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AMERICAS
Blacksmith Medicines, a biotechnology company focused on creating medicines for immuno-oncology, agreed to merge with Forge Therapeutics, a biotechnology company. Financial terms are not disclosed.
"We are excited to unveil the merger of Blacksmith and Forge, which we believe will be transformational for both companies. Prospects are very bright for the new Blacksmith, as we are now able to expand our metalloenzyme platform, advance our internal and partnered programs, and create increased value for our shareholders by discovering first-in-class and best-in-class medicines. Our target strategy is to focus on metalloenzymes of significant unmet need and high pharma interest, targets with validated biology that have been challenging to drug due to chemistry limitations that we can solve with our platform," Zachary Zimmerman, Blacksmith CEO and Co-Founder.
Blacksmith Medicines is advised by Juniper Point (led by Amy Conrad).
Ozark Fiber, a provider of communications services, completed the acquisition of internet and voice business from Missouri Telecom, a telecom service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to welcome Missouri Telecom’s customers to the Ozark Fiber family. We are excited to be able to offer enhanced speeds and reliability, and to expand on the relationships that Missouri Telecom has built, as we transition customers over to our new, state-of-the-art fiber network and platforms," Jason Ross, Ozark Fiber President.
Longwave Financial, a financial planner in New York City, agreed to merge with JSA Sustainable Wealth Management, an independent financial firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The cornerstone of JSA is a dedication to sustainable investing. Finding a merger partner and successor that shares that same commitment for offering impact-focused solutions, led my search directly to Longwave. I've also had the pleasure of getting to know Nathan on a professional and personal level for almost a decade, and we hold similar values in our approach to our clients and team members, so I can feel confident they're in good hands," Jeffrey Scales, JSA Managing Principal.
Fidelity marks down value of Twitter stake by 56%. (FS)
Fidelity funds slashed the value of their Twitter stake by 56% in November, as the social media giant navigates a period of turmoil following Elon Musk's $44bn buyout, Reuters reported.
Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund's stake in Twitter was valued at nearly $8m as of November 30, compared to $19m at October-end, days after Musk closed the acquisition.
EMEA
Sylvamo, a paper company, completed the acquisition of the Nymolla uncoated freesheet paper mill of Stora Enso, a manufacturer of pulp, paper and other forest products, for $150m.
“The Nymolla mill is aligned with our three-pronged strategy of commercial excellence, operational excellence and financial discipline and our commitment to maximizing value creation for Sylvamo shareowners. We expect this acquisition to strengthen our uncoated freesheet product mix, enable us to serve customers across Europe and around the world more effectively and be immediately accretive to our earnings per share and free cash flow,” Jean-Michel Ribiéras, Sylvamo Chairman and CEO.
Banijay, a French television production and distribution company, completed the acquisition of Beyond International, an international television and film production company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“As content demand continues to soar, catalogue remains key, and in acquiring Beyond, we would take our offering up considerably. Primarily bolstering our IP and production portfolio in the English-language and factual space, with Beyond’s complementary content, the deal can enhance our position as a leading go-to for clients and commercial partners alike,” Marco Bassetti, Banijay CEO.
Wolters Kluwer, a Dutch information services company, agreed to acquire Della AI, a provider of artificial intelligence technology based on advanced natural language processing. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"By integrating the expertise and know-how of Della AI into Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, we are further enhancing the value we deliver to our customers, by investing in the continuous development of this key technology and the people behind it. Today, our customers already acknowledge the value of Legisway in all their legal activities. Together with Della AI, we will further enhance our customers' experience and secure a leading position for Wolters Kluwer in the corporate legal market," Giulietta Lemmi, Wolters Kluwer CEO of Legal & Regulatory Legal Software.
Volvo, a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation, completed the acquisition of the remaining 13.5% stake in Zenseact, a provider of autonomous driving software, from ECARX, a global mobility tech company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition of the additional 13.5% of shares in Zenseact is a strategic step to owning more of the software powering key functionality going into future cars and supports Volvo Cars' strategic direction to be a leader in new technology.
Matalan lenders close in on takeover of discount retailer.
A group of financial investors which have lent hundreds of millions of pounds to Matalan are close to finalising a deal to take control of one of Britain's biggest homewares retailers, SkyNews reported.
Sky News understands that the senior lenders, which include prominent City names such as Invesco and Man GLG, could strike a deal within the next fortnight.
Prostatype Genomics enters agreement with Life Genomics.
Prostatype Genomics and Life Genomics started a non-exclusive collaboration meaning Life Genomics will handle all steps in the laboratory process required to analyse Prostatype®, Prostatype Genomics' gene test to assess the aggressiveness of prostate cancer.
"We are very happy and proud to begin the collaboration with Prostatype Genomics. Prostatype® is exactly the type of test we at Life Genomics want to be able to offer our customers; innovative and with a clear patient benefit where the clinical need is extensive. The collaboration means that we can offer a large number of patients and doctors valuable decision support in an often difficult to assess situation in a market segment that continues to increase year by year,” Göran Jacobsson, Life Genomics CEO.
SEB completes third share buyback program.
On October 25, 2022, SEB announced a $120m buyback program of Class A shares for capital management purposes. The repurchases of shares began on October 27, 2022 and ended on December 30, 2022.
During that period, SEB repurchased 11m of its own Class A shares at an average price per share of $11.4, for a total purchase amount of $120m. Repurchased shares are expected to be cancelled during the first half of 2023.
ECB raises Deutsche Bank capital bar in leveraged loan crackdown.
Deutsche Bank confirmed it faces a higher capital requirement as its main regulator pushes lenders to dial back the risks they face in the lucrative business of leveraged finance, Bloomberg reported.
The German lender must hold common equity Tier 1 capital equivalent to 10.55% of its risk-weighted assets this year, up from 10.43% at the end of September. The firm already exceeds the requirement by a wide margin, with a ratio of 13.33% at the end of the third quarter.
APAC
Hidden Hill Capital, China Merchants Capital and CMG-SDIC Capital led a $145m Series A round in Sany Heavy Truck, a truck manufacturer affiliated with China's Sany Heavy Industry.
The funding will be used to invest in the R&D of its new-energy heavy-duty trucks.
Investment firms GGV Capital and Source Code Capital led a $145m Series D round in Sinopont, a Chinese solar cell encapsulation film producer, with participation from CICC Capital and CITIC.
"The photovoltaic industry is undergoing tremendous changes. N-type batteries represented by TopCon ushered in the first year of industrialization and began to enter the stage of explosive growth in mass production, which also put forward higher requirements for photovoltaic packaging films. Among them, POE films can better adapt to new batteries such as TopCon and ensure long-term use of components because of its low water vapor transmittance and better durability, thus having a broad market space," Wu Fan, Source Code Capital Managing Director.
GIC, Saudi wealth fund to invest $785m in South Korea's Kakao Entertainment. (FS)
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund plan to invest $785m in South Korean entertainment company Kakao Entertainment, DealStreetAsia reported.
Kakao Entertainment, a subsidiary of South Korean internet company Kakao, plans to use the new capital to accelerate its growth as the company prepares for its upcoming IPO this year.
Indonesia eyes $11bn in capital market fundraising in 2023.
Indonesia is targeting $11bn in capital market fundraising for this year, including from initial public offerings and debt instruments well below the amount raised in 2022, DealStreetAsia reported.
About $13.7bn was raised through the capital market last year, including the IPO of top tech firm GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, which raised $1.1bn in April.
Japan’s D Capital closes first fund at $238m. (FS)
A couple of Japanese middle-market private equity firms made major announcements ahead of the new year. D Capital closed its debut fund at $238m, DealStreetAsia reported.
Japan-based private equity firm D Capital has racked up $238m for its maiden fund. The fundraising was led by insurance companies and banks.
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