AMERICAS
Roper Technologies to acquire Vertafore from Bain Capital and Vista Equity Partners for $5.35bn. (FS)
Roper Technologies, a provider of modern insurance technology, agreed to acquire Vertafore, an enterprise software solutions provider, from private equity firms Bain Capital and Vista Equity Partners for $5.35bn.
"In Roper we have found a partner who shares both our vision and our values. Their acquisition of Vertafore is validation of our strategy to provide innovative and critical solutions to our customers. Roper's long-term mindset and proven model in selecting niche market leaders offers Vertafore a platform from which we can accelerate our commitment to helping our customers further modernize their operations. We are excited to have found a permanent home for our great company," Amy Zupon, Vertafore CEO.
Vertafore is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Kirkland & Ellis and Laurel Strategies. Roper Technologies is advised by JP Morgan, Wells Fargo Securities and Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Waystar to acquire eSolutions for $1.3bn. (FS)
EQT, CPPIB and Bain Capital-backed Waystar, a provider of healthcare payments software, agreed to acquire eSolutions, a revenue cycle technology company, for $1.3bn.
"Together, Waystar and eSolutions will deliver unprecedented innovation to the industry, helping healthcare organizations accelerate revenue collection while reducing administrative expenses and repetitive tasks. Uniting our companies' data sets will further power Waystar Hubble, our artificial intelligence solution, providing access to even greater insights and value for our clients. We have long-admired eSolutions for its unique Medicare-specific revenue cycle capabilities, which are a perfect complement to the Waystar platform. We are excited to move forward as one team," Matthew Hawkins, Waystar CEO.
eSolutions is advised by TripleTree, William Blair & Co and Kirkland & Ellis. Waystar is advised by Deutsche Bank, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Mission North.
Southwestern Energy to acquire Montage Resources from EnCap Investments for $204m. (FS)
Southwestern Energy, a natural gas exploration and production company, agreed to acquire Montage Resources, an oil and gas company, from EnCap Investments, an American private equity firm, for $204m.
"This transaction creates a compelling opportunity for both Southwestern Energy and Montage Resources shareholders to benefit from the strength of the consolidated company. The combination creates a company of substantial scale with capabilities to enhance cash flow generation and a strong balance sheet that provides opportunities for enhanced shareholder value creation. We appreciate all of the great work by Montage employees in forming a very attractive business that will continue to build upon the success of Southwestern Energy," John Reinhart, Montage Resources President and CEO.
Montage Resources is advised by Barclays and Norton Rose Fulbright. Barclays is advised by Sullivan & Cromwell. Southwestern Energy is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. EnCap Investments is advised by Vinson & Elkins.
Blackstone-backed HealthEdge Software completed the acquisition of The Burgess Group. (FS)
Blackstone-backed HealthEdge Software, a software services provider, completed the acquisition of The Burgess Group, a payment integrity software company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Our company’s growth and maturation, coupled with strategic and capital support from our investors, have enabled us to take a significant step toward creating a fully automated cloud-based transactional system for health plans by partnering with Greg Burgess and his team,” Steve Krupa, HealthEdge CEO.
The Burgess Group was advised by Seabrook Partners and Vedder Price. HealthEdge Software was advised by TripleTree and Debevoise & Plimpton.
CACI completed the acquisition of Ascent Vision Technologies.
CACI, an American multinational professional services and information technology company, completed the acquisition of Ascent Vision Technologies, a provider of technology and solutions that support multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, unmanned aircraft system, air defence, and counter-unmanned aircraft system operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The combination of CACI and AVT brings unique advantages to our defence and national security customers with critical ISR and c-UAS missions. Their accomplished leadership team, led by founder and CEO Tim Sheehy, and highly skilled technical employee population drives a unique culture of agile innovation and differentiated performance. The synergies between AVT and CACI's offerings establish unapparelled technologies and capabilities in this growing area of ISR and c-UAS within CACI's business. We welcome the talented and mission-focused AVT employees to CACI," John Mengucci, CACI President and CEO.
CACI was advised by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. Ascent Vision Technologies was advised by Holland & Hart and Jefferies & Company.
Croda completed the acquisition of Avanti Polar Lipids for $260m.
Croda, a British speciality chemicals company, completed the acquisition of Avanti Polar Lipids, which manufactures and supplies lipid products, for $260m.
"We have long admired the Avanti team for their deep scientific know-how and are already working together on high-potential commercial opportunities. With their exciting drug delivery technologies, Avanti is a market leader in a high growth niche of the health care market, serving over 3k customers globally. Bringing Avanti's best-in-class expertise into Croda also significantly enhances our presence across the pharma product lifecycle, including early-stage R&D, clinical trials, analysis and formulation. I am confident that Avanti will prove transformative to the capabilities and performance of our Life Sciences sector," Steve Foots, Croda CEO.
Avanti Polar Lipids was advised by BlackArch Partners. Croda was advised by Teneo.
TA Associates to invest in Clearlake Capital-backed Ivanti. (FS)
Private equity firm TA Associates agreed to invest in Clearlake Capital-backed Ivanti, an IT software company headquartered in South Jordan, Utah. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We believe that this is the best time to invest in Ivanti. The company is uniquely positioned at the intersection of the rapidly growing IT service management, unified endpoint management and security end-markets, and has a world-class management team that we're excited to support," Harry Taylor, TA Associates Managing Director.
Ivanti is advised by Avista PR. TA Associates is advised by BackBay Communications. Clearlake Capital is advised by Lambert & Co.
Accel-KKR completed a majority investment in Recurly. (FS)
Private equity firm Accel-KKR completed a majority investment in Recurly, a platform powering subscription commerce. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Global subscription commerce is already generating trillions of dollars in revenues and is estimated to grow at 18% CAGR over the next five years. As such, businesses of all shapes and sizes are quickly grasping the value of having a subscription model as a critical piece, if not the cornerstone, of their growth strategy. Recurly's deep set of subscription management solutions and powerful insights gained from billions of transactions have proven to drive significant outcomes for their clients. We look forward to working with Dan and the entire Recurly team and continue to deliver 'first-in-class' innovations in subscription management and monetization," Dean Jacobson, Accel-KKR Managing Director.
Recurly was advised by OutVox. Accel-KKR was advised by Kekst CNC.
OnSolve to acquire Stabilitas.
OnSolve, a provider of mass notification and critical communication solutions, agreed to acquire Stabilitas, an event intelligence platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Joining OnSolve was a natural fit because we are both focused on keeping people and organizations safe. Stabilitas' AI-powered critical event intelligence coupled with OnSolve's leading global critical communications solutions will take critical event management to the next level. We developed Stabilitas to help organizations save time, money, and lives. By partnering with OnSolve we can realize that vision and provide organizations the most comprehensive critical event management capabilities available," Greg Adams, Stabilitas CEO and Co-Founder.
OnSolve is advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
Renovus Capital Partners and David Gulian completed the acquisition of Futura Mobility. (FS)
Renovus Capital Partners, a Philadelphia area private equity firm, and David Gulian, Futura Mobility CEO, completed the acquisition of Futura Mobility, a full-service mobile solution provider to healthcare and commercial clients. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We look forward to partnering with a management team that has deep industry expertise in the growing healthcare IT and SAP markets. We will work with the team to continue to invest in technical competencies and facilitate strategic acquisitions and partnerships," Atif Gilani, Renovus Founding Partner.
Futura Mobility was advised by Mufson Howe Hunter & Company.
Dragoneer Investment Group led a $200m funding round in Trumid. (FS)
Dragoneer Investment Group led a $200m funding round in Trumid, a financial technology company and fixed income electronic trading platform. TPG and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and T. Rowe Price Associates joined Dragoneer as new Trumid investors.
"Our investors are established experts in both technology and capital markets. They have deep experience working with companies like Trumid to realize the full scope of our vision. We're thrilled to have them on our team," Ronnie Mateo, Trumid CEO.
Trumid is advised by Financial Technology Partners.
HPS-backed GFL Environmental to acquire WCA Waste for $1.2bn. (FS)
HPS Investment Partners-backed GFL Environmental, a North American diversified environmental services company, agreed to acquire WCA Waste, which provides non-hazardous solid waste management services, for $1.2bn.
"We continue to deliver on our goal of pursuing strategic and accretive acquisitions to grow our business. The WCA transaction, which we have been working on for over a year, is another example of this commitment. The high quality, vertically integrated network of assets, together with our recently announced acquisition of certain divestiture assets resulting from the Waste Management and ADS transaction, will complement our existing footprint and provide us with the runway to further expand in the US through tuck-in acquisitions and providing our suite of environmental services solutions to new customers. We are excited to welcome almost 1.6k employees of WCA to the GFL family," Patrick Dovigi, GFL Founder and CEO.
Keystone Agency Investors to acquire The Seltzer Group. (FS)
Keystone Agency Investors, a new strategic partnership formed by Keystone Insurers Group and Bain Capital Credit, agreed to acquire The Seltzer Group, a custom insurance solutions provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“As an independent agency with decades of experience creating customized client solutions, The Seltzer Group has grown from one location in eastern Pennsylvania to eight locations and with KAI, they are well-positioned to continue that growth trajectory. We look forward to partnering with the Seltzer leadership team to unlock growth opportunities as they continue to provide clients with a unique concierge experience,” David E. Boedker, Sr., KAI CEO.
CSC Generation and Marquee Brands to acquire Sur La Table for $89m.
CSC Generation, an e-commerce business, and Marquee Brands, a brand owner, agreed to acquire Sur La Table, a home kitchenware retailer, for $89m.
The joint venture was named the highest bidder at a bankruptcy auction, topping an initial takeover offer from investment manager Fortress Investment Group.
Coatue led a $200m Series D funding round in Gong. (FS)
Coatue, a technology sector hedge fund, led a $200m Series D funding round in Gong, the revenue intelligence platform. The funding was joined by Index Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Thrive Capital, with participation from existing investors Battery Ventures, NextWorld Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and Wing Venture Capital.
"Revenue intelligence is an exciting category in sales technology. We were impressed with Gong's strong market traction and the resounding enthusiasm expressed by their customers," Alex Kayyal, Salesforce Ventures Partner.
AT&T aims to divest Crunchyroll for $1.5bn.
AT&T is seeking to sell Crunchyroll, its anime video unit, for as much as $1.5bn,
Bloomberg reported, resuming an effort by the communications and media conglomerate to jettison non-core assets and raise cash.
The potential sale of Crunchyroll was reported earlier Wednesday by the Information, which named Sony as the interested buyer. A representative of the company’s Sony Pictures unit declined to comment.
Exploration of selling Crunchyroll had stopped and restarted over the past year as the WarnerMedia entertainment division was being restructured, first under John Stankey, who is now AT&T’s chief executive officer, and more recently by WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar.
SoftBank-Backed Fortress SPAC raised $405m in two IPOs. (FS)
Softbank-backed Fortress Investment Group's third blank-check company, Fortress Value Acquisition II, led two such companies that raised a total of $405m when their IPOs kicked off trading Wednesday.
Blank-check companies, also known as SPACs, raise funds through an IPO to merge with private companies that are generally in industries that match their management team's expertise, normally within 24 months after the offering is completed.
Duck Creek seeks $3bn valuation for its software IPO.
Duck Creek Technologies, a provider of comprehensive P&C insurance software, indicated plans to offer 15m shares on the Nasdaq at between $23 and $25 a piece, up from an initial range of $19 to $21.
A midpoint price of the new range would raise $360m for the Boston-based developer of property and casualty insurance software, giving it an initial market cap of about $3bn.
Aberdeen Standard Investments pushes the US to shield Chinese listings from low-ball bids. (FS)
Aberdeen Standard Investments has urged the US to protect minority shareholders in Chinese companies listed on American bourses from the risk of unfairly low take-private offers amid growing tensions between the world’s two biggest economies,
Bloomberg reported.
The $563bn asset manager wrote a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission last month urging the regulator to make controlling shareholders, and potential acquirers in US-listed foreign companies abstain from voting on delisting resolutions, David Smith, head of corporate governance for Asia at Aberdeen said in an interview.
Tokyo Gas to acquire Hecate Energy's solar project.
Tokyo Gas America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas has acquired Hecate Energy's Aktina Solar Project. Aktina is a 500MW solar project located in Wharton County, Texas.
With the acquisition of Aktina, the total renewable energy capacity Tokyo Gas owns or is under contract to acquire in Japan and globally will exceed 1.2k MW.
"It's been great to work with the Marathon Capital team. Their insights and guidance have been critical to our first solar project acquisition in the US. I greatly appreciate their in-depth knowledge of the renewables space and, moreover, their ability to understand our objectives and their passion to achieve our strategic goal together," Ken Kiriishi, Tokyo Gas America Senior Vice President.
Tokyo Gas is advised by Marathon Capital.
EMEA
Thermo Fisher Scientific, a manufacturer of scientific instruments, consumables, and chemicals, withdrew its $12.2bn offer for Qiagen, a provider of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic and pharmaceutical research.
The offer was terminated when only 44% of Qiagen shares were tendered by the deadline, short of the 67% needed. Activist investor Davidson Kempner, owner of an 8% stake in Qiagen which campaigned against Thermo Fisher's bid, said management should now improve its interactions with shareholders, focus on high-growth businesses and be disciplined about its investments.
"Thermo Fisher is a disciplined acquirer with a strong track record of executing value-creating transactions. We remain extremely well-positioned to deliver on our proven growth strategy and continue to generate significant returns for our shareholders," Marc N. Casper, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chairman, President and CEO.
EU antitrust regulators will decide by September 16 whether to clear French payments company Worldline’s $9.23bn acquisition of rival Ingenico to create a European leader.
Worldline, born out of French IT company Atos, sought European Commission approval for the deal on August 12. The commission can either clear the deal with or without conditions or it can open a four-month long investigation if it has serious concerns.
Worldline is advised by Finelk, Bank Of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Latham & Watkins, Kairos Consulting, Morgan Stanley, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Cardinal Partners. Ingenico is advised by Rothschild & Co, Bredin Prat and Goldman Sachs.
Calliditas Therapeutics, a speciality pharmaceutical company, offered to acquire a 62.7% stake in Genkyotex, a biopharmaceutical company in NOX therapies, for €88m ($104m).
"We look forward to leveraging our strong late-stage clinical team, CMC and regulatory expertise as well as our learnings from our Phase 3 Nefecon program to navigate and execute an efficient path forward for setanaxib. We continue to deliver on our strategy focusing on adding late-stage assets with an orphan focus and encouraging data in patients to build a company focused on delivering solution for patients with diseases with high unmet needs," Renée Aguiar-Lucander, Calliditas CEO.
Genkyotex is advised by Stifel, McDermott Will & Emery and NewCap. Calliditas Therapeutics is advised by Bryan Garnier, Latham & Watkins and Vinge.
M&G Investment Management, an investment manager in the United Kingdom, increased its offer for UK Mortgages, a listed closed-ended investment fund which invests in a diversified portfolio of UK residential mortgages, to £191m ($240m).
The new offer price represents a 26% premium to UK Mortgages' closing share price as of July 17, 2020. UK Mortgages rejected the updated offer.
UK Mortgages is advised by Numis Securities and Garfield Advisory. M&G Investment Management is advised by Winterflood Investment Trusts, RBC Capital Markets and FTI Consulting.
LocalTapiola Group, an insurance company, agreed to acquire an additional stake in Seligson & Co, an investment service in Helsinki, Finland. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Finalizing the change of ownership is pending approval of the relevant authorities. Preliminary estimate for that is September 2020.
Seligson & Co is advised by Avance. LocalTapiola Group is advised by Krogerus.
EVO Group-backed Banner Group, a supplier of general office stationery and electronic office supplies, agreed to acquire the UK business of Cerberus Capital-backed Staples Solutions, a retailer of office supplies, furniture, and technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Following the sale of our UK retail business more than 3 years ago, our remaining contracts and online business has been burdened with a spectacular distribution centre and a systems infrastructure that was simply too large and costly. Despite winning substantial new tenders and a strong revenue performance over the past 2 years, the heavy fixed cost burden meant our UK business remained structurally loss-making," Dolph Westerbos, Staples Solutions Chief Executive Officer.
Staples Solutions is advised by Rothschild & Co.
Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, agreed to acquire Keytree, a technology consultancy headquartered in the UK. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This is an exciting time for Keytree as we build on the success we have experienced over the last 14 years. Both companies share similar cultural and business values and by working together in the future, we will be in a position to deliver solutions for our customers that will overcome significant business challenges, drive digital innovation and continue our commitment to positively impact the communities in which we operate," Tim Kyle, Keytree Managing Director.
Fastweb CEO backs TIM's last-mile network project.
Fastweb, the Italian phone business of Swisscom, plans to invest in the last-mile network project - known as FiberCop - that TIM has been looking to develop with US infrastructure fund KKR. But the plan has been complicated by government pressure for a single, nationwide broadband network that would include the last-mile grid,
Reuters reported.
Italy wants TIM and Open Fiber, a wholesale-only broadband business owned by state-owned utility Enel and state lender CDP, to team up to create a single broadband network for the country.
"This is a sound project that takes us on a one-way path towards the definitive upgrade of the copper network," Alberto Calcagno, Fastweb CEO.
NBD in talks to acquire Lebanese Bank’s Egyptian business.
Emirates NBD started preliminary talks to buy the Egyptian unit of Lebanese lender Blom Bank after last week’s explosion forced the Beirut-based company to review its strategy,
Bloomberg reported.
Discussions are ongoing, and there is no certainty that a deal will be completed. Earlier this month, Blom Bank said it was considering several strategic options, including a sale of its stake in Blom Bank Egypt in response to the depressed outlook for Lebanon’s domestic banking industry. Blom’s Egypt unit has 42 branches and is active in retail and corporate banking.
Tele Columbus considering options for grid unit.
Tele Columbus, a German telecoms operator, is considering options for its grid unit as the highly-levered company seeks to raise money for planned investment in its fiber network, Reuters reported.
The company is working with Bank of America on the deal, which could see infrastructure investors take a stake in the fiber network. The company had $1.66bn in debt at the end of March. Its first-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization stood at $65m. Second-quarter results are due next week.
Italy and Euronext consider to team up for Borsa Italiana deal.
Italy is considering teaming up with Euronext to pursue an acquisition of the country’s stock exchange operator,
Bloomberg reported.
The government and Euronext have been weighing the possibility of a joint purchase of Borsa Italiana, which is owned by London Stock Exchange Group. In one scenario under discussion, Euronext would end up as the owner of the Italian bourse while state-owned Cassa Depositi e Prestiti would get a stake in Euronext.
APAC
Pegatron, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company, agreed to acquire Casetek, a contract making unit and manufacturer of OEM products for consumer electronics, for c. $1bn. As a result of the merger, Casetek will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pegatron.
Pegatron Group believes that the merger with Casetek may eliminate the resource allocation constraints resulted from independently operating as two listed entities. In addition, this merger is expected to allow greater flexibility in adjusting the companies' business models and financial structures in several aspects including human resources, finance, capital structures, businesses and products and to further maximize profitability at group level.
SoftBank-backed KE Holdings raises $2.12bn in US IPO. (FS)
SoftBank-backed KE Holdings, a Chinese owner of real estate platforms, raised $2.12bn in a US IPO that was priced above the target range,
Reuters reported.
The company, which owns property brokerage brand Lianjia and housing transactions platform Beike, said it sold 106m ADS for $20 each. The company had aimed to sell each ADS that represented three class A ordinary shares at between $17 and $19.
Billionaire Maezawa bets on Japanese apparel.
Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese billionaire who sold his online apparel company to Masayoshi Son and is preparing to ride around the moon on Elon Musk’s spacecraft, jumped back into the country’s business scene Thursday with a set of unlikely bets on brick-and-mortar clothing retailers.
In a set of filings, Maezawa disclosed stakes making him the third-largest shareholder in fashion retailers United Arrows and Adastria. The holdings are worth a combined $71m.
While the stock purchases were for investment purposes, Maezawa may also “give advice or make proposals to management to improve enterprise value if needed, assuming a friendly relationship can be created with management,” the filings said.
