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AMERICAS
Canadian miner Teck Resources plans to close the sale of its steel-making coal unit to Glencore no later than the third quarter of 2024, Reuters reported.
Teck, a producer of steel-making coal, last year announced the sale of the business to Swiss miner Glencore for $9bn and said it was shifting its strategy towards building its copper business. The deal needs approval from the Canadian government.
Glencore is advised by Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Linklaters (led by Carsten Grave, Ian Hunter and George Yiend) and McCarthy Tetrault (led by Roger Taplin and Adam Taylor). Teck Resources is advised by Ardea Partners, BMO Capital Markets, Barclays (led by Bradley McMillen), CIBC World Markets, Goldman Sachs (led by Dan Korich), Origin Merchant Partners, TD Securities, Blake Cassels & Graydon, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison (led by Ian Hazlett, Christopher Cummings and Adam Givertz), Stikeman Elliott, Sullivan & Cromwell (led by Sergio J. Galvis and Lauren S. Boehmke), Brunswick Group (led by Andrew B. Siegel).
President Joe Biden's administration is examining Nippon Steel's connections to China a potential stumbling block for the Japanese giant's politically contentious deal to acquire American rival United States Steel, Bloomberg reported.
The administration sees its priority as protecting US industry and is worried about Nippon Steel's exposure to China. Biden has maintained tariffs on Chinese goods implemented by former President Donald Trump under Section 301 of the trade law and may consider future tariffs on steel and aluminium from China.
Nautic Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of SurfacePrep, a distributor of surface enhancement solutions, from CenterOak Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"SurfacePrep is led by CEO Mike Currie and an experienced management team that has demonstrated a long history of growth. We are excited about Mike and the team's ability to accelerate that growth track record in the coming years and are thrilled to partner with them to support the company's future efforts. Additionally, we're excited to add another investment to our distribution portfolio within Nautic's Industrials group," Chris Pierce, Nautic Managing Director.
SurfacePrep was advised by KeyBanc Capital Markets and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Nautic was advised by McDermott Will & Emery. Debt financing was provided by Antares Capital, Churchill Asset Management, Cliffwater, Manulife Investment Management and MetLife Investment Management. CenterOak Partners was advised by BackBay Communications.
Private equity firms Allianz X and Constellation Wealth Capital completed a $450m investment in AlTi Tiedemann Global, an independent global wealth and alternatives manager.
"This investment accelerates AlTi's trajectory to become the leading global independent UHNW wealth management platform, with strategic and targeted expertise in alternatives. The investment further validates the power of our unique business model which combines a global multi-family office and alternatives platform," Michael Tiedemann, AlTi Tiedemann CEO.
AlTi Tiedemann was advised by Oppenheimer & Co, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and Prosek Partners. Allianz X was advised by Ardea Partners and Sullivan & Cromwell (led by C. Andrew Gerlach). Constellation Wealth Capital was advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Prosek Partners.
Quanta Services, an infrastructure services provider, completed the acquisition of Evergreen North America Industrial Services, a provider of specialized and recurring environmental solutions, from The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Since the combination, Evergreen has continued to expand its footprint and grow its ability to serve customers with its solutions nationally. Combined with Quanta Services leadership in specialty infrastructure solutions, Evergreen is poised to continue its track record of delivering the highest quality services to its customers," The Sterling Group.
The Sterling Group was advised by BlackArch Partners and Latham & Watkins.
Peak 10 Energy, an oil and gas investment platform, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Strawn Petroleum, an oil and gas exploration and production company, from Oaktree Capital Management, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The Strawn transaction validates our strategy of enhancing shareholder value through asset consolidation and creating economies of scale. The operational synergy of this merger not only enhances current production operations but also increases the value of the remaining development which mutually benefits Peak 10 and Strawn equity holders," Mark Paull, Peak 10 CEO.
Strawn Petroleum is advised by Vinson & Elkins. Peak 10 is advised by Baker Botts.
Lightspeed Venture and Redpoint Ventures, two venture capital firms, led a $150m investment in Abridge, a medical conversation AI startup, with participation from IVP, Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Wittington Ventures, Mass General Brigham, Kaiser Permanente Ventures and CVS Health Ventures.
"Abridge has set new standards for quality and responsible deployment of generative AI in health systems across the U.S., cementing it as the industry's most trusted AI platform. Abridge stands out for their innovation in all facets of product development. CTO Zack Lipton, a widely cited Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon and pioneer in responsible AI research, has assembled the strongest research team in healthcare AI. They have set new expectations for transparency and verification with their evidence extraction technology, and raised the bar for both note quality and evaluation methodology," Sebastian Duesterhoeft, Lightspeed Venture Partner.
Abridge was advised by 120/80.
Relatable, a modern entertainment company, completed the acquisition of Hunt A Killer, a murder mystery franchise. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This is what we're all about at Relatable. This announcement comes on the heels of other significant moves we've made over the last few months. From the renaming of the company to our recent hire of Karen Branson as CRO and newly introduced licensed products like Squishamallows Heating Pads, Relatable is better positioned than ever before and as our first acquisition, we couldn't be more excited about what the future holds for Hunt A Killer and our company as a whole," Elliot Tebele, Relatable Co-Founder.
Relatable was advised by Carve Communications.
Avenue Sports Fund, a private equity growth-expansion fund, completed an investment in New York Mavericks, a basketball club. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The Avenue Sports Fund's investment in the New York Mavericks represents an extraordinary opportunity to establish a professional sports team in a fast-growing, established league and bring it to the nation's largest media market," Marc Lasry, Avenue Sports CEO and Co-Founder.
Avenue Sports was advised by Kekst CNC (led by Todd Fogarty).
Nautic Partners-backed Vallen Distribution, a provider of indirect industrial supply chain solutions, agreed to acquire the integrated supply business from Wesco International, a multinational electrical distribution and services company, for $350m.
"We are excited to bring together two outstanding supply chain solutions providers through this transaction and see significant opportunity ahead for the combined company. This combination further expands and complements our vision to deliver unique and customizable supply chain solutions for our customers' indirect spend and enhances our ability to partner with the supplier community," Chuck Delph, Vallen CEO.
Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek, led a $150m investment round in Antora Energy, a leader in zero-emissions industrial heat and power, with participation from Emerson Collective, GS Futures, The Nature Conservancy, NextEra Energy Resources, Trust Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BHP Ventures, Overture VC, and Grok Ventures.
"We are thrilled to partner with Decarbonization Partners and all of our exceptional investors to supercharge Antora's growth. This financing enables us to build and deploy our thermal batteries even faster, moving full speed ahead to decarbonize industry in the United States and around the world. Because our thermal batteries are factory-manufactured in the United States, this is not only an investment in Antora, it's an investment in US jobs, manufacturing, and leadership in the clean energy transition," Andrew Ponec, Antora Energy Co-Founder and CEO.
CIBC Innovation Banking, a financial services provider, completed an investment in InsightRX, a software company leveraging quantitative pharmacology and artificial intelligence. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We're excited to work with the InsightRX leadership team as they use artificial intelligence to blaze a trail in drug development in biopharma clinical trials and in helping healthcare providers ensure patients are receiving optimal drug dosing. InsightRX will play a significant role in enhancing the development of new therapies that will improve patient safety in the healthcare drug development and delivery chain," John Flemming, CIBC Innovation Banking Managing Director of Seattle.
Twin City Foods, a frozen vegetable production company, agreed to merge with Smith Frozen Foods, a processor and packager of frozen vegetables, including peas, corn, beans, and carrots. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This marks a pivotal moment for Twin City Foods as we take a significant step in the path of strategic growth that we have set for the organization," Dale Goyer, Twin City Foods COO.
Tamman, a digital accessibility solutions company, agreed to merge with Chax Training and Consulting, a provider of document accessibility training. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Tamman is excited to join forces with Chax to expand our digital document accessibility offerings. This merger allows us to take a giant leap forward in the work that we are doing in providing digital accessibility training, remediation, and quality assurance services to our clients. Allowing us to offer a more complete set of services for accessibility compliance requirements," Jeff Tamburino, Tamman Co-Founder and CEO.
Resilient Energy, an energy company, offered to acquire Challenger Aerospace & Defense, a drone developer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have emphasized our dedication to seizing opportunities in advanced technology areas aligned with our strategic vision. Today, we celebrate a significant milestone with the formal intention of acquiring Challenger Aerospace & Defense Inc. Its global reach and market potential, with over 40 available products, promises significant revenue potential. The unmanned aerial vehicle and drone technology domain is a multibillion-dollar market. This intended acquisition reinforces our commitment to value creation through revenue growth, margin expansion, and cash flow generation," Jon Bianco, RENI CEO.
Broadcom nears $3.8bn sale of remote access unit to KKR. (FS)
Chipmaker Broadcom is nearing a $3.8bn deal to sell its business that allows users to access desktops and applications from any device to private equity firm KKR, Reuters reported.
Elliott Management on the hunt for mining assets worth at least $1bn. (FS)
Elliott Management is setting up a company to hunt for global mining assets in the range of at least $1bn, as it seeks to take advantage of the depressed valuation of groups operating in the sector, Financial Times reported.
The Florida-based investment firm's new venture, Hyperion, will be led by Sandeep Biswas, the former chief executive of gold mining group Newcrest Mining and a veteran dealmaker and operator in the sector. The mandate is to look for deals across all assets, including base and precious metals in addition to commodities in demand for electric vehicle production.
ExxonMobil weighs offers for Argentina shale assets.
US energy giant ExxonMobil is weighing offers for its oil and gas assets in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale region. There was no time frame for a decision and the sale may not move forward.
Exxon received several offers for holdings in Argentina's heralded Vaca Muerta formation in Patagonia earlier this month. The assets, which comprise stakes it owns with QatarEnergy in seven oil-and-gas blocks in the shale patch as well as holdings in a pipeline, have been valued at around $1bn, Bloomberg reported.
Investor behind Tiger Woods deal wants to keep buying up Golf. (FS)
Centroid Investment Partners has quietly become a major player in the golfing industry, a rise marked by last week's announcement by TaylorMade of a new clothing line with Tiger Woods, Bloomberg reported.
Founder Jinhyeok Jeong is already looking for his next deal. Centroid which bought TaylorMade in 2021 is currently raising a $500m fund, and is in the early stage of reviewing a US company for acquisition, potentially worth over $1bn.
Cruise operator Viking files confidentially for US IPO.
Viking has filed confidentially for an initial public offering, as the travel industry continues to rebound from its pandemic-era slump. The cruise operator filed the documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg reported.
The IPO is expected to occur after the SEC completes its review process. Viking's listing could raise $500m or more. The company is working with Bank of America, JP Morgan, UBS and Wells Fargo on the potential listing, which may come as soon as the second quarter.
EMEA
CapVest Partners-backed Datasite, a SaaS platform, agreed to acquire Sherpany, a board reporting and meeting management software provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Datasite is committed to delivering products that enable professionals to execute complex, strategic projects. The acquisition of Sherpany extends our product suite with advanced functionality that facilitates board collaboration and meeting management, further enhancing organizational productivity. We look forward to integrating these capabilities into the Datasite platform, adding significant value for our customers," Rusty Wiley, Datasite President and CEO.
Sherpany is advised by Macquarie Group and Kellerhals Carrard. Datasite is advised by KPMG, Torch Partners (led by Tom Roberts), Willkie Farr & Gallagher and 5W Public Relations.
Pacific Avenue Capital, a private equity fund, agreed to acquire the filtration business unit from Sogefi, a supplier of original parts for the automotive industry, for €374m ($405m).
The filtration business unit will operate under the name Purflux Group in case of closing of the transaction.
Sogefi is advised by BNP Paribas, Houlihan Lokey, Clifford Chance and Dini Romiti Consulting.
Brussels is preparing to lay out objections to International Airlines Group's second attempt to buy Spanish carrier Air Europa in a move that signals significant competition obstacles to the deal.
The European Commission last month opened an in-depth investigation into whether the new deal would harm consumers by stifling competition and is due to decide on whether it meets EU merger rules by June 7. Regulators fear the deal will reduce competition on Spanish domestic and international routes, and have been studying whether the merger would make it difficult for rivals to offer their services or have other indirect effects such as raising prices. They are concerned that the remedies discussed so far to enable proper competition are weak because the airlines face only small competitors with no credible rivals on the routes they both fly, FT reported.
Air Europa is advised by Perez Llorca. IAG is advised by Garrigues. GCE is advised by Latham & Watkins.
Private equity firms X-ELIO and Nature Infrastructure Capital completed an investment in Å Energi Invest-backed ECO STOR, a manufacturer of battery storage systems. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"It has been a true pleasure to be part of the success of ECO STOR in the German battery energy storage market. We are very pleased to now announce that X.ELIO and NIC will be investing in ECO STOR together with the continued support from Å Energy. This will allow us to maintain our market leadership and fuel further growth. Bringing together some of the most influential renewable energy investors in Europe gives ECO STOR the resources to accelerate energy storage adoption in Europe and thereby support our transformation toward renewable energy," Trygve Burchardt, ECO STOR CEO.
X-ELIO was advised by Kreab. NIC was advised by PJT Partners.
Stagwell, a marketing and communications group, completed the acquisition of Sidekick, a collective of specialist agencies focused on experiential, digital storytelling, and branded content. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sidekick is at the forefront of storytelling and will be an essential part of the challenger marketing network we are building in Europe. As we embark on our next chapter in Europe, I'm excited to welcome Duncan and Ollie to our network and see Allison continue to transform its content innovation capabilities," Mark Penn, Stagwell Chairman and CEO.
Adnoc's $30bn chemicals deal with Austria's OMV stalls.
Talks over a planned $30bn merger between the chemicals arms of Abu Dhabi National Oil and Austria's OMV have stalled over recent weeks, putting at risk a complicated deal to create a new market leader , FT reported.
The negotiations have cooled to allow both sides to navigate a series of disagreements. At one point in mid-December, Adnoc and OMV, an energy and chemicals group, had been less than 24 hours away from announcing a deal, even having practice runs of analyst presentations to unveil the agreement.
Adnoc to progress in Covestro talks ahead of potential bump.
Abu Dhabi National Oil is inching toward an improved bid for Covestro after finding a potential way to resolve the impasse over its €11.3bn ($12.1bn) pursuit of the German chemical maker, Bloomberg reported.
Adnoc is working with a consulting firm that's sent dozens of questions to Covestro about the details of its operations. The responses could give the Abu Dhabi-based energy giant enough information to improve its bid to slightly more than €60 ($64.95) per share.
Billionaire Joe Tsai's family office slashes Blue Owl stake. (FS)
The investment firm that manages part of the fortune of Alibaba Group Chairman Joe Tsai sold most of its shares in the alternative asset giant Blue Owl Capital during the fourth quarter, Bloomberg reported.
Blue Pool Capital sold 34.3m Blue Owl shares, or 83% of its remaining holdings. The shares would have been worth about $460m at the volume-weighted average price of the stock over the three months.
LVMH launches entertainment venture led by Arnault heir and US boss.
Luxury goods giant LVMH is launching an entertainment venture to boost the marketing of its labels, overseen by a committee of executives led by LVMH heir Antoine Arnault and Anish Melwani, CEO of the group's North America operations, Reuters reported.
The new venture, called "22 Montaigne Entertainment" - a reference to LVMH group headquarters in Paris on Avenue Montaigne, is a partnership with Superconnector Studios and that company's co-founders Jae Goodman and John Kaplan.
APAC
Lotus Technology, a global luxury electric vehicle maker, went public via a SPAC merger with L Catterton Asia Acquisition in a $5.4bn deal.
"We are very pleased to announce the successful completion of the business combination with Lotus Tech, a pioneer in the electrification of luxury mobility with a world-leading product portfolio of luxury vehicles. We are confident Lotus Tech's listing on the Nasdaq will further its global expansion, and look forward to joining them in the exciting growth journey ahead," Chinta Bhagat, LCAA Co-CEO.
Lotus was advised by Deutsche Bank, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (led by Zheng Zhou and Howie Farn), Han Han Kun Law Offices, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by Shu Du and Peter Huang) and Brunswick Group. L Catterton was advised by Credit Suisse, Fangda Partners, Kirkland & Ellis (led by Joseph Raymond Casey and Jesse Sheley). Credit Suisse is advised by Shearman & Sterling.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, an independent Coca-Cola bottler, and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, an investment management firm, completed the acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, a company that is engaged in the bottling and distribution of Coca-Cola products, for $1.8bn.
The acquisition would build on AEV's portfolio diversification into the branded consumer goods space. AEV is well-positioned to support CCBPI's growth ambition through the synergies which could be generated from AEV's other business interests in the country. The acquisition would also build on CCEP's successful expansion into Australia, Pacific & Indonesia in 2021.
Zurich Insurance Group, a Swiss insurance company, agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Kotak Mahindra General Insurance, a general insurance company, from Kotak Mahindra Bank, an Indian banking and financial services company, for $671m.
"The alliance brings together two trusted and respected brands. The combined expertise and resources of respective firms will enable us to provide innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of our customers. Kotak Mahindra Group's pan India distribution presence and Zurich's distinct global capabilities in digital assets, B2B and B2C formats has potential to create a transformational impact for the Kotak General Insurance franchise delivering innovation efficiently and rapidly in the Indian General Insurance space," Dipak Gupta, Kotak Mahindra Bank Managing Director & CEO.
Sequoia Capital China, a private equity firm, led a $1bn round in Moonshot AI, an artificial intelligence startup, with participation from Xiaohongshu, Meituan, and Alibaba.
The new funding round has boosted Moonshot AI's value to $2.5bn.
Hangzhou Haoyue, an Alibaba affiliate, agreed to acquire a 20% stake in Suning.com, a retailer, from Taobao China Software, an online shopping platform, for $389m.
The valuation of the Suning stake is far smaller than the $4.6bn the Chinese e-commerce giant paid for it in 2015, representing a roughly 90% loss.
Meituan, a food delivery giant, led a $139m series B2 round in Unitree Robotics, a robotics company focusing on independent research and development, with participation from Source Code Capital, CITIC Securities, Shenzhen Capital Group, China Internet Investment Fund, Winreal Investment and Dunhong Capital Management.
The proceeds will be used to finance the product R&D, and business and team expansion. Unitree's fundraising milestone comes at a time when an ageing population and rising labour costs have prompted the country to ramp up industrial automation.
Bankrupt Indian airline Go First gets two financial bids.
India's Go First has received two financial bids as part of its bankruptcy process, Reuters reported.
Budget carrier SpiceJet's managing director, Ajay Singh, and Busy Bee Airways have jointly submitted a bid of $193m for the airline.
Air China to sound out advisers on raising Cathay stake.
Air China has been sounding out advisers in recent months on the possible merits of raising its nearly 30% stake in Cathay Pacific Airways rekindling a long-running idea as the 77-year-old Hong Kong carrier rebounds from the pandemic, Bloomberg reported.
While it has flirted with the possibility in the past, including before Covid, state-run Air China's need to boost profitability has added fresh momentum though nothing is likely to happen imminently.
Sea Group likely to pick up minority stake in Indonesia's HiBank soon.
Southeast Asian technology giant Sea is likely to pick up a minority stake in Indonesia's HiBank from its controlling shareholder Bank Negara Indonesia as early as the next quarter, DealStreetAsia reported.
BNI is offering a 10-15% stake in HiBank Indonesia to Sea Group. HiBank is in the process of developing an app which will cater to both its SME customers and their supply chains as well as retail customers looking for personal services such as buy now pay later. Sea Group is said to be involved in designing the app.
China's consumer startups fight for survival as demand falters.
China's economic malaise is taking down some of its rising consumer startup stars, which had been hyped as the country's replacement for Western brands from Coca-Cola to Haagen Dazs, Bloomberg reported.
Instead, firms like drinks maker Chi Forest and ice cream brand Chicecream are seeing their fortunes turn as venture capital investment into the country's consumer sector plunged 93% last year from 2018's peak.
Caught between Beijing and Washington, PE majors split China-US teams. (FS)
China's private equity market has faced heightened geopolitical risk since last year and as a result, many multinational private equity companies have had to split their Chinese and American investment teams and asset portfolios or refocus their Asia strategies, DealStreetAsia reported.
A United States congressional committee in July launched an investigation into four venture capital firms over their investment in Chinese technology companies, the latest sign of Washington's increasing scrutiny of US funds suspected of helping develop sensitive industries in China.
GGV Capital, GSR Ventures Management, Walden International and Qualcomm Ventures were asked to provide information by August 1 on their investment in artificial intelligence or machine learning, semiconductors and quantum computing or quantum information systems sectors in China. They were also asked whether the Chinese companies in their portfolio received government subsidies.
S Korea's VIG Partners aims to close fifth fund at $1bn by year end and eyes more exits. (FS)
South Korean private equity firm VIG Partners, which is raising its fifth fund with a target of $1bn, is bullish about potential buyout opportunities in the country as founder families and conglomerates grow more open to such transactions, DealStreetAsia reported.
VIG Partners managing partner Chulmin Lee told DealStreetAsia that the fifth fund has already achieved a domestic first close at around $360m. Aiming for a year-end final close, Fund V will build on the success of its predecessor while exploring new opportunities linked to the global recognition of Korean services and products.
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