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AMERICAS
The Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission approved the $6.7bn acquisition of Yamana Gold by Pan American Silver and Agnico Eagle.
The approval follows the sale of Yamana's Canadian assets, including subsidiaries and partnerships which hold interests in the Canadian Malartic mine, to Agnico Eagle.
"All required regulatory, shareholder and court approvals, including the final court order, have now been received and the arrangement is anticipated to be completed on or about March 31, 2023," Yamana Gold.
Microsoft's chances of winning antitrust approval for its $69bn takeover of Activision Blizzard got a boost after UK regulators narrowed the scope of their probe to focus solely on cloud gaming, Bloomberg reported.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it changed its mind after weighing "a significant amount" of new evidence that Microsoft would be unlikely to profit from restricting access to blockbuster franchise Call of Duty on rival consoles such as Sony's PlayStation.
dMY Technology Group VI announced its intention to transfer its stock exchange listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Stock Market, effective upon completing its $200m business combination with Rainwater Tech.
Upon the consummation of the business combination, Rainwater Tech will be a wholly owned subsidiary of dMY VI, and dMY VI will change its name to Rain Enhancement Technologies. Once the business combination is completed and once authorization for listing on Nasdaq has been received, dMY VI will change its trading ticker from DMYS to the new ticker symbol "RANY" and will begin trading on Nasdaq.
Rainwater Tech is advised by TCF Law Group and ICR. dMY VI is advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Morrow Sodali Global.
Arctic Slope, a diversified commercial services provider, agreed to acquire the logistics and supply chain management business of SAIC, a digital transformation company, for $350m.
"Today's announcement represents a milestone in SAIC's priority to shape our portfolio and advance our strategy. The agreement allows for seamless transition and continued support for the logistics and supply chain management business and their important customer missions, while enabling SAIC to concentrate resources in our Growth & Technology Accelerant areas of focus. These areas include Secure Cloud, Enterprise IT and Systems Integration & Delivery which now account for more than 30% of SAIC revenue," Nazzic Keene, SAIC CEO.
Arctic Slope is advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. SAIC is advised by Jefferies & Company and King & Spalding.
New York Community Bancorp, a bank holding company, completed the acquisition of C&I business of Signature Bridge Bank, a commercial bank, from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I would like to first and foremost extend a warm welcome to all of our new employees joining us from Signature. Over the past 20 years, Signature and New York Community have operated in the same markets and we have great respect and admiration for the employee base. Secondly, I would like to welcome our new customers and assure them that they are supported by an organization that has been a mainstay in its communities since 1859. We look forward to serving each of you and the new communities which we have entered," Thomas R. Cangemi, NYCB President and CEO.
NYCB was advised by Jefferies & Company, Morgan Stanley and Sullivan & Cromwell.
Kinderhook Industries, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of A Waste and Recycling, a roll-off waste collection company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We remain eager to pursue new opportunities throughout Florida and further build out this platform. EcoSouth Florida continues to look for acquisitions across the solid waste value chain including hauling, transfer and landfill assets. We will continue to deploy capital behind Joe and his team who have demonstrated an ability to quickly and efficiently integrate as well as grow these acquired businesses," Corwynne Carruthers, Kinderhook Managing Director.
Kinderhook was advised by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Debt financing was provided by Comerica Bank.
Mitsubishi Materials, a Japanese business conglomerate, completed an investment in Western Copper and Gold, a mining company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to welcome Mitsubishi Materials as a strategic investor in the Company. The investment by Mitsubishi Materials is a strong endorsement of the Casino Project. We look forward to working with Mitsubishi Materials to advance Casino," Paul West-Sells, Western Copper President and CEO.
Western Copper was advised by BMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets.
SoftBank, a Japanese multinational conglomerate, agreed to acquire Berkshire Grey, an American technology company, for $375m.
"As a long-time partner and investor in Berkshire Grey, we have a shared vision for robotics and automation. Berkshire Grey is a pioneer in transformative, AI-enabled robotic technologies that address use cases in retail, eCommerce, grocery, 3PL, and package handling companies. We look forward to partnering with Berkshire Grey to accelerate their growth and deliver ongoing excellence for customers," Vikas J. Parekh, SoftBank Managing Partner of Investment Advisers.
Berkshire Grey is advised by Sharon Merrill Associates.
Nexus Capital-backed Natural Balance, a pet food manufacturer, agreed to merge with L Catterton-backed Canidae, a pet food manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Natural Balance has a proven position as a pioneer in the premium specialty pet food industry, and we are confident that Canidae is the ideal partner to enhance and accelerate the brand's strategic growth following the past two years as a stand-alone business. Together, we will create high-quality products anchored around premium, limited ingredient formulas, and benefit from enhanced scale and a talented workforce. Natural Balance and Canidae share a commitment to nurturing the health of both our pets and our planet and we look forward to offering even greater choice and value to our customers," Damian Giangiacomo and Jonathan Whitlock, Nexus Capital Partners and Managing Directors.
Natural Balance is advised by Houlihan Lokey.
Private equity firms MacKinnon Bennett and Idealist Capital completed the acquisition of a minority stake in XNRGY Climate Systems, a manufacturer of commercial HVAC systems.
"XNRGY is at the forefront of climate technology and this latest substantial investment by prominent institutional investors backed by leading Canadian sovereign and financial institutions, is a testament to how XNRGY will continue to deliver on our client's net zero and energy savings goals. We're pleased to work closely together with investors MKB and Idealist Capital on this exciting road ahead," Wais Jalali, XNRGY Founder, Chairman and CEO.
Customers Bancorp weighs making an offer for Silicon Valley Bank.
Customers Bancorp is exploring a deal for all or part of the failed Silicon Valley Bank. The auction is being handled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC tried to sell SVB Private alongside Silicon Valley Bank over the last two weekends after the technology-focused lender was taken over by regulators on March 10. But it failed to clinch a deal to sell them both together, Bloomberg reported.
The bank has been seeking potential co-investors for a deal for Silicon Valley Bank. A final decision hasn't been made and Customers Bancorp could opt against pursuing a deal.
First Citizens BancShares, one of the biggest buyers of failed US lenders, is also exploring a deal for Silicon Valley Bank.
Graf Acquisition IV and NKGen Biotech announce LOI for SPAC merger.
Graf Acquisition IV, a NYSE-listed special purpose acquisition company and NKGen Biotech, a biotechnology company focused on harnessing the power of the body's immune system through the development of natural killer cell therapies, announced they have signed a non-binding letter of intent to pursue a business combination.
There can be no assurance that a definitive agreement will be entered into or that the proposed business combination will be consummated on the terms or timeframe currently contemplated.
Virgin Orbit says space startup in talks with potential investors.
Billionaire Richard Branson's cash-strapped satellite launch company Virgin Orbit Holdings said it is in talks with "interested parties" about an investment in the company, Reuters reported.
"As we disclosed on March 16, the company has taken cash preservation measures as it explores strategic options to secure Virgin Orbit's future. The company can confirm that it is in discussions with interested parties about a potential investment in the company," Virgin Orbit.
Geely's Farizon Auto seeks to raise $300m before a potential US IPO.
FARIZON Auto, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group's new-energy commercial vehicle brand, is considering raising as much as $300m in fresh funds ahead of a potential initial public offering in the United States.
The carmaker is seeking a valuation of $4.5bn in the new round, up from $3bn in its fundraising last year. The company is studying the possibility of listing in the US as soon as the end of this year, but no final decision has been made. Considerations are at an early stage and details of the new funding round and IPO could still change, Bloomberg reported.
EMEA
The UK competition regulator said US chipmaker Broadcom's $69bn takeover of cloud software company VMware could make computer servers more expensive, warning it may launch an in-depth probe if its concerns are not addressed, FT reported.
The Competition and Markets Authority said that the acquisition, which if approved would be the biggest in Broadcom's history, could "lead to less innovation and drive up the cost of computer parts and software" used by government, banks and telecoms.
The UK regulator said it was considering an in-depth investigation into the tie-up after finding it could hurt competition, in a potential roadblock to the blockbuster deal announced last year. The tie-up is also being examined by competition enforcers in the US and Europe.
VMware is advised by Goldman Sachs (led by Sam Britton and Stephan Feldgoise), JP Morgan (led by Madhu Namburi), Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider (led by John Harkrider), Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (led by Barbara Becker and Andrew Kaplan) and FGS Global (led by Paul Kranhold). Financial advisors are advised by Debevoise & Plimpton (led by Michael Diz) and Sullivan & Cromwell (led by Alison S. Ressler and John L. Savva). Broadcom is advised by Bank of America (led by Kevin Brunner and Ron Eliasek), Barclays (led by Laurence Braham, Richard Hardegree and Gary Posternack), Citigroup (led by Tyler Dickson and Daniel Mallegni), Credit Suisse (led by David Wah), Morgan Stanley (led by Anthony Armstrong), Wells Fargo Securities, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, O'Melveny & Myers (led by Adit Khorana), Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (led by David Karp, Ronald Chen and Viktor Sapezhnikov), Brunswick Group (led by Simon Sporborg) and Joele Frank (led by Joele Frank). Financial advisors are advised by Cooley (led by Ben Beerle). Silver Lake is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (led by Atif Azher).
KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners completed the acquisition of an 81.7% stake in Vantage Towers, a telecommunication infrastructure provider, from Vodafone, a telecommunications group, in a $16.3bn deal.
"We're delighted to join forces with Vodafone and KKR to invest in Vantage Towers, a high-quality European tower portfolio with strong upside potential. We are looking forward to capturing the exciting value-creating opportunities in the European telecoms infrastructure sector by advancing Vantage Towers' strategy and supporting its capacity to build new sites. As strategic partners with Vodafone and KKR, we will bring our deep infrastructure expertise and resources to help the company deliver the best data connectivity for individuals and businesses and contribute to enabling Europe's digital future in the interest of all stakeholders," Will Brilliant, GIP Partner and Head of Digital Infrastructure.
More than half of the Swiss population don't approve of UBS Group AG's government-brokered takeover of troubled rival Credit Suisse Group, according to a recent poll.
A total of 54% were against or strongly against the controversial deal, the GFS poll run between March 21 and March 23 shows. Just 1 in 20 Swiss, or 5% polled, were strongly supportive of the decision and another 30% somewhat supportive of the takeover. The deal earned greater support in French-speaking Switzerland where 41% were somewhat or strongly in favor of the deal, whereas among the larger German-speaking population, support partly or fully in favor was just 33%.
The deal, brokered by the Swiss government and central bank to avoid triggering a broader financial crisis has nonetheless been widely criticized, and prompted the threat of multiple lawsuits and dented Switzerland's reputation for financial stability. The emergency ordinances the Swiss government invoked to ensure the takeover happened must still be approved by Swiss parliament, which has convened an extraordinary assembly in April to do so, Bloomberg reported.
Terroirs et Vignerons de Champagne, a beverage manufacturer, agreed to acquire Champagne Henriot, a fine champagne manufacturer, from Artémis Domaines, a brewer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"After examining several purchase offers for the sale of Henriot champagne, the Artémis Domaines group, already the owner of Jacquesson champagne , chose that of Terroirs & Vignerons de Champagne insofar as it presented the best guarantees to perpetuate the know-how of this emblematic house of the Champagne vineyards," Terroirs & Vignerons de Champagne.
Artémis Domaines is advsied by Credit Agricole and Image Sept (led by Laurence Heilbronn).
Cinven, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire the Admixtures business of MBCC, a chemicals manufacturer, from Sika, a specialty chemical company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Cinven is delighted to make this investment in MBCC Admixtures, a business we have long admired and whose progress we have followed closely. MBCC brings together a number of attractive qualities – it is a global leader in its sector, has great potential for further growth and innovation, and plays a key role in helping cement and concrete producers to reduce carbon emissions. We are very much looking forward to helping the business to realise its full potential through a long-term growth strategy," Pontus Pettersson, Cinven Partner.
BTG Pactual, an investment bank, agreed to acquire FIS Privatbank, a private bank. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of FIS is a milestone for BTG Pactual's strategy in Europe and a strategic investment decision. Operating a bank in Luxembourg will enable us to serve all our clients' needs in the region, fostering the activities of our European offices in Portugal, Spain (which is currently under regulatory approval), and the UK. We will offer a full suite of products and services to our European client base and to Latin Americans aiming to diversify their investment portfolios in developed countries. Being in Luxembourg will be a key element to bolster those activities, attract new clients and serve them with the same dedication that we do in our home markets," Roberto Sallouti, BTG Pactual CEO.
Finnish businessman Zilliacus ready to pay premium for Manchester United.
Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has placed a bid for Manchester United and is willing to pay a premium for the English soccer club.
A small portion of the club's shares is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The market capitalization was more than $4bn.
United's current owners, the Glazer family, began looking at options including new investment or a potential sale in November, 17 years after they bought the record 20-time English champions for $972m. Any sale of the club would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far - the $5.2bn including debt and investments paid for Chelsea, Reuters reported.
Infrastructure firms in talks to acquire UK Trooli. (FS)
Paris-headquartered Vauban Infrastructure Partners and Axione, a Vauban-backed company, are in discussions to acquire Trooli, a full fibre broadband services provider.
Virgin Media O2, owned by Spain's Telefónica and Liberty Global, had also considered buying the company but dropped out this month because of the price and the estimated cost of repair work required on the network, FT reported.
Apollo-backed OLB hits pause on IPO amid banking crisis. (FS)
Apollo Global-backed Oldenburgische Landesbank, the private equity-backed German lender, has paused work on a planned initial public offering that was expected to take place as early as in May, Bloomberg reported.
The decision to put the planned German listing on hold comes amid investors' concerns over the health of the global banking system. The lender remains keen to pursue a listing and is ready to move ahead when market conditions improve, though the final decision will be up to its shareholders.
OLB earlier this year added a large roster of banks to its IPO line-up in anticipation of the first-half listing that was expected to value the bank at well over €1bn ($1.1bn).
The bank had picked Barclays, Berenberg, BNP Paribas, HSBC, KBW and Societe Generale as joint bookrunners. Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and UBS were leading the share sale.
APAC
Mizuho Bank, a subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group, led a $270m Series D round in Kredivo Holdings, a FinTech company, with participation from Square Peg Capital, Jungle Ventures, Naver Financial, GMO Venture Partners and Openspace Ventures.
"Despite challenging market conditions, investors continue to recognize the scale and strength of our business, and our innovation potential. The upcoming expansion into digital banking is deeply synergistic with the existing Kredivo product and also opens up a very promising channel for us to become the digital financial services platform of choice for tens of millions of consumers in Southeast Asia. Finally, we are delighted to have Mizuho join us as a valuable investor and strategic partner," Akshay Garg, Kredivo CEO.
Kredivo was advised by Evercore and Cooley.
Bain Capital, a private investment firm, offered to acquire Estia Health, an aged-care provider, for $518m.
The Board of Estia Health, together with its financial and legal advisers, is considering the indicative proposal to assess whether it is in the best interests of shareholders to engage with Bain Capital. There is no certainty that the indicative proposal will result in a binding offer or that any transaction will eventuate.
Estia Health is advised by John Connolly & Partners (led by Julie Connolly).
Altos Ventures, a technology investment firm, led a $168m Series C funding round in Kream, a reselling platform, with participation from Naver, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Mirae Asset Capital, Samsung Securities and Axiom Asia.
"Kream has tried to resolve the reliability of products and inconvenient transaction processes that customers felt most uncomfortable about while using C2C reselling platforms. Kream has secured the most data in South Korea to guarantee genuine products," Mingook Kim, Kream Chief Business Officer.
City Developments, a real estate operating organization, agreed to acquire Sofitel Brisbane Central hotel, a 5-star luxury hotel, from Brookfield Asset Management, a global alternative asset manager, for $119m.
"The proposed acquisition marks the group's entry into Brisbane's hospitality sector. Brisbane is amongst the key hospitality markets in Australia that have enjoyed the strongest RevPAR recovery in 2022, significantly exceeding prepandemic levels. Brisbane's pipeline of over $12.3bn in infrastructure projects will further enhance the city's position as a world-class sporting, tourism and business events destination. With Brisbane being the host city for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027 and 2029, the acquisition presents an attractive opportunity for the group to enlarge our presence in Australia and enhance our recurring income stream. The group remains focused on optimizing our hospitality portfolio," Kwek Leng Beng, CDL Chairman.
InnoVen Capital, a venture debt and lending platform, and Trifecta Capital, an alternate financing platform, led a $100m funding in Stashfin, a fintech firm.
"It is promising to see how our efforts and unique product offering have helped us scale swiftly and benefited all of our partners and stakeholders. The new collaborations will add more velocity to our growth given our robust business model and extensive market demand," Tushar Aggarwal, Stashfin CEO and Founder.
Effissimo Capital may reap $768m from Toshiba buyout. (FS)
Effissimo Capital Management, a hedge fund may make close to $768m from Toshiba's buyout, with the value of the activist fund's shares roughly doubling since it disclosed a stake in 2017.
Toshiba accepted a $15.2bn offer from a Japanese consortium led by JIP, a move that may end a troubled chapter in the firm's history. Effissimo is the company's largest stock holder with a 9.9% stake. Exactly how much it paid for the shares isn't known, but the average cost is estimated to be about $17.8 a share. That suggests Effissimo will book a capital gain of $768m if it sells its shares into the tender offer expected to start in late July, Bloomberg reported.
CPPIB exploring buying out ReNew Energy shareholders, making the firm private. (FS)
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is exploring buying the shares of ReNew Energy Global that it doesn't already own and taking the Nasdaq-listed firm private. The asset manager is in talks with advisers to weigh a tender offer. CPPIB holds a majority stake in ReNew Energy.
Delisting of the Gurugram, India-based power producer, with a market capitalization of more than $2bn as of Friday, will give CPPIB greater control over the firm that competes with deep-pocketed rivals. India presents a massive opportunity for clean energy developers as it aims to almost triple non-fossil fuel power capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030, Business Standard reported.
Bajaj Finance, Cathay Financial weigh bids for CBA Indonesia. (FS)
Bajaj Finance and Cathay Financial Holding are among the firms considering bids for Commonwealth Bank of Australia's business in Indonesia.
The Indian and Taiwanese companies have had talks with advisers about potential offers for PT Bank Commonwealth. Other companies in the industry could bid for the business. A sale could value the business at several hundred million dollars, Bloomberg reported.
LIC plans to cap investment exposure post Adani debacle.
The Life Insurance Corp. of India is planning to impose caps on its debt and equity exposure to companies, in a bid to lower concentration of risk following criticism of its investment in Adani group companies.
After the Adani group lost over $100bn in valuation post scathing allegations by US-based Hindenburg Research, state-run LIC was criticized for having over $4bn exposure to companies from the group.
LIC, the country's largest domestic institutional investor with assets under management of about $539bn, is planning to cap its debt and equity exposure in individual firms, group companies and companies that are backed by same promoter. The caps, once approved by the LIC board, would further limit the insurer's exposure. Currently, the insurer cannot invest more than 10% of outstanding equity in a company and 10% of the outstanding debt, DealStreetAsia reported.
Portfolio Advisors raises over $1bn for its 11th global PE fund. (FS)
Portfolio Advisors, a global private market specialist that has backed pan-Asia funds, has secured over $1 billion in the final close of its 11th global multi-strategy fund-of-funds. The global private equity fund, Portfolio Advisors Private Equity Fund XI was oversubscribed and exceeded its original target of $750m.
The latest fund secured commitments from investors who had previously committed to one or more of the firm's vehicles. This includes private and public pension plans, university endowments, private foundations, insurance companies, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.
Animoca Brands cuts target for new metaverse fund by 20%. (FS)
Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands has cut its target for its so-called metaverse fund by 20% to $800m, further scaling back of its ambitions following volatility in the crypto sector.
Animoca Brands said in November that it was working on a new Animoca Capital fund with a target of $2bn, but then halved that target in January to $1bn. Recently, it has trimmed the target by another 20% to $800m.
Animoca's cut to its fund raising target and declining valuation reflect a change in sentiment on the crypto industry as excitement around such technologies has lost steam following scandals stemming from the collapse of the FTX exchange to the bankruptcy of several crypto lenders, DealStreetAsia reported.
Ola Electric in talks to raise up to $300m in fresh funding. (FS)
Indian ride-hailing firm Ola Electric is in talks to close a fresh funding round in the range of $250m to $300m, led by Goldman Sachs. Ola may make an announcement about the fundraising in about a month.
Ola aims to launch an IPO in the second half of this year, Bhavish Aggarwal said in December, with the company maintaining that it expects to achieve profitability "soon". At a time when Ola has been facing intense competition from Uber, Rapido, and other local players in the Indian market, it is slowly pivoting its focus to new initiatives such as electric vehicles and food delivery, which has put pressure on its financials, DealStreetAsia reported.
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