Daily Review

InterContinental Hotel Group acquired Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas from Pegasus Capital for $300m. (FS)

 

TPG Capital and Manipal in talks to acquire Medanta. (FS)

Abertis, a Spanish worldwide leader in toll road management, sold an 89.7% stake in Hispasat, the operating company for a number of Spanish communications satellites, to Red Electrica, a partly state-owned and public limited Spanish corporation which operates the national electricity grid in Spain, for a total consideration of €949m ($1.1bn).

The agreement will allow a significant expansion of the Red Electrica Group's telecommunications business towards new customer segments and geographical areas, in addition to exploring potential synergies with the group’s existing fiber optic business. Moreover, it will be a definite step forward in the consolidation of the Red Electrica Group as a global operator of infrastructure of a strategic nature both in Spain and internationally; managing electricity transmission grids, fiber optic networks and satellites.

 

Citigroup advised Abertis.

 

According to a Reuters report, Alpiq Group, a leading Swiss electricity and energy services provider, and Bouygues, a French industrial group, are fighting over the purchase price for the Swiss utility’s engineering business bought by the French company in 2018, with Bouygues demanding CHF205m ($204m). Alpiq, which contends it is due another CHF13m ($13m) in the deal closed in July, said on Wednesday that it “vehemently contests” the claim of Bouygues and has therefore filed for arbitration proceedings.

 

Symantec Corporation, the world’s leading cybersecurity company, acquired Israeli cybersecurity company Luminate Security. Luminate’s Secure Access Cloud technology further extends the power of Symantec’s Integrated Cyber Defense Platform to users as they access workloads and applications regardless of where those workloads are deployed or what infrastructure they are accessed through. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Now and in the future, we anticipate more and more corporations will operate their business on infrastructure that is managed by multiple third parties such as Azure, AWS and Google. In this rapidly evolving world, trust in external infrastructure must be carefully considered as corporations can outsource infrastructure but must also remain responsible for data and users. Luminate incorporated into Symantec’s Integrated Cyber Defense puts us at the forefront of security in the cloud era,” said Greg Clark, president and CEO, Symantec. “Secure and private access is a cornerstone of cyber defense. We are excited to partner with the Luminate team and look forward to rapid delivery of this unique capability to our customers and continuing to provide quantifiable value to their cloud journey.”

 

 

Auchan Holding sold a 50.1% stake in its portfolio company Oney Bank, which provides various banking products and services, to BPCE, the 2nd largest banking group in France. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

Laurent Mignon, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Groupe BPCE said: “This partnership project marks a significant stage in Groupe BPCE’s European development ambitions. It is based on comprehensive strategic alignment, strong fit between our solutions and distribution channels, and shared long-term vision. I am particularly glad and confident that the Group is teaming up with a recognized player whose history and culture are perfectly in line with our own cooperative values. By harnessing our group’s strengths, Oney will have the means to continue its expansion as Groupe BPCE’s international retail bank.”

Rothschild advised Auchan Holding.

 

Bain Capital and Carlyle Group are weighing a joint bid for Germany’s Osram Licht, a multinational lighting manufacturer. The two firms are conducting due diligence on Osram and could bid by the end of March.

Osram, with a market value of around €3.4bn ($3.8bn), has been the subject of speculation that it could be a buyout target. The German lighting group, once part of Siemens, sells its products mainly to car manufacturers.

 

 

Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA stores, acquired a 25% stake in Germany’s second-biggest offshore wind farm as part of a strategy to reach its sustainability targets. The purchased Veja Mate offshore wind farm has a capacity of 402 megawatts. Ingka paid $226m for the stake. 

“With this 25% stake, we make another step towards our 2020 target about renewable energy production exceeding our energy consumption,” Ingka Group said.

The acquisition is Ingka’s second-biggest single investment in wind power.

 

CEO of Pernod Ricard, a French company that produces alcoholic beverages, said that the company will embrace change and continue constructive talks with activist investor Elliott Management Corporation. He also dismissed rumors that the company could become a takeover target. Elliott has been recently pressuring Pernod Ricard to improve profit margins and corporate governance.

 

The top bid to operate Iddaa, Turkey’s only legal sports betting company, has come from a venture including the conglomerate of Turkish Football Federation chairman Yildirim Demiroren. The venture, which also includes US company Scientific Games, a multinational corporation that provides gambling products and services to lottery and gambling organizations, offered a 0.2% revenue-sharing deal, down its previous bid of 2.1%.

A rival bid by Inteltek - a venture between Turkish mobile phone operator Turkcell and its subsidiary Intralot - offered 0.5%. Inteltek won the rights to operate Iddaa in 2008 for ten years with a 1.4% commission.

 

Akzo Nobel, the Dutch paint and coatings company behind the Dulux brand, said it was on course to achieve an ambitious financial target despite a fall in annual operating profits. The company pledged to generate a 15% return on sales by 2020 as part of its defense against an unwanted €27bn ($30bn) takeover offer from PPG Industries. Chief executive Thierry Vanlancker insisted Akzo Nobel was making progress towards its objective, in the face of skepticism from investors, including the activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation.

“Our relevant competitors all took a nosedive in their profitability so we really went against the tide. Our internal plans really do add up to the [2020 target],” said Mr. Vanlancker.

Johnson & Johnson, American multinational medical devices, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods manufacturing company, acquired Auris Health, a robotic medical company, for $3.4bn. Additional contingent payments of up to $2.3bn, in the aggregate, may be payable upon reaching certain predetermined milestones.

“In this new era of health care, we’re aiming to simplify surgery, drive efficiency, reduce complications and improve outcomes for patients, ultimately making surgery safer,” said Ashley McEvoy, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Medical Devices, Johnson & Johnson. “We believe the combination of best-in-class robotics, advanced instrumentation and unparalleled end-to-end connectivity will make a meaningful difference in patient outcomes.”

 

Executives of T-Mobile and Sprint, two wireless carrier companies which agreed to a $59bn merger in April 2018, faced questions from US lawmakers about how the deal would affect prices and jobs, especially in rural America.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere defended the deal, arguing that it will create jobs and help with the construction of the next generation of wireless networks. He said the merged company would have more capacity which would lead to a push to lower prices. To win support for the deal, T-Mobile previously said it would not increase prices for three years.

Centerview Partners, JP Morgan, Mizuho Securities, SMBC Nikko, The Raine Group, Goodwin Procter, Morrison & Foerster, Potter Anderson & Corroon, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advise Sprint Corp. Deutsche Bank, Evercore, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, PJT Partners, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, Hogan Lovells, Latham & Watkins, Richards Layton and Finger and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz advise Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile US. Morrison & Foerster advises vendor Softbank Group.

 

Edward Lampert, chairman of Sears, an American chain of department stores, who made an attempt to save the company through a $2.2bn bid by his hedge fund, ESL Investments, said that Sears will sell or sublease some of its 425 stores and open smaller stores with more focus on tools and appliances than on apparel. 

“It would be very difficult to keep all 425 stores open,” Lampert said in the interview. He also hinted that Sears would eventually be taken public, saying he doesn’t want the company to stay private indefinitely.

Sears was advised by Weil Gotshal and Manges. ESL Investments was advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Transform Holdco, the previous owner of Sears, was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, and Citigroup.

Petrobras, a semi-public Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, is expected to receive new bids for the acquisition of its gas pipeline network TAG in March. Engie, a French multinational electric utility company, Macquarie Group, and Mubadala together with EIG Partners will be bidding for the asset. So far all three groups bid higher than $7bn, and Engie’s bid is estimated to be close to $8bn.

The rebidding was set by Brazil’s audit court as a way to increase transparency in the Petrobras divestment program.

 

Amazon and General Motors are in advanced talks to invest in Rivian, an American automaker and automotive technology company. The deal would give Amazon and GM minority stakes in the company, valuing it at $1-2bn. If the negotiations conclude successfully, a deal could be announced as early as this month.

 

Imerys Talc America, a supplier to healthcare conglomerate Johnson and Johnson and US unit of French group Imerys, said it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in light of rising costs in the litigation over cosmetic talc. The company currently faces thousands of consumer lawsuits alleging that its talc causes cancer.

“After carefully evaluating all possible options, we determined that pursuing Chapter 11 protection is the best course of action to address our historic talc-related liabilities and position the filing companies for continued growth,” Imerys said in a statement.

InterContinental Hotel Group, a British multinational hospitality company, acquired Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, one of the world's leading operators of luxury hotels, resorts and spas, from Pegasus Capital for $300m. The acquisition includes all of Six Senses' brands and operating companies and does not include any real estate assets.

Keith Barr, Chief Executive Officer, IHG, commented: "Six Senses is an outstanding brand in the top-tier of luxury and one we've admired for some time. You only have to look at its iconic hotels and resorts to see how this acquisition will further round out our luxury offer. With a focus on wellness and sustainability, Six Senses has been voted the world's top hotel brand for the past two years, which is testament to its impressive management team who bring deep experience to IHG's luxury operations. Six Senses' attractive development pipeline provides us with a platform for high-quality growth. With the power of the IHG enterprise, we believe we can expand Six Senses to more than 60 properties globally over the next decade. This acquisition continues the progress we've made against the strategic initiatives we outlined a year ago, which included a commitment to adding new brands in the fast-growing $60bn luxury segment."

 

TPG Capital and Manipal Group, an Indian education and healthcare services provider, are in advanced talks to acquire Medanta, a hospital operator in India. The deal could value the company at $847m. 

“The TPG-Manipal combine is in advanced stages of negotiations and they recently entered into exclusive talks. They are currently conducting a due diligence on the asset. They have a three-month exclusivity period, so Medanta will not be talking to any other buyer during this period,” said Naresh Trehan, chairman and CEO of Medanta.