Tiedemann Group, an organization of interrelated companies providing real estate and construction services, and Alvarium Investments, a multi-family office, agreed to go public via a merger with Cartesian Growth, a blank check company, in a $1.4bn deal.
“We are thrilled to partner with Alvarium to establish a truly unique, global investment firm in Alvarium Tiedemann. Alvarium brings a culture of entrepreneurism and a breadth of global capabilities and expertise that will complement our existing client experience. I believe the combination of talent and geographic reach with Cartesian’s access to capital will provide the permanence needed to continue to grow and evolve a dynamic investment platform. We have a unified vision that is committed to diversity and inclusion, serving our clients and continuing on our path to becoming a differentiated leader in investment strategies and services,” Michael Tiedemann, Tiedemann Group CEO.
Tiedemann Group is advised by Piper Sandler, Seward & Kissel and Prosek Partners. Alvarium is advised by Raymond James, Spencer House Partners and Goodwin Procter. Cartesian is advised by Cantor Fitzgerald, Bank of America and Greenberg Traurig.
Foot Locker completed the acquisition of WSS from Riata Capital for $750m. (FS)
Foot Locker, the New York-based specialty athletic retailer, completed the acquisition of WSS, a US-based athletic footwear and apparel retailer, from Riata Capital, a Dallas-based private equity investment firm, for $750m.
"WSS has built a successful, high-growth business by pioneering the neighborhood-based store model, built on community engagement and a full-family offering. This acquisition enhances our product mix and provides access to a customer base and store footprint that are both differentiated from and complementary to our current portfolio. We are thrilled to welcome WSS's customers into the Foot Locker family, as well as join forces with their talented team. Looking ahead, we see significant opportunities to expand this business, including by accelerating WSS's store growth into new geographies in North America," Richard A. Johnson, Foot Locker Chairman and CEO.
WSS was advised by Robert W Baird and Manatt Phelps & Phillips. Foot Locker was advised by Evercore, DLA Piper, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Joele Frank. Riata was advised by Vinson & Elkins.
RMR Mortgage Trust announces shareholders' approval of Tremont's deal term.
Shareholders approved the issuance of RMR common shares in the merger with Tremont Mortgage Trust, with 92.3% of the shares that voted voting in favor. RMR expects the merger to become effective on September 30, 2021.
The combined company will change its name to Seven Hills Realty Capital and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker “SHRC”.
Tremont is advised by Citigroup, Sullivan & Worcester, White & Case and Joele Frank. RMR is advised by UBS, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Latham & Watkins.
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a global investment group, agreed to invest in ICR, a provider of strategic communications and advisory services. CDPQ will join with existing shareholder Investcorp. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"ICR has created a remarkable value proposition for companies and their leadership teams thanks to its unique portfolio of services, high–quality network and the distinctive profile of its client facing teams who possess deep industry and capital markets knowledge. This provides ICR a unique advantage to align strategic communications and transaction advisory among all stakeholders," Martin Laguerre, CDPQ Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity and Capital Solutions.
ICR is advised by Jefferies & Company, William Blair & Co and White & Case. CDPQ is advised by Credit Suisse and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
United Group, an established financial services provider, agreed to acquire Banco di Caribe, a financial services firm, from ENNIA Caribe, an insurance firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition enables us to accelerate United's growth strategy and broaden our service area. The combined expertise and scale of Banco di Caribe and United will broaden the range of services offered to existing Banco di Caribe and United clients, and United's international network will generate new client potential and drive further growth for both United and Banco di Caribe," Gregory Elias, United President.
ENNIA Caribe is advised by Ox & Wolf, BroadSpan Capital, Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten and Deloitte. Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten is advised by De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek.
Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire the Semiconductor Solutions business of Brooks Automation, a provider of automation, vacuum and instrumentation equipment, for $3bn.
"Over the past 40 years, Brooks has built an impressive portfolio of automated solutions to address some of the most difficult engineering challenges facing the semiconductor capital equipment industry. We are excited to support the business in its next leg of growth in semiconductor and beyond," Michael Kaczmarek, THL Managing Director.
Brooks Automation is advised by Evercore and Mintz Levin. Thomas H. Lee Partners is advised by Kirkland & Ellis, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Edelman.
Repligen, a life sciences company focused on bioprocessing technology leadership, agreed to acquire Avitide, a biopharmaceutical company, for $150m.
"The addition of Avitide is a major step forward in building out our Proteins business and in particular our affinity ligand discovery engine. This acquisition builds off the excellent partnership we have already established with Navigo GmbH and really strengthens and expands our ligand discovery and development capabilities. We are excited to have the entire Avitide team join Repligen and look forward to accelerating the commercialization of Avitide's discovery platform. Together, we anticipate bringing many new products to market over the coming years, directly addressing the growing need for affinity solutions in gene therapy and other emerging modalities," Tony J. Hunt, Repligen President and CEO.
Avitide is advised by EC M&A and Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Repligen is advised by Perella Weinberg Partners and Goodwin Procter.
LINKBANCORP, a commercial bank holding company, completed the merger with GNB Financial Services, a banking products and services providing bank holding company, in a $65m deal.
“This combination unites the rich and successful legacy of The Gratz Bank with the growth-oriented commercial bank model of LINKBANK, creating more career growth opportunities for employees; an expanded footprint with enhanced products and services for clients; an entrepreneurial company with strong earnings and attractive dividends for our shareholders; and the ability to contribute actively and generously in the communities we serve,” Andrew Samuel, LINKBANCORP CEO.
LINKBANCORP was advised by Cedar Hill Advisors and Hogan Lovells. GNB Financial Services was advised by Boenning & Scattergood and Pillar Aught.
Materion, a provider of high performing advanced materials, agreed to acquire the electronic materials portfolio of H.C. Starck, a provider of technology metals, for $380m.
"HCS-Electronic Materials is a highly strategic and transformative acquisition that builds on our strong position in the semiconductor industry and supports our goals of driving above market growth, expanding margins, and delivering consistent double-digit EPS growth," Jugal Vijayvargiya, Materion President and CEO.
Materion is advised by JP Morgan and Jones Day.
Aalberts, a Dutch manufacturer, completed the acquisition of Premier Thermal Solutions, a provider of metal processing services, from Z Capital Group, a privately held investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The extensive support from the ZCG team to execute on a shared long-term vision for PTS has generated exceptional results. Our business is now positioned to grow, scale and capitalize on new market opportunities with Aalberts, and we look forward to building on this success and identifying more unique and efficient ways to provide our customers with the critical services they rely on us for," Steve Wyatt, PTS President and CEO.
Z Capital Group was advised by Joele Frank.
Andreessen Horowitz, YC Continuity and CapitalG led a $150m Series C round in Whatnot, a live stream shopping platform and marketplace for collectors and enthusiasts.
"Whatnot has cracked the code on making online shopping engaging and fun through their community-first approach to livestream shopping. Whatnot's fusion of entertainment and commerce has created an incredible growth flywheel that accelerates growth on both sides of their marketplace. Shoppers spend hours each week engaged in the app's content and community, while sellers achieve stronger monetization than is available on other channels. Whatnot has already demonstrated success across multiple categories, and we are thrilled to partner with Grant, Logan and the team on their journey," Laela Sturdy, CapitalG General Partner.
Whatnot was advised by Brick Lane.
Ares Management, an American publicly traded, global alternative asset manager focused on alternative strategies, including credit, private equity, and real estate activities, completed a $150m investment in Inter Miami, an American professional soccer club.
"We believe that this investment is another example of how our significant scale and flexible capital enables us to provide compelling capital solutions to major sports league owners. We remain encouraged by the attractive industry tailwinds that are driving great demand for innovative investors, like Ares, in this sector," Mark Affolter, Ares Partner and Co-Head of US Direct Lending.
Ares is advised by Brunswick Group.
WestCap, a growth equity firm, led a $140m funding round in Blueground, a global proptech company. Additional investors include Geolo Capital, VentureFriends and Prime Ventures.
"Funding will be used to fuel Blueground’s expansion from an existing presence of over 5k apartments in 15 cities across the globe including Los Angeles, Seattle and Istanbul," Alex Chatzieleftheriou, Blueground CEO.
Blueground was advised by Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm, led a $565m Series D funding round in Fivetran, an automated data integration provider. Additional investors include General Catalyst, CEAS Investments, Matrix Partners, ICONIQ Capital, D1 Capital Partners and Y Combinator.
"Fivetran is a critical component of the modern data stack. Without an always-on, accurate, and reliable way to centralize data, global organizations aren’t maximizing the use of data or data infrastructure. Fivetran solves the complex challenge of scaling and automating data integration better than anyone else, and joining forces with HVR will expand Fivetran’s capabilities to address the performance and security requirements of the enterprise and Global 2000. The modern data stack is a paradigm shift for global enterprises – with billions of dollars of revenue at stake – and Fivetran is a foremost catalyst in this shift," Martin Casado, Andreessen Horowitz General Partner.
JSP, a chemical industry company, agreed to acquire Inpria, an innovator of metal oxide photoresist design, development and manufacturing for extreme-ultraviolet lithography, for $514m.
"Inpria has a truly revolutionary approach to EUV lithography. Not only is their technology a great fit for us, but they also, like JSR, have a culture that is centered on R&D and moves with an innovation-driven mindset. Together, we will focus our shared passion in these areas to drive our industry forward," Eric Johnson, JSR CEO.
Ampersand Capital Partners-backed N2 Biomedical, a provider of nano-engineered surface treatment and coating services, agreed to merge with Precision Coating, a medical coatings service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are very excited to add N2's technologies and people to Precision Coating. N2 extends our coating platform technologies in ways that enhance our value proposition for customers. This is particularly true in orthopedics, where we can now offer engineered coating solutions across both instruments and implants," Bill Ellerkamp, Precision Coating President.
White Wolf Capital, a private investment firm, completed the acquisition of Weatherhaven, a provider of rapid and redeployable mobile infrastructure. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We look forward to working with Ray and his talented team to help the company execute on its US expansion plans and beyond. This acquisition is White Wolf's second acquisition in Canada and demonstrates our strong commitment to expanding investments in the Canadian market," Elie Azar, White Wolf CEO and Managing Director.
Boyne Capital, a Florida-based private equity firm, completed the acquisition of A&A Global Imports, a supplier of packaging materials and ancillary products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"A&A maintains a uniquely strong market position, having trailblazed the cannabis ancillary space over a decade ago. Meeting the A&A team and understanding their growth trajectory and loyal customer base gave us much confidence in the partnership. We are excited to work with David Aryan, A&A's Founder and CEO, and his proven management team to continue growing the company and supporting expansion efforts, both organic and through acquisition," Derek McDowell, Boyne Managing Partner and CEO.
Investment firm Dragoneer Investment Group led a $500m Series H round in Discord, a voice, video and text chat platform, with participation from Baillie Gifford, Coatue Management, Fidelity Management and Research and Franklin Templeton.
This latest investment round surpasses the total funding raised by Discord in the past, with previous investors including Index Ventures and Greylock.
Kinnevik led a $190m Series C round in Spring Health, a provider of global mental health solution, with participation from The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Tiger Global, Northzone, RRE Ventures, Rethink Impact, Work-Bench, William K Warren Foundation, SemperVirens, Able Partners, and True Capital Ventures.
"As a society, we face an unprecedented global mental health crisis that will long outlast the Covid-19 pandemic. Spring Health is supporting the mental health of millions of people around the world, and we're just getting started. As we enter this next phase of growth, we are thrilled to partner with Kinnevik, who has an exceptional track record in digital health and a deep commitment to sustainability, diversity, and positive long-term impact," April Koh, Spring Health CEO.
DB Holdings Shops looking to sell certain top tier markets of its existing shops.
DB Holdings Shops, WellBiz Brands' largest franchisee, announced it's exploring options to sell certain top-tier markets of its existing shops. DBH is looking for franchise operators in their New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, and Boston markets, as well as others.
"The Drybar brand is truly an industry disruptor, with remarkable customer loyalty and so much runway potential. The power of this franchise model is that it's an Amazon-proof, membership-based business that women love. With the momentum already behind this consumer-loved brand, and WellBiz Brands' expertise in personal services, becoming a Drybar shop franchise operator in a top tier market is an amazing business opportunity," Jeremy Morgan, WellBiz Brands CEO.
DE Shaw completed the acquisition of the Arroyo Solar and Storage project. (FS)
DE Shaw Renewable Investments, a multinational investment management firm, completed the acquisition and debt financing for the Arroyo Solar and Storage project, a battery energy storage system facility that is being developed in McKinley County, New Mexico. The first phase of the project is expected to commence operations in June 2022, with full commercial operation anticipated for fall 2022.
"DESRI is proud to partner with PNM to provide clean energy to their customers. Incorporating battery storage in solar projects has the potential to change the landscape of the renewable energy industry going forward, and we're excited to offer storage capabilities to PNM as part of the Arroyo project," David Zwillinger, DESRI CEO.
LAACO to explore Storage West sale. (FS)
LAACO, a West Coast based self storage and real estate investment holding company, is exploring a sale of Storage West, its division that acquires, develops and manages self-storage facilities.
LAACO works with an adviser to solicit interest in Storage West from potential suitors.
Atlantic Street Capital looks to raise $850m for its new fund. (FS)
Lower-midmarket-focused Atlantic Street Capital Management is targeting $850m for its fifth fund,
Wall Street Journal reported.
If the Greenwich-based firm reaches the target, Atlantic Street Capital V would be 70% larger than its predecessor, which wrapped up with $500m in 2019.
Illumina Ventures closed a $325m fund. (FS)
Illumina Ventures, an independently-managed, healthcare-focused venture firm, announced the closing of its second investment fund with total commitments of $325m, bringing its total capital under management to $560m.
"Genomics and precision medicine are revolutionizing the healthcare industry. This larger fund enables us to pursue more ambitious projects in the US and Europe while building upon the strategies and core values that have been successful in the past," Nick Naclerio, Illumina Ventures Founding Partner.
