Read on...
Scroll down to read deal descriptions. Your suggestions and comments support the democratisation of M&A data. If you'd like to contribute to the future editions, drop us a line.
AMERICAS
Silver Lake, a private equity firm, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, an investment management company, agreed to acquire Qualtrics, an experience management company, from SAP, a software company, for $12.5bn.
"We are strong believers in the amazing technology platform that Ryan, Zig and their phenomenal engineering and sales teams are building, and we're thrilled to support the continued efficient growth of Qualtrics into a generational, highly profitable platform company by enabling further investment across all aspects of the business, including areas such as AI and other powerful new technologies. This is a landmark transaction for Silver Lake, reflecting our confidence in the team and their vision. As they shape and continue to grow the next great enterprise software platform, they are the kind of leaders we have been most excited to partner with over many years of technology investing," Egon Durban, Silver Lake Co-CEO.
Pfizer, an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, agreed to acquire Seagen, a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes transformative cancer medicines, for $43bn.
"Pfizer is deploying its financial resources to advance the battle against cancer, a leading cause of death worldwide with a significant impact on public health. Together, Pfizer and Seagen seek to accelerate the next generation of cancer breakthroughs and bring new solutions to patients by combining the power of Seagen's antibody-drug conjugate technology with the scale and strength of Pfizer's capabilities and expertise. Oncology continues to be the largest growth driver in global medicine, and this acquisition will enhance Pfizer's position in this important space and contribute meaningfully to the achievement of Pfizer's near- and long-term financial goals," Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO.
Sanofi, a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company, agreed to acquire Provention Bio, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company focused on intercepting and preventing immune-mediated diseases including type 1 diabetes, for $2.9bn.
"The acquisition of Provention Bio builds on Sanofi's mission to deliver best- and first-in-class medicines and resonates with our purpose of chasing the miracles of science for the benefit of people. By coupling Provention Bio's transformative innovation with Sanofi's expertise, we aim to bring life-changing benefits to people at risk of developing Stage 3 type 1 diabetes. Any additional indications, approvals and pipeline assets only serve to further our excitement. Given our existing partnership and complementary work in the diabetes and immunology spaces, we foresee a seamless integration and execution," Olivier Charmeil, Sanofi Executive Vice President, General Medicines.
Pritzker-backed Aurorium, a producer of pyridine and picolines, and specialty pyridine derivatives, completed the acquisition of CENTAURI Technologies, a technology driven manufacturing company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"CENTAURI is an exciting addition to Aurorium as we continue to expand our presence in specialty ingredients and materials. CENTAURI adds a complementary portfolio of high-quality solutions, differentiated manufacturing capabilities, and an impressive track record of innovation and growth. With CENTAURI's customer-focused approach and exceptional engineering capabilities joining our platform, Aurorium is well-positioned to capitalize on growth across our end markets," John Van Hulle, Aurorium CEO.
CENTAURI was advised by William Blair & Co. Aurorium was advised by Abernathy MacGregor (led by Dan Scorpio).
Lavoro to acquire Referência Agroinsumos.
Lavoro, an agricultural inputs distributor, agreed to acquire Referência Agroinsumos, an agricultural retail distribution operation. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are very happy with the arrival of Referência to the Lavoro group. Although we already operate in Rio Grande do Sul through redistributors Casa Trevo and CATR, this acquisition represents our first input distribution operation in the state. It is a great deal, which further strengthens our brand and presence in Brazil," Ruy Cunha, Lavoro CEO.
Lavoro is advised by Hill+Knowlton Strategies (led by Gisele Gomes).
Fortune International, a processor, distributor and importer of quality seafood, meats and gourmet products, agreed to acquire Boston Sword & Tuna, a fresh seafood distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We're excited at the prospect of our agreement to acquire Boston Sword & Tuna, one of the most respected seafood distributors on the East Coast with a superior management team and hugely loyal customer base," Sean O'Scannlain, Fortune International President and CEO.
Fortune International is advised by ICR (led by Doug Donsky).
Voyager Space, a space exploration company, agreed to acquire ZIN Technologies, an engineering, design and integration company with decades-long experience providing critical human-rated spaceflight systems and monitoring solutions and propulsion. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"ZIN's aerospace expertise, strong reputation in the industry, and legacy working with NASA and the ISS, makes them a perfect fit for Starlab and the growing Voyager Space technology ecosystem. ZIN has already played a crucial role as a capability provider to Starlab and as a founding leadership team member of the George Washington Carver Science Park. We look forward to working with them further as part of the Voyager Space family," Matthew Kuta, Voyager Space President and COO.
Installed Building Products, an installer of insulation and complementary building products, agreed to acquire Anchor Insulation, a provider of residential, mechanical and industrial insulation. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"With approximately $39m of annual revenue, Anchor Insulation expands our presence to residential, commercial and industrial customers across the Northeastern United States," Jeff Edwards, Chairman and CEO.
Ryan, a global tax services and software provider, completed the acquisition of RTC Consulting, a scientific research and experimental development tax consultancy. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The strength and success of RTC is the perfect addition to our thriving SR&ED practice. Their track record over the last three decades of obtaining tax credits for companies of all sizes in a variety of industries will be an immediate asset to our clients with Canadian operations. We are thrilled to offer our clients expanded technical expertise and services as we continue our accelerated growth across Canada," G. Brint Ryan, Ryan Chairman and CEO.
JP Morgan and PNC among suitors for SVB Financial in a deal excluding SVB Bank. (FS)
JP Morgan Chase and PNC Financial Service Group are in talks about acquiring SVB Financial Group in a deal that would exclude its commercial banking unit Silicon Valley Bank that is currently under US control, Reuters reported.
Apollo Management and Morgan Stanley are also part of the discussions. Apollo was interested in financing a deal or acquiring some of the business.
SVB Securities management is exploring buying the firm back.
The managers of Silicon Valley Bank’s investment banking arm are exploring ways to buy the firm back from its parent, Bloomberg reported.
The head of SVB Securities, Jeff Leerink, and his team are seeking help to finance a potential management buyout of the business. They are rushing to do a speedy deal as regulators seek a buyout for the remnants of SVB Financial Group after its Silicon Valley Bank was seized by regulators last week.
Activist investor Icahn launches proxy battle at Illumina. (FS)
Activist investor Carl Icahn launched a proxy fight at Illumina, arguing the company's takeover of Grail had cost shareholders about $50bn since the closing of the deal, Reuters reported.
The proxy battle comes as Illumina is opposing a European Union order to divest cancer-detection test maker Grail after the life sciences company jumped the gun and closed the deal in August 2021 without securing regulatory approval.
EMEA
LyondellBasell, a chemical company, agreed to acquire Mepol Group, a manufacturer of recycled, high-performing technical compounds. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition demonstrates LyondellBasell's commitment to move the circular economy forward. With Mepol Group's expertise in sustainable compounds and LyondellBasell's scale, we will enhance our CirculenRecover and other sustainable solutions for our customer," Torkel Rhenman, LyondellBasell Executive Vice President of Advanced Polymer Solutions.
Mepol Group is advised by Special Affairs and Gitti and Partners. LyondellBasell is advised by Jones Day (led by Stefano Crosio) and Wardynski & Partners.
Cognizant, an American multinational information technology services and consulting company, completed the acquisition of Mobica, an IoT software engineering services provider headquartered in Manchester, from Inflexion, a mid-market private equity firm, for £250m ($301m).
"Mobica has built a reputation for world-class IoT embedded software engineering expertise across the entire technology stack, from chip to cloud. The alignment we share with Cognizant from a technology, industry and client-focus standpoint represents a strong platform for continued growth in Europe and North America, and an opportunity for our talented team to grow their skills and careers," Sam Kingston, Mobica CEO.
HSBC, a British multinational banking and financial services organization, completed the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK, the UK arm of collapsed US Silicon Valley Bank, for £1.
"This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK. It strengthens our commercial banking franchise and enhances our ability to serve innovative and fast-growing firms, including in the technology and life-science sectors, in the UK and internationally," Noel Quinn, HSBC Group CEO.
Cinven is considering a takeover of Synlab. (FS)
Cinven, a private equity firm, has made an indicative offer to takeover Synlab, a laboratory company, in a roughly $2.4bn deal, just two years after listing the German laboratory operator that’s now battling with reduced demand for its testing facilities.
The UK buyout firm has submitted a non-binding expression of interest to acquire Frankfurt-listed Synlab at $10.64 a share, Bloomberg reported.
Egypt looks to begin offering military firms this week.
Egypt will begin the process of offering two military-affiliated companies to investors on March 15, and is also planning to put forward another four large companies, Bloomberg reported.
Advisers will provide investors with the necessary information about fuel distributor Wataniya and water-bottler Safi. A committee that’s responsible for listing state-run firms will also offer four “large” companies to investors through international investment banks.
Saudi Arabia unveils new airline amid jet talks with Boeing. (FS)
Saudi Arabia unveiled a new international airline called Riyadh Air, aiming to compete with a handful of other Middle Eastern carriers that have used their geography to build world-class airlines and attract business travelers and tourists, WSJ reported.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is close to committing to a big order of Boeing jets to underpin the new airline. A deal, which could be announced as early as this week, would be a boon for the aircraft maker and a big bet by Riyadh that it can compete in an already-crowded regional aviation market.
Adnoc Gas jumps 25% in Abu Dhabi after $2.5bn IPO.
Adnoc Gas, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s main energy company, surged in its trading debut after raising $2.5bn in the world’s biggest initial public offering so far this year, Bloomberg reported.
The shares rose as much as 25% to $0.80 in early trading in the emirate. The stock priced at $0.64 per share — after marketing it at a range of $0.61 to $0.66 — even though investors placed over $124bn of orders.
Schroders to launch first Long-Term Asset Fund. (FS)
Schroders has received regulatory approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to launch the first Long-Term Asset Fund. LTAFs are regulated open ended investment vehicles designed to enable a broader range of investors, with longer term horizons, to invest efficiently in illiquid and private assets.
Schroders already offers structures which provides investors with access to private assets through its range of listed vehicles, as well as semi-liquid and illiquid structures. Schrders says it will market the new LTAF to defined contribution and other eligible investors.
IQ-EQ appoints global head of private and institutional asset owners. (People)
Global investor services group IQ-EQ has appointed Ilias Georgopoulos as global head of private and institutional asset owners, a key position in the firm's commercial leadership team.
Georgopoulos has over 25 years’ financial services experience, including more than a decade at senior leadership level and with responsibilities spanning the US, EMEA and APAC. Most recently, he was CEO of Credit Suisse’s MultiConcept Fund Management in Luxembourg, where he was responsible for driving growth initiatives, supporting on cross-product, cross segments development and enabling service evolution.
APAC
Aeries Technology, a global professional services and consulting partner for business leadership teams, private equity sponsors, and their portfolio companies, agreed to go public via merger with Worldwide Webb Acquisition, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, in a $656m deal.
"Aeries is excited to enter the public markets as we believe the opportunity provided by this transaction will fuel our projected growth and help us achieve our mission of providing superior solutions to our clients. We want to revolutionize the way companies outsource technology and business process services by helping to build internal solutions for their most complex challenges through our 'One Team' culture and seamlessly integrating Aeries Technology professionals across teams, from technology to finance, operations, and HR," Sudhir Panikassery, Aeries CEO.
Hyundai Motor, a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer, agreed to acquire the Maharashtra plant of General Motors, an American multinational automotive manufacturing company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The term sheet covers proposed acquisition of land and buildings, certain machinery and equipment for manufacturing at the plant, Hyundai said in a statement.
PSA’s CK Hutchison ports $4bn stake sale attracts China giants. (FS)
Chinese state-owned conglomerates China Merchants Group and China Cosco Shipping are among the firms expressing interest in PSA International’s minority stake in the ports business of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, Bloomberg reported.
PSA is seeking about $4bn for its 20% share of CK Hutchison’s ports assets. PSA, owned by Singaporean state investment firm Temasek Holdings, is working with an adviser as it fields preliminary interest in the stake.
Hybe drops its bid to acquire SM.
Hybe will step back from its battle with Kakao to take over SM Entertainment, after competition pushed up the cost of acquiring the company, Bloomberg reported.
The decision comes after seeing signs of overheating in the market due to the competition with Kakao, and after taking into account the potential negative impact on Hybe's shareholder value.
|
