EMEA
Kingspan Group, the Irish insulation company, offered to buy the insulation and flexible foams units of Belgium's Recticel, manufacturer and transformer of polyurethane chemicals, for €700m ($790m).
Subject to the successful completion of the acquisition, Kingspan has entered into an exclusive back to back agreement with a third party for the disposal of all of the Flexible Foams businesses.
The Baloise Group is acquiring the Belgian insurer Fidea for €480m ($542) from China's Anbang Insurance Group, strengthening its position in the Belgian non-life and life insurance market.
The deal will increase Baloise's share of the attractive non-life business in Belgium from 6.8% to 8.5%, taking it a step closer to becoming one of the top four non-life insurers in the Belgian market. In the life business, the acquisition will increase market share from 3.5% to 4.2%.
Baloise CEO Gert De Winter said: "The acquisition of Fidea fits perfectly with our Simply Safe strategy, both in terms of strengthening the core business in our focus markets and the highly innovative and experimental approach to digitalisation. The acquisition and resulting synergies will provide a long-term boost to our growth potential and earnings power and give us additional market share in the attractive Belgian market."
Glencore closed the acquisition of 75% of Astron Energy South Africa (formerly Chevron South Africa) and 100% of Astron Botswana (formerly Chevron Botswana), the two businesses previously owned and operated by Chevron, an American multinational energy corporation.
The deal came after Chinese state-owned firm Sinopec agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Chevron South Africa year before. Glencore bankrolled Off The Shelf Investments - Chevron's empowerment partner - to exercise its right of first refusal of the deal. Off The Shelf acquired Chevron South Africa, renamed it Astron Energy, and later transferred the controlling stake to Glencore.
Off The Shelf retained its minority shareholding of 23% in Astron, with the option to increase this to 30%, which will help Glencore meet the Competition Tribunal’s condition that it bolsters the empowerment shareholding to 35%.
Latham & Watkins advised Chevron. Rothschild & Co advised Glencore. DLA Piper advised Sinopec.
Idia Capital Investissement, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole, invested in the share capital of Maison Chapoutier, a wine producer and merchant in the Rhone valley. This transaction is part of a more global reorganisation of Maison Chapoutier's shareholding, alongside the Chapoutier family and its longstanding partner Sofina.
This investment will boost the development of the family-owned vineyard's activities, in particular as regards biodynamic growing methods and wine tourism.
TeleSense, an IoT technology solutions provider to improve grain storage, acquired Webstech, a Danish wireless sensor technology company with a strong European user base. With the acquisition, TeleSense now has access to the largest remote-sensed dataset in the world and can offer a complete suite of sensor technologies built to work in grain storage environments. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of Webstech greatly accelerates our entry into the European market and provides millions of additional historical data points to further refine our machine learning technology and predictive algorithms," said TeleSense CEO Naeem Zafar.
Irish CRH to sell its European distribution business for €2bn. (FS)
According to Independent, building materials group CRH hired Bank of America to launch the sale of its European distribution business. The deal could value the unit at about €2bn ($2.3bn) including debt. The transaction, which is expected to start next month, has already drawn interest from private equity funds including Advent, Lone Star, and CVC.
Besides, Lone Star is working on a similar deal to buy Saint Gobain's Raab Karcher business which provides building materials to the German market.
UBS to merge its divisions into one Leveraged Debt Capital Markets group. (People)
According to internal note, UBS is expected to merge its Debt Capital Markets and Leveraged Capital Markets divisions into a single global entity: Leveraged Debt Capital Markets. Internal communication was sent on Tuesday morning to bank employees from David Chin, head of corporate client solutions, APAC; Sam Kendall, head of CCS, Americas; and Javier Oficialdegui, head of CCS, EMEA.
"This step will allow our teams to partner even more closely to provide clients with holistic and comprehensive debt financing solutions, and will allow for more flexible allocation of resources against the opportunity set," the memo states.
Brendan Connolly will lead the group globally.
ING approached Commerzbank about a possible tie-up.
According to Reuters, ING approached Commerzbank about a possible tie-up. Reportedly, ING made the approach to the German government, which owns a stake in the German lender, and to Commerzbank CEO Martin Zielke, but Zielke declined to engage in formal talks.
Ireland's Green REIT put itself up for sale.
Ireland's first real estate investment trust, Green REIT, with assets of €1.5bn ($1.7bn), put itself up for sale in a bid to maximise value for shareholders. The firm, which is listed on the Irish stock market and focuses on office properties in the Dublin area, said the sales process would begin immediately.
"The company's share price has been subject to a material and persistent structural discount to its net asset value per share for over three years now. Following detailed analysis and due consideration, we have decided to focus on the sale of the company or its portfolio of assets," said Gary Kennedy, Green REIT's Chairman.
JP Morgan advises Green REIT.
Italy hopes for Alitalia decision by end-April.
Italy's government hopes for a decision on struggling flagship carrier Alitalia by the end of the month, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said.
"I hope there will be an important decision by the end of April," Toninelli told Rai 1 radio.
Italian railway group Ferrovie dello Stato, which is struggling to find partners ready to inject funds into the airline, was in talks with Delta Air Lines over the rescue of Alitalia. In 2017, after workers rejected the latest in a long line of rescue plans, the carrier was placed under special administration.
However, the chairman of the Italian infrastructure group said on Tuesday that Atlantia is not in talks with railways group Ferrovie dello Stato over a possible involvement in the rescue of flagship carrier Alitalia.
Buyout firms target European listed companies. (FS)
According to Reuters, private equity firms are increasingly targeting listed companies in Europe, against forecasts of a regional economic slowdown. European buyouts hit a 12-year record of $31.6bn so far this year. Almost half of this money has been invested in listed companies.
These worries have led to a 67% fall in European mergers and acquisitions in the Q1. However, private equity firms, which manages with record amounts of money won't stay on the sidelines.
Deals where a public company is bought and delisted hit their highest level last year since a previous boom in 2006–2007 with 170 such deals globally. Of $227bn of public-to-private deals last year, $71bn were in Europe and $118bn in NA.
Sonnedix acquired French Solar Portfolio from Glennmont Partners. (FS)
Sonnedix, the global solar independent power producer, completed the acquisition of a portfolio of five car park canopy solar PV projects in northern France with a total operating capacity of 55MWp to Glennmont Partners, Europe's largest fund focusing exclusively on investment in clean energy infrastructure.
Joost Bergsma, CEO and Founding Partner of Glennmont Partners, said: "Glennmont is delighted with the outcome of this important sale of our French solar portfolio with appetite for assets showing no signs of abating. The deal further demonstrates Glennmont's strategy of investing early in high quality assets and optimising these in the initial years of their operational life to facilitate a steady stream of cash flow generation."
AMERICAS
'We didn't know anything other than our negotiations and discussions within Anadarko,' said Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth. 'We've made a full and compelling offer. It's a certain offer, and we intend to close.'
The deal announcement by Chevron cut short the talks between Occidental and Anadarko. The Occidental bid had reached the mid-$70s per share and was structured as a 40% cash deal. Chevron offered $65 per share.
Anadarko is advised by Evercore, Goldman Sachs, Vinson & Elkins, and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. Chevron Corporation is advised by Credit Suisse and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
AT&T sold its minority stake in Hulu back to the streaming video joint venture. The transaction valued Hulu at $15bn, with AT&T's 9.5% interest valued at $1.4bn. The sale did not require any governmental or other third-party approvals and was simultaneously signed and closed.
Walt Disney holds a 60% stake in Hulu via a joint venture, while Comcast has a 30% stake. Based on the joint venture agreement, Disney and Comcast will decide how they want to allocate the shares bought from AT&T. Hulu, which competes with Netflix and Amazon's Prime Video, has more than 25m subscribers and is expected to lose $1.5bn in the current fiscal year.
"We thank AT&T for their support and investment over the past two years and look forward to collaboration in the future. WarnerMedia will remain a valued partner to Hulu for years to come as we offer customers the best of TV, live and on demand, all in one place," said Hulu CEO Randy Freer.
Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, will integrate Salesforce org, the independent nonprofit social enterprise. With Salesforce org, Salesforce will scale its philanthropic efforts and create strategic synergies and operational simplicity that will enable the company to drive even greater success for its nonprofit, education and philanthropy customers.
In the process of combining the two organizations, Salesforce org will convert from a California public benefit corporation into a California business corporation, and Salesforce will pay a one-time cash purchase price of $300m for all shares of Salesforce org. The $300m will be distributed to the independent Salesforce com Foundation, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, for further distribution by the Foundation for future philanthropic purposes. The company will make additional contributions to the Salesforce Foundation.
Airbnb closed the acquisition of HotelTonight, an app for finding hotel rooms at a discount, as it wades more in-depth into the hotel-booking business to attract a wider variety of travelers, from PE and VC firms including Accel, GGV Capital, Battery Ventures, US Venture Partners, First Round Capital, Founder Collective, All Blue Capital & Manhattan Venture Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The HotelTonight app and website will continue to operate as they do today. Sam Shank, HotelTonight co-founder and CEO, will lead the boutique hotel category at Airbnb.
Qatalyst Partners advised HotelTonight.
Vimeo agreed to acquire Magisto, a video creation service with over 100m users. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The combination of Magisto’s professional video creation capabilities with Vimeo’s suite of video hosting, distribution and monetization tools will extend Vimeo’s position as the industry’s most complete video SaaS solution.
“Magisto’s proprietary technology enables cutting edge mobile apps and AI-powered editing tools which, combined with Vimeo’s scale and unmatched creator community, will empower more people to tell compelling stories through video,” said Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo.
Ninepoint Partners, Canadian alternative asset manager, acquired LOGiQ Global Partners, a global institutional advisory business, from Flow Capital Corp, diversified alternative asset investor and advisor, for $12m.
"This is a great strategic fit for our firm," says James Fox, Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Ninepoint Partners. "We have a shared vision with Global Partners which is to help asset allocators improve their portfolios by adding alternative investment strategies and/or investment managers with a sustainable competitive advantage."
Goldman Communications was PR advisor to Ninepoint.
Stagecoach Group completed the sale of its North America Division to an affiliate of Variant Equity Advisors, for EV of $271m. The Stagecoach Board believes that the Disposal represents an opportunity to realise an attractive valuation for the business while refocusing Stagecoach's portfolio on the UK.
"The sale of our North American operations will allow management to focus more closely on the significant opportunities for growth in the UK. We have strong bus and rail operations in the UK where public transport has good prospects as the clear solution to the challenges of increasing road congestion and poor air quality," said Martin Griffiths, Stagecoach Chief Executive Officer.
Sidley Austin advised Variant Equity Advisors. RBC Capital Markets advised Stagecoach Group.
TA Services, the 3PL & Brokerage division of PS Logistics, completed the acquisition of certain assets of Celadon Logistics, a non-asset based brokerage and 3PL provider, from Celadon Group. PS Logistics is a portfolio company of One Equity Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We look forward to welcoming the entire Celadon Logistics team to our TA family," said Scott Schell, President & CEO of TA Services, who will lead the merged organization. "Together with Celadon Logistics' experienced team and expanded service offerings, we are positioned to be the one-stop solution for addressing all of our customers' transportation needs."
Final-round $10bn bids for Fox's Regional Sports Networks.
According to Bloomberg, Walt Disney received final bids of more than $10bn for the Fox regional sports networks. Liberty Media, which is teaming up with Major League Baseball, and Sinclair Broadcast Group are among those competing for the assets. Ice Cube's Big3 US basketball league, reportedly backed by Centerbridge Partners, also made a bid. The entertainer lined up Serena Williams and Snoop Dogg as content partners if he succeeds in acquiring the networks. Apollo Global Management and Platinum Equity also expressed interest in acquiring the assets.
Activist investor ValueAct bought a stake in a trucking company, Nikola Motor. (FS)
ValueAct Capital Management bought a stake in Nikola Motor Co, a hydrogen fuel cell trucking company, which seeks to raise $1.5bn to expand in the US.
Before that fundraising campaign, the firm invested $30-40m in Nikola, according to ValueAct CEO Jeff Ubben. The precise stake is uncertain, though well less than 5%, he said. San Francisco-based ValueAct purchased shares from Nikola's CEO Trevor Milton along with some early investors.
HIG sued for $300m for stealing trade secrets. (FS)
HIG Capital was sued by translation company TransPerfect which seeks $300m million in damages. TransPerfect claims that its competitor Lionbridge Technologies and HIG Capital improperly accessed trade secrets and confidential financial information during a 2016 attempt to acquire TransPerfect. The company alleges that HIG, which was negotiating a separate deal to purchase Lionbridge at the time, used an auction process to obtain confidential documents on TransPerfect customers, strategy and more, and passed them on to Lionbridge.
The suit also alleges further improprieties, including that Credit Suisse was chosen to run the auction of TransPerfect despite the fact it was already advising HIG on its separate talks with Lionbridge.
Centerbridge Partners considers Reddy Ice sale. (FS)
According to Bloomberg, Centerbridge Partners considers several options including a potential sale for Reddy Ice Holdings, a packaged ice company.
The New York-based private equity firm is working with an adviser on possible sale process in the second half of the year. No final decision has been made, and Centerbridge could decide to keep the ice maker and distributor.
Canada's Lundin Mining to seek more assets.
According to Reuters, CEO Marie Inkster said that Canada's Lundin Mining Corp is looking to buy more mining assets after the company announced its purchase of a Brazilian copper-gold mine from Yamana Gold for more than $1bn.
Lundin prefers a copper asset, but would also consider a zinc poly-metallic mine, with nickel a distant third option, Inkster said. The Toronto-based company is seeking a project where exploration is complete, which it can take over and build, she said.
"Our leverage will still be extremely low after we close this deal, and we have great mines that are cash flowing. But there's a scarcity of copper assets right now, and we have to be patient," Inkster said.
Caesars appointed new CEO & explores takeover interest.
Caesars Entertainment appointed Anthony Rodio as its new CEO. Rodio was previously the head of Tropicana Entertainment, a casino operator owned by Carl Icahn that was sold last year for $1.9bn.
The appointment follows the announcement that Caesars set up a board committee to oversee the company's efforts to create more shareholder value. The committee's role is to evaluate takeover interest it has received amid continued pressure on Caesars from activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns c. 15% in the company, to sell itself.
Blackstone raised $6.9bn for secondaries fund.
According to regulatory filings, Blackstone raised at least $6.9bn for its eighth secondaries fund. Previous reports indicated the vehicle has an $8bn target and it conducted the first close on $3.4bn a few months ago. Dubbed Blackstone Strategic Partners Secondaries VIII, The fund's predecessor raised $7.5bn in 2017.
PE firm Eldridge Industries closed $1.4bn in funding. (FS)
Eldridge Industries, a private investment firm, closed $1.4bn of common equity issued to a partnership owned substantially by Swiss businessman and philanthropist, Hansjörg Wyss, and Eldridge Co-Founder, CEO and controlling-member, Todd Boehly. This is the second investment the Wyss and Boehly partnership have made into Eldridge.
APAC
Japan's Nidec Corp agreed to buy OMRON Automotive Electronics from OMRON Corporation for JPY100bn ($894m) as the precision motor maker accelerates its push into autonomous driving. The deal is expected to close by the end of October.
The deal is part of Nidec's drive to double sales of the automotive business to JPY600bn ($5.4bn) by the year ending March 2021. Omron Automotive Electronics has strengths in electronics devices for body control and motor control systems, as well as laser radar and driver monitoring systems. The acquisition would allow Nidec to provide a full spectrum of sensors required for autonomous driving.
Japan Post sold the insurance business stake for $2.9bn.
Japan Post sold 136.7m ($21.20) shares at JPY2375 per share, the company said in a filing, which represented a 4% discount from Monday's closing price of JPY2474 ($22.08). With that transaction, Japan Post raised $2.9bn.
Japan Post said earlier this month it would reduce its stake in Japan Post Insurance – part of its effort to advance the privatisation of its group companies – by selling 168m shares.
Sberbank cannot confirm talks with Azeri SOCAR on refinery sale.
German Gref, CEO of Russia's largest lender, said he could not confirm if the bank were in talks with State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic about a possible sale of the Antipinsky oil refinery.
Earlier media reported that Sberbank, Antipinsky's main creditor, was in talks about handing over control of the refinery to SOCAR.
DCP Capital raised $2.5bn for China-focused funds. (FS)
DCP Capital, which was co-founded by David Liu, former KKR & Co Greater China head, raised about $2.5bn in its debut dollar and yuan funds, giving the private equity firm firepower to invest in Greater China.
DCP raised over $2bn for its DCP Capital Partner I dollar fund from investors. The fund was "significantly" oversubscribed due to strong demand from investors such as pension funds, funds-of-funds, and sovereign wealth funds.
Along with a concurrently raised yuan-denominated fund, committed capital reached about $2.5bn, putting DCP among several China-focused investment managers that have funds in both US and Chinese currencies.
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