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Top Highlights
Nippon Life, a Japan insurance company, agreed to acquire Resolution Life, a global life insurance group, for $10.6bn.
Resolution Life is advised by Goldman Sachs, Debevoise & Plimpton, Herbert Smith Freehills, Kirkland & Ellis, SEC Newgate (led by Erica Borgelt) and Temple Bar Advisory (led by Alex Child-Villiers). Financial advisor is advised by Sullivan & Cromwell (led by Stephen M. Kotran). Nippon Life is advised by JP Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, ASW Law, Ashurst, Bell Gully, DLA Piper, Mayer Brown (led by David W. Alberts, Joseph A. Castelluccio and Camila Panama) and Nishimura & Asahi.
SoftBank-backed Cohesity, a privately held information technology company, completed the acquisition of the data security unit of Carlyle-backed Veritas, an American international data management company, for $7bn.
Haveli Investments was advised by Ropes & Gray (led by David Hutchins and William M. Shields). Cohesity was advised by JP Morgan, Bank of America, PJT Partners, Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian (led by Andy Bradley) and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (led by Atif Azher). Debt financing was provided by JP Morgan and PJT Partners. Carlyle was advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by David Wales). Veritas was advised by Guggenheim Partners, Morgan Stanley, Alston & Bird, Latham & Watkins and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (led by John Sobolewski).
Patient Square Capital, a dedicated healthcare investment firm, agreed to acquire Patterson Companies, a dental and animal health distributor, for $4.1bn.
Patterson Companies is advised by Guggenheim Partners and Taft Stettinius & Hollister. Patient Square Capital is advised by Citigroup, UBS, Wells Fargo Securities, Greenberg Traurig, Latham & Watkins (led by Stelios G. Saffos), Kirkland & Ellis (led by Maggie D. Flores, Michael E. Weisser and Oliver Yee) and Prosek Partners. Debt financing is provided by Citigroup, UBS and Wells Fargo Securities.
Deal Round up
AMERICAS
Walgreens in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners. ( WSJ)
Bausch + Lomb buyout teeters as Blackstone balks at price tag. ( FT)
MetLife and General Atlantic to launch reinsurance venture. ( Reuters)
The Onion's purchase of Alex Jones' Infowars stopped by US judge. ( Reuters)
Warburg Pincus not considering an IPO anytime soon. ( Reuters)
EMEA
Poland moves to block unwanted takeovers of key TV networks. ( Bloomberg)
APAC
Bain launches $4.3bn counterbid against KKR for Japan’s Fuji Soft. ( FT)
I Squared Capital is said to begin due diligence work on HKBN. ( Bloomberg)
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AMERICAS
The US government is conducting a national security review of Nippon Steel's $15bn bid to acquire US Steel, with President Joe Biden awaiting the outcome before making a final decision on whether to block the deal.
The acquisition has faced opposition from Biden, Trump and the United Steelworkers union, which fears the deal could jeopardize domestic steel supply critical to infrastructure and agriculture.
Graham Partners, a private investment firm, completed the investment in Becklar, a provider of innovative connected safety and monitoring solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Becklar was advised by Robert W Baird and Choate Hall & Stewart. Graham Partners was advised by Houlihan Lokey. BV Investment Partners was advised by Robert W Baird, Choate Hall & Stewart and Chris Tofalli Public Relations (led by Chris Tofalli).
Nippon Life, a life insurance company, completed the acquisition of a 21.6% stake in Corebridge, an American multinational financial services company, from AIG, an American multinational finance and insurance corporation, for $3.8bn.
EQS Group, a cloud software provider for compliance & ethics, data privacy, sustainability management, and investor relations, completed the acquisition of compliance and ethics business from OneTrust, a privacy and security software provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
EQS Group was advised by Kirkland & Ellis. OneTrust was advised by Goldman Sachs and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (led by Steven A. Cohen).
Bausch + Lomb, a global eye health company, completed the acquisition of Elios Vision, a developer of the ELIOS™ procedure, the first clinically validated, minimally invasive glaucoma surgery procedure using an excimer laser. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Elios Vision was advised by Leerink Partners and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Gryphon Investors-backed Thermal Technology Distribution Solutions, a platform for the distribution of industrial temperature management and related products, completed the acquisition of Applied Thermal Systems, an industrial equipment supplier. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Hub International, a full-service global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, completed the acquisition of Otter Insurance Agency, an insurance agency. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Otter Insurance Agency was advised by ClearLake Consulting.
Pomeroy Technologies, an industry technology solutions and services company, completed the acquisition of Soroc Technology, a full-service technology solutions and services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Pomeroy Technologies was advised by Vehr Communications (led by Tammy Hatcher).
Kroger, a retail company, failed to acquire Albertsons, a grocery company, for $24.6bn.
Eagle Materials, a producer of building materials, agreed to acquire Bullskin Stone & Lime, a crushed stone supplier, for $152.5m.
Vulcan Materials Company, a mining company, agreed to acquire Superior Ready Mix Concrete, a building materials company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
LoopMe, a media agency, completed the acquisition of Chartboost, a mobile game in-app programmatic advertising and monetization platform, from Zynga, an American social game developer running social video game services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Walgreens in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners. ( WSJ)
Walgreens Boots Alliance is reportedly in advanced talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners, marking another effort to go private after a significant drop in its share value.
The pharmacy chain has been exploring options with advisers and reached out to other potential buyers before focusing solely on Sycamore.
Historically, Walgreens has worked with Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, Weil Gotshal and Manges and Sidley Austin, according to MergerLinks data.
Bausch + Lomb buyout teeters as Blackstone balks at price tag. ( FT)
Blackstone has withdrawn from participating in a joint bid with TPG to acquire eyecare company Bausch + Lomb because of the seller’s high price expectations.
Bausch + Lomb, which produces contact lenses, dry eye medications, and surgical ophthalmology equipment, was put up for sale earlier this year by its debt-heavy parent, Bausch Health.
MetLife and General Atlantic to launch reinsurance venture. ( Reuters)
MetLife and General Atlantic are partnering to launch a reinsurance venture called Chariot Reinsurance to enhance returns on low-risk insurance assets.
The venture will begin operations in the first half of 2025 with an initial equity investment of over $1bn, with MetLife and General Atlantic each owning about 15%.
The Onion's purchase of Alex Jones' Infowars stopped by US judge. ( Reuters)
Judge Christopher Lopez ruled that the auction process for Infowars was hastily concluded and missed opportunities to maximize returns as it did not allow further competitive bidding between The Onion and First American United Companies.
Warburg Pincus not considering an IPO anytime soon. ( Reuters)
Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, has no immediate plans to pursue an initial public offering, according to CEO Jeffrey Perlman.
Warburg believes staying private currently offers a competitive advantage. Perlman noted that the firm would reconsider if the market environment changed.
EMEA
Davidson Kempner, an investment management firm, and Nature Infrastructure Capital, a sector-focused private equity firm, completed the acquisition of renewables project development business from Greencells Group, a private equity firm dedicated to investing in the global energy transition. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Davidson Kempner and Nature Infrastructure Capital were advised by Deloitte, Hogan Lovells (led by Matthias Hirschmann), Ropes & Gray (led by Simon Saitowitz), Willkie Farr & Gallagher (led by Philip Coletto and Claire McDaid) and Environmental Resources Management. Nature Infrastructure Capital was advised by Ropes & Gray (led by Simon Saitowitz) and Kekst CNC (led by Torben Gosau). Zahid Group was advised by Marathon Capital, CETA Partners, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Loyens & Loeff.
Managem, an international mining group, completed the acquisition of Moroccan assets of Sound Energy, a transition energy company, for $45.2m.
Ageras, a provider of accounting software, completed the acquisition of Shine, a French SME fintech firm, from Societe Generale, a financial services firm.
STAR Capital, an independent investment fund manager, completed the acquisition of Subsea Technology & Rentals, a global subsea sensor equipment and solutions provider, from Baird Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Baird Capital was advised by DC Advisory (led by Gary Hancock).
Zahid Group, a family-owned Saudi Arabian holding company, offered to acquire Barloworld, an industrial processing, distribution, and services company, for ZAR23bn ($1.3bn).
Poland moves to block unwanted takeovers of key TV networks. ( Bloomberg)
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has pledged to block any unwanted attempts to acquire two private television networks, emphasizing the need to safeguard the country’s media from external influence.
Warner Bros. Discovery's TVN and Telewizja Polsat will be classified as strategic companies for an acquisiton of which the cabinet approval will be required.
APAC
Masdar, a UAE-government owned renewable energy company, CPPIB, a global investment management organization, ADIA, a sovereign wealth fund, and Sumant Sinha, offered to acquire the remaining 37% stake in ReNew, a renewable energy company based in India, in a $2.82bn deal.
ReNew is advised by Rothschild & Co and Linklaters.
Axiata Group, a Malaysian multinational telecommunications company, agreed to merge with PT Smartfren Telecom, a telecommunications company, in a $6.5bn deal.
Axiata Group is advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (led by Jonathan Stone).
Jubilant Bhartia Group, a multi-billion conglomerate with global presence in diverse sectors, agreed to acquire a 40% stake in Hindustan Coca‑Cola Holdings, the parent company of the largest Coca‑Cola bottler in India, from Coca‑Cola, a beverage company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Coca‑Cola Company is advised by Rothschild & Co.
Cathay Life, an insurance broker, agreed to acquire a 50% stake in four Greater Changhua offshore wind farms from Ørsted, a developer of offshore and onshore renewable energy farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, for $1.6bn.
Bain launches $4.3bn counterbid against KKR for Japan’s Fuji Soft. ( FT)
Bain Capital has made a $4.3bn counteroffer for Japan's Fuji Soft, raising its bid to JPY9.6k ($63.3) per share and surpassing KKR's previous offer of JPY9.45k ($62.3) per share.
This move has intensified the rivalry between the two private equity firms, which began competing in August. KKR has gained substantial shares and board approval, but Bain's bid has the backing of Fuji Soft's founder, Hiroshi Nozawa.
I Squared Capital is said to begin due diligence work on HKBN. ( Bloomberg)
I Squared Capital is conducting due diligence on Hong Kong-listed broadband company HKBN, as the US private equity firm considers a potential formal acquisition offer.
I Squared’s interest could spark a bidding war for HKBN as China Mobile, a state-owned company, made a cash offer of HKD5.23 ($0.67) per share, valuing HKBN at approximately $882m.
Historically, I Squared Capital has worked with Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Linklaters and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, according to MergerLinks data.
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