AMERICAS
Curaleaf, a vertically integrated cannabis operator in the United States, completed the acquisition of Grassroots, a private vertically-integrated multi-state operator, for $700m. The consideration was decreased from $875m in June 2020.
"The integration of Grassroots is expected to be immediately accretive to our financial performance, with our unprecedented scale providing significant opportunities to leverage Curaleaf's powerful consumer brands as well as new form factor innovations across our expanded national presence," Joseph Lusardi, Curaleaf CEO.
Grassroots was advised by Canaccord Genuity, Stoic Advisory, Fox Rothschild, and Katten Muchin Rosenman. Curaleaf was advised by Eight Capital, Loeb & Loeb and Stikeman Elliott.
Gilead Sciences, a research-based biopharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Tizona Therapeutics, a privately held company developing cancer immunotherapies, for $300m. Gilead will also receive an exclusive option to acquire the remainder of Tizona for up to an additional $1.25bn, including an option exercise fee and potential future milestone payments.
"Tizona is pursuing first-in-class cancer immunotherapies that could make an important difference in oncology by helping patients who don’t respond to current checkpoint inhibitors. This agreement with Tizona adds to the significant progress we’ve made in the first half of this year in building out a strong and diverse immuno-oncology pipeline. We now have multiple opportunities to develop novel therapies that will improve the treatment of cancer," Daniel O’Day, Gilead Sciences Chairman and CEO.
Tizona is advised by Latham & Watkins and Squire Patton Boggs. Gilead Sciences is advised by Cowen & Company and Ropes & Gray.
One Equity Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Spartronics, a provider of engineering, contract design, manufacturing and aftermarket repair, from Spartron, a defense contractor and contract manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Spartronics is poised to take advantage of new opportunities as major OEMs are increasingly demanding advanced electronics manufacturing services and outsourced solutions in North America and globally. Our investment in Spartronics reflects OEP's historic focus on acquiring high growth businesses through corporate carve-outs that strengthen growth prospects while ensuring continuity for customers, suppliers and employees," Chip Schorr, OEP Senior Managing Director.
One Equity Partners was advised by Stanton PRM. Sparton was advised by Sard Verbinnen & Co, Lincoln International and Kirkland & Ellis.
Sumeru Equity Partners, a growth-focused technology investment firm, completed the $100m investment in Ceros, an interactive SaaS design platform.
"SEP’s strengths lie in data, analytics, and operational support in scaling SaaS businesses and our strengths lie in design, creativity, and a great product. When we join the two, we have a marriage of limitless potential," Simon Berg, Ceros CEO and Founder.
Ceros was advised by BLASTmedia and Cooley. Sumeru Equity Partners was advised by Canaccord Genuity and Kirkland & Ellis.
KPS Capital Partners, an American investment company, agreed to acquire AM General, a manufacturer of specialized vehicles for military and commercial customers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We intend to leverage the AM General's commitment to research, technology, innovation and new product development, as well as its heritage and iconic brand name. KPS' demonstrated track record and history of successfully investing in specialty vehicle businesses – as well as its global platform and significant financial resources – make us exceedingly confident that AM General will continue to thrive under KPS' ownership for the benefit of its customers and all stakeholders," Jay Bernstein, KPS Partner.
KPS Capital Partners is advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
Saroras-backed Apollo Intelligence, a technology-driven data and insights business for life sciences and healthcare industries, agreed to acquire SurveyHealthcareGlobus, a healthcare market research, specializing in online survey data collection services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“SHG has been a great partner to InCrowd, we’ve observed their dedication to client excellence firsthand, and is a very well-respected brand in our industry. Jerry Arbittier and his team have established an industry-leading reputation for client service, delivery, and quality and we look to build on these successes as we serve our customers. Our investment in SHG will further enable Apollo, and these two outstanding operating brands, to benefit from scale and deeper investment in advanced technology, systems, and research tools,” Daniel S. Fitzgerald, Apollo CEO and President.
Blue Yonder, an American software and consultancy company, completed the acquisition of Yantriks, a SaaS provider of commerce and fulfilment microservices. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Customers increasingly expect a unified experience that is no longer just about brand, product and price. The supply chain, its capabilities, and the ability to promise and deliver customer-facing fulfillment strategies in real-time, is the differentiator enabling B2B and B2C companies to adapt, evolve, and succeed,” Eugene Amigud, Yantriks Founder.
US investors seek to acquire TikTok from Chinese owner. (FS)
The investors, led by the venture capital firms General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, are in discussions with the US Treasury and other regulators to see if spinning out TikTok, a popular short video app, and firewalling it from its Chinese parent would satisfy US concerns about the app, FT reported.
Other investors, including New York-based private equity firms and Silicon Valley tech firms, have also made approaches to ByteDance and its founder, Zhang Yiming, about a potential deal for TikTok.
These talks came after, President Donald Trump's election campaign placed ads on Facebook suggesting that TikTok was "spying" on US users, a claim the company has denied. Other critics have noted the app's huge influence as it sits on the mobile phones of tens of millions of Americans.
Digital Colony-backed Highline do Brasil submits top bid for Oi's mobile assets. (FS)
Highline do Brasil, a portfolio company of US private equity firm Digital Colony, has presented the best offer for the mobile assets of Brazilian telecom Oi and the two parties are entering exclusive negotiations, Reuters reported.
Oi did not disclose the value of the offer but said in a securities filing the offer exceeded the minimum established by the Brazilian telecom of $2.93bn.
East Resources Acquisition priced its $300m IPO.
East Resources Acquisition priced its IPO of 30m units at $10 per unit. The units will be listed on the NASDAQ and will trade under the ticker symbol ERESU beginning on July 23, 2020.
Each unit issued in the offering consists of one share of the company's Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant, each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.5 per share.
East Resources Acquisition is advised by Wells Fargo Securities.
ConocoPhillips to acquire Liquids-Rich Montney acreage from Kelt Exploration.
ConocoPhillips, the independent exploration and production company, agreed to acquire additional Montney acreage in Canada from Kelt Exploration, an oil and gas company, for cash consideration of approximately $375m before customary adjustments, plus the assumption of roughly $30m in financing obligations for associated partially owned infrastructure.
"We have tracked and analyzed this adjacent acreage position for a long time. It represents a high-value extension of our existing Montney position, and we're pleased to capture this opportunity at an attractive cost of supply that meets our criteria for resource additions. The transaction provides operating scale and flexibility to create significant value for shareholders by applying our drilling and completion techniques on this asset and optimizing our future overall Montney development plans," Matt Fox, ConocoPhillips Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
EMEA
Phoenix Group, a provider of insurance services, completed the $4.2bn acquisition of ReAssure Group, a life insurance consolidator in the UK, from Swiss Re, a provider of reinsurance services.
"I am delighted to confirm completion of the acquisition of ReAssure and would like to extend a warm welcome to our new colleagues joining Phoenix. The transaction marks another significant milestone on Phoenix's growth journey further strengthening the Group's key attributes of cash, resilience and growth and establishing the Group as the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business," Andy Briggs, Phoenix Group CEO.
ReAssure Group was advised by Morgan Stanley and Brunswick Group. Phoenix Group was advised by JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, HSBC, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Maitland. Swiss Re was advised by Fenchurch Advisory Partners and Clifford Chance. MS&AD Insurance Group was advised by Allen & Overy.
The $500m acquisition of the stake in a crumpled broadband mega constellation startup OneWeb by Her Majesty's Government raised concerns among British officials over the effect on jobs and value for customers.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma reportedly pushed forward with the deal using Ministerial Direction against objections from his top department representative.
"(the use of the Ministerial Direction) heightens concerns around this investment and about the prospects of this delivering UK jobs and value for taxpayers money. It also prompts further questions about how the government arrived at this decision and how it came to plump for this largely US-based bankrupt satellite company," Darren Jones, Lawmakers' Committee Chair.
OneWeb is advised by Guggenheim Partners, Milbank, and FTI Consulting. Bharti Global is advised by Standard Chartered Bank, Cravath Swaine & Moore, and Herbert Smith Freehills. HMG is advised by Lazard and Weil Gotshal and Manges.
Nazca Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in the Spanish mid-market, agreed to acquire a majority stake in IDP, a BIM-based engineering services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Nazca's entry into the shareholding gives a strong boost to our strategic growth plan. Partnering with a fund like Nazca will bring proven experience and a successful strategic, operational and financial vision, improving the company's organization, processes and operations," Enric Blasco, IDP CEO.
Nazca is advised by Pricewaterhousecoopers and Perez Llorca. IDP is advised by Socios Financieros and Argali.
EV Private Equity, an independent growth equity firm, completed the investment in Trainor, an e-learning company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Trainor operates in high growth markets, with e-learning expected to grow by 80% from 2017 to 2023, and electricity demand expected to increase by 68% from 2016 to 2040, in-line with the world's commitment to the energy transition," Peter Svarrer, Trainor incoming Executive Chairman.
PSA Group, a French multinational manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Amanha Global, the owner of e-commerce platform B-Parts. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The acquisition by PSA is a win-win agreement that will allow us to change dimension: for PSA by being the first manufacturer to take a position on a market for used parts and for B-Parts, a unique opportunity to access the network of PSA clients. This agreement promotes the B-Parts model and will allow us to accelerate our development in geographic areas other than the European market. This is our common target for the next few years," Manuel Araújo Monteiro and Luis Sousa Vieira, Amanhã Global Managing Directors.
Wipro, a global information technology, consulting and business process services company, agreed to acquire 4C, a Salesforce multi-cloud partner in Europe and the Middle East. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Their global presence, robust digital transformation consulting and delivery capabilities and significant investment in the European market, provides an excellent platform for the growth of our employees. We will now leverage this opportunity to take the next leap in building companies for the future for our customers, not just locally but across EMEA," Johan Van Genechten, 4C Chief Executive Officer.
Nvidia expresses interest in SoftBank-backed Arm Holdings. (FS)
SoftBank Group's chip company Arm Holdings has gathered takeover interest from Nvidia, Reuters reported. SoftBank, which acquired Arm for $32bn in 2016, is exploring options including a full or partial sale or a public offering of the British chip designer.
SoftBank last month unveiled a series of transactions to divest more than $21bn worth of stock in US wireless carrier T-Mobile US, as it seeks funding for a $41bn share buyback and debt reduction plan.
Additionally, the Japanese conglomerate had recently approached Apple to gauge its interest. Arm's licensing operation would fit poorly with Apple's hardware and software-focused business model, and there may also be regulatory concerns about Apple owning a key licensee that supplies so many rivals, Bloomberg reported.
Unilever CEO signals M&A appetite as hand sanitizers help sales.
Unilever signalled the pandemic has not damped the company’s appetite for acquisitions and reported better-than-expected revenue, fueled by consumers buying hand sanitizers and ice cream for home consumption. Unilever shares gained as much as 8.1% after surprising the market with flat sales, Bloomberg reported.
"If good opportunities emerge, we’re certainly in a strong position, especially with our healthy balance sheet, to take advantage of that. Further down the road, that could give us opportunities to look at more transformational acquisitions. But I want to stress there’s nothing of that nature on the imminent radar," Alan Jope, Unilever Chief Executive Officer.
BPER intends to play an active role in Italy's banking consolidation.
BPER Banca said it would play an active role in Italy's banking consolidation after completing the acquisition of UBI Banca branches, whose sale is part of Intesa Sanpaolo's bid for UBI.
Intesa Sanpaolo announced a $4bn all-paper exchange offer for UBI in February. To win antitrust approval, Intesa agreed to sell 532 branches to BPER. The deal has yet to win backing from enough UBI shareholders to go through.
"In the next months, we will be busy in the deal over the 532 UBI branches which, size-wise, is like buying a bank. Then we believe that we can play an active role in the (banking) consolidation," Alessandro Vandelli, BPER Chief Executive.
Cellnex to raise $4.6bn in new capital for potential M&A.
Cellnex plans to raise up to $4.6bn in new share capital to finance an expansion of its infrastructure portfolio, Europe's largest mobile phone towers operator said.
"The market opportunities for Cellnex continue to be massive," Tobias Martinez, Cellnex CEO.
The increase was to fund potential mergers or acquisitions. Such acquisitions could take the form of multi-stage operations to buy new infrastructure valued at up to $12.7bn, the Barcelona-based company said.
British Patient Capital invested $65m into $265m SV Health Investors Impact Medicine Fund. (FS)
British Patient Capital has invested $65m in SV Health Investors's $265m fund, SV7 Impact Medicine Fund, which is dedicated to investing in biotech companies, PrivateEquityWire reported.
The IMF is SV's first biotech fund. It will aim to turn scientific breakthroughs into biotech companies producing high impact precision medicine drugs for poorly treated diseases.
"The strength of SV's UK based biotech team, and their partnerships with groups such as Cancer Research UK, ensures access to some of the UK's most exciting high potential biotech investment opportunities," Catherine Lewis La Torre, British Patient Capital's CEO.
OeBAG and Mubadala extend cooperation in OMV.
OeBAG, an Austrian state-run, and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala agreed to expand collaboration as key shareholders in oil and gas group OMV until 2030, OeBAG said, extending a deal that would have expired in a year and a half, Reuters reported.
The two long-time anchor shareholders are backing the Austrian company at a time when low energy prices and a global economic crisis are challenging the industry.
Representatives of OeBAG, which has a 31.5% stake, and Mubadala, with 24.9%, plan to meet twice a year to coordinate on strategy, including discussing the makeup of the management and supervisory boards.
APAC
Nithia Capital Resources Advisors considers acquiring Agritrade.
London-based Nithia Capital Resources Advisors is seeking to acquire troubled Singapore commodity trader Agritrade International and its shares in its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Reuters reported.
AIPL, whose businesses span palm oil and coal, is undergoing a court-appointed restructuring after it collapsed earlier this year amid fraud allegations. It owes $1.55bn, including $983m to at least 20 banks.
Nithia Capital, an alternative investment manager that specialises in turning around underperforming companies, has proposed the creation of an SPV to invest in AIPL.
Amazon considers acquiring a stake in Reliance Retail.
Amazon is in preliminary talks to acquire a 9.9% stake in Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's retail venture, Bloomberg reported.
Asia's richest man and the chairman of Reliance Industries told shareholders last week that Reliance Retail is getting inquiries from investors and may start bringing some on board in the coming months.
"We’ve received strong interest from strategic and financial investors in Reliance Retail. We will induct global partners and investors in Reliance Retail in the next few quarters," Mukesh Ambani, Indian billionaire.
Tencent-backed Waterdrop plans $4bn IPO. (FS)
Waterdrop is preparing for an IPO as soon as this year, seeking a valuation of about $4bn, Bloomberg reported.
The insurance tech startup, backed by Tencent Holdings, is working with Bank of America and Goldman Sachs Group on the potential share sale. The US is among potential listing venues that the Beijing-based firm is exploring, and no final decision has been made.
The four-year-old startup, which focuses on health care crowdfunding, plans to include its major business units - Waterdrop Insurance Mall, Waterdrop Mutual and Waterdrop Crowdfunding - in the proposed listing.
Axis Bank hired arrangers for $1.3bn share divestment. (FS)
Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector lender, has picked advisers including BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse Group to manage its proposed share sale, Bloomberg reported.
The Mumbai-based lender has also chosen HSBC and UBS for the offering. Axis Bank plans to seek at least $1.3bn from institutional investors, though it has not finalized the fundraising target. The sale sees Axis Bank joining peers, including ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda, in seeking funding from investors to help withstand the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Junlebao Dairy considers dual listing in China and Hong Kong.
Junlebao Dairy is weighing a dual listing in mainland China and Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.
The dairy product maker based in China’s Hebei province could seek at least $700m in a Hong Kong share sale. Junlebao had previously considered a domestic listing but has since begun exploring the option of a Hong Kong offering either before or after a share sale on the mainland.
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