AMERICAS
Delaware Chancery Court Judge Joseph Slights III declared that CBS shareholders who claim they were mistreated in the $19.9bn merger with Viacom can press forward with a lawsuit over their losses.
The judge ruled Wednesday that pension funds had raised legitimate questions about the fairness of the 2019 merger engineered by media mogul Shari Redstone, head of Viacom and a CBS board member. Facts presented by the investors support a reasonable inference the merger was not entirely fair to CBS.
Viacom was advised by LionTree Advisors, Morgan Stanley, Cravath Swaine & Moore, Shearman & Sterling, Community Group and Finsbury Glover Hering. Financial advisors of Viacom were advised by Latham & Watkins. CBS was advised by Centerview Partners, Evercore, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Lazard, Moelis & Co, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Jones Day and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. National Amusements was advised by Evercore and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
Clearlake Capital completed the acquisition of the technology division of nThrive, an independent patient-to-payment solutions company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to partner with Clearlake in our next stage of growth as an independent company. Through this partnership, Clearlake will bring fresh capital and perspectives from their experience working with other high-performance SaaS companies. Through both organic and inorganic growth strategies, I believe this partnership will help position nThrive Technology as a market leader in the revenue cycle technology space, delivering innovation for our healthcare customers and users," Sloan Clardy, nThrive CEO.
nThrive was advised by Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Clearlake Capital was advised by BMO Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies & Company, UBS, Sidley Austin and Lambert & Co. Debt financing was provided by BMO Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies & Company and UBS.
Property Solutions Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, agreed to merge with Faraday Future, a global shared intelligent mobility ecosystem company, in a $3.4bn deal. The merger is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021. Following the closing, the combined company will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol "FFIE".
"We are excited to enter into this partnership with PSAC. This is an important milestone in our company's transformation, one that we achieved with strong commitment from our employees, suppliers, and partners in the US and China, as well as the city of Hanford, California. I am excited that this business combination will allow us to launch the class defining FF 91, building upon the founder's original vision to help our users and shareholders take part in shaping the future of mobility, "Carsten Breitfeld, Faraday Future Global CEO.
Faraday Future is advised by Credit Suisse, Miller Buckfire, Stifel, O'Melveny & Myers and Sidley Austin. Property Solutions is advised by Deutsche Bank, EarlyBirdCapital, Riverside Management Group and Latham & Watkins.
Stock Yards Bancorp, a bank holding company, agreed to acquire Kentucky Bancshares, the parent company of Kentucky Bank, for $190m.
"We are thrilled to welcome Kentucky Bancshares and its employees to the Stock Yards team. This transaction expands our presence into the attractive Central Kentucky market and represents a complementary fit, both strategically and culturally, with our business model. The combination of our two organizations provides the opportunity to create efficiencies and enhance the value of the combined company while offering Kentucky Bank customers broader product offerings, increased lending capabilities and an expanded branch delivery system that stretches throughout the Louisville, Indianapolis and Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati metropolitan markets," James A. Hillebrand, Stock Yards Bancorp Chairman and CEO.
Kentucky Bancshares is advised by Raymond James and Stoll Keenon Ogden. Stock Yards Bancorp is advised by Keefe Bruyette & Woods and Frost Brown Todd.
MassMutual, a mutual life insurance company, agreed to acquire Great American Life Insurance Company, a property and casualty insurance provider, from American Financial Group, an insurance holding company, for $3.5bn.
"This acquisition is an excellent strategic fit for MassMutual that will broaden our product offerings, expand our distribution, and generate additional earnings, allowing us to build a true lifetime income franchise and deliver ongoing value to our policy owners and customers," Roger Crandall, MassMutual Chairman, President and CEO.
MassMutual is advised by Debevoise & Plimpton. American Financial Group is advised by Keating Muething & Klekamp and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
The Competition and Markets Authority is launching an investigation into Facebook's acquisition of Giphy, a web-based animated gif search engine and platform provider.
The antitrust watchdog said it is considering whether the deal might lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the UK. The CMA said it has until March 25 to decide whether to refer the deal for an in-depth probe.
Giphy was advised by JP Morgan and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian. Facebook was advised by Latham & Watkins.
Astara Capital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of the packaging operations of Garlock Printing & Converting, a provider of flexographic printing and converting of lightweight packaging. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to be partnering with Pete and the great team he has built at Garlock. Garlock is a valued partner to its customers and suppliers, and this transaction will allow the Company to focus on its core flexible packaging business," Michael Ranson, Astara Managing Partner.
Astara Capital was advised by M2O and Robinson Bradshaw. Debt financing was provided by Fidus Investment Corporation and PNC Bank.
Ayr Strategies, an expanding vertically integrated, US multi-state cannabis operator, agreed to acquire Blue Camo, a vertically integrated operation in Arizona, for $75m.
"Arizona has been a terrific medical market, third in the US in terms of patient penetration at over 3.8% and currently generating approximately $1bn in annual revenue," Jonathan Sandelman, Ayr Chairman and CEO.
Ayr Strategies is advised by Gateway Investor Relations.
Sammons Financial Group, an insurance holding company whose member companies offer financial service and retirement products, agreed to acquire Beacon Capital Management, a registered investment advisory firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sammons Financial Group has a long track record of success in organic growth in its financial services offerings. That focus will only continue as the addition of Beacon Capital Management will accelerate our efforts in the RIA channel. This move complements our existing business lines and our work to build partnerships with other registered investment advisors," Esfand Dinshaw, Sammons Financial Group CEO.
Sammons Financial Group is advised by Berkshire Global Advisors.
Bertram Capital, a private equity firm targeting investments in lower middle-market companies, completed the investment in Lectric eBikes, a designer and direct-to-consumer retailer of electric bicycles and accessories. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Lectric has become one of the largest and fastest-growing e-bike brands in the United States in just two short years. From the beginning, the Company has aimed to deliver high quality, fully-featured bicycles at market leading prices. The team at Lectric accomplished this through a novel approach to design, marketing, distribution, and customer support, which has earned it thousands of highly satisfied, loyal customers," Ryan Craig, Bertram Capital Partner.
Bertram Capital was advised by Cherry Tree & Associates.
Coatue led a $590m Series F round in Sila Nanotechnologies, a Silicon Valley battery materials company, with participation from T. Rowe Price, 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Sutter Hill Ventures.
"We believe Sila Nano has created a battery technology that is new, groundbreaking, and has a clear path to scale and broad adoption. We are excited about the Sila Nano team's opportunity to take advantage of the existing global lithium-ion manufacturing infrastructure and help transform the future of energy storage. We look forward to our future partnership with Gene and his incredible team as they work to deliver on the potential to set a new standard for batteries," Jaimin Rangwalla, Coatue Management Senior Managing Director.
Sila Nanotechnologies was advised by The Hatch Agency.
Sixth Street Partners, a global investment firm, led a $150m Series E round in Bloomreach, an API company that helps eCommerce customers create, personalize, and scale commerce experiences.
"We have been incredibly impressed by the leadership teams of both Bloomreach and Exponea and look forward to partnering with them as they continue to develop and capitalize on their market-leading platform. Technology serving more bespoke customer experiences is a rapidly expanding market and we are pleased to join Bloomreach in its leadership of the digital commerce experience and marketing sector," Michael McGinn, Sixth Street Partner.
Bloomreach was advised by Macquarie Group.
Drive Capital led a $125m Series C round in Sidecar Health, a health insurtech company, with participation from BOND, Tiger Global, Menlo Ventures, Cathay Innovation and GreatPoint Ventures.
"Sidecar Health is the biggest idea I have seen in almost two decades of investing in healthcare. We are strong believers in their product which brings unprecedented value, simplicity, transparency and choice to consumers," Noah Knauf, BOND General Partner.
Drive Capital was advised by Latham & Watkins.
Investment firms LLR Partners, NewSpring Capital and PNC agreed to invest $180m in SparkPost, the world's largest email sending and optimization platform.
"Email has proven to be the most cost-effective and reliable marketing and customer engagement channel. Rich and the entire SparkPost team have built impressive momentum throughout 2020 and our investment will help support company growth and its position as a leader in the enterprise email marketing space. We are thrilled to be a part of their journey to help deliver tangible value and customer success to enterprises globally," David Reuter, LLR Partner.
Prudential, a financial services company, agreed to spinoff Jackson Financial, a provider of retirement products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
At the time of the spin-off, Prudential intends to retain a 19.9% interest in Jackson that it will fully divest over time. Jackson continues to progress with key stakeholders and, following the proposed separation, expects to list on the New York Stock Exchange using the ticker “JXN.”
“As we move closer to the demerger, Jackson continues its core focus on providing industry leading products and services to our clients, managing risk and generating capital returns for shareholders. Steve brings significant insurance sector experience to Jackson that will serve our firm and stakeholders well. We are excited to have him on board and look forward to benefiting from his insights and guidance in years to come," Michael Falco, Jackson CEO.
Warren Equity-backed SSP Innovations, a provider of IT services and software to electric, gas, and water utilities, completed the acquisition of 3-GIS, an IT services and software company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to partner with SSP and Warren Equity. The pairing of 3-GIS's telecom product offerings and SSP's utility product offerings will allow the company to better serve customers through a combination of market-leading geospatial products, services, consulting, and data management practices," Tom Counts, 3-GIS CEO.
LaRose Industries, a distributor of toys, agreed to acquire the Arts, Crafts, Stationery business from Mattel, a toy manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I couldn't be more excited to have the legendary RoseArt name back in the family. I spent over 30 years imagining and building this brand alongside my father Sydney and brother Jeffrey, and I am so happy to call it my own once again. My grandfather started RoseArt and since then, the company has created tens of thousands of nostalgic toys, games, and crafts that resonate with kids and families throughout the world. These items stand for quality, and like all of our great products, the RoseArt brand will allow kids to be creative and explore a fun world of imaginative play. Of course, RoseArt is also a perfect complement to our current popular arts and crafts segment," Lawrence Rosen, LaRose Chairman.
The Craftory, a British venture capital firm, agreed to invest $50m in HIPPEAS, an organic snacks producer.
"I am delighted to add HIPPEAS to the Craftory's great portfolio of cause-driven brands. If ever a category has been left behind by the zeitgeist it's this one. The consumer agenda in snacking has fundamentally changed and HIPPEAS stands out as a clear leader," Elio Leoni Sceti, The Craftory Co-Founder.
Mill Rock Capital, a growth and operations-oriented private investment firm, completed the investment in DRT Holdings, a manufacturer of specialized components, precision tools and container systems. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"DRT's core value proposition of highly complex machining capabilities and superior customer service is more important than ever, and we look forward to expanding DRT's product and service offerings to our loyal customer base. Our partnership with Mill Rock provides the strategic resources and financial strength necessary to meet our customers' expanding needs," Gary Van Gundy, DRT CEO.
Shore Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on investments within the healthcare and food and beverage industries, agreed to invest in Tandem Family of Companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Tandem has a tremendous track record providing high-value, high-touch client service while expanding its geographic capabilities and customer solutions. We are well-positioned to continue this path to success by investing in the transformational growth of Tandem's products, services, and geographic reach," Ryan Kelley, Shore Partner.
Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures and Sapphire Ventures, three investment firms, led a $167m Series D funding round in OwnBackup, a cloud data protection platform. The round was joined by Innovation Endeavors, Vertex Ventures, and Oryzn Capital.
"The Salesforce Customer 360 Platform is helping organizations digitally transform their businesses to have a single source of truth for their customers. We're glad to elevate our support for OwnBackup's solution, which extends the capabilities of our platform by providing end-to-end data protection," Sarah Franklin, Salesforce CMO.
American Industrial Partners weighs $3.5bn sale of Cabinetworks. (FS)
Private equity firm American Industrial Partners is considering a sale of Cabinetworks Group that could value the building products company at about $3.5bn.
New York-based AIP is working with advisers on strategic options for Cabinetworks, including a potential sale. The business is expected to attract interest from other private equity firms and industry peers. AIP hasn’t decided on a course of action and its plans could change.
23andMe in talks to go public via Branson SPAC. (FS)
Consumer DNA-testing company 23andMe is in talks to go public through a roughly $4bn deal with VG Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, Bloomberg reported.
A merger with a special purpose acquisition company would allow 23andMe to go public without the risk or uncertainty of holding an initial public offering.
Roman Health Ventures explores a $4bn listing via SPAC.
Roman Health Ventures, the company behind telehealth business Ro, is in talks to go public through a merger with blank-check acquisition company which could value it at more than $4bn, Reuters reported.
The talks may not lead to a deal and the company may instead opt to pursue other options such as another fundraising round.
Qualtrics International seeks $1.55bn in an IPO. (FS)
Qualtrics International, a customer-survey software business, is poised to raise about $1.55bn after boosting the amount of stock in its IPO for a second time. The company increased the size of the offering to 51.7m shares, from 50.4m shares. It plans to sell the shares for $30 apiece, above the top end of an earlier range. Silver Lake and its affiliates have also agreed to purchase $550m of Qualtrics’s shares in a private placement.
The IPO will be used to repay $1.76bn of debt owed to SAP America while the remainder will be for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Qualtrics is advised by Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan.
LoanDepot mulls a $315m US IPO.
Mortgage lender LoanDepot and its shareholders are seeking as much as $315m in a US initial public offering. It plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "LDI".
LoanDepot plans to offer 9.4m shares in the offering, while its existing backers will sell 5.6m shares. The shares are offered at $19 to $21 apiece.
Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are leading LoanDepot’s IPO.
ITHAX Acquisition announced the pricing of upsized $210m IPO. (FS)
ITHAX Acquisition, a newly incorporated blank check company, announced the pricing of its upsized initial public offering of 21m units at a price of $10 per unit. The units are expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market and trade under the ticker symbol “ITHXU”.
The company is sponsored by the founders of Ithaca Capital and AXIA Ventures and is led by Orestes Fintiklis, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors; and Dimitrios Athanasopoulos, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Director.
ITHAX is advised by Cantor Fitzgerald.
Squarespace files to go public.
Squarespace, a website building and hosting company, submitted a draft filing to go public to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Squarespace did not specify whether it would go public through a direct listing or a traditional initial public offering.
TCV closes TCV XI at $4bn. (FS)
TCV, a private equity firm, closed its largest fund at $4bn. With the new fund, TCV strives to accelerate TCV’s strong momentum and capture the vast opportunities presented by digital transformation and rapid technology adoption.
“We are humbled by the ongoing support of new and returning investors, which enabled us to raise a record sized fund. Just as importantly, we are honoured by all the great entrepreneurs we’ve worked with over the past 25 years, as their vision and relentless execution has been our foundation. We look forward to backing entrepreneurs with our new fund that we believe will become the next generation of iconic companies, in this incredibly fertile technology industry," Jay Hoag, TCV Founding General Partner.
GGV Capital raises $2.5bn across four funds. (FS)
GGV Capital raised $2.5bn for its new funds, marking its largest family of funds in its 20-year history. The committed capital includes $1.46bn for GGV Capital VIII, $366m for GGV Capital VIII Plus, $610m for GGV Discovery III, and $80m for GGV Capital VIII Entrepreneurs Fund.
Fund VIII will support entrepreneurs across all stages of growth. Fund VIII Plus is aimed at further supporting Fund VIII’s portfolio companies. Discovery III will focus on investing in global entrepreneurs at their earliest stage of development, while Entrepreneur VIII will be allocated to growing and building the GGV entrepreneur family network globally.
Bracket Capital raises $450m for private market investing strategy. (FS)
Bracket Capital, a private equity firm focused on growth and later-stage, technology-enabled companies, announced the successful close of its oversubscribed second fund, Bracket Capital Fund II, at the fund’s hard cap of $150m, exceeding its original $100m target. Bracket raised an additional $300m in co-investment vehicles to invest alongside Fund II for a total of at least $450m in equity to deploy.
Fund I and Fund II will invest in private companies through primary funding rounds and secondary market purchases from employees and early investors at these businesses seeking liquidity.
Prime Movers Lab closes Fund II at $245m. (FS)
Prime Movers Lab, a venture capital firm, raised $245m for its second early-stage investment fund. Prime Movers Lab Fund II will invest in early-stage companies reinventing human augmentation, energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing and agriculture.
"Given the extraordinary performance of our first fund, we are thrilled to announce our second fund backed by world-class limited partners including Bill Ackman, the Lerner family office, the University of Wyoming, Dmitry Balyasny, Joe Lonsdale, and dozens of other leading institutions, families and entrepreneurs. Like we did with our first fund, our second fund will back breakthrough scientific innovations to further build upon important advancements taking place across the 18 areas of scientific-driven commercial disruption where we are focused," Dakin Sloss, Prime Movers Lab Founder and General Partner.
Goldman Sachs names Ben Frost and Andre Kellners as co-heads of its consumer retail group. (People)
Goldman Sachs Group named Ben Frost and Andre Kelleners global co-heads of the bank’s consumer retail group. The pair will join the executive committee of the firm’s investment banking division and take over from Stephan Feldgoise, who will focus on his duties as global co-head of mergers and acquisitions.
“Ben and Andre will work to enhance CRG’s global strategy with a focus on continuing to drive our leadership position, strengthening client relationships, identifying new opportunities for growth, and developing our global team,” Dan Dees and Jim Esposito, Goldman Sachs Co-Heads of Investment Banking.
EMEA
GardaWorld, a Canadian security group, extended its buyout offer period for rival G4S for the fifth time, even as the British company has already accepted Allied Universal's takeover offer.
Allied extended the time for G4S shareholders to accept the deal, which has been agreed upon by the two companies, to February 9. GardaWorld extended its offer to February 10.
G4S is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Lazard, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters and Brunswick Group. Allied Universal is advised by Credit Suisse, Moelis & Co, Morgan Stanley, AZB & Partners, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Kirkland & Ellis, Sullivan & Cromwell and Teneo. GardaWorld is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Jefferies & Company, UBS, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Montfort Communications. Financial advisors of GardaWorld are advised by Ashurst.
EQT increased its cash offer for Recipharm, a contract pharmaceutical maker, valuing the company at $2.97bn. EQT raised its bid to $27.8 per share from the $26.4 it had offered in December.
"We consider this revised offer to be highly compelling for Recipharm's shareholders," Erika Henriksson, EQT Partner.
Recipharm is advised by Carnegie Investment Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Setterwalls Advokatbyra and Vinge. EQT is advised by Goldman Sachs, Roschier Attorneys and Setterwalls Advokatbyra. Goldman Sachs is advised by Latham & Watkins. Debt financing is provided by Goldman Sachs.
AE Industrial Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of UAV Factory, a tactical UAV design and manufacturing firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"UAV Factory's engineering and technical capabilities, combined with its proven and growing set of technology solutions, are truly differentiated in the market. We are excited to partner with the talented UAV Factory team and are confident that our collective strategic vision for an unmanned technology platform will yield powerful results in this fast-growing market," Jeffrey Hart, AEI Principal.
UAV Factory was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Blank Rome and Walless. AE Industrial Partners was advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kirkland & Ellis and Lambert & Co.
Savaria, which designs, engineers, and manufactures products for personal mobility, agreed to acquire Handicare Group, which offers solutions and support to increase the independence of the physically challenged or elderly people, for $350m. Nordic Capital, which owns 62% of Handicare, voiced support for the offer.
"Together, we will be well-positioned to become a world-leading company to answer the needs of this growing market. We believe that our offer represents a compelling opportunity for the shareholders of Handicare, which is demonstrated by the fact that the major shareholder in Handicare supports our offer and intends to sell at this price," Marcel Bourassa, Savaria President and CEO.
Handicare Group is advised by Rothschild & Co and Mannheimer Swartling. Savaria is advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Blake Cassels & Graydon and Hannes Snellman.
The Spanish government will analyze whether to authorize the €5bn ($6.1bn) bid made by IFM, an Australian-run fund, for a minority stake in Naturgy, a global gas and electric utility company.
"We have to analyze in-depth and much detail this operation because it involves an operator in a strategic sector - energy - and critical infrastructure," Nadia Calvino, Spanish Economy Minister.
Naturgy is advised by Citigroup.
D1 Capital Partners led a $208m Series B round in DriveNets, the networking software company, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Pitango and Atreides Management.
"We expect that DriveNets will continue rolling out transformative solutions and establish itself as a preeminent Infrastructure-as-a-Service vendor. We are excited by DriveNets' potential to dramatically change the architecture of this industry," Dan Sundheim, D1 Capital Partners Founder.
DriveNets was advised by Silicon Valley Communications.
Investment firm Pollen Street and insurance provider QIC agreed to invest £200m ($274m) in Markerstudy, an insurance company.
"We have been working with the team at Pollen Street for over a year, during which time we have built a strong working relationship and a shared vision for our combined growth ambitions. This strategic partnership with Pollen Street and QIC is a powerful alliance and will facilitate our expansion as we move to the next exciting chapter in our evolution," Kevin Spencer, Markerstudy CEO.
Fincantieri, which designs and builds merchant vessels, passenger ships, offshore, and naval vessels, terminated the $72.4m acquisition of Chantiers de l'Atlantique, which operates as a shipbuilder, blaming the economic downturn and a failure to get European antitrust approval.
The decision was made to allow the two companies to focus on getting through the pandemic and new projects.
Twitter completed the acquisition of Revue, a Dutch startup that allows users to publish and monetize email newsletters. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This is just the first step for us as we continue to enhance the public conversation on Twitter, and we welcome all creators – from experts and curators to journalists and publishers – to join us on our journey. We can't wait to share more on our progress soon," Twitter.
Shawbrook Group, a specialist savings and lending bank, agreed to acquire The Mortgage Lender, a specialist intermediary mortgage lender. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The acquisition is an exciting and unique opportunity for both Shawbrook and TML, and will help to drive further growth in our Property Finance franchise," Ian Cowie, Shawbrook Bank CEO.
Charterhouse starts $2.4bn sale of Pharmaceutique Francaise. (FS)
Charterhouse, a private equity firm, kicked off the sale of drugmaker Pharmaceutique Française as it seeks to capitalize on investor appetite for pandemic-resilient healthcare assets. The French business, known as Cooper, could be valued at $2.4bn or above.
The buyout fund sent out confidential information packages in early January with a view to collecting tentative bids for the company in February. Demand for Cooper’s Baccide branded antibacterial solutions products exploded in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged Europe.
Charterhouse is advised by Rothschild & Co and HSBC.
Carlyle explores strategic options for Ameos. (FS)
Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, seeks a sale or refinancing for Ameos, a Swiss hospital group, after almost a decade of ownership.
Several peers trade at about 12 times their core earnings. If sold at a similar multiple, Ameos could be valued at up to $1.5bn, including debt, in a deal. Carlyle and its co-investors could also opt for a dividend payment and refinancing of Ameos’ debt if price indications do not meet expectations.
Carlyle Group is advised by JP Morgan and Macquarie Group.
Coller Capital's eighth fund holds a final close at over $9bn. (FS)
Coller Capital, a global investor in private equity secondaries, closed Coller International Partners VIII, with committed capital of just over $9bn.
CIP VIII will take a flexible approach. The fund will target a wide array of secondary transactions, targeting assets and sellers located anywhere in the world, and making individual investments of up to $1bn or more in size.
ActivumSG raises $667m for pan-European investments. (FS)
ActivumSG Capital Management, the real estate private equity manager specialized in turnaround and special opportunity investments, raised a total of $667m from international investors to deploy in European markets that are experiencing growing distress.
ActivumSG Real Estate Fund VI has already committed more than 50% of the total amount of capital raised by its final close. The pan-European fund’s focus is on distressed opportunities or creating value in turnaround situations, mainly in five markets – Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and the UK.
Verdane closes Edda II fund at $655m hard cap for tech investments. (FS)
Verdane, a Northern European specialist growth equity investor, announced the final close on Verdane Edda II, a fund investing in technology-enabled businesses, at its $655m hard cap. Edda II brings the total committed capital across Verdane’s nine funds to over $3.6bn.
"With Edda II, we are pleased to strengthen Verdane’s ability to provide minority and majority investments from $12m-$182m and above in growth businesses across Northern Europe. We are looking to partner with ambitious tech-enabled firms who believe they can benefit from our sector knowledge, extensive networks and entrepreneurial mindset,” Henrik Aspen, Verdane Partner.
Mapletree Investments seeks to raise $606m for its European office fund. (FS)
Mapletree Investments, a real estate asset manager, is targetting to raise $606m for its European office fund, Mapletree Europe Income Trust.
MERIT fund is expecting to acieve the target before the end of March 2021. Meanwhile its targeted investment rate of return is at 12%. The vehicle will house three assets located in UK, and one each in Poland, Munich, Ireland and the Netherlands.
APAC
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, India's fashion company, agreed to acquire a 51% stake in Sabyasachi, India's largest designer brand, for $54m.
This partnership will add significant weight to ABFRL's growing ethnic wear portfolio. This will accelerate the company's strategy to capture a large share of ethnic wear market through a comprehensive & attractive portfolio of brands, across key consumer segments, usage occasions and geographies.
Sabyasachi is advised by Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail is advised by KPMG, Khaitan & Co and Transaction Square.
Private equity firm Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire the Aluminum Can and Aluminum Rolling Businesses of Showa Denko, a producer of functional chemicals and industrial materials. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Showa Denko's Aluminum Cans and Aluminum Rolling Businesses have established positions in the Japan market, where we expect to see increased demand for their products, and are well-positioned to capture significant growth in the greater Asia region as well. We are excited to leverage our experience and resources to support the Business and its management team in this next phase of growth," Tetsuji Okamoto, Apollo Partner and Head of Japan.
Apollo is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
Hefei municipal government led a $663m Series B funding round in Leapmotor, an automobile manufacturer. The round was joined by SDIC Chuangyi, ZJU Jiuzhi Investment Management and Yonghua Capital.
The funds raised will mainly go towards research and development, sales channel expansion and brand promotion.
ThaiBev eyes listing of brewery unit on SGX at $10bn.
Thai Beverage is planning to lodge a filing to list its brewery unit on the Singapore stock exchange as soon as next week, paving the way for what could be the biggest initial public offering in the city-state in a decade. The drinks maker plans to seek a valuation of about $10bn for the unit. Deliberations on the unit's IPO including size and timing could still change.
The IPO could be the SGX's biggest since Hutchison Port Holdings Trust raised $5.5bn in 2011. It would also give a boost to first-time share sales in the republic, where IPO volumes plunged to $915m last year, the least since 2015, Bloomberg reported.
Tencent-backed Full Truck Alliance eyes $1bn US IPO.
Tencent Holdings-backed Full Truck Alliance, a Chinese trucking startup, is preparing for its US initial public offering that could raise at least $1bn as soon as this year, after eking out a slim 2020 profit thanks to a pandemic-era shipping surge.
The talks are preliminary and details could still change, but the company aims to raise $1bn to $2bn.
Tencent Holdings is advised by Morgan Stanley and China International Capital.
Brookfield India Real Estate Trust mulls a $522m Indian IPO. (FS)
Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, backed by Canadian asset manager Brookfield Asset Management, is seeking to raise as much as $522m in an Indian initial public offering. Brookfield REIT is selling 138m units at $3.75 to $3.77 each. It will take investor orders from February 3 to February 5 before a listing scheduled for February 17, Bloomberg reported.
Brookfield REIT will use the funds raised in the IPO to partially or fully repay existing debt and general corporate purposes, the terms show.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, HSBC and Morgan Stanley are global coordinators and book running lead managers for the IPO.
GCLSI raises $386m through private placement share offering.
GCL System Integration Technology, a photovoltaics company in China, raised $386m through a private placement share offering, which will accelerate the implementation of the company's "dual-core business (photovoltaic and semiconductor)" strategy.
The private placement was issued to 14 investors consisting of private shareholders as well as local government platforms and well-known investment organizations.
LVMH-backed L Catterton plans to raise $250m in Asia SPAC. (FS)
L Catterton, a private equity firm co-founded by LVMH, lodged confidential filings to launch a special purpose acquisition company that aims to raise about $250m for targets in Asia, Bloomberg reported.
L Catterton Asia Acquisition was registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on January 20, with the firm’s Singapore office listed as its address. The fund will be sponsored by L Catterton Asia’s $1.45bn third fund, and will focus on consumer technology firms in the region
L Catterton fund will help its target companies list in the US and it’s planning a series of investor roadshows while adding that the final details could change.
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