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AMERICAS
Prologis, a provider of logistics real estate, agreed to acquire Duke Realty, an Indianapolis-based publicly traded REIT, for $26bn. Duke Realty shareholders will receive 0.475x of a Prologis share for each Duke Realty share they own.
"This transaction increases the strength, size and diversification of our balance sheet while expanding the opportunity for Prologis to apply innovation to drive long-term growth. In addition to generating significant synergies, the combination of these portfolios will help us deliver more services to our customers and drive incremental long-term earnings growth," Tim Arndt, Prologis CFO.
Prologis is advised by Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Joele Frank. Duke Realty is advised by JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Alston & Bird, Hogan Lovells and Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Blade Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, and Biotech Acquisition, a SPAC, terminated its $352m merger.
"We wish Blade continued success as they continue to develop cutting-edge science and a clinical-stage pipeline targeting diseases that remain undertreated. BAC remains committed to finding a life-sciences partner that can deliver value for our shareholders," Michael Shleifer, BAC Chairman and CEO.
Chevron, an integrated energy company, completed the acquisition of Renewable Energy Group, a producer and refiner of biofuels in the oil and gas industry, for $3.15bn.
The transaction is expected to accelerate progress toward Chevron’s goal to grow renewable fuels production capacity to 100k barrels per day by 2030 and brings additional feedstock supplies and pre-treatment facilities.
“This transaction delivers premium cash value to shareholders and will give us additional resources as we aim to accelerate growth and strengthen our collective ability to deliver the sustainable fuels our customers and the world need. Our employees’ hard work and dedication have built a fantastic renewable fuels company and made this transaction possible," CJ Warner, REG President & CEO.
Renewable Energy was advised by Guggenheim Partners, Latham & Watkins and Joele Frank. Chevron was advised by Goldman Sachs, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and Shearman & Sterling.
Clearlake Capital-backed Cornerstone OnDemand, an adaptive cloud-based HR software solutions provider, agreed to acquire SumTotal, a provider of learning and human capital management software-as-a-service, from Skillsoft, an educational technology company, for $200m.
"Today is an exciting day for our teams, our customers, and our industry. SumTotal and Cornerstone share a passion for people growth and development. The additional depth of expertise from SumTotal, particularly in high-consequence vertical markets, is an ideal complement to Cornerstone. With Cornerstone's broad portfolio and agnostic approach to innovation, we expect to offer SumTotal customers even more options for extensibility and growth. Together, we will continue our mission in helping organizations and their people to develop future-proof skills, flexibly grow their careers, and achieve shared success," Himanshu Palsule, Cornerstone CEO.
Cornerstone is advised by Centerview Partners and Sidley Austin. Clearlake Capital is advised by Lambert & Co. Skillsoft is advised by PJT Partners and Weil Gotshal and Manges.
Blackstone, an American multinational private equity, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a global investment management organization, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Advarra, a provider of regulatory, quality, and compliance solutions and clinical trial technologies, from private equity firms Genstar Capital and Linden Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are proud to back Advarra given its important role in enabling high-quality clinical R&D and helping its clients bring life-changing treatments to patients. Sustained innovation and scientific advancement in life sciences is one of our highest conviction investment themes across Blackstone. We are excited to partner with Gadi and the rest of the Advarra team to continue investing in talent, differentiated scientific expertise, customer-centric solutions, and innovative clinical trial technology to realize Advarra’s full potential in the years ahead," Anushka Sunder, Blackstone Senior Managing Director.
Advarra is advised by Bank of America, Jefferies & Company and Ropes & Gray. Blackstone is advised by Goldman Sachs and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Zymeworks, a cancer therapy developer, said it had adopted a "poison pill" to thwart a hostile takeover from All Blue Capital, an investment firm, a month after rejecting the investment firm's $773m bid on valuation grounds, Reuters reported.
Zymeworks said the shareholder rights plan would stop investors from amassing more than 10% of its share, or 20% in the case of some passive investors. Poison pills make a takeover more complex by allowing existing shareholders to buy shares at a discount, diluting a suitor's ownership stake.
Zymeworks is advised by Blake Cassels & Graydon and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. All Blue Capital is advised by Kekst CNC and Kingsdale Advisors.
Choice Hotels, a hotels operator, agreed to acquire Radisson Hotel Group Americas, an operator of an international hospitality company, for $675m.
"Choice has a well-established history of smart acquisitions in new segments where our world-class franchising engine can spur future growth. This transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses, enhancing our guest offerings in the core upper-midscale hospitality segments, while extending our reach into the upper upscale and upscale full-service segments and in higher revenue geographic markets. We are confident that guests and franchisees will significantly benefit by combining these two exceptional sets of brands," Patrick Pacious, Choice Hotels President and CEO.
Choice Hotels is advised by Credit Suisse and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Radisson Hotel is advised by Baker McKenzie.
Bain Capital Credit and J.C. Flowers, two investment firms, agreed to invest $100m in Insigneo Financial Group, a wealth management platform.
"Raul and the Insigneo team have built a best-in-class wealth management platform to serve the evolving needs of international advisors and their clients. We're excited to partner with them on the next stage of their growth," June Huang, Bain Capital Credit Vice President.
Insigneo is advised by Newlink Group. Bain Capital Credit is advised by Stanton PRM. J.C. Flowers is advised by Lambert & Co.
Cenovus Energy, an integrated oil company, agreed to acquire a 50% stake in the Sunrise oil sands project from bp, an oil and petrochemicals company, for $469m.
“Acquiring the remaining working interest in Sunrise enables us to fully benefit from the significant optimization opportunities available. By applying Cenovus’s advanced operating techniques, we expect to increase production at Sunrise while driving down sustaining capital, operating costs and emissions intensity," Alex Pourbaix, Cenovus President & CEO.
Credibly, a fintech lending platform, completed the acquisition of ProApprove, a finance company offering home improvement financing solutions, from Castlelake, a private investment firm, for $350m.
"Through conversations with contractors who obtain financing from Credibly, we identified a significant market opportunity in the home improvement space. We believe our agreement with Castlelake will accelerate our expansion efforts by providing contractors with confidence that they can offer flexible financing solutions to all of their customers. Contractors who offer financing solutions through ProApprove will no longer need to turn down sales due to a homeowner's inability to pay for a project upfront, helping those contractors grow their book of business," Ryan Rosett, Credibly Co-Founder and Co-CEO.
Baillie Gifford, an investment management firm, and Bill Gates led a $135m funding in Echodyne, a radar platform company, with participation from Northrop Grumman, NEA, Madrona Ventures, Vulcan Capital, and Vanedge Capital.
"Echodyne's ability to deliver high-performance radar solutions at commercial prices is a highly disruptive innovation. The company's unique sensor technology is unlocking novel applications for customers and showing promising adoption at leading organizations, such as the US Army, Northrop Grumman, NASA, and the Department of Homeland Security. As long-term investors, we're excited by the growth potential Echodyne has over the decade ahead and are thrilled to be supporting its next phase of market expansion and new product creation," Luke Ward, Baillie Gifford Investment Manager.
CPPIB and GIC pull out of Eletrobras privatization race. (FS)
Singapore state investor GIC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have not bought shares in Eletrobras' privatization offering because they demanded prices below what the Brazilian government was willing to accept, DealStreetAsia reported.
CPPIB and GIC each had orders of $802m, but those were conditioned on the offering being priced below the $8.4 demanded by the government at the offering.
Paladin holds final close of Cyber Fund II at $372m. (FS)
Paladin's Cyber Fund II is a multi-stage fund focusing on cybersecurity startups that bring innovative technologies to the market.
Greenstone Equity Partners, one of the largest licensed fund placement firm in the Middle East, supported Paladin Capital Group in achieving this fund closure by raising capital from Greenstone's network of GCC-based investors.
EMEA
Pfizer, an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, completed the acquisition of ReViral, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, from Novo, a private limited liability company, and Andera Partners, a private equity firm, for $525m.
"Currently, treatment options for RSV are extremely limited and focus primarily on supportive care. The proposed acquisition of ReViral’s pipeline of therapeutic candidates is complementary to our efforts to advance the first vaccine candidate to help protect against this harmful disease. Combining the capabilities and expertise of our organizations will enable us to further the clinical development of a potential therapy for those with RSV disease," Annaliesa Anderson, Pfizer Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer.
ReViral was advised by Bank of America, Centerview Partners, Goodwin Procter and Sciad Communications. Pfizer was advised by Clifford Chance. Andera Partners was advised by Bien Commun and MC Services.
Lovell Minnick, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in London & Capital, a wealth and asset manager. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We chose to partner with LMP because of the firm’s excellent track record of working with management teams to scale and enhance wealth and asset management firms. Their deep experience in the space and our sense of shared values and culture align with our focus on providing an exceptional service and experience for our clients. We are at an exciting point in our evolution as a firm, and attracting the private investment plus the operational support LMP offers, will allow us to expand our client solutions, grow internationally, invest in technology, and bring on new teams. We look forward to working closely with the LMP team," Guy McGlashan, London & Capital CEO.
Lovell Minnick is advised by Raymond James, Proskauer Rose and Prosek Partners. London & Capital is advised by Cavendish Corporate Finance, Spencer House Partners, Charles Russell Speechlys and Wallace.
Piper Sandler, an investment bank, completed the acquisition of Stamford Partners, a specialist M&A boutique offering investment banking services. Financial terms are not disclosed.
"We are excited to partner with a firm that shares our vision, culture and commitment to clients through their journey. This partnership is in line with our goal to grow our investment banking practice in Europe with teams who share our philosophy and provide leading advisory services and deep sector expertise," Peter Hall, Piper Sandler Managing Director and Head of European investment banking.
Britain's Go-Ahead attracts takeover approaches from two suitors.
British transport operator Go-Ahead received two separate takeover approaches at a price it planned to recommend to shareholders if the potential suitors tabled a firm offer, sending its shares nearly 20% higher.
The two bidders Australia-based transport service provider Kelsian Group, and a consortium of Australia's Kinetic Holding Company and Spain-based transport infrastructure management firm Globalvia Inversiones have been given access for due diligence, the London-listed firm said, Reuters reported.
UK housebuilder Countryside puts itself up for sale as shareholder pressure mounts.
The company said its third-largest shareholder In-Cap will participate in the formal sale process, and it is currently not in talks with any other potential suitor, Reuters report.
Bahrain wealth fund weighs Alba listing in Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund is considering a listing of Aluminium Bahrain in Saudi Arabia more than a decade after its initial listing in Bahrain.
Mumtalakat, as the Bahrain fund is known, is working with Moelis & Co as financial adviser on the potential listing. Alba, as the Bahraini metal producer is known, has kicked off the process to seek regulatory approvals in Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reported.
Forbion holds first close of Growth Opp Fund II at €470m. (FS)
European life science venture capital firm Forbion has held the first close of the Growth Opp Fund II which will invest in late-stage European life sciences funds at €470m ($494m).
The firm is targeting €500m ($525m) in total capital commitments for the fund which is expected to reach its hard cap later this summer. New institutional investors to commit to the fund include the PME and PMT pension funds, plus the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Reggeborgh, with Pantheon, Wealth Management Partners, and Eli Lilly and Company all reinvesting again.
ISF has raised $312m.
Israel Secondary Fund announced that it has raised its 3rd fund totaling $312m. In 2017, ISF raised its 2nd fund of $100m and currently manages over half a billion dollars focused on secondary transactions in the Israeli technology market.
"In recent years, ISF led over 80 secondary transactions in technology companies and venture funds. The timing of the current fundraising is particularly significant, considering the shifting market trends after a decade of unprecedented growth," Dror Glass, ISF Managing Partner and Founder.
McWin launched new food tech fund.
McWin, a private investment firm, has launched the McWin Food Tech Fund, a €250m strategy that will focus on investing in the agtech industry, with a specific focus on the whole food value chain.
The new fund will invest in 15-20 companies using capital commitments secured from institutional investors, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. McWin's 2021-vintage Food Ecosystem Fund has raised €260m ($273m) to date and is on course to close on €300m ($315m) in the third quarter of this year.
Sky to anchor Founders Factory's £100m Planet Fund.
Sky is anchoring a new £100m ($105m) "operator-first" venture capital fund powered by Founders Factory that will champion early-stage entrepreneurs launching planet positive technologies.
Hoping to plug the funding gap that exists for seed stage climate startups, Planet Fund offers entrepreneurs Founders Factory's robust approach to company building with high-conviction capital, execution support and unparalleled network. The new fund will focus on broad sustainability themes including decarbonization, resource preservation, climate resilience and the circular economy.
Tencent-backed G7 Connect, a fleet management company, completed the merger with Alibaba-backed E6 Technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Freight managers in China have strong demand for digitising their business through the adoption of enterprise software services and the combination will allow the two companies to invest more in technology and create higher value for customers," Zhai Xuehun, G7 Connect Co-Founder and CEO.
G7 Connect and E6 Technology were advised by Deloitte, KPMG, Boston Consulting Group, AnJie Law Firm, Global Law Office, Llinks Law Offices and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Frasers Property, a real estate and property management company, agreed to acquire Frasers Hospitality Trust, a hotel and serviced residence trust, for $970m.
"We concur with FHT Managers' board decision, following their strategic review, that their privatization by FPL Group will provide the best course of action to optimize value for Stapled Securityholders. FPL Group's long-term strategy is centered on leveraging our synergistic multi-asset class capabilities to create value. Hospitality remains one of our core businesses. This transaction will allow FPL Group to increase its investment in hospitality assets at locations that we are already familiar with. As with all assets in our investment portfolio, FPL Group will leverage our deep understanding of FHT's assets and adopt a rigorous and disciplined approach to drive performance," Loo Choo Leong, FPL CFO.
FHT is advised by DBS Bank. FPL is advised by Bank of America and OCBC Bank.
Polaris Partners, a venture capital firm, led a $126m Series A funding round in Tessa Therapeutics, a developer of a biotechnology platform, with participation from Temasek, EDBI, Heliconia Capital and Heritas Capital.
“We are very pleased to have secured this significant round of financing from such a highly regarded syndicate of global healthcare investors, including Temasek and Polaris Partners. Additionally, we are excited to welcome Amy Schulman and Darren Carroll of Polaris to our Board of Directors and look forward to benefitting from their substantial industry experience and business acumen as Tessa enters an important period of growth as we advance our pipeline of revolutionary cell therapies through the clinic to patients in need," Göran Ando, Tessa Therapeutics Chairman of the Board.
Tessa was advised by Tiberend Strategic Advisors.
An Indian appeals tribunal rejected Amazon.com's appeal against an antitrust suspension of its $200m investment deal with Future Group, saying the US company concealed information when it sought approval in 2019, DealStreetAsia reported.
India's antitrust agency issued the suspension in December, stating that Amazon suppressed the actual scope of the 2019 investment and made false and incorrect statements. Amazon challenged the decision, arguing that it had not concealed information.
Geely-backed Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology agreed to acquire a 79.09% stake in Zhuhai Meizu Technology, a smartphone maker. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Xingji Shidai and Meizu said the deal was still being reviewed by regulators and details were still being negotiate.
HSBC may unlock $26.5bn in Asia spin-off.
A break up of HSBC Holdings's Asian unit could unlock $26.5bn, or about a fifth of its current market value, Bloomberg reported.
Two other scenarios that could benefit shareholders are for HSBC to spin off the Asian business or just its Hong Kong retail operations into partial initial public offerings, In Toto Consulting said in a report dated June 8. A disclaimer in the report showed the analysis was commissioned by "an independent third party."
Tencent buys stake in Flipkart worth $264m.
Tencent, a Chinese tech company, acquired a 0.72% stake worth $264m in Flipkart, an e-commerce firm, from Binny Bansal, Flipkart co-founder, through its European subsidiary, DealStreetAsia reported.
The transaction was completed on October 26, 2021. However, it was shared with government authorities at the beginning of this financial year. Flipkart is registered in Singapore and has operations in India only.
“Tencent is an early investor in Flipkart and this transaction happened last year when SoftBank along with various sovereign funds invested $3.6bn in Flipkart. That time Binny Bansal diluted some of his stake to Tencent.”
Thailand approves a $1bn Foxconn-PTT joint venture.
Thailand's investment agency approved a joint venture worth $1.04bn between Taiwan's Foxconn, a contract maker of electronics, and Thailand's PTT, a national petroleum and petrochemical company, to produce battery electric vehicles, Reuters reported.
"The joint venture project will support investment in the EV industry and build up on the policy to become Southeast Asia's EV manufacturing hub," Duangjai Asawachintachit, BOI CEO.
Binance CEO says now is a great time to hire and acquire.
Changpeng Zhao, Co-Founder and CEO of Binance, a crypto exchange, thinks the crypto winter is a great time to increase investment in talent and acquisitions, Bloomberg reported.
"We have a very healthy war chest, we in fact are expanding hiring right now kicking into high gear in terms of M&A activity," Changpeng Zhao, Binance CEO.
Alibaba looks to restructure as competition, regulation squeezes growth.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group is struggling to find its feet after its growth strategy collapsed due to tougher competition and tighter government controls on internet companies.
Nearly four years after founder Jack Ma announced his retirement, Trudy Dai, one of the original members of the company, who took the helm of the main subsidiary, will be the key to the group's future, DealStreetAsia reported.
A $17bn loss puts Indian IPO among top Asia wealth losers.
An eye-popping $17bn wipeout in market value has made Life Insurance of India one of the biggest wealth destroyers among Asia's initial public offerings this year.
Having plunged 29% since its May 17 debut, India's biggest ever IPO now ranks second in terms of market capitalization loss since listing. The drop puts it just behind South Korea's LG Energy Solution, which saw a more than 30% peak-to-trough decline in its share price after an initial spike on debut, Bloomberg report.
Tencent-backed virtual playground Soulgate withdraws $185m US IPO plans.
Soulgate, the Chinese social networking app backed by Tencent Holdings, has filed to withdraw its plans to raise $185m in an initial public offering in the US, DealStreetAsia reported.
The company, which had originally sought to offer 13.2m American Depository Shares at a price range of $13 to $15 apiece, did not provide a reason for the withdrawal and only said its decision was "consistent with the public interest and protection of investors."
HarbourVest Partners raises over $870m for new Asia fund of funds. (FS)
Global private markets investment firm HarbourVest Partners has raised more than $870m for its latest Asia-focused fund of funds and its sidecar vehicles, according to regulatory filings.
The asset manager has raised $370m for HarbourVest Asia Pacific Fund 5, a multi-strategy fund of funds launched in 2021. It has also racked up $325m for HarbourVest Asia Pacific 5 Feeder Fund, and $176m for HarbourVest Asia Pacific 5 AIF, DealStreetAsia reported.
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