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AMERICAS
Noble, an offshore drilling contractor organized in London, agreed to acquire Diamond Offshore Drilling, an offshore drilling contractor, for $1.6bn.
"This acquisition enables Noble to continue our journey of delivering superior innovation and value to a broad range of the leading offshore operators across the world. Our position will be strengthened with the addition of four 7th-generation drillships and one of the most high-spec harsh environment semisubmersible rigs in the world. Additionally, Diamond's five conventional deepwater and midwater rigs have averaged above 85% utilization over the last three years and currently have strong forward contract coverage. Supported by Diamond's $2.1bn of backlog and $100m of anticipated cost synergies, we expect the transaction to be immediately accretive to our free cash flow per share and contribute to accelerated growth in our return of capital to shareholders," Robert Eifler, Noble President and CEO.
Diamond Offshore Drilling is advised by Guggenheim Partners, Tudor Pickering Holt and Kirkland & Ellis. Noble is advised by Morgan Stanley, SpareBank 1 Markets, Wells Fargo Securities and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison (led by Kyle T. Seifried and Scott A. Barshay). Debt financing is provided by Morgan Stanley.
Ardian, a private investment house, agreed to acquire CampusParc, the concessionaire that manages, operates, and maintains the parking facilities at The Ohio State University’s flagship campus in Columbus, Ohio, from QIC, an investment company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This transaction marks an exciting milestone for our essential infrastructure strategy in the Americas. We admire CampusParc’s innovative solutions and customer-centric approach, and together, we look forward to leveraging our collective strengths to enhance the customer experience,” Leonarda Orani, Ardian Managing Director.
Ardian is advised by Solomon Partners, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Alliant, ALG Global, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Leo Berwick, BTY Group and The Neibart Group (led by Maeve Maloney).
Addus HomeCare, a provider of home care services, agreed to acquire the personal care operations of Gentiva, a provider of home health care, hospice, and related health services in the United States, for $350m.
"We believe this acquisition is a great strategic fit for Addus, and we are excited about the opportunity to expand our personal care market coverage in seven states, including Texas and Missouri, which are new markets for Addus. Notably, Gentiva is the largest provider of personal care services in the state of Texas, where we currently have no personal care operations. This acquisition fits squarely into our growth strategy to leverage our strong personal care experience to build scale in existing markets as well as enter select new markets where we can immediately establish a significant presence," Dirk Allison, Addus Chairman and CEO.
Addus HomeCare is advised by Bank of America, Bass Berry & Sims and Finn Partners (led by Dru Anderson). Gentiva is advised by Goldman Sachs, Debevoise & Plimpton and Ropes & Gray.
Cognizant, an information technology services and consulting company, agreed to acquire Belcan, a global supplier of engineering, supply chain, technical recruiting, and information technology services, from AE Industrial Partners, a private equity firm, for $1.3bn.
"We believe that acquiring Belcan will strengthen Cognizant's position in the sizable and fast-growing ER&D services market. Belcan's deep engineering capabilities and domain expertise across the aerospace & defense market will be complemented by Cognizant's scale and own multi-decade digital engineering expertise, providing Belcan's blue-chip client roster access to our advanced AI, Cloud and Data technologies," Ravi Kumar S., Cognizant CEO.
Cognizant is advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer. Belcan is advised by Jefferies & Company, Solomon Partners, and Kirkland & Ellis.
Bell Media, a media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE, completed the acquisition of the Canadian business from OUTFRONT Media, an outdoor media company, for $300m.
"The sale of our Canadian business highlights the value of our assets and will provide us with additional financial flexibility as we focus on our US assets. While we will miss our Canadian colleagues, we know the business we have built together will be in excellent hands with Bell Media," Jeremy Male, OUTFRONT Media Chairman and CEO.
OUTFRONT Media was advised by Solomon Partners, Cravath Swaine & Moore (led by Robert I. Townsend, Keith Hallam and Sanjay Murti) and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. Bell Media was advised by National Bank Financial and Blake Cassels & Graydon.
Booz Allen Hamilton, an American government and military contractor, specializing in intelligence, and NexTech Solutions, engineering consultant, agreed to acquire PAR Government Systems and Rome Research Corporation from PAR Technology Corporation, a company that creates and markets products that help restaurant and retail operators, for $102m.
“Today’s announcement represents a milestone in advancing PAR’s goal to become the world’s largest technology provider to enterprise foodservice. The sale of our Government operating segment to notable strategic buyers, Booz Allen Hamilton and NexTech Solutions provides a clear fit for these businesses, allows for a seamless transition and sets up both PGSC and RRC for continued success,” Savneet Singh, PAR Technology CEO.
Booz Allen is advised by Jefferies & Company and King & Spalding. PAR Technology is advised by Robert W Baird (led by Jean Stack and John Song) and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners, a global commodity trading company, agreed to acquire Trailstone, a global energy and technology company, from Riverstone, a private markets asset management firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Agreeing terms to acquire Trailstone is an important event in Engelhart’s long term strategy to grow our energy trading platform and enhance our technological capability to play a leading role in the clean energy transition. We have been impressed by the Trailstone team’s innovation in the renewables trading sector and we believe the acquisition and merger will be highly complementary for both businesses,” Huw Jenkins, Engelhart CEO.
Trailstone is advised by Latham & Watkins. Engelhart is advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Riverstone is advised by Latham & Watkins.
Fielmann Group, a global eyewear provider, agreed to acquire Shopko Optical, an optical retailer based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, from Monarch Alternative Capital, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Fielmann's purpose is to help everyone hear and see the beauty in the world. Our acquisition of Shopko Optical is in line with our Vision 2025 growth strategy to expand our business further internationally, particularly in the US market. This acquisition is the next step in our long-term plan to re-define what US consumers can expect of eyecare and eyewear," Marc Fielmann, Fielmann Group CEO.
Shopko Optical is advised by Jefferies & Company.
MOURI Tech, a global provider of enterprise IT solutions, agreed to acquire Vertisystem, an IT services company in the USA specializing in the gaming and hospitality industries. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to welcome Vertisystem to the MOURI Tech family. This move enriches our managed service provider portfolio with Vertisystem’s experience, thereby enhancing our service offerings to clients. With this acquisition, we aim to broaden our market reach across key industry verticals, including gaming and hospitality. Together, we will strive to leverage our combined strengths to drive innovation and deliver value to our clients,” Anil Yerramreddy, MOURI Tech CEO.
Vertisystem is advised by Ernst & Young.
Ambar Energia, a major Brazilian electric utilities company, agreed to acquire the thermoelectric portfolio of Electrobras, an electric utility company in São Paulo, Brazil, for $878m.
The sale of the assets is the result of a competitive process, with high engagement, which began in July 2023. The result of the process enabled the Electrobras to maximize the valuation of its assets with adequate risk allocation, immediately eliminating the impacts of default related to energy sales contracts.
Cvent, a meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, completed the acquisition of Reposite, an AI-powered online vendor and supplier sourcing platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Alexa and Heather have built an impressive vendor sourcing solution in a very short amount of time, and we're excited to bring their talented team and innovative technology to Cvent. Reposite is a perfect complement to our own hotel and venue sourcing platform and aligns seamlessly with our vision of creating a global marketplace where the meetings and events ecosystem can come together to deliver exceptional experiences," Reggie Aggarwal, Cvent CEO and Founder.
EMEA
Slate Asset Management, a global alternative investment platform targeting real assets, agreed to acquire the World Seafood Center, a state-of-the-art, newly built seafood refrigeration and distribution facility, from Oslo Airport City, an urban property developer, for NOK1.3bn ($121m).
"We are pleased to be increasing our exposure to European essential real estate with the acquisition of this premier cold storage and distribution facility. The World Seafood Center has established itself as a critical part of the food supply chain globally, providing consumers across Europe, America, and Asia with access to high-quality Norwegian seafood. As global demand for sustainable seafood continues to grow, we look forward to working together with the leading tenants at the World Seafood Center to further enhance the quality, efficiency, and resiliency of this facility, ensuring it remains a major seafood export hub for years to come," Sven Vollenbruch, Slate Managing Director.
Slate is advised by KPMG, CBRE Group, agradblue, Pareto Securities and Schjodt. Oslo Airport City is advised by Vedal, Colliers and Thommessen.
EU antitrust regulators have given British Airways-owner IAG more time to offer fresh remedies to ease their concerns about its bid for full control of Spain's Air Europa.
IAG, which also owns Spanish carrier Iberia, had faced a deadline to offer concessions but the deadline has now been extended to June 24 and the European Commission will make its decision by July 29, Reuters reported.
Nova Ljubljanska Banka, a Slovenian lender, offered to acquire Addiko Bank, an Austrian banking group with numerous cross-border activities in the Alps-Adriatic region, for €390m ($425m).
The acquisition is aimed at cementing NLB's position in former Yugoslavia and growing already leading market shares in Slovenia, Serbia, Republika Srpska and Montenegro.
Motors lines up deal to buy stricken car marketplace Cazoo.
Administrators to Cazoo, the British online car retailer once valued at well over £5bn ($6bn), are closing in on a deal to offload its marketplace division.
Motors, a privately owned used-car platform, is now the frontrunner to buy Cazoo's brand and marketplace business, Sky News reported.
Body Shop administrators in race to wrap up sale.
Administrators to The Body Shop are aiming to clinch a sale of the stricken cosmetics retailer by the end of the month, even as its former owner veers away from making an offer for it, Sky News reported.
FRP Advisory, which was appointed to handle the chain's insolvency in January, has asked for indicative bids by June 18.
Saudi Aramco shares trade higher after share offering.
Saudi Aramco's shares gained on June 9, the first trading day after a secondary share offering expected to raise at least $11.2bn, Reuters reported.
The shares opened at $7.44 a share, after closing the previous session on June 6 at $7.54, but climbed to $7.55 by 0730 GMT. The secondary share sale's final price was set at $7.26, towards the lower end of the given price range.
Mike Lynch cleared by US jury of all charges over £8.3bn sale of Autonomy to HP.
British entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been cleared of all charges by a US jury in the high-profile fraud case related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011, Sky News reported.
Dr Lynch, who was extradited to the US to face trial just over a year ago, was acquitted alongside a former finance executive Stephen Chamberlain who had faced the same charges.
BlackRock appoints Mohammad Al Fahim as MD for UAE, Bahrain & Oman. (FS, People)
BlackRock on June 10 said it hired Mohammad Al Fahim as managing director and head of the United Arab Emirates to look after its business in the country, together with Oman and Bahrain, DealStreetAsia reported.
"Mr. Al Fahim will lead all aspects of BlackRock's client business to help deliver a diversified platform of investment solutions, including the firm's growing private markets capabilities," BlackRock Global Asset Manager.
APAC
India's Bajaj Housing Finance files for $838m IPO.
India’s Bajaj Housing Finance has filed with the country’s markets regulator to raise up to INR70bn ($838m) through an initial public offering, DealStreetAsia reported.
The firm, a unit of non-bank lender Bajaj Finance, will raise funds through a primary issue worth INR40bn ($478m).
Shein may not qualify for FTSE 100 inclusion.
Shein may not qualify for inclusion on the FTSE 100 Index even as the online retailer gears up for an initial public offering that could be one of the largest ever in the UK, Bloomberg reported.
The number of shares being sold by Shein will not meet the minimum requirement for inclusion on FTSE indexes. Companies incorporated outside the UK must have a minimum free float of 25% under stock exchange rules.
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