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AMERICAS
Clarion Capital Partners, a New York based private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Vin Di Bona Productions, a company in reality television, and V10 Entertainment, a production company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to partner with Vin and his team. VDBP is a legendary production company that has been a leader for decades. We have developed a thematic focus on investing in video content that can be effective in multiple channels including traditional TV, CTV and digital. VDBP is Clarion’s first step in building a new, industry-leading platform,” David Ragins, Clarion Managing Director.
V10 Entertainment was advised by Salem Partners, White Zuckerman Warsavsky Luna & Hunt and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Vin Di Bona Productions was advised by Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang and Loeb & Loeb. Clarion was advised by Paul Hastings. Debt financing was provided by Monroe Capital (led by
Zia Uddin)
Voya Financial, a health, wealth and investment company, completed the acquisition of Benefitfocus, a cloud-based benefits administration technology company that serves employers, health plans and brokers, for $570m.
"We are excited to become part of Voya – bringing Benefitfocus’ portfolio of innovative solutions and services to support the health and wellbeing of more customers through the creation of an end-to-end continuum of offerings across health, wealth and investment. This transaction delivers significant and immediate value for our shareholders, broader opportunities for our associates, and strengthens our go-to-market offering with Voya’s platform of workplace-centered services and solutions," Matt Levin, Benefitfocus President and CEO.
Evolent Health, a proven clinical and administrative solutions provider, completed the acquisition of Magellan Specialty Health, a specialty benefit management organization, from Centene, a healthcare enterprise, for $800m.
"Today's announcement represents another step forward in Evolent's journey to become a national leader in value-based specialty care, and we believe it will also improve our financial profile, customer diversification, and scale. I am also excited to significantly expand our strategic partnership with Centene, and I look forward to the opportunity to further grow our relationship in the time ahead," Seth Blackley, Evolent CEO.
Evolent Health was advised by Goldman Sachs, Bass Berry & Sims, and King & Spalding. Centene was advised by JP Morgan and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by Jeremy London).
Wynnchurch Capital, a middle market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of FloWorks, a supplier and provider of flow control products and technical services, from Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have built a strong reputation for providing specialty flow control solutions used in critical applications to our customers. We are excited to partner with Wynnchurch to further grow our business and expand our product and service offering," Scott Jackson, FloWorks CEO.
FloWorks was advised by RBC Capital Markets, Robert W Baird, Kirkland & Ellis, and Vinson & Elkins. Clearlake was advised by Lambert & Co (led by Jennifer Hurson).
Iovance, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire Proleukin, a drug development firm, from Clinigen, a pharmaceutical and services company, for £208m.
"Today's announcement is a significant milestone for Clinigen as it continues its evolution as a business focused on critical high-value pharmaceutical services. The divestment helps accelerate that services focus while returning value to the business and allowing Clinigen to benefit from potential future economic value in Proleukin. We have had a long-standing partnership with Iovance and believe they are the right partner to take Proleukin forward and ensure continued availability of this important medicine to patients and healthcare professionals," David Bryant, Clinigen Interim CEO.
Clinigen is advised by Greenhill & Co, Jefferies & Company, White & Case, and Consilium Strategic Communications (led by Mary-Jane Elliott and Matthew Cole).
First Northern Community Bancorp, a bank holding company for a community bank, completed the acquisition of three branches in Northern California from Columbia Banking System, a commercial banking institution. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited about the expansion of our franchise through the proposed acquisition of these branches. These markets are a natural fit for First Northern and allow us to extend our footprint north along the I-5 corridor. We are committed to serving the communities of Colusa, Orland and Willows and look forward to welcoming the Columbia branch employees with open arms and providing our new customers and communities with First Northern Bank's exceptional brand of personalized service," Louise A. Walker, First Northern President and CEO.
Columbia Banking System was advised by Sullivan & Cromwell (led by Patrick S. Brown and Mark J. Menting) and Financial Profiles. First Northern Community Bancorp was advised by Panoramic Capital Advisors and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
Matador Resources, an oil and gas producer, agreed to acquire Advance Energy, a team of experienced Oil and Gas technical professionals and managers, from EnCap Investments, a private equity firm, for $1.6bn.
"We evaluated this transaction based on rock quality, the strong existing production and cash flow profile, the potential reserves additions, the high-quality inventory, the available midstream opportunities and the strategic fit within our existing portfolio of properties," Joseph Foran, Matador CEO.
Advance Energy is advised by JP Morgan and Vinson & Elkins. Matador Resources is advised by Baker Botts.
DIF Capital Partners, an independent infrastructure fund manager, completed the investment in RFNOW, a Canadian internet service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This investment will provide immediate and long-term benefits to RFNOW customers and employees. We are extremely proud of what our team has accomplished to get us here. Now, with this new partnership, we are well-positioned to enhance our existing operations and accelerate investment in new communities and regions," Chris Kennedy, RFNOW CEO.
DIF Capital Partners was advised by KPMG, Agentis Capital, and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg.
ScionHealth, an operator of acute and post-acute hospitals, completed the acquisition of Cornerstone, an operator of a network of behavioral health, senior living, and specialty hospitals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Adding Cornerstone to ScionHealth is a significant first milestone and reflects our commitment to deliver high-quality healthcare solutions in the communities we serve. We are excited to welcome Cornerstone's talented group of employees and providers into the ScionHealth family. Cornerstone shares our values, as well as a similar focus on advancing clinical and quality excellence to benefit patients, pursue innovative solutions, and make healthcare more accessible," Rob Jay, ScionHealth CEO.
ScionHealth was advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Sidley Austin, and Joele Frank (led by Andrew B. Siegel).
Investcorp, a global technology investor, agreed to acquire a majority stake of Zift Solutions, a provider of partner relationship management and through-channel marketing automation software, at $70m valuation. Existing investors Arrowroot, Oxx, SMM, and AshGrove Capital will remain involved with the company.
“Our investment in Zift aligns with ITP’s mission to support high-growth companies with proven products and end markets. Zift’s solutions help to solve an increasingly complex issue for marketing and sales-driven businesses, making relationship management simpler for companies across industries. We’re excited to be partnering with Zift and helping the Zift team take the business to the next level,” Gilbert Kamieniecky, ITP Head.
Zift Solutions is advised by Atlas Technology Group and Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton.
Nippon Life Insurance, a provider of insurance and asset management services, agreed to invest $1bn in Blackstone-backed Resolution Life, a global life and annuity insurance consolidation business.
"I am honoured to have the continued partnership of Nippon Life, an institution I admire and respect. There is a strong foundation of shared values, clarity of vision, and breadth of capabilities across our organisations," Clive Cowdery, Resolution Life Founder and Executive Chairman.
Nippon Life Insurance is advised by JP Morgan.
Certares, a company focuses on direct investments in proprietary transactions, leveraging deep sector experience in the travel and hospitality industries, and HHM Partner, a hotel management and investment company, completed the acquisition of Sea Crest Beach Hotel, a 263-room independent resort. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to add this irreplaceable, historic asset to our growing portfolio, as well as continuing our investment partnership with HHM. This resort is truly unique in New England due to its proximity to Boston, expansiveness of beachfront real estate, and one-of-a-kind sunset views on the East Coast,” said Nolan Hecht, Senior Managing Director at Certares. “The Sea Crest has an almost 100-year old history as a premier leisure destination and community mainstay within the Boston area, and we look forward to owning an asset with such a strong local and regional presence,” Mike Kusy, Certares Director.
Microsoft, an American multinational technology company, agreed to invest $10bn in OpenAI, a tech company.
"We formed our partnership with OpenAI around a shared ambition to responsibly advance cutting-edge AI research and democratize AI as a new technology platform. In this next phase of our partnership, developers and organizations across industries will have access to the best AI infrastructure, models, and toolchain with Azure to build and run their applications," Satya Nadella, Microsoft Chairman and CEO.
Broadhill Capital announces its capital deployment strategy for 2023. (FS)
Broadhill Capital announced that the firm will target to commit equity investment of $15bn across approximately 100-150 businesses.
"We expect to make non-control equity investments into businesses that have the potential to achieve 5-10x revenue growth with our capital commitment. We separate ourselves by our willingness to assist businesses in situations that often appear high risk to more conservative investors," Francis König, Broadhill Investment Committee Member.
Thoma Bravo, Vista Equity eye deal for data analytics specialist. (FS)
Data analytics software company Sumo Logic has seen its share price soar by up to 30% on the back of reports that a trio of private equity firms – Thoma Bravo, Vista Equity Partners, and Francisco Partners – are all interested in acquiring the business.
Sumo Logic, which has a market cap of $920m and saw its shares lose 40% during 2022, agreed to appoint John Harkey, the founder of JDH Investment Management, to its board last year after striking a mutual cooperation agreement with special situations hedge fund Scalar Gauge Fund, which has a holding in the business.
Sterling Investment Partners closes Fund IV above target. (FS)
Sterling Investment Partners, a middle market private equity firm investing in distribution and business services companies, is pleased to announce the final close of Sterling Investment Partners IV with $934m in capital commitments, which exceeded the firm's $900m fundraising target and includes a significant commitment from Sterling partners.
"We have continued to grow by investing in our people and adding talented professionals, and plan to continue to do so with the successful closing of SIP IV," Bill Macey, Sterling Managing Partner and Co-Founder.
Investcorp appoints new private credit Co-Head. (FS, People)
Investcorp has appointed Suhail Shaikh as Co-Head of its private credit business. Based in New York, Shaikh, who brings with him approximately $200m of assets under management and three team members from his previous firm Alcentra, will co-lead the business alongside current co-head, Mike Mauer.
Chris Jansen, who previously served as co-head of the business alongside Mauer, is taking on an advisory role ahead of his retirement later this year.
EMEA
Tetra Tech, a provider of high-end consulting and engineering services, completed the acquisition of RPS Group, a global professional services firm of consultants and service providers, for £636m.
"The RPS Group advances our long-term strategy to enhance our position as the premier global high-end consultancy in water, environment, sustainable infrastructure, and energy transformation. We welcome the RPS Group's associates to join us and collectively leverage our long-term client relationships and project experience. As a global consultancy with a commitment to high-end solutions, we can offer our expanded team of associates even greater professional opportunities," Dan Batrack, Tetra Tech Chairman and CEO.
RPS Group was advised by Berenberg, RBC Capital Markets (led by James Agnew), AEC Advisors, Gleacher Shacklock (led by Tim Shacklock), and DLA Piper. Tetra Tech was advised by Bank of America (led by Edward Peel) and Hogan Lovells (led by Daniel Simons).
McWin, a Czech Republic-based private investment firm, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in L'Osteria, a restaurant chain, at a $435m valuation.
"We are big believers that excellent businesses like this one outperform in turbulent times," Henry McGovern, McWin Founding Partner.
McWin is advised by KPMG and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. L'Osteria is advised by Deutsche Bank, Ferber & Co, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Steiner & Partner and Dechert.
Soma Capital, a New York-based backers of Deel, Razor Pay and Rippling, and FoundersX, an investor behind Jeeves and Salt Security, led a $100m seed round in Tranch, a buy now pay later platform for SaaS sellers and services providers, with participation from Clear Haven Capital Management, Global Founders Capital and Y Combinator.
“Since securing our pre-seed funding and completing the Y Combinator programme, the total value of invoices we’re handling every month has increased tenfold. Traction is growing fast because suppliers and business buyers alike simply understand and like what Tranch can do for them. Against this challenging macroeconomic backdrop, buyers and suppliers have to ensure they can optimise their working capital cycle, and B2B BNPL is a commonsense way to achieve that. With our new investors and substantial credit facility in place, we’re in a great position to continue our growth in the US market out of our New York office so that every SMB that needs it can ‘pay with Tranch’ - flexibly and on their own terms,” Philip Kelvin, Tranch, Co-founder and CEO.
Tranch was advised by Mountview Communications (led by Carmen Dixon).
RSM International boss says she is open to merger talks with rivals.
The global head of RSM, the world’s sixth-largest accounting firm, has said she is open to merger talks with rivals as the profession gears up for a potential wave of consolidation or private equity buyouts, FT reported.
“If there’s some deal or some big conversation to be had, absolutely we’ll look at that to see what does that mean, what does that look like for us,” Jean Stephens, RSM International CEO.
Qatar Investment Authority raises stake in Credit Suisse to just under 7%. (FS)
Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has increased its stake in Credit Suisse to just under 7%, becoming the Swiss bank's second-largest shareholder after Saudi National Bank, in a sign that its Gulf investor base is growing in importance.
The Qatar Investment Authority bought 139m shares in the Swiss lender, Refinitiv data shows based on a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission which quoted its most recent ownership holding as of December 31, 2022, Reuters reported.
Exiled Russian tycoon’s executives near deal for hotel he owned. (RE)
A Hilton-branded hotel in a Cotswolds town known for horse jumping has become a flash point in long-running fraud allegations brought by Russian state banks against tycoon Boris Mints.
An investment firm named Conquer Dawn has agreed on preliminary terms to buy the 148-bedroom DoubleTree in Cheltenham, England out of insolvency, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Lawyers for the state-controlled Russian banks suggest such a deal would effectively amount to the Mints family buying the hotel from themselves, something that representatives for Mints dismissed, Bloomberg reported.
EDF minority shareholders drop bid to suspend squeeze-out.
A group of EDF minority shareholders who are challenging the French state's full nationalisation of the utility said they would drop their request to suspend squeeze-out proceedings.
The group said in a statement the government had given a guarantee that no such proceedings would take place before the Paris Court of Appeal had ruled on the legal grounds for the take-over, Reuters reported.
Lazard expands venture banking unit as part of private capital push.
The boutique investment bank Lazard is set to advise a greater number of fast-growing start-ups in the US as part of a broader push to expand its private-capital offering.
Lazard is assembling a team of six specialist bankers to be based in Los Angeles and Austin, building out a venture and growth practice that started in Europe in 2015, FT reported.
Capricorn Energy Chair, CEO quit board after shareholder battle. (People)
Capricorn Energy's chairperson, chief executive and three other directors have quit the board after weeks of shareholder pressure, led by activist investor Palliser Capital, to overhaul the British oil and gas producer's leadership.
Palliser and some of Capricorn's biggest shareholders had publicly opposed a planned merger with Israeli gas producer NewMed, with major proxy advisers recommending votes against the merger plan and Capricorn's board, Reuters reported.
Muzinich & Co adds to private debt team. (People)
Muzinich & Co has appointed Rob Judson to its UK Private Debt team, covering the North of England, as the firm continues to expand and strengthen its private debt presence.
Judson joins from Barclays’ Corporate Banking division, where he was a Relationship Director and responsible for originating new business and supporting the structuring and execution of debt transactions in the Technology, Media and Telecoms sectors.
APAC
Mineral Resources, a mining services company, agreed to acquire the remaining 80.1% stake in Norwest Energy, an oil and gas exploration company, for $350m.
"The Norwest Board is satisfied that MinRes' improved offer is now a good deal for shareholders, and in the absence of a superior offer, unanimously recommends shareholders should accept the Revised Offer before it closes. We have worked with MinRes in the interest of our shareholders to achieve the valuation and terms reflected in its revised offer. The offer provides Norwest shareholders with an opportunity to maintain an interest in the Lockyer project through an investment in MinRes, being a company with significantly greater balance sheet strength and underpinned by a diverse portfolio of operations," Ernie Myers, Norwest Chairman.
Mineral Resources is advised by JP Morgan, Gilbert + Tobin, and Cannings Purple. Norwest Energy is advised by GRA Partners.
Blackstone in talks with Bain to sell $480m stake in top Indian REIT. (FS)
Blackstone is in talks to sell around half of its stake in India's largest real estate investment trust Embassy Office Parks to private equity firm Bain Capital, two sources said, in a deal worth up to $480m at current prices.
A deal would mark US-based Bain's first REIT investment in India where office space is drawing in investors as many workers have returned to offices with the waning of the Covid-19 pandemic. For Blackstone, it would mean a further selldown of its Embassy stake as it adjusts its portfolio, Reuters reported.
MUFG Bank amplifies SE Asia focus, bullish on Indonesia fintech.
MUFG Bank, a unit of Tokyo-headquartered Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is doubling down on Southeast Asia.
The sources indicated that the bank has internally committed $500m or more of equity investments to Asia, including India and Southeast Asia, DealStreetAsia reported.
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