AMERICAS
Landmark Dividend, a real estate and infrastructure acquisition and development company, agreed to acquire Landmark Infrastructure, a growth-oriented master limited partnership to acquire, own and manage a portfolio of real property interests, for $365m.
The transaction is expected to close in 2021, subject to customary closing conditions and approval by the holders of a majority of Landmark’s outstanding common units.
Landmark Infrastructure is advised by Evercore, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Joele Frank and Okapi. Landmarkd Dividend is advised by RBC Capital Markets, TAP Advisors, Latham & Watkins and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Debt financing is provided by Truist Bank, Citizenz Bank, RBC Capital and TD Securities.
Virgin Orbit, a responsive launch and space solutions company, agreed to go public via a merger with NextGen Acquisition II, a blank check company, in a $3.2bn deal. Investors in PIPE included Boeing and AE Industrial Partners.
“The Virgin Orbit team has proven its ability to create new ideas, new approaches, and new capabilities. They are building on the incredible foundation of their rapid transition into successful commercial launch operations to find new ways to solve big problems that uplift our customers’ amazing ideas, again and again. I’m very excited we are taking Virgin Orbit public, with the support of our partners at NextGen and our other wonderful investors. It’s another milestone for empowering all of those working today to build space technology that will positively change the world,” Richard Branson, Virgin Orbit Founder.
Virgin Orbit is advised by Credit Suisse, Perella Weinberg Partners, LionTree Advisors and Latham & Watkins. NextGen is advised by Goldman Sachs, Rothschild & Co and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse are advised by Sullivan & Cromwell.
Pfizer, an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, agreed to acquire Trillium Therapeutics, a clinical stage immuno-oncology company, for $2.26bn.
"We're delighted to announce Pfizer's proposed acquisition of Trillium. Today's announcement reflects Trillium's potentially best in class SIRPα–CD47 status and contribution to immuno-oncology. Trillium has the only known SIRPα–CD47 targeting molecules with clinically meaningful monotherapy responses as well as a strong basis for combination therapies, which is supported by preclinical evidence with a diverse set of therapeutic agents. With Pfizer's global reach and deep capabilities, we believe our programs will advance more quickly to the patients we've always aspired to serve. We believe this is a good outcome for patients and our shareholders," Jan Skvarka, Trillium CEO.
Trillium is advised by Centerview Partners, Baker McKenzie, Goodwin Procter and Sam Brown. Pfizer is advised by Bank of America, Norton Rose Fulbright and Ropes & Gray.
Gold Royalty, a gold-focused royalty company, completed the merger with Ely Gold, a Nevada focused gold royalty company, in a $207m deal.
"We are delighted to have completed our acquisition of Ely Gold, which is an important milestone as we execute our business strategy since our IPO in March 2021. With four producing royalties, 57 royalties on development stage assets and 45 royalties on exploration stage assets, the acquisition of Ely Gold creates a leading Americas-focused precious metals royalty company. The added scale, diversification, cash flow and access to capital provided by this transformative transaction well positions us to further execute on our strategy and become a leading consolidator in the royalty space. As this transaction demonstrates, we remain focused on opportunities to create shareholder value and will continue to identify and evaluate attractive acquisition opportunities that are consistent with our core strategy," David Garofalo, GRC CEO, President and Chairman.
Ely Gold was advised by Laurentian Bank Securities, Cassels Brock & Blackwell and Dentons. GRC was advised by BMO Capital Markets, Haywood Securities, Haynes and Boone, Holland & Knight and Sangra Moller.
i3 Energy, an independent oil and gas company with assets and operations in the UK and Canada, completed the acquisition of Central Alberta assets from Cenovus Energy, a senior Canadian oil and gas producer, for $54m.
"The company is very pleased to have closed this strategic acquisition, following an intense period of preparatory work to ensure a seamless integration of the new assets into our existing business. We are delighted that all incumbent field operations staff have joined the i3 team which will allow us to rapidly progress initiatives to extract incremental value from new projects and operational synergies from this extensive portfolio," Majid Shafiq, i3 Energy CEO.
i3 Energy was advised by Canaccord Genuity, Tennyson Securities, WH Ireland and Camarco.
KAR, a global vehicle remarketing and technology solutions provider, agreed to acquire CARWAVE, an online dealership network and auction, for $450m.
“This acquisition will advance our clear growth strategy in the dealer-to-dealer segment and accelerate the positive momentum we’ve sustained over the past several quarters. CARWAVE has a strong, active dealer network in California — the country’s largest wholesale automotive market, as well as a growing presence in Arizona and Texas," Peter Kelly, KAR Global President.
KAR Global is advised by Winston & Strawn. CARWAVE is advised by Latham & Watkins.
SK Capital, a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, agreed to acquire Monomers, Polymers and European businesses of Deltech Holdings, a provider of enhanced performance aromatic monomers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Deltech is a world leader in the production of high-performance aromatic monomers and specialized crystal polystyrene. Deltech offers an attractive product portfolio with leading market positions in niche technologies. Their portfolio includes vinyl toluene, divinyl benzene and para methyl styrene, in addition to their specialty crystal polystyrene. Deltech's products deliver critical attributes to products across a diverse set of end markets, including coatings and adhesives resins, ion exchange resins, insulation and molded composites, to name a few," Mario Toukan, SK Capital Managing Director.
SK Capital is advised by BackBay Communications.
Sensata Technologies, an industrial technology company, agreed to acquire Spear Power Systems, a provider of lithium-ion based energy storage solutions for mission-critical and demanding end user applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Since our inception in 2013, Spear has had a goal of developing technically differentiated solutions in energy storage to address the growing demand in the niche e-mobility markets within which we operate. This deal will mean increased resources so that our incredible team can expand our development, commercial, and operational activities at a pace to meet the rapidly growing need for clean energy solutions. We are very excited to play a meaningful role in contributing towards Sensata's electrification strategy," Jeff Kostos, Spear CEO.
Sensata is advised by Jones Day.
Clariant, a focused, sustainable and innovative specialty chemicals company, agreed to acquire the remaining 70% stake in Beraca, one of the key manufacturers of natural ingredients for the personal care sector. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"With its focus on sustainable products and processes, Beraca fits perfectly into Clariant's portfolio. We gain valuable access to natural materials based on the biodiversity of the Brazilian rainforest. This opens up great opportunities for high-quality growth for our Care Chemicals business," Conrad Keijzer, Clariant CEO.
H&H Group, a holding company with a number of its companies operational across the auctioneering, commercial print, insurance and property sectors, agreed to acquire Zesty Paws, a multi-condition pet supplement brand.
"We are delighted to be working with H&H Group to further realize Zesty Paws' vision of being recognized as the world's leading health and wellness company for dogs and cats. This acquisition combines H&H Group's mission of health and happiness for all, with our passion for holistic pet health, to create a greater opportunity for Zesty Paws to bring transformative supplementation to pets worldwide," Steve Ball, Zesty Paws CEO.
Ackman will return SPAC funds after new vehicle approved. (FS)
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman said he’s prepared to return the $4bn he collected from investors in his blank-check company if regulators approve a new vehicle that will allow him to continue to search for deals without the pressure of a definitive deadline for a transaction, Bloomberg reported.
Ackman posted a letter to investors in his Pershing Square Tontine Holdings late Thursday, saying a lawsuit filed this week challenging the legality of his blank-check company hurt his chances of finding a deal. Calling the lawsuit meritless, Ackman noted that he still has about another 11 months to find a company to take public with his special purpose acquisition company and another six months after that to close the deal.
TPG's $5.4bn climate fund makes first investment. (FS)
TPG Capital's $5.4bn climate fund reportedly made its first investment in clean energy, and has partnered with investors, including Bill Gates, to develop a low-cost battery that enables electricity networks to better integrate renewable energy.
The fund joined the $240m Massachusetts-based Form Energy fundraiser. The investment is part of a growing increase through private equity to clean energy
On Holdings reveals revenue surge in US IPO filing.
Swiss tennis star Roger Federer-backed On Holding, a shoe company, filed for an IPO in the United States. The company was valued at $2bn after its last funding round.
The company seeks a valuation of between $4bn and $6bn in its IPO. For the six months ended June 30, net sales jumped to $344m from $186m a year earlier.
Dutch Bros files for IPO showing a profit. (FS)
TSG-Backed Dutch Bros, a drive-through coffee chain in the United States, filed for an IPO, disclosing revenue and income gains and plans for its shares to trade under the symbol BROS.
The company was seeking to be valued in an IPO at about $3bn since May. For the first six months of the year, Dutch Bros had a net income of $5.8m on revenue of $228m, compared with $5.3m on revenue of $151m for the same period in 2020.
Radial Equity raises $368m for debut fund. (FS)
New York-based Radial Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in middle-market businesses, raised over $368m for its debut fund. Radial Equity focuses on middle-market businesses in the consumer and industrial market sectors.
Radial was founded two years ago by managing partner Phil Carpenter, who is also co-managing partner of Irving Place, the former Bear Stearns Merchant Banking. He leads Irving Place alongside John Howard, who established BSMB in 1997 and led its JP Morgan spinout and rebranding in 2008.
Star Mountain raises $290m SBIC fund. (FS)
Star Mountain Capital, a debt and secondary investor, raised more than $290m for the final close of its latest SBIC fund to target small and medium-size businesses that generally have between $15m and $250m in annual revenues.
SBIC fund's LP advisory committee includes institutional investors Magnetar, a hedge fund based in the United States, and multi-billion-dollar banks Blue Ridge and Commercial Bank of California.
"Our team at Magnetar has known the Star Mountain team for many years and we are delighted to make this strategic investment with them," Praveen Saxen, Magnetar Portfolio Manager.
Bain starts hedge fund that invest in green business. (FS)
Bain Capital is starting a hedge fund to bet on and against companies based on sustainable-investing criteria as part of the alternative asset manager's roughly $3bn public-equities business, Bloomberg reported.
The firm, which already has a private strategy that makes impact investments, expects to launch the fund by October. It will focus on consumer, financial, technology and health-care stocks and invest globally in companies with market values exceeding $1bn.
EMEA
The $40bn takeover of Arm, a UK chip designer, by Nvidia, an American multinational technology company, faces an in-depth investigation after regulators found the deal could weaken rivals and stifle innovation.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said it could ultimately mean more expensive or lower quality products in cutting edge technologies. These include fields such as gaming, data centres, the "internet of things" - the use of electronic devices connected to the internet such as smart speakers - and self-driving cars, Sky News reported.
Arm is advised by Hogan Lovells. Nvidia is advised by Morgan Stanley, AZB & Partners, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Latham & Watkins and Brunswick Group. SoftBank is advised by Goldman Sachs, The Raine Group, Zaoui & Co, Morrison & Foerster, Kekst CNC and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Financial advisors are advised by White & Case.
Vonovia's chief executive urged shareholders of Deutsche Wohnen, a German property company, to tender their stock as there would not be another sweetened bid for the real estate company.
Vonovia launched a new takeover, valuing Deutsche Wohnen at $22.4bn, having last month narrowly failed here to pass the 50% threshold. Assuming the new offer is successful, Vonovia will as majority shareholder push for Deutsche Wohnen to stop paying dividends to shareholders, Reuters reported.
"Whoever wants this deal, and I believe that the market wants it, should tender as many shares as possible as quickly as possible now so that we reach the 50% threshold," Rolf Buch, Vonovia Chief Executive.
Deutsche Wohnen is advised by Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Perella Weinberg Partners, UBS, Hengeler Mueller and Sullivan & Cromwell. Financial advisors are advised by Gleiss Lutz and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Vonovia is advisd by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Debt financing is provided by Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale. Debt providers are advised by Hengeler Mueller.
Triton Partners, an investment firm, completed the acquisition of a stake in Bergman Clinics, a chain of independent clinics in the Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia, from NPM Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to support the management and employees of Bergman Clinics by investing in and supporting the growth and European expansion of the clinics network," Peder Prahl, Triton General Partner.
Bergman Clinics was advised by DLA Piper. Triton Partners was advised by ARQIS Rechtsanwalte, BAHR, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, Gorrissen Federspiel and NOVACOS. NPM Capital was advised by JP Morgan and Loyens & Loeff.
Investment company Bridgepoint Development Capital agreed to acquire LanguageWire, a tech-enabled provider of language services in Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to have Bridgepoint as our new majority shareholder and are confident that they will be a strong partner for LanguageWire on our ambitious development journey going forward. Personally, I am proud that we have attracted an investor such as Bridgepoint, who believes in our strategic direction, our leadership and our organisation, and we very much look forward to further develop and grow LanguageWire together with the Bridgepoint team," Søren Bech Justesen, LanguageWire CEO.
BDC is advised by Slator, Anthesis, Alantra, Alvarez & Marsal, Accura Advokatpartnerselskab and Intechnica. LanguageWire is advised by Deloitte, Ernst & Young and Gorrissen Federspiel.
LeapFrog, an investment firm, completed the acquisition of a 16.94% stake of Fidelity Bank Ghana, a privately-owned bank, from Edmond de Rothschild Equity Strategies, a mid-cap growth and buy-out franchise, and Amethis, an investment fund manager. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to embark on this next phase of growth with Fidelity Bank. We are partnering with and supporting an industry leading, highly experienced management team with a strong track record of delivering profitable growth for this Tier-1 home-grown bank. Moreover, Fidelity Bank’s “Inclusive Banking” and “Building Lives Through Finance” initiatives strongly align with LeapFrog's impact, sustainability and performance strategy. With LeapFrog's robust expertise in financial services and impact measurement and reporting, we look forward to leveraging our combined capabilities to accelerate Fidelity Bank’s sustainable and profitable growth. LeapFrog will support the bank’s leadership team to deliver on its growth and innovation agenda through customer insights, digital transformation, governance, and partnerships,” Karima Ola, LeapFrog Partner and Leader of African Financial Services Investments.
Amethis and ERES were advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers. LeapFrog was advised by KPMG.
Abris-backed Dentotal, a distributor of dental consumables, instruments and equipment, agreed to acquire Dentatechnica, a distributor of materials and digital equipment for the dental care. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are delighted to welcome the Dentatechnica team to the Dentotal group. We appreciate the professionalism, dedication and determination of our new colleagues. The Dentotal team is looking forward to working together with our new colleagues as we target the leading position in the Bulgarian dental distribution market. Together we will benefit from cross-business synergies to become the preferred partner of dentists and dental technicians, both in the Romanian and Bulgarian markets,” Dumitru Matei, Dentotal CEO.
Abris is advised by Spectator PR.
Inflexion, a mid-market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Europe, a provider of pharmaceutical drugs, from Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, a pharmaceutical company based in Japan. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Group will continue to pursue its global strategy, which focuses on direct sales in the markets of Japan, North America, and China and other Asian countries, while maximizing growth in collaboration with partners in Europe and other regions," Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma.
China Three Gorges, a Chinese state-owned power company, completed the acquisition of a 450MW portfolio from Exus Management, an independent investment and asset management firm, for €500m ($585m).
"We are proud to support our clients Corporación Masaveu and Korys on the hugely successful sale of this portfolio. The assets have achieved strong returns year-on-year throughout the duration of their ownership. We look forward to working with China Three Gorges in more depth as we continue to manage their new assets into the foreseeable future," Carlos Tello Garcia, Exus Co-Founder and COO.
Private equity firms reach out to Sainsbury's to launch bids of around $9.5bn. (FS)
Private equity companies are circling Sainsbury's, a British supermarket group, to launch possible bids of more than $9.5bn.
Apollo, a global alternative investment management firm, is said to be running the rule over the supermarket group.
WorldRemit raises funds at a $5bn valuation. (FS)
WorldRemit, a London-based money transfer company, seeks to raise cash at a valuation of about $5bn ahead of a potential IPO, which could come as soon as 2022.
A funding round is being discussed by the company and investors, though the deal hasn't been finalized. Earlier, the company had considered a market debut this year.
Fruugo joins the London tech listings rush.
Fruugo, an online marketplace in Britain, joins the rush of technology companies listing on the London Stock Exchange. The IPO is about to be launched in autumn.
Bankers from Panmure Gordon have been hired to work on the flotation. It was unclear this weekend how much Fruugo might seek to raise from an IPO.
EY names Bill Stoffel its new private equity leader. (FS, People)
EY, a British multinational professional services network with headquarters in London, named Bill Stoffel as its new global private equity leader, succeeding Andreas Saenz, recently appointed as the new EY global vice chair for the industry.
Stoffel previously worked as EY Americas private equity leader for 5 years and helped bring private equity into the mainstream of EY.
APAC
Investment companies KKR, Ontario Teachers' and PSP Investments agreed to acquire Spark Infrastructure, an Australian investment fund which owns and manages a portfolio of electricity infrastructure assets, for $3.7bn.
"Spark Infrastructure's businesses will continue to play a critical role in the transformation of Australia's energy sector. The investments we have made in distribution, transmission and renewables put Spark Infrastructure front and centre of Australia's low-emissions energy future. We are pleased this has been recognised in the Scheme consideration agreed with the Consortium," Rick Francis, Spark Infrastructure Managing Director.
Spark is advised by Goldman Sachs, Herbert Smith and GRACosway.
Ampol, an Australian petroleum company with headquarters in Sydney, offered to acquire Z Energy, a New Zealand fuel distributor with branded service stations, for $1.3bn.
"Z Energy is a logical growth opportunity for Ampol as both companies are market leaders in their respective home markets and have very similar business models. A successful acquisition would create an A&NZ leader in fuel, with significant regional scale and trusted and iconic brands on both sides of the Tasman," Matt Halliday, Ampol CEO and Managing Director.
Z Energy is advised by Goldman Sachs and Chapman Tripp.
Volvo, a Swedish luxury automobile marque, agreed to acquire JMC Heavy Duty Vehicle, a Chinese vehicles business, for $126m.
"We are committed to shaping the future of sustainable transport solutions. With our long-standing presence in China, we are growing our sales, and we are expanding our strong network of sales and service points together with our private dealer partners. Over the last couple of years, we have seen a fast development of the logistics markets and an increasing demand for our premium trucks and services. To meet the demand from Chinese transport operators, the time is right for us to establish a regional value chain with our own heavy-duty truck manufacturing in China," Roger Alm, Volvo Trucks President.
I Squared Capital, a private equity firm focusing on global infrastructure investments, agreed to invest $200m in AG&P City Gas, a Singapore-based company that is developing twelve city gas distribution networks, or concessions, in India.
"Along with AG&P, I Squared Capital was one of the early foreign institutional investors in the Indian city gas sector and is committed to helping the country achieve its target of having 15% of natural gas in its primary energy mix by 2030. We plan to deploy up to $1.3bn in Capex to build out the distribution networks," Gautam Bhandari, I Squared Capital Managing Partner.
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global led a $154m Series D round in HOSE EKUAIBAO, a Chinese e-invoicing firm.
The new investment arrived as the Chinese government is speeding up the electronic transformation of the economic climate.
India's government opposes the merger of Voda Idea and BSNL-MTNL.
The Indian government is against the merger of beleaguered Vodafone Idea, an Indian telecom operator, with state-owned BSNL and MTNL. The stand comes weeks after industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla had said that he is willing to hand over his 27% stake in the crippled telco to any entity — public sector/government /domestic financial entity in the name of national interest, TOI reported.
The government reportedly said that multiple and strong logical reasons suggest outright rejection of any proposal that gets the debt-laden and loss-making private entity within the fold of the stateowned companies, which themselves have a poor track record of managing their business and are operational mainly on the back of recurrent government bailouts.
Blackstone in talks to buy a majority stake in ASK Group at around $1bn. (FS)
The Blackstone Group is in talks to acquire a majority stake in ASK Group, an Advent-backed wealth and investment management firm. Advent International picked up a stake of about 40% in ASK Group in 2016 for $130m, giving the entire firm a valuation of $325m back then.
Blackstone entered exclusivity for buying a controlling stake of up to 74% in ASK Group. The combined stake sale split between Blackstone & the firm's founders is not clear.
AMNS India plans to bid for RINL.
AMNS India, a 60:40 joint venture company between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, plans to bid for Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, a state-owned steelmaker, which has already attracted the interest of Tata Steel, a steelmaking company headquartered in London.
Under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, the company operates a 7.3m tonne steel plant in the state.
Shenzhen IVPS Technology weighs $500m Hong Kong IPO.
Shenzhen IVPS Technology, an electronic cigarette research, development and production company, considers an IPO to raise $500m in Hong Kong.
The company works with an adviser to prepare for the potential share sale. The offering could raise between $500m and $1bn.
China halts over 40 IPOs amid regulatory probe into a law firm.
Chinese bourses have halted more than 40 IPOs in Shanghai and Shenzhen amid a regulatory probe into several intermediaries in the deals.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange suspended more than 30 IPOs. The Shanghai Stock Exchange pressed the pause button on 8 IPOs. The companies attribute the IPOs' halt to an investigation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission into intermediaries including Beijing-based Tian Yuan Law Firm, China Dragon Securities Co and CAREA Assets Appraisal Co.
BlackRock Japan hires former BOJ member Masai to board. (FS, People)
BlackRock Japan, a global investment manager and fiduciary, hires Takako Masai, a former Bank of Japan policymaker, as an external board member.
Masai served as the sole female member of the central bank's nine-member board for five years until June.
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