EMEA
Kuehne und Nagel International not seeking a deal with Panalpina.
Bosch bought out Daimler's stake in EM-motive.
Kuwait Finance looking to buy Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank for $8bn.
Absa Bank not interested in buying Nigerian banks.
IAG ruled out new bid for Norwegian Air.
AMERICAS
Amcor delays its $5.2bn takeover of Bemis due to government shutdown.
Hydro One terminated its C$6.7bn takeover of Avista.
Great-West Lifeco sold its US business to Dai-ichi Life Insurance for $1.2bn.
Accel-KKR invested $105m in software developer Vistex. (Financial Sponsors)
KKR's Things Remembered prepares bankruptcy filing. (FS)
APAC
BP invested in PowerShare, a Chinese EV charging network. (FS)
KDDI ponders investing in Kabu Securities.
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EMEA
Kuehne und Nagel International not seeking a deal with Panalpina.
Kuehne und Nagel, a global transport and logistics company based in Schindellegi, Switzerland, is not interested in making a bid for Panalpina, a provider of forwarding and logistics services, in light of the recent $4bn acquisition by Danish logistics firm DSV.
“If the Danes absolutely want to buy a hopelessly overvalued Panalpina, then you can’t prevent it,” said Klaus-Michael Kuehne, a majority shareholder of Kuehne und Nagel, dashing speculation that his logistics company could make a counterbid for its smaller Swiss peer.
Shares in DSV, whose tentative cash-and-stock bid for Swiss shipper Panalpina would be its largest takeover, rose nearly 4% in early trading. Panalpina shares fell 1.6%, while Kuehne und Nagel was off 0.2%.
Panalpina is advised by UBS.
Bosch bought out Daimler's stake in EM-motive.
Bosch, a world-leading multinational engineering and electronics company, bought out Daimler's stake in EM-motive, a joint venture the companies set up to make motors for electric and hybrid cars. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The company’s electric motors already feature in vehicles made by Daimler, Porsche, Fiat, Volvo, Peugeot, and StreetScooter, among others. With this move, Bosch above all intends to acquire new customers in the rapidly growing global market,” said Dr. Mathias Pillin, the member of the Powertrain Solutions executive management responsible for the electric-vehicle market segment at Bosch.
Kuwait Finance looking to buy Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank for $8bn.
Kuwait Finance, the first bank operating in accordance with the Islamic Shari'a, is considering offering a premium of about 35% to buy Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank in a share swap deal that could create the Gulf’s sixth-biggest lender with $92bn of assets. The premium is based on the companies’ closing share prices on Wednesday.
The boards of Kuwait Finance House and Ahli United Bank are due to meet to discuss valuation reports.
HSBC and Credit Suisse are advising on the deal.
Absa Bank not interested in buying Nigerian banks.
Absa Bank, a South African financial services provider, offering personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, as well as bancassurance, will not buy a Nigerian bank, said its CEO Maria Ramos, clearing up a lingering question over how it will execute its aggressive growth strategy.
“For us to be in the top three or four would mean us going out and acquiring a Nigerian business,” she said on Thursday. “The Nigerian banks are big and expensive and we wouldn’t be looking to do that.”
IAG ruled out new bid for Norwegian Air.
British Airways owner IAG, an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company with its registered office in Madrid, said on Thursday it would not make a new bid for Norwegian Air and would sell its remaining stake in the budget airline, sending Norwegian’s shares sharply lower.
“International Airlines Group confirms that it does not intend to make an offer for Norwegian Air Shuttle and that, in due course, it will be selling its 3.93% shareholding in Norwegian,” IAG said in a statement.
Norwegian, which has shaken up long-haul rivals by offering cut-price transatlantic fares, said in May it had received two conditional proposals for a full takeover from IAG but had rejected them because they undervalued the company.
Norwegian Air stock dropped 26% after IAG’s statement.
AMERICAS
Amcor delays its $5.2bn takeover of Bemis due to government shutdown.
Amcor, a global packaging company, postponed the closing date of its takeover of Bemis, a global manufacturer of flexible packaging products and pressure-sensitive materials, because of the US government shutdown. The $5.2bn all-stock deal was initially expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, Amcor had said in August last year. Now it has been pushed to the second quarter.
“In the United States, antitrust approval and completion of shareholder meeting documentation review by the US Securities and Exchange Commission have been delayed due to the partial US government shutdown,” Amcor said in a statement on Thursday.
Goldman Sachs, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Faegre Baker Daniels and MinterEllison advised Bemis. Moelis & Co, UBS, Herbert Smith Freehills and Kirkland & Ellis advised Amcor.
Triumph Group, an international supplier of aerospace services, structures, systems and support, sold its wing manufacturing unit to Bombardier, a multinational aerospace and transportation company based in Canada. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This agreement is a pivotal step in our transformation as we continue our focus on our core Integrated Systems and Aftermarket offerings and our goal of achieving predictable profitability. This transition in our portfolio enhances our free cash flow and margins in FY’20 and beyond. We’re proud of our work to date on the Global 7500 program and we will continue to support Bombardier throughout its portfolio,” said Dan Crowley, President and CEO of Triumph Group.
Citigroup and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised Triumph Group.
Hydro One terminated its C$6.7bn takeover of Avista.
Hydro One, an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario, agreed to acquire Avista Corp, an American energy company, for C$6.7bn ($5.3bn) in July 2017. Avista shareholders were to receive $53 per common share, representing a 24% premium to Avista's share price on July 18, 2017.
The deal was canceled due to lack of regulatory backing. Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission rejected the deal in December, saying it would not adequately protect Avista or its customers from political and financial risk.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Kirkland & Ellis advised Avista. Moelis & Co and Bracewell advised Hydro One.
Wuhan Zhongshang, a retail company in China, acquired Easyhome New Retail, a home improvement retailer, for $5.6bn from Alibaba, a Chinese multinational conglomerate specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet and technology.
The deal will allow the reverse initial public offering for Easyhome’s retail arm on the Shenzhen stock exchange. The retail unit runs a digital platform which allows customers to buy items and order services, and which is currently linked to 284 Easyhome stores. The platform was developed with the help of Alibaba, which bought 15% of the company in February for $865m.
Great-West Lifeco sold its US business to Dai-ichi Life Insurance for $1.2bn.
Great-West Lifeco, a life insurance company, agreed to sell its US individual life insurance and annuity business to Dai-ichi Life Insurance, the third-largest life insurer in Japan by revenue, for $1.2bn.
“This transaction allows us to focus on the retirement and asset-management markets in the US,” Great-West Lifeco Chief Executive Officer Paul Mahon said in the statement. “With the strengthened capital position resulting from this transaction, we will also consider other capital-management activities, including potential share repurchases, to mitigate the earnings impact from the sale.”
Accel-KKR invested $105m in software developer Vistex. (FS)
Accel-KKR invested $105m in Vistex, a Chicago-based global software company, which serves businesses of all sizes around the world, enabling mission-critical processes that manage trade, channel and vendor programs, pricing, performance incentives and rights and royalties. Vistex complements its array of software offerings with implementation, business advisory and analytics services.
"This is the first equity capital raise in the history of the company. It is unprecedented for an enterprise software company to grow to a size and scale like Vistex without any external capital," said Sanjay Shah, who founded Vistex in early 1999 and has been the Chief Architect and CEO since its inception. "Together, Vistex and Accel-KKR will focus on the company's next stage of growth and accelerate progress towards achievement of its strategic objectives."
Raymond James, a leading diversified financial services company, acquired Silver Lane Advisors, a boutique investment bank focused on M&A in the financial services sector. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Consistent with our long-term view of consolidation across the financial services space, we see particular opportunity in the asset management and wealth management categories, which is where Silver Lane excels with unparalleled expertise,” said Jim Bunn, President of Raymond James Global Equities & Investment Banking. “Integrating their deeply experienced professionals into our existing Financial Services practice further positions us to capitalize on the growing demand for asset and wealth management expertise, while offering clients a broader range of capabilities.”
KKR's Things Remembered prepares bankruptcy filing. (FS)
Things Remembered, a US retailer that sells engraved gifts and keepsakes is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in the coming days and shutter most of its roughly 400 stores. The company is also seeking buyers for some of its stores.
The closely-held retailer, which has roughly $120m of debt and faces a cash crunch, is owned by a consortium of investors including private-equity giant KKR, which was a lender alongside other financial firms that forgave debt in exchange for ownership of the struggling chain in 2016.
APAC
BP invested in PowerShare, a Chinese EV charging network. (FS)
BP’s venturing business, BP Ventures, invested in PowerShare, a leading integrated hardware and software solutions provider for electric vehicle charging in China. The investment is part of PowerShare’s Series A round, which was led by BP Ventures and draws support from DETONG Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm in China. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Lamar McKay, BP Deputy Chief Executive, said: “China is the world’s largest EV market and a key market for BP as we seek to expand our advanced mobility offer. Our investment into PowerShare, BP Ventures’ first direct investment in China, demonstrates our continued intent to provide charging solutions and advanced mobility offers to Chinese consumers both on and off our forecourts.”
KDDI ponders investing in Kabu Securities.
KDDI Corporation, a Japanese telecommunications operator, is considering investing in Kabu Securities Co, an online securities company in Japan. The investment could total up to JPY100bn ($913m) and give KDDI a minority stake. Kabu is currently owned by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
KDDI and Kabu said in statements that they were considering various possibilities but nothing had been decided.
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