JAB Holding to acquire Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group and Pethealth from Fairfax Financial for $1.4bn.

AMERICAS

JAB Holding to acquire Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group and Pethealth from Fairfax Financial for $1.4bn. (FS)

JAB Holding, an investor in consumer-focused industries, agreed to acquire Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group, a provider of pet health insurance, and Pethealth, a provider of animal management software, from Fairfax Financial, a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is primarily engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and the associated investment management, for $1.4bn.

”JAB has had an outstanding track record over the past 10 years and we expect this to continue. While we have sold our pet insurance business to JAB, we will invest $200m in their JCP V to become their partners. We expect JAB to soon become leaders in pet healthcare and pet insurance globally. We wish them much success,” Prem Watsa, Fairfax Founder, Chairman and CEO.

JAB Holdings is advised by Abernathy MacGregor Group.

Bankers see tumult paving rocky road for Canada equity deals.

Two top Canadian investment bankers predict that this year’s dearth of initial public offerings and other share sales will persist until central banks show progress fighting inflation and quelling market volatility.

Bloomberg reported that concerns that runaway inflation will prompt aggressive interest-rate hikes and squelch economic growth have roiled equity markets this year, sending the S&P/TSX Composite Index down 11% so far this year. While that decline is smaller than drops in the US and other equity markets, it has nearly frozen initial public offerings and share sales from Canadian companies.

Carlyle seeks $325m from gulf Domino’s pizza operator IPO. (FS)

Carlyle Group is seeking to raise as much as $325m by listing shares in the owner of the Middle East Domino’s Pizza franchise on the Saudi stock exchange.

Alamar Foods set price range for its initial public, implying a market value of as much as $773m, Bloomberg reported.

EMEA

Sitel Group to merge with Majorel.

Sitel Group, a provider of contact center outsourcing services, agreed to merge with Majorel, a provider of next-generation end-to-end CX solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“With Majorel, we have found the perfect partner to accelerate our strategy delivery. We realized early on that we share the same DNA as Majorel and are excited to jointly write the next chapter in our growth while delivering best-in-class customer experience solutions around the globe," Laurent Uberti, President, Sitel Group CEO & Co-Founder.

Majorel is advised by JP Morgan, Arendt & Medernach, Stibbe and Sullivan & Cromwell. Sitel Group is advised by Lazard, Elvinger Hoss Prussen, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and The PR Office.

Aareon to acquire a 93% stake in Momentum Software for $176m.

Aareon, a firm providing business consulting services on a contract or fee basis, agreed to acquire a 93% stake in Momentum Software, a provider of web-based software, for $176m.

"The acquisition of Momentum is another milestone in Aareon's international growth strategy. Momentum has a strong SaaS property management software that complements our digital ecosystem Aareon Smart World. The acquisition also supports our ambition of becoming a SaaS company with a growing share of recurring revenue. Together with Momentum, we will be a strong partner for the property industry in Sweden, Norway and Finland," Harry Thomsen, Aareon CEO.

Aareon is advised by Carnegie Investment Bank, Roschier Attorneys and Fogel & Partners.

Jyske Bank to acquire Denmark operations of Handelsbanken for $423m.

Jyske Bank, a Danish bank, agreed to acquire Denmark operations of Handelsbanken, a swedish bank, for $423m.

”The acquisition of Handelsbanken Denmark is an attractive opportunity to strengthen our market position and longterm competitiveness. Handelsbanken Denmark is a well-run bank, delivering a strong suite of solutions to both private and corporate clients across the country. Through the acquisition, we can further develop the combined business, benefitting our clients, create new career opportunities for our skilled employees, and generate value for our shareholders,” Anders Dam, Jyske Bank Managing Director and CEO.

Jyske Bank is advised by Bank of America and Bech-Bruun.

QIA to acquire a 24.5% stake in Avrasya Tüneli from SK ecoplant for $160m. (FS)

Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, agreed to acquire a 24.5% stake in Avrasya Tüneli, a road tunnel, from SK ecoplant, a Korean engineering and construction company, for $160m.

"Construction companies have the advantage of being able to secure not only short-term construction profits but also long-term investment returns through financing and equity participation in PPP projects. Since its foray into the overseas infrastructure PPP market with Eurasia Tunnel, SK ecoplant has secured further projects in Turkey, the UK, Norway, and Kazakhstan," Jung-Sik Cho, SK ecoplant Head of Eco Solution Business Unit.

QIA is advised by Barclays.

Pfizer to acquire an 8.1% stake in Valneva for $95m.

Pfizer, an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation, agreed to acquire an 8.1% stake in Valneva, a vaccine company focused on developing life-saving vaccines, for $95m.

“Pfizer’s investment in Valneva highlights the quality of the work that we’ve done together over the past two years and is a strong recognition of Valneva’s vaccine expertise. This subscription agreement will contribute to our investment in the Phase 3 study while limiting the impact on our cash position. Lyme disease is spreading and represents a high unmet medical need which impacts the lives of millions of people in the Northern Hemisphere," Thomas Lingelbach, Valneva CEO.

Kofax completed the acquisition of Tungsten.

Kofax, a supplier of intelligent automation software, completed the acquisition of Tungsten, a global B2B e-invoicing network that facilitates and streamlines complex invoice-to-pay processes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Finance procurement leaders are looking beyond traditional invoice OCR and workflow capabilities to modern e-invoicing, supplier management, and value-added services – accelerating how they pay and relate with suppliers. A full technology suite from Kofax will bring efficiencies to how they work with their suppliers, compliantly invoice, and focus on leveraging data to drive insights while reducing cost," Paul Cooper, Tungsten CEO.

BearingPoint completed the acquisition of I Care.

BearingPoint, a management and technology consultancy, completed the acquisition of I Care, a consultancy firm specializing in sustainability strategy development and environmental transition. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“I Care’s capabilities and service offerings match perfectly with the needs of our clients in Europe. Moreover, we share the same culture of an entrepreneurial, holistic mindset and are trusted advisors for our clients. Together we look forward to becoming the key player in sustainable and environmental transformation consulting in France and entering selected markets internationally,” Axelle Paquer, BearingPoint Regional Leader for France, Belgium, Luxemburg and Africa.

Textor nearing deal for French football club Lyon. (FS)

John Textor, the US digital entrepreneur who has a trio of global football club investments, is close to reaching an agreement to buy a significant stake in the publicly traded owner of French Ligue 1 team Lyon, Bloomberg reported.

Textor would pay €3 ($3.15) a share for a key stake in the Olympique Lyonnais owner after shareholders Pathe and IDG Capital decided to sell.

ABB postpones $750m electric-mobility IPO on market rout.

ABB is delaying the $750m initial public offering of its electric-car charging business, saying a listing would depend on improved market conditions.

The market rout has made it challenging to proceed with the offering in the current quarter, ABB said, adding that it remains “fully committed” to listing the business on the Swiss stock exchange, Bloomberg reported.

APAC

Yunfeng Capital, AstraZeneca and CICC led a $100m Series B funding round in Axbio. (FS)

Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm, AstraZeneca, a global, science-led biopharmaceutical business, and CICC, an investment bank, led a $100m Series B funding round in Axbio, a Chinese gene sequencing developer, with participation from CBC Group, a Singaporean health-dedicated investment firm.

The new funding will allow Axbio to advance the development and commercialization of its new-generation sequencer in the fast-growing genomics market. The firm’s first manufacturing facility in Wuxi, eastern Jiangsu province is due be completed by the end of the year.

"The NGS technology has a history of over a decade. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated its global adoption, the technological barrier and cost constraints in advancing a highly-integrated platform have hindered the penetration of high-thoughput sequencing solutions," Bing Chen, AstraZeneca Vice President.

Vedanta puts up for sale Indian copper smelter shut after deadly protests.

India's oil-to-metals conglomerate Vedanta offered to sell a copper smelter complex in southern Tamil Nadu state that was closed four years ago after police opened fire during protests which culminated in 13 deaths.

Vedanta's 400k tonnes per annum copper smelter in the port city of Thoothukudi was ordered shut in May 2018 by the southern Tamil Nadu state, a week after the deadly protests that sought the plant's closure for alleged pollution. Reuters reported that rospective buyers have until July 4 to submit expressions of interest.

Zilingo’s board to weigh options including liquidation or buyout.

Zilingo’s board of directors is weighing options for the embattled Singapore startup after a financial adviser to the company said liquidation is the most viable solution and its co-founder presented an 11th-hour pitch for a management buyout.

The board members met to hear the alternatives, including a presentation from adviser Deloitte to sell off the company’s assets. Co-founder Dhruv Kapoor briefly made the pitch for a buyout, a surprise, last-minute development, Bloomberg reported.

Chinese CPU maker Loongson eyes $357m in downsized STAR Market IPO.

Chinese CPU maker Loongson Technology completed online subscription for its public share sale, moving a step closer to a planned debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market.

Loongson aims to raise 2.42bn yuan ($357m) through the initial public offering, down from previously announced 3.5bn yuan ($521m). Chairman Hu Weiwu said the downsized offering reflects multiple market factors and pledged to further increase investment in research and talent to boost the company’s business, DealStreetAsia reported.

GoTo-backer ZWC Partners hits first close of new vehicle amid rise in RMB fundraising. (FS)

ZWC Partners, a dual-currency venture capital firm that invests in both China and Southeast Asia, has held the first close of a new RMB-denominated fund at 1bn yuan ($150m).

ZWC Partners has drawn capital commitments from China’s state-backed funds of funds, global institutional investors, and regional family offices for the RMB vehicle. The fund counts Chinese out-of-home advertising company Focus Media and publicly listed supplement provider Xiamen Kingdomway Group as strategic limited partners, according to a statement, DealStreetAsia reported.

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