AMERICAS
Intuit, an American business and financial software company, and Credit Karma, a consumer technology platform, entered into a consent decree with the US Department of Justice. The companies also entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance with the New York State Attorney General that, along with the DOJ action, moves Intuit's acquisition of Credit Karma one step closer to closing, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Intuit and Credit Karma also announced Credit Karma's agreement with Square, a provider of software and hardware payments solutions, under which Credit Karma will divest its Credit Karma Tax business to Square.
"We are very excited to reach this important milestone today. This brings us one step closer to transforming personal finance by making it simpler for consumers to find the right financial products, put more money in their pockets, and provide financial expertise and advice. We are pleased to have cleared this necessary regulatory review with DOJ and appreciate their careful consideration of this transaction. Consumers will continue to benefit from the Credit Karma Tax product as part of Square," Sasan Goodarzi, Intuit CEO.
Credit Karma is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Intuit is advised by Qatalyst Partners, Latham & Watkins and Abernathy MacGregor Group. Qatalyst Partners is advised by Goodwin Procter. Silver Lake is advised by Ropes & Gray and Edelman.
Cleveland-Cliffs, a company involved in mining, beneficiation, and pelletizing of iron ore, received clearance from the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission for its acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA, a steel and mining company. This clearance represents the most significant milestone toward the completion of this transaction and re-affirms the anticipated closing of the deal in December 2020.
"We are pleased that the federal antitrust authorities have cleared our transaction ahead of schedule. With that, we have a clear path toward closing this transaction next month, as planned," Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
ArcelorMittal is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Cleveland-Cliffs is advised by Goldman Sachs and Jones Day. Goldman Sachs is advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
Landcadia Holdings II, a blank check company co-sponsored by Fertitta Entertainment and Jefferies Financial Group, received New Jersey Casino Control Commission's approval for its $745m merger with Golden Nugget Online Gaming, a US online real money casino.
"We are appreciative of the efforts of both the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Casino Control Commission in approving our transaction," Tilman J. Fertitta, Landcadia II Co-Chairman and CEO.
Golden Nugget Online Gaming is advised by Haynes and Boone. Landcadia Holdings II is advised by Houlihan Lokey, Jefferies & Company and White & Case. Financial advisors are advised by Sullivan & Cromwell.
Square, an American financial services, merchant services aggregator, and mobile payment company, agreed to acquire Credit Karma Tax, a provider of a free, do-it-yourself tax filing service for consumers, from Credit Karma, an American multinational personal finance company, for $50m.
"Filing taxes is critical and challenging for all Americans, and in recent years we've seen more customers shift to filing taxes themselves. Credit Karma Tax provides a seamless, mobile-first solution for individuals to file their taxes at no cost. We're excited to be joining an entrepreneurial team and continue to build simple, innovative tools for Cash App customers," Patrick Fink, Credit Karma Tax Director of Engineering.
Square is advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Fenwick & West. Credit Karma is advised by Goldman Sachs, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Athene Holding, a financial services company, agreed to acquire Donlen, an American fleet leasing and management company, from Hertz Global Holdings, an American car rental company, for $875m.
"In support of the business, strengthening the balance sheet and its significant growth opportunity, we are making an upfront investment of approximately $1bn, and we are prepared to provide incremental capital that would support approximately $2bn of additional growth in the fleet. We plan to support Donlen with resources to invest in technology and grow their team, which will enable them to continue offering best-in-class service to their long-standing customer base," Jim Belardi, Athene Chairman and CEO.
Hertz is advised by Moelis & Co, White & Case and FTI Consulting.
Lightspeed POS, a point-of-sale and e-commerce software provider based in Montreal, completed the acquisition of ShopKeep, a cloud commerce platform provider based in New York City, for $440m.
"ShopKeep's commitment to enabling independent businesses to dream big and rise above industry and economic challenges is deeply aligned with our own mission to power the future of commerce. This acquisition will bring ShopKeep merchants, small and medium-sized businesses that make up the backbone of the US economy, into the Lightspeed family, providing them even more crucial product innovation and world-class support as they drive the reinvention of American commerce," Dax Dasilva, Lightspeed Founder and CEO.
Lightspeed POS was advised by RBC Capital Markets.
Air Canada offered concessions related to its acquisition of Transat, a Canadian tour operator, addressing EU antitrust concerns, Reuters reported.
The European Commission said the commitments had been submitted on November 25. As a result, it has extended the deadline for its decision by three weeks to January 29.
The investigation was opened in May on concerns that the deal could push up prices and reduce choice for flights between Europe and Canada.
Air Canada is advised by Morgan Stanley.
Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace, defence, arms, security, and advanced technologies company, completed the acquisition of the Hypersonics portfolio of Integration Innovation, a software and systems engineering company based in Huntsville, Alabama. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Our customers require the most forward-thinking, advanced technology that anticipates and addresses their national security requirements. This business combination not only reinforces our commitment to their missions, but also expands our portfolio in a strategic way. Combining i3's talent and domain expertise with our shared vision for hypersonic strike will expand how we think about and deliver this critical capability to the warfighter across domains," Eric Scherff, Lockheed Martin Vice President.
Integration Innovation was advised by Houlihan Lokey.
Salesforce Ventures, an investing arm of Salesforce, agreed to join the Series D funding round of AppsFlyer, an analytics firm that helps marketers, app developers and others evaluate the performance of their advertising campaigns.
The investment raises the size of the round to more than $225m from $210m. AppsFlyer is now valued at $2bn.
General Atlantic was advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
Federal officials granted TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance a weeklong extension of a deadline for completing a divestiture deal. The extension to December 4 was granted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, a federal panel that oversees cross-border mergers and acquisitions. As a result, TikTok challenged the legality of a Trump administration order requiring its shutdown if it isn't sold.
A Treasury Department spokesperson said the one-week extension from a November 27 deadline was granted "to allow time to review a revised submission that the Committee recently received."
Sycamore considers purchase of Ann Taylor. (FS)
Sycamore Partners is finalizing a plan to buy assets of bankrupt Ascena Retail Group, including the Ann Taylor and Loft brands, Bloomberg reported. The private equity firm is offering to buy the brands from Ascena before the company asks for court permission to confirm its bankruptcy plan. Sycamore and Ascena are negotiating over price and talks are ongoing.
Ascena's bankruptcy plan left room for a potential bidder to emerge through a sale process while also allowing lenders to take control of the business if a buyer did not materialize.
Daniel Kretinsky raises Foot Locker stake to 10.3%. (FS)
Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire who invested in Macy's earlier this year, boosted his stake in Foot Locker, making him the sneaker store chain's top shareholder, Bloomberg reported.
Kretinsky's Vesa Equity Investment now owns 10.3% of the company's common shares. The firm previously revealed a 6% stake in May. Its current stake in the New York-based company has a market value of about $400m.
Stripe seeks funding at $70bn valuation.
Stripe, a private financial technology business, is in talks to raise a new funding round valuing it higher than its last private valuation of $36bn, Bloomberg reported.
The valuation being discussed could be more than $70bn or significantly higher, at as much as $100bn. That would make it currently the most valuable venture-backed startup in the US.
Compass picks banks for IPO. (FS)
Compass, a SoftBank-backed company that's among the largest real estate brokerages in the US, selected underwriters for a potential IPO, Bloomberg reported.
The New York-based startup is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley ahead of a listing that's slated for 2021.
Charlesbank Capital raise up to $3.75bn for the tenth flagship fund. (FS)
Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm, is eyeing its biggest ever vehicle, just a couple of years after beginning to invest its $3bn ninth flagship fund, AltAssets reported.
The firm is targeting $3.25bn for Fund X with a $3.75bn hard cap according to an investor presentation made to the Rhode Island State Investment Commission.
EMEA
Castellum, a real estate investment company, made a $3.4bn cash and stock bid for Entra, a Norwegian real estate company, starting a bidding war against Samhällsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden, which owns residential and public buildings throughout Sweden.
Entra said that the potential offer from SBB will not be recommended by its board. The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries agreed to sell its 8.2% stake to Castellum.
"The combination of Castellum and Entra will create a new Nordic region champion that will feature the largest institutional-grade asset portfolio, a highly resilient and low-risk tenant roster with a large proportion of public sector tenants, one of the strongest balance sheets in the commercial real estate sector, strong growth prospects through the combined development pipelines, and a joint capacity to source new investment opportunities across the entire Nordic region," Castellum.
Castellum is advised by Danske Bank, JP Morgan, BAHR and Mannheimer Swartling. SBB is advised by Arctic Securities, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Thommessen, Vinge and Wiersholm. The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries is advised by Carnegie Investment Bank.
Private equity firm EMZ Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in ASSEPRO Group, an insurance broker in the SME segment in Switzerland. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are delighted to acquire ASSEPRO together with Dieter Bartl and the management team. As leading provider of insurance, risk management and adjacent services to SMEs in Switzerland we believe in significant future growth potential. As partner of the management team and all stakeholders of ASSEPRO we will actively support the growth plans of the Group," Klaus Maurer, EMZ Partner.
ASSEPRO Group is advised by Lincoln International. EMZ Partners is advised by Roland Berger, Cowen & Company, Ebner Stolz, Rothschild & Co, Bar & Karrer, Latham & Watkins, Renzenbrink & Partner, Walder Wyss and wdp Wachter Digital Partners.
Abris Capital Partners, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire Scanmed, a Poland-based healthcare network operator, from Life Healthcare Group, a private hospital operator, for $90m. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
"We look forward to working hand in hand with Scanmed's experienced management team and first-class medical personnel – the key asset of the group – in establishing the company as an institution of choice for Polish patients. We are also privileged to partner with a company that has provided such vital support in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in Poland, in cooperation with public healthcare institutions," Wojciech Łukawski, Abris Capital Partners Partner.
Life Healthcare Group is advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers and DLA Piper. Abris Capital Partners is advised by Bain & Co, Bureau Veritas, Ernst & Young, Vienna Capital Partners, Greenberg Traurig, Hydra Strategy and Spectator PR.
Private equity firm Alcedo completed the acquisition of an 80% stake in Friulair, a group active in the design, production and sale of dryers, filters, refrigerators and accessories for the treatment of compressed air and industrial water refrigeration systems. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Despite the uncertainty of current times, we are proud to support entrepreneurial excellence such as Friulair. We believe that the compressed air and refrigeration sectors are set to be a solid long-term growth driver of industries thanks to the increasing attention to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The company has excellent growth opportunities, especially in foreign markets and Alcedo is enthusiast to start working with Luigi Vaccaro to accelerate growth, including through acquisition," Maurizio Tiveron, Alcedo Partner.
Friulair was advised by APC Partners. Alcedo was advised by KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, goetzpartners, Tauw and NCTM. Debt financing was provided by Anthilia Capital Partners and Gruppo Banca Finint. Debt providers were advised by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Private equity firms Chequers Capital and Paragon Partners agreed to acquire 7days, a medical workwear supplier, from Silverfleet Capital, a pan-European private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have taken a number of important steps to expand the market-leading position of 7days, both organically and through a strategic acquisition. 7days has proved not only to be resilient, in particular during the current Covid-19 pandemic, but also to grow sustainably above market averages," Benjamin Hubner, Silverfleet Capital Principal.
Silverfleet Capital is advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, goetzpartners, William Blair & Co, Latham & Watkins, McDermott Will & Emery and Shearman & Sterling.
Apax-led consortium drops out of the auction for Cedacri. (FS)
A consortium of Apax and Reply, a digital services firm, dropped out of the auction process for Cedacri, an Italian banking software firm, leaving three bidders competing for control of the 44-year old business, Reuters reported.
Accenture and Bain Capital-backed Engineering, an Italian IT services provider, submitted rival bids for Cedacri ahead of a mid-November deadline and progressed to the second stage of the auction. Dublin-based software and financial-data provider ION, led by Italian businessman Andrea Pignataro, is the third bidder left in the process.
The company, which provides banking solutions, cloud services, big data and advanced analytics to over 70 banks, has been valued at more than €1bn ($1.2bn), representing a multiple in excess of 10 times its core earnings of about €100m ($119m).
Public Investment Fund and ADQ consider a joint acquisition of Bausch Health Egyptian business. (FS)
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and ADQ, two of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East, are weighing the purchase of Bausch Health's Cairo-based drug unit. In addition, the two funds have held talks to work closely on other transactions in areas such as food security, health care and industrials.
ADQ has been holding talks to acquire Bausch’s Egyptian business, known as Amoun Pharmaceutical, which could be valued at around $700m. Bausch, formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, has been reshaping its operations since gaining infamy on Wall Street for raising drug prices. One activist investor, Glenview Capital, has been pushing Bausch to sell or spin-off more businesses.
Italian lawmakers plan to stop the divestment of Monte Paschi.
Lawmakers within Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's Italian coalition are planning to stall finance ministry's strategy to offload struggling lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena to UniCredit, Bloomberg reported.
The Five Star Movement, the senior party in the coalition, is set to present a proposal this week to limit a tax break in the 2021 budget which would have sweetened the deal for Milan-based UniCredit to buy the Tuscan lender.
The tax relief as drafted by Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri's team is a key component in a package of incentives for potential buyers of Monte Paschi and would be worth as much as €3bn ($3.6bn). The amendment could seek to limit the benefits to €500m ($595m) or to only allow it for companies with fewer than 50 employees.
X5 seeks IPO for online business.
X5, Russia’s largest food retailer, is discussing plans for an IPO for its online business, honouring a pledge to place online expansion at the heart of its latest strategy. This move is announced soon after a successful IPO of Ozon, a Russian online retailer.
"The group’s food delivery business - online shop Perekrestok Vprok (Perekrestok.ru) and the express delivery service from its Pyaterochka and Perekrestok stores - could go public within the next two to three years," Andrei Vasin, X5 Head of investor relations.
X5 last month said it expects Russia’s online retail market to grow by more than 300% in the next three years and sees its digital business accounting for 5% of group revenue by 2023. Vasin estimated the value of its digital business at about $3bn.
Committed Advisors raised €1.6bn for its Fund IV. (FS)
Committed Advisors, a secondary private equity specialist, surged past the target for its fourth fund to hit a €1.6bn ($1.9bn) hard cap final close. The firm had already passed the €1bn ($1.2bn) mark for Committed Advisors Secondary Fund IV, putting it well on the way to its initial €1.25bn ($1.48bn) target.
"Our global insights and broader pool of opportunities provided by our presence on the ground in Europe, North America and Asia remains a strong differentiator in a fragmented market," Barthelemy de Beaupuy, Committed Advisors Managing Partner.
APAC
Bega Cheese, an Australian diversified food company, agreed to acquire Lion Dairy & Drinks, a producer of diary products, from Kirin Holdings, a Japanese integrated beverages company, for $411m. The sale is unconditional, including no further regulatory approvals required and is expected to be completed in early 2021.
"The sale will see Bega, as an established dairy and food company with more than 120 years of heritage, well placed to drive the business forward given its deep dairy capabilities and strong commitment to iconic Australian brands and the local dairy industry. The completion of this sale will enable further investment behind our priority categories of core beer, craft beer and seltzer in both domestic and international markets," Stuart Irvine, Lion CEO.
Lion Dairy & Drinks is advised by Deutsche Bank and King & Wood Mallesons. Bega Cheese is advised by Kidder Williams and Addisons.
Tiger Global and Dragoneer, two private equity firms, led a funding round in Unacademy, an Indian online education technology company, valuing the company at $2bn. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The opportunity to improve lives through online education is enormous because of its sheer accessibility. The Unacademy team has innovated rapidly to build a leading platform that is taking education to the farthest corners of India. We are very excited to partner with Unacademy and look forward to seeing it scale further," Scott Shleifer, Tiger Global Partner.
Murugappa Group, a business conglomerate, agreed to acquire a 56% stake in CG Power and Industrial Solutions, an Indian multinational company engaged in design, manufacturing, and marketing of products related to power generation, transmission, and distribution, for $95m.
The takeover follows lenders to CG Power agreeing to a one-time loan restructuring.
Evergrande Property's Hong Kong IPO raised $1.8bn.
Evergrande Property Services Group's IPO in Hong Kong raised $1.8bn, with stock sold at the lower end of the price range.
The offering comes after a run of setbacks for China Evergrande Group, the country's second-biggest and most indebted property developer with some $124bn in borrowings as of June. Half the funds raised will go to the company with the other half earmarked for its debt-laden parent China Evergrande Group.
Charter Hall raised $1.9bn for industrial property fund. (FS)
Charter Hall, an Australia-listed property developer, raised about A$2.6bn ($1.9bn) in equity commitments for its flagship industrial property fund, Charter Hall Prime Industrial Fund, DealStreetAsia reported.
The firm first went into the market in April, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and then made another raising in September to finance acquisition opportunities.
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