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AMERICAS
EU antitrust regulators extended their deadline for a decision on Adobe's $20bn bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma by two weeks to January 8, Reuters reported.
The European Commission earlier this week opened a full-scale investigation into the deal, concerned it may remove an important rival to Photoshop maker Adobe and allow it to restrict competition in global markets for the supply of interactive product design tools.
Angelo Gordon-backed AG Mortgage Investment Trust, a real estate investment trust, agreed to acquire Franklin Resources-backed Western Asset Mortgage Capital, an externally managed REIT that invests in, finances, and manages a portfolio of real estate-related securities, for $300m.
"We are very pleased to have reached an agreement to acquire WMC in a combination that presents a compelling, value-maximizing opportunity for both MITT and WMC stockholders. We are confident that combining these highly complementary portfolios will help scale our platform, generate greater operational efficiencies, cost synergies, and accretive earnings growth, and benefit all stockholders. We look forward to moving swiftly to complete this transaction," T.J. Durkin, MITT President and CEO.
The merger agreement with Terra Property Trust has been terminated.
Regeneron, a biotechnology company, agreed to acquire Decibel Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing transformative treatments to restore and improve hearing and balance, for $213m.
"We at Decibel are deeply committed to discovering and advancing innovative new therapies with the potential to be transformative for people with severe forms of hearing loss. We have built a pipeline of gene therapy product candidates for the ear that we believe have such potential. After full consideration, the Decibel Board has determined that this transaction is the best way to maximize shareholder value and ultimately benefit patients," Laurence E. Reid, Decibel President and CEO.
Kohlberg, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Engage PEO, a professional employer organization providing HR outsourcing solutions, from Lightyear Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Engage provides a truly differentiated PEO service offering that delivers unique value to its clients and channel partners. We believe the value proposition Jay and his team have built solves many of the critical issues businesses face in today's complex operating environment and we are excited to be partnering together," Alex Forrey, Kohlberg Managing Director.
Engage is advised by Bank of America and Davis Polk & Wardwell. Kohlberg is advised by Piper Sandler, Ropes & Gray and FGS Global (led by Sophia Templin). Lightyear is advised by ThroughCo Communications (led by Elliot Sloane).
Light & Wonder, a corporation that provides gambling products and services, agreed to acquire the remaining 17% stake in SciPlay, a developer and publisher of digital games, for $485m.
"Through our existing collaboration with SciPlay, we believe the Transaction would be operationally seamless, and we look forward to fully joining forces with SciPlay's talented leadership team and employees to continue innovating on behalf of customers and players," Matthew Wilson, Light & Wonder President and CEO.
Bain Capital Life Sciences, a venture capital firm for life sciences startups, and TCGX, a science-driven investment firm, led a $200m Series C round in ADARx Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biotechnology company, with participation from Blackrock, Commodore Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Invus, Marshall Wace, Redmile Group, T. Rowe Price Associates, Venrock Healthcare Capital, Vivo Capital, Ascenta Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, OrbiMed and SR One.
"ADARx has developed a unique siRNA platform that we believe has the potential to generate differentiated clinical data from several programs over the near and long-term. We share the Company's commitment to targeting diseases across therapeutic areas where there is significant unmet medical need and look forward to supporting the advancement of their platform technology and growing drug development pipeline, with the ultimate goal of bringing important new treatments to patients," Ricky Sun, Bain Capital Life Sciences Partner.
PENN Entertainment and ESPN enter into a long-term exclusive strategic alliance.
PENN Entertainment, an American entertainment company and operator of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming, announced that it has entered into a transformative, exclusive US online sports betting agreement with ESPN, an American international basic cable sports channel owned by The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.
"This transformative, exclusive agreement with ESPN marks another major milestone in PENN's evolution from a pure-play US regional gaming operator to a North American entertainment leader. ESPN Bet will be deeply integrated with ESPN's broad editorial, content, digital and linear product, and sports programming ecosystem. ESPN Bet will also benefit from PENN's operational experience, extensive market access and proprietary technology platform, which successfully debuted in the US this July," Jay Snowden, PENN CEO and President.
ConocoPhillips to offer notes to fund $3bn Surmont oil facility buyout.
The Houston, Texas-based company did not specify how much it was looking to raise through the notes, which it said will comprise senior unsecured debt.
Castlelake, Neuberger Berman to buy $700m of loans from fintech Oportun. (FS)
Financial technology consumer lender Oportun has agreed to sell $700m in personal loans to private firms, Castlelake and Neuberger Berman, Bloomberg reported.
Castlelake will buy $400m of loans from the fintech in a deal signed earlier this month. Neuberger agreed to purchase $300m of loans in June, Jonathan Coblentz, CFO at Oportun said, adding that they expect to disclose the information to investors on its earnings call.
KKR scoops up auto loan portfolio as regional banks shed assets. (FS)
Private equity giant KKR has purchased a portfolio of prime auto loans from Georgia-based Synovus Financial as US regional lenders continue to sell assets to shore up capital.
Synovus Bank — whose parent company is Synovus Financial — sold the $373m portfolio to private credit funds and accounts managed by KKR, Bloomberg reported.
Canada looking to sell Trans Mountain pipeline stake to indigenous groups.
Canada is looking to sell a stake in the Trans Mountain oil pipeline to indigenous groups through a special-purpose vehicle that will allow individual communities to buy into the enterprise, Reuters reported.
The Canadian government will provide the groups with access to capital so they do not have to risk any of their own money to participate.
Private-jet firm Wheels Up seeks rescue funding.
Private-jet company Wheels Up Experience is seeking new financing from investors as its cash dwindles, Bloomberg reported.
"As previously disclosed, Wheels Up is evaluating strategic options to transform our business in close coordination with our financial stakeholders, industry participants, and advisors. Our priority remains continuing to deliver an extraordinary experience for members, and doing that safely, reliably and on-time," Wheels Up.
WeWork's 'substantial doubt' about its future marks a stunning fall.
For the past four years, WeWork has been trying to deliver a turnaround story — one in which the rowdy co-working startup transforms into a stable, profitable public company. It sloughed off Adam Neumann, its rambunctious co-founder and former chief executive officer, and replaced him with an industry veteran boasting a reputation of saving troubled real estate companies.
WeWork was not saved, and the co-working company now says there's "substantial doubt" it will even be able to stay in business, Bloomberg reported.
Canada's OMERS pulls its venture capital arm from Europe. (FS)
Omers Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Canadian pension plan, is pulling out of Europe, marking a prominent global departure from the continent as EU technology investing dwindles, Bloomberg reported.
The venture unit had set up a $332m fund in 2019 to focus on European startups. An Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System spokesperson confirmed the plans to exit the region, noting that its team had decided to focus on North America.
Ex-Morgan Stanley banker becomes CFO of FinTech he took public. (People)
As a banker at Morgan Stanley, Santiago Stel helped some of the biggest names in Latin America's once-booming FinTech industry go public, including XP and Nu Holdings, Bloomberg reported.
But as the craze for initial public offerings cooled and Stel was considering his next career moves, it was one of his IPO clients that caught his eye: Inter, the digital bank controlled by Brazil's billionaire Menin family. Intrigued by the company's business model, he left Wall Street in 2022 and joined the firm. Now, after a year running strategy, he was just named chief financial officer.
EMEA
Slate Asset Management, a global alternative investment platform, agreed to acquire the grocery-anchored retail property portfolio from x+bricks Group, a platform for grocery-anchored real estate, for €1bn ($1.1bn).
"We are very pleased to be increasing our exposure to high-quality daily needs-based real estate in Germany, which we believe is a stable and defensive asset class with a positive growth outlook. Our ability to source and execute a transaction of this scale demonstrates the strength of Slate's global team, the depth and breadth of our regional relationships, and our access to flexible capital through trusted partners who understand the value we bring to bear as investors and managers," Brady Welch, Slate Asset Management Co-Founding Partner.
Slate is advised by Gleeds, R3define, KPMG, Mellum Capital, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Gleiss Lutz, Goodwin Procter and Feldhoff & Cie (led by Daniel Gabel). x+bricks is advised by Ernst & Young, Evercore, Fieldfisher, White & Case and FGS Global (led by Christian Falkowski).
Sandbrook, a private investment firm, PSP Investments, a pension investor, and IMCO, a public pension, agreed to acquire NeXtWind, a renewable energy company specializing in acquiring and repowering onshore wind farms, from Crestline, an investment management firm, for $750m.
"We are thrilled to partner with the NeXtWind management team as well as PSP Investments and IMCO to grow this platform in Germany. We have been looking to enter this space for several years and are confident we have the right team and capital base to become a leading player in the German renewables market," Ken Ryan, Sandbrook Co-Founder and Partner.
Exyte, a company in the design, engineering, and delivery of high-tech facilities, agreed to acquire Intega, a specialist in high-purity media supply systems, from Nimbus, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"With the acquisition of Intega, we are strengthening our vertical integration. Intega's offerings and regional presence flawlessly complement our business area Technology & Services. This is the next strategic step in growing our competence in the area of critical sub-systems for advanced technology facilities, especially for the semiconductor industry. In addition, Intega will form the core of our European service activities. As a result, the combination of Exyte and Intega will create new growth drivers that will ultimately be advantageous for our clients," Wolfgang Büchele, Exyte CEO.
Align Capital-backed Schneider Geospatial, a GIS-based SaaS provider of land and asset management solutions for the GovTech industry, completed the acquisition of Spatialest, a provider of assessor-focused GIS-based SaaS solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Bringing Spatialest into the Schneider Geospatial family is a significant step forward in our strategic roadmap. Together, we will continue to deliver innovative solutions that empower government agencies to leverage smart data and achieve greater efficiency. We remain committed to the high level of customer service our state and local government partners have come to expect from us," Jeff Corns, Schneider Geospatial CEO.
Abu Dhabi oil giant builds internal 'investment bank' to chase $50bn in global deals.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has amassed a nearly 50-strong team of dealmakers and is pursuing roughly $50bn in transactions to diversify its business and expand abroad. Adnoc, led since 2016 by Sultan al-Jaber, has quietly assembled a suite of Wall Street talent, transforming the United Arab Emirates' once sleepy state group into a business more like an energy supermajor, FT reported.
The investment team, run by former senior Morgan Stanley executive Klaus Froehlich, has become one of the most important units for the company's strategy, with insiders describing it as akin to an "internal investment bank".
L’Occitane boss in advanced talks on $6.5bn buyout.
L'Occitane's controlling shareholder is in advanced talks on a potential deal to take the skin-care company private at a valuation of around $6.5bn, Bloomberg reported.
Billionaire Chairman Reinold Geiger has been discussing a possible offer of about HKD35 ($4.5) for each L'Occitane share he doesn't already own. A bid at that level would represent a 37% premium to Tuesday's closing price in Hong Kong.
Vodacom fiber deal in doubt after regulator advises against it.
Mobile operator company Vodacom Group's deal to buy a stake in Remgro's fiber businesses was plunged into jeopardy after South Africa's antitrust regulator urged the country's Competition Tribunal to block the acquisition.
The Competition Commission said Johannesburg-based Vodacom's acquisition, valued at $696m, "is likely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in several markets," Bloomberg reported.
Britain's John Lewis signs deal with Alphabet's Google Cloud.
Waitrose supermarket chain owner John Lewis Partnership said it had signed an agreement with Alphabet's Google Cloud worth $127m over the next five years, Reuters reported.
More of the company's technology will move to Google Cloud, and will use its artificial intelligence and machine learning tools as part of the agreement.
Amazon is in talks to become anchor investor in Arm IPO.
Amazon is in talks to join other tech companies as an anchor investor in Arm's initial public offering, part of preparations for a deal that could raise as much as $10bn, Bloomberg reported.
Amazon is one of several tech companies that have talked to Arm about backing the offering, which is expected next month. Arm, a chip designer that counts the world's biggest tech firms as its clients, also has held discussions with Intel and Nvidia.
CVC exploring IPO of €7bn perfume retailer Douglas. (FS)
CVC Capital Partners is weighing an initial public offering of Douglas and could seek a value of more than €7bn ($7.7bn) for the German perfume retailer, Bloomberg reported.
The private equity firm is working with independent adviser Rothschild & Co as it explores a possible 2024 IPO of the business. CVC is eyeing Frankfurt as a listing venue for Douglas and will start to ask banks to pitch for roles next month.
Ahold Delhaize's Bol.com IPO is still possible.
Royal Ahold Delhaize's has not ruled out a plan to publicly list its Dutch e-commerce unit Bol.com, Bloomberg reported.
The retail giant last year pulled plans to publicly list Bol.com due to volatile equity market conditions. The possible initial public offering of the unit is "not off the shelf,".
APAC
Australia's InvoCare, a funeral homes and funeral services company, said on Wednesday it has agreed to a lower takeover offer from US private equity firm TPG Global, valuing the funeral service provider at AUD2.2bn ($1.44bn) following exclusive due diligence.
InvoCare's board unanimously recommended its shareholders to vote in favour of the revised proposal, Reuters reported. A TPG spokesperson said the revised price fairly values the business, taking into consideration factors including its subdued performance in the first half of this year and the implications of the current trading conditions on the remainder of the year.
InvoCare is advised by Goldman Sachs, Gresham, Clayton Utz and Cato & Clive (led by Clive Mathieson).
Axis Bank, an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, agreed to acquire an additional 6.3% stake in Max Life, an Indian life insurance company, for $195m.
The proposed infusion by Axis Bank in Max Life will help it to support its future growth ambitions, Max Financial Services said.
Adani weighs exiting the $6bn Wilmar venture.
India's Adani is exploring selling its stake in its consumer-staple joint venture with Wilmar International, Reuters reported.
The conglomerate has been considering a potential sale of its 44% stake in Adani Wilmar for a few months. The India-based fast-moving consumer goods maker is currently valued at $6.1bn.
Bertelsmann Investments to invest $700m in Chinese startups. (FS)
Bertelsmann Investments, the venture capital arm of German media group Bertelsmann, is reportedly looking to invest $700m in Chinese startups over the next 3-5 years despite widespread concerns among Western investors over the country's slowing economy and its political tensions with the US, DealStreetAsia reported.
Bertelsmann Investments aims to support tech groups in China and start-ups established by Chinese globally, with co-investors including major financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds.
Gracell Biotechnologies announces up to $150m private placement.
Gracell Biotechnologies, a Nasdaq-listed Chinese biopharmaceutical firm that develops cell therapies targeting cancer and autoimmune diseases, has inked a deal to raise $150m in a private placement from a group of healthcare specialist funds.
"We are pleased that this high-quality healthcare investor group came together to support Gracell and our innovative and potentially best-in-class CAR-T therapies. We thank the investors for their confidence in the broad potential of our FasTCAR-T GC012F candidate for hematological cancers and autoimmune diseases, and their support for our mission to develop revolutionizing cell therapies. These additional funds should allow us to achieve critical milestones in the clinical development of GC012F in multiple myeloma and systemic lupus erythematosus," William Wei Cao, Gracell Founder, Chairman and CEO.
Swiggy, Lenskart among SoftBank's Indian startups preparing for IPOs. (FS)
SoftBank's Indian portfolio companies food delivery firm Swiggy, eyewear brand Lenskart, omnichannel retailer FirstCry, and business-to-business commerce startup OfBusiness are preparing to go public soon, DealStreetAsia reported.
SoftBank's portfolio companies are cumulatively valued at $42bn. 93% of the Japanese group's portfolio comprising 473 firms boast a positive cash runway of over 12 months. The Vision Fund will begin reinvesting again after a prolonged period of inactivity due to six consecutive quarters of losses.
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