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AMERICAS
Spirit Airlines delayed a shareholder meeting to vote on its proposed buyout by Frontier Group Holdings to June 30, after JetBlue Airways sweetened a rival offer for the budget carrier, Reuters reported.
Spirit, which was originally set to vote on the Frontier deal on June 10, said it had not changed its recommendation favoring the Frontier deal.
The company earlier this week received an improved offer from JetBlue that included a higher reverse break-up fee which would be payable to Spirit investors if antitrust reasons stopped the deal.
Spirit Airlines is advised by Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Debevoise & Plimpton, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Financial advisors are advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. JetBlue Airways is advised by Goldman Sachs and Shearman & Sterling. Debt financing is provided by Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Indigo Partners is advised by Lambert & Co. Frontier Airlines is advised by Citigroup, Latham & Watkins and Joele Frank. Financial advisors are advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson.
Bain Capital, an American private investment firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in EnterpriseDB, a provider of enterprise-class software and services, from Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Postgres is increasingly the database of choice for enterprises. We are excited to work closely with EDB's talented leadership team, in partnership with Great Hill, to accelerate the company's growth," Max de Groen, Bain Capital Managing Director.
EnterpriseDB is advised by JP Morgan, Sidley Austin and PAN Communications. Bain Capital is advised by Goldman Sachs, Ropes & Gray and Stanton PRM. Great Hill is advised by Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Bain Capital, an American private investment firm, completed the investment in LeanTaaS, a provider of cloud software solutions for optimizing hospital operations and capacity management. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Mohan and his team have built an exceptional business that is at the forefront of AI in healthcare, creating exceptional value for customers and poised for continued rapid expansion. We are thrilled to support LeanTaaS' vision for transforming care delivery through automation and improving the quality of US healthcare," Devin O'Reilly, Bain Capital Managing Director.
LeanTaaS is advised by William Blair & Co, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and PAN Communications. Bain Capital is advised by Evercore, Kirkland & Ellis and Stanton PRM.
Atlas Holdings, a diversified group of manufacturing, distribution, service and trading businesses, completed the acquisition of Foster Farms, a family-owned provider of fresh, frozen, and prepared poultry products headquartered in Livingston, California. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I love the poultry industry and am proud that Atlas has asked me to become the CEO of Foster Farms. I've long been an admirer of the Foster Family and the business they've built over the past eight decades. In this new era, we will maintain and further that legacy, rooted in animal welfare, superior product quality, customer service and community engagement," Donnie Smith, Foster Farms Chairman and CEO.
Foster Farms was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Mayer Brown. Atlas was advised by Morgan Stanley, DLA Piper and Kekst CNC.
Frazier Healthcare Partners, a healthcare-focused private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Apollo Intelligence, a provider of real-time data and insights to the healthcare industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled with the business we have built and even more excited about Apollo’s next chapter as part of the Frazier family. As we considered investment partners to help pursue our bigger vision, we recognized our alignment with the Frazier team almost immediately. Like Apollo, Frazier is committed to supporting technological advancements to improve healthcare. Frazier’s reputation and track record as a preeminent investor to innovative firms in healthcare, combined with a wealth of relevant experience, made the Frazier team a compelling choice," Daniel S. Fitzgerald, Apollo Intelligence CEO.
Apollo Intelligence was advised by Canaccord Genuity, Houlihan Lokey and Goodwin Procter. Frazier was advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
Cary Street Partners, an independent wealth management firm, agreed to acquire Dixon, Hubard, Feinour & Brown, an investment counseling company, from Atlantic Union Bank, a bank. Financial terms are not disclosed.
“We are pleased to be joining forces with this tremendous team of financial advisors who will add depth and talent to our firm. Our professionals are dedicated to operating at a higher standard by creating and maintaining a state-of-the-art technology and operations platform to support the sophisticated needs of our growing advisor base and their clients," Joseph R. Schmuckler, Cary Street Partners CEO.
Cary Street Partners is advised by Ducera Partners and Williams Mullen. Atlantic Union is advised by Troutman Pepper.
Citizens Financial Group, an American bank headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, completed the acquisition of DH Capital, a private investment banking firm serving companies in the Internet infrastructure, software and next-generation IT services, and communications sectors. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Clients view Citizens as a trusted strategic and financial partner committed to delivering complete solutions, quality execution and excellent service throughout their business life cycle. The DH Capital team brings us deep expertise in the digital infrastructure sector, a key and ongoing area of opportunity in today's highly dynamic commercial market," Donald McCree, Citizens Vice Chairman and Head of Commercial Banking.
DH Capital was advised by Keefe Bruyette & Woods and Mayer Brown. Citizens was advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
One Equity Partners, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire ACI Corporate Online Banking, a cash management solution services provider, from ACI Worldwide, a payment systems company, for $100m.
“ACI’s corporate banking solution is highly regarded and used by many top-tier banks globally. We see significant opportunity in this market, as banks continue to invest more in digital transformation," Chip Schorr, One Equity Partners Senior Managing Director.
One Equity Partners is advised by Stanton PRM. ACI Worldwide is advised by Jones Day.
CarVal Investors, an alternative investment fund manager, led a $350m round in Agilitas Energy, a developer, builder, owner and operator of distributed energy storage.
“To effectively transition our energy systems away from fossil fuels, we need to rapidly increase the number of renewable energy and storage projects that are successfully interconnected to the grid. With our experienced management team, existing project pipeline and organizational expertise combined with the support of CarVal, we’re well positioned to expand nationally and help make a dent in our country’s decarbonization goals. CarVal adds significant value beyond their capital. They are smart business athletes with real-world energy and business acumen who will be true partners as we execute our growth plan," Barrett Bilotta, Agilitas Energy President.
Agilitas was advised by V2 Communications.
NightDragon, a venture capital firm, led a $100m Series E round in Immuta, a data access and data security, with participation from Snowflake Ventures, Dell Technologies Capital, DFJ Growth, IAG, Intel Capital, March Capital, StepStone, Ten Eleven Ventures, and Wipro Ventures.
“There is a major shift in the modern data stack as organizations scale to derive value from their data more quickly, while also protecting their data assets and adhering to privacy regulations. We’ve entered the next wave of the cloud data evolution where automation and security are essential to meeting modern cloud and data demands. This new funding will help propel Immuta into our next phase of growth as we continue to revolutionize cloud data access and data security," Matthew Carroll, Immuta CEO.
Immuta was advised by InkHouse.
Insight Partners, a global software investor, led a $100m Series B round in nfinite, a provider of next-generation visualization and e-commerce merchandising, with participation from US Venture Partners.
"nfinite is redefining the e-merchandising space with a platform that enables high-quality visual content to be produced at scale—and the largest, most innovative online retailers are already taking note. The company has incredible growth potential and we couldn't be more excited to partner with Alex and the nfinite team to help them bring it to fruition," Said Rebecca Liu-Doyle, Insight Partners Managing Director.
nfinite was advised by Rainemakers.
Rob Walton, an American billionaire heir to the fortune of Walmart, agreed to acquire Denver Broncos, a professional American football franchise based in Denver, for $4.65bn.
"While this purchase and sale agreement is pending approval from the NFL's finance committee and league ownership, today marks a significant step on the path to an exciting new chapter in Broncos history," Joe Ellis, Broncos President and CEO.
Northlane Capital Partners, a private equity firm in Bethesda, Maryland, completed the investment in SAI MedPartners, a consultancy providing strategic insights and analytics to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to partner with NCP, which has an impressive track record of investing in businesses that support the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. SAI's rapid organic growth over the past decade has been driven by a singular focus on being the best thought partner and provider of high-quality strategic intelligence and related advisory services to our clients. NCP's investment will allow us to further strengthen our client engagement model by providing us with the resources to significantly augment our suite of services and continue to expand globally," Erik Nordhoy, SAI Founder and CEO.
TPG Capital, a global alternative asset management firm, completed the investment in Sauce Labs, a provider of continuous test and remediation solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As applications are updated more frequently, demand for continuous testing at multiple stages in the software development life cycle has increased as well. We've been focused on DevOps as an investment theme for many years and continue to see Sauce Labs as an innovator and leader in the market. We're excited to continue partnering with Aled and his talented team to support the company's next chapter of growth," Art Heidrich, TPG Principal.
Oaktree Capital, an investment manager, completed the acquisition of Interblock, a developer and supplier of luxury electronic table gaming products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We have delivered robust growth over the past six years, which can be attributed to the company’s dedicated team of ETG specialists, best in class product portfolio, data driven decision making and our continued focus on innovation. There is significant momentum within the Electronic Table Game sector, making it the right time to partner with one of the largest private equity firms in the world - Oaktree. Such progress would not have been possible without the leadership and innovative eye of our outgoing Chairman, Joc Pečečnik, who has contributed significantly to both Interblock’s development and the gaming industry overall. Moving forward, we are excited about our partnership with Oaktree and the ability to further accelerate our momentum, concentrating on both organic growth and potential acquisitions," John Connelly, Interblock Global CEO.
Warburg-backed news group Reorg hires bankers for sale, could value the firm at about $1.5bn. (FS)
Warburg Pincus-backed Reorg, the distressed debt and bankruptcy information provider, has hired advisers to explore a sale of all or parts of the business. Transaction could value specialist distressed debt and bankruptcy information provider at about $1.5bn.
Reorg, founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York, is a provider of real-time information and analysis on distressed companies and bankruptcy proceedings to players in the distressed debt community, including asset managers, investment banks, and law firms.
Chicago Skyway investors explore sale of Bridge Lease. (FS)
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and OMERS Infrastructure are exploring the sale of their lease attached to the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge, Bloomberg reported.
The firms are working with an adviser to solicit interest in the 12.6km toll-road concession. Any transaction is expected to value the asset at more than $4bn including debt.
Brazil election frontrunner Lula eyes Eletrobras privatization rollback.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the leftist frontrunner ahead of an October election, is looking at ways to reverse President Jair Bolsonaro's planned privatization of state-run electricity company Eletrobras, Reuters reported.
Latin America's largest utility, known formally as Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras, will be the highest-profile – and perhaps final – major state asset sale for Bolsonaro's government, which has disappointed free-market advocates' hopes for more aggressive privatizations.
Andros Capital Partners launches mineral platform with $122m mineral and royalty acquisition. (FS)
Andros Capital Partners announced that its affiliate, Andros Minerals has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement to acquire a portfolio of mineral and royalty interests located in the Midland Basin, Delaware Basin, and Eagle Ford Shale for $122m from an undisclosed private seller.
“We are excited to establish Andros Minerals as a direct mineral and royalty acquisition platform with this initial acquisition. A tremendous amount of private capital has been invested in minerals over the past decade and is looking for an exit. We believe we are uniquely positioned as the appropriate long-term owner of these assets and will continue to acquire and aggregate mineral and royalty interests at scale across the most active US basins,” Phillip A. Gayle, Andros Capital Founder and Managing Partner.
Blackstone, other large private-equity firms turn attention to vast retail market. (FS)
Private-equity firms have spent decades raking in giant sums from pension funds and other big institutions. Now they are going hat in hand to a different kind of investor: everyday millionaires, WSJ reported.
Some of the biggest firms, including Blackstone, Blue Owl Capital, OWL, Apollo Global Management and Ares Management, have created a host of new products aimed at people with $1m to $5m in investible assets and are hiring armies of staff to market them to private banks and independent financial advisers.
Closed Loop Partners’ private equity fund announces final close, managing assets in excess of $200m. (FS)
Closed Loop Partners announced Monday the successful final close of its Closed Loop Leadership Fund, managing in excess of $200m of total assets.
KIRKBI, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, and Realdania’s mission-driven investment arm join existing investors including Nuveen, Nestlé, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Unilever, SK Geo Centric, and a series of global family offices in Closed Loop Partners’ buyout investment strategy focused on building circular economy platforms across sectors.
Led by a team with decades of operating experience and investment expertise, the Fund’s strategy centers on scaling business models that advance circular supply chains to keep packaging, organics, electronics and apparel out of landfills and within a circular system.
Cresset Partners closes three funds. (FS)
Cresset Partners has closed its first industrial-focused fund, the Cresset Real Estate Logistics Fund I.
In just 12 months, investors committed more than $250m to fund the development of nine state-of-the-art warehouse facilities.
In addition, Cresset has announced the close of its second opportunity zone fund, the $655m Cresset-Diversified Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund II, alongside the launch of its third fund in the qualified opportunity zone space, Cresset-Diversified Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund III.
EMEA
Private equity firms Hg Capital and TA Associates agreed to invest in The Access Group, a provider of business management software to mid-market organisations in the UK, Ireland and Asia Pacific, at a £9.2bn ($11.5bn) valuation.
"I'm incredibly proud of our continued success and delighted that our leading investors, Hg and TA, continue to support us as the company expands in the UK, Ireland and Asia Pacific. With GIC's additional investment, Access continues to receive strong support from the investment community, helping to drive our performance and growth plans," Chris Bayne, The Access Group CEO.
The Access Group is advised by Deloitte, Rothschild & Co, Kirkland & Ellis and Tank PR. Hg Capital and TA Associates are advised by Arma Partners, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, Travers Smith and Brunswick Group.
SAF-HOLLAND, a German automotive supplier, agreed to acquire Haldex, a Swedish public company operating in the commercial vehicle industry, for $326m.
"The transaction will form the first system supplier globally to provide customers with integrated solutions for Air Disc Brakes, Electrical Vehicles and complete wheel ends from a single source, helping customers to reduce the scope of supply chains and the dependence on external suppliers," SAF-HOLLAND.
Haldex is advised by Lazard, Lenner & Partners and Mannheimer Swartling. SAF-HOLLAND is advised by JP Morgan.
FuseFX, a visual effects studio, completed the acquisition of El Ranchito, a full-service visual effects studio. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“El Ranchito’s unrivaled pedigree in high-profile productions is a strong complement to the current makeup of The Fuse Group. The El Ranchito team has established a fantastic company whose culture and philosophies completely align with ours. We are thrilled to partner with them to further broaden our offerings of skill sets, locations, rebates, and services to our studio clients. El Ranchito’s previous work on such high-profile projects as Game of Thrones, See, Shadow and Bone, Stranger Things, and The Mandalorian has cemented their position as a truly elite provider of visual effects in the market," Sébastien Bergeron, The Fuse Group CEO.
El Ranchito was advised by Mesana and Loyra Abogados. FuseFX was advised by Alvarez & Marsal and Jones Day.
KKR, a global investment company, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Contabo, a cloud hosting platform offering easy-to-use and cost-effective cloud services used by SMEs, entrepreneurs and developers, from Oakley Capital, a mid-market private equity investor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"When we first invested in Contabo three years ago, the business was very much a relatively unknown, subscale player in the domestic German web-hosting market. In partnership with Oakley, we leveraged our combined experience in cloud hosting and our track record in successfully professionalizing businesses to transform Contabo into the market-leader it is today. We're pleased to be continuing our collaboration with Oakley and now with KKR's support and sector expertise as we proceed with the next stage of the company's growth plan," Thomas Noglik, Contabo CEO.
Contabo is advised by Arma Partners, DH Capital and Kirkland & Ellis. KKR is advised by Finsbury Glover Hering.
Oaktree Capital, an American global asset management firm, agreed to acquire The Specialist Group, a staffing provider of technical engineering specialists, from Parcom Capital, an investment company in Amsterdam. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"In Oaktree we found a partner that can help us accelerate our strategy, adding scale, diversification and complementary offerings to the existing platform of TSG. We are grateful for the support and opportunities that Parcom has provided to TSG over the past years and we look forward to working with Francesco and the Oaktree team in the years to come," Sil Hoeve, The Specialist Group CEO.
Parcom Capital is advised by Rothschild & Co.
Azenta, a provider of automation, vacuum and instrumentation equipment, agreed to acquire Barkey, a provider of controlled rate thawing devices to medical, biotech and pharma industries, for €80m ($86m).
"Barkey will add innovative products and capabilities that extend our extensive cold chain of condition portfolio of products and services, while also expanding our customer reach in the fast-growing CGT space, with more than 100 CGT customers to date. The controlled rate thawing of cryopreserved products to maximize reproducibility and viability of the sample is a natural extension of our advanced cryogenic offerings," Steve Schwartz, Azenta President and CEO.
OptiGroup, a distributor of business essentials, agreed to acquire MaskeGruppen, a distributor of facility supplies, healthcare products and industrial packaging. Financial terms are not disclosed.
“We look forward to welcoming MaskeGruppen into our OptiGroup family. We are on an exciting growth journey towards becoming a market leader in the highly attractive B2B distribution market in Europe and this transaction is a great example of how we together with our new majority shareholder FSN Capital have the capacity to conduct larger and strategic add-on acquisitions in our core business areas," Sören Gaardboe, OptiGroup President and CEO.
A Polish court rejected an appeal from the country's Human Rights Ombudsman against oil company PKN Orlen's takeover of newspaper publisher Polska Press, Reuters reported.
PKN's purchase of Polska Press from a German media group has been criticised by opposition parties in Poland for being part of a drive by the nationalist Law and Justice government to increase control over the media and curb free speech.
Goals Soccer Centres set to be sold to management by Inflexion Private Equity. (FS)
Football leisure giant Goals Soccer Centres is set to be sold to its management team by the private equity investor, Inflexion Private Equity. Deal to offload the 5-a-side football pitch operator is set to be announced within the coming days.
The price is unknown, but reports from last November suggest it could be in the region of £200m ($250m).
Cathay Innovation and Ledger launch €100m fund dedicated to unlocking the opportunities of web3 and cryptocurrencies worldwide. (FS)
Ledger and Cathay Innovation announced the launch of a €100m ($110m) early-stage venture fund dedicated to unlocking the opportunities of Web3 worldwide, covering cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance, blockchains, NFTs, DAOs and the tokenization of everything.
Supported by French public investment bank Bpifrance, Ledger Cathay Capital is a partnership between Ledger, the crypto-security platform securing 20% of the world’s cryptocurrencies, NFTs and tokens, and global venture capital firm Cathay Innovation.
German government to set minimum pension fund investment quota for VC allocations. (FS)
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is planning to set a minimum investment quota for venture capital investment allocations by public and private pension plans.
The proposal would result in a total of €30bn ($32bn) invested in VC funds as the government looks to boost the amount of capital available to start-ups.
APAC
Cathay Capital, a capital market company, led a $120m Series D round in MINIEYE, an intelligent driving solutions developer, with participation from NIO Capital and Shenwan Hongyuan.
MINIEYE said that the funds raised in the whole round D will be used to further consolidate the company's leading position in the field of mass production intelligent driving in China, continuously expand the core technology stack, and accelerate the R&D process of high-level autonomous driving solutions.
Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pantera Capital and Northstar Group led a $113m Series B round in Pintu, an Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange.
Pintu plans to use the capital to build out new features, including additional supported tokens and blockchains and products. The exchange doubled the size of its team to 200 last year and plans to continue with its aggressive hiring plans to help address the booming crypto market in Indonesia.
IFM weighs takeover bid for toll roads owner Atlas Arteria. (FS)
IFM Investors is considering a non-binding takeover bid for Atlas Arteria as the Australian pension manager boosts its stake in the toll roads owner, Bloomberg reported.
IFM Global Infrastructure Fund increased its stake in Atlas to 15% and plans to request information before deciding whether to proceed with a non-binding proposal to acquire the shares it doesn’t already own.
Sequoia Capital files to raise three new funds. (FS)
Sequoia Capital, one of the world's top venture capital firms, has filed to raise three new funds that will increase its exposure to India and Southeast Asia, DealStreetAsia reported.
Sequoia has not specified the target amount for SC India Venture VIII, SC India Growth IV, and SC SEA Fund I. The firm was raising an aggregate of $2.8bn for the three vehicles in May. Sequoia Capital has postponed the closing date of the three funds pending an investigation into a portfolio company.
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