AMERICAS
APi Group, a parent company to more than 40 independently managed companies, completed the acquisition of Chubb Fire & Security, a fire safety and security provider, from Carrier Global, an American multinational home appliances corporation, for $3.1bn.
"The acquisition of Chubb transforms APi into the world's leading life safety services provider. We believe the transaction will be highly accretive with significant synergy opportunities. Together, the business can move faster and more efficiently, globally leveraging the expertise and ability of our combined 26k dedicated and talented employees," Martin E. Franklin, APi Co-Chair.
Chubb Fire & Security was advised by Chapman Tripp. APi was advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Citigroup, RBC Capital Markets, Delsol and Kekst CNC. Financial advisors were advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. Debt financing was provided by Barclays and Citigroup. Debt providers were advised by Kane Kessler. Blackstone was advised by Kirkland & Ellis. Carrier Global was advised by Bank of America, Linklaters and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
Jana Partners, an activist investor and shareholder in Zendesk, is increasing pressure on Zendesk, a customer service platform, to drop plans to acquire Momentive Global, a management company that offers cloud-based software, for $4bn,
Reuters reported.
Jana says the deal is too expensive and that shareholders should oppose it. Also, the firm criticized Zendesk's plans to issue equity with a fair value of roughly $6bn to Momentive shareholders to consummate the deal.
Zendesk is advised by Centerview Partners, Goldman Sachs, Hogan Lovells, Sullivan & Cromwell and Sard Verbinnen. Momentive is advised by Allen & Company, JP Morgan, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Joele Frank. Financial advisors are advised by Latham & Watkins and White & Case.
First Citizens BancShares, the parent company of First Citizens Bank & Trust, completed the merger with CIT Group, a holding company which provides lending, advisory, commercial banking, vendor finance, and leasing services to small and middle-market businesses, in a $2.2bn deal.
"Frank and I have long respected each other's companies and believe this transaction will accelerate our strategic goals by bringing together the expertise of both banks to create scale, strength and value. This transaction will build on those efforts and more fully unlock the potential in our core franchises. In addition, the strength that is created as a larger US bank will enable greater opportunities for our team, our customers and our communities," Ellen R. Alemany, CIT Group Chairwoman and CEO.
CIT Group was advised by Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Morgan Stanley, Stifel, Sullivan & Cromwell and Kekst CNC. Financial advisors were advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell. First Citizens was advised by Piper Sandler, Borden Ladner Gervais and Smith Anderson.
AVANGRID, a sustainable energy company, entered into an amendment of the merger agreement with PNM Resources, a company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity, extending the end date to April 20, 2023.
The companies have also filed a Notice of Appeal with the New Mexico Supreme Court of the December 2021 New Mexico Public Regulation Commission's order that rejected a stipulated agreement for approval of the merger.
PNM Resources is advised by Evercore and Troutman Pepper. Evercore is advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. AVANGRID is advised by BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley, Garrigues, Latham & Watkins and FTI Consulting.
Littlejohn & Co, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, CT, completed the acquisition of Magnate Worldwide, a diversified supply chain management company comprised of a strong portfolio of complementary, premier logistics services focused on premium freight services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Magnate Worldwide builds upon Littlejohn's deep expertise investing in the transportation and logistics sectors. Global and domestic supply chains are becoming increasingly dynamic and MWW is able to help its customers manage this increasing complexity through its combination of a broad premium logistics offering, deep customer service focus, leading information technology capabilities and talented management team. We are excited to partner with the MWW team to drive the company's continued growth," Ed Feeley, Littlejohn Managing Director.
Magnate Worldwide was advised by Harris Williams & Co. Littlejohn was advised by Citizens Bank, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Gasthalter & Co. Debt financing was provided by Citizens Banks and Prospect Capital.
EQT-backed Oterra, the largest global provider of naturally sourced colors for the food, beverage, dietary supplements and pet food industry, completed the acquisition of Food Ingredient Solutions, an American producer of colors and natural antioxidants. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"North America is one of the fastest-growing natural colors markets, and this acquisition puts Oterra in a great position to further support our customers in the conversion towards natural colors," Cees de Jong, Oterra Chairman.
Food Ingredient Solutions was advised by Capital One Financial Corporation, Lazard, Hill Ward Henderson and Steve Weinberger & Associates. Oterra is advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Accenture, Alvarez & Marsal, JP Morgan, Accura Advokatpartnerselskab and Winston & Strawn.
World Fuel Services, an energy, commodities, and services company, completed the acquisition of Flyers Energy, a provider of commercial fuel cards and delivered fuel, for $775m.
"This is an important day for World Fuel as we closed the largest acquisition in our company’s history. We are excited to welcome the highly talented and successful Flyers team to World Fuel, creating an expanded national platform to deliver value-added solutions to commercial and industrial customers across the United States," Michael J. Kasbar, World Fuel Chairman and CEO.
World Fuel was advised by Bank of America, Kirkland & Ellis and Norton Rose Fulbright. Flyers Energy was advised by DCA Partners and Weintraub Tobin.
Victory Capital, a diversified global asset management firm, completed the acquisition of WestEnd Advisors, an independent institutional asset management firm, for $480m.
"The acquisition of WestEnd Advisors is very strategic and transformational to our business. It adds a high-quality and proven investment platform as well as a new product capability in a fast-growing market segment," David Brown, Victory Capital Chairman and CEO.
WestEnd Advisors was advised by PJT Partners and Alston & Bird. Victory Capital was advised by Bank of America, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Financial Profiles.
Novo, a life science investor with a focus on creating long-term value, agreed to acquire Medical Knowledge Group, a New York-based, independent analytics-driven and technology-enabled multi-channel marketing solutions provider, from private equity firms Court Square Capital and Aisling Capital for $1.1bn.
"With the remarkable growth trajectory of the biopharmaceutical services industry, largely driven by more complex therapeutics reaching the market and an increased global demand for omnichannel communications targeting healthcare providers, MKG has positioned itself in a very attractive space which fits well with the strategic objectives of the Principal Investment arm at Novo Holdings. I very much look forward to joining the team and becoming part of the continuous growth of MKG," Abhijeet Lele, Novo Senior Partner.
Medical Knowledge Group is advised by Harris Williams & Co and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Novo is advised by Houlihan Lokey and Kirkland & Ellis.
EOTECH, a privately-held optical technology company, completed the acquisition of the photonics business of Intevac, a supplier of thin-film processing systems, for $100m.
"We are extremely proud of the long history of innovation and leadership that the Photonics team has delivered over the years. Intevac Photonics, as envisioned by our late founder Norman Pond, pioneered the night vision technologies that have become the standard for most advanced digital night vision programs for the US military, as well as many foreign nations. We wish to thank the entire Photonics organization for their important contributions to our nation's defense, and we are confident that together with EOTECH, this business will continue to achieve future success providing best-in-class digital night vision technology," Wendell Blonigan, Intevac President and CEO.
Intevac was advised by Greenhill & Co and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. EOTECH was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Bodman.
Omnicell, an integrated suite of clinical infrastructure and workflow automation solutions provider for healthcare facilities, completed the acquisition of MarkeTouch Media, a provider of interactive solutions that streamline and automate client communications via voice, fax, SMS/text, web or smartphone, for $82m.
"Advanced, personalized communications, driven through SaaS-based solutions, play a critical role in enabling retail pharmacies and health plans to measurably improve patient health outcomes and retention while driving profitability. The addition of MarkeTouch Media is intended to further strengthen Omnicell’s Advanced Services portfolio and extend our leadership position as a trusted technology partner for all sectors of pharmacy and associated healthcare stakeholders," Randall Lipps, Omnicell Chairman, President, CEO and Founder.
MarkeTouch Media was advised by Arma Partners, Fortitude Advisors and Winstead. Omnicell was advised by Sidley Austin.
Pico, a provider of mission critical technology, data and analytic services for the financial markets community, completed the acquisition of Redline Trading Solutions, a provider of high performance trading and market data software solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As the trading environment becomes more globalized and continues to produce increasing amounts of data, clients are seeking greater efficiency in market infrastructure services and data consumption. Financial institutions want a trusted and globally comprehensive technology partner who understands their business, the market landscape and how to apply technology solutions. Combining Redline's premier ultra-low latency trading and software solutions with Pico's broad infrastructure, cloud and data offering, and industry leading Corvil Analytics, positions Pico uniquely to address these client needs and market challenges," Jarrod Yuster, Pico Chairman, Founder and Co-CEO.
Redline Trading Solutions was advised by Broadhaven Capital Partners and Davis Malm & D'Agostine. Pico was advised by Jefferies & Company and DLA Piper.
Evoqua Water Technologies, a provider of mission-critical water treatment solutions, completed the acquisition of the renal business of Steris, an Irish-domiciled medical equipment company specializing in sterilization and surgical products for the US healthcare system, for $196m.
"We are thrilled to officially welcome Mar Cor to the Evoqua family. With the close of this transaction, Evoqua is well-positioned to expand our service footprint in North America to provide proven water solutions for the healthcare industry," Ron Keating, Evoqua CEO.
Evoqua was advised by BMO Capital Markets and Troutman Pepper. Steris was advised by Jones Day.
REPAY, a provider of vertically-integrated payment solutions, completed the acquisition of Payix, an omni-channel payment technology platform, for $115m.
"We are thrilled about the acquisition of Payix, a highly complementary business to REPAY. With its robust and highly flexible technology platform, Payix creates a uniquely positive experience and adds value for both the lender and borrower. Payix also has a strong pipeline and product roadmap, positioning it well for 2022 and beyond. We look forward to welcoming the Payix team into the REPAY family," John Morris, REPAY CEO.
Payix was advised by Capstone Partners and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian. REPAY was advised by Troutman Pepper.
Planmeca, a Finnish manufacturer of high-tech dental equipment, completed the acquisition of the KaVo Treatment Unit and Instrument business of Envista, a global family of more than 30 trusted dental brands, for $455m.
"Envista is focused on its strategic priorities to build and optimize a more consumables and digitally enabled, workflow-oriented portfolio. This sale will better position Envista to invest organically and inorganically and expand our product offerings within these areas," Amir Aghdaei, Envista CEO.
Envista was advised by JP Morgan and Kirkland & Ellis.
Variant Equity, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, completed the acquisition of CompuCom Systems, a technology managed services provider, from ODP, an American office supply retailing company, for $305m.
"This action represents an important step in continuing to align our business model and resources towards our core strategy. By enhancing our core focus and leveraging our B2B assets and digital commerce platform, we are in an excellent position to maximize returns for our shareholders," Anthony Scaglione, ODP CFO.
ODP was advised by Goldman Sachs and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Horace Mann, a diversified insurance holding company, completed the acquisition of Madison National Life, an insurance company, from Independence Holding Company, a holding company that is principally engaged in underwriting, administering and/or distributing group and individual specialty benefit products, for $173m.
"The acquisition of Madison National is immediately accretive to EPS and ROE. The transaction accelerates our progress on all fronts of our multi-year strategic plan: strengthening our product offerings, enhancing our distribution, and adding capabilities to our infrastructure. This ultimately will help us achieve our long-term objectives of a sustainable double-digit ROE and significant education market share growth," Marita Zuraitis, Horace Mann President and CEO.
Horace Mann was advised by Raymond James and Eversheds Sutherland.
EagleTree Capital, a New York-based middle-market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Andronaco Industries, a vertically integrated designer, manufacturer, and distributor of high-performance specialty polymer and composite-engineered, corrosion-resistant flow control products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Over the last three decades, Ron and his talented team have built Andronaco into a leading provider of specialty corrosion-resistant products and a disruptor of the industrial flow control industry. We have been impressed with their work and look forward to partnering to support the company's next phase of growth," Robert Fogelson, EagleTree Senior Partner.
EagleTree Capital was advised by Jones Day and Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Novo, a life science investor, agreed to acquire Ritedose, a sterile pharmaceutical manufacturer, from AGIC Capital, a European-Asian private equity firm, and Humanwell, a pharmaceutical company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Ritedose is a mission-driven company helping bring life-saving drugs to market with the highest focus on quality and sterility. We look forward to partnering with Jody and the Ritedose team as they continue to deliver best-in-class quality solutions to the biopharmaceutical industry," Jonathan Levy, Novo Senior Partner.
Novo is advised by RBC Capital Markets and Goodwin Procter.
Molina Healthcare, a managed care organization, completed the acquisition of Texas medicaid contracts of Cigna, an insurance company, for $60m.
"Acquiring Cigna's Texas Medicaid business provides us with a stable base of membership and revenue that will deepen Molina’s service offerings in Texas, allowing us to meet the needs of thousands of additional Medicaid and MMP members. The transaction demonstrates continued execution and is nicely representative of our growth strategy," Molina.
Molina was advised by Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Highview Capital, an opportunistic private equity firm, agreed to acquire Watterson, a facility management, environmental and emergency and disaster response services provider. Financial terms are not disclosed.
"I founded Watterson with the goal of providing an unmatched service offering in the facility management space. This deal is a reflection of our team’s hard work and how far we’ve come as an established partner of choice to customers across the country. As we enter our next phase of growth, we are thrilled to partner with the Highview team," Billy Watterson, Watterson Founder.
Highview Capital is advised by Sard Verbinnen & Co
HF Foods, a food distributor to Asian restaurants across the United States, completed the acquisition of Great Wall Group, one of the largest frozen seafood suppliers servicing the Asian/Chinese restaurant market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I am excited with the successful purchase of the Great Wall Group operations. Their leadership position in the frozen seafood industry and extensive distribution network, particularly in states where HF Foods does not have a presence, complements the strengths of our existing network and supports our strategic goals of growth by acquisition and providing superior product choices to our customers," Russell T. Libby, HF Group Chairman.
HF Foods was advised by Gateway Investor Relations.
AZEK Company, a manufacturer of low-maintenance and environmentally sustainable outdoor living products, agreed to acquire StruXure Outdoor, a designer and manufacturer of high quality and innovative aluminum pergolas and cabanas. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition expands AZEK's position in the broader outdoor living category and complements its already strong portfolio of products that benefit from AZEK's expertise in material conversion and the industry's long-term secular growth trends.
AZEK is advised by Zeno Group.
Emerald, dynamic, market-driven platforms building company that integrate live events with a broad array of industry insights, digital tools, and data-focused solutions, completed the acquisition of MJBiz, an independent publisher and event producer serving America's cannabis industry entrepreneurs and investors, for $120m.
"MJBiz’s leading event and content portfolio, coupled with their 365-day engagement platform – which connects the entire cannabis supply chain – will diversify our collective product offerings, enhance our growth profile and enable us to deliver even greater value to our customers over the long term," Hervé Sedky, Emerald President and CEO.
HIG-backed Kora Saude, a hospital chain, agreed to acquire Hospital Sao Francisco, a hospital chain, for $59m.
The acquisition of HSF is strategic, as it allows the Kora Saude to consolidate itself as the leader in terms of the number of beds in the satellite cities of Distrito Federal, with approximately 450 beds under management.
Acadia Healthcare, a provider of behavioral healthcare services, completed the acquisition of CenterPointe Behavioral Health System, a mental health and addiction treatment services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition of CenterPointe provides a unique opportunity for Acadia to extend our footprint in high growth markets. This transaction aligns with our growth strategy to expand our operations through select acquisitions that meet the criteria of our disciplined capital allocation framework. As a certificate of need state, Missouri is an attractive market for an acquisition transaction," Debbie Osteen, Acadia Healthcare CEO.
Gemspring Capital, a middle-market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of JTI Electrical & Instrumentation, a provider of electrical engineering services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Jason and his team have built an incredible business, and we believe JTI is truly a differentiated market player and a trusted strategic partner for its customers. We are excited to invest in the company behind its track record of strong organic growth driven by best-of-breed scale and technical capabilities, unmatched domain knowledge, and outstanding customer service. We look forward to partnering with the management team as JTI continues to deliver exceptional value to its customers, build its team, and pursue strategic acquisitions," Ravdeep Chanana, Gemspring Principal.
Regional bank mergers face new hurdles from US.
US policy makers could stand in the way of large regional-bank takeovers as Democrats in Congress and President Joe Biden’s administration push for greater scrutiny of mergers, according to Cowen.
At greatest risk are deals that create lenders with more than $500bn in assets, but even smaller tie-ups may be in jeopardy amid increased scrutiny by the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said Jaret Seiberg, Cowen Analyst.
BNDES plans to sell stake in Ouro Fino.
Ouro Fino Saude Animal, a Brazilian veterinary products manufacturer, said that state development bank BNDES hired BTG Pactual to seek investors to buy its stake in the company.
According to a securities filing, BNDES executed a financial advisory agreement with investment bank BTG Pactual for prospecting potential investors interested in acquiring up to all of its 12.26% stake in the company, which is worth roughly $29m.
Bain Capital-backed Justworks seeks a $2bn valuation in US IPO. (FS)
Bain Capital-backed Justworks, a human resources and payroll software maker, said it was aiming for a valuation of up to $2bn in its initial public offering in the United States.
Justworks said it was offering 7m shares at between $28 and $32 per share. That would fetch Justworks $224m at the top end of the price range.
TPG sets terms for up to $1.05bn IPO. (FS)
TPG set terms for a US initial public offering that could raise as much as $1.05bn, as it joins larger rivals like Blackstone in listing on the stock market.
The private equity firm and some top executives plan to offer 34m shares at $28 to $31 apiece, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
EMEA
Mercury-backed Nexi, an Italy-based financial technology company, completed the merger with SIA, a financial technology solutions provider, in a $5.3bn deal.
"This transaction will create a large Italian PayTech company leader in Europe, a great technological and digital excellence with scale and capabilities to play an increasingly leading role in Italy and at an international level in a market, like the European one, that sees strong consolidation trends. The new PayTech company, through its independent role and having CDP as anchor investor, will continue on its growth path as large Italian public company contributing, to an even greater extent, together with its partner Banks, to further accelerate the digital payments penetration in Italy and to the digitalization and modernization of the Country in favor of citizens, enterprises and Public Administration," Paolo Bertoluzzo, Nexi CEO.
SIA was advised by KPMG, Tremonti & Associati, JP Morgan, Rothschild & Co, UniCredit, Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners and Tancredi. CDP Equity was advised by Banca Akros. Mercury was advised by Barclays, Intesa SanPaolo and Nomura. Nexi was advised by KPMG, Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Mediobanca, Legance and Barabino & Partners. Financial advisors were advised by Sullivan & Cromwell.
Heubach Group, a pigments production company, and SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm, completed the acquisition of the pigments business of Clariant, a specialty chemical company, for $952m.
"We are pleased to announce the agreement with Heubach and SK Capital for the sale of our Pigments business. This achievement represents a final step in the divestment program and portfolio repositioning announced in July 2018. We are confident that with Heubach and SK Capital, we have found the right owners of this business, for our customers, our colleagues, and our other stakeholders. Now our focus can fully be on growing revenue and profitability of our core business areas: care chemicals, catalysis and natural resources," Conrad Keijzer, Clariant CEO.
SK Capital was advised by Bank of America, Citigroup, Piper Sandler, Valence Group, AZB & Partners, CMS, Kirkland & Ellis, Lenz & Staehelin and BackBay Communications. Heubach was advised by Milbank. Debt financing was provided by Bank of America and Citigroup. Clariant was advised by Ernst & Young, Deutsche Bank and Homburger.
Digital Realty, the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, agreed to acquire Teraco, a carrier-neutral colocation provider, from private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Permira for $3.5bn.
"We are excited to enter our next chapter by joining forces with Digital Realty to create a truly global, scaled platform serving our customers in Africa and beyond. Our combined platform will be uniquely positioned to serve the full customer spectrum with the ability to support their growth around the world. We look forward to working with the Digital Realty team to extend our state-of-the-art data center and connectivity solutions to capitalize on the favorable industry trends and tremendous market opportunity," Jan Hnizdo, Teraco CEO.
Teraco is advised by Goldman Sachs, ENSafrica and Weil Gotshal and Manges. Digital Realty is advised by Solomon Partners, Bowmans and Latham & Watkins. Berkshire Partners is advised by Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Leonardo, an Italian aerospace and defense group, completed the acquisition of a 25.1% stake in HENSOLDT, a German military sensor maker, from KKR, a private equity firm, for $730m.
This investment will allow Leonardo to establish a long-term strategic presence in the fast growing German defence market and to strengthen the long-standing partnership between the two companies through the definition of cooperation initiatives for the development of joint opportunities able to satisfy the advanced requirements of domestic and international customers in the Air, Land and Naval domains, leveraging on a strong complementarity between the two companies in terms of geography, product portfolio, end markets, customers and suppliers.
Leonardo was advised by Deutsche Bank, UBS and Clifford Chance. KKR was advised by JP Morgan and Hengeler Mueller.
Acea, one of the most important Italian multi-utility groups, Ascopiave, a natural gas distribution company, and Iren, an electric services company, agreed to acquire gas distribution assets of A2A, an Italian utility company, for €127m ($143m).
The acquired assets are to be transferred by the A2A Group to a new company, whose shares will be acquired by the consortium members in proportion to their respective interests, with the provision that the demerger of the assets of interest to Acea and Iren will take place within 12 months of closing.
A2A is advised by Rothschild & Co. Acea, Ascopiave and Iren are advised by Lazard and Chiomenti.
Worldline, a global firm in the payments industry, completed the acquisition of an 80% stake in Axepta Italy, a payment solutions provider, from BNL, a banking group, for €180m ($213m).
"Through this partnership, BNL aims to pursue its specialization's journey in payment solutions initiated during the last years with Axepta, after having acquired in 2016 100% of the JV, BNL positivity created in the past with another player. The Worldline's footprint, as well as its expertise, ensures a high standard of service level, quality and performance of its payment solutions. This will allow us to propose to our customers a broad range of products, services and payment solutions, permanently in evolution thanks to innovation and new technologies' best use," Marco Tarantola, BNL Deputy General Manager.
Worldline was advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
CBRE Investment Management, a global real assets investment management firm, agreed to acquire 57 logistic assets of Hillwood for $4.9bn. The portfolio includes 33 US assets, totaling 19.2m square feet, and 24 assets across Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, totaling 9.2m square feet.
"This milestone transaction reflects our ability to leverage the strong financial capacity of our parent company to secure compelling opportunities that help to drive strategic real assets solutions for our clients. Backed by a $35bn AUM global logistics platform and a skilled team with deep domain expertise, we are positioned to be one of the world’s leading investors and operators of logistics assets," Chuck Leitner, CBRE Investment Management CEO.
Authentic Brands to pay $269m for a majority stake in DB Ventures. (FS)
Authentic Brands, a brand management company, is in talks pay about $269m for a 55% stake in DB Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage and emerging growth businesses,
Bloomberg reported.
The deal will give Authentic Brands revenue from one of the world's most high-profile athletes, who retired from football in 2013 and today pitches for brands including Tudor watches. The New York-based branding firm owns the rights to iconic stars including Elvis Presley and Shaquille O'Neal, who is also a major investor in Authentic Brands.
Societe Generale and Credit Mutuel bid for ING client portfolio.
Societe Generale and Credit Mutuel Arkea have made offers for Dutch lender ING's French retail banking client portfolio,
Reuters reported.
Societe Generale has submitted a bid on behalf of its Boursorama business, while Credit Mutuel Arkea wants the clients for its Fortuneo subsidiary.
Tinexta denies interest in merger with Prelios.
Tinexta, an Italian digital services group, said it was not interested in a deal with debt servicing firm Prelios after Il Messaggero newspaper reported the companies were looking to merge.
Il Messaggero reported negotiations with Prelios were at a preliminary phase. Shares in Tinexta initially fell more than 7% on the Milan bourse after the report.
Telecom Italia shares up as CDP calls for single network. (FS)
Shares in Telecom Italia rose 2.9% after state investor Treasury-backed CDP renewed its support for a stalled plan to merge the former phone monopoly's network assets with those of fibre optic rival Open Fiber,
Reuters reported
Italy should quickly build a single broadband network to avoid duplicating investments as it prepares to spend European recovery funds, said Giovanni Gorno Tempini, CDP President.
Mikhail Fridman seeks boardroom clearout at Turkcell. (FS)
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s investment vehicle LetterOne has called for the dismissal of four board members at Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri, as it pushes for a governance overhaul at Turkey’s largest wireless carrier.
LetterOne, which owns 19.8% of Turkcell, said in a statement that replacing Afif Demirkiran, Nail Olpak, Huseyin Arslan and Julian Horn-Smith was an important step in improving Turkcell’s governance to attract international investors. It has proposed four unaffiliated directors as replacements.
Louis Dreyfus chair owes Credit Suisse $240m after ADQ deal.
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, a chairperson and main shareholder of Louis Dreyfus, borrowed about $240m from Credit Suisse in a reduced loan arrangement following the sale of a stake in LDC, an annual company report showed.
APAC
Ooredoo, an international communications company, and CK Hutchison, a renowned multinational conglomerate, completed the merger of PT Indosat, a provider of telecommunications networks and telecommunications services, and PT Hutchison 3 Indonesia, a telecommunications service provider, in a $6bn deal.
"This agreement is a significant step towards our shared vision of creating outstanding value for our customers and shareholders by bringing together two of Indonesia's leading telecoms brands to create a stronger number two player in Indonesia, backed by two highly committed partners in Ooredoo Group and CK Hutchison. With this agreement in place, we can now turn our attention to closing the transaction and then working closely with CK Hutchison to leverage the combined expertise of our respective global telecoms groups to build a world-class digital telco for Indonesia," Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, Ooredoo Managing Director.
Ooredoo was advised by JP Morgan, FTI Consulting and Wallis PR. CK Hutchinson was advised by Goldman Sachs and HSBC. PT Indosat was advised by Barclays. PT Hutchison 3 was advised by Maverick.
HT&E, an Australian media company, completed the acquisition of Grant Broadcasters, an Australian regional radio network, for $225m.
"We are delighted to be announcing this transaction today with Grant Broadcasters – a broadcasting business of the highest quality and a fantastic, family-owned Australian success story that Janet Cameron and her family should be incredibly proud of. The station brands they have created have served their local communities with great commitment for decades, playing a pivotal role in the lives of their audiences, and we look forward to continuing that tradition," Hamish McLennan HT&E Chairman.
Grant Broadcasters was advised by KPMG, CML Lawyers and William Buck. HT&E was advised by KPMG, Jefferies & Company, Gilbert + Tobin, Hogan Lovells, Holding Redlich and King & Wood Mallesons.
Investment companies Macquarie and Aware Super agreed to acquire Two Degrees Group, a New Zealand telecommunications provider, from Trilogy International Partners, an international wireless and fixed broadband telecommunications operator, for $1.2bn.
"Over the past several months we have been focused on strategic initiatives to maximize value for our stakeholders. This transaction crystalizes value for Trilogy shareholders at a valuation which reflects the remarkable accomplishments of our team in New Zealand and runway for future growth," Brad Horwitz, Trilogy President and CEO.
Macquarie and Aware Super are advised by UBS. Trilogy is advised by Montarne.
China Mobile to buy back $12.6bn of its Hong Kong shares.
China Mobile will buy back up to $12.6bn worth of its Hong Kong listed shares on the market, as the company prepares for its $7.7bn listing in Shanghai, China's biggest public share offering in a decade.
The company told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange it would press ahead with a plan to buy back up to 2.05bn shares using existing cash and working capital.
Tencent plans to sell a stake in Sea for up to $3bn.
Tencent is seeking to sell a stake in Sea, a Singaporean online gaming and e-commerce company, to raise as much as $3.1bn for new initiatives and philanthropic efforts to aid wealth redistribution.
The Chinese internet giant is offering 14.5m shares in Sea, a stake of 2.6%, at an indicative price range of $208 to $212 each,
Bloomberg reported.
CIMB Group to hire Ng Cho Weng as regional M&A head.
CIMB Group hired Ng Cho Weng, a BNP Paribas veteran, as its head of mergers, acquisitions and sponsors for Southeast Asia,
Bloomberg reported.
Ng Cho Weng, a managing director at BNP’s Singapore unit, will join Malaysia’s third-biggest bank by market value next month.
Novo Tellus gets nod for local SPAC listing. (FS)
Novo Tellus Capital Partners has received permission from the city’s stock exchange to list its blank-check company,
Bloomberg reported.
The buyout firm got the eligibility-to-list letter last month for its special purpose acquisition company. Novo Tellus Acquisition plans to raise $111m to $148m from an initial public offering.
