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AMERICAS
MGM Resorts International, a hospitality and entertainment company, completed the acquisition of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a resort and casino, from Blackstone, an alternative investment management company, for $1.63bn.
"We are proud to add The Cosmopolitan, a luxury resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, to our portfolio. The Cosmopolitan brand is recognized around the world for its unique customer base and high-quality product and experiences, making it an ideal fit with our portfolio and furthering our vision to be the world's premier gaming entertainment company. We look forward to welcoming The Cosmopolitan's guests and employees to the MGM Resorts family," Bill Hornbuckle, MGM Resorts CEO & President.
Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners was advised by Sard Verbinnen & Co. MGM Restorts was advised by Latham & Watkins and Weil and Gotshal and Manges. Blackstone was advised by Deutsche Bank, PJT Partners and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Black Bay Energy Capital, a private equity firm focused on the North American energy sector, completed the acquisition of Advanced Industrial Devices, a provider of electric motor automation and control solutions, from Rock Island Capital, a middle market private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Rising pressure from stakeholders is going to drive end users to shift further towards cleaner, electric driven equipment and we believe AID is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this trend. Russell and the entire AID team have built an impressive business and unique culture centered around customer service, collaboration, and professionalism and we are thrilled to be partnering with them," Matt Schovee, Black Bay Principal.
Advanced Industrial Devices was advised by McDermott Will & Emery. Black Bay was advised by Fishman Haygood. Debt financing was provided by Old Second National Bank.
Genstar Capital-backed Telestream, an American privately held computer software company, completed the acquisition of Encoding.com, a cloud media processing platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Over Encoding.com's 13-year history, the company has generated significant traction powering video supply chains for leading streaming platforms, content distributors, and web-based VOD platforms. Being cloud-native from inception, the technology fits perfectly within the strategic direction at Telestream to offer our customers the ultimate flexibility to meet their most demanding workflow needs across cloud, on-prem or hybrid environments. This acquisition, together with Telestream's 25-year heritage of continuous media workflow innovation, cements our leadership position across the entire VOD cloud media processing ecosystem," Dan Castles, Telestream CEO.
Encoding.com was advised by Catapult Advisors and Fenwick & West.
ArcLight, a private equity firm focused on energy, completed the acquisition of a 25% stake in the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline system that transports gas, from Targa Resources, a growth-oriented provider of midstream services, for $857m.
"ArcLight is pleased to acquire newly constructed, critical-path midstream infrastructure to assist continued energy transition efforts. We strongly believe that, alongside our operating partners, GCX will continue to help supply growing global gas demand by bringing responsibly-sourced Permian Basin natural gas production to key demand markets as we transition to a clean and secure energy future," Lucius Taylor, ArcLight Managing Director.
ArcLight was advised by Macquarie Group and Latham & Watkins.
Voya, a financial services company that specializes in the fields of retirement, investments, and insurance, agreed to acquire US asset management business of Allianz, an integrated financial services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are very excited about this potential transaction and all of the benefits that it would enable Voya IM to bring to our clients, our distribution partners, and our talented investment professionals and employees. We have long identified increased scale and broader international distribution as attractive growth priorities, and this transaction would help us achieve those objectives while complementing our continued focus on private strategies and alternative investments, particularly given the strong global demand for these strategies that we are seeing from institutional investors and advisors,” Christine Hurtsellers, Voya Chief Executive Officer.
Voya is advised by Goldman Sachs and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
Atlantic Street Capital, a private equity firm that invests in lower middle market companies to unlock equity value through an operationally intensive investment approach, agreed to invest in Zips Car Wash, a national car wash operator with over 200 locations under a single-brand concept. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We approach all of our investments as essential service providers. Helping professionalize companies, driving organic growth, and building them into industry leaders. Zips is a powerful example of how the combined resources of Atlantic Street's investment team and 30-strong dedicated operating advisor team gives us a sustainable advantage in driving remarkable success – in this case outpacing our underwriting case in just two years," Andy Wilkins, ASC Managing Partner.
ASC is advised by Chris Tofalli.
Surf Air Mobility, an American electric aviation company, agreed to go public via merger with Tuscan Holdings II, a publicly listed special purpose acquisition company, in a $1.4bn deal.
"We believe deploying hybrid electric propulsion technology on existing aircraft at scale will be the most significant step we can take toward decarbonization of aviation in this decade. We're at a moment when the increasing consumer demand for faster, affordable, and cleaner regional travel will be met with SAM's electrification ecosystem to accelerate the industry's adoption of green flying," Sudhin Shahani, Surf Air Mobility CEO.
Bob Iger, former Disney CEO and chairman, agreed to invest in Gopuff, a United States-based consumer goods and food delivery company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Bob Iger is one of the most important and visionary business leaders of this generation. He defined consumer engagement, product innovation and organizational excellence. I am so proud and excited that Bob is joining team blue. Gopuff is building a platform designed for the future of the consumer industry, and nobody understands consumers better than Bob Iger," Gola Ilishayev, Gopuff Co-CEO.
Berkshire Hathaway reveals a new stake in Citigroup. (FS)
Berkshire Hathaway, an American multinational conglomerate holding company, revealed a new $3bn stake in Citigroup, an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City.
Berkshire built its stake in Citigroup in the quarter ended March 31, taking advantage of a 5% pullback in shares during the period as US banks' stocks slid on fears of slowing economic growth.
Getty to sell NFTs in deal with Candy.
Getty Images, a British-American visual media company, signed a multi-year deal with Candy Digital, the digital collectibles firm owned by Fanatics, as the provider of news and stock photos breaks into the nonfungible-token business ahead of its plans to go public, Bloomberg reported.
As part of the agreement, the pair will develop a range of NFT products from Getty's sizable library and archive, made up of nearly 500m images. They're preparing to release digital formats of rare analog works as well as modern images across culture, art and world events. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Clearlake Capital closes its seventh fund at $14.1bn. (FS)
Clearlake Capital, an investment firm that focuses on technology, industrials, and consumer industries, completed fundraising for its seventh flagship private equity fund, Clearlake Capital Partners VII, with more than $14.1bn in commitments. With an initial target of $10bn, Fund VII reached its hard cap and was significantly oversubscribed including commitments from the General Partner and affiliates.
"It is gratifying to have the support of such a large group of global investors, which we believe is further validation of our consistent investment strategy," José E. Feliciano, Clearlake Co-Founder and Managing Partner.
Greenpoint Partners eyes $1bn for real estate bets. (FS)
Greenpoint Partners, a firm founded by Macquarie Group’s former global real estate investment banking head Chris Green, is seeking about $1bn for a new fund dedicated to property wagers, Bloomberg reported.
The New York-based firm has begun discussing the vehicle with prospective investors.
Lightrock closes new $300m fund for Latin America. (FS)
Lightrock, a global private equity platform that backs purpose-driven entrepreneurs tackling the world’s biggest challenges, has closed a new $300m growth equity fund for Latin America.
For the new Latin America fund, Lightrock’s anchor capital provider is LGT Group, one of Europe’s leading financial institutions with $295bn in assets under management. The fund will offer its LPs co-investment opportunities, increasing total deployment to around $400m.
EMEA
Antin Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm focused on infrastructure investment, with offices in Paris, London and Luxembourg, agreed to invest $158m in Power Dot, a European electric vehicle charging platform.
"Destination charging is amongst the fastest growing segments by demand, and also one where rapid charging needs are strongest. With strong political support aiming to ban the sale of internal combustion vehicles within the EU by 2035, EVs are expected to account for approximately 50% of passenger car production by 2030. In partnership with Antin, Power Dot is poised to capitalize on these strong market tailwinds that are creating a significant EV charging market," Luis Santiago Pinto, Power Dot CEO.
Power Dot is advised by Improved Corporate Finance and Linklaters. Antin is advised by Ernst & Young, UBS, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Brunswick Group.
OMERS, a Canadian public pension fund, and APG, a Dutch pension investment company, agreed to acquire Groendus, an energy transition platform in the Netherlands, from NPM Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We're thrilled to be announcing today our first investment in European renewables. In Groendus, we see an excellent opportunity for OMERS to invest into an energy transition growth platform with a clear mission to enable its commercial, industrial and public customers to decarbonize. Alongside APG, we look forward to working with Groendus' experienced leadership team and playing an active role in helping the company continue to grow and deliver on its purpose to enable 100% clean energy for every organization and institution in the Netherlands," Alastair Hall, OMERS Senior Managing Director and Head of Europe.
OMERS and APG are advised by Ernst & Young, strategy&, Rothschild & Co, Voltiq, Latham & Watkins, Loyens & Loeff and Arcadis.
Apex Group, a global financial services provider, agreed to acquire the fund services and third-party management company unit of Maitland, an independent international fund services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have followed the long track record of the Maitland business for some time and are excited by the opportunity to add greater product depth and geographic reach to our business. By becoming part of Apex Group, Maitland's clients and employees will benefit from access to the Group's scalable single-source solution underpinned by leading technologies, and services delivered through our global reach and connectivity," Peter Hughes, Apex Group Founder and CEO.
Apex Group is advised by Macquarie Group and Kirkland & Ellis. Maitland is advised by Nomura and McDermott Will & Emery.
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, a French public sector financial institution, and Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement, an investment firm, agreed to acquire a 13.47% stake in EuroClear, a Belgium-based financial services company, from Intercontinental Exchange, a provider of market infrastructure, data services and technology solutions, and BNP Paribas, a global financial services firm, for €709m ($739m).
"The long-term investment vision and commitment of CDC and SFPI-FPIM complement Euroclear's position as a neutral, open financial market infrastructure, bringing safety, efficiency and connections to European and global financial markets," EuroClear.
EuroClear is advised by JP Morgan.
Royal Dutch Shell, a British publicly traded multinational oil and gas company, agreed to acquire North East El-Amriya offshore area from ExxonMobil, an American multinational oil and gas corporation. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Khaled Kacem — Shell's vice president and country chair for Egypt — said the deal demonstrates Shell's deep commitment to Egypt and strengthens the company's portfolio of offshore activities as well as supports its strategy to build a solid gas position in the country.
Temasek, a global investment company, led a $160m Series D round in Thought Machine, a cloud native banking technology company, with participation from Intesa Sanpaolo, Morgan Stanley, Eurazeo, ING, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, and SEB.
“This new round of funding bringing Temasek, Morgan Stanley, and Intesa Sanpaolo into the business is our statement of intent: we intend to become the leader in core banking technology, and are being deployed by the biggest, most successful banks around the world. We will use this new capital to accelerate our expansion plans, serve more clients around the world, and continuously refine the capabilities of our core banking platform and other products," Paul Taylor, Thought Machine Founder and CEO.
General Atlantic, an investment company, led a $108m Series C round in Modulr, an embedded payments platform for digital businesses, with participation from Blenheim Chalcot, Frog Capital, Highland Europe, and PayPal Ventures.
“Our ambition is to cement Modulr’s position as a leader in embedding financial technology into businesses across the UK and Europe. Our modern FinOps hub enables large enterprises, FinTechs and digital businesses to build, scale, and control money flows. We believe the opportunity is vast and continues to grow with the rise of digital payments. This latest funding round will help support Modulr to become a pan-European payments champion. Our regulatory and licensing permissions, tech stack, and modern and dynamic service offering make it possible for our customers to automate and monetise payments,” Myles Stephenson, Modulr Founder & CEO.
Marti is set to list in New York via SPAC.
Turkey's electric scooter and bike-sharing app Marti is preparing to go public in New York through a merger with Galata Acquisition, a blank-check company, Bloomberg reported.
The SPAC raised $125m in a listing on the New York Stock Exchange last year. The deal is expected to finalize this year.
Global Switch to kick off $10bn data center sale.
The owners of Global Switch, an operator and developer of data centres, are poised to kick off a long-awaited sale amid interest from other firms in the industry and investment funds, Bloomberg reported.
A formal sale process for the $10bn data center company, controlled by Chinese steelmaker Jiangsu Shagang Group and backed by Avic Trust, could start as soon as in the coming days. Global Switch and its financial advisers are ready to send out marketing materials to prospective buyers after months of preparations and informal talks.
Adnoc and Borealis will sell 10% of Borouge in IPO.
Abu Dhabi National Oil and Borealis plan to sell a 10% stake in their petrochemical joint venture in an initial public offering, the latest in a string of blockbuster listings from the Middle East to push ahead even as volatility rocks global markets, Bloomberg reported.
The state-owned energy company and the Austrian chemicals producer will sell 3bn shares in the Abu Dhabi IPO of Borouge. The sale could raise about $2bn and value the unit that makes specialty plastics for manufacturing and consumer goods at roughly $20bn.
Pick n Pay to cut $187m in costs in 3 years.
South African grocery and clothing retailer Pick n Pay aims to cut costs by $187m in the next three years and grow its market share by 3% under a new strategy, CEO Pieter Boone said.
One of the country's largest retail chains is seeking to improve shareholder returns, which have been dropping in the last 12 months in a highly competitive grocery market dominated by biggest rival Shoprite.
Siemens Energy eyes buyout offer for Siemens Gamesa.
Siemens Energy is weighing a bid for the shares of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy it doesn’t already own, a long-speculated step in its efforts to turn around the troubled Spanish wind-turbine maker.
Siemens Energy is considering to make a cash offer with a view to delisting the firm. It already owns 67% of Siemens Gamesa, which currently has a market value of €9.6bn ($11bn).
IFM is said to weigh investing in $5bn ERG. (FS)
IFM Investors, a provider of investment services, is considering investing in Italian energy producer ERG. It is discussing the purchase of a minority interest in the ERG, Bloomberg reported.
Shares of ERG jumped 7.5% on May 17, touching record highs. They were up about 2.6% in Milan, giving the company a market value of around $5.3bn. IFM could invest indirectly in ERG by acquiring a stake in the holding company of its controlling investor, the Garrone family of Italy.
Unicredit shares shrug off Commerzbank merger talks report.
Italy’s UniCredit and Germany’s Commerzbank had scheduled merger talks earlier this year before the potential deal was shelved due to the Ukraine war, the Financial Times reported.
In early-2022, UniCredit’s Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel had planned discussions with his counterpart from Commerzbank on a potential combination of the German bank with the Italian lender’s German unit.
Rome Airports CEO backs ITA-Lufthansa deal to grow Fiumicino hub.
Rome’s airport operator said Deutsche Lufthansa would make an ideal partner for Italian flag carrier ITA Airways, with the German group’s multi-base strategy providing a boost to the city’s main Fiumicino hub.
ITA needs to team up with a larger carrier to boost revenue, while Fiumicino would benefit from being Lufthansa’s new interchange for southern Europe, Marco Troncone, Aeroporti di Roma CEO said.
JP Morgan says it has resigned as depositary for Rosneft GDRs.
JP Morgan resigned as a depositary of global depositary receipts of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft on May 13.
Last month, JP Morgan started to allow holders of depositary receipts in Russian companies to cancel them, giving some investors a way to liquidate what have largely been frozen holdings due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Allianz fund collapse ends in guilty plea, $5.8bn deal. (FS)
A unit of Allianz, a financial services company, pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to pay $5.8bn after misrepresenting the risk posed by a group of hedge funds that collapsed amid pandemic market gyrations.
The deal announced brings to a close an embarrassing episode for the German insurance giant, which has agreed to sell the bulk of Allianz Global Investors US as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Generation launches $1.7bn Sustainable Solutions Fund IV. (FS)
Generation Investment Management, a pure-play sustainable investment manager with over $36bn of assets under management, has launched the $1.7bn Sustainable Solutions Fund IV.
The new fund continues the firm’s commitment to invest globally in companies and teams driving the sustainable future. Sustainable Solutions Fund IV is Generation’s fourth and largest Growth Equity fund, enabling Generation to invest $50-$150m as active minority investors in high-growth companies that are shifting industries toward sustainability and responsible innovation at scale.
APAC
Public Investment Fund, a global investment company, completed the acquisition of a 5% stake in Nintendo, a multinational consumer electronics company that develops game consoles, for $3bn.
The acquisition marked the latest purchase by the $500bn fund in the video games and e-sports sectors, where the Saudis have been expanding in the past two years.
Barclays, a British multinational universal bank, completed the $52m investment in Barrenjoey Capital Partners, a Sydney-based corporate advisory and financial services firm.
"Our strategic partnership with Barclays has been instrumental to our early success, leveraging their global investment banking and securities franchises and balance sheet. Importantly, given the rapid growth of our Markets business and the launch of our Fixed Income Derivative and Equity Financing businesses, Barclays' investment further reinforces our joint commitment to support our Australian and global client base," Brian Benari, Barrenjoey CEO.
PhonePe, a digital payments and financial services platform, agreed to acquire WealthDesk, a platform that allows users to invest in stock and ETF portfolios, for $50m.
WealthDesk works with more than 50 partners from various industries. PhonePe anticipates the platform to grow as additional partners are integrated.
HKBN said to draw interest from Stonepeak. (FS)
Stonepeak and PAG are among suitors considering bids for Hong Kong telecommunications provider HKBN, Bloomberg reported.
The private equity firms have been working with advisers to conduct due diligence on HKBN. Shares of HKBN are little changed in Hong Kong trading this year, giving the business a market capitalization of about $1.6bn.
Carousell and L Catterton SPAC merger talks end amid rout. (FS)
Carousell, a Singapore-based online classifieds marketplace operator, has recently ended talks to go public through a merger with blank-check company L Catterton Asia Acquisition amid market volatility, Bloomberg reported.
The special purpose acquisition company, which has been conducting due diligence on Carousell over the past few months, has not been able to reach a merger agreement with the Southeast Asian business.
Tata in buyout talks with as many as five consumer brands.
Tata Consumer Products, the food and beverage arm of the $103bn Indian conglomerate, wants to go on an acquisition spree to bolster its position in the country’s competitive consumer goods sector, and is in discussions to buy up to five brands, Bloomberg reported.
A “significant amount” of the Mumbai-based firm’s future growth will come from inorganic expansion. The firm, which sells Tetley tea and Eight O’Clock coffee, is “engaging seriously” with a number of companies where it sees decent valuations, Sunil D’Souza, Tata Consumer Products’ CEO said, declining to identify potential targets.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension weighs new India office in global push. (FS)
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, one of Canada’s largest public-pension managers, is considering opening an office in India as part of its expansion into fast-growing emerging markets, Bloomberg reported.
The $188bn fund could open an office in the subcontinent as soon as next year, Jo Taylor, Ontario Teachers’ Pension CEO said.
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister wants to sell the national airline.
Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wants to sell the national airline. Finding a buyer might not be easy, Bloomberg reported.
SriLankan Airlines, which prior to the pandemic serviced 126 destinations in more than 60 countries, lost $125m in the year through March 2021, Wickremesinghe said. Sri Lanka had bought back a stake in the carrier from Dubai’s Emirates in 2010, betting on a resurgent travel industry after the end of its 26-year civil war, but the airline has been marred in controversy, including corruption scandals.
Saint-Gobain and Sembcorp sign long-term green energy supply deal for India units.
French construction materials giant Saint-Gobain has signed a long-term renewable power supply deal with Singapore-listed Sembcorp for its manufacturing facilities in southern Tamil Nadu state.
"Sembcorp will supply 33 MW of locally sourced renewable power to Saint-Gobain's manufacturing facilities in Sriperumbudur, Perundurai and Tiruvallur, over the next 25 years," Saint-Gobain and Sembcorp.
Baidu-backed Kunlun eyes fundraise at a $2.5bn valuation. (FS)
Baidu's chip affiliate is looking to raise $317m in a new funding round, as venture capitalists in China shift away from internet businesses and hone in on core technologies like semiconductors, favored by Beijing.
Kunlun is in advanced talks with investors for its second fundraising round. The investment, if finalized, would lift the Beijing-based startup’s valuation to as much as $2.5bn, up from $1.9bn at its first funding round a little over a year ago.
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