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AMERICAS
KKR, a global investment firm, completed the acquisition of Chase, a global manufacturer of protective materials for high-reliability applications across diverse market sectors, for $1.3bn.
“Today represents an important milestone for Chase in our journey to better serve our customers through strategic growth and innovation,” Adam Chase, Chase President and Chief Executive Officer.
LENZ Therapeutics, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies to improve vision, agreed to merge with Graphite Bio, a biotech company, in a $225m deal. Transaction includes a PIPE investment from Versant Ventures, RA Capital Management, Alpha Wave, Point72, Samsara BioCapital, Sectoral Asset Management, and RTW Investments.
“We believe that a once-daily pharmacological eye drop that can effectively and safely improve near vision throughout the full workday, without the need for reading glasses, will be a highly attractive commercial product with an estimated US market opportunity in excess of $3bn. We have assembled an executive team with extensive clinical, commercial and operational experience to commercialize such a product and become the category leader," Eef Schimmelpennink, LENZ Therapeutics President and CEO.
Graphite Bio is advised by Leerink Partners, Piper Sandler, William Blair & Co and Goodwin Procter (led by Andrew Goodman and Tevia Pollard). Financial advisors are advised by Latham & Watkins. LENZ Therapeutics is advised by Bank of America, Citigroup, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Stern IR (led by Julie Seidel).
As Glencore prepares for the long grind to convince Canada of the virtues of the Swiss trader-led consortium's $9bn bid for Teck Resources' coal unit, investors and lawyers are optimistic about the deal approval despite the government's increased scrutiny of foreign investments, Reuters reported.
Glencore CEO Gary Nagle's initial bid for the entire Teck Resources faced stiff opposition from Justin Trudeau's Liberal government and from the premier of British Columbia, where the company is based. Teck twice rebuffed Glencore's overtures.
Teck Resources is advised by Ardea Partners, BMO Capital Markets, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Origin Merchant Partners, Blake Cassels & Graydon, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Stikeman Elliott and Sullivan & Cromwell (led by Sergio J. Galvis and Lauren S. Boehmke). Glencore is advised by Citigroup.
Fox Factory, a company that designs and manufactures performance-defining products primarily for bicycles, on-road and off-road vehicles and trucks, completed the acquisition of Marucci Sports, a baseball and softball brand, from Compass Diversified, an investment holding company, for $572m.
“We are pleased to complete our sale of Marucci Sports and believe the Marucci team is well-positioned for future success under FOX ownership. Our partnership with Marucci, which began in early 2020, proved highly successful, and we are grateful for Kurt and the Marucci team’s contributions over the years and look forward to their continued success," Elias Sabo, Compass Diversified CEO.
Academic Partnerships, a company that assists primarily regional public universities in expanding access and impact by supporting their online programs, agreed to acquire Wiley University Services, an education provider offering flexible solutions to help colleges & universities drive student success, from Wiley, a publishing company, for $150m.
"Across the globe, there is growing demand for high-quality, affordable online degree programs in workforce-relevant fields. Bringing together AP and Wiley University Services will better enable the combined company to help universities meet students where they are with high-quality, timely online education in our rapidly changing world. The combined company will have the resources and expertise to provide best-in-class services to our university partners and their students from diverse backgrounds, including working adults and professionals," Fernando Bleichmar, AP Chief Executive Officer.
Wiley is advised by Centerview Partners, and Weil Gotshal and Manges. Academic Partnerships is advised by Winston & Strawn.
Apollo, a provider of alternative asset management, and Composite Advanced Technologies, a provider of compressed natural gas, completed the acquisition of Kelley Leasing Partners, a compressed gas and cryogenic liquid transportation equipment leasing company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The launch of Hydria marks an exciting milestone as the CATEC, Kelley and Apollo teams join forces to spearhead a new platform with significant growth potential in the gaseous logistics industry. Leveraging our collective expertise, we believe Hydria can become a differentiated service provider supporting the end-to-end equipment needs of the compressed gas value chain. We look forward to pursuing various expansion initiatives in support of the energy transition and believe Hydria has a bright future ahead," Scott Prince, Hydria CEO.
Gemspring Capital, a middle-market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Fenceworks, a fencing installer and distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to partner with Gemspring during this next phase of growth for Fenceworks. Gemspring's understanding of construction services and experience partnering with founder-owned businesses will be invaluable in helping us achieve our long-term goals as we expand our geographic footprint, further invest in our team, and continue to serve our customers with the highest commitment to quality and service," Jason Ostrander, Fenceworks CEO.
Gemspring Capital was advised by Lincoln International and Kirkland & Ellis.
Cox Enterprises, a privately held global conglomerate, completed a $250m investment in BlackRock-backed DSD Renewables, a solar energy management company.
“This significant investment from Cox marks a pivotal milestone for DSD, enabling our continued evolution to becoming an influential market leader. Our growth, initially fueled by BlackRock’s faith in us, now enters a new chapter with Cox that will advance our position as a cleantech leader and scale our business. This partnership is a testament to how far we’ve come and our unwavering commitment to accelerating renewable energy solutions deployment," Erik Schiemann, DSD CEO.
DSD Renewables was advised by Evercore.
Novanta, a trusted technology partner to medical and advanced technology equipment manufacturers, agreed to acquire Motion Solutions, a provider of highly engineered integrated solutions, for $189m.
"Motion Solutions is an exciting business with intelligent subsystem competencies within attractive medical and precision medicine markets,” Matthijs Glastra, Novanta Chair and Chief Executive Officer.
Core & Main, a company in advancing reliable infrastructure with local service, agreed to acquire Lee Supply Company, a specialty distributor and fabricator of high-density polyethylene pipe and other related services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Lee Supply has a distinguished history and reputation for delivering innovative solutions and providing top-quality products and services. We are confident their team members will bring industry knowledge and capabilities that will greatly enhance our HDPE product and service offerings while providing our customers with additional expertise in fusible pipe applications,” Steve LeClair, Core & Main Chief Executive Officer.
Angeles-backed Data Clean, a critical environment cleaning and remediation company, completed the acquisition of Sealco, a critical environment cleaning business serving data centers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sealco's legacy as a premier data center decontamination solution provider in the South, bolstered by its experienced team and consistent excellence in service provision for over four decades, is widely recognized,” Rich Hill, Data Clean President.
Millennium and Schonfeld call off partnership talks. (FS)
Millennium Management, the $60bn hedge fund led by Izzy Englander, and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors have terminated talks to form a partnership, FT reported.
The two multi-strategy fund managers had been in serious talks for several months over a deal for Schonfeld to manage money for Millennium, giving Englander's fund access to its more than 100 investment teams.
Schonfeld has walked away from the deal after its investors said they would give it about $3bn more to manage, ending what would have been a landmark transaction in one of the hottest areas of the hedge fund industry.
Chevron reviewing options for East Texas assets after shale acquisitions.
Energy corporation Chevron said it is evaluating options for around 70k net acres of land in East Texas' Haynesville shale formation after pausing development earlier this year, a full sale is one option under consideration, Reuters reported.
The move would be a small first step by the energy major which is seeking to offload assets worth up to $15bn over the next five years following its recent multi-billion dollar acquisitions of more than 700k acres in US shale assets.
Buffett's Berkshire trims HP stake, exits bet on General Motors. (FS)
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reduced the number of stocks in its portfolio in the third quarter, exiting stakes in General Motors and Activision Blizzard while trimming bets on companies including HP, Bloomberg reported.
The conglomerate's retreat from Activision completes Buffett's arbitrage play amid the video-game maker's prolonged effort to merge with Microsoft, which ran into antitrust scrutiny before the deal was completed in October.
US Federal Pension Fund to exclude Hong Kong investments. (FS)
The main US federal government pension will exclude investments in Hong Kong, in addition to mainland China, from its $68bn international fund, amid rising tensions between the world's two largest economies, Bloomberg reported.
The $771bn Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board said it will switch the benchmark index for its international fund, effectively ridding exposure to Hong Kong. It already avoids investments on the mainland.
Scaramucci says SkyBridge is exploring an acquisition. (FS)
Anthony Scaramucci is on the hunt for a purchase at his alternative asset manager SkyBridge Capital, Bloomberg reported.
SkyBridge is considering targets such as a fund-of-funds similar to his own, or potentially a multistrategy firm, for a possible tie-up. He's also considering alliances with younger people who might have good investment ideas but lack resources to execute them.
Flybondi eyes Brazil expansion after SPAC deal.
Argentine low-cost airline Flybondi is considering an expansion into Brazil, a move that could eventually be financed through public markets once it completes a merger with a blank-check company in the first half of next year, Bloomberg reported.
The company, which announced its plan to go public on the Nasdaq on October 20 through special purpose acquisition company Integral Acquisition Corporation 1, may not see immediate proceeds from the transaction but it would be a first step in being able to tap a broader group of investors down the line.
Carlyle's AlpInvest secures $1.3bn continuation fund for Kinderhook. (FS)
Kinderhook Industries, a middle market private equity firm, announced the closing of a continuation fund capitalized by AlpInvest Partners, a subsidiary of global investment firm Carlyle and a group of limited partners.
The fund was established to acquire the nine portfolio companies in Kinderhook's fourth and fifth funds. The $1.3bn continuation fund includes $300m of unfunded capital to drive organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions at these companies.
Nike names Nicole Hubbard Graham as new CMO. (People)
Nike said it has named former company executive Nicole Hubbard Graham to be its next chief marketing officer, succeeding Dirk-Jan "DJ" van Hameren, who will retire, WSJ reported.
The appointment is part of a wider executive shake-up designed to speed up innovation at the sneaker giant, which recently began facing up to stiffer competition in the running and lifestyle categories.
Insider co-founder Henry Blodget to step down as CEO. (People)
Insider co-founder Henry Blodget is stepping down as the CEO of the publication that he helped create more than 15 years ago. Insider named President Barbara Peng to the top job, Reuters reported.
The company will also change its name back to "Business Insider" as part of Peng's strategy to improve the brand positioning of the business and tech news publication.
EMEA
Messer, a supplier of industrial gases, completed the acquisition of the remaining stake in Messer Industries, a company that supplies industrial, medical, and specialty products, from CVC Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"With the now approved partnership with GIC and the full acquisition of Messer Industries, Messer is opening a new chapter in its 125-year corporate history. As a gases group successful in Asia, Europe and the Americas, we will be even stronger and drive forward our ambitious plans with GIC as our new partner. Messer has enormous potential with its 11k employees worldwide. We want to move closer to the big players in the industry as the number one challenger," Bernd Eulitz, Messer CEO.
Messer was advised by Hengeler Mueller (led by Lucina Berger) and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (led by Adam Emmerich). Debt financing was provided by BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and UniCredit. Debt providers were advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (led by Mario Huether). CVC was advised by Jefferies & Company and Latham & Watkins (led by Leif U. Schrader and Oliver Felsenstein).
Manulife Investment Management, an investment services provider, agreed to acquire CQS, a multi-sector alternative credit manager. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to enter into this agreement which we see as mutually beneficial to both firms as well for those who have been investing with CQS for decades. CQS brings to our portfolio a proven investment process, robust performance, and expertise across market cycles, and a culture that has attracted both talent and flows into the firm. We are very excited for the opportunity as CQS's capabilities are a complement to our existing fixed income and multi-asset solutions business and a powerful addition to our global credit offering," Paul Lorentz, Manulife President and CEO.
CQS is advised by Piper Sandler and Simmons & Simmons.
FSK Group, a group of companies is an industrial and construction conglomerate which incorporates one of the largest real estate developers in Russia, completed the acquisition of business in Russia from Sibelco, a company specialized in material solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Since 2022, we have carefully monitored the situation, always with the best interests of our employees and customers in mind. Ensuring the continuity and stability of the business for the benefit of our 300 Russian employees was always one of Sibelco’s key considerations in the divestment of its business in Russia," Hilmar Rode, Sibelco CEO.
Sibelco was advised by Rothschild & Co.
Central Group, a department store owner, completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% stake in Selfridges, a chain of upscale department stores, from Signa, a real estate company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Central Group converted a loan provided by one of its subsidiaries to the Selfridges Group into equity, which "solidifies' it as an owner-operator of the largest European luxury department store group.
German government supports Siemens Energy with $8bn guarantees.
The German government said it had decided to backstop Siemens Energy with guarantees worth $8.1bn as part of a deal with other stakeholders to help the troubled energy company fulfill its order book, Reuters reported.
Deepening problems at the firm's wind turbine unit Siemens Gamesa and a subsequent move by S&P to cut the group's long-term credit rating to BBB-, just one notch above junk, during the summer had made banks more reluctant to provide guarantees.
Bundesliga seeks private equity investors for $1.07bn media rights deal.
German professional football's governing body Bundesliga is launching a third attempt to sell a stake in the league's media rights worth as much as $1.07bn to private equity investors.
The 36 clubs in the top two divisions will vote in mid-December on whether to hold an auction. This time around, the league is likely to use a reverse auction, asking private equity firms how big a stake they would seek for an investment of up to $1.07bn in the entity.
Tullow Oil taps $400m Glencore funding for buyback.
Tullow Oil announced a bond buyback that will see the oil and gas company tap a new $400m debt facility with commodity trading and mining company Glencore, Bloomberg reported.
Tullow will purchase as much as $300m of the senior notes due in 2025 using funds from the five-year facility entered into earlier this week. It also said it will buy back as much as $100m of its senior secured bonds maturing in 2026.
Siemens Energy, Alstom and the perils of cross-border M&A.
Two European industrial giants, Siemens Energy and Alstom, laid bare the shocking cost of disastrous cross-border acquisitions and the financial fixes required to retain customer and investor confidence, Bloomberg reported.
Decarbonization remains a massive opportunity for such firms, but the speed of the energy transition entails huge risks that have now materialized — as they also have at Danish wind-farm developer Orsted.
Hedge funds help fill bond-buying void left by central banks.
Hedge funds are helping to fill a bond-buying gap in European government bond markets left by central banks and playing an important role in boosting liquidity, Reuters reported.
The European Central Bank greatly reduced its bond-buying last year after a surge in inflation forced it to unwind a decade of stimulus policies. The Bank of England is also selling bonds.
Nigeria long-bond demand jumps as investors grab juicy yield.
A reopening of Nigeria's longest-dated bond was oversubscribed by more than three times at an auction on November 13 as investors swooped on the issue's record yield, Bloomberg reported.
The 2053-dated debt attracted total subscriptions of $364m, compared with the $108m of paper put on offer by the nation's Debt Management Office. Other shorter tenor notes, including the 2029, 2033 and 2038 maturities, were all undersubscribed at the same auction, indicating a preference for the longer-dated debt, which was also offered at a record yield of 18%.
Renault seeks to charge up investors for EV unit IPO.
Renault will try to fire up doubtful investors ahead of a planned market listing of its electric vehicle unit Ampere, a key plank of CEO Luca de Meo's revamp of the French automaker, Reuters reported.
De Meo has targeted a valuation of $8.6-10.7bn for the initial public offering of Ampere, which has already been delayed once and is now slated for spring 2024. Ampere would see revenue more than treble to $10.8bn in 2025 as it sought to fire up doubtful investors ahead of a planned market listing of the business next year.
Morocco's first carmaker Neo Motors plans IPO.
Moroccan carmaker Neo Motors, which begins selling the nation's first homegrown automobile this month, is targeting a listing on the kingdom's main stock exchange to expand into electric-vehicle production, Bloomberg reported.
Neo, co-founded in 2017 by Morocco's now-communications and culture minister, is initially assembling 3k units a year of its debut vehicle — a three-door passenger model that will retail for $20k and compete with similarly priced combustion cars from Renault-owned Dacia and Chinese brands.
Abu Dhabi's ADQ, Chimera set to commit billions more to new fund. (FS)
Backers of a new $50bn Abu Dhabi fund, part of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan's empire, are considering committing additional capital to the entity to double its portfolio over time, Bloomberg reported.
Chimera Investment and Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ are in talks to commit more capital to Lunate and boost its assets under management to $100bn over time. Lunate will also look to raise new funds from outside investors.
Reckitt Benckiser appoints Ex-Sky CEO Darroch as chairman. (People)
British multinational consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser has appointed Jeremy Darroch as its new chairman replacing Chris Sinclair who will step down after six years in the top job, Bloomberg reported.
Darroch formerly ran the broadcaster Sky and will take over from Sinclair, who has been on the board of the consumer goods company for nine years in total, in May 2024.
Manchester United chief executive to 'step down' in management transition. (People)
Manchester United has confirmed its chief executive of two years, Richard Arnold, "has decided to step down" as part of a "management transition", Sky News reported.
Arnold's departure prepares the ground for the looming change in United's ownership structure that will see Jim Ratcliffe take a big stake.
APAC
Sajo, a deep-sea fishing company, agreed to acquire South Korean business from Ingredion, provider of ingredient solutions to the food and beverage industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“As we look forward in our business transformation, we will take actions to sharpen our customer focus and pursue global growth opportunities. We believe this transaction is an example of putting our strategy into action to unlock value and redeploy assets in pursuit of our growth roadmap to create value for shareholders," Jim Zallie, Ingredion President and CEO.
Ingredion is advised by Citigroup and Kim & Chang.
CGDG, a state-owned enterprise that makes strategic investments to accelerate the green energy transition, led a $276m Series C round in Huasun Energy, a provider of N-type silicon HJT solar cell and module technology, with participation from Bank of China Asset Management, China Post Insurance, Originvest, China Xinxing Asset Management, and Guolian Jintou Zhiyuan.
“Huasun has now entered the fourth year of rapid growth, and the trust from our shareholders fills us with confidence. This confidence strengthens us to face future challenges and accelerate the industrialization of N-type HJT technology. Collaborating with China Green Development will provide robust support for Huasun's sustainable development. We believe that HJT will achieve further breakthroughs by deep collaboration, leading photovoltaic power generation to become the most cost-effective energy supply model. This will open more possibilities for the whole solar industry!” Jimmy Xu, Huasun Energy Chairman.
Tencent, Alibaba earnings hold key to $44bn China tech run.
Financial results from Tencent and Alibaba Group will likely test the strength of a $44bn rally in China's technology sector this month, Bloomberg reported.
As the country's major tech firms start reporting third-quarter earnings this week, expectations are for Tencent to show strong growth given cost reductions and a friendlier regulatory climate for gaming that also benefits rival NetEase. Alibaba, however, likely continued to suffer from a broader consumption slowdown that pressured competitor JD.com too.
Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft set to invest $8.5bn in Thailand.
Thailand will receive $8.46bn worth of investment from Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft, DealStreetAsia reported.
The companies will invest $2.79bn each. AWS plans to build a data centre with a budget of $5bn over 15 year.
Billionaire lithium crashers hamper Australian deals.
The country’s lithium industry has seen a frenzy of deals this year, highlighting the battery metal’s crucial role in the energy transition and a hunger for future production that has sent shares in mining juniors surging — even as the price of lithium carbonate remains in the doldrums.
Renault to start selling Nissan stake soon.
Renault wants to start selling a 28% stake in long-time partner Nissan Motor "very soon" as part of the French carmaker's ambitious electric-vehicle development plan, Blommberg reported.
Sales of the stock could start in early 2024, according to Renault Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo. The selling will be coordinated with Nissan.
Tsuruha weighs sale after proxy battle with Oasis. (FS)
Japan's Tsuruha is considering selling the entire company for about $4bn or even more, after a proxy battle with activist investor Oasis Management, Reuters reported.
The drug store chain operator is working with an adviser on the potential transaction and has contacted some private equity firms to gauge their interest, adding that it was looking to receive non-binding bids from potential investors as soon as next week.
Wanda pre-IPO backers reject initial offer for repayment delay.
Investors in Dalian Wanda Group's mall unit have turned down an initial proposal by the Chinese conglomerate to delay the repayment of $4.1bn plus interest due by year-end, Bloomberg reported.
Wanda proposed repaying investors in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group via installments over four years, while offering a more than 20% stake in the unit as collateral.
Amman Mineral's shares are up more than 300% since debut.
An Indonesian copper and gold miner that has surged more than fourfold since listing in July is set to keep rising after its inclusion in major emerging market indexes, Bloomberg reported.
Amman Mineral climbed as much as 2.5% to a record high after MSCI announced it will be added to its global standard indexes as of the close on November 30. The addition will trigger passive buying by those tracking gauges including the MSCI Emerging Market index, a popular benchmark for equities investors looking at developing economies.
iMotion seeks to launch $100m HK IPO.
Chinese self-driving firm iMotion Automotive Technology is aiming to raise $100m in its Hong Kong initial public offering due to launch in the last week of November, DealStreetAsia reported.
The firm was one of the first to receive approval from China's securities regulator to carry out an overseas share sale since new rules came into place in March.
Actis's Aggarwal said to be frontrunner for India NIIF CEO job. (FS, People)
Sanjiv Aggarwal, who leads energy investments for Actis in Asia, is emerging as the frontrunner to head India's $4.9bn quasi sovereign fund, Bloomberg reported.
The board of the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund has recommended Aggarwal for the role of CEO. The final list of approved candidates submitted to India's government about three weeks ago may have included another executive.
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