AMERICAS
Masimo, a global medical technology company, completed the acquisition of Charlesbank Capital-backed Sound United, a manufacturer of audio and entertainment products, for $1bn.
"We are thrilled to add Sound United’s premium technology, established consumer channels, and well-known brands to Masimo’s broad portfolio of hospital and home medical technology solutions. We believe Masimo’s expertise in advanced signal processing, biosensing, and photonics technologies combined with Sound United’s audio and home automation technologies will bring about natural and yet non-intuitive solutions to people around the globe in home and in hospitals. Masimo will leverage Sound United’s expertise across consumer channels to accelerate distribution of the combined company’s expanding portfolio of consumer-facing healthcare products. We welcome the incredibly talented and dedicated teams at Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, HEOS, Definitive Technology, Classé, and Boston Acoustics to Masimo," Joe Kiani, Masimo Founder and CEO.
Soun United was advised by Evercore, Solomon Partners, Stifel, Goodwin Procter and Max Borges Agency. Masimo was advised by Citigroup and Paul Hastings.
Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private equity firm, completed an investment in Carpe Data, a software developer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“With a strong track record of innovation and growth, Carpe Data is meeting this demand by creating a new market for alternative data to unlock automation and improve outcomes across the insurance lifecycle. We are excited to partner with this innovative and industry leading team to accelerate their vision," Edward Shahnasarian, THL Director.
Carpe Data was advised by William Blair & Co and Cooley. Thomas H Lee was advised by Raymond James, Kirkland & Ellis and Edelman.
New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Citrin Cooperman, a full-service advisory, tax and assurance firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We have known the leadership of Citrin Cooperman for ten years, and we are excited to provide strategic and financial resources to the partners of Citrin Cooperman as they accelerate their organic and inorganic expansion. Citrin Cooperman is an outstanding firm, and we are pleased with all the progress that has already been made in the first six months since our investment," Andre Moura, New Mountain Capital Managing Director.
Citrin Cooperman is advised by Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman. New Mountain Capital is advised by Koltin Consulting Group, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Goldin Solutions.
Francisco Partners and Clearlake Capital-backed Perforce Software, a software solutions developer, completed the acquisition of Puppet, an automation software manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition expands our product offering by adding new capabilities for enterprise DevOps teams to manage and secure their critical infrastructure. With Puppet, we will be providing our customers with access to a product portfolio that enables them to drive innovation on a global scale. We look forward to welcoming the Puppet team and continuing to offer the level of customer support, services, and community Puppet has established in the market," Mark Ties, Perforce CEO.
Puppet was advised by Jefferies & Company. Perforce was advised by Lincoln International, Ambrose Communications and PAN Communications.
Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm, completed a $215m investment in Critical Start, a cybersecurity services provider.
"Our goal at Critical Start is to be the most effective, easiest to consume, and quickest to deploy Managed Detection and Response service, and we believe this investment from Vista will help us continue to expand our differentiation in how we help protect our customers from cyber-attacks," Rob Davis, Critical Start Founder and CEO.
Critical Start was advised by DC Advisory and DLA Piper. Vista Equity was advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
Infinite Reality, a metaverse innovation and entertainment company, agreed to acquire ReKTGlobal, an esports and entertainment conglomerate, for $470m.
"The synergies across our combined business units from content creation to Web3 entertainment to APIs and more are awe inspiring. We look forward to working with ReKTGlobal's senior leadership to integrate our valuable combined assets and accelerate Infinite Reality's growth," John Acunto, Infinite Reality CEO.
ReKTGlobal is advised by Cowen & Company and O'Melveny & Myers.
Providence Strategic Growth, a private equity firm, completed a $200m investment in Backlight, a software developer.
“There is a large market opportunity to improve the way content producers, owners and distributors create value, starting with the media and entertainment industry but extending to any enterprise investing in rich media and video. Our investment in Backlight reflects our conviction in the market, the team, and a vision of a modern media production lifecycle, from ideation to monetization," Matt Stone, PSG Managing Director.
Backlight was advised by Hotwire Global. PSG was advised by Prosek Partners.
Wipro, a global information technology, consulting, and business process services company, completed the acquisition of CAS Group, a US-based consulting and program management company that specializes in driving large-scale business and technology transformation for Fortune 100 communications service providers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"CAS Group brings to Wipro a uniquely complementary set of capabilities. Their long-standing strategic partnerships with some of the largest communications service providers, combined with deep expertise in large scale transformation projects, will allow us to achieve a significant competitive advantage in this high-growth sector. As we continue to execute on our ambitious growth agenda, we are thrilled to welcome CAS Group as the latest addition to the Wipro family and look forward to bringing our full strength to clients," Philippe Dintrans, Wipro Senior Vice President.
CAS Group was advised by ILLUM Partners and Thompson Hine.
General Atlantic, a private equity firm, led an investment round in NationsBenefits, a healthcare management solutions provider, with participation from Pritzker and Denali Growth Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This investment is another milestone in the evolution of NationsBenefits, and we’re excited to add General Atlantic as a partner to achieve our ambitious goals," Glenn M. Parker, NationsBenefits CEO.
NationsBenefits was advised by Barclays.
Resonetics, a medical equipment manufacturer, completed the acquisition of EaglePicher Medical Power, a battery manufacturer for medical devices. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We've been able to collaborate with the EaglePicher team and see a lot of synergies. We will invest further in their best-in-class battery solutions by implementing a Lightspeed Application Development Lab for battery solutions to compress development cycles and help our customers reduce their time to market," Kevin Hartke, Resonetics CTO.
Resonetics was advised by Debevoise & Plimpton.
Sony and Kirkbi, a private equity firm, led a $2bn investment round in Epic Games, a video games developer.
“As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time. We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives," Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony Chairman, President and CEO.
Eldridge, a holding company, led a $198m funding round in Viral Nation, a global digital and social agency group, with participation from Maverix Private Equity.
"Viral Nation's expertise in connecting brands, creators, and audiences gives them unique insight into the broader needs of organizations and individuals embracing new media. We're excited to partner with them on expansion and innovation that enables everyone to grow and thrive across the entire social ecosystem," Todd Boehly, Eldridge Co-founder, Chairman and CEO.
SoftBank Vision Fund 2, an investment fund, led a $185m funding round in Pax8, a cloud distribution company, with participation from Catalyst Investors, Sageview Capital, Blue Cloud Ventures and Liberty Global Ventures.
"As we continue to evolve our technology and marketplace to meet the needs of SMBs, the new investment will provide capital to accelerate innovation and continued expansion into new global markets. This strong funding round reflects the powerful work Pax8 is doing to enable and grow SMBs through our partners, employees, technology, education, and support. Year over year, we continue to experience record-breaking growth, and we look forward to working with SoftBank to continue elevating our performance," John Street, Pax8 CEO.
Deerfield Management, a hedge fund, led a $120m funding round in Aurion Biotech, a clinical stage biotech company, developing a transformational platform of advanced therapies to cure blindness, with participation from Petrichor Healthcare Capital Management, Flying L Partners, Falcon Vision, Visionary Ventures and Alcon.
"Our financing speaks volumes about the potential of our cell therapy to transform the lives of millions of people suffering from corneal endothelial dystrophies. We are inspired and gratified by the strategic support, insights and depth of resources our investors bring to Aurion Biotech – all of which will help to accelerate our momentum," Greg Kunst, Aurion Biotech CEO.
Mortgage Connect, a national mortgage service provider, completed the acquisition of ADFITECH, a provider of outsourced mortgage quality control, due diligence and mortgage fulfillment services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We're excited to welcome ADFITECH to our family of companies. This acquisition significantly scales up our capital markets offerings and delivers essential risk management, servicing, and capital markets securitization services, all under one roof. We will continue strategic investments in technologies, intelligence, and solutions to help clients efficiently navigate market demands while reducing the risks associated with loan quality," Jeff Coury, Mortgage Connect CEO.
KKR nears $4bn deal to buy Barracuda from Thoma Bravo. (FS)
KKR is in advanced talks to buy cybersecurity firm Barracuda Networks from its private equity owner Thoma Bravo for around $4bn, including debt, Reuters reported.
California-based Barracuda, which manages the data security of its customers over the cloud on a subscription basis, was taken private by Thoma Bravo in 2017.
Warburg Pincus places RimRock Oil & Gas for sale. (FS)
Warburg Pincus, a private capital company, has placed its portfolio company RimRock Oil & Gas up to auction. The company is hoping to profit from the rise in commodity prices to get rid of this Bakken oil producer.
This is Warburg’s second effort to market the company in less than one year. An auction in 2021 was unsuccessful to attract a buyer for the price Warburg was seeking. Although the current price volatility of commodities makes it harder to evaluate the value of energy-related assets RimRock will soon reach a value that is in the several hundred million dollar in contrast to the price it was targeting in the past of more than $500m, Reuters reported.
Musk opens door to pressing Twitter for deals as he avoids board.
Elon Musk may acquire additional shares in Twitter, a microblogging and social networking service, now that he is no longer accepting a position on the social media company’s board.
The abrupt reversal over the board seat over the weekend ignited renewed speculation about Musk’s intentions for Twitter since the Tesla chief executive officer first disclosed he had taken a stake of just over 9%, becoming the company’s largest individual shareholder. By not joining the board, Musk is no longer subject to an agreement to keep his stake below 14.9%.
Bain Capital-backed BCC Investment scraps US IPO plans. (FS)
A blank-check vehicle backed by venture capital firm Bain Capital has withdrawn plans for a US initial public offering, joining a slew of companies that have canceled listings this year.
BCC Investment’s withdrawal comes amid volatility in the US markets due to heightened geopolitical tensions and rate hike concerns. The special purpose acquisition company which had filed to float its shares in March last year looking to raise up to $300m did not disclose the reason for canceling its listing.
CapitalSpring raises $950m for its sixth investment fund. (FS)
CapitalSpring, a leading multi-strategy investment firm focused on the restaurant and foodservice industries and other multi-unit business models, announced the final closing of CapitalSpring Investment Partners VI and parallel funds with $950m of capital commitments.
Fund VI was substantially oversubscribed and exceeded its target of $750m. The Fund attracted backing from a diverse group of existing and new limited partners in the US and internationally, including public and private pensions, endowments, foundations, funds of funds and family offices.
"We are pleased to have received strong demand from high quality limited partners for Fund VI, and our team remains confident that our differentiated investment strategy and industry focus will continue to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investors. We would like to thank all of our investors for their ongoing trust and support," Richard Fitzgerald, CapitalSpring Co-Founder and Managing Partner.
EMEA
Affidea, a provider of healthcare services, completed the acquisition of Brust-Zentrum Zürich, an oncology services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Together with our new partner Affidea, its medical and strategic expertise in diagnostic imaging, outpatient services and cancer care, Brust-Zentrum Zürich will realise further development in Switzerland and be able to provide its excellent medical care to many more patients. Based on Affidea's first-class competences in diagnostics, there are significant synergies between both companies, laying the foundation for additional medical expertise sharing and a seamless and outstanding patient experience. We very much look forward to the close collaboration with Affidea," Christoph Tausch, Brust-Zentrum Zürich CEO.
Brust-Zentrum Zürich was advised by Capitalmind and Bar & Karrer. Affidea was advised by KPMG and Niederer Kraft & Frey.
The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire Abingworth Management, a healthcare investor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We’re excited to partner with the world-class team at Abingworth to expand upon Carlyle’s deep global healthcare expertise to invest in transformative businesses across the entire life sciences landscape," Steve Wise, Carlyle Global Head of Healthcare.
Abingworth is advised by MEDiSTRAVA Consulting. Carlyle is advised by Debevoise & Plimpton.
Kartesia, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Groupe Thoiry, a national park operator from private equity firms Ekkio Capital, BNP Paribas and IDF Capital. Ekkio Capital will reinvest along with Kartesia. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Groupe Thoiry’s sites are renowned for providing visitors with a unique opportunity to get close to and learn about wildlife, however this commitment to visitor experience is only outweighed by the commitment they have shown to ensuring the welfare and conservation of animals. Kartesia is confident that these factors create a truly compelling experience across the leisure market, and that with our investment the parks will continue to see growing visitor numbers and future success," Damien Scaillierez, Kartesia Managing Partner.
Groupe Thoiry is advised by DC Advisory.
Actis, a global investment firm that focuses on private equity, energy, infrastructure, and real estate asset classes, completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in Emicool, a district cooling services provider, from Dubai Investments, a private equity firm, for $1bn.
"We are delighted to have entered this landmark transaction with Dubai Investments, to back one of the leading players in the district cooling sector. We look forward to a long-term partnership and will support Emicool to consistently deliver high quality services and customer care. Actis also sees clear opportunity for Emicool to become a regional leader in sustainable district cooling and related services," Adrian Mucalov, Actis Partner.
Littelfuse, an industrial technology manufacturing company, completed the acquisition of Embed, a provider of embedded software and firmware developed for a broad range of applications serving transportation end markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to welcome the Embed team to Littelfuse. The addition of Embed will help us better serve our customers by expanding our software engineering expertise and technical capabilities. With the increasing complexity of electronification within transportation applications, the inclusion of Embed will help Littelfuse respond quickly to the evolving needs of our customers," Matt Cole, Littelfuse Senior Vice President of eMobility and Corporate Strategy.
OpenWeb, a premium audience relationship platform, completed the acquisition of ADYOULIKE, a global advertising platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Today, we start a new chapter. We are thrilled to join OpenWeb - a company with a powerful and important mission - and our team is excited to find innovative ways to power solutions for the open internet," Julien Verdier, ADYOULIKE Founder.
Axa is in talks with Banco BPM on $1.6bn insurance units.
Axa, an insurance company, is in early-stage talks to buy a controlling stake in Banco BPM SpA’s insurance businesses valued at about $1.6bn, Bloomberg reported.
Axa is considering a deal once Banco BPM has taken full ownership of several insurance businesses where it has partners. Still, the talks may falter after Credit Agricole bought a stake in Banco BPM.
Benettons and Blackstone to launch bid for Atlantia. (FS)
The Benettons and US investment fund Blackstone are aiming to launch a takeover offer for Atlantia without involving directly other partners for now, Reuters reported.
The bid could be announced before April 16, as the two partners rush for taking the Italian infrastructure group private after an unsolicited approach by a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield.
Maurice Lacroix says it is profitable and still for sale.
The head of Swiss watchmaker Maurice Lacroix said the company is still for sale and has been profitable for three years as it focuses on its popular entry level-priced Aikon model and younger customers, Bloomberg reported.
Owned by Zurich-based distribution conglomerate DKSH Holding, the brand was put on the block amid a watch sector downturn in 2015. It has yet to find a buyer.
DEWA rises 20% above IPO price.
Shares in Dubai Electricity and Water Authority surged about 20% on their market debut after its $6.1bn initial public offering, the region’s biggest since Saudi Aramco, Reuters reported.
The utility’s shares rose to $0.81 in early trade, up from the IPO price of $0,66 per share. Investment bank EFG Hermes said to clients that it expects DEWA to be eligible for fast entry into FTSE’s emerging markets index. It estimates that DEWA can expect minimum inflows of $53m from FTSE passive trackers and any increase in price would lead directly to more inflows.
Charge Amps plans stock market listing despite volatile markets.
Charge Amps, a Swedish developer of charging products for electric vehicles, has extended the timeline in which it plans to launch an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported.
“Right now we have volatile markets, so it makes sense to hold off until the timing is better. But we’re all set and we are still planning for the IPO this year,” Anders Bergtoft, Charge Amps CEO.
Melior Equity Partners raises one of the largest PE funds in Ireland of €160m. (FS)
Irish private equity firm Melior Equity Partners has closed Fund II on €160m ($174m), making it one of the largest PE equity funds in the state.
The firm said investors to the new fund include PE giant Carlyle, the European Investment Fund, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Bank of Ireland and AIB. Melior aims to fill the financing gap for small to medium sized businesses in Ireland. It is targeting ten equity investments in private Irish companies over the next four years, worth between €20m ($22m) and €100m ($109m).
APAC
Pendal, an independent, global investment management business, said the $1.8bn non-binding takeover offer from Perpetual, an Australian investment fund, undervalues the company, Reuters reported.
The $4.67 per share offer for Pendal was first disclosed on April 4, 2022, and was at a 39.2% premium to the stock's close on April 1, 2022. Pendal has determined that the offer was not in the best interests of its shareholders.
Pendal is advised by Macquarie Group, King & Wood Mallesons and GRACosway.
Bank of China Group Investment, an investment company, led a Series A+ funding round in Haomo, an artificial intelligence technology company, with participation from Shoucheng Holdings, Meituan, Qualcomm Ventures and GL Ventures.
"This round marks a new developmental milestone for Haomo. With the help of partners and investors, Haomo will continue to maintain its leading position in mass production of autonomous driving solutions and AI technology," Zhang Kai, Haomo Chairman.
Haomo was advised by Chuhai Media.
SIG Venture Capital led a $210m funding round in Voyager Innovations, a technology company, with participation from First Pacific Company, EDBI, KKR, PLDT, International Finance Corporation, IFC Asset Management and Tencent.
"Our strong record of execution and innovation is a testament to our world-class team's hard work and talent. With this milestone, we are excited to leap forward and bring the best of PayMaya and Maya Bank to help unlock the digital economy for the underserved and unbanked Filipinos," Orlando B. Vea, Voyager CEO.
China nudges listed firms, investors to buy stocks to stabilize market.
China is encouraging long-term investors to buy more equities and major shareholders of listed firms to increase their holdings when stocks slump, in a bid to stabilize a stock market rocked by a worsening Covid-19 outbreak, Reuters reported.
The government will also facilitate corporate financing in Covid-hit areas and urge state shareholders of listed firms to actively buy undervalued stocks, the country’s securities watchdog said in a statement on its website.
OfBusiness is seeking $2bn in IPO.
OfBusiness, a raw material aggregator, is in discussions with banks about raising as much as $2bn in an initial public offering for one of their startups, aiming for India’s biggest tech debut since fintech giant Paytm, Bloomberg reported.
OfBusiness, a startup founded by entrepreneurs Ruchi Kalra and Asish Mohapatra to help Indian enterprises buy bulk raw materials, could file initial listing documents around October. The startup is in talks now to raise about $400m of pre-IPO financing in coming months. It’s in discussions with potential IPO arrangers including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Kotak, Avendus and ICICI Securities.
VinFast’s planned US IPO may be the biggest from Asia since Didi.
VinFast, an electric-vehicle maker, is testing the waters for what may be the largest initial public offering by an Asian company in the US since the Didi Global fiasco last year.
VinFast filed confidentially for the US IPO. While VinFast said it hadn’t decided on the amount, its parent has weighed raising about $2bn with the listing, Bloomberg reported.
Nomura expects Indian IPO market to pick up in the second half.
Nomura, a financial services company, expects initial public offerings in India will regain momentum in the second half of this year as indicated by increasing activity in secondary share sales, Bloomberg reported.
“The capital markets on the secondary side which is on the block and QIPs have started to pick up. We expect a constructive environment especially in the second half of the year for IPOs,” Amit Thawani, Nomura Head of Investment Banking.
Sunwoda seeks battery unit funding at $3.1bn value. (FS)
Sunwoda Electronic is considering raising new funds for its electric-vehicle battery unit at a valuation of more than $3.1bn, Bloomberg reported.
The Shenzhen-listed company is looking to raise about $471m to 628m for the unit and has reached out to potential investors. Considerations are at an early stage and details such as valuation and fundraising size could still change.
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