AMERICAS
Illumina, a developer and manufacturer of integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological functions, completed the acquisition of the remaining 85.5% of GRAIL, a multi-cancer early detection company, from Bristol-Myers Squibb, CPPIB, Sutter Hill Ventures, Celgene Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Sequoia Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, PSPIB, Hillhouse Capital Management, Decheng Capital, Ally Bridge, 6 Dimensions Capital, McKesson Ventures, Biomatics Capital, Fairview Capital Partners for $8bn. GRAIL stockholders (including Illumina) receive a total consideration of $8bn, consisting of $3.5bn in cash and $4.5bn in shares of Illumina common stock, subject to a collar.
"Together, we have an important opportunity to introduce routine and broadly available blood-based screening that enables early cancer detection when treatment can be more effective and less costly. Multi-cancer early detection is better for patients, their physicians, and payors. As we accelerate our path to clinical leadership and the path to multi-cancer early detection, we will continue to drive significant value creation for our stockholders," Francis deSouza, Illumina President and CEO.
Illumina was advised by Goldman Sachs, Cravath Swaine & Moore, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Joele Frank. Goldman Sachs was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Debt financing was provided by Goldman Sachs. GRAIL was advised by Morgan Stanley, Latham & Watkins, McDonald Hopkins, Proskauer Rose, Ropes & Gray and Sard Verbinnen & Co. J&J was advised by Goodwin Procter.
Nordic Capital, Insight Partners, 22C Capital and Keith Dunleavy, Inovalon Founder and CEO, agreed to acquire Inovalon, a providesr of cloud-based analytics and platforms for healthcare providers and pharmaceutical firms, for $7.3bn.
Under the terms of the agreement, Inovalon stockholders will receive $41 per share in cash for each share of Class A common stock or Class B common stock, representing a 25.3% premium.
“The Inovalon Board regularly evaluates opportunities to enhance stockholder value. Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thorough process of evaluating strategic alternatives and represents a compelling opportunity to deliver immediate and more certain cash value to stockholders at a significant premium,” William J. Teuber, Inovalon Independent Director of the Board and Chairman.
Inovalon is advised by Evercore, JP Morgan, Latham & Watkins and Joele Frank. Insight Partners is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Kirkland & Ellis and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Nordic Capital is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Kirkland & Ellis and Brunswick Group.
Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm specializing in infrastructure investing, completed the acquisition of Astound Broadband, a cable operator in the United States that operates regional providers, from investors TPG Capital and Patriot Media Management for $8.1bn.
“As we continue to grow our platform, our core objectives remain the same: to deliver exceptional service to our customers and communities, a best-in-class experience for our employees, and outstanding results for our investors. Our mission and management vision are aligned with Stonepeak and we very much look forward to our partnership with them," Steve Simmons, Patriot Media Chairman.
Stonepeak was advised by Bank of America, Lazard, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Astound Broadband was advised by JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, PJT Partners, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Seyfarth Shaw and Matter Communications.
Schroders, an asset manager which holds a 6.3% stake in Avast, a provider of security software, raised concerns over the $8.6bn merger with NortonLifeLock, a firm that sells cybersecurity and identity protection for individual consumers.
Sue Noffke, Schroders head of UK equities, told taht the terms materially undervalue the London-listed group, Reuters reported.
Avast is advised by JP Morgan, UBS, White & Case and Finsbury Glover Hering. NortonLifeLock is advised by Deloitte, Evercore, Kirkland & Ellis, Macfarlanes and Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Starwood, a global private investment firm focused on real estate and energy investments, submitted an enhanced all-cash proposal to acquire Monmouth Real Estate, a public equity REIT, for $19.93 per Monmouth share reduced by the termination fee owed to Equity Commonwealth, a real estate investment trust, of $72m or $0.73 per share.
Starwood’s enhanced proposal would provide net consideration of $19.2 per share to Monmouth shareholders after payment of the EQC termination fee.
"Our increased all-cash offer is superior to EQC’s revised proposal given the higher certain value that is not exposed to market risk or dependent upon unproven execution. The EQC offer requires Monmouth shareholders to forego the certainty of our higher cash offer in exchange for speculative value creation from a merged entity with no synergies and no obvious competitive advantages in the highly competitive industrial sector where EQC has not actively participated," Ethan Bing, Starwood Managing Director.
Monmouth is advised by CS Capital Advisors, JP Morgan, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan and Joele Frank. Equity Commonwealth is advised by Goldman Sachs and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. Starwood is advised Innisfree M&A and Sard Verbinnen & Co.
NextGen Acquisition, a SPAC, announced that its stockholders approved $2bn business combination with Xos, a manufacturer of fully electric Class 5 to Class 8 commercial vehicles, at a special meeting of stockholders.
The transaction will provide $575m of proceeds to the company, assuming no redemptions, including a $220m PIPE, anchored by Janus Henderson Investors, as well as a consortium of truck dealers led by Thompson Truck Centers, a truck repair shop.
NextGen is advised by Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Rothschild & Co and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Financial advisors are advised by Sullivan & Cromwell. Xos is advised by Bank of America, Cooley and ICR.
ORBCOMM, a network gear manufacturer, announced that the Federal Communications Commission approved the transfer of control of ORBCOMM’s FCC authorizations in connection with a $1.1bn acquisition of ORBCOMM by GI Partners, a private equity firm.
The FCC’s approval satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the proposed acquisition, which remains subject to other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be completed by early September of 2021.
ORBCOMM is advised by PJT Partners, Raymond James and Milbank. GI Partners is advised by Evercore, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Chris Tofalli Public Relations.
Arlington Capital-backed BlueHalo, a purpose-built provider of industry capabilities in space superiority, directed energy, missile defense and C4ISR, agreed to acquire Intelligent Automation, a provider of advanced technology development and productized solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We believe that IAI is a great fit for BlueHalo as one of our core capabilities as a company is utilizing our resources, whether they be laboratories, facilities, technical reach-back, systems and processes, or intellectual property to enhance and mature promising next-generation solutions into capabilities and products to address some of the most technically demanding challenges facing the national security community," David Wodlinger, Arlington Partner.
BlueHalo is advised by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. Intelligent Automation is advised by Raymond James and Miles & Stockbridge.
Accenture Federal Services, a firm engaged in defense, intelligence, public safety, civilian and military health industry, completed the acquisition of Novetta, a provider of big data, cyber, and social analytics solutions, from The Carlyle Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Novetta will bring expanded capabilities, broad client relationships, and unique assets that complement our work in the national security sector and add greater scale to our digital capabilities. By joining forces, we will help clients in all government sectors become leaders in using sophisticated analytics and emerging technologies to solve problems in new ways and transform how they meet their missions," John Goodman, Accenture Federal Services CEO.
Novetta was advised by JP Morgan and Robert W Baird.
DreamBox Learning, an education technology provider, completed the acquisition of Reading Plus, an evidence-based online reading program provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
This acquisition comes as DreamBox continues to experience strong momentum, which is further validation of its strategy: best-of-breed dual-discipline solution, embedded formative assessment, robust data and analytics capabilities, and value-added services.
DreamBox Learning was advised by RH Strategic.
Insight Partners led a $225m Series D funding round in Postman, a collaboration platform for API development. Other investors include Coatue, Battery Ventures, BOND, CRV, Nexus Venture Partners, Gokul Rajaram and Girish Mathrubootham.
“APIs have quickly become the fundamental building blocks of software used by developers in every industry, in every country across the globe—and Postman has firmly established itself as the preferred platform for developers. Postman has the opportunity to become a key pillar of how enterprises build, deliver products, and seamlessly enable partnerships across the ecosystem. Their continued, rapid expansion and strong management team point to a future for Postman with virtually unlimited possibilities,"Jeff Horing, Insight Partners Managing Director.
Postman was advised by Offleash.
Hillhouse Capital, a global Asia-focused private equity firm, agreed to invest $150m in Genscript Biotech-backed Probio Cayman, an antibody drug discovery company.
The proceeds from the investment are intended to be used to satisfy the capital expenditure and other general working capital needs in the operation of the main business of Probio Cayman. The capital would provide an additional source of funding for the plan to build up the good manufacturing practice manufacturing capacity and the research and development capabilities of Probio Cayman to develop its existing business.
Rekor Systems, a company that provides license plate recognition and security solutions, completed the acquisition of Waycare Technologies, a company that optimizes traffic management systems leveraging predictive analytics, for $61m.
"With the Waycare acquisition, we are significantly strengthening our footprint and meaningfully enhancing our service offering. This acquisition accelerates access to new markets and provides us with new vendor relationships to access unique data sources," Robert Berman, Rekor President and CEO.
BlackRock and Knighthead Capital led a $200m Series B funding round in Breeze Airways, a provider of airline services intended to make the travel experience better for passengers. Other investors include Peterson Partners and Sandlot Partners.
“Welcoming funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and Knighthead and additional funding from our existing investors further validates our business strategy to offer new nonstop flights at reduced fares between smaller cities where the Guest’s only choice today is a lengthy connecting flight through a large hub airport,” David Neeleman, Breeze Co-Founder and CEO.
CME denied rumors of a $16bn bid for Cboe.
CME Group, a futures exchange operator, denied a media report that it approached rival Cboe Global Markets, a provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, with a $16bn all-share takeover offer, Reuters reported.
Financial Times reported before that CME offered 0.75 of its own shares for each Cboe share, representing a per-share value of $150. CME said the report was false.
Databricks valuation grows to $38bn in funding deal. (FS)
Databricks agreed to a new investment deal that will value the business at $38bn. The funding shows investors’ enthusiasm for services that help businesses transition their data to the cloud, Bloomberg reported.
Morgan Stanley will led the investment round, which will inject at least $1.5bn into the company.
SmartStop is planning an IPO.
SmartStop Self Storage REIT, which manages around $1.8bn of assets, is exploring an initial public offering.
The company is in talks with underwriters about a potential listing that could occur as soon as this year. Any proceeds raised are expected to fund future growth. No decisions have been made and the REIT could elect to retain its over-the-counter status.
Whitehorse Liquidity Partners plans to raise $5bn for its new fund. (FS)
Whitehorse Liquidity Partners, a secondaries private equity specialist, is seeking $5bn for its fifth fund – only four months after closing its $4bn predecessor.
The firm has already started pitching Whitehorse Liquidity Partners V to LPs, citing a document from the Minnesota State Board of Investment revealing a potential $100m commitment to the fund.
Felicis Ventures closes a $900m fundraising. (FS)
Felicis Ventures, a venture capital firm, has pulled in $900m of new fundraising capital, just a year after raising more than $500m for its latest flagship investment vehicle.
The firm has collected $600m for a new main vehicle to invest between seed and Series C rounds, and another $300m for a focus fund to provide extra capital to its existing standout portfolio businesses.
EMEA
Nvidia, an American multinational technology company, stated that its acquisition of Arm, a British semiconductor and software design company, is unlikely to be completed within the 18-month period it laid out, as it faces drawn-out regulatory investigations around the world, FT reported.
"Our discussions with regulators are taking longer than initially thought, so it's pushing out the timetable. But we're confident in the deal, we're confident regulators should recognize the benefits of the acquisition," Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO.
Arm is advised by Hogan Lovells. Nvidia is advised by Morgan Stanley, AZB & Partners, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Latham & Watkins and Brunswick Group. SoftBank is advised by Goldman Sachs, The Raine Group, Zaoui & Co, Morrison & Foerster, Kekst CNC and Sard Verbinnen. Financial advisors are advised by White & Case.
Shareholders of AJAX I, a SPAC, voted to adopt a $7bn merger with Cazoo, an online car retailer, and approved all other shareholder proposals in connection with the business combination.
Holders of approximately 61.99% of AJAX’s issued and outstanding shares cast votes at its annual general meeting. Approximately 95.57% of the votes cast approved the merger.
Cazoo is advised by Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Numis Securities, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Brunswick Group and ICR. AJAX I is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, PJT Partners, Kirkland & Ellis and Gagnier Communications.
Britain will investigate possible national security risks from the planned $3.6bn acquisition of Ultra Electronics, a British company serving the defence, security, critical detection and control markets, by Advent-backed Cobham, a global technology and services innovator.
Kwasi Kwarteng, business minister, asked Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, a regulator, to prepare a report on the proposed transaction. The government said the deadline for the report was January 18, 2022. He would seek to stop Ultra from disclosing sensitive information to Cobham about the goods or services it provides to Britain's government and its armed forces, Reuters reported.
Ultra Electronics is advised by JP Morgan, Numis Securities, Slaughter & May and MHP Communications. Cobham is advised by Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Rothschild & Co, Kirkland & Ellis and Tulchan Communications.
Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire NN Investment Partners, an asset management company, from NN Group, an insurance and asset management company, for €1.7bn. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place by the first quarter of 2022.
"This acquisition allows us to accelerate our growth strategy and broaden our asset management platform. NN Investment Partners offers a leading European client franchise and an extension of our strength in insurance asset management. Across NN Investment Partners' offerings they have been successful in integrating sustainability which mirrors our own level of ambition to put responsible investing and stewardship at the heart of our business. We look forward to partnering with the team at NN Investment Partners as we focus on delivering long-term value to our clients and our shareholders," David Solomon, Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO.
NN Group is advised by JP Morgan and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek. Goldman Sachs is advised by Goldman Sachs, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Sullivan & Cromwell.
Public Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund, agreed to acquire a minority stake in Pagani, an Italian supercar maker. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Today we are proud to announce an important partnership with PIF, a key step in our long-term growth strategy, which envisages significant investments to ensure that our next hypercars will keep conveying unique emotions, irrespectively of their powertrain technology. PIF represents the ideal partner to further consolidate Pagani positioning as an iconic brand in the hypercars segment as well as to support its expansion strategy in the lifestyle segment," Horacio Pagani, Pagani Founder.
Pagani is advised by UBS and Withers Worldwide. PIF is advised by Rothschild & Co and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Novator, an English private equity investment firm, completed a $250m investment in DNEG, a provider of visual effects and animation services.
“The global explosion in demand for high-quality content across platforms has given rise to significant opportunities in the media and entertainment market, and we have identified DNEG as having all of the key components in place to take full advantage of these opportunities. Building on its award-winning legacy, we are backing Namit’s vision to accelerate DNEG’s evolution from pure services provider to content production and gaming services powerhouse for the entire eco-system," Thor Björgólfsson, Novator Chairman.
DNEG was advised by ICR.
Federated Hermes, an investment management firm, agreed to acquire the remaining 29.5% stake in Hermes Fund Managers, a provider of investment management services, from BT Pension Scheme, a corporate defined benefit pension scheme, for $162m.
"Over the past three years, our shared values and mutually beneficial areas of expertise have given us the opportunity to engage with BTPS and enjoy an open dialogue with them as a key client and owner. Our combined investment management, stewardship and distribution experience make it prudent for FHI to complete this deal in a timely fashion so that we can continue to focus on expanding our investment and stewardship capabilities while growing our global distribution footprint," J. Christopher Donahue, Federated Hermes President and CEO.
BT Pension is advised by Montfort Communications.
PSG Equity, a growth equity firm, completed a €60m investment in Sport Alliance, a provider of innovative software solutions and services to gyms and fitness suites.
"We are delighted to be partnering with Daniel and his team as we look to build on Sport Alliance's market position in the DACH region. We believe that with our support, Sport Alliance has the potential to become a leading provider of mission-critical software solutions to gyms and fitness studios globally," Edd Hughes, PSG Managing Director.
PSG was advised by Prosek Partners.
Comcast, an American telecommunications conglomerate, and ViacomCBS, an American diversified multinational mass media conglomerate, agreed to form SkyShowtime, a subscription video on demand service platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“With the launch of SkyShowtime we are well positioned to utilize our global content engine to create a compelling streaming offering, quickly and at scale, with a smart strategic phased investment. As a complement to our recently announced Paramount+ partnership with Sky in the UK, Italy, and Germany, SkyShowtime represents a huge opportunity to accelerate our market expansion and build a leadership position in SVOD in Europe," Raffaele Annecchino, ViacomCBS President & CEO.
Comcast is advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Valar Ventures, a venture capital fund, led a $263m Series C funding round in Bitpanda, a crypto exchange, valuing the company at $4.1bn. The round was joined by Alan Howard, REDO Ventures, with existing investors LeadBlock Partners and Jump Capital.
The Series C funding will be used for international expansion and growth, per a press release, as well as going on further beefing up headcount, as well as on gearing up for further scaling of the business.
"We'll keep building the team, opening new offices, and launching new products as we design for scale and optimise for growth. This also means strengthening Bitpanda's position in existing markets — such as in the DACH region, Spain, France, Italy, and Poland, and also enter new markets, such as the UK or the markets in Central and Eastern Europe," Bitpanda spokeswoman.
AGIC to divest Fotona to Vitruvian Partners for $820m. (FS)
AGIC Capital, the private equity firm led by Chinese dealmaker Henry Cai, has agreed to divest a majority stake in Fotona, a medical laser company, for about $820m, Bloomberg reported.
Vitruvian Partners, a London-based buyout firm, emerged as the buyer for the control of Fotona after knocking out other contenders. AGIC will still have a minority stake in the medical laser firm after the sale.
Siemens targets smaller deals after spin-off completion.
Siemens has completed its reorganization, with the recently appointed executive favoring smaller acquisitions to expand the German engineering and technology company.
APAC
Affirma Capital, a private equity firm, agreed to invest $100m in Metanet T Platform, a cloud managed service provider.
"The investment represents an opportunity for us to take a leap forward in technology advancement as well as business expansion. We will continue to grow into the world's leading cloud-specialized company to provide digital transformation services for our customers," Konjon Lee, Metanet T Platform CEO.
China Evergrande considers selling a 65% stake in its EV unit to Xiaomi consortium.
Evergrande Group, a Chinses property developer, consider divesting a 65% stake in its electric vehicle unit to Xiaomi, a smartphone maker, and Shenzhen state-backed investment firms, Reuters reported.
The Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group had a market capitalization of $12.5bn on Thursday and the consortium might be looking to acquire a significant minority stake.
IGO plans to acquire Western Areas.
The companies confirmed in brief, separate statements that they were in early-stage discussions over a deal and how to arrange due diligence, but said there was no certainty that a deal would go through, Reuters reported.
Partners Group plans to sell Straive to Baring. (FS)
Partners Group, a Swiss buyout firm, considers divesting Straive, a content outsourcing company, to Baring Private Equity for $1bn, Bloomberg reported.
The parties are finalizing the details of a transaction to buy Straive, formerly known as SPi Global, for about $1bn. Baring has emerged as the preferred buyer of the business after outbidding other private equity firms.
Cars24 to receive $350m from SoftBank and others. (FS)
Cars24 Services, an online marketplace for used automobiles, is closing in on a deal to raise about $350m from DST Global, SoftBank Group and other investors, Bloomberg reported.
The fundraising would also include Falcon Edge Capital and value the startup at close to $2bn. The funding now envisioned is larger than the $200m to $250m range reported earlier. The round is expected to close in the next couple of weeks.
Emcure Pharmaceuticals is looking to raise $672m in an IPO. (FS)
India's Emcure Pharmaceuticals has filed draft papers with the market regulator for an initial public offering, which could be worth up to $672m.
The offering will consist of a fresh issue of shares worth $147m and a sale of 18.2m shares by existing shareholders, including US private equity firm Bain Capital.
Yitu to consider Hong Kong IPO after its attempt in Shanghai.
Yitu Technology, a Chinese artificial intelligence company, is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong after a tightening regulatory scrutiny stalled an earlier attempt to list in Shanghai, Bloomberg reported.
The AI firm could seek a valuation of about $4bn in the Hong Kong share sale. Yitu, whose application for a STAR board IPO was withdrawn last month when regulators failed to give their approval after a lengthy review process, could file for a listing as soon as later this year.
InferVision is looking for banks for its Hong Kong IPO. (FS)
InferVision, a medical artificial intelligence technology provider, has picked banks to work on its Hong Kong initial public offering, which could raise about $300m, Bloomberg reported.
The company is working with CSC Financial, Goldman Sachs and UBS on the planned listing. The firm, which counts Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Qiming Venture Partners among its backers, could start its share sale as soon as this year.
SC Capital aims at Japanese hotels with a $550m fund. (FS)
Singapore’s SC Capital Partners aims to raise around $550m for a new fund targeting hard-hit Japanese hotels, betting tourism will come back strongly once the coronavirus pandemic subsides, Reuters reported.
The asset manager is one of a number of foreign investors, including Blackstone Group, aiming to scoop up Japanese hotels as owners put assets up for sale to generate cash.
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