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AMERICAS
Clayton Dubilier & Rice, an American private equity company, completed the acquisition of Shearer’s Foods, a contract manufacturer and private label supplier in the snack industry, from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, a pension fund. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The closing of this transaction is a testament to Shearer's differentiated capabilities and category leadership in salty snacks and cookies and crackers products. CD&R's understanding of our business, values and vision, combined with their strategic, operating and functional expertise, creates an incredible opportunity for Shearer's to accelerate our growth trajectory," Mark McNeil, Shearer’s Foods CEO.
Shearer’s Foods was advised by Kirkland & Ellis. OTPPB was advised by Kekst CNC (led by Oliver Mann). CD&R was advised by BMO Capital Markets, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs (led by Ben Frost), RBC Capital Markets, TD Securities, Ubs and Debevoise & Plimpton (led by David Iozzi and Kevin M. Schmidt). Debt financing was provided by BMO Capital Markets, BNP Paribas, Blue Owl, Citizens M&A, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Group, Mizuho Securities, Natixis Partners, RBC Capital Markets, Rabo Securities USA, Stifel, TD Securities and UBS.
Qoo10, a Southeast Asian e-commerce platform, agreed to acquire Wish, an American online e-commerce platform, for $173m.
“Wish has innovative technology that provides highly-entertaining, personalized shopping experiences for its users while serving as one of the largest global e-commerce platforms. By combining our operating expertise and Wish’s technology and data science capabilities, we expect to drive greater success for merchants while providing an even greater marketplace for consumers globally. With the acquisition of Wish, Qoo10 and Wish will offer a comprehensive platform for merchants, sellers, buyers, and customers globally to realize the potential of a truly global marketplace," Young Bae Ku, Qoo10 CEO and Founder.
Qoo10 is advised by Jefferies & Company and Shearman & Sterling. Wish is advised by JP Morgan, Sidley Austin and Collected Strategies (led by Dan Moore, Jack Kelleher and Nick Lamplough).
CDPQ, a private equity firm, completed the $125m investment in Levio, an IT consulting company.
"CDPQ is proud to partner with Levio to support its expansion plan, which will grow its North American presence and consolidate its position in the market. Digital transformation is central to the sustainability and productivity of organizations, and this partnership is perfectly in line with our investment priorities and supports the company's growth," said Kim Thomassin, CDPQ Executive Vice-President and Head of Québec.
CDPQ was advised by Desjardins.
Nautic Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Angels of Care, a nurse-owned and operated home health agency, from Varsity Healthcare, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“I am extremely grateful to the entire VHP team for their extensive capital, operational and strategic support, which was instrumental in enhancing the growth and success of AOC during our partnership,” Jessica Riggs, Angels of Care CEO.
Varsity Healthcare was advised by Prosek Partners.
Salesloft, an AI-powered revenue workflow platform, completed the acquisition of Drift, a Conversational AI company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This acquisition will fundamentally change how B2B buyers and sellers engage, but also how sales and marketing teams come together to drive pipeline efficiency and revenue outcomes. We are both focused on continued innovation, and together, our customers will experience improved consistency and repeatability throughout the entire buying journey all while allowing them to focus on what only they can do – guiding buyers, forming relationships, and establishing trust,” David Obrand, Salesloft CEO.
Wipro, a technology services and consulting company, agreed to invest in Aggne, a consulting and managed services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited about the growth opportunities this new partnership creates for our company and our current and future clients. Joining forces with Wipro will allow us to reach a larger and global set of clients and deepen our presence in the insurance sector. Further, Wipro’s commitment to talent development will provide our employees with new growth opportunities,” Asha Kalidindi, Aggne Co-Founder and CEO.
AEP enters agreement with Icahn Capital for two director seats. (FS, People)
American Electric Power announced a deal with investment management firm Icahn Capital to give the activist investor two board seats, WSJ reported.
The Columbus, Ohio-based utility company said that Icahn Enterprises senior managing director Hunter Gary and retired executive vice president of Southern Company Gas Hank Linginfelter would join the board.
Rothschild's Canada Head Alex Graham departs amid deal slump. (People)
The head of Rothschild & Co's Canadian office has left the storied investment bank as it grapples with a prolonged slump in dealmaking that's hurt the entire industry, Bloomberg reported.
Alex Graham and two colleagues in Canada have left the Paris-based firm in recent months. Graham, a veteran technology and telecommunications banker, joined the firm less than two years ago from Royal Bank of Canada to expand Rothschild's coverage beyond its traditional focus on mining and restructuring.
EMEA
EQT, a global investment organization, failed to acquire a 60% stake in the mobile and fixed network infrastructure operation from CK Hutchison-backed Wind Tre, a telecommunications company, for €2bn ($2.6bn).
“Conditions precedent to closing of the transaction were not satisfied,” CK Hutchison.
Expro, an energy services provider, agreed to acquire Coretrax, a performance drilling tools and wellbore cleanup, well integrity and production optimization solutions provider, from Buckthorn Partners, a private equity firm, for $210m.
“We are thrilled to announce our proposed acquisition of Coretrax, and look forward to welcoming John Fraser and his teammates to the Expro family. Coretrax has a complementary offering to Expro with little overlap and will bolster the portfolio of technology-enabled services and solutions offered through our Well Construction and Well Intervention & Integrity product lines, adding significant value to our clients from innovative technologies that reduce risk and cost, optimize drilling efficiency, extend the life of existing well stock, and optimize production," Michael Jardon, Expro CEO.
Expro is advised by Wells Fargo Securities and CMS. Coretrax is advised by Evercore and Blackwoods. Buckthorn Partners is advised by Sidley Austin.
InfraRed-backed TRIG, a British investment trust, completed the acquisition of Fig Power, a battery storage solutions provider, for £20m ($25m).
"Flexible capacity, of which battery storage is a key component, is core to the energy transition and important to the rollout of renewables. Batteries, therefore, represent an important investment sector for TRIG, providing diversifying and often complementary revenues to the portfolio," Richard Crawford, InfraRed Capital Partners Head of Energy Income Funds.
Transom Capital Group, an Operations-focused private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in charging solutions business of Webasto, a sunroofs, electric-car chargers and air-conditioning systems manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“It is a rare opportunity that we can invest in a business of significant scale, in an underlying market that is on a historic hockey stick growth curve. Charging is at the forefront of the global transition toward electric vehicles and we are super excited to partner with Webasto to continue to grow the Charging solutions business,” Russ Roenick, Transom Capital Group Founder and Managing Partner.
Webasto is advised by Jefferies & Company. Transom Capital is advised by 35th Avenue Partners.
KAP of South Africa is considering a $317m logistics sale.
South African diversified industrial group KAP is considering a sale of the logistics operations of its Unitrans business as part of plans to reduce the debt of the South African industrial company, Bloomberg reported.
The group, based in Stellenbosch, near Cape Town, is seeking as much as $317m for the business. KAP has held talks with private equity firms, although the preferred structure of the deal hasn't been agreed and a buyer has not been identified.
Blackstone to merge warehouse landlords. (FS)
Blackstone plans to merge a pair of warehouse landlords it took private to create one of the UK's largest owners of industrial property, a move that could potentially pave the way for the entity's eventual sale or an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported.
The private equity firm will integrate the management of St Modwen and Industrials REIT, together with assets acquired through 25 other deals, to create a company called Indurent.
Blackstone considers withdrawing bid for German football media rights deal. (FS)
Blackstone is considering withdrawing from the bidding for a controversial football media rights deal in Germany, following a backlash from fans critical of foreign capital, Bloomberg reported.
The private equity firm is concerned about how long a deal could take to come to fruition, amid news reports that some clubs want a fresh vote on the proposal. Structuring and economic factors make it hard for Blackstone to see how it to make a deal work.
Masdar weighs stake in Iberdrola US renewable assets.
Abu Dhabi's state-owned renewable energy company Masdar is exploring the possibility of taking a stake in renewable-energy assets owned by Iberdrola in the US, Bloomberg reported.
Masdar is interested in buying a share of existing Iberdrola onshore clean-energy assets. Deliberations by the UAE renewables company are at an early stage and it's possible no deal happens.
Oaktree's Banca Progetto sounds out investors for IPO in 2Q. (FS)
Banca Progetto is sounding out investors for an initial public offering in the second quarter as owner Oaktree Capital Management plans to sell a stake in the challenger bank, Bloomberg reported.
"Oaktree aims to sell between 35% to 40% of the company by listing it on the Star segment of the Milan stock exchange. Our advisers have started informal meetings and there is interest from several Italian investors, including some pension funds," Paolo Fiorentino, Banca Progetto CEO.
Epiris raises over £1bn for Fund III. (FS)
Epiris, a private equity firm that targets control positions in UK-headquartered businesses with an enterprise value of between £75m ($91m) and £500m ($607m), has held the final close of Epiris Fund III with total capital commitments of £1bn ($1.21bn).
The fund, which was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap, had an original fundraising target of £850m ($1.03bn).
APAC
CapVest-backed Datasite, a SaaS provider for the M&A industry, agreed to acquire Ansarada, the largest virtual data room provider in Australia and New Zealand, for AUD212m ($138m).
"Datasite continues to focus on empowering global enterprises to work smarter and execute their strategic projects in a fast, simple, and secure manner. Ansarada’s Deals and Procure products are therefore highly complementary to Datasite’s existing platform," Rusty Wiley, Datasite President and CEO.
Ansarada is advised by Moelis & Co, DLA Piper, Citadel Magnus (led by James Strong) and Pegasus Advisory (led by Michael Brown). Datasite is advised by Jefferies & Company and Allens (led by Tom Story).
JSW Steel, a multinational steel producer, and JFE Steel, a steel manufacturer, agreed to form JSW JFE Electrical Steel, a grain-oriented electrical steel company, in a $670m deal.
"This collaboration is a milestone development, as it would be the first company to have end-to-end manufacturing of grain-oriented electrical steel products in India. The JV aspires to cater to the surging domestic demand for grain-oriented electrical steel and contribute significantly to the country's energy infrastructure," JSW Steel.
Mizuho Bank, a bank, agreed to invest $145m in Credit Saison India, a non-banking finance company.
"This investment by Mizuho into Credit Saison India marks the start of a new collaborative chapter as we execute on our growth plans," Presha Paragash, Credit Saison India CEO.
Westports considers new investors for $8bn expansion.
Malaysia's biggest port operator, Westports is considering external strategic investors to help fund a $8.3bn expansion that will see capacity nearly double in coming decades, Bloomberg reported.
"We would be open to it, if it's someone who can come and add value to us. We have not ruled anything out," Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, Westports Executive Chairman.
Woodside seeks deals after Santos failure in push for LNG.
Woodside Energy Group remains open to acquisitions following a failed attempt to merge with Santos, as it looks to grow the liquefied natural gas business, Bloomberg reported.
"We will keep the door open to a variety of ways to potentially grow our LNG business. That includes both buying assets and expansion of existing projects, while the company is open to considering the "right" deals," Meg O'Neill, Woodside Energy CEO.
India's Eruditus plans to shift domicile to India from Singapore for IPO. (FS)
SoftBank-backed Indian educational technology firm Eruditus is planning to shift its domicile from Singapore to India for a stock market listing, Reuters reported.
Eruditus' edtech platform offers thousands of online courses from more than 80 universities including Harvard on topics such as artificial intelligence, data science and software coding, in competition with NYSE-listed Coursera.
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