The €5.7bn ($6.4bn) takeover of Scout 24, which operates digital marketplaces specializing in the real estate and automotive sectors in Germany, by private equity firms Hellman & Friedmann and Blackstone Group fell apart after the bidders failed to reach the threshold of 50% of shares. The deal was first announced in January.
“At the time of expiry of the acceptance period (...), the number of Scout24 shares for which the Offer has been accepted together with Scout24 shares owned and Scout24 shares attributable for the purpose of the calculation of the minimum acceptance threshold amounted to approximately 42.8% of all outstanding shares in Scout24,” the bidders said.
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Allen & Overy and Gleiss Lutz advised Scout24. JP Morgan, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Latham & Watkins and Ernst & Young advised the bidders. JP Morgan provided debt financing and was advised by Linklaters.
Takeda Pharmaceutical, the largest pharmaceutical company in Asia, is forecasting a $1.7bn loss resulting from books costs associated with the $80bn acquisition of Shire, a Jersey-registered, Irish-headquartered global specialty biopharmaceutical company. The transaction was announced in May 2018 and closed last January.
Takeda agreed last week to sell its dry eye drug Xiidra to Swiss drugmaker Novartis for up to $5.3bn, as part of a move to dispose of $10bn worth of non-core assets to cut debt. The company also said it is selling TachoSil, a surgical patch for bleeding control, to Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon for $400m.
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Ashurst, Davis Polk, Mourant Ozannes, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu and Slaughter & May advised Shire. Evercore, JP Morgan, Nomura, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, Ogier, Nishimura & Asahi and Sullivan & Cromwell advised Takeda. MUFG, JP Morgan and Sumitomo provided debt financing.
French construction and transport concession group Vinci successfully completed its £2.9bn ($3.8bn) acquisition of a 50% stake in Gatwick Airport, Britain’s second biggest airport. The airport was acquired from a consortium consisting of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Future Fund, Calpers, National Pensions Service of Korea and Global Infrastructure Partners in December 2018.
The acquisition gives Vinci, which already runs 45 airports in 12 countries, access to the world’s largest metropolitan aviation market. The company is now the second largest airport operator in the world, behind Spain’s Aena but has overtaken French rival ADP.
Barclays advised Gatwick. PwC, Freshfields and Weil Gotshal and Manges advised Vinci. Linklaters advised Future Fund. Slaughter & May, Charlotte Street Partners and Ramboll advised Global Infrastructure Partners.
Challenge TRG Group, a logistics recruitment and distribution company which recently rebranded from Challenge Group following the acquisition of TRG Logistics earlier this month, acquired Phoenix Training, a UK-based training specialist. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Tom Cropper, group CEO of Challenge TRG Group, said: “The resourcing market is becoming increasingly difficult and we believe that this strategic investment provides the group with further access and control over our supply chain and an ability to provide a seamless, end-to-end solution for our clients. The intention is to overlay Phoenix’s training services across our business, with a focus on developing and engaging our workforce, whether across industrial or driving sectors.”
SAS Daniels, Grant Thornton and Hill Dickinson advised Challenge TRG. HSBC and Praetura provided debt financing.
Archimed, a pan-European private equity healthcare specialist closed its €70m ($79m) acquisition of Bomi Italia, a medtech and pharma services provider. The bid for Bomi Group, listed on Borsa Italia’s AIM market translated into a per share offer of €4 ($4.5), representing a 30.67% premium.
“In addition to its sector expertise and industry networks, ArchiMed intends to make significant investments, allowing Bomi Group to expand more rapidly, both organically and through acquisitions. The entry of such a strong and specialized stakeholder represents clear added value when it comes to the fulfillment of our ambitious growth targets,” said Bomi Group Chief Executive Marco Ruini.
Simmons & Simmons advised Bomi. Bain & Co, Close to Media, Lanchner Communications, Equita, Georgson, KPMG, Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners and Bonafe Grifoni e Associati advised Archimed.
Saudi International Petrochemical Co and Sahara Petrochemical plan to target acquisitions and joint ventures in the United States and Asia once their $2.2bn merger is completed in order to expand market reach. The deal was first announced in October 2018.
“Combining Sipchem and Sahara will create an integrated petrochemical leader with an improved competitive position in Saudi Arabia and globally,” said Sahara CEO Saleh Bahamdan, who will also be CEO of the new entity.
Morgan Stanley, AS&H, Clifford Chance and Finsbury are advising Sahara. HSBC, Allen & Overy and Khoshaim are advising Saudi International Petrochemical.
Auchan, a French international retail group and multinational corporation, sold its Italian unit to Conad, the Italian cooperative retail group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Edgard Bonte, Chairman of Auchan Retail, said: “By bringing together, through this sale, the expertise of the Conad and Auchan Retail Italia teams we wish to improve the current difficult situation for the activities of Auchan Retail in Italy and allow Conad to continue, through this acquisition, its ambitious development plan within the country. For the teams of Auchan Retail Italia, it is the opportunity to join an Italian actor, henceforth the market leader with a strong commercial momentum.”
Oxford Endowment Fund made a minority investment in Osmosis Investment Management, a sustainable investment specialist with $1.5bn in client assets. This strategic equity investment is growth capital, which Osmosis will deploy to deepen the firm’s portfolio management, research and distribution teams and enhance its operational infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Ben Dear, chief executive officer of Osmosis Investment Management, said: “This latest equity investment is tangible support for the role of an asset manager adding value through identifying new sources of investment returns with objectively measurable sustainable benefits. With climate risks rising up the agenda on a policy and corporate level it’s imperative that asset managers are able to offer their clients pragmatic investment solutions built on a more sustainable future."
UniCredit prepares takeover bid for Commerzbank.
Reuters reported that UniCredit, an Italian global banking and financial services company, is preparing for a potential bid for Germany’s Commerzbank. Although it is unclear whether and when a bid could be made, UniCredit’s top management has long been interested in expanding in Germany.
Lazard and JP Morgan are advising UniCredit.
Ardian closing in on a Spanish wind farm deal with Cerberus. (FS)
French investment fund Ardian is close to striking a deal with Cerberus Capital Management to acquire wind farms in Spain for $617m. The assets are currently held by Renovia, a portfolio company of Cerberus Capital Management. Among the assets covered by the deal is Renovalia Reserve, a joint venture between Renovalia and BlackRock.
Santander is advising Cerberus.
Natura got banking support for $2bn takeover of Avon Products.
Natura Cosmeticos, a Brazilian personal care holding company, secured support from at least three banks to finance a potential acquisition of Avon Products, a global beauty company. Banco Santander, Itau Unibanco Holding and Banco Bradesco have offered to fund the deal, which could be valued at as much as $2bn.
The banks haven’t made definitive financing commitments as Natura hasn’t finalized its acquisition plan. Citigroup is reportedly in talks to join the financing as well.
Goldman Sachs acquired a claim against The International Bank Corporation.
Goldman Sachs bought a claim against The International Bank Corporation, a Bahraini bank whose default ten years ago triggered the biggest financial crisis in Saudi Arabia. The claim was acquired from Commerzbank. Goldman bought TIBC’s debt after rulings in various jurisdictions appeared to strengthen the position of the Bahraini bank.
Ascopiave to select asset bids within four weeks.
According to a
Reuters report, Ascopiave, a natural gas distribution company, received a series of non-binding bids for assets it has put up for sale and will select the best bids in 3-4 weeks. The company’s chairman said that the offers are very satisfying.
Ascopiave, one of Italy’s biggest gas utilities, is looking to sell a majority stake of a portfolio of more than 700k clients as it seeks to focus on its gas distribution network business in the northeast of Italy.
Workers of Volkswagen backed its restructuring plan.
Volkswagen workers backed a restructuring of the world’s largest carmaker after Chief Executive Herbert Diess pledged to spend $1.1bn on a new battery cell production plant near its headquarters in Lower Saxony. Labour opposition has stifled previous restructuring efforts at Volkswagen.
“The employee representatives on the supervisory board welcome the decisions, which they expressly support. These decisions set the course for sustainable further development of secure jobs as well as profitability,” labor chief Bernd Osterloh said in a letter to VW’s employees on Tuesday.
PKN Orlen to set Lotos takeover terms in the next 12 months.
Reuters reported that PKN Orlen, Poland’s biggest oil refiner, will set the terms on which to apply to the European Commission to takeover Lotos, Poland’s second-largest oil refiner, within the next 12 months.
“We are counting on it that in the next dozen or so months we will work out the terms on which we can apply to the EU for a merger with Lotos,” PKN deputy CEO Zbigniew Leszczynski said at a conference.
DocPlanner raised €80m in a financing round led by One Peak Partners and Goldman Sachs. (FS)
DocPlanner, the world's leading platform connecting patients with healthcare professionals, raised €80m ($90m) in a financing round led by One Peak Partners and Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing, with participation from existing investors Piton Capital and ENERN Investments.
“Since our last funding round, we’ve focused on the core marketplace and SaaS business; now we are making a concentrated push into new growth areas,” said Mariusz Gralewski, founder and CEO of DocPlanner. “We’re seeing more opportunities in our space, both in terms of the customer segment and product offering, as the health tech market matures.”
