Read on...
Scroll down to read deal descriptions. Your suggestions and comments support the democratisation of M&A data. If you'd like to contribute to the future editions, drop us a line.
AMERICAS
Koch Industries-backed MITER Brands, a residential window and door manufacturer, completed the acquisition of PGT Innovations, a wholesale building materials, for $3.1bn.
“MITER and PGTI are fully aligned in providing world-class service and the finest products with a culture where people, performance, and customer experiences come first. Our product mix and geographic presence are highly complementary, and we look forward to delivering enhanced value to our team members, customers, suppliers and local communities. The combined company will continue its long-held commitment to innovation, service, and high-quality window and door products as we accelerate our growth trajectory. We are excited to welcome the PGTI team into our owner-operated business with family-first values,” Matt DeSoto, MITER Brands President and CEO.
PGT Innovations was advised by Evercore, FGS Global, and Davis Polk & Wardwell (led by John D. Amorosi and Evan Rosen). Financial advisors were advised by Cravath Swaine & Moore (led by Mark I. Greene and Andrew Wark). Koch Industries was advised by Rothschild & Co and Jones Day (led by Daniel J. Michaels). MITER Brands was advised by Stinson, RBC Capital Markets, KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Edelman (led by Ira Gorsky). Debt financing was provided by RBC Capital Markets and KeyBanc Capital Markets.
LatAm Logistic Properties, a developer, owner, and manager of institutional quality, class A industrial and logistics real estate in Central and South America, went public via a merger with TWO, a special purpose acquisition company, in a $578m deal.
“Today marks an important milestone for our company as we advance our vision to replicate and expand LPA’s uniquely differentiated franchise as a developer, owner and manager of institutional quality, Class A industrial and logistics real estate in Central and South America. Our mission is to continue building out our robust platform across both existing and new adjacent geographies with US dollar-denominated markets. We aim to capitalize on today’s significant nearshoring tailwinds and meet the demand from top-tier companies for premium real estate properties. At LPA, we have built our foundation on delivering quality that exceeds our customers' expectations. This principle will continue to guide the disciplined approach that has defined our success,” Esteban Saldarriaga, LatAm Logistic Properties CEO.
OTPP, Centerbridge Partners and Smith Financial-backed Fairstone Bank, a lending solutions provider, agreed to merge with Home Trust, a financial services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This combination is the next natural step in our goal to be Canada’s most accessible and responsible lending bank. Together with Home Trust, we aim to capitalize on significant growth opportunities and continue to serve millions of Canadians, especially those historically underserved,” Scott Wood, Fairstone Bank President and CEO.
OTPP is advised by BMO Capital Markets and Stikeman Elliott. Smith Financial is advised by RBC Capital Markets, Torys and Fundamental Creative (led by Ernie Stapleton). Centerbridge Partners is advised by Goldman Sachs and Willkie Farr & Gallagher (led by Rosalind Kruse and Justin Sommerkamp).
Take-Two Interactive Software, an American video game holding company, agreed to acquire Gearbox, an American video game development company, from Embracer Group, a video game and media company, for $460m.
“Our acquisition of Gearbox is an exciting moment for Take-Two and will strengthen our industry-leading creative talent and portfolio of owned intellectual property, including the iconic Borderlands franchise. This combination enhances the financial profile of our existing projects with Gearbox and unlocks the opportunity for us to drive increased long-term growth by leveraging the full resources of Take-Two across all of Gearbox’s exciting initiatives,” Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two Chairman and CEO.
Take-Two is advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher (led by Adam M. Turteltaub and Laura Acker), KPMG, and Deloitte. Embracer Group is advised by Ernst & Young, Juno Capital Partners, and Fenwick & West.
Major League Baseball owners on March 27 unanimously approved private equity billionaire David Rubenstein as the new owner of the American League's Baltimore Orioles, Reuters reported.
The vote conducted earlier on March 27 was the final step in a process that began in late January when an agreement was in place for the Angelos family to sell the Orioles to a group led by Rubenstein for $1.72bn. Rubenstein's group includes Orioles great and Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill among other investors.
The Home Depot, a home improvement retailer, agreed to acquire SRS Distribution, a residential specialty trade distribution company across several verticals serving the professional roofer, landscaper and pool contractor, from Leonard Green & Partners and Berkshire Partners, two private equity investors, for $18.25bn.
"SRS is an industry leader with a proven track record of profitable growth across verticals. SRS's ability to build leadership positions in each of its trade verticals while generating significant revenue growth is a testament to its strong vision, leadership, culture and execution. SRS has built a robust and successful platform that will accelerate our growth with the residential professional customer while presenting future opportunities with the specialty trade pro," Ted Decker, The Home Depot Chair, President, and CEO.
Home Depot is advised by JP Morgan and Weil Gotshal and Manges. SRS Distribution is advised by Jefferies & Company and Goldman Sachs.
Hard Rock Digital, a vehicle for interactive gaming and sports betting, agreed to acquire US assets of 888, a betting and gaming company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
888 is advised by Hudson Sandler (led by Alex Brennan and Charlotte Cob).
SilverBow Resources said on March 28 it has rejected largest shareholder Kimmeridge Energy Management's latest offer that valued the oil and gas producer at $2.1bn, including debt, in the latest rebuff of the asset manager's efforts, Reuters reported.
The offer from March 13 was the asset manager's latest attempt to acquire SilverBow over the last two years and aimed at combining SilverBow with Kimmeridge's gas-producing assets in South Texas, which Kimmeridge values at about $1.4bn, including debt.
Landing, a company behind the first membership for flexible apartment living, completed the acquisition of Barsala, a tech-enabled flexible housing operator, for $30m.
“By activating otherwise vacant units using a combination of technology and marketing, Barsala has built a profitable model and strong reputation, cultivating deep partnerships with class A multifamily property owners. This acquisition allows us to bring the benefits of our Autopilot platform and heightened demand from our qualified members to a growing number of property owners across the country, while opening doors to more fully-furnished apartment homes in new markets for our members,” Bill Smith, Landing Founder and CEO.
T-Mobile can appeal to block consumer lawsuit over $26bn Sprint deal.
T-Mobile has won its bid to appeal a judge's ruling that allowed a potential class of millions of Verizon and AT&T subscribers to move ahead with a lawsuit challenging the company's $26bn purchase of rival Sprint in 2020, Reuters reported.
Illinois US District Judge Thomas Durkin ruled on March 27 that T-Mobile can appeal his order to the Chicago-based 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals now rather than at a later stage in the case.
EnCap Investments seeks sale of Utah oil producer XCL Resources. (FS)
EnCap Investments is seeking to sell XCL Resources two years after the private equity firm's plan to combine the oil and gas producer with a local rival was thwarted by US antitrust regulators, Reuters reported.
XCL, one of the largest energy producers in the Uinta shale formation of Utah, could be worth at least $2.8bn including debt, and could achieve a higher valuation when accounting for its undeveloped assets. Investment bankers at Jefferies are running the sale process for XCL, which kicked off earlier this month.
Praxis Precision Medicines announces pricing of $200m initial public offering.
Praxis Precision Medicines, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company translating genetic insights into the development of therapies for central nervous system disorders, today announced the pricing of its underwritten public offering of 3,318,585 shares of its common stock at a public offering price per share of $56.50.
The gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be approximately $200m, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Praxis. All shares and pre-funded warrants in the offering are being offered by Praxis.
AI Startup Cohere nears deal to raise funds at $5bn valuation.
Artificial intelligence startup Cohere is in late-stage discussions to clinch a fresh round of funding that would raise the valuation of the company to $5bn, Bloomberg reported.
Cohere is talking with investors about raising $500m or more. The Toronto-based company has seen its annualized revenue run rate grow to $22m this month from $13m in December as it launched new model Command-R.
EMEA
Keysight Technologies outbid rival Viavi Solutions to buy Spirent Communications for about £1.16bn ($1.46bn) on March 28, winning a battle over the UK telecoms testing firm's expertise in automation, Reuters reported.
Shares in London-listed Spirent were up 10.6% to £0.198 ($0.250). Electronic equipment maker Keysight offered £0.202 ($0.255) per share, topping Viavi's £0.175 ($0.221) bid in early March. Spirent possesses capabilities in software, cloud, and automation technologies as next-generation communication networks including 6G become increasingly software-based, driven by advances in areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
One Equity Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Measurement Solutions business from TechnipFMC, a global oil and gas company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Guidant’s talented management team. Its creation came about through consistent collaboration between the management team, OEP’s team, and a large group of dedicated outside advisors to complete a complex corporate carve-out, involving three separate business units spread across multiple countries. The newly standalone Guidant is well-positioned to build on the significant collective, global strengths of its existing measurement platforms and to grow via transformational acquisitions,” J.B. Cherry, One Equity Partners Partner.
Kitwave Group, a FMCG company, completed the acquisition of Total Foodservice Solutions, a wholesale grocer, for £21m ($26m).
"We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Total Foodservice, which is a one-stop shop for wholesale commercial catering supplies and enables us to further expand our product range offering across the North of England and in particular Yorkshire and the North West, complementing our existing foodservice offering," Ben Maxted, Kitwave Group CEO.
CVC, a global private markets manager, agreed to acquire Monbake, a frozen pastry distributor, from Ardian, Alantra, Artá, and Landon. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We would like to thank Ardian for their strong support and commitment to Monbake's growth over the past six years. At the same time, we are proud of CVC's decision to support our company in its consolidation and continued growth phase. We are convinced that CVC is the right partner to take Monbake to the next level, and we look forward to working with them over the coming years,” Aurelio Antuña, Monbake CEO.
Two private equity investors One Equity Partners and Buckthorn Partners, completed the acquisition of Acteon Group, an international marine energy and infrastructure solutions company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to have One Equity Partners as our investment partner to help us capture the significant opportunity to grow in our target markets. OEP’s deep industrial expertise will be invaluable to us as we engage in initiatives that will increase operational efficiencies, develop more advanced services for our customers, and make us a stronger competitor in our core products and service areas,” Brice Bouffard, Acteon Group CEO.
One Equity Partners was advised by Stanton PRM and Sidley Austin (led by Tony Downes).
SLB, an American oilfield services company, agreed to acquire an 80% stake in Aker Carbon Capture, a pure-play carbon capture company, for $382m.
“For CCUS to have the expected impact on supporting global net-zero ambitions, it will need to scale up 100-200 times in less than three decades. Crucial to this scale-up is the ability to lower capture costs, which often represent as much as 50-70% of the total spend of a CCUS project. We are excited to create this business with ACC to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture technologies that will shift the economics of carbon capture across high-emitting industrial sectors,” Olivier Le Peuch, SLB CEO.
Aker Carbon Capture is advised by SEB Corporate Finance.
Venturi Partners, a consumer-focused investment platform, completed the $25m investment in DALI Discount, a food retailer.
“DALI's commitment to maximising value for its customers aligns seamlessly with our consumer-first investment philosophy, and we see tremendous potential for the company to expand its reach and improve the lives of even more households across the Philippines,” Nicholas Cator, Venturi Partners Founding Partner.
Apax considers sale of insurance broker PIB Group. (FS)
Apax Partners is weighing options, including a sale, for its British insurance broker, PIB Group. The London-based private equity firm is expected to appoint a financial adviser to gauge buyer interest in the business later this year, Reuters reported.
PIB Group could be valued at more than £4bn ($5bn) in the event of a sale, based on annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around £250m ($316m) that it is on track to generate.
Oakley Capital considers sale of Ocean Technologies Group. (FS)
Oakley Capital is weighing options, including a sale, for its Norwegian maritime training software company Ocean Technologies Group. The London-based private equity firm has hired advisers at Houlihan Lokey and Goldman Sachs to gauge interest in the business, which could be worth more than $1bn, Reuters reported.
SIX Group CEO rules out Allfunds bid amid M&A hunt.
SIX Group has ruled out making a bid for fund distribution group Allfunds after studying an acquisition and will instead consider other deals that can expand its data business or give it access to new asset classes, Reuters reported.
"We don't think that's something for us. We've also had a look at it, but not our cup of tea. If we could somehow get into derivatives or do something with other asset classes, perhaps even foreign exchange that might be of interest. Probably a data acquisition would actually have a higher priority than another exchange acquisition," Jos Dijsselhof, SIX Group CEO.
Partners Group targeting $12bn for new secondaries fund. (FS)
Partners Group, a Swiss-based global private equity firm with $147bn in assets under management, is targeting $12bn for another private equity secondary strategy fund that will focus on deals in the Asia Pacific region.
The new fund continues the firm's growth in the secondaries market, which allows investors in private equity funds and private companies to make early exits to free their capital. The fund's target size is ambitious given that only $12.1bn worth of capital spread across 28 funds has been raised in Asia Pacific during the first quarter of the year the lowest quarterly value since January-March 2014.
Kenya Airways seeks to raise as much as $1.5bn capital.
Kenya Airways now seeks to raise as much as $1.5bn in fresh capital in a restructuring process authorities say will revive the carrier and plug a drain on state resources, Bloomberg reported.
KQ, as the airline is also known, has in the past relied on the National Treasury to repay loans and for operational costs. It didn’t receive direct government support in the past year. Two years ago, the company estimated restructuring would cost $1bn.
APAC
EIG Global Energy Partners-backed MidOcean Energy, a natural gas firm, completed the acquisition of the liquefied natural gas investments of Tokyo Gas, a provider of natural gas, for $2.15bn.
“We are strong believers in the role of LNG as a key enabler of the energy transition and have formed MidOcean to provide partners and investors differentiated exposure to the asset class. With these foundational assets, MidOcean has entered key projects and markets in Asia, which form the center of gravity of the global LNG business. De la Rey and team have an ambitious growth strategy that is expected to build on this foundation and expand geographically. Our focus on integrated projects is central to the strategy and affords MidOcean the opportunity to capture value across the full LNG value chain,” R. Blair Thomas, EIG Chairman and CEO.
Blackstone plans to add $25bn in India private equity assets over five years. (FS)
Blackstone aims to add an additional $25bn of Indian private equity assets over the next five years, reflecting the South Asian country’s increasing allure to global investors, Bloomberg reported.
The New York-based firm also intends to bring on 20 more investment professionals to its asset management business in India and double its office space in Nariman Point in downtown Mumbai.
Gautam Adani's family raises stake in Ambuja Cements for $799m.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's family infused about $799m in Ambuja Cements, raising its stake to about 67% from 63.15%, to help ramp up the cement maker's manufacturing capacity, DealStreetAsia reported.
The family has raised its stake by converting warrants into shares. The Adani family expects the cement maker to increase its manufacturing capacity to 140m tonnes per annum by 2028. "This infusion of funds provides Ambuja capital flexibility for fast-tracked growth, capital management initiatives," Ajay Kapur, Ambuja Cements CEO.
India's ICICI Securities wins key vote to delist, merge with ICICI Bank amid retail investor opposition.
India's ICICI Securities on March 28 secured the votes needed to delist its stock, capping a dramatic week that saw backlash from some unhappy retail investors and reported attempts by parent ICICI Bank to sway votes, Reuters reported.
About 71.9% of the brokerage's minority shareholders voted in favour of the delisting and merger with ICICI Bank, exceeding the regulatory requirement of a two-thirds majority, despite stiff opposition from some investors.
Former Premji Invest execs-led PE firm Trident Growth eyes $250m debut fund. (FS)
Trident Growth Partners, a new private equity firm in India, is currently on the road to raise about $250m for its debut growth-stage equity fund, DealStreetAsia reported.
Led by former Premji Invest partners Atul Gupta and Rajesh Ramaiah and ex-IFC executive Pravan Malhotra, the firm is betting big on sectors such as consumer, financial services, industrial innovation, enterprise technology, and sustainability. Trident Growth Partners is looking to back companies with target valuations of $100-400m in their Series B+ stages.
India's Alteria Capital closes third fund at $180m. (FS)
India's Alteria Capital said it had raised $186m for its third fund, bolstering its ability to lend to startups which have historically boomed but are now struggling to find backers, Reuters reported.
Alteria, founded by former executives of Temasek-backed InnoVen Capital, has backed more than 180 Indian startups in the last seven years, including several multi-billion dollar firms. Some of its investments include grocery delivery firm Zepto and cloud kitchen Rebel Foods. Alteria operates in the smaller but fast-growing venture debt segment, where certain funds lend exclusively to startups - a sector banks and large lenders often avoid.
|
