be lower than that expected.
Cinven targets over $12bn for the new flagship fund. (FS)
Cinven, a global private equity firm, aims to raise over $12bn for a new private equity fund. Cinven may start gathering commitments later in the year and weigh interest for a euro-denominated global fund after the summer.
No final decisions on the size and timing of any new fund have been made due to deliberations in the early stages.
APAC
Blackstone agreed to acquire a majority stake in Simplilearn, an online learning boot camp based in India. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We believe Blackstone can add significant value to our company because of their scale, commitment to building businesses, and global network, which will enable us to develop partnerships with businesses and universities as Simplilearn continues to expand around the world," Krishna Kumar, Simplilearn Founder & CEO.
Simplilearn is advised by Avendus and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. Blackstone is advised by Ernst & Young, KPMG, Khaitan & Co and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Oil Search, an oil and gas exploration and development company, rebuffed the $6.5bn merger approach from Santos, an Australian energy company.
Oil Search noted it sees synergies from the potential merger and is open to talks. Oil Search said the offer was the best shareholders could get. Shares of the company rose 8% following the announcement.
Oil Search is advised by Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Capital and Allens. Santos is advised by Citigroup, J.B. North & Co, Dentons and Herbert Smith Freehills.
Capgemini, a French multinational information technology services and consulting company, agreed to acquire Empired, a national IT services provider with a broad range of capabilities and a reputation for delivering enterprise class IT service and solutions, for $172m.
"Over the past 15 years Empired has been on a journey to build the most respected digital services company across Australia and New Zealand. Our strategy has delivered material growth in shareholder value and we are confident that being part of Capgemini will help to accelerate our combined market position in the coming years. If implemented, the Scheme will provide outstanding career opportunities for our people and have a positive impact for existing and prospective clients by providing them with access to the significant resources, service capabilities and international experience of Capgemini," Russell Baskerville, Empired Managing Director.
Empired is advised by Euroz Hartleys and Clayton Utz. Capgemini is advised by Luminis Partners and Herbert Smith Freehills.
Liberty Mutual, an American diversified global insurer, agreed to acquire AmGeneral Insurance, a Malaysian insurer, from IAG, a multinational insurance company headquartered in Sydney, and AmBank Group, one of the largest banking groups in Malaysia, for $550m.
"Expanding and investing in international insurance markets is instrumental in our aspiration to become a leading global property and casualty insurance company. Liberty Mutual's mission to help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow is well aligned with AmBank's mission to help individuals and businesses in Malaysia grow and win together. Combining Liberty's global capabilities with AmGeneral's leading market share in auto and a growing business in additional product lines will create a best-in-class insurance operation," Jim MacPhee, Liberty Mutual President, Global Retail Markets.
Liberty Mutual is advised by Citigroup. AmBank is advised by JP Morgan.
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Prosus, an investment company, led the $1.25bn funding round in Swiggy, an on-demand delivery platform in India. Existing investors Accel Partners and Wellington Management and new investors Qatar Investment Authority, Falcon Edge Capital, Amansa Capital, Goldman Sachs, Think Investments and Carmignac also participated in the round.
"I believe the next 10-15 years offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for companies like Swiggy as the Indian middle class expands and our target segment for convenience grows to 500m users. I am confident that we will continue to achieve new growth milestones while holding the responsibility to build a vibrant ecosystem for millions of consumers, as well as our restaurant and delivery partners," Sriharsha Majety, Swiggy CEO.
PCCW in talks to sell data centers to DigitalBridge. (FS)
Warburg Pincus-backed DigitalBridge, a digital infrastructure investment firm, is in talks to acquire data-center assets from PCCW, a Hong Kong-based information and communications technology company controlled by Richard Li, valuing the company at over $600m.
DigitalBridge emerged as the most substantial bidder after an auction and discussed finalizing an agreement with PCCW. An announcement could come as soon as this month.
Daojia joins Little Red Book in pausing US IPO plans.
Daojia, a China-based home service platform, paused its US initial public offering plans due to China's step-up investigation on overseas listings and cybersecurity.
The company awaits more guidance from regulators to start the first-time share sale. Daojia was initially looking to raise $500m from the share sale. The decision comes after China proposed a new policy that would require companies with over 1m users' data to submit to a cybersecurity review for overseas listings.
China Evergrande weighs Hong Kong IPO for bottled water unit.
China Evergrande, China's second-largest property developer, is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong for its bottled water business. The country's most indebted real estate developer seeks new funding sources.
Evergrande sells equity in non-property assets and accelerates property sales to reduce leverage. Even so, it struggles to restore confidence among investors.
CTOS Digital soars 60% on market debut.
Shares in CTOS Digital Berhad, a Malaysia-based credit reporting firm, rose as high as 60% in the first minutes of its market debut. The company, which launched a $285m initial public offering, opened 36% higher than its offer price of $0.26041.
"We will also continue to expand our product offerings and customer reach while exploring acquisitions within Malaysia and throughout the ASEAN region," Dennis Martin, CTOS Digital Berhad Executive Director.
Motilal Oswal launches a $536m fund. (FS)
Motilal Oswal PE, a private equity firm, an arm of Motilal Oswal Group, launches its next growth equity fund, the fourth fund since 2007. The investment strategy for the new fund, India Business Excellence Fund IV, will align with the previous funds as the firm continues its focus on providing crucial growth capital.
"The PE/VC ecosystem in India has come of age over the last decade and growth equity capital will continue to play a pivotal role as India moves from a $3tn economy to over $10tn in the next decade," Vishal Tulsyan, Motilal Oswal PE Managing Director and CEO.
