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AMERICAS
TPG, a global alternative asset management firm, agreed to acquire Angelo Gordon, an alternative investment firm focused on credit and real estate investing, for $2.7bn.
"This strategic transaction meaningfully expands our investing capabilities and broadens our product offering. The addition of Angelo Gordon also underscores our continued focus on growing and scaling through diversification, while driving long-term value for our shareholders. Following more than a year of building relationships between the leadership teams of both organizations, we are confident the combination represents a strong strategic and cultural fit and will create additional opportunities for employees of both firms. We look forward to welcoming the Angelo Gordon team as we execute on our shared vision," Jon Winkelried, TPG CEO.
HEICO, a company engaged primarily in the design, production, servicing and distribution of products and services, agreed to acquire Wencor Group, a commercial and military aircraft aftermarket company, from Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, for $2.05bn.
"I am excited about the opportunity to combine HEICO and Wencor's impressive teams who share the same culture and commitment to our customers, suppliers and employees. The unmatched combination will further accelerate growth, innovation, and development of highly reliable cost-saving solutions for our customers. I am proud of our team's achievements to date and look forward to continuing our journey of growth with HEICO. I want to thank the Warburg Pincus team for their support and partnership that has helped enable our success," Shawn Trogdon, Wencor CEO.
Wencor is advised by Alderman & Company, Citigroup, Jefferies & Company, William Blair & Co and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. HEICO is advised by Lazard, Moelis & Co, Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets, Truist Securities, Akerman (led by Jonathan Awner) and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
Fortress Investment, Soros Fund and Monroe Capital, three investment management firms, agreed to acquire VICE Media, a global multi-platform media company, for $225m.
"VICE serves a huge global audience with a unique brand of news, entertainment and lifestyle content. This accelerated court-supervised sale process will strengthen the Company and position VICE for long-term growth, thereby safeguarding the kind of authentic journalism and content creation that makes VICE such a trusted brand for young people and such a valued partner to brands, agencies and platforms. We will have new ownership, a simplified capital structure and the ability to operate without the legacy liabilities that have been burdening our business. We look forward to completing the sale process in the next two to three months and charting a healthy and successful next chapter at VICE," Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala, VICE Co-CEO.
VICE Media is advised by AlixPartners, LionTree Advisors, PJT Partners, Shearman & Sterling, Togut Segal & Segal and Joele Frank (led by Scott Bisang and Dan Moore). The consortium is advised by Houlihan Lokey and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
Francisco Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Sumo Logic, a cloud-based machine data analytics company, for $1.7bn.
"Since founding Sumo Logic in 2010, we have created a trusted, cloud-native, SaaS analytics platform for observability and security, enabling our customers to transform complexity into insights and accelerate their cloud transformation adoption. Today's announcement represents a compelling outcome for our stockholders. We are delighted at the prospect of partnering with Francisco Partners in the next phase of Sumo Logic's journey," Ramin Sayar, Sumo Logic President and CEO.
Sumo Logic was advised by Morgan Stanley, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Joele Frank (led by Scott Bisang). Morgan Stanley was advised by Cooley (led by Ben Beerle and Rowook Park). Francisco Partners was advised by RBC Capital Markets, Kirkland & Ellis (led by Edward Lee and Chelsea Darnell) and Sloane & Company (led by Whit Clay).
Kimbell Royalty Partners, an oil and gas mineral and royalty variable rate master limited partnership, completed the acquisition of mineral and royalty interests from EnCap-backed Sabalo, an investment holding company, for $141m.
"Assuming the acquisition is consummated as described in this news release, Kimbell is expected to have over 16m gross acres, over 125k gross wells and a total of 97 active rigs on its properties, which represents approximately 13% of the total active land rigs drilling in the continental United States. In addition, over 97% of all rigs in the continental United States are located in counties where Kimbell is expected to hold mineral interest positions following the consummation of the acquisition," Kimbell Royalty.
Northern Oil and Gas, a company with a primary strategy of investing in non-operated minority working and mineral interests in oil & gas properties, and Vital Energy, an oil and gas company, agreed to acquire a 30% stake in Delaware Basin assets from Forge Energy, an exploration and production company, for $162m.
“This transaction crystallizes NOG’s position as a reliable and consistent partner for the purchase and development of high-quality properties. We are excited to work alongside our partners at Vital to develop the Forge Assets with strong alignment and cooperation," Nick O’Grady, NOG CEO.
Northern Oil and Gas is advised by Houlihan Lokey and Kirkland & Ellis. Forge Energy is advised by RBC Capital Markets and O'Melveny & Myers.
Industrial Opportunity Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Harvest Food Group, a manufacturer, supplier, and distributor of frozen foods. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We believe Harvest will be an excellent addition to the IOP portfolio. We're thrilled to support Harvest during its next phase of growth and look forward to bringing IOP's operational discipline and expertise to food manufacturing," Chris Willis, IOP Managing Director.
Harvest Food Group was advised by BMO Capital Markets. IOP was advised by Winston & Strawn. Debt financing was provided by Comerica Bank and Old National Bank.
Private equity firms Bregal Sagemount and FTV Capital completed an investment in Neptune Flood, a digital insurtech platform and private flood insurance provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to be partnering with Sagemount and FTV as we continue to build our business and achieve our mission of making flood insurance more accessible, helping customers better protect their homes and businesses from the devastating effects of flooding. Both Sagemount and FTV have established track records of insurtech growth investments and expertise in scaling technology-enabled businesses, something that set them apart from other investors we saw in the market and made them the ideal partners for our next phase of growth," Trevor Burgess, Neptune President & CEO.
Neptune Flood was advised by Morgan Stanley. Bregal Sagemount and FTV Capital was advised by Howden.
JAB Holding, a company invests in consumer-focused industries, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Pumpkin Insurance Services, a provider of preventive care and pet insurance, from Zoetis, an animal health company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to partner with Zoetis and invest in Pumpkin, a fast-growing pet insurance brand in North America, as we build on our commitment to provide innovative insurance solutions for the benefit of pets and their families. In line with our ambition to create the leading pet insurance platform globally, Pumpkin brings both a world-class team and new technology using data and diagnostics to improve care decisions, both of which will benefit our global business moving forward,” Frank Engelen, JAB Senior Partner.
JAB Holding was advised by H/Advisors Abernathy (led by Tom Johnson and Jake Yanulis). Zoetis was advised by Guggenheim Partners.
Lead Edge Capital, a technology-focused investment fund, and Nadavon Capital, a private equity firm, completed the investment in GrowthZone, a provider of membership management software to non-profit associations. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Since inception, GrowthZone has been laser-focused on helping associations grow and bolster member engagement by providing the must-have technology engine that streamlines operations. Our partnership with Lead Edge will allow GrowthZone to accelerate our mission of providing market-leading solutions to our growing customer base of over 4k associations," Lisa Barnett, GrowthZone CEO.
GrowthZone was advised by William Blair & Co. Lead Edge was advised by Raymond James.
Novo, a life sciences company, led a $100m Series A round in Ray Therapeutics, an optogenetics company, with participation from Deerfield Management, Norwest Venture Partners, Platanus, MRL Ventures Fund, and 4BIO Capital.
“This Series A financing marks a significant milestone in our mission to address the urgent unmet medical need of patients with blinding diseases. We are incredibly grateful for the support of 4BIO Capital, our other early investors and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine who have been instrumental in our growth. We are excited by this new funding, led by Novo Holdings, with a top-tier investor syndicate which will accelerate our pipeline of potential first-in-class optogenetic gene therapies for patients," Paul Bresge, Ray Therapeutics CEO & Co-Founder.
Ray Therapeutics was advised by KKH Advisors (led by Kimberly Ha).
Y Combinator, a technology startup accelerator, CRV, a venture capital firm, and Tiger Global, an investment firm, led a $100m Series C round in Zip, an intake-to-pay platform.
“We continue to invest in Zip because we believe in this outstanding team’s ability to achieve their mission to solve a ubiquitous business problem: spend control. Zip is one of YC’s most successful B2B companies from the last few years. We are thrilled to have been one of Zip’s earliest partners as they revolutionize one of the most critical functions in the enterprise," Garry Tan, Y Combinator President and CEO.
Zip was advised by Bhava Communications.
AT&T, a network company and BlackRock, a private equity firm, completed the formation of Gigapower, a fiber services joint venture. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We believe fiber connectivity changes everything. That's why we're already one of the biggest investors in fiber in the United States. The demand for high-speed connectivity is unprecedented, and through this innovative partnership with BlackRock, one of the world's foremost investors in infrastructure, we're able to connect even more people and businesses, accelerating our efforts to help close the digital divide," John Stankey, AT&T CEO.
AT&T was advised by Morgan Stanley.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Austin Russell offered to acquire a majority stake in Forbes Media, a media, branding and technology company, in an $800m deal.
"We welcome Austin Russell. He is a dynamic entrepreneur and thought leader who has built an industry-leading business from the ground up. His energy and vision will enable Forbes to continue and enhance the excellent work for which we are known," Steve Forbes, Forbes Chairman and Editor-in-Chief.
BoltRock, a family investment office, and Centaurus Capital, a family investment office, led a $225m Series D round in Gradiant, a solutions provider of advanced water and wastewater treatment.
“As global manufacturing and supply chains continue to advance, they demand more and more water resources which are increasingly rare and finite. We are excited to partner with a company that has truly proven the ability to support these demands in an economic and energy efficient manner," John Arnold, Centaurus Capital Founder.
Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer, and RA Capital, an investment company, led a $100m Series C round in Boundless Bio, a clinical stage, next-generation precision oncology company, with participation from Sectoral Asset Management, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, ARCH Venture Partners, Nextech Invest, Wellington Management, Vertex Ventures HC, Redmile Group, Surveyor Capital, GT Healthcare Capital Partners, Alexandria Venture Investments, PFM Health Sciences, Logos Capital, and City Hill Ventures.
“At Leaps by Bayer, we invest in fundamental breakthroughs in healthcare. The ability to address oncogene amplified cancers has remained one of the industry’s greatest challenges in the treatment of cancer. We are thrilled to support Boundless Bio, a company whose innovations have the potential to impact the lives of patients who currently have no effective standard of care," Juergen Eckhardt, Leaps by Bayer EVP.
Biomerics, a vertically integrated contract manufacturer for the interventional medical device market, agreed to acquire the medical business from Precision Concepts, a manufacturer of finished medical devices and specialty rigid packaging solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Precision Concepts Medical is a recognized leader that offers unique capabilities in micro-metals machining and stamping, injection micro-molding, and micro-assembly processes. The addition of these capabilities and manufacturing footprint extends Biomerics' offerings as a leading supplier to the world's largest medical device OEMs. We are excited to partner with the talented team at Precision Concepts Medical to deliver our shared vision," Travis Sessions, Biomerics CEO.
Capital One shares rebound after Warren Buffett makes near $1bn bet on bank.
Shares of Capital One Financial rose on Tuesday, rebounding from two weeks of losses after billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had taken a stake of nearly $1bn in the credit cards-focused bank.
Berkshire acquired 9.92m shares in Capital One, a stake worth $954m based on the closing price on March 31, regulatory filings showed on Monday. Capital One's stock rose 2.1% to $90.95 per share, its highest since May 1. The bank's shares have shed around 17% since early March as the banking crisis has clobbered shares of US regional lenders. Since regional bank deposits are quite sticky and data does not show outflows accelerating, the analysts said their shares are now cheap and are headed for a rebound in coming months, Reuters reported.
Daniel Loeb is no longer considering taking SiriusPoint private.
Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb is no longer exploring a potential acquisition of SiriusPoint, a month after disclosing his interest in taking the insurance firm private.
SiriusPoint in a statement acknowledged the decision to conclude the acquisition talks and said it had made progress over the last seven months to improve underwriting performance, reduce volatility and rebalance its investment portfolio towards high-quality fixed-income assets.
The announcement in April about considering taking SiriusPoint private came less than three years after Loeb agreed to combine his hedge fund's reinsurance business, Third Point Re, with rival Sirius International Insurance Group to form the global specialty insurer, Reuters reported.
Apollo-Backed Riverbed nears a $450m sale to Vector Capital.
Riverbed Technology, an American information technology company, is in advanced talks to be sold to private equity firm Vector Capital for about $450m, including debt.
The closely held software and networking company, which is backed by Apollo Global Management, is in exclusive talks with Vector and could announce a deal within weeks, Bloomberg reported.
Fivetran closes on $125m in debt.
Data startup Fivetran has taken a $125m loan from Vista Credit Partners, highlighting a funding option for startups that’s become more desirable during the tech downturn, and also harder to get.
In the 11 years since creating Fivetran, most recently valued at $5.6bn, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer George Fraser said he had never thought about taking on debt. That included two years ago when company raised $565m, buying competitor HVR, and during its other funding rounds from firms including Andreessen Horowitz, though Fraser said banks had offered the startup loans, Bloomberg reported.
Legion pushes Clear Channel to speed breakup.
Activist investor Legion Partners Asset Management is urging billboard operator Clear Channel Outdoor to accelerate asset sales and consider selling the entire company to boost its stock price.
Legion, which has been investor since 2021, wants Clear Channel Outdoor to accelerate the sales process for its operations in Northern Europe and begin a sale of its Latin American business.
Legion, which owns a 5.1% stake in Clear Channel Outdoor, said it should also review divesting select US assets while exploring a sale of the entire company.
Pearl Energy Investments closes third fund with over $700m in commitments.
Pearl Energy Investments announced the final closing of its third fund, Pearl Energy Investments III, and affiliated funds, with total commitments of approximately $705m which represents the largest investment vehicle in Pearl’s history.
“We are thankful for the trust and support of our investors. In what has been a challenging time for traditional energy, the Pearl team’s disciplined investment approach has allowed us to make significant distributions to our investors over the past several years. We are humbled that our diverse group of existing and new investors has entrusted us to steward their capital and will work diligently to continue to generate excellent risk-adjusted returns,” Billy Quinn, Pearl Managing Partner.
Illumen Capital closes $168m vehicle.
Illumen Capital, a fund-of-funds focused on racial and gender diversity in investing, has closed its second fund on $168m, led by the Ford and WK Kellogg foundations along with more than 100 other investors.
The firm's second fund was oversubscribed, passing its initial target by around $50m and nearly doubling the fundraising of its $88m predecessor.
BlackRock chief Larry Fink trains successors but has no imminent plan to retire. (People)
BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink has been preparing five key leaders to take his role whenever he decides to step down in the future.
Though Fink has no imminent plans to retire, he along with President Robert Kapito has been training these candidates for The Great Race – to choose the successor – in what Fink calls his the No. 1 priority, DealStreetAsia reported.
Shake Shack settles with activist investor, adds independent director. (People)
American fast casual restaurant chain Shake Shack added an independent director in agreement with Engaged Capital, avoiding a potential proxy battle between the activist investor and the restaurant chain, Reuters reported.
The shareholder activist had determined ways to double the company's profitability within two years and believes the chain should get rid of its staggered board, meaning not all directors are up for election at the same time
Catalyst Partners names Dan Pogue new Vice President. (People)
Dan Pogue has joined Catalyst Partners, a private equity anchor and seeding platform backed by Moelis Asset Management, as a vice president. Pogue joins Catalyst from Asset Consulting Group, an investment consulting firm based in of St Louis.
Prior to ACG, Pogue served as a Principal at Mercer following its acquisition of Summit Strategies Group, where he began his career.
EMEA
Naturgy, an energy group with an innovative, end-to-end, and sustainable business model, completed the acquisition of ASR Wind, a renewable energy wind farms company, from Ardian for $706m.
"We are very happy with the signing of this operation. Our team has been a pioneer in Spain in betting on wind and solar hybridization, optimizing the evacuation capacity and enhancing its industrial value, as demonstrated by the great interest generated in the market. In addition, together with the AGR-AM team, we will continue to develop the 1GW portfolio, continuing to create value," Juan Angoitia, Ardian Co-Head of Infrastructure in Europe.
Naturgy was advised by AZ Capital and Gomez-Acebo & Pombo. Ardian was advised by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Santander, Clifford Chance (led by Samir Azzouzi) and Headland Consultancy.
Montefiore Investment, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of EXA Group, an architecture and project management firm, from Alcedo, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are grateful to Alcedo for their support over the last few years, and look forward to starting this new chapter with Montefiore. We have been impressed by the Montefiore team's ability to understand our issues and propose pragmatic solutions. We are confident that our partnership will accelerate the profitable growth of our group," Giuseppe Polvani, EXA Co-Founder and CEO.
Montefiore Investment was advised by Shearman & Sterling (led by Fabio Fauceglia) and Cicommunication. Debt financing was advised by Eurazeo. Eurazeo was advised by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Alcedo was advised by Lincoln International and Nctm.
Software management faced criticism from some shareholders at its annual general meeting for backing Silver Lake Management's takeover bid, as investors laid into executives for not considering rival offers, Bloomberg reported.
Shareholder representatives said Silver Lake, which has two seats on Software's supervisory board, had access to insider information before submitting its offer and enjoyed favorable treatment from the company's takeover committee.
Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, withdrew its offer to acquire John Wood Group, a British multinational engineering and consulting business, for $2.1bn.
Wood Group had privately rejected its previous offer of around $1.97bn, that the firm had made on March 6.
Lubea, a private investment firm, completed the acquisition of a 26% stake in Esteve, a pharmaceutical company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to have Lubea on board as a strategic partner. This investment will provide us with the necessary resources to accelerate our growth and expand our presence in international markets, while remaining true to our purpose of improving people's lives through our innovative pharmaceutical products," Staffan Schüberg, ESTEVE CEO.
Esteve was advised by Morgan Stanley and Faus Moliner.
EQT, a global investment organization, agreed to acquire a 60% stake in the mobile and fixed network infrastructure operation of CK Hutchison-backed Wind Tre, a telecommunications company, for €2bn ($2.5bn).
"EQT Infrastructure is excited to partner with CK Hutchison and the Company's management team in this bespoke transaction. We are committed to investing in the continued development of Italy's digital backbone and leveraging the know-how we have developed in this unique transaction to explore similar partnership opportunities globally," Matthias Fackler, EQT Infrastructure Partner and Head of Europe.
CK Hutchison is advised by Morgan Stanley.
Edenred, a digital platform for services and payments, agreed to acquire Reward Gateway, a software development company, from Abry Partners and Castik Capital, fund managers, for £1.15bn ($1.4bn).
"Edenred has successfully extended its portfolio into non-Meal & Food benefits over the years. The Group has notably developed a leading offer in Employee Benefits and Savings platforms in 17 countries as part of its Beyond 22-25 strategy. This acquisition marks a major milestone in the roll-out of our strategic plan, putting Edenred in the best position to be the most trusted global Employee Benefits & Engagement platform. It opens the door for Edenred to accelerate the strengthening of its Employee Benefits value proposition. This move offers global corporations and enterprises international consistency in every market that we operate in," Arnaud Erulin, Edenred Global COO of Employee Benefits Solutions.
Reward Gateway is advised by Hard Number.
Remondis, a German multinational company for recycling, water resource management and industrial and communal services, agreed to acquire Delete Group, a provider of environmental services for industry, construction and real estate clients from Axcel, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As one of the leading international providers in industrial cleaning services, the acquisition of Delete is a unique opportunity to grow in one of our core businesses in Scandinavia. Delete with its long experience in the industrial cleaning sector and its highly competent employees is well-known in the Nordic market, has a good market reputation and is a strong and well-known brand. In connection with our existing industrial cleaning activities within Buchen and Reym, we see Delete as an equal partner in our family and would like to successfully move forward together. We warmly welcome our new colleagues," Juergen Lennertz, Remondis Managing Director.
Axcel is advised by Carnegie Investment Bank.
Macquarie raises hurdles to join the bid for TIM grid.
TIM directors have set a final deadline of June 9 for potential improved offers by the US private equity firm and a rival consortium comprising CDP and Macquarie, worth $22.8bn and $21bn respectively.
Brookfield puts UK holiday resort Center Parcs up for sale.
Canadian private equity firm has put UK holiday resort Center Parcs up for sale and is looking for as much as £5bn ($6.2bn). The decision to go ahead with the sale marks a bold move for Brookfield as the UK faces falling property values and higher interest rates.
Center Parcs operates six resorts in the UK and Ireland, offering attractions such as water parks and forest playgrounds with its five UK sites were independently valued at £4.1bn ($5.1bn) in April, based on the value of the real estate alone.
Blackstone, Thomson Reuters consortium looks to sell further $3bn in LSEG shares.
An investor consortium including US buyout firm Blackstone and Thomson Reuters, the publisher of Reuters News, is looking to sell around $3bn worth of shares in the London Stock Exchange Group.
The accelerated stock offering, unveiled after the market close, includes some 28m shares representing a voting interest of approximately 5.5% in the market infrastructure group. Indicated demand from investors currently exceeds the size of the offer, one of the investment banks running the sale said shortly after the deal launch. The news follows an earlier sale of more than $2bn shares in March by Blackstone and Thomson Reuters, which became LSEG shareholders when they sold financial data firm Refinitiv to the bourse operator in 2021, Reuters reported.
The consortium is advised by JP Morgan, Bank of America, Barclays and Citigroup.
Buyout firms bid around $2bn for German football rights.
Private equity firms have bid roughly €1.8bn ($2bn) for a stake in the media rights business of the Bundesliga, Germany’s main football competition, Bloomberg reported.
Officials at governing body Deutsche Fussball Liga told clubs in recent days they received four bids for a 12.5% stake in the new unit which ranged from around €1.75bn ($1.9bn) to €1.85bn ($2bn). The offers assumed the business will receive proceeds from the domestic and international broadcasting rights of Germany’s top professional football teams for 20 years.
Qatar fund explored claims against Switzerland for Credit Suisse losses.
Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, Credit Suisse's second-largest investor, has explored seeking redress for losses incurred by the bank's takeover, as legal challenges to Switzerland's state-backed rescue mount. The Qatar Investment Authority sought legal advice on whether it had any claim against Swiss authorities, including through international arbitration, after Credit Suisse Group's forced sale to UBS Group at a fraction of its market value, Reuters reported.
The move by the $475bn sovereign wealth fund to study legal options has not been previously reported. QIA stands to lose roughly $330m on its equity stake in Credit Suisse as a result of the sale to rival UBS. Switzerland and Qatar have a treaty that lays out a process to settle disputes. The fund tapped a law firm that specialises in international arbitration and has offices in London and Paris.
THG ends takeover talks with Apollo Global.
THG has ended talks with Apollo Global Management about a possible takeover, saying the US private equity group's proposal undervalued the London-listed ecommerce company whose shares have plunged more than 80% since it listed in 2020, FT reported.
In a short statement, Apollo said it did not intend to make an offer for THG. The PE group cannot make a fresh approach for six months unless it has the recommendation of the board or there is an offer from a third party.
"PE firms usually want majority ownership. We've been clear: don't bid if you want 51%, plan to use debt to leverage up, or won't allow existing shareholders to stay invested," Matthew Moulding, THG Founder and CEO.
THG was advised by Jefferies, Barclays, Citigroup and Powerscourt.
Banks, private lenders spar as European LBOs start to reappear.
A fresh showdown is emerging between banks and private credit funds as they compete head to head to finance deals in a nascent recovery in European leveraged buyouts. Banks and direct lenders are looking to put billions of euros of loans to work financing potential acquisitions that have cropped up in recent days, Bloomberg reported.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a seismic shift has occurred in European leveraged finance as the $1.5tn private credit market stepped in to fill the void left by banks dealing with billions in debt stuck on their balance sheets. With most of that so-called hung debt now sold and investors' appetite revived, banks are making a comeback but could find it difficult to win back all the market share they lost to private credit, which is proving a resilient force.
Hanaco Ventures nears final close of VC funds worth up to $526m.
Israeli investment firm Hanaco Ventures is nearing the final close of its latest growth and early-stage funds with backing from Asian institutional investors, at a time when the venture capital world is grappling with an industry-wide slowdown.
The Tel Aviv- and New York-based investor has concurrently raised $400m for Hanaco Growth Fund III and $126m for its third early-stage fund so far, DealStreetAsia reported.
EQT makes new move in private wealth market with Nexus offering.
Sweden-based EQT is launching a new strategy for private wealth clients to broaden its investor base and offer individuals the chance to invest, DealStreetAsia reported.
EQT Nexus will be the private equity firm’s first offering for individual investors to make single investments. EQT did not disclose a target for assets under management for EQT Nexus.
APAC
Toshiba is working with Japan Industrial Partners to quickly complete a $15.2bn buyout by the private equity firm, as the industrial conglomerate forecast another year of weak earnings, Reuters reported.
"The management team concluded there was an expectation that the transaction would help the company build a stable management base" and "is therefore working with JIP to quickly complete the transaction", Toshiba.
Toshiba is advised by JP Morgan, Mizuho Securities, Nomura, UBS, Morrison & Foerster, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Nishimura & Asahi, White & Case and Kekst CNC (led by Jochen Legewie). JIP is advised by Crosspoint Advisors, Davis Polk & Wardwell (led by Ken Lebrun), Hengeler Mueller (led by Thomas Meurer), Shearman & Sterling (led by Derek Kershaw, Simon Letherman and Etienne Gelencser), Slaughter & May (led by Richard Hilton and Edward Fife) and TMI Associates.
Apax Partners, a global private equity advisory firm, agreed to invest $450m in IBS Software, a provider of modern Software-as-a-Service solutions to the global travel and logistics industry.
"We're excited to partner with Apax as we enter a new phase in our mission to transform how travel companies operate in a digital world. This investment is an endorsement of our strategy and our commitment and contribution to the industry, and we have a shared vision with Apax for the future of the business. We thank our customers and employees who have been instrumental in our success so far. We're grateful to the Blackstone team for their invaluable support over the years and we look forward to an exciting and fulfilling journey ahead with Apax," V K Mathews, IBS Software Founder and Executive Chairman.
IBS Software is advised by JP Morgan and Drew & Napier. Apax is advised by Jefferies & Company, Kirkland & Ellis and Kekst CNC (led by Todd Fogarty). Blackstone is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
KKR, a global investment firm, agreed to acquire an additional 20% stake in Seiyu, a nationwide supermarket chain, from Rakuten, a technology conglomerate. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to deepen our relationship with Seiyu, an iconic Japanese brand in which we continue to see strong promise. We look forward to unlocking the company's full potential through the continued strategic partnership with Rakuten and Walmart, which brings together our respective expertise in investing behind a company's growth, global best-in-class practices, and thoughtful customer experience. Together, we remain focused on helping Seiyu continue to deliver greater value and convenience to its customers across Japan and maintain its strong growth," Hiro Hirano, KKR CEO of Japan.
InvoCare gets higher $1.3bn offer from TPG, shares jump.
Australia's InvoCare shares jumped nearly 12% after it revealed a higher $1.26bn offer from global private equity firm TPG had been tabled just weeks after it rejected a lower bid it said undervalued the funeral services provider, Reuters reported.
BYJU's going to close a $1bn funding round.
India edtech firm BYJU's has closed $250m in a fresh funding round from US-based fund manager Davidson Kempner Capital Management and is in talks to close another $750m by the end of the month, DealStreetAsia reported.
The $750m will be secured from a sovereign fund and will be at a flat valuation of $22bn.
Carlyle, Prabhu in talks to buy $640m stake in Quest Global.
Quest Global Services's co-founder and Carlyle are in talks to buy separate minority stakes in the engineering services firm worth a combined $640m, Bloomberg reported.
The US investment firm and Quest Chief Executive Officer Ajit Prabhu are lining up financing for a deal that would value the Singapore-based company at about $1.8bn.
Malaysia’s Ekuiti Nasional explores sale of shipping unit Orkim.
Ekuiti Nasional, Malaysia’s state-owned private equity firm, is exploring selling shipping company Orkim and is seeking as much $331m. Deliberations are ongoing and Ekuinas could decide not to proceed with a sale.
Orkim started as a shipbroker in 2004 and became a shipowner five years later after taking delivery of its first vessel. It is the only company in Malaysia to secure long-term contracts from state-owned oil firm Petroliam Nasional and Shell for so-called Clean Petroleum Products’ domestic sea transportation. Orkim has a fleet of 18 vessels with an average age of 10 years and total tonnage of 154k deadweight tonnes.
Ekuinas was set up in 2009 to promote equitable and sustainable wealth creation and economic participation for indigenous Malays. The state-owned private equity firm bought 95.5% of Orkim in 2014.
GIC-backed Vietnamese tech firm VNG eyes $100m funding round.
Vietnamese internet company VNG, which is backed by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, is looking to raise $100m in a fresh funding round.
The Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered company, whose businesses include online games, payment, cloud services and the country’s most popular messaging app Zalo, is working with Maybank on the fundraising, DealStreetAsia reported.
PE firm Everstone in talks to sell stake in India's Burger King franchisee.
Private equity firm Everstone Capital is in talks to sell its roughly 41% stake in Restaurant Brands Asia, the master franchisee of Burger King in India and Indonesia.
The Singapore-headquartered buyout firm is in talks with Jubilant Foodworks, which operates Domino’s in India, as well as a consortium of PE firms Advent International and General Atlantic, DealStreetAsia reported.
Chinese VC major Qiming holds final close of seventh RMB fund at $928m.
Qiming Venture Partners, a Chinese venture capital firm that has invested in the country’s smartphone maker Xiaomi and food delivery giant Meituan, has hit the final close of a new Chinese yuan fund at RMB6.5bn ($928m).
As Qiming’s seventh flagship RMB fund, the vehicle will continue to focus on early-and growth-stage opportunities in two main areas, namely technology and consumer, as well as healthcare, DealStreetAsia reported.
SG’s Aquilius Partners carves a niche with $400m real estate secondaries fund.
Singapore’s Aquilius Investment Partners, an Asia secondaries specialist set up in 2021 by former executives of Partners Group and The Blackstone Group, has closed its debut fund on $400m.
It coincides with the raising of $200m for co-investment held in separately managed accounts. LPs include sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and family offices.
NZ-based Movac closes Tech Fund 6 at $125m.
New Zealand-based VC firm Movac has closed its sixth technology fund at $125m. New Zealand’s sovereign wealth fund, New Zealand Superannuation Fund, participated as a cornerstone investor for the funding round, DealStreetAsia reported.
The sovereign wealth fund had committed up to $70m in Movac Growth Fund 6 in December last year as 50% of the first close, with the potential to increase it to $70m, depending on Movac’s fundraising. NZ Super Fund invests to help pay for the increased cost of universal pension entitlements in the future. A long-term, growth-oriented investor, the fund has around $24.7bn in assets, including $6bn invested in New Zealand.
Carlyle is weighing entry into private credit market in India.
Carlyle Group, a priavte equity firm, is in the early stages of exploring an entry into India's private credit market, joining global firms drawn to the area.
Executives from the US private equity investor's Hong Kong office have visited India to understand the country's private lending opportunities in recent months. A decision isn't imminent and plans for a credit strategy in the country may still change.
As part of the deliberations, Carlyle will consider hiring a leader for the potential business and build out a team once it finalizes its strategy, Bloomberg reported.
HashKey Capital mulls liquid funds to tap secondary market.
HashKey Capital, the investment arm of Hong Kong-headquartered digital asset financial service provider HashKey Group, plans to launch at least two liquid funds to ride on the opportunities in the secondary market, according to Deng Chao, CEO of HashKey Capital and HashKey Singapore, DealStreetAsia reported.
The difference between what sellers ask for and what buyers intend to bid for — also known as the bid-ask spread for secondary transactions — is “one of the wildest”.
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