GS Acquisition II, a SPAC, announced that its stockholders approved a $2.6bn business combination with Mirion Technologies, a global provider of mission-critical radiation detection and measurement solutions.
Transaction includes $900m of fully committed common stock PIPE with participation from Janus Henderson Investors, Fidelity Management & Research, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Neuberger Berman funds, including a $200m anchor investment from Goldman Sachs.
Mirion is advised by HSBC, Lazard, Davis Polk & Wardwell and ICR. GS Acquisition II is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Weil Gotshal and Manges. Debt financing is provided by Goldman Sachs. Financial advisors are advised by Milbank, Sullivan & Cromwell and White & Case. Charterhouse Capital is advised by HSBC, Lazard and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Lone Star Funds completed the acquisition of AOC, a global producer of specialty resins, from CVC Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"AOC's world class management team has positioned the company to accelerate its growth trajectory in a variety of end markets, applications, and geographies through operational excellence and continued product innovation. AOC aligns well with Lone Star's portfolio of specialty chemical and manufacturing businesses, which have adopted similar approaches to value-add product delivery. We look forward to the envisaged partnership with the AOC team as the company continues to execute its growth strategy," Donald Quintin, Lone Star Opportunity Funds President.
AOC was advised by Jamieson, Katzke and Morgenbesser and Latham & Watkins. Lone Star was advised by Lazard, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and Vinson & Elkins. Debt financing was provided by Bank of America and RBC Capital Markets. Debt advisors were advised by Kirkland & Ellis. CVC was advised by JP Morgan and Clifford Chance.
Algoma Steel, an independent steel producer, went public via a SPAC merger with Legato Merger in a $1.7bn deal. The PIPE included significant investments from strategic steel industry participants, as well as investments from Legato's Chairman, TD Wealth Management, Vantage Asset Management, JC Clark, Hite and Goodwood Fund.
"The proposed transaction will provide Algoma with investment capital and an enhanced capital structure to support further transformative investments that are expected to drive improved financial performance and sustainable returns through the steel pricing cycle," Michael McQuade, Algoma CEO.
Algoma Steel was advised by Jefferies & Company, Goodmans and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Legato Merger was advised by BMO Capital Markets, Cassel Salpeter & Co, EarlyBirdCapital, Maison Placements Canada and Graubard Miller. Financial advisors were advised by Alston & Bird.
BowX Acquisition, a SPAC, announced that in a special meeting its stockholders voted to approve its $9bn business combination with WeWork, an American commercial real estate company. The business combination was supported by 97.9% of the votes cast at the meeting, representing approximately 77.6% of BowX’s outstanding shares.
WeWork will receive approximately $1.3bn, including a fully committed $800m private placement investment with key investors including Insight Partners, funds managed by Starwood Capital Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Centaurus Capital, and BlackRock.
BowX is advised by UBS, Cooley and Paul Hastings. WeWork is advised by PJT Partners, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Gladstone Place Partners. Insight Partners is advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Softbank is advised by Morrison & Foerster.
BHP Group, an Anglo-Australian multinational mining, metals and petroleum dual-listed public company, topped a takeover offer for Noront, a Canadian nickel miner, by Wyloo Metals,
Reuters reported.
BHP increased its offer to C$419m ($339m), or C$0.75 per share, giving shareholders of the Canadian firm 22 days to accept.
Noront is advised by Stifel, TD Securities, Bennett Jones and Longview Communications. Wyloo Metals is advised by McCarthy Tetrault. BHP Group is advised by BMO Capital Markets, Blake Cassels & Graydon and Kingsdale Advisors.
Blackstone agreed to acquire a majority stake in Spanx, a brand of women's undergarments and underwire accessories, at a $1.2bn valuation. Spanx founder Sara Blakely will maintain a significant stake in the company and will continue to oversee operations.
“This is a really important moment in time for female entrepreneurs. I started this company with no business experience and very little money, but I cared the most about the customer, and that gave me the courage to launch the company. At SPANX, we have always put the customer at the center of what we do. Now together with Blackstone, we will have even more opportunity to further our mission of making the world a better place,” Sara Blakely, SPANX Founder.
Blackstone is advised by JP Morgan and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Spanx is advised by Allen & Company, Goldman Sachs, Cravath Swaine & Moore and King & Spalding.
Greenlane, a global house of brands and seller of premium cannabis accessories, agreed to acquire DaVinci, a developer and manufacturer of premium portable vaporizers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"DaVinci leads the way in innovative portable vaporizers and we are thrilled to bring them into our owned brand portfolio. This acquisition perfectly illustrates our mission of elevating all elements of the consumption experience, and we look forward to building on our recent success of acquiring strategic and accretive brands. As we continue to execute on our robust pipeline of acquisition targets, we aim to ensure our customers have a best-in-class product selection, while driving profitability and shareholder value by increasing our higher-margin owned brand offerings," Nick Kovacevich, Greenlane CEO.
Greenlane is advised by Morrison & Foerster and Mattio Communications. DaVinci is advised by Hyperion Capital, Alliance Legal and Ballard Spahr.
Carlyle agreed to acquire a majority stake in Saama, an AI clinical analytics platform company, for $430m. A broad co-investor group with several healthcare-focused venture funds, including Amgen Ventures, Intermountain Ventures, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, McKesson Ventures, Northpond Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, and Population Health Partners, will be investing alongside Carlyle.
“The life sciences industry is experiencing a massive shift in strategic approaches to accelerating drug development as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and AI-driven analytics solutions like Saama’s LSAC are at the forefront. These solutions’ role in successfully enabling the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines and therapies to patients in mere months was the litmus test for the future of drug development. This investment by Carlyle and leading healthcare-focused venture funds reflects the value they see in Saama’s leadership of this new era and the promise offered by our state-of-the-art solutions," Suresh Katta, Saama Founder and CEO.
Carlyle is advised by Guggenheim Partners and Debevoise & Plimpton. Amgen Ventures is advised by Fenwick & West. Saama is advised by Sullivan & Cromwell.
Hellman & Friedman, a global private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in The NPD Group, market information provider. Tod Johnson, NPD Executive Chairman, and Karyn Schoenbart CEO would retain a minority stake in the business. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“As a leading source of market information and advisory services for general merchandise and foodservice, NPD is committed to helping our clients and the industries we serve achieve data-driven growth for many years to come. H&F shares our focus on long-term growth and has the resources and expertise to not only continue but also accelerate NPD’s momentum and long track record of success. Both Karyn and I are delighted to have the opportunity to partner as minority investors alongside H&F as we work in close collaboration on a long-term strategic plan and transition over time to the next generation of NPD leadership," Tod Johnson, NPD Executive Chairman.
NPD is advised by Jefferies & Company and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. Hellman & Friedman is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Finsbury Glover Hering.
Blackstone-backed HealthEdge Software, a software company, agreed to acquire Wellframe, a digital health management company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Wellframe is a market trailblazer that has digitally reimagined how health plans manage relationships with consumers. We look forward to supporting Wellframe’s continued standalone growth and to coupling its products with our enterprise system HealthRules Payor and care management platform GuidingCare, so payers can enhance member experience, increase staff efficiency, improve utilization and reduce medical costs," Steve Krupa, HealthEdge CEO.
HealthEdge is advised by TripleTree and Debevoise & Plimpton. Wellframe is advised by Centerview Partners and Goodwin Procter.
Partners Group, a global private markets investment manager, and Kohlberg & Company, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of BluSky Restoration, a provider of clean up and reconstruction services for natural and man made disasters. Dominus Capital retained a minority stake in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"All stakeholders involved in addressing unplanned-for building damage benefit from timely and high-quality restoration services to protect human safety, mitigate future damages, preserve property value and function, and restore operations and economic activity as rapidly as possible. BluSky is well-positioned to benefit from this increasingly important transformative trend, driven by a team that shares an extraordinary bond of loyalty, teamwork, service excellence, and relentless commitment to provide customers with an exceptional experience," Mike Sexton, Partners Group Member of Management.
Partners Group was advised by Prosek Partners. Kohlberg & Company was advised by Robert W Baird, Ropes & Gray and Finsbury Glover Hering.
Searchlight Capital, a private investment firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Integrated Power Services, a provider of electric motor and generator service, form Odyssey Investment, a private equity investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The diverse and highly re-occurring nature of IPS’ customer base illustrates the differentiated service quality that the Company is able to provide its customers. With a proven management team and a superior customer value proposition, IPS has an exciting opportunity to continue its strong growth trajectory in a fragmented market," Eric Zinterhofer, Searchlight Founding Partner.
Searchlight is advised by Weil Gotshal and Manges and Prosek Partners.
The Howard Hughes, a real estate company, completed the acquisition of Douglas Ranch, a master planned community, from JDM Partners, a real estate investment firm, for $600m.
"The launch of Douglas Ranch is momentous news for Phoenix and the state of Arizona. We are creating a city of the future—leveraging The Howard Hughes' development expertise to build a community with limitless potential to spur growth, business expansion, economic opportunity and innovation," Jerry Colangelo, JDM Partners Partner.
The Howard Hughes was advised by Centerview Partners.
Mastercard, a financial services corporation, completed the acquisition of CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency intelligence company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Digital assets have the potential to reimagine commerce, from everyday acts like paying and getting paid to transforming economies, making them more inclusive and efficient. With the rapid growth of the digital asset ecosystem comes the need to ensure it is trusted and safe. Our aim is to build upon the complementary capabilities of Mastercard and CipherTrace to do just this," Ajay Bhalla, Mastercard President.
Mastercard was advised by Joele Frank.
LLR Partners, a lower middle-market private equity firm, completed the investment in Genesee Scientific, a manufacturer and distributor of products to global life science markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“I am thrilled for this opportunity to work with LLR given their partnership-focused culture, industry expertise and experience helping businesses like ours continue to grow. We care deeply about our customers and employees. As Genesee enters our next phase of growth, we will continue to invest in our team, systems and products to better serve our customers," Ken Fry, Genesee Scientific Founder.
Genesee Scientific was advised by Capstone Partners.
Mercer Global Advisors, a provider of investment advisory services, agreed to acquire Lake Point Advisory Group, a respected wealth management firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Reid has built an impressive multi-location business and is growing quickly. This acquisition brings together the strengths of our two organizations and builds a solid platform for future growth. Further, Reid has assembled a strong team adding to our already deep bench in Texas. This is the type of talent we seek to add to our team, and we look forward to offering expanding services to help better serve the current and future Lake Point clients," Dave Welling, Mercer CEO.
Lake Point is advised by Park Sutton Advisors.
Madrone Capital, a private equity firm, led a $200m Series F funding round in Aura, provider of all-in-one digital security for consumers. Additional investors include TenEleven Ventures, General Catalyst, WndrCo, Warburg Pincus and Accel.
"Over the past 18 months, we have seen an incredible acceleration in the digitization of every aspect of our lives, and with that we are seeing an explosion in digital crime. Today's announcement ensures that Aura will have the capital we need to continue our rapid growth and deliver on our mission to create the digital wellness category and make a safer internet for everyone," Hari Ravichandran, Aura Founder and CEO.
AO Smith, a firm that manufactures and markets comprehensive lines of residential and commercial gas, gas tankless, and electric water heaters, completed the acquisition of Giant Factories, a Canada-based manufacturer of residential and commercial water heaters, for $199m.
"The addition of Giant strengthens our leadership position as a global supplier of residential and commercial water heaters. The acquisition also supports our corporate strategy by increasing our North America market penetration, creating additional capacity and enhancing our distribution capabilities. Along with its rich history, established relationships and talented team, Giant's values and business approach align with ours, and we look forward to welcoming Giant's employees to the AO Smith family," Kevin J. Wheeler, AO Smith Chairman and CEO.
Leeds Illuminate, a firm that invests in education, workforce development and workforce access, led a $138m funding round in Wonolo, a developer of an on-demand staffing platform. Additional investors include 137 Ventures, G2 Venture Partners and Franklin Templeton.
"As labor shortages continue, workers have more power than ever. We are seeing a seismic shift in what workers are looking for when it comes to selecting job opportunities. Workers are opting for flexible work that offers them a chance to further develop portable skills and get access to living wage jobs at a variety of job sites. I'm excited to have new mission-driven investors joining us to help raise the bar for workers everywhere. Wonolo's next phase of growth will drive this evolution to bring more flexibility, fair chances and fulfilling jobs to all workers," Yong Kim, Wonolo CEO and Founder.
