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AMERICAS
Twitter will be required to pay a termination fee of $1bn under certain circumstances if it ends an agreement to be acquired by Elon Musk for $44bn. Musk will also be subjected to the same fee if he ends the deal, Bloomberg reported.
The fee would have to be paid if Musk isn’t able to deliver the funding for the acquisition as promised, for example, or if Twitter were to accept a competing acquisition proposal or recommend shareholders vote against Musk’s offer.
Twitter is advised by Allen & Company, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Financial advisors are advised by Sullivan & Cromwell. Elon Musk is advised by Bank of America, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, McDermott Will & Emery and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Debt financing is provided by BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Barclays, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Securities, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale. Debt providers are advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Press Ganey, a provider of healthcare performance improvement solutions, completed the acquisition of Forsta, a provider of customer experience and market research software, from private equity firms EQT and Verdane. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This alliance propels Press Ganey into a new future. Our unparalleled excellence in healthcare consulting, and proprietary data and analytics, will soon be infused with even more innovation and speed by Forsta's world-class experience and research technology platform. I'm beyond thrilled to welcome Forsta to the Press Ganey family. This is a huge leap forward in helping our customers to do their jobs better every day," Patrick T. Ryan, Press Ganey Chairman and CEO.
The Gorman-Rupp Company, a designer, manufacturer, and international marketer of pumps and pump systems, agreed to acquire Fill-Rite, a provider of transfer pumps, from Tuthill, a machinery industry company, for $525m.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Fill-Rite's impressive portfolio of mission-critical pumps and its outstanding team of employees to the Gorman-Rupp family. Altogether, with our combined capabilities, we expect our revenues to reach over $500m annually—a significant milestone. In addition to the natural product adjacencies between Gorman-Rupp and Fill-Rite, we truly believe that the two companies are culturally aligned. We look forward to working with the Fill-Rite team to continue to drive shareholder value and to execute on our strategic business plan," Scott King, Gorman-Rupp President and CEO.
Tuthill is advised by Citigroup and Arent Fox. Gorman-Rupp is advised by JP Morgan and Squire Patton Boggs. Debt financing is provided by JP Morgan.
New State Capital Partners, an entrepreneurial-minded private equity firm, completed the investment in Patuxent Roofing & Contracting, an independent provider of re-roofing installation and services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited to invest in a premier player in institutional and commercial re-roofing services. We were attracted to Patuxent given its recurring revenue customer profile, proven stability through economic cycles, and abundant growth opportunities. We look forward to working with Mike and his team to continue to accelerate the Company's growth," Kurt Lentz, New State Senior Principal.
Patuxent Roofing & Contracting was advised by KPMG. New State was advised by Citizens M&A, Piper Sandler, Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Lambert & Co.
CNO Financial Group, a financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana, completed the investment in Rialto Capital, a fully integrated real estate investment management and asset management company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to welcome CNO as a strategic partner. CNO has a successful track record and we look forward to creating value together," Jeff Krasnoff, Rialto CEO.
Rialto Capital was advised by Wells Fargo Securities and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. CNO Financial was advised by Deutsche Bank and Mayer Brown.
Abry Partners, a private equity firm, agreed to invest $100m in HARTBEAT, a global, multi-platform media company creating entertainment at the intersection of comedy and culture.
"We've scaled our business in an ever changing media landscape by delivering comedy to audiences wherever and whenever they want to laugh, and have demonstrated an unmatched ability to generate sales, subscriptions and eyeballs for some of the top entertainment and brand partners in the world, while driving cultural currency and conversation among some of the most coveted audiences," Thai Randolph, HARTBEAT CEO.
HARTBEAT was advised by Evolution Media Capital, Manatt Phelps & Phillips and Metro Public Relations.
General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, led a $300m Series D round in Biofourmis, a provider of virtual care and digital medicine solutions, with participation from CVS Health.
"In recent years, we have seen a significant trend towards virtual at-home care, which has become a critical alternative to in-person care, particularly as digital adoption continues to accelerate. Biofourmis is tapping into this global trend with a new approach to remote care management," Sandeep Naik, General Atlantic Managing Director and Head of India & Southeast Asia.
Biofourmis was advised by Amendola Communications and The Harris Agency.
Norwest Venture Partners, an American venture and growth equity investment firm, led a $230m Series D round in Harness, the modern software delivery platform company, with participation from JP Morgan, Capital One Ventures, Splunk Ventures, Adage Capital Partners, Balyasny Asset Management, Gaingels, Harmonic Growth Partners, ServiceNow, Menlo Ventures, IVP, Unusual Ventures, Citi Ventures, Battery Ventures, Alkeon Capital, GV, Sorenson Capital, Thomvest Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank.
"Today's milestone funding round and Harness's rapidly rising valuation is only possible because of our incredible, delighted customers. In today's software-fueled economy, enterprises rely on their software development teams to innovate quickly. We will continue to provide developer teams with the complete software delivery solution they need to deliver innovative, secure software at scale while delivering the developer experience leading teams require," Jyoti Bansal, Harness CEO.
The $375m sale of Trumps’ Washington Hotel to CGI Merchant, a private equity, alternative investment manager, is poised to close next week.
CGI Merchant Group agreed to buy the lease to the property in November. The hotel is owned by the federal government, but with extensions the lease runs close to 100 years. It is housed in the former Old Post Office, which is located a short walk down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.
Goldman Sachs, an investment banking company, completed the previously announced acquisition of a minority stake in iSpot.tv, a company that aims to help advertisers verify the reach and impact of their TV and streaming-video ads, for $325m.
“These acquisitions have been great for the company. Certainly, those are not the last ones,” Sean Muller, iSpot.tv Founder and CEO.
TPG Growth, an investment company, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Morrow Sodali, a global shareholder engagement and governance advisory firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to become a TPG portfolio company. Joining forces with an organization of TPG's strength and breadth will allow us to further enhance our market leadership position, forged over decades of guiding clients through every critical trend impacting corporations, shareholders, and the financial markets. Our focus is on delivering value creation and as we move forward with TPG’s backing, we’ll grow that value for our clients, especially as they increase their focus on corporate purpose and the goals of diversity, inclusiveness, and sustainability,” Alvise Recchi, Morrow Sodali Chief Executive Officer.
Caladrius Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, agreed to merge with Cend Therapeutics, a privately-held, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on a novel approach to enable more effective treatments for solid tumor cancers, in a $90m deal.
“Our team has spent the past several years developing and advancing a novel and differentiated approach to treat solid tumor cancers. The CendR Platform™ provides a targeted tissue penetration capability which is designed to specifically enhance drug delivery to solid tumors. Cend’s lead investigational drug, CEND-1, has been combined with other anticancer products to potentially enable more effective treatment of difficult to treat solid tumor cancers. For us, an attractive aspect of this business combination is the addition of Caladrius’ development team, which has experience and expertise in a diverse array of therapeutic areas, including oncology. We are excited to be working together to improve outcomes for cancer patients,” David Slack, Cend CEO.
TotalEnergies, a broad energy company, agreed to acquire Core Solar, an experienced solar development company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
With this acquisition, Total further develops its presence in the United States where it now has a portfolio of more than 10 GW gross capacity of renewable projects in operation, in construction and in development.
Bruin Capital revives plans to sell $1bn streamer Deltatre. (FS)
Bruin Capital is revisiting plans for a possible sale of its media and technology company Deltatre, Bloomberg reported.
The sports and entertainment group is working with Evercore as it weighs options for Deltatre. Deltatre could be valued at about $1bn.
Toymaker Mattel explores sale, has held talks with Apollo and L Catterton. (FS)
Toymaker Mattel is exploring a sale and has held talks with buyout firms, including Apollo Global Management and L Catterton, Reuters reported.
The talks on a possible sale come a few months after the California-based company's CEO Ynon Kreiz said Mattel had completed its turnaround plan and was in "growth mode".
DF Capital Management raises $322m for new fund. (FS)
DF Capital Management announced the final closing of DF Residential in the first quarter of 2022 with $322m of equity commitments, exceeding its target raise of $250m. The fund's commitments span nearly 100 investors of various profiles led by multiple institutional investors.
"While homebuilders are contending with the same supply constraints and inflationary trends affecting most companies today, the underlying fundamentals of the market remain strong. Housing supply remains at record lows and favorable demographics in our target markets should continue to underpin demand. We believe our strategy is an attractive way to invest in this secular shift back to single-family living," Chris Butler, DF Capital Managing Partner.
EMEA
Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in growth-oriented investments in media, communications, education and technology, agreed to acquire Airlies, a provider of cloud-based managed Wi-Fi solutions, from Invus, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are proud of the leadership position we have achieved and thank our Board and investors for supporting us on this journey. We are excited to work with Providence as Airties continues to build momentum and enter the next stage of its growth journey. We could not have found a better partner to help us accelerate our development globally," Philippe Alcaras, Airties CEO.
Airlies is advised by Ernst & Young, Liberty Partners, Stifel, Baker McKenzie, Esin Avukatlik, YC Law, JLM Partners, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Providence is advised by Ernst & Young, FTI Consulting, LionTree Advisors, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, Sard Verbinnen & Co, and KPMG.
Wasserman Music, which represents a world-class roster of artists for live performance, touring, brand partnerships and beyond, completed the acquisition of the UK live music representation business of Paradigm, an American full-service entertainment agency. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"I am incredibly proud to reunite Alex, Dave, James, Tom and their team with the full force of our Wasserman Music group. They not only persevered through a once in a lifetime pandemic, but prioritized their clients and partnerships in a way that is consistent with our values and commitment to talent. With this group now under one banner, we now have a truly scalable and serviceable global music practice and look forward to strengthening our platform together," Casey Wasserman, Wasserman Chairman and CEO.
Paradigm was advised by Osborne Clarke and Venable. Wasserman was advised by Clarke Willmott and McGuireWoods.
Keensight Capital, a private equity company, agreed to acquire majority stake in Valiantys, a global consulting and services firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are delighted to be partnering with the Valiantys team. The value Keensight Capital will bring to Valiantys is in accelerating strategic mergers and acquisitions, exponentially growing their pool of talent and global footprint, and strengthening Valiantys for further success," Philippe Crochet, Keensight Capital Managing Partner.
Valiantys is advised by William Blair and Citigate Dewe Rogerson.
York Capital Management-backed Cennox, a financial services firm, completed the acquisition of Company Group, including Lincsafe, a company which provides cash management hardware, Merlin, a specialty retailer, Cashtester, a banking equipment manufacturer, and Secusystems, a security system provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As Cennox continues to deliver on our growth strategy and build a strong, market leading business, the acquisition of Lincsafe, Merlin, Cashtester and Secusystems will further cement our position as the leading go-to partner for companies seeking to strengthen their organisation's technology, security, and infrastructure capabilities. I look forward to working alongside Ron van Veenendaal, and his team, as we advance our goals of delivering our world class service," Clive Nation, Cennox Chief Executive Officer.
Cennox was advised by Element Communications.
Keensight Capital-backed Sogelink, a software platform, agreed to acquire LOCATIQS, a Dutch software company, from Main Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"With the LOCATIQS' team, we share the same passion and a common DNA. We focus on protecting the underground network infrastructure and on ensuring a safe and efficient construction process, while leveraging best-in-class innovations on geo-data intelligence. We also share a similar core customer base of construction companies, civil engineers, network operators and public authorities. Together, we will strengthen our presence among our key clients and create new growth opportunities both locally and internationally," Fatima Berral, Sogelink CEO.
HPE Growth-backed eGym, a global fitness technology firm, completed the acquisition of Gymlib, a French startup that aggregates thousands of gyms to offer sports and wellbeing service for companies and their employees. Financial terms were not disclosed.
EGYM relies on a fast-growing customer base of circa 3.6k corporate customers, whose employees have access to over 5.5k top-quality fitness facilities across Germany. The acquisition will combine these customers with Gymlib’s 600 corporate customers and 4.3k fitness facilities across France and Belgium.
Amancio Ortega, a spanish fashion executive, agreed to acquire 177 Bothwell Street single-office building from HFD Group, a commercial property management agency, for $270m.
The acquisition follows a recent Pontegadea deal in Toronto, where it bought the Royal Bank Plaza, a landmark skyscraper which houses the headquarters of Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest bank, for around $850m.
KPMG, a big four accountancy firm, agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Acceleris, a venture capital advisory specialist. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Fast-growing companies are the heartbeat of the UK economy, but access to funding remains a big barrier for entrepreneurs trying to grow their businesses. By partnering with Acceleris we will enable companies to unlock the finance they need, and help them navigate what remains a volatile operating environment," Jon Holt, KPMG UK CEO.
Lucid will sell up to 100k EVs in deal with Saudi Arabia.
Lucid Group will sell as many as 100k electric vehicles to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the next decade, ranking among the largest-ever purchases of plug-in models, Bloomberg reported.
The automaker reached a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance for 50k EVs over that span, with the option for another 50k. Lucid said it would start delivering the vehicles by the second quarter of 2023.
Bain Capital’s Pagliuca makes final pitch for Chelsea FC. (FS)
Bain Capital co-chairman Stephen Pagliuca will present his takeover bid for Chelsea Football Club to executives of the west London team, as the battle for one of the biggest names in world sports nears its endgame, Bloomberg reported.
Pagliuca is the last remaining bidder to make his pitch. His consortium will outline plans for running Chelsea and the development of its Stamford Bridge stadium.
Renault silent after media report about transfer of Avtovaz stake.
A spokesperson for French carmaker Renault declined to comment on a report by Russia's Interfax saying it would transfer its majority stake in carmaker Avtovaz to a Russian science institute, Reuters reported.
Renault would reportedly have the right to buy the stake back within the next five to six years. Renault's stake in its Moscow plant would be passed to the city's local government.
Credit Suisse has no plans to raise capital.
Credit Suisse has no plans for a capital increase after the Swiss bank reported a dip in capitalisation, Reuters reported.
As the bank reported a $286m first-quarter loss, executives said capital could remain constrained over the next six months as the bank continues to make significant outlays towards compliance and risk.
MassMutual Ventures announces new $300m fund for Europe and Asia-Pacific. (FS)
MassMutual Ventures announced that its Asia-Pacific and Europe team has launched a new fund of $300m to invest in early and growth-stage companies in digital health, financial technology, enterprise SaaS, and cybersecurity. With this launch, the team has widened its investment reach to include Europe and will continue to invest in companies in the APAC region.
“With this additional capital, we look forward to backing even more exceptional founders and supporting them as they scale over time. Over the past three and a half years, we have led investments in companies fundamentally transforming the digital health, fintech and SaaS sectors in APAC, where we continue to see tremendous opportunity. Moreover, we are very excited about expanding our team and reach to Europe’s thriving tech and startup ecosystem – making MMV a truly global platform,” Anvesh Ramineni, MassMutual Ventures Managing Director.
APAC
Sembcorp Marine, a Singapore-based company that provides engineering solutions to the global offshore, marine and energy industries, signed a definitive agreement to merge with Keppel O&M, the offshore and marine unit of Keppel, in a $364m deal.
"The new firm would create a stronger player to capitalize on growing opportunities in the O&M, renewable and clean energy sectors. The combined entity would be better positioned to compete for larger contracts, whilst pursuing the synergies that can arise from the increased operational scale, broader geographic footprint and enhanced capabilities of a larger entity," Sembmarine and Keppel.
Keppel is advised by JP Morgan and WongPartnership.
Dexus, an Australian Real Estate Investment Trust, agreed to acquire the real estate and domestic infrastructure equity business of AMP, a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand, for $392m.
"This transaction will significantly strengthen AMP's capital position and it intends to use the proceeds to pay down some of its corporate debt and to return capital to shareholders following the sale completion. The capital return will be subject to regulatory and shareholder approval," AMP.
Dexus is advised by JP Morgan.
Tata Group-backed Air India, a flag carrier airline of India, agreed to acquire AirAsia India, an India arm of Malaysian airlines. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This was on expected lines as it makes no sense for the Tata Group to own stakes in separate airlines," Vinamra Longani, Sarin & Co Dead of Operations.
SoftBank and Arm move to retake control of China JV. (FS)
SoftBank Group and its subsidiary Arm are closing in on an agreement to regain control of the chipmaker’s China operations and oust its rogue chief executive officer, Bloomberg reported.
Arm China’s board, which consists of representatives from SoftBank, Arm and Chinese investors, fired Allen Wu in 2020 for alleged conflicts of interest, but he has refused to leave. He has had physical possession of the company’s official seal and registration documents, allowing him to ignore directors and continue to run day-to-day operations.
South Korea’s KT exploring sale of stake in cloud business.
KT is considering a sale of a minority stake in its newly-created cloud unit, a move that would help the South Korean telecommunications group raise cash and expand the business, Bloomberg reported.
The Seoul-based company is close to picking a financial adviser to help with the process. A sale of about 20% of KT Cloud to a strategic partner could raise around $400m.
XPeng signs strategic cooperation agreement with Agricultural Bank of China, securing $1.15bn credit facilities.
XPeng, a Chinese smart electric vehicle company, announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Agricultural Bank of China Guangdong Branch, pursuant to which XPeng will secure a comprehensive credit line of up to $1.15bn for its subsidiaries and affiliates in China.
“We are very pleased with the Agreement, with terms demonstrating the financial institution’s strong trust in our solid business fundamentals and growth prospects. As we pursue rapid technology and product iterations, we will continue to strengthen our product competitiveness and bring compelling EV experience to our consumers,” Mr. He Xiaopeng, XPeng Chairman and CEO.
Hong Kong's second SPAC deal put on hold.
A blank-cheque firm backed by VMS Asset Management has paused plans to go public in Hong Kong due to highly volatile markets, clouding Hong Kong prospects for special purpose acquisition companies, Reuters reported.
Vivere Lifesciences Acquisition's $130m SPAC share sale, set to have been Hong Kong's second, is waiting for markets to stabilise before opening its books.
Morgan Stanley said to hire Deutsche Bank Philippines executive. (People)
Morgan Stanley is hiring Deutsche Bank’s Meg Angeles-Dayrit as the US bank seeks to boost its presence in the Philippines, Bloomberg reported.
Angeles-Dayrit, head of Philippines coverage and origination at Deutsche Bank, has tendered her resignation. She has been with the German bank for more than seven years.
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