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AMERICAS
Elon Musk contended that Twitter's decision to pay millions of dollars to a whistleblower it had fired gives the world's richest person another justification for terminating his $44bn agreement to buy the social media company, Reuters reported.
In a letter to Twitter, lawyers for Musk said Twitter's failure to seek his consent before paying $7.75m to Peiter Zatko and his lawyers violated the merger agreement, which restricted when Twitter could make such payments. The payment, "cannot be cured," and Musk is therefore "not required" to complete the merger, the letter said.
Pentwater Capital Management, the second-largest shareholder of Turquoise Hill Resources, said it opposes Rio Tinto's $2.7bn acquisition of the Canadian miner, and was weighing legal options to thwart the deal.
The activist investor added that it now owns 11.67% of Turquoise Hill's shares, after buying a further 1.73% stake on the open market. Pentwater joins another minority shareholder, SailingStone Capital Partners, in publicly opposing Rio Tinto's offer as too low, Reuters reported.
Turquoise Hill is advised by BMO Capital Markets, TD Securities, Blake Cassels & Graydon, Norton Rose Fulbright and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Rio Tinto is advised by Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets, Rothschild & Co, McCarthy Tetrault and Sullivan & Cromwell.
American Securities, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire Meridian Adhesives Group, a manufacturer of adhesives and sealants, from Arsenal Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are grateful for the support of Arsenal over the past four years as we established Meridian as the go-to solution provider in the industry. We are excited about Meridian's next phase of growth and our new partnership with American Securities," Dan Pelton, Meridian CEO.
Meridian Adhesives is advised by Citigroup, Moelis & Co and Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff. American Securities is advised by Morgan Stanley and Weil Gotshal and Manges.
Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private investment firm, and Motive Partners, a private equity firm, completed an investment in Accordion, a private equity-focused financial and technology consulting firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We believe in the Accordion value proposition not only conceptually, but also in practice. We have known Nick and the Accordion team for years. We have entrusted them for numerous, critical CFO-related projects within our portfolio, and we know their expertise around the entire lifecycle of an investment is needed now more than ever. We are thrilled to partner with Nick and the broader management team to help support more PE-backed CFOs, while helping Accordion reach its full potential as an organization, growth company, and transformative industry innovator. This is also our first investment in partnership with Motive Partners and we are excited to work together to help Accordion reach the next level,” Michael Choe, Charlesbank Managing Director and CEO.
Accordion was advised by Guggenheim Partners, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and GK Communications. Charlesbank Capital Partners was advised by Ropes & Gray. Motive Partners was advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
Nature's Miracle, a fast-growing agriculture technology company, agreed to go public via a SPAC merger with Lakeshore Acquisition II, a blank check company, in a $265m deal.
"In the face of global energy shortage, food security, drought and life-style change, Nature's Miracle is excited to offer an alternative farming mode which saves transportation cost, reduces irrigation water requirements by up to 90% and ensures fresh and local supply of produces for health-conscious consumers. We have developed a robust pipeline of greenhouse projects in the US and Canada for the next twenty-four months. By combining with Lakeshore, Nature's Miracle will be able to tap into the public equity and debt market to fund its aggressive growth plan going forward. We look forward to working with Lakeshore team to complete the transaction and to list on Nasdaq," Tie Li, Founder, Nature's Miracle Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Lakeshore Acquisition II is advised by Loeb & Loeb and Maxim Group. Nature's Miracle is advised by Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li.
Royal Gold, a company which provides investors exposure to precious metals without many of the risks of investing in traditional precious metal producers, completed the acquisition of Great Bear Royalties, a precious metals royalty and streaming company, for $152m.
“I am pleased to announce the closing of this friendly transaction with Great Bear Royalties Corp. The acquisition provides Royal Gold exposure to Canada’s newest major gold discovery, the Great Bear Project, and furthers our strategic objective of acquiring quality, long lived assets with excellent operators in favorable jurisdictions," Bill Heissenbuttel, Royal Gold President and CEO.
Royal Gold was advised by Fort Capital Partners. Great Bear Royalties was advised by Cormark Securities, GenCap Mining Advisory and Blake Cassels & Graydon.
Insurance services providers Westfield Insurance and Enstar Group, agreed to acquire the Lloyd’s Syndicate 1200 business of Argo Group, a reinsurance services provider, for $125m.
“As part of our review of strategic alternatives, we are taking decisive actions to optimize our operations and business structure, better positioning the company for continued profitable growth and returns in the US as we strive to maximize value for shareholders. We believe Westfield and our Lloyd’s team members are well positioned for future growth and success, and we thank the Argo employees within those business units for their dedication to improving operational results in recent periods," Tom Bradley, Argo Chairman and CEO.
Westfield is advised by Keefe Bruyette & Woods and Sidley Austin. Argo is advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
FTX Ventures, a venture capital firm, agreed to acquire a 30% stake in SkyBridge Capital, an investment company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sam is a visionary who has built incredible businesses that are synergistic with the future of SkyBridge. Our business has continued to evolve since we founded the firm in 2005. We will remain a diversified asset management firm, while investing heavily in blockchain," Anthony Scaramucci, SkyBridge Founder and Managing Partner.
SkyBridge Capital is advised by Prosek Partners and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. FTX Ventures is advised by M Group Strategic Communications.
A consortium of investors including WaveDivision Capital, Searchlight Capital Partners, PSP Investments, CPPIB and BCI, led a $450m investment round in Ziply Fiber, a fiber internet services provider.
“We originally partnered with the Ziply Fiber team to provide reliable, quality fiber internet access in the Northwest. Harold and the team at Ziply have exceeded our expectations, and they will continue to deliver high-performance, fiber-based connectivity to more markets at a time when the need for best-in-class symmetrical speeds has never been higher," Eric Zinterhofer, Searchlight Capital Founding Partner.
Ziply Fiber was advised by Curator PR. Searchlight was advised by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
Gulf Energy Development, a Thai energy and infrastructure company, agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Jackson Generation, an energy facility, from J-POWER USA, a competitive energy producer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"J-POWER USA is excited to partner with GULF, a leading power and infrastructure company in Thailand as they make their first investment into the US power market. We expect Jackson Generation to continue to deliver clean reliable power to residents in Illinois as we work toward a clean energy future," Mark Condon, J-POWER USA President and CEO.
J-POWER USA is advised by Merit Capital Advisors and Baker McKenzie.
Vision Ridge-backed Earthrise Energy, an independent power producer, completed the acquisition of the natural gas plants Lincoln Generating Facility and Crete Energy Venture, from ArcLight Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to add these facilities to our growing energy portfolio and expand our presence into a new market. These plants complement our existing assets and allow us to advance a clean energy future where power is reliable, resilient, and renewable. Already, we have begun work developing renewable energy projects with the goal of building long-term businesses in the communities we serve," Carla Tully, Earthrise Energy Co-Founder and CEO.
ArcLight Capital Partners was advised by Jefferies & Company.
North Haven Capital, a private investment group, BDC Capital, a venture capital firm, and BankProv, a future-ready commercial bank that offers adaptive and technology-first banking solutions to emerging markets, completed the acqusition of The Chamberlain Group, a company which designs, develops, and manufactures high fidelity mimetic anatomy for surgical and interventional training, research, device development, and sales and marketing. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Lisa and Eric have built an extremely high-quality firm that takes great pride in its corporate culture and reputation with its client base. We’re excited to work with the employees of TCG to expand their presence geographically and into new products and service offerings,” Sam Sezak, North Haven Capital Partner.
Rockefeller Capital aims to double assets to $200bn in 3-5 years. (FS)
Rockefeller Capital Management, a private equity firm, is aiming to double its assets under management to about $200bn in three to five years as it expands into new US cities and hires more wealth managers, its chief executive officer said.
Rockefeller, which currently has about 250 private wealth advisers, aims to increase that to 400-500 in three to five years. It has already made some senior hires to fuel the expansion, Reuters reported.
"Rockefeller will concentrate its wealth-management efforts in the United States, where it already has a presence in major metropolitan areas. The company plans to open an office in Orlando, Florida and deepen its presence in Charlotte, North Carolina, Austin, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee," Gregory Fleming, Rockefeller Capita CEO.
Tonal seeks funding at $1.9bn.
Home fitness business Tonal Systems is raising financing that would value the company at about $1.9bn.
The fresh funding is expected to exceed $100m and would give Tonal the capital to continue growing as it deals with supply-chain challenges. Tonal said it raised $250m at a $1.6bn valuation last year.
Existing investors Dragoneer Investment Group and L Catterton are expected to participate in the latest round. The round includes terms favoring the latest investors, giving them priority to be paid first if Tonal was bought, Bloomberg reported.
Yara is close to acquiring Petrobras’ fertilizer unit.
Yara International, a chemical company, is close to acquiring the fertilizer unit put on sale by state-controlled oil company Petrobras.
Petrobras has selected Yara's bid and the deal now needs to be approved by the company's board. An announcement is expected over the next weeks.
Petrobras has been trying to sell the unit for a while. In February it agreed to sell it to Russian group Acron, but the deal collapsed. In May, the oil company relaunched the process with advisory of the investment banking unit of Bradesco. Other companies interested in the deal included Brazilian group Unigel and steelmaker CSN. The final deal announcement has been delayed due to recent changes in Petrobras' board, Reuters reported.
Vista Equity and Elliott explore the sale of Citrix System's Wrike.
Private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Elliott Investment Management plan to explore selling one of Citrix Systems’s businesses after they close on their buyout of the software company.
Britannica eyes a $1bn IPO in 2023.
Edtech provider Britannica Group, publisher of Britannica encyclopedia and Merriam-Webster dictionary products, is eyeing an initial public offering that could be valued at more than $1bn.
Britannica, which now receives the bulk of its revenue from digital products, could hold the IPO as early as 2023. If and when the company lists will depend on market conditions.
The timing of a listing will depend on market conditions and Britannica could decide to remain private, Bloomberg reported.
Bessemer Venture Partners closes $4.6bn across two new funds. (FS)
Bessemer Venture Partners, a private equity firm, has closed $4.6bn in new capital across two funds – $3.85bn for its twelfth flagship fund, BVP XII, and $780m for its inaugural BVP Forge fund. These two new funds allow the firm to back entrepreneurs and management teams across all stages of growth, regardless of maturity or structure.
BVP XII will focus on early-stage investments in companies around the globe spanning enterprise, deep tech, fintech, consumer, and healthcare, allowing our partners to continue investing early in promising technology companies and continue backing the companies and their founders at every stage of their growth.
"We're incredibly fortunate to have had a front-row seat to countless exceptional entrepreneurs and success stories over the last few decades and are thrilled to continue expanding that position," Bessemer Venture.
BayPine raises around $3bn for inaugural private equity fund. (FS)
BayPine, a private equity firm, has closed its inaugural private equity fund, BayPine Capital Partners Fund, at approximately $2.2bn, exceeding its $2bn target. Including the invested capital of co-investors participating directly and indirectly alongside the fund, the fund's capital totals approximately $3bn.
The fund's investor base is comprised of leading global institutions, including public and private pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, insurance companies, family offices and high net worth individuals.
EMEA
MML Capital, a private equity firm, completed an investment in Global Packaging Solutions, a specialist in returnable packaging solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“MML clearly appreciated the quality of our team, the high degree of efficiency and the growth potential of the GPS Group. As a result of this partnership, GPS now has the means to achieve its ambitions, in full," Benoit Arnaud, GPS Founder and Chairman.
GPS was advised by Advention, Mazars Corporate Finance, Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance and Altair Lawyers. MML Capital was advised by DC Advisory, PricewaterhouseCoopers, DLA Piper and Shearman & Sterling.
Abac, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of the industrial business of Intermas Group, a company dedicated to the manufacture and distribution of extruded plastic mesh. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Our ambition is to crystallize the opportunities that lie ahead of the company, such as fueling its growth in markets where it is less present and making sustainability a tool to create value. Similarly, we are looking forward to engaging other companies. Do not rule out the possibility of accelerating our consolidation in this sector”, Borja Martinez, Abac Founding Partner.
Abac Capital was advised by KPMG, Attalea Partners and Ernst & Young. Intermas Group was advised by DC Advisory, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Roland Berger and Broseta Abogados.
South Africa's Competition Commission approved Heineken's purchase of wine and cider company Distell Group as long as the merged entity invests more than 10bn rand ($578m) over five years in the country.
The Commission said on Friday the investment would be to maintain and grow the aggregate productive capacity of its operations and related facilities in South Africa, Reuters reported.
Heineken is advised by Nomura, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and Edelman. Remgro is advised by HSBC.
Britain's competition watchdog has provisionally cleared London Stock Exchange's takeover of Quantile Group, Reuters reported.
LSEG said in December it had acquired Quantile for up to $317m to expand its range of post-trade risk management solutions for banks, hedge funds and financial institutions trading derivatives. The Competition and Markets Authority referred the deal for an in-depth investigation in May, which has now provisionally concluded.
LSEG is advised by Evercore. Quantile is advised by Latham & Watkins.
Syntagma Capital, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire the paper business of Imerys, a business conglomerate, for €390m ($338m).
“In Syntagma, we have found a partner that shares Imerys’ values and passion for delivering mineral solutions in a responsible way. We are confident that our employees, customers, and the business overall will flourish and develop under the new ownership. I would like to thank the teams in management, operations and functions for their outstanding work in building this business over the years. I know they will continue delivering excellent results also in the future," Alessandro Dazza, Imerys CEO.
Imerys is advised by Morgan Stanley.
HPREF I Konect Investments, a holding company, completed the acquisition of the Kellingley development site of Harworth Group, a regenerator of land and property for development and investment, for £54m ($63m).
“The completion of this sale, which is conditional on the receipt of a planning approval, would allow Harworth to accelerate the realisation of value from this site. The sale proceeds will be used to continue the build-out of our other development sites, including our consented industrial sites in Yorkshire, and for expanding our strategic landbank, in-line with our recently announced strategy," Lynda Shillaw, Harworth CEO.
Harworth was advised by FTI Consulting.
PIF leads bidding for Alshaya Group's Starbucks franchise. (FS)
Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has emerged as the frontrunner to buy a minority stake in Kuwaiti conglomerate Alshaya Group’s Starbucks franchise.
PIF is leading a consortium of investors vying for a stake in the business and could reach an agreement in the coming week. Private equity firms may invest in the company’s debt alongside the PIF. No final decisions have been made, and negotiations could still drag on longer or fall apart, Bloomberg reported.
Alshaya, which is working with JP Morgan, had indicated they valued the business at $15bn but prospective buyers expected bids to value it closer to around $11bn.
JP Morgan weighs an investment in Yapily.
JP Morgan is considering buying a stake in Yapily, a financial technology startup that's seeking to raise fresh funds.
The US bank is in early-stage talks with London-based Yapily about the possibility of making an investment. Yapily is looking to bring in capital as it closes in on its acquisition of finAPI, a provider of open banking solutions in Germany.
For JP Morgan, any investment would continue a hot streak of fintech tie-ups for the bank. It's been striking dozens of deals in the space as it seeks to fend off future rivals, Bloomberg reported.
Royal Mail denies talks over a possible sale to private equity.
Royal Mail has denied trade union claims that it is in “secret talks” over a possible sale to private equity as workers stage fresh strikes in a row over pay and conditions, Independent reported.
The group said it has held “no such talks” as suggested by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) in a media interview.
"We are aware that in recent media interviews, Dave Ward, the general secretary of the CWU has indicated that we are in ‘secret talks’ with a private equity investment group, he believes, regarding a takeover of Royal Mail. he company wishes to make clear that this is not true. We are involved in no such talks," Royal Mail.
UBS wins mandates for two Chinese listings in Zurich.
UBS has been selected to arrange the Swiss share sales of two Chinese companies, as a flurry of firms are capitalizing on an expanded link between stock exchanges in China and Europe.
Shanghai Jinjiang International Hotels is working with UBS for its global depositary receipts issuance in Zurich, which could raise at least $500m. UBS is also advising Shenzhen-listed Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong on its GDR sale in Switzerland.
Shenghong, a textile products manufacturer, plans to sell GDRs in either Zurich or London to meet its business development needs. Shanghai Jinjiang also announced its intention to issue GDRs in Switzerland in the same month. Both GDR sales could be launched before the end of this year, Bloomberg reported.
Cilo Cybin plans to list on JSE as a SPAC.
Africa is about to get its first listing of a medical cannabis-focused SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, when Cilo Cybin Holdings raises money in Johannesburg later this year.
The company is seeking as much as $114m who leads the business. The share offer will open on September 12 and close in November. The initial public offering on South Africa’s stock exchange will be just the fourth SPAC listing in Africa and a first for the cannabis industry on the continent, Bloomberg reported.
“The first step of the plan with the money raised is to acquire an existing cannabis manufacturing facility and to super-size its capacity. We want to position ourselves as one of the largest processing hubs for the cannabis industry in Africa," Gabriel Theron, Cilo Cybin CEO.
APAC
Nissan Motor, an automobile manufacturer, agreed to acquire Vehicle Energy Japan, a lithium-ion battery maker, from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The investment will allow Nissan to secure a stable battery supplier and contribute to the development of next-generation batteries with a competitive edge in terms of both performance and cost," Nissan.
Nissan Motor is advised by Morgan Stanley.
Horizon Capital-backed The Marketing Practice, a B2B marketing agency, agreed to acquire Rombii, a digital marketing agency that offers account-based marketing, digital advertising, lead generation and content services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"By joining The Marketing Practice family we have the opportunity to further increase our investment in APAC by growing both the support and solutions we provide for customers across the region. One of The Marketing Practice’s ongoing objectives is to also be the best place to build a career in B2B marketing. We view becoming part of this organisation as a huge investment in our people and we couldn’t be more excited about the leadership opportunities and support they’ll receive, particularly in Singapore and other key markets," Marcus Wilkinson, Rombii, Managing Director.
Yes Bank mulls approval of JC Flower as buyer for its $6bn stressed loan portfolio. (FS)
Indian lender Yes Bank is likely to approve the transfer of stressed assets worth $6bn to private equity firm JC Flowers at its next board meeting.
A rival consortium led by private equity firm Cerberus and Asset Reconstruction of India withdrew its bid after submitting an expression of interest earlier this year.
The transfer of stressed loans away from its book is a crucial step for Yes Bank and comes more than two years after the central bank had to step in to take control of the bank after a dramatic rise in toxic assets alarmed investors and depositors, posing a systemic risk to India's banking sector, Reuters reported.
Bain weighs options for Works Human Intelligence at a $2bn valuation. (FS)
Bain Capital, a private equity firm, is exploring options for Works Human Intelligence, including a potential sale that could value the human resources software developer at as much as $2bn.
The private equity firm is working with an adviser on the potential transaction and has started reaching out to prospective buyers. Bain could sell its entire or partial stake in Works Human Intelligence, Bloomberg reported.
Founder Securities plans to dispose of its entire 49% stake in Credit Suisse Securities (China) for $160m.
Credit Suisse Group said its partner in China Founder Securities plans to sell its remaining 49% stake in a local joint venture for $160m, paving the way for the Swiss firm to take full control of the onshore securities operation.
The deal would make Credit Suisse the latest global bank to control 100% of its onshore securities venture, after winning approval for majority control more than two years ago. The bank is continuing to invest in China even as headwinds mount amid slowing growth and rising political tension. More broadly, the bank is also reeling from an exodus of bankers in the US and Asia and a series of scandals, Bloomberg reported.
GIC, ESR launch third Australian logistics fund with $408m commitment. (FS)
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Warburg Pincus-backed ESR have set up the third core-plus fund for Australian logistics properties, Australia Logistics Partnership III, with a committed equity of $408m.
GIC, which is the cornerstone investor, is contributing to 90% of the fund and 10% will be injected by ESR. GIC and ESR’s third vehicle is already conducting due diligence on a number of initial seed assets for the fund. The fund will target warehouses in first- and second-tier cities in Australia such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
“We are pleased to expand our long-term partnership with GIC on EALP III as it reflects our collective confidence in ESR’s ability to capitalise on the growing set of opportunities across APAC and especially in Australia. As the largest real asset manager in APAC, ESR’s integrated fund management platform has provided our capital partners with access to some of the world’s best secular growth opportunities propelled by the positive trends of e-commerce and digital transformation,” Stuart Gibson and Jeffrey Shen, ESR Co-Founders and Co-CEOs.
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