|
AMERICAS
Amazon, an American multinational technology company, completed the acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, an entertainment company that produces and distributes motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, and music, from a consortium of investors that includes Anchorage Capital Group, Highland Capital Partners, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Solus Alternative Asset Management and Owl Creek Asset Management, for $8.5bn.
"On behalf of the board, I would like to thank the MGM team who have helped us arrive at this historic day. I am very proud that MGM’s Lion, which has long evoked the Golden Age of Hollywood, will continue its storied history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in a way the founders originally intended, driven by the talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s storied history with Amazon is an inspiring combination," Kevin Ulrich, MGM Chairman of the Board of Directors.
MGM is advised by LionTree Advisors, Morgan Stanley, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Latham & Watkins, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Sidley Austin and Finsbury Glover Hering. Amazon is advised by Bank of America, Bennett Jones, Clifford Chance, Cravath Swaine & Moore and FTI Consulting. Financial advisors are advised by Paul Hastings and White & Case.
Thirty Madison, a specialty healthcare company, completed the merger with Nurx, a female-focused digital healthcare firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"What the Nurx team has built for its patients is remarkable, and is exactly what brought our two companies together: A relentless focus on our patients' many different needs through personalized treatment and expert care," Steve Gutentag, Thirty Madison CEO.
Nurx was advised by JP Morgan, Fenwick & West and Jones Day. Thirty Madison was advised by Centerview Partners, Cooley and Foley & Lardner.
Waterfall Asset-backed Ready Capital, a multi-strategy real estate finance company, completed the acquisition of MREC Management, an investment advisory services provider, for $471m.
"We believe that this transaction is a compelling opportunity for Ready Capital to acquire a market leading commercial real estate investment platform focused on providing differentiated capital solutions across the middle market sector with an emphasis on construction lending. We are excited to integrate the Mosaic team and origination platform and we believe the diverse portfolio of construction assets with attractive portfolio yields will further differentiate Ready Capital's financing solutions for borrowers and investors," Thomas Capasse, Ready Capital Chairman and CEO.
Ready Capital was advised by Wells Fargo Securities and Alston & Bird. Wells Fargo Securities was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell. MREC Management was advised by Wedbush Securities and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.
Charlesbank Capital Partners-backed World Insurance Associates, a nationally ranked, full-service insurance brokerage, agreed to acquire Pensionmark Financial Group, a retirement and financial planning registered investment advisor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"When we developed our advisor transaction model, we intentionally created a unique dynamic where an advisor could become an equity partner of a larger collective while maintaining ownership of their business. When entertaining our acquisition partner, we sought a firm that was committed to enhancing our platform, accelerating our growth and maintaining the team and culture that makes Pensionmark special. I know World is exactly that partner and I look forward to an exciting future for our clients and advisors," Troy Hammond, Pensionmark CEO.
Pensionmark Financial Group is advised by Wise Rhino Group, Ardea Partners and Alston & Bird. World Insurance is advised by Ropes & Gray and Steckler Wayne Cochran Cherry.
TA Associates, a global growth private equity firm, agreed to invest in Veracode, a global provider of application security solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"What we do has never been more crucial. The confluence of digital transformation, software supply chain complexity, and the strengthening regulatory environment places software security firmly in the spotlight. We're grateful for Thoma Bravo's partnership over the last three years and look forward to our next chapter with TA. Together, we aim to accelerate our vision to deliver the most comprehensive software security platform that caters to the needs of both development teams and security teams by enabling them to build and deliver secure software at the speed that business demands," Sam King, Veracode CEO.
TA Associates is advised by Barclays and Goodwin Procter. Debt financing is provided by Deutsche Bank. Thoma Bravo is advised by Deutsche Bank and Kirkland & Ellis.
AllianceBernstein, a research and global investment firm, agreed to acquire CarVal Investors, an alternative investment manager, for $750m.
"This acquisition reflects our firm's continued commitment to advancing AB's Private Alternatives business. CarVal's global presence and broad capability set creates new and exciting growth opportunities for AB – diversifying and expanding our services to meet our clients' evolving needs," Seth Bernstein, AllianceBernstein CEO and President.
AB is advised by Citigroup and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. CarVal is advised by Rothschild & Co and Schulte Roth & Zabel.
Bioceres Crop Solutions, a provider of crop productivity technologies, agreed to acquire Marrone Bio Innovations, a provider of bio-based pest management and plant health products, for $236m.
“We are very excited about the value creation that will result from this combination for customers, employees and investors. By combining our current commercialized products and pipelines, we will be in a position to serve all major agriculture input categories with low environmental impact, highly efficacious, biological based solutions,” Federico Trucco, Bioceres CEO.
Marrone is advised by ROTH Capital Partners and Morrison & Foerster. Bioceres is advised by Linklaters and MZ Group North America.
Vista Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused exclusively on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses, agreed to invest $250m in FLASH, a provider of cloud parking software and mobility transformation.
The minority investment will be used to expand FLASH's mobility operating system and payments platform, extend digital services, and invest substantially in talent to support FLASH's exceptional growth.
FLASH is advised by Evercore and Peppercomm.
B Capital, a multi-stage global investment firm, led a $100m Series A round in Triumvira Immunologics, a clinical-stage company developing unique, non-gene edited, first-in-class targeted autologous and allogeneic T cell therapeutics, with participation from ATEM Capital, Myeloma Investment Fund, Leaps by Bayer, and Northpond Ventures.
"We would like to welcome our new investors to our Series A syndicate and acknowledge our current investors for their growing confidence in our technology and approach to empowering the body's natural defenses against life-threatening solid tumors where there are significant gaps in cell therapies. Our proprietary TAC technology platform offers an innovative approach to developing novel autologous and allogeneic treatments for solid tumors, and we are excited to advance our pipeline through 2022 and beyond," Paul Lammers, Triumvira President and CEO.
Triumvira was advised by Westwicke.
Magnolia Capital and Principal Global Investors-backed Principal Real Estate Investors, two real estate investment firms, agreed to form a joint venture. Financial terms are not disclosed.
“Our core mission has always been centered around providing our residents with best-in-class service and a seamless end-to-end leasing and living experience. We are eager to leverage our longstanding single-family rental operating expertise and innovative proprietary technology on behalf of the partnership with the exceptional team at Principal,” Dan Bednyak, Magnolia Capital Managing Director.
Magnolia Capital is advised by Eastdil Secured.
Private Advisor Group, a wealth management firm, completed the acquisition of Investors Financial Group, a registered investment advisor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Enabling advisor growth, helping advisors with their own legacy planning, and fostering a connected community are key principles that underpin our strategy at Private Advisor Group. This represents a special milestone as both firms will benefit from the scale and quality of combined resources. We're thrilled to welcome the IFG team and look forward to fueling the success of our advisor community together," Frank Smith, Private Advisor Group Head of Advisor Growth.
Private Advisor was advised by LPL Financial.
Coatue Management, a global technology investment firm that invests in companies at all stages, led a $175m Series F round in SiFive, a RISC-V computing company.
"The market has spoken and made it abundantly clear that RISC-V computing will be competing for the heart of all future computing platforms. As the founder and market leader of RISC-V computing it's our role to lead this ecosystem forward and offer customers advanced computing alternative to Arm and others," Patrick Little, SiFive CEO and Chairman.
Inovia Capital led a $120m Series B round in Talent.com, a global player in next-generation job search platforms, with participation from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Investissement Québec, Climb Ventures, BDC Capital, Fondaction, and HarbourVest Partners.
"We're thrilled to have reached this exciting milestone in the life of our company. With this new investment, we look forward to further strengthening our position as a leading global next-generation job search platform by hiring top talent and increasing our investment in product and R&D," Maxime Droux, Talent.com Co-CEO.
DE Shaw calls for Verisk Analytics to divest assets and add new directors. (FS)
DE Shaw, a multinational investment management firm, has built a significant stake in Verisk Analytics, an American multinational data analytics, and is calling to sell off non-core businesses in moves that would create $20bn in value for shareholders, Bloomberg reported.
The firm has also been advocating for more independent directors on the board and operational improvements at the company in recent months.
Pine Brook Partners and Camcor Partners-backed Serafina Energy eyes sale. (FS)
Pine Brook Partners and Camcor Partners-backed Serafina Energy, a Canadian heavy oil producer, is looking at a possible sale of the company. The company is figuring that high crude prices will boost its value, Reuters reported.
The company could be valued at over $782m. Serafina, whose assets are in the province of Saskatchewan, produced 24.4k barrels of oil per day in 2021.
Ancora pushes for sale at Everbridge. (FS)
Ancora Holding Group, a client focused investment management, calls for the sale of Everbridge, an enterprise software company, arguing the company could get $70 a share in a sale, Bloomberg reported.
Ancora also urged the company not to hire a new CEO after the departure of David Meredith in December, 2022. Ancora owns 4% stake in Everbridge.
Vista Equity-backed Datto explores options including possible sale. (FS)
Vista Equity-backed Datto Holding, an American cybersecurity and data backup company, is exploring strategic options including a potential sale after receiving takeover interest, Bloomberg reported.
Private equity firms have already expressed interest in Datto. Datto is working with a financial adviser to solicit interest from potential buyers.
Berkshire Hathaway dives deeper into Occidental with new share purchases. (FS)
Berkshire Hathaway, an American multinational conglomerate holding company, snapped up 18.1m additional shares of Occidental Petroleum, an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, Bloomberg reported.
Berkshire bought the shares between March 14, 2022, and March 16, 2022, at prices ranging from $52.99 to $55.38. This step gives the conglomerate a 14.6% stake in the oil company.
Serent Capital announced $1.1bn fund to invest in founder-led software sompanies. (FS)
Serent Capital, a growth-focused private equity firm, announced the closing of its 5th and largest fund to date, Serent Capital Fund V, at $1.1bn.
"We are humbled and honored by the support from our existing investors and to welcome a select group of new investors. The enthusiastic support is a testament to the strategy we've designed, the values-driven firm we continue to build, and the hard work of the founders and CEOs with whom we partner," Kevin Frick, Serent Capital Partner.
Frazier Life Sciences closes $987m venture fund to invest in companies ceveloping novel biopharmaceuticals. (FS)
Frazier Life Sciences, a public fund investing globally in private and publicly-traded companies that discover, develop, and commercialize innovative biopharmaceuticals, announced the closing of Frazier Life Sciences XI, exceeding its target of $800m and raising more than $987m in capital commitments in an oversubscribed fundraise.
"We sincerely appreciate the continued support of our limited partners, many of whom have been value-added partners since our first dedicated Life Sciences fund in 2016. We are also thrilled to welcome some of our public fund investors to FLS XI, as well as a handful of new, high-quality institutional investors," Patrick Heron, Frazier Managing Partner.
EMEA
Recordati, an international pharmaceutical group, completed the acquisition of EUSA Pharma, a dynamic, global specialty pharmaceutical company, from EW Healthcare, one of the oldest and most respected healthcare growth equity firms in the world, for $849m.
The transaction provides Recordati with an expanded portfolio of rare disease pharmaceutical products.
Recordati was advised by JP Morgan and Brunswick Group. Debt financing was provided by JP Morgan and Mediobanca. EW Healthcare was advised by Rothschild & Co and Kirkland & Ellis.
Netrix, a provider of cybersecurity and end-to-end IT services, agreed to acquire Edrans, a solutions provider focused on harnessing the power of the cloud for midsize enterprise clients. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The cloud is a foundational component of digital transformation. Sophisticated cloud capabilities and a global delivery model are critical to Netrix's strategy of supporting clients as they seek to transform and optimize their businesses and leave behind siloed, inflexible, and expensive IT infrastructure," Russell P. Reeder, Netrix CEO.
Edrans is advised by DC Advisory. Netrix is advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Womble Bond Dickinson.
KKR, a global investment firm, completed the acquisition of Biosynth Carbosynth, a life sciences reagents and custom synthesis and manufacturing services company, from Armira, a Munich-based holding group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I would like to thank Armira for our trusting and very successful partnership over the last seven years. I am excited to welcome KKR as our strategic partner as they have the industry experience, international network, and resources to help us realize our vision of becoming a global platform. KKR’s strategic partnership will enable us to continue to scale the business while retaining the best-in-class product quality, science-led focus, and industry-leading expertise for which our customers have come to know us," Urs Spitz, Biosynth Carbosynth CEO and President.
KKR was advised by Homburger and Finsbury Glover Hering. Armira was advised by Bar & Karrer.
Clearlake and Siris-backed Newfold Digital, a web and commerce technology company, completed the acquisition of YITH, an independent marketplace for WooCommerce plugins. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"For businesses everywhere, e-commerce has become a necessity to compete in today's marketplace. Our nearly 7m customers not only need online storefronts, but advanced features to support their specific niches, from advanced product catalog functionality to gift card solutions. YITH's impressive library of reliable WooCommerce plugins will help support our customers with their 2022 e-commerce resolutions," Sharon Rowlands, Newfold Digital CEO.
Clearlake was advised by Lambert & Co. Siris Capital was advised by Abernathy MacGregor Group.
Tiger Global and Avenir Growth Capital led a $125m Series B round in Wasoko, an African e-commerce company leveraging innovative technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, with participation from VNV Global, Binny Bansal, Sujeet Kumar, Quona Capital, 4DX Ventures and JAM Fund.
The new capital will enable Wasoko to drive further geographic expansion and product growth across the continent. The company is exploring expansion into Nigeria and Southern Africa, while continuing to consolidate its market-leading position across its six current countries.
Chicago Cubs, Ken Griffin and Todd Boehly plan bids for Chelsea FC. (FS)
Ken Griffin, an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and investor, has teamed up with the owners of the Chicago Cubs, an American professional baseball team, for a takeover bid of Chelsea Football Club, an English professional football club, Bloomberg reported.
Bloomberg also reported that Todd Boehly, a US dealmaker, who also plans a takeover of Football Club, has added Danny Finkelstein, a journalist at The Times newspaper who has in the past provided advice to UK Conservative prime ministers, and Barbara Charone, a celebrity PR executive, to his consortium bidding for the FC.
The club is being sold by Roman Abramovich in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and intense scrutiny of his ties to Vladimir Putin.
Airbus looks to takeover cybersecurity business of Atos.
Airbus, an aero and defense conglomerate, is looking to takeover the cybersecurity business of Atos, a French software company, Reuters reported.
Airbus has been looking into a potential acquisition of Atos over the last few weeks, driven by its interest in cybersecurity. Still, at this stage, no outright takeover was on the cards.
APAC
KKR & Co agreed to acquire MC-UBSR, one of the largest real estate asset managers in Japan, from Mitsubishi, a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer, and UBS Asset Management, a large-scale investment manager, for $2bn.
"Mitsubishi and UBS-AM showed us unwavering support over the years, enabling MC-UBSR to become Japan's outright top J-REIT manager. We are excited to welcome KKR, which brings significant resources and relationships to MC-UBSR, and is well-placed to work with our experienced team to extend our long and successful track record of delivering strong results for the unitholders of JMF and IIF and take the business to the next level," Katsuji Okamoto, MC-UBSR President and CEO.
MC-UBSR is advised by UBS and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. KKR is advised by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. UBS is advised by Mori Hamada & Matsumoto. Mitsubishi is advised by Nishimura & Asahi.
Metals Acquisition, a blank check company focused on green-economy metals and mining businesses, agreed to acquire CSA Copper Mine from Glencore, a natural resource company, for $1.1bn.
"The acquisition of CSA represents a strong strategic fit for MAC. Our management team’s operational expertise, understanding of regional operations and relationships with local stakeholders uniquely position us to identify and realize the full potential value of the asset. CSA also provides us with an ideal cornerstone asset with which to establish a high-quality, mid-tier base metals portfolio," Mick McMullen, Metals Acquisition CEO.
Metals Acquisition is advised by Ashanti Capital, Canaccord Genuity, Citigroup, Paul Hastings and Squire Patton Boggs.
Brookfield Asset Management, a Canadian alternative investment firm, agreed to invest $263m in Jindal Poly Films, a provider of flexible plastic films and non-woven fabrics products.
Jindal Poly said the investment will enable it to accelerate its diversification into new businesses, while increasing profitability and growth prospects for its packaging business unit.
Jindal Poly is advised by Rothschild & Co.
Carsome Group, Southeast Asia's largest integrated car e-commerce platform, agreed to acquire a 51% stake in CarTimes, a Singapore-based automotive platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to announce the partnership with CarTimes, the team of which has over twenty years of experience in the auto industry. This partnership will enable us to deepen our footprint in the Singapore auto market, and augment our ability in bringing trust, choice and transparency to customers together," Eric Cheng, Carsome Co-founder and Group CEO.
Walden CEL, CCB PE, CCB Trust, Growth, Country Garden Venture, HTPE and GP Capital led a $300m Series C round in SJ Semiconductor, with participation from Oriza Rivertown, CCIC Capital, Oriza Hua Capital.
"We're excited and grateful for the latest funding from new and existing investors. It's extremely important and meaningful after SJSemi's capital restructure in June," Dong Cui, SJ Semiconductor Chairman and CEO.
Index Ventures, a venture capital firm, and Coatue, an investment manager, led a $110m funding round in Linktree, a social media reference landing page, with participation from Michelle Kennedy and Harry Stebbings.
"On this special day in Linktree’s history, as well as acknowledging the team and of course our investors who continue to back our great company and the ambitious vision we have, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my fellow co-founders, Nicky and Anthony, who have been alongside me since day one," Alex Zaccaria, Linktree CEO and Co-Founder.
BPEA's sale of HCP for $1.5bn has stalled. (FS)
Baring Private Equity Asia, an investment firm, is set to shelve the sale of HCP, a Chinese packaging firm, Bloomberg reported.
The firm is likely to postpone a sale of HCP until it can get a higher valuation. Final bids from investors including Carlyle Group, an American multinational private equity, alternative asset management, and financial services were below the $1.5bn that BPEA initially sought for HCP.
VinFast mulls up to $1bn funding round.
VinFast, a Vietnamese electric vehicle maker, explores a funding round to raise $500m to $1bn ahead of a potential US listing, Bloomberg reported.
The company planned to invest $6bn to open an EV factory in the US and was in talks with potential investors to raise funding finance the expansion, said Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chairwoman.
TuSimple explores the sale of China unit after pact with US authorities.
TuSimple Holdings, a global self-driving technology company, is looking to sell its business in China and focus on the US market, DealStreetAsia reported.
Reaching an agreement with the US government to restrict the China unit's access to data due to US security concerns caused the decision to sell its unit.
Belle plans $1bn Hong Kong IPO.
Belle Fashion Group, a shoe retailer, is targeting to raise about $1bn in its Hong Kong IPO, Bloomberg reported.
The company filed for the proposed share sale on March 16, 2022. Deliberations are ongoing and the fundraising size could still change depending on market conditions.
Premji Invest-backed FabIndia IPO targets ESG investors. (FS)
IPO of Premji Invest-backed FabIndia, a retailer of clothing and furniture inspired by traditional Indian crafts, fits global investors focused on environmental, social and governance criteria, Bloomberg reported.
FabIndia has filed documents for an IPO in Mumbai that could raise $500m and seek a valuation of about $2bn.
SoftBank-backed Oyo to weigh 50% smaller IPO. (FS)
Bloomberg reported that SoftBank-backed Oyo, an Indian multinational OTA, homes and living spaces, considers slashing its fundraising target by half or even shelving the debut.
Oyo could clip its Indian IPO from the nearly $1bn initially sought to half that. The startup is also considering halving its expected valuation from the $12bn targeted initially.
|
