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AMERICAS
Masdar, the United Arab Emirates' clean energy powerhouse, completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in Terra-Gen, an independent renewable energy power producer in the United States, from Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The finalization of this deal cements a strong relationship between Masdar and Terra-Gen. Masdar is a great partner for Terra-Gen because of our shared focus on developing clean energy projects and our commitment to decarbonization. We look forward to working with them to expand and build on our pipeline of US projects," Jim Pagano, Terra-Gen CEO.
IQVentures, a fintech organization, completed the acquisition of The Aaron's Company, a technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of lease-to-own and retail purchase solutions, for $504m.
"We are pleased to announce this transaction with IQVentures, which delivers significant and immediate value to our shareholders. While we have performed well in a challenging operating environment, our Board has consistently evaluated the Company's standalone plan against other strategic opportunities, including recently engaging with a range of potential partners. With the assistance of our financial and legal advisors, the Board conducted a thorough review of our strategic options and ultimately determined that a sale to IQVentures represented the best way to maximize shareholder value," John W. Robinson III, The Aaron's Company Chairman of the Board.
Thrive Capital, an investment firm, led a $6.6bn round in OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research organization, with participation from Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, Khosla Ventures, Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, and MGX.
“The new funding will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems. We’re grateful to our investors for their trust in us, and we look forward to working with our partners, developers, and the broader community to shape an AI-powered ecosystem and future that benefits everyone," OpenAI.
Paylocity, a cloud-based HR and payroll software solutions provider, completed the acquisition of Airbase, a finance and spend management software solution provider, for $325m.
“With our acquisition of Airbase, we are expanding our total addressable market to the Office of the CFO and strengthening our position as the most modern software platform in the market by enabling our nearly 40k clients, as well as prospects throughout our target market, to manage all business-related spend on a single integrated platform,” Toby Williams, Paylocity President and CEO.
Airbase was advised by JP Morgan.
bp, a British multinational oil and gas company, completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in bp Bunge Bioenergia, a biofuels-producing company, from Bunge, an agribusiness and food company, for $1.4bn.
"In parallel to this acquisition, bp is scaling back plans for development of new SAF and renewable diesel biofuels projects at its existing sites, pausing planning for two potential projects while continuing to assess three for progression. This is aligned with bp’s drive to simplify its portfolio, focusing on value and returns," bp.
Bunge was advised by JP Morgan.
Mizuho, a financial partner, completed the investment in Golub Capital, a credit asset manager. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This strategic partnership represents a strong endorsement of our franchise by a global financial institution with a home office in Japan. We remain focused on deepening our commitment to investors in Japan and delivering more opportunities to investors seeking access to our proven private credit strategies," David Golub, Golub Capital President.
Optimizely, a digital experience platform provider, agreed to acquire NetSpring, a warehouse native analytics platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Optimizely has always acquired best-in-class companies to bring simplicity to its martech stack and serve its mission to make the lives of marketers better. NetSpring is no different. It is the best technical solution to address something all marketers want—to be able to tie marketing and experimentation activities to business outcomes. We are excited to have Vijay and his team join Optimizely as we continue to build the most exciting martech company in the market today," Alex Atzberger, Optimizely CEO.
Mitratech, a compliance technology leader for legal, risk, and HR teams, completed the acquisition of Preparis, a premier continuity planning platform for incident management and emergency response, and Prevalent, a leader in unified third-party risk management, from Insight Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Flexibility is a necessity as companies are up against today’s unpredictable business market and interconnected supply chain. We’re intentionally building a risk and compliance platform that puts users back in control of their crisis management and vendor networks with simplicity and effectiveness. The tailored, self-guided nature of both Preparis and Prevalent, along with their AI-focused innovation, makes them a natural fit for Mitratech’s automated risk and compliance suite. With these additions, our risk platform is even better positioned to drive value for our customers, enabling resilience through a modern platform that delivers everything they need for success — all in one place," Mike Williams, Mitratech CEO.
Ryan Specialty, an international specialty insurance firm, completed the acquisition of certain assets of EverSports & Entertainment Insurance, a provider of insurance products for the needs of sports, leisure and entertainment companies, from Everest Group, a management consulting company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We’re very excited to welcome this team to the Ryan Specialty family. David Nikolai and the members of the EverSports team are well known and respected in the SLE sector, and we see a tremendous cultural fit with Alive Risk. We look forward to bringing these great brands and product capabilities together to further serve our trading partners,” Miles Wuller, Ryan Specialty President and CEO.
Everest Group was advised by Howden.
Nano Dimension and Desktop Metal jointly announced on October 3 that, at a special meeting, Desktop Metal stockholders approved the merger agreement pursuant to which Desktop Metal would be acquired by Nano Dimension.
DM stockholder approval completes a critical requirement in the process of closing the transaction. While there are still some required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Desktop Metal is advised by Stifel (led by Jason Stack), Latham & Watkins (led by Daniel S. Hoffman and Ryan Maierson), Shibolet & Co and ICR. Financial advisors are advised by Morrison & Foerster (led by Michael O'Bryan). Nano Dimension is advised by Greenhill & Co, Greenberg Traurig, Sullivan & Worcester and FGS Global (led by Kal Goldberg).
SLR Consulting, an international sustainability consultancy company, agreed to acquire Malk Partners, an advisory company for private market investors and their portfolio companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are delighted to be welcoming Malk to the SLR team. Malk adds complementary geographic exposure and client solutions that enable us to expand and differentiate our consulting and advisory market offering throughout the U.S. and Europe. With our shared commitment to supporting clients in mitigating investment risk and making the positive impact across economic, environmental and social sustainability pillars, we are confident Malk is a strong fit with SLR,” Bradley Andrews, SLR CEO.
Baker Tilly, an advisory, tax and assurance firm, completed the acquisition of Alirrium, a robotic process automation advisory and implementation services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to join Baker Tilly and expand our RPA expertise to a broader audience. Together, we’ll empower clients across all sectors to harness automation, transforming their operations and maintaining a competitive edge in today’s dynamic landscape,” David Hickey, Alirrium CEO.
Golden Technology, a provider of IT staffing and consulting solutions, completed the acquisition of Halcyon Solutions, an IT services company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This merger allows us to combine our strengths and expand our service offerings. Halcyon’s global reach, coupled with Golden Technology’s industry expertise, positions us to better serve our clients and provide enhanced opportunities to our consultants. We’re excited to move forward together as one company,” Brian Marcum, Golden Technology CEO.
EQT-backed Zayo, TPG vie for Crown Castle assets worth nearly $10bn. (FS)
Fiber network owner Zayo Group and buyout firm TPG are competing to acquire the fiber and wireless assets of Crown Castle in a deal that could be valued at nearly $10bn, Reuters reported.
Zayo, which is owned by buyout firms EQT and DigitalBridge, and TPG are the two remaining bidders for the assets, which include Crown Castle's fiber business and its small cell business, which provides wireless services and technology.
StandardAero shares surge after IPO raises $1.44bn.
StandardAero shares climbed 36% in the aircraft maintenance services provider’s trading debut after the firm and some of its investors raised $1.44bn in an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported.
The company's shares closed at $32.75 each on October 2 in New York, giving the company a market value of nearly $11bn, based on the outstanding shares in an earlier filing.
OpenAI asks investors to avoid five AI startups including Sutskever's SSI. (FS)
As global investors such as Thrive Capital invest $6.6bn in OpenAI, the ChatGPT-maker sought a commitment beyond just capital - they also wanted investors to refrain from funding five companies they perceive as close competitors, Reuters reported.
The list of companies includes rivals developing large language models such as Anthropic and Elon Musk's xAI. OpenAI's co-founder Ilya Sutskever's new company - Safe Superintelligence, is also on the list. These companies are racing against OpenAI to build large language models, which requires billions in funding.
Miami Dolphins owner nears selling stakes to Ares and Tsai. (FS)
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is in advanced talks with private equity firm Ares Management and billionaire Joe Tsai to sell stakes in the NFL team and other assets at a valuation of $8.1bn, Bloomberg reported.
As part of the agreement, Ares will purchase a 10% stake in the properties, which also include Hard Rock Stadium and F1’s Miami Grand Prix. Tsai, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, will buy 3% through his family office, Blue Pool Capital.
JPMorgan says IPO market for PE-backed companies is ‘very’ open. (FS)
The market for initial public offerings of companies that are owned by private equity firms is picking up, buoying the outlook for such first-time share sales heading into next year, Bloomberg reported.
At least four such US listings are slated for this month, including StandardAero. The aircraft maintenance services provider, backed by Carlyle Group, raised $1.44bn in an IPO on October 1. The burst of business will be welcome news for investors sitting on $3.2tn of companies that have been stuck in private equity firms’ portfolios after a choppy three-year stretch for new entrants.
FrontView REIT shares shrink 1.5% after IPO priced mid-range.
FrontView REIT shares retreated 1.5% in the commercial landlord’s first day as a public company, after raising $250.8m in an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported.
Shares in the firm, which focuses on businesses with stores in prominent locations, fell to $18.72 each on October 2 in New York, below their IPO price. The real estate investment trust sold 13.2m shares on Tuesday for $19 each, the mid-point of a marketed range.
Summit raises $9.5bn for twelfth US growth equity fund. (FS)
Summit Partners, a global growth equity private investment firm, has closed its latest flagship US growth equity fund, Summit Partners Growth Equity Fund XII, with $9.5bn in capital commitments, five months after the fundraising launch.
Summit XII will target majority and minority investments of $75m to $500m primarily in profitable, category-leading growth companies in key growth sectors including technology, healthcare, financial technology and services.
EMEA
Ithaca Energy, a North Sea oil and gas operator focused on the delivery of lower risk growth through the appraisal and development of UK assets, completed the acquisition of the UK business of Eni, an Italian energy company that engages in oil and natural gas exploration, for £754m ($1bn).
“This agreement represents a further example of Eni adapting to the demands of the changing energy market and in this case deploying our successful Satellite Model. It affords the opportunity to build scale, realising efficient upstream growth and maximising value under a dedicated and focused management structure supported by Eni resources and expertise. The combination with Ithaca represents an exciting opportunity for us to bring together complementary portfolios establishing a material position on the UKCS with significant growth and optimisation opportunities," Claudio Descalzi, Eni CEO.
Brookfield, an investment management company, and Real Assets Investment Management, an independent investment platform, agreed to acquire solar assets from Atrato Onsite for £219m ($290m).
"The Board was very pleased with the interest shown in the Company. After a detailed analysis, the Board determined that a sale of the Portfolio to the Consortium was the best means of maximising Shareholder value against a backdrop of persistently wide share price discounts in the investment trust sector, the subscale nature of the Company and consistent Shareholder feedback to sell the Portfolio. Therefore, the Board unanimously considers the Proposals to be in the best interests of the Company and its Shareholders as a whole and unanimously recommends that Shareholders vote in favour of the change of investment objective and policy resolution at the General Meeting," Juliet Davenport, Atrato Onsite Chair.
Atrato is advised by Stifel (led by Mark Bentley), Gowling WLG and Greenhouse Communications.
Central Group, a Thailand’s largest retailer, agreed to acquire the operational business of Globus, a company that operates luxury department stores in Switzerland, from Signa, a privately-owned real estate company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal, covers only the company operating the stores and doesn’t change the ownership of the respective buildings, which occupy prime locations in the commercial areas of Switzerland’s main cities.
Central Group is advised by Homburger (led by Juerg Frick).
Fischer family completed the acquisition of a 20% stake in DKV Mobility, a company that provides intelligent solutions for mobility services, from CVC, a private equity and investment advisory firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We have built on the great potential DKV Mobility always had as a leading European mobility platform and made our company even more dynamic and competitive in recent years. I would like to thank our partner CVC, with whom we have further professionalized and internationalized the company together with the management. We are now looking forward to continuing the successful growth course in family ownership with investments and new ideas," Jan Fischer, DKV Mobility Majority Shareholder and Chairman of the Administrative Board.
Fischer family was advised by UniCredit.
LVMH, a conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, completed the acquisition of Paris Match, a French news magazine, from Lagardère, an international group with operations in over 40 countries. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“For such a long time, Paris Match has held a very important place in the history of the Lagardère group and we have been motivated every week by the desire and ambition to bring the best to its loyal readers. Today, the magazine and its editorial team begin a new chapter. I am delighted that the story will now evolve within the LVMH Group, which, I am certain, will continue to nurture this great magazine, of which I will remain a passionate reader," Arnaud Lagardère, Lagardère Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Jupiter Asset Management, a fund management group, agreed to acquire investment team and assets managed from Origin Asset Management, an investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are excited to be part of the Jupiter team, whose truly active and differentiated investment management philosophy and culture aligns with ours, and whose strong client-centric ethos is very clear. The transition for our existing clients will be seamless and, indeed, we believe they stand to benefit from Jupiter’s focus on excellence in client experience. As well as the benefits to existing clients, we will be well-placed to grow our client and asset base over time,” Tarlock Randhawa, Origin Managing Partner.
Jupiter Asset Management is advised by Edelman (led by Andrew Wilde).
ProductLife Group, a provider of regulatory, scientific, compliance, and digital transformation consulting services for the life sciences industry, completed the acquisition of Nextep, a French consultancy specialized in market access and public affairs. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This growth project aligns perfectly with our commitment to continuously improve the services provided to our clients, with the ambition to facilitate patient access to innovations and the best possible care in France, Europe, and beyond," Guillaume Bouchara, Nextep Founder and President.
Hg considers sale of French software firm SmartTrade. (FS)
Private equity firm Hg is weighing a sale of French software firm smartTrade Technologies, which could be valued at about €1bn ($1.1bn).
Hg is working with advisers to prepare the company for an auction process next year. The company may still retain a minority stake in the business, Bloomberg reported.
KLM targets savings, explores asset sales to counter high costs.
Dutch airline KLM said it plans to cut costs, push back some investments and consider asset sales as part of a plan to counter rising expenses and lift profitability, WSJ reported.
The Netherlands’ flagship carrier, a part of Air France–KLM group, said that measures aim to reduce costs, simplify its organization, increase productivity and improve its operating result by €450m ($497m).
Greece concludes post-crisis bank privatisations with 10% stake sale in National Bank.
Greece concluded on October 3 the re-privatisation of its lenders with the sale of a 10% stake in National Bank amid strong demand from investors, Reuters reported.
The Greek state-controlled bank bailout fund HFSF sold 91.4m shares in National Bank for €7.55 ($8.35) per share, through a book-building process and a public offer in Greece which ended on October 2.
HFSF was advised by Rothschild & Co.
Berlusconi's MFE considers boosting stake in Prosieben.
MediaForEurope, the TV group led by Italy's Berlusconi family, is reviewing options regarding its holding in German media group ProsiebenSat.1, including raising its nearly 30% stake.
MFE CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi is considering making a move as soon as next month if ProsiebenSat.1's third-quarter results do not show enough progress on meeting its targets, Bloomberg reported.
BMW rules out investing in new Northvolt funding round.
BMW is unwilling to invest more in Northvolt, the cash-strapped battery maker that is seeking fresh funds to stabilize its finances, Bloomberg reported.
The German automaker sat out recent Northvolt financing rounds and isn’t prepared to participate in the next one. BMW currently owns 2.8% of the Swedish electric vehicle supplier.
Diageo has scrapped the sale of its Pimm's brand.
Diageo, the FTSE 100 alcoholic beverages giant, has scrapped the sale of its Pimm's brand after failing to reach a deal with potential buyers, Sky News reported.
The quintessentially English drink brand Pimm's was one of several, alongside Safari, a fruit liqueur, and Pampero, a rum brand, that it was examining a sale of.
TotalEnergies CEO says NY listing plan is ‘work in progress’.
TotalEnergies' CEO Patrick Pouyanne said the French energy giant is still working on a plan to list shares in New York, on top of Paris and other European exchanges, Bloomberg reported.
The company’s plan to turn its American depositary receipts into ordinary shares is “work in progress”. The board supports unanimously the project, which would probably boost the stock’s liquidity if it is technically feasible.
APAC
Shareholders of Thai billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi’s power company Gulf Energy Development approved on October 3 a planned merger with its telecoms affiliate Intouch, paving the way for the almost $30bn transaction to get done, Bloomberg reported.
Gulf Energy’s stock is set to rise the most in two weeks after almost all shareholders approved the merger, giving the company a market value of $20bn. Intouch’s shares are headed for biggest gain in nearly a month, valuing the firm at $9.2bn.
Gradiant-backed Turing AI, an AI company, completed the acquisition of SpaceAge Labs, a company specialising in IoT technology for water distribution systems. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Turing is a digital solutions provider that harnesses the power of AI to optimize asset performance across the entire water value chain. Turing delivers proprietary end-to-end solutions for water and wastewater treatment and distribution systems for industrial and municipal water clients worldwide.
China-listed chip foundry Nexchip ropes in external investors for subsidiary's $1.36bn deal. (FS)
Shanghai-listed Chinese semiconductor foundry business Nexchip is roping in external investors to inject CNY9.55bn ($1.36bn) into its wholly-owned subsidiary to expand chip production facilities, DealStreetAsia reported.
External investors, such as ABC Financial Asset Investment and Gongrong Jintou Emerging Industry Equity Investment Fund, will invest CNY5.4bn ($766m) in Hefei Wanxin Integrated Circuit for a combined 56.25% stake.
US development bank DFC approves $326m commitments in Asia. (FS)
The US development bank International Development Finance has approved at least $326m worth of investments in firms based in or focused on Asia in its fiscal year 2024, DealStreetAsia reported.
DFC’s commitment in Asia included a $50m equity investment in the Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund II, the second fund of AP Moller Capital that seeks to invest in transport and renewable energy sectors in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
ANZ, Gunawan family consider selling control of Indonesia's Panin Bank.
Australian lender ANZ and Indonesia's Gunawan family are considering selling a combined controlling interest in Jakarta-listed Panin Bank, in which they each hold substantial stakes, Reuters reported.
The Gunawan family, which founded the bank in 1971, would be open to pare down their own 46.52% stake and selling control of the bank. The founding family's decision aligns with the Australian lender, which had attempted to exit the bank for years to no avail due to valuation concerns.
Lamudi in advanced talks to acquire Indonesian proptech startup Ideal.id.
Global proptech company Lamudi is in advanced discussions to acquire Ideal.id, an Indonesian proptech startup, DealStreetAsia reported.
The potential acquisition can mark a significant development in Southeast Asia’s real estate market and allow Lamudi enter the mortgage space.
Seven & i said to mull partial sale of Seven Bank.
Japan’s Seven & i is considering selling down part of its holding in Seven Bank to show it is willing to focus on its core convenience store business, DealStreetAsia reported.
The parent company of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain has been under pressure from activist investor ValueAct Capital in recent years to improve its asset allocation and has sold down its stakes in other lower-performing assets.
Australia's Westpac to sell auto finance loan book to Resimac Group. (FS)
Westpac said it would sell its auto finance loans book to non-bank lender Resimac Group for an expected value of AUD1.4bn ($964m) to AUD1.6bn ($1.1bn) at completion, Reuters reported.
Westpac, Australia's second-largest mortgage lender by loans, had partially sold its auto finance business to US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management in 2021, as it moved to focus on core banking operations.
China’s WuXi explores sale of pharma units as US restrictions loom.
WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics are among five China-based companies targeted by the Biosecure Act, which would ban drugmakers with US government contracts from using the Chinese groups’ services after 2032.
Two affiliated Chinese drug manufacturers targeted by forthcoming US national security legislation are working on sales of some of their operations, FT reported.
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