Sainsbury’s remains confident that regulators will clear its £7.3bn Asda acquisition.
Sainsbury’s, the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, remains confident that antitrust will clear its £7.3bn ($9.3bn) acquisition of Asda, a British supermarket retailer, headquartered in Leeds. The company was acquired from Walmart in April 2018.
Commenting on the transaction, Mike Coupe, Chief Executive Officer of Sainsbury's, said: “This is a transformational opportunity to create a new force in UK retail, which will be more competitive and give customers more of what they want now and in the future. It will create a business that is more dynamic, more adaptable, more resilient and an even bigger contributor to the UK economy."
Sainsbury’s was advised by Morgan Stanley, UBS and Brunswick. Walmart was advised by Rothschild.
DNO took control of Faroe after raising its bid to £641m.
DNO, a Norwegian oil and gas operator focused on the Middle East and the North Sea, secured control of Faroe Petroleum, an independent oil and gas company, after raising its hostile bid to £641m ($817m) or 160 pence ($2.03) per share. The company now owns 52.44% of Faroe stock.
Commenting on the offer, Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, Executive Chairman of DNO, said: "We firmly believe that Faroe's assets, the substantial part of which are Norwegian, are better placed in the bosom of DNO, Norway's oldest independent oil and gas company, currently operating gross production of 125,000 barrels per day which compares with the 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent a day of gross production operated by Faroe. DNO's proven and probable reserves were nearly four times those of Faroe's as reported at 31 December 2017."
DNO was advised by Brunswick Group, Pareto Securities and Lambert Energy Advisory. Faroe was advised by FTI, BMO Capital Markets, Rothschild and Stifel Nicolaus.
Alibaba Group acquired Data Artisans, a German data analysis firm, for €90m ($103m). The transaction marks the first full takeover by a Chinese company on Berlin’s growing startup scene.
“By leveraging the technology expertise of both teams and shared passion to develop the open-source community, we are confident that this strategic tie-in will further strengthen the growth of the Flink community, accelerate the data-processing technologies and help bolster an open, collaborative and constructive environment for global developers who are passionate about stream processing and enabling real-time applications for modern enterprises,” said Jingren Zhou, Vice President, Alibaba Group.
Investcorp acquired SmartSpace, an enterprise software and sensor platform that generates and interprets vast amounts of location data to create digital visibility of real-world objects and their interactions in real time, for £35m ($44m) in November 2018.
Commenting on the investment, Gilbert Kamieniecky, Managing Director and Head of Investcorp’s Technology Private Equity business, said: “Ubisense is an excellent addition to our Technology Partners portfolio. The Company’s Real-Time Location Solution product is, I believe, revolutionary within the Industrial Internet of Things space and we have been impressed by the strength and depth of the management team. With our expertise in working with fast-growing and data-driven businesses, Investcorp is looking forward to supporting the Company’s targeted growth trajectory and Ubisense’s expansion plans.”
Ubisense was advised by KPMG. Investcorp was advised by Arma Partners, Beecham, Code & Co, Deloitte, Proskauer and Roland Berger.
Vinci will finance Lisbon’s new airport.
Vinci, a French concessions and construction company, agreed to provide €1.1bn ($1.3bn) in financing for the expansion of Lisbon’s main airport and the construction of a new hub in nearby Montijo. Under the terms of the with the Portuguese government, €650m ($743m) of the investment will be used for the first phase of the expansion of Lisbon airport, while €500m ($572m) will fund the new Montijo site.
GlaxoSmithKline looking for early-stage assets.
GlaxoSmithKline will actively look to buy early-stage assets and partner with companies, the drugmaker’s chief executive officer, Emma Walmsley, said on Tuesday. The company will also evaluate licensing deals and invest in early-stage HIV treatments.
Walmsley said the company had extensive plans for its experimental drug to treat multiple myeloma, which targets a protein called BCMA, adding that it could be launched by 2020.
Thalassa plans to tender Local Shopping REIT.
Thalassa Holdings, a surveying services company which owns 25% of Local Shopping REIT, is planning a tender offer for all shares in the company it does not already own. It comes after Thalassa effectively blocked a move by Local Shopping REIT to wind itself up in December.
"Thalassa did not support the voluntary liquidation for reasons set out in previous announcements, most recently on December 10 2018," Thalassa said. "The company's view of the voluntary liquidation proposal was that it included a number of uncertainties for Local Shopping REIT shareholders including value erosion during the liquidation process, uncertain transactional costs and an open-ended timetable.”
Nassef Sawiris reduced his stake in LafargeHolcim.
The Egyptian business tycoon sold a 0.27% stake in LafargeHolcim, a Swiss multinational company that manufactures building materials. The shares were sold in December, at a valuation of $67m. Before the sale Nassef Sawaris held a 2.73% stake in the company, making him the sixth-largest investor.
Clariant looking to sell its pigments business for $820m.
Clariant, a Swiss specialty chemicals company, has begun the sale of its pigments business as part of wider a streamlining which it has said it would complete by the end of 2020. The unit is currently valued at approximately $820m. The Swiss company is expected to send out information packages on the unit in the first quarter, aiming to sign a deal as early as before the summer break.
Clariant is being advised by Deutsche Bank.
