Plastics maker Berry Global has until March 13 to announce a firm intention to make an offer for RPC Group, which develops and manufactures a diverse range of products for a wide variety of customers, including many household names, and enjoys strong market positions in many of the end-markets it serves and the geographical areas in which it operates.
Berry Global said last month it was considering a cash offer for RPC, in a challenge to a £4.7bn ($6bn) bid from the company’s former parent, Apollo Global Management.
Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are advisors to Berry. Deutsche Bank, Jefferies & Company, Credit Suisse, Evercore, Rothschild & Co, Slaughter & May and FTI Consulting are advisors to RPC Group. BNP Paribas, Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Sullivan & Cromwell and Maitland are advisors to Apollo Global Management.
Etalon Group, one of Russia's largest development and construction corporations, acquired a 51% stake in Leader-Invest, one of Moscow's largest residential developers in terms of land bank and number of projects currently available for sale, from Sistema, a large Russian conglomerate company, for RUB15.2bn ($229m).
Etalon Group CEO Gennadiy Shcherbina stated: "While Etalon Group has traditionally focused on organic growth of its portfolio through the acquisition of individual land plots in its core geographies, we have always stated our readiness to acquire high-quality assets such as Leader-Invest through M&A transactions. We believe that this company meets all the criteria that we have previously announced for such transactions. All of its projects are located in Moscow, within the Moscow Ring Road, with the majority located in close proximity to Moscow's Third Ring Road, in areas with well-developed infrastructure and good transport accessibility and, most importantly, they do not overlap with Etalon Group's current portfolio of projects. At the same time, a significant part of Leader-Invest's portfolio consists of projects in the highly-profitable business- and premium-class segments, while the rest are in Etalon Group's traditional comfort-class segment.”
PwC, Allen & Overy and JP Morgan advised Etalon. Sberbank provided debt financing.
Fosun International, a Chinese international conglomerate and investment company, made a €96m ($108m) bid for Tom Tailor, a German vertically integrated lifestyle clothing company. Fosun increased its shareholding to 35% by buying new shares worth €2.26 ($2.55) each. That will lift Fosun’s stake above the 30% threshold that triggers a mandatory takeover offer under German law.
Fosun, through increasing its shareholding interests in Tom Tailor, will benefit from the long-term growth potential of Tom Tailor. The company considers the deal to be an attractive investment in its sector as it sees economic potential in Tom Tailor.
Evolution Funding, a B2B car finance broker with market-leading technology, secured an investment from LDC to support its expansion. The transaction, which values the business at £110m ($142m), will see LDC take a significant minority stake in the business.
Lawrence Dean, Investment Director at LDC, said: “Evolution Funding is a classic example of an entrepreneurial business that is disrupting a market with innovative technology to the benefit of its customers. Lee, Jeremy and the team have been forward-thinking, consistently growing the business since its inception, with a clear commitment to customer service and compliance. There’s a significant opportunity to scale further in the UK, working with new partners, and by investing in its market-leading Evolve platform and digital capabilities as well as its customer-facing product, MyCarCredit, which has significant potential.”
LDC was advised by Gowling WLG, EY and CIL. Evolution Funding was advised by KPMG, Mishcon de Reya and BDO. Santander and Aviva provided debt financing and were advised by DLA.
Nordic Capital acquired Ober Scharrer Gruppe, Germany’s largest provider for treatments for major causes of blindness and visual impairment as well as non-invasive treatments and diagnosis of eye disorders, from Palamon Capital in March 2018. The transaction was successfully completed. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Nordic Capital has followed this sector for several years, observing how OSG has continued to build its strong position and reputation for delivering medical excellence. Nordic Capital looks forward to investing in and supporting OSG’s further development and growth in its field of expertise where we see a strong demand for specialized, high-quality centers to provide treatments," said Joakim Lundvall, Partner at Nordic Capital.
Rothschild advised Palamon Capital.
Baltisse, an investment company in Ghent, Belgium, acquired Polflam, a Polish fire-resistant glass manufacturer, from Syntaxis Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Filip Balcaen, Principal of Baltisse, said: “The Polflam success story in the Fire-Resistant Glass segment is very appealing to us, as it is based on a strong technological and manufacturing platform, whereby Polflam is able to provide customers with an excellent product at a competitive price. Based on our industrial experience, having built companies that were leading European flooring manufacturers, we are convinced that we can support Polflam to strengthen its position in its existing markets and to expand into new geographies within the EU. David Ulens, a Baltisse representative experienced in industrial and CEE operations, will reinforce the existing management team as CEO of Polflam, leading the further international development of the Company.”
Rothschild advised Syntaxis. BCG, Dentons, Deloitte and Ramboll advised Polflam. ERM, KPMG and Baker McKenzie advised Baltisse.
Independent asset manager Essling Expansion acquired a stake in Evolucare, a family group that publishes medical software for healthcare institutions, becoming a reference shareholder. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The Evolucare Group aims to become a consolidation platform in a still fragmented market and to strengthen its international presence. We are very pleased that the Evolucare Group is Essling Expansion’s first investment because it perfectly illustrates our investment and support strategy,” said Bertrand Fesneau and Rémi Matuchansky, Co-Managers of Essling Expansion.
Leep Utilities, the independent multi-utility operator formed by Peel Group and Ancala Partners, acquired SSE Water from SSE. SSE Water was established in 2008 under license from Ofwat. It owns water networks that supply around 20k customers across 28 sites in southern England and Wales. It is the largest NAV company operating in the UK’s water sector. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Louise Manfredi, Managing Director, Leep Utilities, commented: “Leep is delighted to be acquiring SSE Water. This purchase will make Leep the leading NAV operator in the UK market and the transaction speaks to the high conviction that we have in the benefits that successful NAV operators can deliver to UK developers, customers and society. We plan to continue to provide best-in-class customer service to our expanded water inset customer base as well as to deliver new ‘straightforward connections’ to developers and connection providers across the country.”
UK-based Preservation Capital Partners invested in Cove Programes, a British provider of insurance products. The investment comes soon after Preservation Capital acquired an interest in the insurTech-driven cyber and specialty lines MGA Ascent Underwriting. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Jatender Aujla, a Partner of Preservation Capital, said: “Ascent has made significant progress since our initial investment just over a year ago, particularly in the areas of product development and distribution. Cove is an extremely impressive business with a focus on highly specialized niches generating superior underwriting and insurance placement results. The companies have highly respected brands, the loyalty of brokers and customers, and incredibly experienced management teams supported by industry-leading specialists. Together they comprise a very strong business possessing all the ingredients for controlled, successful growth focused on generating superior underwriting results while serving the broad needs of their brokers and clients.”
KKR and BlackRock in talks to acquire stakes in Abu Dhabi’s pipeline network for up to $5bn. (FS)
According to a
Financial Times report, KKR and BlackRock are rumored to be in advanced negotiations to acquire stakes in Adnoc’s Abu Dhabi pipeline network for $4-5bn. The deal could be signed as early as next week. Adnoc is using the privatization of its pipeline infrastructure to diversify funding streams, attracting a new tranche of foreign capital to the emirate’s energy giant.
The pipeline deal would form the latest element of the drive to introduce a more commercially oriented management of Adnoc’s asset base and attract new investors into Abu Dhabi’s energy portfolio.
Delek Group is looking to sell its remaining stake in Phoenix Holdings for $442m.
Delek Group, an Israeli conglomerate involved in the energy and infrastructure, is looking to offload its remaining 30% stake in insurer Phoenix Holdings for $442m. The company did not name the potential buyer.
Delek, which holds significant stakes in Israel’s largest natural gas fields and other energy assets, is required to sell Phoenix under Israeli regulation that prohibits conglomerates from holding stakes in both financial and non-financial businesses.
David Tepper said Allergan should consider selling itself. (FS)
David Tepper, manager of hedge fund Appaloosa, said that Allergan, an Irish pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, and markets branded drugs, should consider selling itself if management is unable to turn around recent lagging performance.
Appaloosa wrote to Allergan’s board on Tuesday, just hours after the company announced it added a former industry executive to its board but would split the roles of chairman and chief executive only when the person who currently holds the positions is replaced. Appaloosa has been pressing Allergan to separate the roles and said that the board’s decision showed how it was unwilling “to hold management accountable for its dismal performance.”
“If in fact, the Board is unable or unwilling to hold management accountable for its shortcomings or find a suitable replacement, it is your fiduciary obligation to explore other options, including a merger or sale of the Company,” Tepper said in the letter.
Paul Elliott Singer acquired a 6.1% stake in Intertrust. (FS)
Paul Elliott Singer, manager of hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation, acquired a 6.1% stake in Intertrust, a Dutch trust and business administration company. The disclosure is reported as effective on Feb. 13, the day after the sale by Blackstone of its remaining 6.77% stake in Intertrust to institutional buyers via an accelerated book-building.
Jinko Power, Ardian and White Summit to construct a solar PV plant in Spain. (FS)
Jinko Power, Ardian Infrastructure and White Summit Capital agreed to construct and operate La Isla, a solar photovoltaic plant near Seville, Spain. The plant is currently in development and construction is expected to be completed during the second half of 2019. Once in operation, La Isla will be one of the first grid-parity/zero-subsidy projects in Europe and one of the largest solar PV plants in Spain. It will be able to generate clean energy to cover the annual consumption of 100k households.
Juan Angoitia Grijalba, Managing Director at Ardian Infrastructure, said: “This investment demonstrates Ardian’s continuing commitment to the development of our renewable energy portfolio. With this acquisition, we are cementing our presence in Spain, a country with high potential in the renewables space. This builds on our sector expertise, with Ardian Infrastructure now managing circa 2GW of renewable energy, through technologies including wind, solar, hydro and biomass.”
GoCardless secured $75m in Series E financing. (FS)
UK-based GoCardless, a payment company that makes collecting payments by direct debit easy for everyone, secured $75m in Series E funding. Adams Street Partners, GV and Salesforce Ventures led the round with participation from Accel, Balderton Capital, Notion Capital and Passion Capital.
"We will be using the investment to develop our recurring payment platform further, for example, making it easier to take bank debit payments across borders, with FX, making bank debit faster with instant settlement and leveraging our significant transaction data to increase success rates," Carlos Gonzales-Cardenas, chief product and technology officer at GoCardless, said.
Octopus passed £1bn in VCT assets under management. (FS)
Octopus Investments, a provider of venture capital trusts in the UK, recently passed the £1bn ($1.3bn) VCT assets under management milestone. Octopus is the first investment manager to reach this milestone, which comes after recent fundraising. The assets are spread across Octopus’ four VCTs, which are currently supporting more than 200 portfolio companies.
Jo Oliver, Fund Manager for Octopus Titan VCT, said: “VCTs have played a fundamental role in transforming the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and helped to cement its reputation as the best place in Europe to build world-class technology companies. With one of the largest investment teams in the region we meet hundreds of hugely talented entrepreneurs each year, many of whom are capable of completely transforming their industries. This is incredibly exciting for our investors as we work to deliver returns to them and support the next generation of leading global businesses.”
