AMERICAS
Southwestern Energy, an integrated oil and gas firm, agreed to acquire GEP Haynesville, a natural gas firm, for $1.9bn.
“This strategic move positions Southwestern as the largest producer in the Haynesville and enhances our leading presence in the top two premier natural gas basins in the US. The Company’s increased scale from both a reserves and production perspective is expected to deliver higher margins, enhanced economic returns and improved per-share cash flow metrics. The transaction adds significant high-return locations to our development inventory while expanding access to premium Gulf Coast markets,” Bill Way, Southwestern Energy President and Chief Executive Officer.
GEP Haynesville is advised by Credit Suisse and Kirkland & Ellis. Southwestern Energy is advised by Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Intrepid Advisors, JP Morgan, RBC Capital Markets, Wells Fargo Securities and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Debt financing is provided by Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan, RBC Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities.
Thoma Bravo completed the acquisition of QAD, a provider of next-generation manufacturing and supply chain solutions in the cloud, for $2bn.
“The closing of this transaction is an important milestone in QAD’s history, and we are excited to begin the next phase of our company’s evolution. I am very proud of what QAD has achieved since its founding and the momentum we’ve built over the last few years. Now, with Thoma Bravo’s expertise, resources and support, we are well-positioned to build on that momentum, further expand our reach and enhance our value proposition for our customers," Anton Chilton, QAD CEO.
QAD was advised by Moelis & Co, Morgan Stanley, Manatt Phelps & Phillips, Paul Hastings, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, and Joele Frank. Financial advisors to QAD were advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Thoma Bravo was advised by Barclays, Kirkland & Ellis and Finsbury Glover Hering.
DocGo went public via $1.1bn merger with Motion Acquisition.
DocGo, a provider of mobile medical services and patient transportation, went public via a SPAC merger with Motion Acquisition, a special purposes acquisition company, in a $1.1bn. PIPE investors included Light Street Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures.
"We are thrilled to announce the completion of our business combination with Motion and advance to this next chapter as a public company. Today represents a significant milestone in our journey, and we are eager to use this additional capital to fuel growth as we expand our geographic footprint in Mobile Health services," Stan Vashovsky, DocGo CEO.
DocGo was advised by Deutsche Bank, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Blueshirt Group and Joele Frank. Motion was advised Barclays, Canaccord Genuity, Needham & Co, Northland Capital Markets, Stifel and Graubard Miller.
Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social networking service for neighborhoods, went public via a SPAC merger with Khosla Ventures Acquisition II in a $4.3bn deal. The transaction included a $270m PIPE from T. Rowe Price, Baron Capital, Dragoneer, Soroban Capital, ARK Invest, ION Asset Management, Tiger Global and Hedosophia.
"Nextdoor is a cutting-edge, category-defining company with tremendous growth potential. Importantly, their strong management team remains deeply committed to their purpose to cultivate a kinder world. We are proud to be listing on the NYSE under the ticker "KIND", and we look forward to continuing our partnership and accelerating Nextdoor's growth as a public company," Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures Managing Director.
Nextdoor was advised by Evercore, Morgan Stanley, Fenwick & West and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Khosla Ventures Acquisition was advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Latham & Watkins. Financial advisors were advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Industrial Logistics, a real estate investment trust, agreed to acquire Monmouth, a publicly traded REIT, for $4bn.
"This transaction adds 126 high-quality industrial assets to ILPT’s portfolio and expands ILPT’s ability to benefit from ongoing strong fundamental tailwinds in the industrial sector. This accretive transaction more than doubles the properties in ILPT’s mainland portfolio and this scale is expected to expand ILPT’s growth opportunities and access to capital which we expect will drive cash flow growth and long-term value for our shareholders," John Murray, ILPT CEO.
Industrial Logistics is advised by Citigroup, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Joele Frank. Debt financing is provided by Citigroup and UBS. Monmouth is advised by JP Morgan and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
Waterfall Asset-backed Ready Capital, a multi-strategy real estate finance company, agreed to acquire MREC Management, an investment advisory services provider, for $471m.
"We believe that this transaction is a compelling opportunity for Ready Capital to acquire a market leading commercial real estate investment platform focused on providing differentiated capital solutions across the middle market sector with an emphasis on construction lending. We are excited to integrate the Mosaic team and origination platform and we believe the diverse portfolio of construction assets with attractive portfolio yields will further differentiate Ready Capital's financing solutions for borrowers and investors," Thomas Capasse, Ready Capital Chairman and CEO.
MREC Management is advised by Wedbush Securities and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. Ready Capital is advised by Wells Fargo Securities and Alston & Bird. Wells Fargo Securities is advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Inotiv, a contract research organization, completed the acquisition of Envigo, a global provider of research models and services, for $545m.
"The combination of Inotiv and Envigo allows drug developers to work with one organization for the entirety of discovery and nonclinical development, while getting the same highly personalized service that characterizes both companies. The combined company has excellent growth opportunities, and we plan to continue to make investments for organic growth while selectively pursuing strategic acquisitions. Envigo has a long history and deep experience with supply of critical research models, which will be integrated with Inotiv’s range of nonclinical and analytical services. This provides clients with a unique, full-spectrum discovery-to-approval solution to meet the increasing growth and innovation in biopharma and demand for specialty and disease-specific models," Robert Leasure, Inotiv President and CEO.
Envigo was advised by Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Inotiv was advised by Jefferies & Company, Ice Miller and The Equity Group.
Bank holding firms Lakeland Bancorp and 1st Constitution Bancorp, announced the receipt of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance approval in connection with the proposed merger of 1st Constitution with and into Lakeland.
The closing of the proposed merger remains subject to the approval of or waiver by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the approval of Lakeland’s shareholders at the special meeting of shareholders to be held on December 3, 2021, the approval of 1st Constitution’s shareholders at the special meeting of shareholders to be held on December 3, 2021, and certain other customary closing conditions.
1st Constitution Bancorp is advised by Raymond James and Day Pitney. Lakeland Bancorp is advised by Keefe Bruyette & Woods and Luse Gorman.
OceanFirst Financial, a bank holding company, completed the acquisition of Partners Bancorp, a bank holding company, for $186m.
“This partnership creates a powerful and innovative financial services provider better able to serve its clients and communities of today and tomorrow. The team at OceanFirst has built and maintains a high quality banking franchise, and there is no better team with which to unite to deliver community-style banking and to capitalize on the opportunities presented by an evolving industry," Lloyd B. Harrison, Partners CEO.
Partners Bancorp is advised by Piper Sandler and Troutman Pepper. OceanFirst is advised by Raymond James and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
The Riverside Company, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire PFB, a building materials producer, or $178m.
"The PFB Board conducted an exhaustive sale process and considered several proposals from interested parties and believes that the Riverside transaction offers PFB the best alternative to realize its full potential. We believe that this agreement with Riverside offers Shareholders an attractive valuation and premium to the recent trading price of the Shares and provides PFB the opportunity to more effectively pursue the long-term investment and growth strategy of the Company across North America," C. Alan Smith, PFB Chairman.
PFB is advised by Intrepid Advisors and Burnet Duckworth & Palmer. RIverside is advised by Blake Cassels & Graydon and Jones Day.
Blue Ridge and FVCB announced they had entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval from the shareholders of both companies. The companies have been working diligently on regulatory applications, registration and shareholder meeting materials and integration planning needed to create a $5.0bn franchise across Virginia.
“While we have additional work to do, we believe the OCC’s concerns are ones that we can solve in a timely fashion, and do not materially impact the strategic rationale of the merger. We are considering various alternatives to proceed with regulatory applications and shareholder meetings, and to close the Merger as expediently as possible, and currently anticipate that it will close in the second or third quarter of 2022," Brian K. Plum, Blue Ridge President and CEO.
FVCBankcorp is advised by Piper Sandler and Troutman Pepper. Blue Ridge is advised by Raymond James and Williams Mullen.
EnPro to acquire NxEdge from Trive Capital. (FS)
EnPro, a company that designs, develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary engineered industrial products, agreed to acquire NxEdge, an advanced manufacturing, cleaning, coating, and refurbishment business focused on the semiconductor value chain, from Trive Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms are not disclosed.
"We are thrilled with the opportunity to join Enpro and bring together our highly complementary assets to unlock significant value. Over the past few years, we have focused on delivering technically differentiated, vertically integrated product solutions to our semiconductor IDM and OEM customers. Our partnership with Trive was critical as we developed and executed an ambitious growth plan by making significant infrastructure and capacity investments that position us to support secular growth trends within our industry. With Enpro, we will be able to fully capitalize on these investments and accelerate our momentum to deliver comprehensive, differentiated solutions to meet our customers' needs globally and offer expanded career opportunities for our colleagues," Jackson Chao, NxEdge Founder and CEO.
EnPro is advised by GCA Altium and Robinson Bradshaw. Trive Capital is advised by Evercore and Kirkland & Ellis.
Berkshire Partners-backed National Carwash Solutions, a provider of end-to-end car wash systems, services, and solutions, completed the acquisition of Zep Vehicle Care, a provider of commercial car wash chemical and water reclamation solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Today represents a milestone moment for our company as we officially welcome the Zep Vehicle Care team to NCS. Our combined companies and teams allow us to provide car wash operators with a superior selection of chemicals, equipment, and solutions to meet their consumers’ needs. Joining forces will further enable us to provide car wash operators with an efficient and integrated sales and service experience to help them drive profitable growth," Michael Gillen, NCS CEO.
Zep was advised by Robert W Baird and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. National Car Wash was advised by Weil Gotshal & Manges.
Frontenac, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in RCG Global Services, a digital transformation consultancy. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Together with Rob and the RCG team, we look forward to continuing RCG's path towards becoming the preeminent digital consultancy with end-to-end capabilities. With our history of working with leading tech-enabled services companies, RCG is truly a perfect fit with Frontenac. The exceptional leadership team makes us excited to work with them and build on RCG's history of success," Michael Langdon, Frontenac Managing Director.
RCG Global was advised by Clearsight Advisors and Winston & Strawn. Frontenac was advised by Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn.
Ares Management, a private equity firm, and Core Spaces, a real estate company and student housing developer, agreed to form a $400m joint venture.
“We are proud to partner with Ares and capitalize on the strong market backdrop supporting US purpose-built student housing investment adjacent to Tier 1 universities. We look forward to continuing to work with Ares to grow a premier portfolio in this attractive real estate sector,” Marc Lifshin, Core Spaces Co-Founder and CEO.
Ares Management is advised by TSB Capital and Mendel Communications.
Google completed a $1bn investment in CME Group, a financial services provider.
"Through this long-term partnership with Google Cloud, CME Group will transform derivatives markets through technology, expanding access and creating efficiencies for all market participants. This partnership will enable CME Group to bring new products and services to market faster – all in a flexible and scalable environment that will create a wide range of opportunities for the marketplace," Terry Duffy, CME Group Chairman and CEO.
CME Group was advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
Shell completed the acquisition of fuel card business from MSTS.
Shell, an oil and chemical group engaged in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, distribution and marketing of crude oil, gas, and petroleum products, completed the acquisition of fuel card business from MSTS, a toll payment solutions provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Acquiring the Multi Service Fuel Card business provides Shell with the necessary technology, business infrastructure and talent to accelerate the growth of its global commercial cards business, Customer Value Propositions (CVPs) and services. We are confident that this strong IT platform and acceptance network will help us deliver a customer experience that will translate to additional growth for Shell's North America Commercial Road Transport businesses," Tim Murray, Shell Commercial Road Transport, Sectors & Decarbonization General Manager.
Advent and Permira in talks to acquire McAfee for more than $10bn. (FS)
Private equity firms Advent and Permira, are in talks to acquire cubersecurity firm McAfee, for more than $10bn.
The potential deal comes at a time when the pandemic-driven shift to remote working and a rise in cyber attacks has spurred demand for antivirus and digital security software.
Enel is in talks to acquire Ufinet's business in Latin America from Cinven. (FS)
Europe's biggest utility Enel is preparing to take full control of fibre optic network operator Ufinet by exercising an option to buy the 79% owned by private equity firm Cinven.
Enel, which already owns 21% of the South American broadband operator, could pay up to $2.4bn for the majority stake it does not already own. After clinching control of Ufinet, Enel plans to launch a process to find a buyer for up to 49% and use the money to finance further expansion, taking advantage of the high valuations for these assets.
Enel has previously said it is keen to replicate the business experience in Italian full-fiber grid Open Fiber elsewhere in the world. It has agreed to sell most of the 50% stake it is selling in Open Fiber to Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie.
Vale sells minority stake in Mosaic for $1.26bn.
Brazilian miner Vale has sold a minority stake in fertilizer producer Mosaic Company for $1.26bn.
Vale said the sale was made through a secondary share offering and it will receive the proceeds on November 9. Vale received a 11% stake in Mosaic in 2016 after selling its fertilizer unit to the US company, Reuters reported.
Amazon-backed Rivian boosts IPO range to seek $10bn in listing. (FS)
Amazon-backed Rivian, an electric-truck maker, has elevated the marketed range of its initial public offering to raise as much as $10bn.
The company plans to sell 135m shares at $72 to $74 each, Rivian said in an updated filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It had marketed the shares at $57 to $62 apiece. At the top end of the revised range, the company will have a market capitalization of $63bn.
Cornerstone investors including Amazon, T. Rowe Price, Coatue Management and Blackstone have committed to buying $5bn of the IPO shares, Bloomberg reported.
Quora preps for a $4bn IPO in early 2022.
US knowledge-sharing website Quora has kicked off preparations for an initial public offering in early 2022.
Quora has in recent days held talks to hire investment bankers and lawyers for a stock market debut in New York. Quora hopes to be valued at more than $2bn at the IPO, Reuters reported.
NerdWallet hits a $2bn valuation in IPO.
NerdWallet, a personal finance website, priced its IPO at $18 per share, in the middle of its expected $17-$19 per share range, giving it a $1.2bn valuation. But with Thursday's surge, the company saw its valuation hit more than $2bn. The company trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "NRDS."
NerdWallet raised $130m from the share offering, having sold 7.25m shares. The company recorded $182m in revenue in the first six months of 2021, representing year-over-year growth of 32%. And rare for most IPO companies, NerdWallet has been profitable in the past, generating $5m in net income in 2020.
NerdWallet was advised by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Barclays and Citigroup.
Rigel Resource Acquisition to raise $275m in an IPO.
Rigel Resource Acquisition, a speccial puposes acquisition company, announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 27.5m unites at the price of $10 per unit, effectively raising $275m at the Nasdaq IPO under the ticker symbol "RRAC".
Rigel Resource Acquisition whose business purpose is to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The company is indirectly sponsored by Orion Mine Finance Fund III, which is managed by Orion Resource Partners. Orion is a global alternative investment management firm specializing in institutional metals and mining investment strategies primarily in the base and precious metals space. The company's management team is led by members of Orion's current management team.
Rigel Resource Acquisition is advised by Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs is advised by Winston & Strawn.
7 Acquisition to raise $200m in an IPO.
7 Acquisition, a speccial puposes acquisition company, announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 20m unites at the price of $10 per unit, effectively raising $200m at the Nasdaq IPO under the ticker symbol "SVNAU".
Each unit issued in the IPO consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share of the Company at an exercise price of $11.50 per share.
7 Acquisition is advised by Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs is advised by Winston & Strawn.
SoftBank-backed Rappi plans an IPO.
SoftBank Group-backed Rappi, a Colombian delivery application, is preparing to go public next year in what would be one of the highest-profile US listings for a Latin American company.
Rappi has held informal conversations with banks, and plans to hire advisers and prepare its listing paperwork in the first half of 2022. An initial public offering would happen later in the year.
Stonepeak Partners is in talks to raise debut real estate fund. (FS)
Stonepeak Partners, an alternative asset manager that has long focused on infrastructure, is planning to raise its first dedicated real estate fund.
The New York-based firm has begun discussions with potential investors during which it has highlighted existing real estate bets. The fund’s size hasn’t been finalized.
EMEA
Allegro, a Polish go-to e-commerce platform, agreed to acquire WE|DO, a last mile delivery expert, and Mall Group, an e-commerce group in Central and Eastern Europe, from private equity firms PPF, EC Investments and Rockaway Capital, for €881m ($1bn).
"Over two decades, Allegro has become the favourite shopping destination for consumers in Poland. Together with Mall Group and WE|DO we will now be able to improve the everyday lives of not only the 18m customers we already serve, but also reach out to the rest of Europe with our offer," François Nuyts, Allegro CEO.
Allegro is advised by JP Morgan and Clifford Chance. Mall Group is advised by Morgan Stanley and White & Case.
ArchiMed, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Cube Biotech, a biotechnology company, from Creathor Ventures, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Partnering with ArchiMed will maximize Cube’s potential through better penetration of the US market, focused organic product and service expansion and the ability to leverage our knowledge and connections through acquisitions,” Barbara Maertens, Cube Co-Founder and Managing Director.
ArchiMed was advised by McKinsey & Company, Ebner Stolz, Jones Day and Lanchner Communications.
ifm Global Infrastructure Fund to acquire a 50% stake in GlasfaserPlus from Deutsche Telekom for $1bn. (FS)
ifm Global Infrastructure Fund, an alternative asset fund operated by Ifm Investors, agreed to acquire a 50% stake in GlasfaserPlus, a fibre optic unit, from Deutsche Telekom, a German telecommunications company, for $1bn.
"This is an attractive investment for ifm's Global Infrastructure Fund – the GlasfaserPlus joint venture has strong socio-economic benefits as well as long-term cash-flow predictability, which will help us deliver on our purpose, which is to protect and grow the long-term retirement savings of working people," Kyle Mangini, ifm Global Head of Infrastructure.
ifm Global Infrastructure Fund is advised by FTI Consulting, Mountain Media and Latham & Watkins.
Roche’s family owners have been saved from having to make an expensive offer for the rest of the pharmaceuticals giant’s shares after its $20.7bn deal to buy back Novartis’s stake took them over a voting threshold.
The deal, which would see the purchased shares cancelled, would raise the stake of the pool of Roche family members from 45.01% at present to 67.5%.
Under Swiss rules, anyone who already owns more than a third of a Swiss company and then raises their stake to more than 50% must make an offer for all the listed shares. But the family, descendents of company founder Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, requested an exemption from having to launch an offer to other shareholders, which could have potentially cost them billions of francs. The Swiss Takeover Board said on Friday it had approved the exemption, saying there was no indication the family had tried to get around the rules and was not actively seeking further its control over Roche.
Roche is advised by Citigroup.
Cepsa explores a $3.5bn sale of its chemicals unit.
Spanish oil company Cepsa is exploring a sale of its chemicals business under a strategic review as it seeks to raise funds to accelerate its transition to clean energy.
Cepsa is working with Citigroup to identify possible buyers for the division which is valued at up to $3.5bn, cautioning that discussions were at a preliminary stage and no deal was certain. Other strategic options may be pursued as an alternative to an outright sale.
Cepsa is expected to sound out interest from private equity funds and European chemicals firms, including Germany's Evonik and INEOS. If successful, a sale would unlock funds to finance Cepsa's push into renewables while part of the proceeds would be returned to shareholders, Reuters reported.
Implats said to mull bid for Royal Bafokeng.
Impala Platinum, a South African holding company, may make an offer to buy Royal Bafokeng Platinum as early as next week as talks progress to create a platinum-group metals giant.
Implats said on October 27 that it’s in talks with its smaller South African rival and that a deal may involve cash and equity. Flush with cash on the back of higher rhodium and palladium prices, Implats wants to expand by buying lower cost and mechanized assets as some of its deep-level operations near their end.
One of the main discussion points is the split between cash and equity that Implats may pay. No final decision on price has been made, though Implats may pay a bigger premium if Royal Bafokeng accepts more equity than cash, the people said. Royal Bafokeng’s current market value is about $2.2bn, Bloomberg reported.
Abrdn in talks to finalise $2bn deal to buy Interactive Investor. (FS)
Asset manager Abrdn is finalising a deal to buy Interactive Investor, the UK’s second-largest fund supermarket, for $2bn, in a bid to deepen its direct-to-consumer business.
Abrdn confirmed in a statement that it was currently in discussions with JC Flowers, the private equity group that has owned a majority stake in Interactive Investor since 2016. The deal could be announced in the next few weeks. Abrdn is working with bankers at JP Morgan.
Interactive Investor said that talks with Abrdn were ongoing, but that it had been approached by other parties and that an IPO also remained an attractive option, FT reported.
KKR is said to weigh the takeover of Telecom Italia network unit. (FS)
US private equity firm KKR is considering a takeover of Telecom Italia’s network unit as one of its strategic options for the former Italian phone monopoly, Bloomberg reported.
KKR is looking at alternatives ranging from raising its stake in Telecom Italia’s grid operations - although the carrier says it has no plan to reduce its holding - to pursue a full takeover of the unit.
The deliberations by the New York-based buyout firm, which owns more than 37% of Telecom Italia’s FiberCop grid company, are preliminary and it hasn’t yet decided what course to take.
Banco BPM to take insurance in-house in new plan.
Italy’s Banco BPM said that it planned to acquire full ownership of its insurance partnerships as part of a new multi-year plan that aims to achieve net profit of more than $1.2bn in 2024.
Banco BPM will exercise rights to bring in house its insurance joint-ventures with Italy’s Cattolica, which was recently acquired by Generali, and Britain’s Aviva.
The Italian bank is taking its lead from Intesa Sanpaolo, which has weathered a tough environment of negative interest rates better than other banks thanks to its wealth management and insurance businesses, Reuters reported.
Selfridges in advanced talks to spin out is online luxury websites.
Selfridges, a chain of high-end department stores, held discussions with potential investors about splitting off its e-commerce business while also considering a potential sale of the department store group.
Selfridges is considering spinning off Selfridges.com from its lucrative property holdings, which are far larger than its e-commerce arm, earlier this year.
Selfridges is advised by Credit Suisse.
Goldman Sachs-backed Cian raises $291m in US IPO. (FS)
Russian real-estate platform Cian.ru and shareholders including Goldman Sachs and Elbrus Capital raised $291m in a New York initial public offering, at the top end of its price range.
The group set its offer price for 18.2m American depositary shares at $16 apiece, the company said. The deal values the group at about $1.1bn, with the stock to start trading later today.
Cian decided to go public after a possible sale to classified advertising platform Avito fell through. Russia’s anti-monopoly watchdog rejected the deal on the grounds that it could create a dominant player in the market for real-estate aggregators, Bloomberg reported.
Cian was advised by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Renaissance Capital, VTB Capital, Alfa Capital Markets, Raiffeisen and Tinkoff Bank.
Delimobil postpones its IPO.
Russian car-sharing company Delimobil said on Thursday it had decided to postpone its initial public offering because of market conditions, Reuters reported.
Delimobil Holding said last month it would look to raise as much as $240m in a US IPO at a valuation of more than $900m.
“Despite receiving high quality interest from investors, the company decided not to proceed with the offering due to market conditions,” Delimobil.
Adnoc and Borealis weigh the IPO of Borouge.
Abu Dhabi National Oil and Borealis are weighing an initial public offering of their plastics joint venture Borouge.
The state-owned energy company and Austrian chemicals group are exploring options for the business, including a possible IPO next year. Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions on the timeframe for any listing have been taken, Bloomberg reported.
APAC
Sinch, a provider of cloud communications for mobile customer engagement, completed the acquisition of MessageMedia, a provider of mobile messaging solutions for small and medium-sized businesses in the United States and Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, from private equity firm Mercury Capital for $1.3bn.
"Addressing small and medium-sized businesses opens up a new avenue to growth and dramatically expands our addressable market. With MessageMedia as a part of Sinch, we will have the best team in the industry to capitalize on that opportunity," Oscar Werner, Sinch CEO.
MessageMedia was advised by JP Morgan, Herbert Smith Freehills and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Sinch was advised by Handelsbanken Capital Markets and K&L Gates.
Financial services provider Link Administration said it will consider a fresh $2.1bn offer from Carlyle Group.
The bid marks a renewed attempt by Carlyle to buy the Sydney-based company after it pursued Link with Pacific Equity Partners in late 2020. The private-equity duo bowed out earlier this year after rival offers emerged.
Carlyle's latest bid includes $2.2 per share in cash and a distribution of Link's stake in PEXA worth $1.75 a share, Link said. In total, Carlyle's offer price is 24.2% above Link's closing price on Thursday.
Link Group is advised by Macquarie Group, UBS, Herbert Smith Freehills and GRACosway. Carlyle is advised by Gilbert + Tobin.
Sigma Healthcare, a company engaged in the distribution and wholesaling of prescription, withdrew its $561m offer to acquire Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, a pharmacy chain, Reuters reported.
"After further assessment, and in the context of the competitive bid process with its changing transaction and economic considerations, Sigma has made the decision not to proceed with this current proposal," Ray Gunston, Sigma Chairman.
Sigma was advised by Goldman Sachs, MinterEllison and BlueDot Media.
KKR completed a $2bn investment in SK E&S, a global clean energy & solution provider.
"Korea is a key part of KKR's Asia infrastructure strategy. It is home to many companies with great potential for growth both domestically and abroad. We look to continue investing in compelling infrastructure opportunities where we can leverage KKR's global experience and networks to partner with Korean businesses to achieve their transformations," David Luboff, KKR Head of APAC Infrastructure.
KKR was advised by The SIGNATURE.
Temasek, an investment company, led a $500m Series C+ funding round in Momenta, an autonomous driving company. Additional investors include Toyota, Bosch, SAIC, Yunfeng Capital and General Motors.
Momenta, founded by former Microsoft executive in 2016, raised totally $1bn, including Series C+ funding round led by Temasek.
BPEA hires Goldman to sell HCP Packaging. (FS)
Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia has hired Goldman Sachs to sell Shanghai-based manufacturer of cosmetic packaging containers, HCP Packaging, which could fetch more than $1.5bn.
Goldman Sachs has begun approaching potential buyers and a formal process is expected to start soon. BPEA invited bids for HCP in early 2020, but the sale plan was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest attempt to sell HCP coincides with a record amount of private equity cash and pent-up demand for strategic exits and investments among buyout firms, Reuters reported.
Alibaba's Tsai says no plans to sell South China Morning Post.
Alibaba has no plans to sell Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, the e-commerce giant’s co-founder Joe Tsai was quoted by Reuters.
SCMP’s CEO Gary Liu said that Joe Tsai, Alibaba’s co-founder and SCMP’s chairman, had asked him to pass on a message that there were no plans for a change in ownership.
“There has never been any discussion about SCMP’s ownership, and Alibaba has no plans for any change. There’s no basis for any rumor or speculation,” Joe Tsai.
Genki Forest seeks a $15bn valuation in new funding round. (FS)
Genki Forest, a Chinese beverage maker known for its flavored teas and sparkling water, is nearing a deal to raise $500m in fresh capital at a pre-investment valuation of $15bn.
Investors including Temasek Holdings, Coatue Management and IDG Capital and Warburg Pincus participated in the new round.
Deliberations are ongoing and details such as the fundraising size could change depending on investor demand, Bloomberg reported.
China Vanke plans a $2bn IPO of its property management unit.
China Vanke, a residential real estate developer, . plans to spin off and list its property management business in Hong Kong in a test of investor demand for real estate firms.
Bloomberg reported that Vanke was working with an adviser to prepare for such a listing that could raise about $2bn. Vanke would join other Chinese developers in spinning off their management units.
Clover raises $240m in the Hong Kong IPO.
Chinese vaccine maker Clover Biopharmaceuticals raised $240m in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, giving the Chengdu-based firm a valuation of nearly $2bn.
Based on the offer price of $1.72 per share, the net proceeds from the IPO, after deduction of underwriting fees and other expenses, are estimated to be roughly $240m.
Clover Biopharmaceuticals was advised by Goldman Sachs, China International Capital and Credit Suisse.
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