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AMERICAS
L Catterton, a private equity firm that invests in all major consumer segments, agreed to acquire Thorne HealthTech, a science-driven wellness company, for $680m.
"This transaction is an excellent outcome for all of our stakeholders and marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Thorne. For over a decade, we have worked tirelessly to deliver on our mission to bring science-based solutions to the prevention space and empower consumers to live healthier lives longer. L Catterton has an impressive track record of fostering the growth and success of leading global consumer brands. Together with their deep expertise in the health and wellness industry, global reach, and extensive operational capabilities, I am confident L Catterton is the right partner to fuel Thorne's long-term growth," Paul Jacobson, Thorne Chairman and CEO.
L Catterton is advised by Bank of America and Kirkland & Ellis (led by Joshua Kogan, Marshall Shaffer, and Daniel Yip). Thorne HealthTech is advised by CG Sawaya Partners and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, chemicals, and pharmaceutical sectors, completed the acquisition of Isolatek International, a building materials company that provides fireproofing materials. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to partner with SK Capital and look forward to this exciting new chapter for the Company. SK Capital is the ideal partner for Isolatek given its track record in the specialty materials market and differentiated industry insight. We plan to continue to invest in the business and deliver innovative solutions to protect people through our material technologies," Scott Schwartz, Isolatek CEO.
SK Capital was advised by Goodwin Procter and BackBay Communications (led by Jeremy Milner). Isolatek International was advised by Keating Muething & Klekamp. Debt financing was provided by Bank of America.
E.L.F. Beauty, a cosmetics brand that offers professional makeup and beauty products to customers, agreed to acquire Naturium, a provider of high-performance skin care that is clinically-effective, skin compatible and affordable, for $355m.
“We’ve built an incredible brand, with numerous superstar formulas, a dedicated community and a world class team in less than four years. I have admired e.l.f., and their deep commitment to being a different kind of beauty company, for years now. They care about their community and their employees, which is truly meaningful to me, especially as a female founder. With our complementary missions and cultures, I know e.l.f. Beauty will be the ideal partner as we expand our reach, and continue to make high performance skin care accessible for all,” Susan Yara, Naturium Founder.
E.L.F. Beauty is advised by Latham & Watkins. Naturium is advised by Raymond James (led by Marko Horvat and Vennette Ho), Polsinelli PC, and Sidley Austin.
Mobile Infrastructure, a parking asset owner, went public via a SPAC merger with Fifth Wall Acquisition III, a special purpose acquisition company, in a $550m deal. The transaction included a PIPE investment from No Street Capital.
“Today marks an important step in our path towards creating a next-generation publicly-listed parking platform. Fifth Wall’s vast expertise bridging the gap between analog businesses and technologies, combined with their network of limited partners who represent the world’s top real estate owners and operators, make them an integral partner in our next growth phase,” Manuel Chavez, MIC CEO and Chairman.
Mobile Infrastructure was advised by B. Riley FBR, Keating Muething & Klekamp and Venable. Fifth Wall was advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (led by Evan D'Amico).
Clearlake Capital-backed Discovery Education, an education technology company, agreed to acquire DreamBox Learning, a K-12 education technology provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Discovery Education is excited to welcome DreamBox Learning, a brand synonymous with quality, research-based math and reading edtech solutions to our growing family of services. Combining an expertise in learning science with adaptive, effective instructional solutions, DreamBox Learning's solutions can help students excel regardless of who they are or where they live. Through this latest acquisition, Discovery Education is better positioned to broaden its impact on student success by providing our existing network of partner school systems access to DreamBox Learning's collection of supplemental math, reading, and professional learning solutions," Jeremy Cowdrey, Discovery Education Chief Executive Officer.
DreamBox Learning is advised by Moelis & Co and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Discovery Education is advised by Sidley Austin. Clearlake Capital is advised by Lambert & Co (led by Jennifer Hurson).
UST, a digital transformation solutions company, completed the acquisition of MobileComm, a global frontrunner in deploying and modernizing wireless networks, heightening performance standards, constructing Private cellular networks, and executing Open RAN solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are proud to announce the acquisition of MobileComm. We believe this strategic move will further empower UST to continue developing our wide range of compelling solutions in the telecommunications sector. We are now better positioned to leverage our existing technologies and client relationships to expand the scope of our offerings and deliver bespoke solutions that accelerate digital transformation. UST will build upon this momentum by continuing to invest in the network engineering space,"Aravind Nandanan, UST Telecommunications, General Manager.
UST was advised by FTI Consulting, Makovsky, and S&C Public Relations.
Creative Planning, a registered investment advisor, agreed to acquire Personal Financial Management unit from Goldman Sachs, an investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This transaction is progress toward executing the goals and targets we outlined at our investor day in February. It is margin accretive to Asset & Wealth Management and allows us to focus on the execution of our premier ultra-high net worth wealth management and workplace growth strategy and to serve HNW investors through RIA and other wealth management clients, such as Creative Planning. We will continue to support PFM and other Creative advisors with access to our investment solutions through our expanded strategic agreement,” Marc Nachmann, Goldman Sachs Global Head of Asset & Wealth Management.
Goldman Sachs is advised by Goldman Sachs and Weil Gotshal and Manges (led by Brian Parness).
Minerva Foods, a exporter of fresh beef and provides beef, sheep, and derivative products, agreed to acquire cattle and lamb slaughtering and deboning plants from Marfrig, a food processing company that offers a wide range of gluten-free foods at the base of meat, oats, and oysters, for $1.5bn.
"We are very excited about this move, which is in line with our geographical diversification strategy, and which uniquely complements our operation in South America, which is one of the most competitive markets in the world. This will take our company to another level, give us access to new international clients, maximize commercial opportunities and operational synergies, reduce risks, and expand our ability to compete in the international animal protein market," Fernando Queiroz, Minerva Foods CEO.
K1 Investment-backed Reveal, a provider of a category-leading AI-powered eDiscovery platform, completed the acquisition of Logikcull and IPRO, two other eDiscovery companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisitions of Logikcull and IPRO build on Reveal's growth strategy of integrating the best and most useful technologies into one platform so customers have greater choice and control over their eDiscovery workflows. By bringing together the strengths of all three companies, including Logikcull’s intuitive, easy-to-use functionality and IPRO’s global reach and information governance tools, Reveal is now able to serve the diverse needs of clients across the legal spectrum, from SMB to mid-market and enterprise," Wendell Jisa, Reveal Founder & CEO.
Bain Capital Ventures, a venture capital firm, led a $100m Series D round in Apollo.io, a go-to-market sales platform that turns prospects into customers, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Tribe Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners.
“Tim and the Apollo team have built a remarkable B2B platform that we believe will redefine the next generation of go-to-market sales. Once companies experience Apollo’s buyer database coupled with powerful automation tools for lead generation and beyond, they’re hooked. We see the company providing the foundation for GTM teams everywhere in the future, driving direct sales at an unprecedented scale," Merritt Hummer, Bain Capital Ventures Partner.
Goldman’s GreenSky sale enters homestretch with PE giants in mix. (FS)
Goldman Sachs' sale of consumer lending unit GreenSky is entering the final stretch with groups featuring Apollo Global Management, Pagaya Technologies and Sixth Street working on what’s poised to be their best and final offers, Bloomberg reported.
The bank has asked suitors to submit a third round of offers in early September. Apollo has been partnering with Blackstone on a proposal. Sixth Street is working with a number of parties on their offer.
Foxconn loses bid to toss EV maker Lordstown from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Foxconn Technology lost a bid to kick Lordstown Motors out of bankruptcy, a win for the troubled electric vehicle maker as it attempts to find a new owner for its business, Bloomberg reported.
Judge Mary Walrath refused to dismiss Lordstown’s bankruptcy case. She rejected Foxconn’s claim that the struggling EV startup improperly sought Chapter 11 protection to gain an unfair edge in a legal dispute between the companies over a deal to make Lordstown’s flagship Endurance trucks.
US Steel entering confidential pacts as it reviews bids.
US Steel said it has entered into confidentiality agreements with “numerous third parties” and is starting to share due diligence information as it reviews bids for the company or parts of it, WSJ reported.
David Burritt and Chairman David Sutherland reiterated that the steelmaker has received “multiple unsolicited proposals.” The offers range from buyouts to offers for parts of the company.
EMEA
The board of struggling Swiss asset manager GAM plans to step down after the failure of a takeover offer by UK rival Liontrust, leaving the company in the hands of the activist investors who disrupted the deal, FT reported.
The Swiss company said the activist group would propose new directors for election to the board at an extraordinary general meeting in September. It added that all of GAM’s board would recommend shareholders approve the election of the new candidates and would step down providing they secured election.
Cube Infrastructure Managers, an independent mid-market infrastructure investor, agreed to acquire Nordic business from Platinum Equity-backed Urbaser, a provider of communities with global waste management solutions, for €390m ($422m).
“We are very proud of the leading collection platform that we have created in the Nordics region with a strong management team in place. We believe that Cube is the right partner for the business in the region going forward. We will continue deploying capital in our core markets and it is exciting to lead Urbaser in this transformational journey investing in environmental solutions that drive real change towards a circular economy," Fernando Abril- Martorell, Urbaser CEO.
Urbaser is advised by JP Morgan and Latham & Watkins.
IDAK Food, a company that owns independent and established companies in the field of food production, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Romer's Hausbäckerei, a manufacturer of frozen bakery and pastry products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
IDAK Food Group is a successful, market-oriented holding company which owns independent and established companies in the field of food production. With their products and services, all the portfolio companies are positioned in the premium sector and chiefly focus on frozen foods.
PIF-backed AviLease, an aircraft lessor with a portfolio of the latest generation, environmentally friendly aircraft, on lease to commercial airlines, agreed to acquire global aviation finance leasing business from Standard Chartered, a banking firm that provides banking and financial services, for $700m.
"The sale of our Aviation Finance leasing business allows us to continue focusing our efforts on those areas where we are most differentiated, and make further progress on our Return on Tangible Equity journey. I want to thank our Aviation Finance colleagues, whose commitment to building an outstanding franchise over more than 15 years has enabled the success of this transaction," Simon Cooper, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking and Europe & Americas at Standard Chartered CEO.
Standard Chartered is advised by JP Morgan.
Nordic Capital-backed Trustly, a provider of global payment method, agreed to acquire SlimPay, a provider of direct debit and card solutions for recurring payments, partnering with merchants at every step of the payment journey. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Together with Trustly, we will bring a new, streamlined payment experience to the European recurring payments space, creating an unrivalled network of merchants and consumers across the entire repeat payment economy. We look forward to working with Trustly to build an innovative and comprehensive platform across Europe," Jerome Traisnel, SlimPay CEO.
Brazil's Natura mulls sale of The Body Shop.
Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura said its board of directors had authorized the company to search for "strategic alternatives" for its subsidiary The Body Shop, including a potential sale of the business, Reuters reported.
Intesa in talks to buy Romania’s First Bank from JC Flowers. (FS)
Intesa Sanpaolo is in talks to buy Romania’s First Bank from its private equity owner, JC Flowers, Bloomberg reported.
The Italian lender is discussing terms of a transaction that could value First Bank at about €200m ($216m).
UBS, Swiss finance blog settle Credit Suisse legacy lawsuit.
UBS and Inside Paradeplatz have settled a lawsuit initially brought against the popular Zurich-based finance blog by Credit Suisse, Reuters reported.
As part of the settlement, Inside Paradeplatz agreed to delete or amend user comments and three passages from posts. The remaining claims where dropped.
TPG nabs Warburg Pincus partner to head European buyouts. (FS, People)
Private equity firm TPG has hired London-based Flavio Porciani from Warburg Pincus to lead the firm’s technology investments unit in Europe. The move, part of its TPG Capital buyout strategy, is part of a growing opportunity in the region for corporate carve-outs.
“Flavio joining us is a very natural fit because software is, along with healthcare, one of the two largest sectors that we have in TPG Capital from an activity standpoint, and he’s going to plug into the broader-theme efforts that we have in software,” Nehal Raj, TPG Co-Managing Partner ans Head of US Technology Investments.
Jefferies hires former Morgan Stanley leveraged finance banker Mazza. (People)
Jefferies has hired a senior leveraged finance banker to bolster its London team as the Wall Street bank continues to recruit in the region.
Alessandro Mazza, who spent three years at Morgan Stanley until his departure earlier this year, has joined Jefferies as a managing director within its leveraged finance business — a unit it has been expanding in Europe. He will report into Nicholas Rodolakis, Jefferies' European Co-Head of Leveraged Finance.
APAC
Thungela Resources, a producer and exporter of high quality, low-cost thermal coal in South Africa, Mayfair, a private resource company, and Audley, a Switzerland-based investment group, completed the acquisition of an 85% stake in Ensham coal mine in Australia from Idemitsu Kosan, a petroleum company, for $240m.
"We are delighted to welcome our colleagues from Ensham into the Thungela family as they continue to build on a proud history of safe production in the Bowen Basin region of Queensland. We look forward to learning from them and also to sharing our knowledge," July Ndlovu, Thungela CEO.
Thungela was advised by Liberum Capital, Allens, Linklaters and Webber Wentzel. Debt financing was provided by FirstRand Bank. Audley was advised by Herbert Smith Freehills (led by Greg Mulley, John Taylor and Melissa Swain). Idemitsu was advised by Clayton Utz.
Tiger Global sells remaining stake in India's Zomato in $136m deal. (FS)
US-based private equity firm Tiger Global sold its remaining stake in Indian food delivery firm Zomato in a deal valued at INR11.24bn ($136m), Reuters reported.
The private equity firm sold 123.5m shares at INR91.01 ($1) per share through bulk deals, while Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas Arbitrage Fund were among buyers.
Private credit funds mull jumbo loan for Australian coal mines.
Private credit funds are considering jumbo loans to help finance bids for coal mines that BHP is seeking to offload in Australia, Blomberg reported.
The funds are in talks to potentially underwrite financing of $2bn to $3bn for competing bids from Indonesian mining contractor Bukit Makmur Mandiri Utama and Australian coal producer Stanmore Resources.
India's Gokaldas hits record high on deal giving it cheaper US market access.
Shares of India's Gokaldas Exports' surged 20% to a record high, after it unveiled a deal that would help it ship apparel duty-free to its key market of the United States, Reuters reported.
Gokaldas' shares, which have already more than doubled so far this year, jumped to an all-time high of INR735.35 ($9), with trading volumes that were about 13 times the daily moving average.
Korea pension fund bets on private credit to fight global swings. (FS)
As stocks and bonds remain vulnerable to gyrations in global markets, one of South Korea’s major pension funds is betting big on alternative assets to boost returns, Bloomberg reported.
Government Employees Pension Service, with about $6bn in assets, plans to raise its investments in the category, that includes private credit and real estate loans, to 34% in the next four years from about 28% aimed for this year, said CIO Baek Joohyun.
Temu-owner PDD soars 12% after sales defy Chinese gloom.
PDD revenue rose a stronger-than-expected 66% after the company behind hit shopping app Temu spent to boost growth at home and abroad to counter a bumpy post-pandemic recovery, Bloomberg reported.
Its shares climbed more than 12% in pre-market trading in New York after the e-commerce platform reported better-than-projected revenue of CNY52.3bn ($7.2bn) in the June quarter, beating the average estimate of CNY43.3bn ($5.9bn). Net income increased a faster-than-projected 47%.
Indian regulator's probe faults Adani group on disclosure rules.
An investigation of India's Adani by the market regulator has uncovered violations of rules on disclosures by listed entities and limits on the holdings of offshore funds, Reuters reported.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India launched the inquiry after US-based Hindenburg Research raised governance concerns around the Gautam Adani-led group, shaving more than $100bn from the market value of its companies.
Vinfast’s world-beating gain evokes memory of $400bn crash.
VinFast Auto is unprofitable, thinly traded and exciting individual investors as it rises faster than any other large-cap stock worldwide, Bloomberg reported.
That’s a perilous combination for anyone tempted to bet on further gains in the Vietnamese electric-vehicle startup, which has soared 688% since its debut in a SPAC listing. VinFast’s $190bn market capitalization is now bigger than half of the companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, including Goldman Sachs and Walt Disney.
Country Garden seeks to add 40-day grace period to onshore bond repayment.
China's largest private property developer Country Garden is seeking to add a 40-day grace period for the repayment of a CNY3.9bn ($535m) private onshore bond, Reuters reported.
The cash-strapped company is also seeking creditors' approval to extend the repayment due September 2 by three years, and it delayed the voting deadline for creditors to approve the new plan by a week to August 31 to garner more support.
Billionaire Sunil Mittal’s Airtel plans Uganda’s biggest IPO.
Airtel Uganda plans to raise as much as UGX800bn ($216m) in an initial public offering, making it the nation’s biggest share sale, Bloomberg reported.
The company priced its IPO at UGX100 ($0.026) apiece valuing the nation’s second-biggest telecommunications carrier at UGX4tn ($1.74bn). The unit of billionaire Sunil Mittal’s Airtel Africa is selling a 20% stake, or 8bn shares, on the Uganda Securities Exchange to fulfill a regulatory requirement.
World’s best large IPO of 2023 is Indonesia miner with 150% gain.
An Indonesian miner has been the world’s best-performing large initial public offering this year, as analysts tout its appealing valuation, earnings prospects and potential inclusion in a key local index, Bloomberg reported.
Shares of Amman Mineral, which owns the second-largest gold and copper mine in the Southeast Asian country, are up 153% since their debut on July 7. That’s the biggest gain among 32 IPOs that raised at least $500m so far globally in 2023.
Thai Billionaire’s Big C delays $1bn IPO citing markets.
Big C Retail, a supermarket and convenience store company controlled by Thailand’s richest person, postponed a planned initial public offering, citing market conditions.
The unit of Berli Jucker, billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s listed conglomerate, delayed the stock listing after the management considered the interest of shareholders and other stakeholders, Bloomberg reported.
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