AMERICAS
LVMH, a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate, completed the acquisition of Tiffany, an American luxury jewelry and specialty retailer headquartered in New York City, for $15.8bn.
"We are committed to supporting Tiffany, a brand that is synonymous with love and whose Blue Box is revered around the world, with the same dedication and passion that we have applied to each of our prestigious Maisons over the years. We are optimistic about Tiffany’s ability to accelerate its growth, innovate and remain at the forefront of our discerning customers’ most cherished life achievements and memories. I would like to thank Alessandro Bogliolo and his team for their dedication to Tiffany and their work over the past three years, especially during this challenging period," Bernard Arnault, LVMH Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Tiffany was advised by Centerview Partners, Goldman Sachs, Sullivan & Cromwell and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Goldman Sachs was advised by Weil Gotshal and Manges. LVMH was advised by Citigroup, JP Morgan, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, White & Case, Brunswick Group, DGM Conseil, Deluxewords, Kekst CNC, Montfort Communications, Publicis Consultants and SEC and Partners. Citigroup and JP Morgan were advised by Allen & Overy.
EW Scripps, an American broadcasting company, completed the acquisition of ION Media, a broadcast network, from Black Diamond for $2.7bn. Berkshire Hathaway made a $600m preferred equity investment in Scripps to finance the transaction and received a warrant to purchase up to 23.1m Class A shares, at an exercise price of $13 per share. Scripps divested 23 ION stations to meet regulatory conditions.
"This is a historic and transformational moment for Scripps that strengthens our leadership position in broadcasting and accelerates our multiplatform strategy to serve diverse audiences everywhere they seek to be informed and entertained. Bringing our networks together with ION will create a formidable national television business focused on connecting with audiences and advertisers in the rapidly evolving media landscape while fueling our company's future growth," Adam Symson, Scripps President and CEO.
ION Media was advised by Cooley and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. EW Scripps was advised by Evercore, Methuselah Advisors, Morgan Stanley, BakerHostetler, Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard, Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Debt financing was provided by Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell. Financial advisors to EW Scripps were advised by Kirkland & Ellis. Black Diamond Capital was advised by Goldman Sachs, Moelis & Co and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
Social Capital Hedosophia V, a specialty purpose acquisition company, agreed to merge with Social Finance, a financial services platform, in a $8.65bn deal.
“SoFi is on a mission to help people achieve financial independence to realize their ambitions. The new investments and our partnership with Social Capital Hedosophia signify the confidence in our strategy, the momentum in our business, as well as the significant growth opportunity ahead of us. We look forward to helping more people get their money right in the years to come," Anthony Noto, SoFi CEO.
SoFi is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Goodwin Procter, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Blueshirt Group. Social Capital Hedosophia is advised by Connaught, Credit Suisse, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Finsbury Glover Hering and Gasthalter & Co. Silver Lake is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
GX Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, agreed to merge with Celularity, a biotechnology company, in a $372m deal.
"We are excited to partner with the management of Celularity to create a new publicly-traded cell therapy company. Most importantly, this transaction will help to continue the decades of innovation by Dr. Hariri and his seasoned team, with the goal of developing new immunotherapies to treat cancer and other diseases," Dean C. Kehler, GX Acquisition Co-Chairman and CEO.
Celularity is advised by Ardea Partners, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer & Co, Truist Bank, Cooley and Solebury Trout. GX Acquisition is advised by Cantor Fitzgerald, Credit Suisse, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Lambert & Co.
American Industrial Partners, a private equity firm, to acquire personal care business of Domtar, a provider of a wide variety of fiber-based products including communication, specialty and packaging papers, for $920m.
“This transaction represents a milestone in Domtar’s ongoing portfolio transformation and further advances our strategic initiatives that will position Domtar for a sustainable and successful future. We conducted a thorough review of strategic alternatives for Personal Care and believe the sale maximizes value to Domtar shareholders by allowing us to strengthen our balance sheet, enhance liquidity and buy back shares. We are confident that AIP is the right owner to advance the business and look forward to working with them to execute a smooth and successful transition for the customers and employees of Personal Care," John D. Williams, Domtar President and CEO.
American Industrial Partners is advised by Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Baker Botts and Ropes & Gray. Domtar is advised by Morgan Stanley, Debevoise & Plimpton and Joele Frank.
CarLotz's shareholders have approved its merger $827m with special purpose acquisition company Acamar Partners Acquisition.
Acamar Partners is scheduled to hold a stockholders meeting to approve the proposed merger on January 20, following which the transaction is expected to close on January 22. Upon the consummation of the merger, CarLotz will become a public company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LOTZ.
CarLotz is advised by Barclays, Deutsche Bank, William Blair & Co, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and ICR. Acamar Partners is advised by Goldman Sachs and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Cisco Systems won a temporary court order blocking Acacia Communications from abandoning a planned $2.6bn merger between the two companies.
Networking giant Cisco announced in July 2019 that it had reached a deal to acquire Acacia, an optical component maker, for about $2.6bn, saying the merger would help it capture a bigger chunk of spending on 5G telecommunications networks. Acacia said in a statement that it was free to terminate the deal because it didn’t receive Chinese regulatory approval within the time-frame of the merger agreement.
Cisco sued Acacia in Delaware Chancery Court on Friday. After a hearing, Chancellor J. Travis Laster granted Cisco’s request for a restraining order and to expedite the proceedings, Bloomberg reported.
Charter Communications, a broadband connectivity company and cable operator, Qurate Retail, a provider of e-commerce services, and Cerberus Capital Management, a global company in alternative investing, agreed to invest $204m in Comscore, a cross-platform measurement company that measures audiences, brands and consumer behavior.
“The retirement of debt provides the company with the financial flexibility to execute our plan. The investment and commercial agreements we announced today will supercharge our ability to deliver trusted cross-platform measurement for all customers. We are built to deliver now,” Bill Livek, Comscore Chief Executive Officer.
Comscore is advised by Evercore, Goldman Sachs and Vinson & Elkins. is advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell. Qurate Retail is advised by Baker Botts. Cerberus is advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
Marlin Equity-backed Unifaun, a cloud transport administration systems platform, agreed to merge with Francisco Partners-backed Consignor, a cloud TAS platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The unification of our talented, passionate teams, as well as our local and global resources, will drive significant value to our customers and employees. Together we will deliver exactly what our customers have been seeking – an integrated, full-suite of TAS solution that will help our customers reduce shipping costs while improving the overall delivery experience for constituents across the logistics value chain," Peter Tang Thomsen, Consignor Founder and CEO.
Consignor is advised by Raymond James, Aabo-Evensen & Co and Paul Hastings. Unifaun is advised by Arma Partners, Ernst & Young and Plesner.
PerkinElmer, a biotechnology company, agreed to acquire Oxford Immunotec Global, a medical equipment manufacturing company, for $591m.
“Tuberculosis remains one of the leading infectious causes of death, with close to one quarter of the world’s population infected. We believe Oxford Immunotec’s diagnostic testing solution plays an important role in slowing the spread and saving lives. Oxford Immunotec’s highly sensitive test and their team’s passion for solving complex health issues make it a natural fit with PerkinElmer’s mission and together, we believe will accelerate development of robust solutions to help detect infectious disease," Prahlad Singh, PerkinElmer President and CEO.
Oxford Immunotec Global is advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Covington & Burling. PerkinElmer is advised by Guggenheim Partners, Hogan Lovells and WilmerHale.
Frazier Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in CSafe Global, a provider of cold chain shipping solutions, from Thomas H. Lee, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“When we invested in CSafe in 2016, we believed in both the quality of CSafe’s offering and the demand for cold chain shipping solutions. Over the past few years, we have worked with management to drive organic growth and operational initiatives, further positioning CSafe for continued success,” Josh Nelson, Thomas H. Lee Managing Director.
CSafe was advised by William Blair & Co and Ropes & Gray. Frazier was advised by Goodwin Procter. Thomas H. Lee was advised by Edelman.
F5 Networks, an application security and delivery services provider, agreed to acquire Volterra, a cloud services provider, for $500m.
“I am excited to work closely alongside François and the F5 team to help pioneer the evolution of the edge to deliver more adaptive, dynamic application experiences for all of our customers. With our platform, we will extend F5’s application security leadership to the edge, thereby expanding our combined reach in the fastest growing segment of F5’s $28bn 2023 total addressable market," Ankur Singla, Volterra Founder and CEO.
Volterra is advised by Goodwin Procter. F5 Networks is advised by Foros, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and WE Communications.
Charterhouse Capital Partners-backed Mirion Technologies, a provider of innovative radiation detection and measurement solutions, completed the acquisition of Sun Nuclear, a developer and manufacturer of radiation measurement instrumentation and software. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are incredibly excited to welcome Sun Nuclear to the Mirion family. Together, we will leverage our technological expertise, brand equity, and relationship capital to extend our leadership position in the cancer therapy market," Thomas Logan, Mirion Technologies CEO.
Sun Nuclear was advised by Beninga Advisors, Talamantes Strategies and King & Spalding. Mirion Technologies was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Arcline Investment Management, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Ohmega Technologies, a manufacturer of embedded thin-film resistive materials, from Alan D. Leve Family. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The addition of Ohmega perfectly aligns with our specialty electronic components platform growth strategy to assemble a portfolio of companies with world-class products and customer service. We are excited to work with this talented team to accelerate Ohmega's growth while maintaining the Company's unique culture and customer-first mindset," Arcline.
Arcline Investment was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Lincoln International and Joele Frank.
Century Equity Partners, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Hancock Claims Consultants, an insurance claims services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We feel that Century is uniquely well-positioned to help accelerate Hancock’s already impressive growth trajectory. Furthermore, we believe Hancock represents a compelling investment opportunity given the fundamental changes occurring in the P&C claims industry as it relates to carriers focusing on lowering loss adjusting expenses and optimizing their staff resources," Keith Roux, Century Equity Principal.
Hancock Claims is advised by Waller Helms Advisors and Alston & Bird. Century Equity is advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
Wheels Up, an aviation company, completed the acquisition of Mountain Aviation, a flight management services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This is an exciting day for all of us at Mountain Aviation. We are proud of what we've built and thrilled to join Kenny and the Wheels Up team to continue to expand and grow. It's remarkable to see how Wheels Up, with their vision to democratize, digitize, and disrupt, is transforming the industry," Gregg Fahrenbruch, Mountain Aviation CEO.
Mountain Aviation was advised by Houlihan Lokey. Wheels Up was advised by Jefferies & Company and Jonesworks.
Private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Dragoneer to acquire a minority stake in PointClickCare Technologies, a healthcare software services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We believe there is significant growth opportunity ahead given the company’s exceptional customer relationships, strong product suite and leading market position in the post-acute ecosystem. We look forward to collaborating with the team and believe we are uniquely positioned to further accelerate the Company’s expansion, for the benefit of its customers and the broader healthcare industry," Sameer Narang, Hellman & Friedman Partner.
PointClickCare is advised by UBS and Goodwin Procter. Hellman & Friedman is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Equifax, an American multinational consumer credit reporting agency, agreed to acquire Kount, an online fraud detection, and prevention provider, from CVC Capital, a private equity firm, for $640m.
"The acquisition of Kount will expand Equifax's differentiated data assets to bring global businesses the information and solutions they need to establish identity trust online. Equifax is taking advantage of our strong 2020 outperformance and cash generation to make this strategic acquisition. Our data and technology cloud investments allow us to quickly and aggressively integrate new data and analytics assets like Kount into our global capabilities and bring new market leading products and solutions to our customers," Mark W. Begor, Equifax CEO.
Kount is advised by Barclays and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson.
Private equity firms TA Associates and Genstar Capital-backed insightsoftware, a software company, completed the acquisition of Certent, a software developer, from K1 Investment Management, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We appreciate K1's support in helping us achieve significant growth and market penetration over the years. Looking back, the journey exceeded all of my expectations. The investments K1 made in me personally and in our team and culture allowed us to build the category leader in equity and disclosure management. We are excited to join forces with insightsoftware and look forward to the next phase of the company's evolution,' Jorge Martin, Certent CEO.
Certent was advised by Raymond James and Morris Manning & Martin.
Israel Chemicals, a developer and marketer of fertilizers, metals and other special-purpose chemical products, completed the acquisition of Fertiláqua, a fertilizer and specialty chemical company, from Aqua Capital, a private equity firm, for $122m.
"We are delighted to add Fertiláqua to our crop nutrition business, as it gives ICL a significant foothold in a major market with rapidly increasing demand for specialty plant nutrition products and also provides a seasonal sales balance between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Going forward, we expect to continue to grow in the specialty fertilizer market and to expand our reach in Brazil via both M&A and organic growth," Raviv Zoller, Israel Chemicals, President and CEO.
Israel Chemicals was advised by Cescon Barrieu Flesch & Barreto and Scherf Communications. Aqua Capital was advised by Demarest Advogados.
Insight Partners, a private equity firm, led a $200m series B funding round in Quantum Metric, a cross-device digital intelligence platform. Uncorrelated Ventures also joined the round.
The company plans to use the new proceeds to build features for its continuous product design platform, which allows companies to use real-time customer data across all of their departments to build their digital products.
SoftBank Group and Dynamo led a $190m Series E funding round in MadeiraMadeira, an online home goods platform. Private equity firms Flybridge, Velt Partners, Brasil Capital, Lakewood Capital and Monashees also joined the round.
The company will use the proceeds to expand the business as sales outpaced expectations last year after the coronavirus pandemic boosted online shopping.
GTCR-backed CAPTRUST Financial Advisors, an independent registered investment advisor, completed the acquisition of MRA Associates, an investment advisory, wealth management, and tax consulting services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed
"We are proud of the tremendous practice we have built over the last nearly three decades. The decision to join CAPTRUST was an easy one once we understood the considerable level of scale we would be plugging into. I believe all of our clients will benefit greatly from the depth of the firm's investment capabilities, as well their institutional capacity and leverage," Mark Feldman, MRA Associates Managing Partner and CEO.
PPG Industries, a supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials, agreed to acquire The VersaFlex Family of Companies, a manufacturer of diversified building materials. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to join PPG, a global paint and coatings leader, with its world-class resources and leading-edge technologies. Their high standards and commitment to deliver sustainable value to their customers will be a benefit for our customers' continued success," Rob Pawlak, VersaFlex President.
United Site up for sale for $4bn.
Portable toilets vendor United Site Services is exploring a sale that could value it at around $4bn, including debt, as its hand wash stations business sees strong demand during the pandemic, Reuters reported.
Platinum Equity, the buyout firm which owns United Site Services, has hired investment bankers to advise it on a sale process.
United Site Services was valued at just $1.15bn when Platinum Equity acquired the Westborough, Massachusetts-based company four years ago. It now has 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of more than $300m.
Spectrum, CVC in advanced talks on $2bn Conair deal. (FS)
Spectrum Brands Holdings and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners are in advanced talks to acquire hair-dryer maker Conair, Bloomberg reported.
The deal could value Stamford, Connecticut-based Conair at about $2bn. The suitors aim to reach an agreement within weeks, though negotiations could still fall apart.
SoFi plans for more mergers after going public through SPAC.
Social Finance is planning for takeovers after agreeing to go public in a merger with a blank-check company that values the upstart at around $8.65bn, Bloomberg reported.
“We want to invest heavily in acquisitions and new growth vehicles,” Anthony Noto, Chief Executive Officer.
The merger marks the latest example of a growing trend in which closely held firms go public by merging with a SPAC.
Bakkt nears merger with Victory Park SPAC.
Bakkt, the cryptocurrency platform majority owned by Intercontinental Exchange, is in advanced talks to go public through a merger with blank-check firm VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings, Bloomberg reported.
The transaction is set to value the combined entity at more than $2bn, and an announcement may come as soon as next week.
VPC’s common shares rose 51% on Friday in New York while its warrants jumped 290%.
SoftBank rumored to take a stake in Pacific Biosciences.
SoftBank Group has taken a stake of about 6% in Pacific Biosciences of California, a US DNA-sequencing company whose stock has risen sevenfold in the last year, Bloomberg reported.
The stake, currently worth more than $350m, highlights the fast-expanding portfolio of public equity investments by SoftBank’s asset management unit SB Northstar, said the person, who asked not to be named as its investment decisions are private. SoftBank has spent about $20bn on stocks and derivatives through the unit, in which Masayoshi Son, its billionaire founder, personally holds one-third of the stake.
Morgan Stanley unit boosts stake in MicroStrategy.
Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm boosted a stake in Bitcoin vehicle MicroStrategy to more than 10% late last year, Bloomberg reported.
The bank unit held 793k shares of MicroStrategy by the end of December. The 10.9% stake had a value of roughly $420m based on the day’s closing price.
Apollo is in advanced talks to buy Orbia’s vinyl unit. (FS)
Apollo Global Management is nearing a deal to buy the vinyl business of Orbia Advance, the conglomerate formerly known as Mexichem, Bloomberg reported.
An agreement valuing the unit at $2bn or more could be announced as soon as this month.
Roku buys Quibi’s library to boost free streaming service.
Streaming giant Roku is buying the rights to dozens of shows from Quibi, the failed short-video startup founded by film mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bloomberg reported.
Roku will offer more than 75 shows that Quibi created with Hollywood studios and producers on its Roku Channel, a free ad-supported streaming service. The news sent Roku shares up as much as 6.2% to $402.85 in New York trading Friday.
Launched more than three years ago, the Roku Channel has thousands of free movies and dozens of live channels and is among the most popular streaming apps on Roku, reaching about 62m people.
TechnipFMC resumes plan to split itself into two.
Franco-American oil services firm TechnipFMC said it resumed its plan to split itself into two, after delaying the move in March, Reuters reported.
The group, created nearly four years ago via the merger of Technip and FMC, had been planning to separate its engineering and construction activities from its upstream oil services business.
However, it put the plan on hold, citing turbulence in financial markets due to the coronavirus outbreak. It said in March the rationale for the spin-off remained unchanged and that it would continue preparations in order to be ready to go ahead with the move once markets recover.
Arctos Partners seeks to build a portfolio of minority stakes in NBA teams. (FS)
Arctos Sports Partners, a private equity firm co-led by former Madison Square Garden CEO Doc O’Connor, is seeking permission to build a portfolio of minority stakes in NBA teams. Madison Square Garden is the parent company of the New York Knicks.
Arctos is looking to become just the second institutional investor granted permission by the league to make those investments, the people said. The people were granted anonymity because the matter is private. Earlier this year, the NBA approved Dyal Capital Partners, a unit of Neuberger Berman, as its first partner in the endeavor.
Google antitrust judge to divest funds that own Alphabet stock.
The federal judge overseeing the US Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google said he will sell his shares of mutual funds that hold stock in the company to avoid the appearance of any conflict in the case.
US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington disclosed in a court filing Friday that he recently learned from his financial adviser that mutual funds owned by him and his wife hold two classes of stock in Google parent Alphabet. The purchases were made between April 2020 and this month.
“To avoid any appearance of partiality or a financial interest in the outcome of this matter, I have directed our financial advisor to immediately sell all mutual funds that hold Alphabet stock and to monitor all future purchases of mutual or common investment funds during the pendency of this case to ensure that none contain Alphabet stock,” Amit Mehta.
Robinhood weighs selling its shares to clients in IPO.
Robinhood Markets, the trading platform popular with novice investors, is considering selling some of its shares directly to its own users when it goes public this year, Bloomberg reported.
The Menlo Park, California-based company has weighed allocating a significant minority of the shares it will list to clients.
The move would be striking, because retail investors usually do not get to buy into new listings at the offering price. Instead, they typically have to invest on the first day of trading in a rush that can drive up the stock price. Unprecedented demand for new technology listings sent DoorDash and Airbnb soaring when they debuted last month, raising questions about whether the market has become overheated.
Roark Capital-backed Driven Brands targets over $3bn valuation in an IPO. (FS)
Driven Brands Holdings, one of the largest US auto services franchisers, is looking to raise as much as $760m through an initial public offering, which would value the Roark Capital-owned company at about $3.4bn. Driven plans to sell 38m shares of its common stock priced at between $17 and $20 apiece, Reuters reported
Last year, private equity firm Roark Capital, which acquired Driven from Harvest Partners in 2015, had considered selling it for about $2bn.
Apollo Global's SPAC Apollo Strategic Growth Capital II files for a $400m IPO. (FS)
The New York-based company plans to raise $400m by offering 40m units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-fourth of a warrant, exercisable at $11.5. At the proposed deal size, Apollo Strategic Growth Capital would command a market value of $500m, Nasdaq reported.
The company is led by Executive Chairman Scott Kleinman, the Co-President and Lead Partner of Private Equity at Apollo; CEO and Director Sanjay Patel, who is Chairman International and Senior Partner of Private Equity at Apollo; CFO and CAO James Crossen, who serves as the CFO for Private Equity and Real Assets at Apollo.
Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Apollo Global Securities and RBC Capital Markets are the joint bookrunners on the deal.
Pioneer Merger announces pricing of $350m IPO.
Pioneer Merger, a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of entering into a combination with one or more businesses, announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 35m units at a price of $10 per unit. The units was listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market and trade under the ticker symbol “PACXU” beginning January 8, 2021.
The Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “PACX” and “PACXW,” respectively.
Citigroup is serving as the sole book-running manager for the offering.
Telus International files for US IPO of up to $100m.
Telus International, a provider of multilingual customer service outsourcing and digital IT services, filed for a US initial public offering of up to $100m. The company intends to apply to have its subordinate voting shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TINT, Reuters reported.
Telus said the proposed IPO price was an estimate solely used for calculating the Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee. JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are among the underwriters to the IPO.
Goldman names co-heads of global TMT banking. (People)
Goldman Sachs named Sam Britton and Matt Gibson to be co-heads of global technology, media and telecom group, Bloomberg reported.
Britton, who joined the firm in 1997, was most recently co-head of mergers and acquisitions for the TMT group. He will join the investment banking division executive committee as part of his new role.
Gibson, who joined in 2001, was most recently co-head of investment banking services globally for client coverage. He was already a member of the IBD executive committee.
“Sam and Matt will work to refine and enhance TMT’s global strategy with a focus on increasing our leadership position, strengthening client relationships, identifying commercial opportunities for growth and innovation, and developing our global team,” Dan Dees and Jim Esposito, Co-heads of investment banking.
EMEA
Codemasters Group Holdings, a British video game developer, has agreed to the $1.2bn takeover terms by Electronic Arts, a game developer.
Both of the companies believe that the combination of Electronic Arts and Codemasters would bring together the world-class interactive entertainment portfolios and create amazing and innovative new racing games for fans. It can also bring benefits to Codemasters performance and will allow to grow companies' existing franchises and deliver more industry-defining racing experiences to a global fan base.
Codemasters is advised by Jefferies & Company, Liberum Capital, Gowling WLG, Reed Smith and Alma PR. Electronic Arts is advised by UBS and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Take-Two is advised by Goldman Sachs, Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider, Harbottle & Lewis, Van Bael & Bellis, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Brunswick Group. Financial advisors to Take-Two are advised by Ashurst.
BP originally agreed to sell its interest in the fields in the Andrew area and the Shearwater field to Premier a year ago for a total of $625m.
Premier Oil is advised by Jefferies, RBC Capital, Slaughter & May and Camarco. Dana Petroleum is advised by Scotiabank. BP is advised by RBC Capital, Jefferies and Brunswick Group.
Masraf Al Rayan, a Qatari public bank, agreed to merge with Al Khaliji, a provider of banking and financial services, in a $2.2bn deal.
“This is a landmark transaction that will contribute to the State of Qatar’s economic growth, vision and ambitions and is a testament to our commitment to creating a more robust Qatari banking system. The combined entity will create an even stronger institution that will aim to create value for our customers and shareholders,” H.E. Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Al Rayan Chairman.
Al Khalij Commercial Bank is advised by Barclays, Ernst & Young and Clifford Chance. Masraf Al Rayan is advised by JP Morgan, KPMG and K&L Gates.
MGM Resorts International’s biggest shareholder, Barry Diller’s InterActiveCorp, vowed to help the company in its takeover attempt of betting-house operator Entain, pledging as much as $1bn toward the effort, Bloomberg reported.
MGM said a proposed merger with the British bookmaker would be compelling and believes a deal, amongst other things, would help grow BetMGM, its online sports betting operating in the United States.
Entain is advised by Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Powerscourt. MGM is advised by PJT Partners.
TCV, a private equity firms, led a $134m funding round in Mambu, a SaaS banking platform. Tiger Global, Arena Holdings, Bessemer Venture Partners, Runa Capital, and Acton Capital Partners joined the round.
“Mambu was one of the first companies to leverage the opportunity to move banking software into the cloud. The team has built a highly composable, truly cloud-native product in a multi-billion dollar, rapidly-growing market traditionally dominated by large, slow-moving on-prem vendors. We have been following Mambu’s progress for many years and are truly delighted to be able to partner with Eugene and the entire Mambu team on their journey to expand their offerings to customers worldwide," John Doran, TCV General Partner.
Mambu was advised by Allison+Partners and William Mills. TCV was advised by Weil Gotshal and Manges.
Blackstone partners with Cascade Investments to make a joint $3.4bn bid for Signature Aviation, as Carlyle made a takeover approach for London-based Signature Aviation, setting the stage for a potential bidding war.
Blackstone’s agreement with Gates’ Cascade Investment for its planned offer announcement comes just hours after Signature confirmed an initial takeover approach from Carlyle.
Signature Aviation is advised by JP Morgan and Tulchan Communications.
EQT-backed FocusVision, an insight software solutions provider, agreed to merge with Verdane-backed Confirmit, a software solutions provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
EQT and Verdane are committed to investing in the combined company to support accelerated growth in North America and Europe.
"The merger of Confirmit and FocusVision is a perfect fit and heralds an exciting, new dynamic for the global insights industry. We are complementary on every level and together we will be a great company, focused on excellence in everything we do," Chris Nagy, FocusVision CEO.
EQT is advised by Sidley Austin.
Veolia, a resource management company, offered to acquire a 70.1% stake in Suez, a French waste and water management company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition is in line with Veolia's desire to be perfectly transparent about its proposed project with Suez, and in line with all the announcements and all the commitments, it has made public since August 30, 2020.
"Today we are taking a new step, which brings us even closer to the completion of our project. This step was expected: it allows Suez shareholders in particular to become officially acquainted with all the terms of our proposed offer and to form an opinion on its industrial, social and financial meaning," Antoine Frérot, Veolia Chairman and CEO.
MVM Holdings, an international investment consortium spearheaded by Marco Masotti, agreed to acquire a 51% stake in The Sharks, a rugby football club. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The Sharks have a deep and wonderful history that can translate into a formidable global rugby brand. Our investment is designed to facilitate the expansion of the franchise through deep relationships with business people, financing sources and other sporting codes. We believe that rugby provides a unique platform for character and community building. We intend to shine a global light on the city of Durban and create opportunities for players from diverse backgrounds to become international stars," Marco Masotti, MVM Holdings CEO.
Private equity bidders circle £400m KPMG restructuring arm. (FS)
A heavyweight pack of private equity firms is circling the big four auditor KPMG as it prepares to offload its restructuring operations in the UK, SkyNews reported.
Intermediate Capital Group and Towerbrook Capital Partners are preparing to lodge initial bids for the business ahead of a deadline later this month.
The offers could value the KPMG UK restructuring division - which advises companies on safeguarding their balance sheets during periods of financial distress - at more than £400m ($542m).
Starwood Capital launches buyout bid for CA Immobilien. (FS)
Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group, one of the largest real estate investors worldwide, plans to buy out shareholders in CA Immobilien Anlagen, offering a 12% premium to Friday’s closing price to value the Austrian commercial property group at $4.2bn, Bloomberg reported.
Starwood, which raised its initial 26% stake in CA Immobilien to 30% over the course of 2020, will offer other holders €34.4 ($42). The buyout will be formally triggered under Austrian law when Starwood passes the 30% ownership threshold.
Moonpig to unveil plans for £1.5bn IPO.
Moonpig Group, the online purveyor of greeting cards and gifts, is expected to unveil plans to float on the London Stock Exchange in what is expected to be one of the first major initial public offerings of 2021.
The company, which has been owned by private equity group Exponent since 2016, is reportedly planning to list later this month and is expected to fetch a valuation of up to £1.5bn ($2bn).
An IPO follows a bumper 2020 for the company, which has seen its sales and profits surge during the pandemic and managed to take market share from its high-street based rivals such as Paperchase, which earlier this week appointed administrators as its stores were forced to close in the run-up to the festive season, putting 1.5k jobs at risk.
FC Barcelona looks to outside investors as financial losses mount.
Cash-strapped FC Barcelona is pitching investors on buying a piece of the club’s off the field businesses in an effort to stem losses from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an investment teaser sent to potential investors and seen by Bloomberg, the club is proposing carving out its digital assets, worldwide football academies, sports knowledge group and merchandising businesses into a new subsidiary. The team would sell 30% to 49% of the interest in the new entity to outside investors, a first for a club that is wholly owned by its members and who would have to approve any such deal.
APAC
India’s Future Group expects swift regulatory approval of its $3.4bn deal to sell its retail assets, its chief executive said, even as its warring business partner Amazon intensifies efforts to block the deal, Reuters reported.
Future and Amazon are at loggerheads over the Indian group’s August deal with Reliance Industries. The US giant alleges the deal breached some of its pre-existing contracts with Future.
A New Delhi court in December dismissed Future’s request to restrain Amazon’s repeated attempts to get authorities to stall the deal. But the judge left the fate of the transaction with the regulators.
Reliance Retail is advised by Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Citigroup and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Reliance Industries is advised by Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.
Trustbridge Partners, a private equity firm, leads a $400m funding round in Hive Box, a self-service package drop-off and pick-up services provider. Other investors include Asia Forge, SSC Growth, Redview Capital, and All-Stars.
"Not only can it help us expedite operational network and strengthen the terminal efficiency, but it will be able to advance our strategy of last-mile contactless delivery and competitive capacity," Hive Box.
Bow Wave Capital Management, a private equity firm, led a $175m funding round in Mynt, a fintech company. Existing shareholders also joined the round.
"The investment is validation of what it has accomplished and the potential of its GCash mobile wallet to unlock digital services.The Covid-19 pandemic had acted as a catalyst in highlighting the importance of digital finance in society, and the investment advanced its goal of delivering finance for all," Martha Sazon, Mynt President and CEO.
Private equity firms The Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus led a $123m series D funding round in Abbisko Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical and drug development company. OrbiMed, Lake Bleu Capital, Janchor Partners, Sage Partners, Greater Bay Area Homeland, Lilly Asia Ventures, Temasek Holdings, Qiming Venture Partners, Hankang Capital, and CICC Capital also joined the round.
The proceeds will be used to accelerate the progress of its clinical programs and further expand its preclinical pipeline.
SiCepat Ekspres, a last-mile delivery startup, agreed to acquire a 51% stake in DigiResto, a food ordering platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Through this investment, SiCepat wants to increase the adoption an"d improvement of Digiresto's services, so that we can grow our revenue streams by targeting the food service market revenue potential which is estimated to reach $2bn by 2020," Kim Hai, SiCepat Ekspres CEO.
Hyundai in early talks with Apple after electric vehicle tie-up report.
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor said it was in early talks with Apple, after local media reported the firms were discussing an electric car and battery tie-up, sending Hyundai shares surging 25%, Reuters reported.
The report comes weeks after Apple was moving forward with self-driving car technology and was aiming to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology as early as 2024.
iPhone maker and Hyundai were in discussions to develop self-driving electric vehicles by 2027 and develop batteries at US factories operated by either Hyundai or its affiliate Kia Motors.
Vedanta Resources launches open offer for 10% of India unit.
Vedanta Resources launched an open offer for a 10% stake in its India unit, two months after a failed delisting attempt for Vedanta, Bloomberg reported.
The London-based parent of Mumbai-listed Vedanta will buy as many as 371.75m shares, comprising 10% of the outstanding equity of the Indian unit.
The open offer, which will be managed by JP Morgan’s India unit, will be a voluntary open offer, with no minimum level of acceptance by Vedanta. If Vedanta holders were to accept share tenders for the entire 10%, the consideration for the deal would be $812m.
Primavera Capital Acquisition files for a $300m IPO.
Primavera Capital Acquisition, a blank check company formed by Primavera Capital targeting a consumer business with a presence in China, filed with the SEC to raise up to $300m in an initial public offering.
The Hong Kong-based company plans to raise $300m by offering 30m units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-half of a warrant, exercisable at $11.5. The company may raise an additional $80m at the closing of an acquisition pursuant to a forward purchase agreement with Aspex Management and Sky Venture Partners. At the proposed deal size, Primavera Capital Acquisition would command a market value of $395m.
Goldman-Backed Tuhu seeks funding at $4bn value. (FS)
A Chinese online car-services platform backed by investors including Goldman Sachs and Tencent is seeking fresh funding at a valuation of about $4bn, Bloomberg reported.
Shanghai Lantu Information Technology, commonly known as Tuhu, is working with advisers on the new round that could raise at least $200m from strategic and financial investors. The startup could raise more depending on investor demand.
GLP reaches $5.4bn with the second closing of a Japan income fund. (FS)
Singapore-based GLP announced a second closing for its GLP Japan Income Fund, bringing the logistics vehicle to $5.4bn in assets under management.
In August, Asia’s biggest warehouse developer announced the launch of GLP JIF with $2.7bn in AUM, seeded with 11 assets in Greater Tokyo and Osaka. Funds from the second closing will be used to acquire three additional assets in Tokyo, as well as other market opportunities.
GenBridge targets $600m for the second fund. (FS)
GenBridge Capital is seeking to raise $600m for its second fund. The Beijing-based private equity firm invests in China's next generation consumer companies.
Capital raised by the vehicle will be used to invest in consumer goods companies throughout China.
Korea’s NPS invests $450m in US infrastructure investment funds. (FS)
South Korea’s largest institutional investor National Pension Service has invested $450m in global private equity funds that invest in infrastructure assets in North America, betting on large infrastructure spending by incoming US President Joe Biden.
NPS recently injected about $250m in a fund launched by New York-based Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners and $200m in a fund run by Macquarie Infrastructure, a unit of Australian multinational investment bank Macquarie Group.
TVS Capital hits second close of $272m for third PE fund. (FS)
TVS Capital Funds, the private equity fund manager backed by the TVS and Shriram groups, has raised nearly $272m for the final close of its third private equity fund, TVS Shriram Growth Fund 3, DealStreetAsia reported.
“The fund has successfully closed its extended fundraise with an overall assets under management of $210.8m in the blind pool. With a potential co-investment pool of approximately $61m, the total AUM for the fund would stand at $272m. This makes TVS Capital Funds the largest rupee-only capital fund, only through domestic sources, empowering next-gen entrepreneurs in India," Gopal Srinivasan, TVS Capital Funds Managing Director and Chairman.
About 45% of the capital commitment has come from 34 family offices in the country with individual contributions of more than $1m. Institutions that have committed capital to the fund include Sidbi, Nabard, and a few leading insurance companies. These have collectively contributed 22% of the fund’s corpus, while another 26% has been raised from ultra HNIs and the rest from sponsors TVS and Shriram groups.
Blackstone’s Asia tac opps head resigns after nine years. (People)
Blackstone Group’s Kishore Moorjani has resigned from the firm after leading the efforts for its opportunistic investment platform in Asia for nine years, Bloomberg reported.
Moorjani, who’s the Asia head of Tactical Opportunities, will leave the firm in June and pursue other interests, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman confirmed. He will be succeeded by Menes Chee, a senior partner who will relocate from the firm’s New York headquarters to Hong Kong in February.
“Kishore has done an incredible job of building our business in an expansive and promising region. We are excited to have one of our most senior, long-serving partners in Menes take on this leadership role as we continue to expand,” David Blitzer, Global Head of Tactical Opportunities.
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