Daily Review

Bain Capital-backed US LBM, a distributor of specialty building materials, completed the acquisition of American Construction Source, a national building materials distribution platform, from Angeles Equity Partners and Clearlake Capital Group, two private equity firms. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

"This transaction represents the culmination of our LBM investment thesis, and we enjoyed working alongside Jim Drexinger and his leadership team for the second time in this sector. The growth and transformation of the ACS platform represent an excellent example of our firm's value creation model, leveraging both our operational and M&A capabilities. We have significant prior experience investing in this sector and were able to draw upon our best practices and relationships to drive a rapid transformation," Timothy Meyer and Jordan Katz, Angeles Co-Founders and Managing Partners.

 

ACS was advised by Jefferies & Company, Moelis & Co, Sidley Austin and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Clearlake was advised by Lambert & Co. US LBM was advised by Barclays. Debt financing to US LBM was provided by Barclays and Credit Suisse. Bain Capital was advised by Kirkland & Ellis. 

 Ali Group has boosted its offer by $1 per share for Welbilt, ramping up a potential bidding war for the US maker of food-service equipment backed by billionaire Carl Icahn, Bloomberg reported.

Milan-based Ali Group is offering $24 per-share in cash for Welbilt. The offer includes a so-called hell or high water provision, requiring Ali Group to take all actions including divestitures to obtain antitrust approvals. Ali Group has also secured financing commitments from Goldman Sachs and Mediobanca.

Welbilt is advised by Morgan Stanley and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Morgan Stanley is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Ali Group is advised by Goldman Sachs, Alston & Bird and Joele Frank. Middleby is advised by Guggenheim Partners and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social networking service for neighborhoods, agreed to go public via a SPAC merger with Khosla Ventures Acquisition II in a $4.3bn deal. The transaction includes a $270m PIPE from T. Rowe Price, Baron Capital, Dragoneer, Soroban Capital, ARK Invest, ION Asset Management, Tiger Global and Hedosophia. Upon closing of the proposed transaction, the combined company will be listed under the ticker symbol "KIND". The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

"Nextdoor has been at the forefront of cultivating 'hyperlocal' communities and neighborhoods since its inception, allowing neighbors to create meaningful connections – both online and offline. Our business strengthens as we scale, benefiting from strong network effects, and we believe the proposed transaction with KVSB accelerates the growth potential of our platform. We remain focused on optimizing our strategy and investing in products to drive continued neighbor and organization acquisition and engagement," Sarah Friar, Nextdoor CEO.

Nextdoor is advised by Evercore, Morgan Stanley and Fenwick & West. Evercore and Morgan Stanley are advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Khosla Ventures Acquisition is advised by Goldman Sachs and Latham & Watkins. 

Satellogic, an Argentine company specialized in Earth-observation satellites, agreed to go public via a SPAC merger with CF Acquisition V in an $850m deal. The transaction includes a $100m PIPE from SoftBank's SBLA Advisers and Cantor Fitzgerald. The transaction is expected to be completed early in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. After closing, Satellogic will trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol "SATL".

"Since our founding, Satellogic has been committed to our mission of democratizing access to geospatial data to help solve the world's most pressing problems. Today's transaction is a significant milestone and brings us one step closer to fulfilling that goal. The merger will allow us to continue building out our constellation of satellites and maintain our position as a global leader in sub-meter imagery. Satellogic is poised to be the only company capable of remapping the world daily at the sub-meter resolution necessary to address commercial applications affordably. We are grateful to our talented and ambitious team who have developed best-in-class technology, a strong track record of delivering satellites to orbit, and the ability to scale at near-zero marginal cost," Emiliano Kargieman, Satellogic CEO & Co-Founder.

Satellogic is advised by JP Morgan, Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman, Greenberg Traurig and FTI Consulting. CF Acquisition V is advised by Cantor Fitzgerald and Hughes Hubbard & Reed. 

Platinum Equity agreed to acquire Solenis, a water treatment company, from CD&R and BASF, a chemical concern, for $5.25bn. The acquisition of Solenis and merger with Sigura are expected to be completed before the end 2021, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

"As a leader in sustainability, Solenis has been helping its customers tackle these complex challenges for more than 100 years. It is an exceptionally well-run organization with an outstanding management team and a service-oriented culture. We believe in the company's mission and we are excited to invest in its continued growth and expansion," Jacob Kotzubei, Platinum Equity Partner.

Platinum Equity is advised by Piper Sandler and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Debt financing is provided by Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

Zebra Technologies, a global enterprise mobile computing company, agreed to acquire Fetch Robotics, a provider of industrial automation services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“The acquisition of Fetch Robotics will accelerate our Enterprise Asset Intelligence vision and growth in intelligent industrial automation by embracing new modes of empowering workflows and helping our customers operate more efficiently in increasingly automated, data-powered environments. This move will also extend our ongoing commitment to optimize the supply chain from the point of production to the point of consumption. We are excited to welcome the Fetch team to the Zebra family," Anders Gustafsson, Zebra Technologies CEO.

Fetch Robotics is advised by Evercore and Fenwick & West. Zebra Technologies is advised by Vedder Price.

Cano Health, a value-based primary care provider for seniors and underserved communities, completed the acquisition of Doctor's Medical Center, a non-profit health organization, for $300m.

"Cano Health is on a mission to become America's Primary Care, and today's acquisition brings us one step closer to that important goal. The DMC team has served the South Florida region for nearly 25 years, evolving its clinical platform to meet the diverse care needs of the community. With DMC as part of the Cano Health family, we are bringing our care model to more patients and acquiring important footprint and infrastructure to further improve the clinical outcomes of underserved patients," Marlow Hernandez, Cano Health CEO.

Cano Health was advised by Brunswick Group and Westwicke.

Koch Industries-backed Hexagon, a global provider of design, measurement and visualization technologies, agreed to acquire the enterprise asset management business of Infor, a global software company, for $2.7bn.

"Infor EAM is continuously ranked by analysts as a market leader among best-of-breed EAM solutions and is considered by thousands of customers as one of the industry's most compelling solutions. Hexagon's decision to acquire this business is a strong endorsement of our mission to put data to work to enable autonomous, connected ecosystems that boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety for our customers," Ola Rollén, Hexagon President and CEO.

 

Infor is advised by Jones Day.

Siris Capital Group, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire American Stock Transfer & Trust, a professional services firm, from Pacific Equity Partners, an Australasian private equity investment firm, for $595m.

 

The deal would value AST at 12.6-times trailing earnings, on an EBITDA to enterprise value basis. Siris Capital is expected to combine AST with UK-listed Equiniti Group, which has also signed a deal to acquire later this month.

 

Siris Capital is advised by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

Host Hotels & Resorts, a real estate investment trust, agreed to acquire Baker's Cay Resort Key Largo, a hotel, for c.$200m.

"We are pleased to announce the off-market acquisition of our first hotel in the Florida Keys which we believe will improve the EBITDA growth profile of our portfolio. After a complete $63m renovation and repositioning in 2019, Baker's Cay shows like a new resort. Additionally, the Florida Keys market benefits from excellent supply-demand dynamics owing in part to strict development ordinances which have led to the highest 2019 upper-upscale RevPAR of any market in the US. We expect this resort to deliver over $300 of RevPAR and $69k of EBITDA per key in 2021, ranking eighth on both metrics in Host's 2019 pro forma portfolio," James F. Risoleo, Host Hotels & Resorts President and CEO.

Host Hotels & Resorts is advised by Joele Frank.

Vista Equity Partners, a global investment firm, led a $400m funding round in Olive, an automation company, valuing the company at $4bn. The round was joined by Base10 Partners, a venture capital firm.

"At Vista, we believe in the transformative power of technology and see incredible potential in Olive's ability to connect healthcare providers in new ways. We believe the company's AI capabilities are poised to deliver true disruption to the healthcare industry through automating and optimizing workflows, improving interoperability and turning critical data into actionable insights. We look forward to working closely with Olive's management team as they continue to execute on their vision," Monti Saroya, Vista Co-Head of Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director.

Olive was advised by Finn Partners. 

 

SoftBank led a $415m Series C funding round in Kitopi, a cloud kitchen startup that provides delivery-only services for restaurants. The round had participation from investors Chimera, DisruptAD, B. Riley, Dogus Group, Next Play Capital, and Nordstar.

"These past 3 and a half years have taught us the importance of pursuing our vision with grit, focus, and building a high-performance culture. We are humbled to work with world-class partners such as Softbank, Chimera, DisruptAD, and others. What this shows is not only a great commitment to our company but to the industry and the region. Our focus now is to expand our presence within the Middle East and to Southeast Asia while continuing to innovate and pioneer in the cloud kitchen space. We are excited to take what we do to other parts of the world," Mohamad Ballout, Kitopi Co-Founder and CEO.

Blend Labs, a digital banking platform focused on mortgage lending, targets a valuation of nearly $4bn in IPO in the US. The company, which was last valued at $3.3bn after a funding round in January, aims to sell 20m shares for $16-$18 per share to raise over $360m.

Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and Wells Fargo Securities are the IPO's lead underwriters. Blend will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BLND".

The Soho House, a chain restaurant and group of private members' clubs originally aimed at those in the arts and media, plans to raise as much as $480m through a US IPO, targeting a valuation of about $3.21bn, Reuters reported.

The company plans to sell 30m Class A shares priced between $14 and $16 apiece on the New York Stock Exchange. Soho House applied to list its shares under the symbol "MCG" - Membership Collective Group.

KKR, a private equity firm, raised $2.2bn for a new real estate fund that will seek investment opportunities throughout Europe as lockdown measures are eased across the continent.

 

The second dedicated property fund of the firm invested more than $700m in residential housing and warehouses, two areas that have proved resilient to the pandemic.

 

"We continue to believe that Europe represents an attractive investing environment for real estate," Ralph Rosenberg, KKR Real Estate Partner and Global head.

PNC Financial-backed Rubicon Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Consolidated Timber Holdings Group, a distributor and manufacturer of timber products. Financial terms were not disclosed.

 

Rubicon has acquired CTHG due to the market opportunities, the significant potential to grow the Group by investing in both the distribution and manufacturing sides of the business, and the increasing appeal of timber products as a sustainable material in the UK residential and commercial construction market. The Rubicon and CTHG teams look forward to continuing to work with current suppliers and customers in a seamless manner.

Consolidated Timber Holdings Group was advised by Grant Thornton, Buzzacott and LCF Law. Rubicon Partners was advised by CIL Management Consultants, ARC Advisors, Aon Securities, KPMG, XPS Investment, Proskauer Rose and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Debt financing was provided by PNC Bank.

Emaar Properties, an Emirati multinational real estate development company, expects to buy out minority shareholders of Emaar Malls and delist the business by year-end, Reuters reported. 

Emaar Properties owns close to 85% of Emaar Malls and will swap 0.51 of its shares for each remaining share of Emaar Malls. United Arab Emirates regulator, the Securities & Commodities Authority, reviewed the proposal "as part of the normal process."

Emaar Malls is advised by Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse is advised by Allen & Overy. Emaar Properties is advised by Linklaters. 

Scottish Sea Farms, a producer of salmon, agreed to acquire Grieg Seafood Hjaltland UK, a subsidiary of Grieg Seafood, an international seafood company, for £164m ($226m).

 

"As farmers, we are constantly striving to create the best growing conditions for our salmon. The purchase of Grieg Seafood Hjaltland UK is a landmark step in our long-term strategy, giving us greater influence over several key biological factors including fish health, stocking regimes and sea lice management," Jim Gallagher, Scottish Sea Farms CEO.

Scottish Sea Farms is advised by Pareto Securities and Wikborg Rein.

Intermediate Capital Group, a UK-based global alternative asset manager, agreed to acquire Iver, a provider of IT services, from EQT Partners. The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close in August 2021. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Modern digital infrastructure is a fundament for accelerating digital innovation and protecting digital values. We are on an exciting journey, the support from the EQT has significantly contributed to helping us transform the business and accelerate growth by making substantial investments. We would like to thank the EQT team, as well as the Iver board, for their support and we look forward to the next phase in our development together with ICG," Carl-Magnus Månsson, Iver CEO.

EQT is advised by Ernst & Young and White & Case.

 

 

 

 

 

Bain Capital Ventures and Thrive Capital, two venture capital firms, led a $150m Series C funding round in Pleo, a Danish fintech firm, valuing the company at $1.7bn. The round was joined by Creandum, Kinnevik, Founders, Stripes and Seedcamp.

"Pleo has already transformed the way that over 17k companies think about managing their expenses, saving them time and lowering costs while increasing transparency. We are excited to partner closely with the Pleo team to help drive their next phase of growth," Kareem Zaki, Thrive Capital General Partner.

Brookfield Asset Management, an alternative asset manager, has reached out to potential bidders to sell PD Ports, a port, shipping and logistics company, for $2.8bn.

Brookfield is in contact with potential bidders, hoping to sell PD Ports by the end of this year. Discussions are in the early stages and no agreements have been made on the timing of any deal.

Revolut, a UK-based digital bank, is in talks with SoftBank on a fundraising round, valuing the firm between $30bn and $40bn.

Revolut together with its advisors, have asked investors at Vision Fund 2 of SoftBank to submit proposals for an investment of between $750m to $1bn.

Diversified Australian investor Seven Group raised its buyout offer for Boral to $5.3 per share, its latest bid in a near two-month long battle to take full control of the building materials supplier, Reuters reported.

Seven Group sweetened the offer by 10 cents and called it the best and final price, valuing Boral at $6.64bn. The new offer, however, was swiftly rejected by Boral again, saying it undervalued the company. The latest offer is also well below the value of $5.96-$6.6 per share estimated by an independent expert last month.

The interest in Boral has gained traction as it benefits from a strengthening Australian real estate market, with property prices hitting record highs due to monetary and fiscal stimulus.

Boral is advised by Citigroup and Herbert Smith Freehills. SGH is advised by Barrenjoey Capital Partners and Allens. Debt financing is advised by ANZ Bank, Barclays and Westpac Banking.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, a multinational banking and financial services firm, agreed to acquire a 74.9% stake in Fullerton India, a non-banking finance company that offers credit to retail as well as small businesses, from Fullerton Financial, a financial advisory services firm, for c.$2bn. 

"We intend to leverage our expertise in Japan market as well as capabilities of our franchises across key emerging Asian markets. India is one of our focus markets where we believe in its high growth potential and want to build a deeper presence," Jun Ohta, SMFG President & Group CEO.

Fullerton Financial is advised by Citigroup, Allen & Overy and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. SMFG is advised by JP Morgan and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. 

Fidelity Life, a life insurance agency, agreed to acquire the New Zealand life insurance business of Westpac, a provider of banking services, for $281m.

"The partnership will also allow us to leverage the investments we're already making in our customer experience, data and technology, as well as our strong New Zealand brand, to make the transition a smooth one for Westpac Life customers and team members," Melissa Cantell, Fidelity Life CEO.

Westpac is advised by JP Morgan.

Arçelik, a Turkish multinational household appliances manufacturer, and Hitachi Global Life Solutions, a distributor of home appliances, agreed to create the joint venture. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"This is a major step for us in achieving our global expansion ambitions and goals to become one of the world's top home appliances companies. The venture will have the chance to utilize complementary product portfolio and operational footprints of Arçelik. In the next few years, we will see Hitachi brand products covering full major domestic appliance need of customers and growing both in existing markets and new ones (geographies) by the support of Arçelik companies," Hakan Bulgurlu, Arçelik CEO.

Arçelik is advised by JP Morgan.

 

Temasek and Multiples Private Equity, two investment firms, led a $192m Series F funding round in Licious, a Bengaluru-based meat and seafood brand. The round had participation from investors Brunei Investment Agency, 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund and Vertex Ventures.

“Abhay and Vivek have revolutionized the purchase of poultry, seafood and meat in the country, delighting customers with their promise of quality, freshness and timely delivery. Their obsession with customers and quality gives them an eternal edge to create Licious as a category leader and as one of India’s most admired consumer brands. We are proud to be a partner in this journey," Sridhar Sankararaman, Multiples Private Equity Managing Director.

An investment consortium led a $100m Series A funding round in Freetech, an autonomous driving startup. The consortium includes China Internet Investment Fund, Huiyou Capital and Dongfeng Bank of Communications.

“Autonomous driving is a scenario-based application, and OEMs require suppliers to not only have leading software, hardware, and algorithm technology, but also excellent mass production capabilities. We believe that Freetech, unlike many local suppliers, can fully meet the requirements of local OEMs for autonomous driving,” Yang Longzhong, Huiyou Capital Founder.

Z Holdings, a unit of Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Group, agreed to buy the rights to the Yahoo name in Japan for $1.6bn to replace an existing licensing agreement. The deal follows the sale of Verizon Communications' media division, the bulk of which is the original US version of the Yahoo web portal, to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5bn.

 

Yahoo brands made up four of the top 10 visited websites in Japan in 2020. The Yahoo Japan top page alone brought in almost the same number of users as YouTube.

 

Vesoft, a big data technology company, plans new funding round that could bolster the Chinese graph database technology startup's valuation to almost $1bn.

The new capital can help commercialize Nebula Graph, a company product, and expand beyond China. The startup intends to open its first overseas office in Silicon Valley this year.

"We plan to talk to more US-based investors who can help us tap global markets and clients for Nebula Graph," Sherman Ye, Vesoft CEO.