AMERICAS
Capital Group cut its stake in Entertainment One, a publicly-traded Canadian multinational entertainment company, to under 3% following a transaction on Monday amid E1's ongoing takeover by US toymaker Hasbro.
Capital Group held 13.4m shares in Entertainment One after the transaction, equivalent to a 2.7% stake. Prior to the transaction, Capital Group held a 9.9% stake.
Entertainment One is advised by JP Morgan, Mayer Brown, and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt. Hasbro is advised by Centerview Partners, Cravath Swaine & Moore, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Stikeman Elliott.
Catalyst Capital Group offered to buy Hudson’s Bay in the deal that valued it at C$2bn ($1.53bn), challenging the Canadian retailer’s agreed deal with a consortium led by its executive chairman, Richard Baker.
Private equity firm Catalyst, which owns 17.5% of Hudson’s Bay, offered C$11 ($8.4) per share, topping Baker’s increased C$10.3 ($7.9) per share proposal, Reuters reported.
Hudson's Bay is advised by Centerview Partners, JP Morgan and Blake Cassels & Graydon.
Private equity firm The Jordan Company completed the acquisition of PSG Polymer Additives, a provider of homogenizing agents, process aids, dispersions, and release agents for the rubber, plastic, and engineered wood industries, from Arsenal Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The company's culture, innovative product development, and long-standing customer relationships make PSG Polymer Additives a strong fit for our investment strategy," Ian Arons, The Jordan Company Partner.
Arsenal was advised by Lazard, William Blair and Chris Tofalli.
Brazil's CVC, a publicly-held company, completed its acquisition of Almundo, a travel agency which has operations in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia, from Iberostar, a global tourism and hotel group, for $77m.
With this movement, CVC jumps from having 8% of the market share in Argentina to 16% – becoming the second main player of the segment in the country and getting closer to the leader of the travel market in Argentina, Despegar.com, which has 18% of the market share.
CVC was advised by De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and PAGBAM Abogados. Iberostar was advised by Stibbe.
Macquarie’s Green Investment Group agreed to acquire Savion, one of the largest utility-scale solar and energy storage project development companies in the United States. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are extremely excited about this next chapter and for our team to have the opportunity to continue its project development focus in the rapidly growing solar sector and the emerging energy storage technology market. The backing from Macquarie’s Green Investment Group provides a strong financial footing to ensure successful projects, enabling our team to pursue the mission of electricity grid diversification,” Rob Freeman, Savion CEO.
Savion is advised by Parris Communications.
The LEGO Group, a Danish toy production company, agreed to acquire BrickLink, the world’s largest online community of adult LEGO fans. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Our adult fans are extremely important to us. They are passionate, committed and endlessly creative. We have worked closely with the community for many years and look forward to deepening our collaboration. We plan to continue to support BrickLink’s active marketplace and evolve BrickLink’s digital studio which allows our talented fans to take their creativity to the next level,” Niels B. Christiansen The LEGO Group CEO.
CI Financial, an independent Canadian company offering global asset management and wealth management advisory services, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Surevest Wealth Management, a Phoenix-based registered investment advisory firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The US has the world's largest and most accessible wealth management market and RIAs are its fastest-growing segment. As a well-capitalized company with extensive experience in wealth management and a unique value proposition relative to other firms, CI is in a strong position to acquire leading RIAs and foster their continued expansion," Kurt MacAlpine, CI Chief Executive Officer.
Facebook agreed to acquire Beat Games, the developer of Beat Saber video game. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Beat Games’ accomplishments are already impressive, but Facebook and the Beat Games team know that there is so much more that can be done across VR, games, and music. They have only scratched the surface with Beat Saber in terms of social features, new modes, music, and more. We are thrilled to join forces to see where this talented team takes VR gaming in the future,” Facebook.
Ecopetrol acquires Chevron's 43% stake in two Caribbean gas camps.
Colombian oil company Hocol, a subsidiary of state-run Ecopetrol, agreed to acquire participation in two gas production fields in the Caribbean from Chevron. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Ecopetrol already owns 57% of the Chuchupa and Ballena fields, while Hocol will take on the 43% that currently belongs to Chevron.
Brazil's XP looks to raise $1.5bn in IPO. (FS)
XP, Brazil's largest brokerage by equity trading, is seeking to raise about $1.5bn on Nasdaq in the biggest initial public offering for a Brazilian company this year.
General Atlantic and Dynamo VC Administradora de Recursos, which hold a combined 20%, plan to sell some of their shares. XP managing partners, who own about 30% via XP Controle, also intend to sell, but Itau Unibanco will not divest any of its 50% stake.
EMEA
Capgemini’s offer for Altran undervalues the company and does not offer an adequate premium for control, activist hedge fund Elliott said, stepping up its campaign to extract a higher bid price from the French firm.
Elliott, which shocked in France last year when it revealed a stake in drinks maker Pernod Ricard’s capital, has since built up a stake of more than 10% in engineering consultancy Altran through equity derivatives.
Capgemini is advised by EY, Credit Agricole, HSBC, JP Morgan, Lazard, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and Image Sept. Altran is advised by Citigroup, Herbert Smith Freehills, and Brunswick Group. BNP Paribas is providing debt financing and is being advised by Hogan Lovells.
Banks are lining up to provide around £1.4bn ($1.8bn) of debt to back the acquisition of UK forensic sciences group LGC by a private equity consortium led by European firms Cinven and Astorg.
A number of banks are expected to be appointed this week including HSBC, KKR Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley and Nomura.
The buyers are advised by Rothschild & Co. KKR is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
DWS and Argentum, two private equity firms, agreed to acquire Cegal Group, a cloud solutions, software and consultancy provider, from Norvest. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Cegal has become the technology leader within its space and is well-positioned to capitalize on the significant digitalization opportunity within its current core market. We also see a potential in other data-intensive industries, enabling customers to benefit from the rapidly developing cloud technology, which we believe will redefine a vast number of critical work processes", Fredrik Gyllenhammar Raaum, Norvestor Investment Director.
Norvestor is advised by Stifel, ABG Sundal Collier and Schjodt.
Silver Lake, American private equity firm, agreed to acquire a 10% stake in City Football Group, which through its subsidiaries, owns and operates football-related clubs and businesses, for £389m ($485m).
"We and Silver Lake share the strong belief in the opportunities being presented by the convergence of entertainment, sports and technology, and the resulting ability for CFG to generate long-term growth and new revenue streams globally," Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CFG chairman.
CFG is advised by Edelman.
Kiloutou, a European rental company, agreed to acquire Werner Middeke Arbeitsbuhnenvermietung, which is specialized in the rental of powered access equipment in the North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition is fully in line with Kiloutou's development strategy in Germany, which aims at strengthening our presence in high potential areas. It also illustrates our ability to federate around our development project, quality regional stakeholders with a strong local presence. Through such approach, we plan to be present in the major parts of Germany through selected acquisitions. I would like to warmly welcome the new team members from Werner Middeke Arbeitsbühnenvermietung into the Kiloutou group," Olivier Colleau, Kiloutou Executive President.
Kiloutou is advised by CLC Communications.
Solveig Gas, which operates as an oil and gas company, agreed to acquire Capricorn Norge, which provides oil and gas exploration and production services, from Cairn, an oil and gas exploration and development company. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction remains subject to written consent by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, partner and third-party approvals.
“This is a further attractive transaction for Cairn shareholders in line with our consistent strategy to realize the value and redeploy capital within our portfolio. We continue to have a material business in the UK North Sea where the production performance of the Kraken and Catcher assets remains strong. We wish all of the team in Stavanger every success in the future,” Simon Thomson, Cairn Chief Executive.
Cairn is advised by Brunswick Group.
Fairstone, one of the UK's largest Chartered Financial Planning firms, completed its acquisition of Octagon Wealth Management, which specializes in the management of investment and retirement portfolios. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Finalising this deal with Octagon brings another valued business into Fairstone and continues our excellent growth plan for 2019. We have every faith that in Rick and Jon we have found long-term business partners who will play a key role in the next part of our journey," Lee Hartley, Fairstone CEO.
Elliott suffers German court setback over Kabel Deutschland deal. (FS)
Elliott Management suffered a significant setback after the hedge fund failed to convince a court that Vodafone should have paid more than €10.7bn ($13.3bn) to buy Germany’s largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland.
The Wall Street hedge fund had joined other minority shareholders in Kabel Deutschland in a legal challenge against the €84.53 ($108)-a-share that Vodafone paid in 2013 to take a controlling stake in the German business, Financial Times reported.
However, a Munich court ruled that the price Vodafone paid was “adequate” given Kabel Deutschland’s earnings potential based on an outlook set out by the board of the German group in November 2013.
Deutsche Telekom considers possible merger with Orange.
Deutsche Telekom, a German telecommunications company, is examining a possible merger with French peer Orange. Orange and Deutsche Telekom have been talking on and off for years, although merger discussions in 2017 fizzled out because it was not feasible to put the companies on an equal footing, Reuters reported.
Deutsche Bank to sell $50bn in assets to Goldman Sachs.
Deutsche Bank agreed to sell $50bn of unwanted assets to Goldman Sachs as part of its restructuring process. The assets were part of Deutsche's unit to wind down unwanted securities, Reuters reported.
ADIA and Kuweit sovereign wealth fund to invest in Aramco IPO. (FS)
Reuters reported that Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is considering investing at least $1bn in the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco. Kuwait Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of Kuwait, also plans to invest in the IPO.
Aramco has struggled to secure an anchor investor for the listing and found little interest beyond the Gulf, forcing Riyadh to scale back ambitions for the IPO, although it would still be the world's biggest if it raises more than $25bn.
Bridgepoint hires HSBC to advise on Rovensa sale. (FS)
Bridgepoint is looking to sell its agrochemical company Rovensa for as much as $882m. The European private equity fund hired HSBC to handle the so-called pre-marketing talks for the Lisbon-based crop protection company.
KKR & Co, CVC Capital Partners, Bain Capital, Eurazeo, Cinven, Partners Group, and Platinum are expected to bid for the company.
Partners Group considers selling Civica. (FS)
Bloomberg reported that Partners Group is considering a sale of UK software provider Civica Group. The Zug, Switzerland-based asset manager is fielding pitches from potential advisers as it prepares for a potential exit from the business. Civica could fetch at least $1.9bn.
UniCredit plans sale of a 10% stake in Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi.
UniCredit is planning to sell a direct stake of less than 10% in Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi, a Turkish bank, after unwinding its joint venture in the Turkish lender with local industrial group Koc Holding, according to a Bloomberg report.
UniCredit and Koc have agreed to dissolve the special purpose vehicle that controls their shares so that each party ends up with a direct 41% holding in the lender.
Condor looks for potential buyers.
Condor, a German leisure airline based in Frankfurt, revealed that it is attracting a significant amount of takeover interest. The company stated that "a structured bidding process shows a high level of interest from strategic and financial investors in a takeover."
Folli strikes restructuring deal with creditors.
Folli, a Greek-based international company that designs, manufactures and distributes luxury jewelry, reached a preliminary deal with some of its creditors over a rescue plan for the company.
The company has outstanding debt of about $474m due this year and in 2021, and needs the consent of at least 60% of creditors on the rescue plan before it can file it with Greek courts.
UDG looking to expand through acquisitions.
UDG, a Dublin-based pharmaceutical company, will expand through acquisitions should a right deal materialize, according to CEO Brendan McAtamney. In 2019 UDG committed $137m to mergers and acquisitions.
APAC
Blackstone Group said it was unable to obtain an agreement from Japanese hotel operator Unizo for its $1.6bn takeover bid proposal. The buyout firm said it would provide an update no later than December 6, if there are any changes in circumstances regarding Unizo.
“Unfortunately, despite our sustained good faith efforts, as of the date of this release, Blackstone has been unable to reach a definitive agreement with Unizo,” Blackstone.
Unizo is advised by Benedi Consulting, KPMG, ZECOO Partners, Daiwa Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Nishimura & Asahi, TMI Associates, Horwath HTL Asia Pacific, Hospitality Capital Management, and Ernst & Young.
China State Shipbuilding, which manufactures and sells ships, completed the merger with China Shipbuilding Industry, which operates as a shipbuilding company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The aim was to create a shipping firm that can compete with global heavy-weights in the maritime industry.
Assets Supervision and Administration Commission director Hao Peng said the merger will enable the company to remove low-end backward production capacity and improve the industrial structure of the shipbuilding industry in the country.
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