EMEA
Germany's Economy Minister to join French college in defending Alstom-Siemens merger.
Casino sells stores to Fortress for $567m. (Financial Sponsors)
Elliott insists on Telecom Italia to a spin-off its fixed-line network. (FS)
Sports Direct founder, Mike Ashley in talks to acquire music retailer HMV. (FS)
Orange studies bid for a Spanish peer Euskaltel.
Patek Phillippe's owner ponder a possible sale. (FS)
AMERICAS
Newmont's incoming CEO defends $10bn Goldcorp deal.
APAC
Takeda looking to sell $3bn worth of emerging market assets.
Toyota and Panasonic to form a battery JV.
Tokio Marine to seek overseas M&A.
Nippon Life will pursue M&A in the US.
Australian MOD's rejects Sandfire bid.
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Latest Deals
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EMEA
Rheinmetall and BAE Systems have created a joint UK based military vehicle business. The new Joint Venture will be headquartered in the UK and employee 400 people.
Rheinmetall will purchase a 55% stake in the existing BAE Systems UK based combat vehicles business, with BAE Systems retaining 45%. Transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2019.
“We are committed to evolving our combat vehicles business so that we better serve our customers’ future interests. Joining forces with Rheinmetall in the UK provides renewed purpose for our vehicles business and allows us to deliver products, services and technology that help land forces excel in their vital roles. We look forward to working together to ensure the Joint Venture is a trusted supplier to the British Army and our international customers.” Jennifer Osbaldestin, BAE Systems Land UK business Managing Director.
Objectway, the leading Fintech group in Italy, investment and asset management industries, acquired Algorfin, the software and services division of Unione Fiduciaria. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Algorfin is specialised in IT and administrative outsourcing services for Asset Management Companies, Custodian Banks and other financial operators, through the Archimede, Diogene and Archimede Governance software platforms.
“Unione Fiduciaria has identified in Objectway a solid and reliable partner to pass the baton for the development of the Algorfin business. With this sale, the process of focusing on fiduciary activity, the company’s core business, continues and accelerates. This operation allows Unione Fiduciaria to invest additional resources for expansion and thus continue a path already started several years ago,” Filippo Cappio, Unione Fiducia Managing Director.
UBI Banca and Unicredit acted as debt providers to Objectway. Objectway was advised by UBI Banca, Giovannelli e Associati, and Russo De Rosa Associati. Unione Fiduciaria was advised by Synpulse, KPMG, and Grimaldi.
Germany's Economy Minister to join French college in defending Alstom-Siemens merger.
Germany Economy Minister joined his French college statement to defend the Alstom-Siemens railway merger against the EU, as such an agreement creates a European rail champion to take on a Chinese rival.
“We need international champions in Europe that are able to compete globally. Talks are in an important phase and we will do everything so that this project has a chance." Peter Altmaier, Germany’s Economy Minister.
Alstom is advised by JP Morgan and Rothschild & Co as financial advisors and Cleary Gottlieb as legal advisor. Siemens is advised by BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs as financial advisors and Latham & Watkins and Sullivan & Cromwell as legal advisors.
The operator of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is reportedly interested in bidding for Norway’s Oslo Bors which, could trigger a bidding war for the Norwegian exchange, already the subject of a bid by Euronext.
The LSE has enlisted an unidentified bank to consider how a deal for Oslo Bors could be put together.
Rothschild & Co, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Advokatfirmaet Schjødt is advising Euronext. SEB acts as a broker. Oslo Bors is advised by Arctic Securities.
Casino sells stores to Fortress for $567m. (FS)
Casino has agreed to sell 26 stores worth €501m ($567m) to Fortress Investment Group, fulfilling an assets sale target set out last year as part of plans to reduce its debt.
Casino said it would sell a portfolio comprising hypermarkets and traditional supermarkets to Fortress which will set up a vehicle to acquire and manage the assets.
The company will receive an initial €392m ($446m) from the sale in the first half of 2019 and could get a further €150m ($171m) in the next few years.
Elliott insists on Telecom Italia to a spin-off its fixed-line network. (FS)
Elliott urged Telecom Italia’s board to spin-off its fixed-line network after Italy’s telecoms regulator gave an initial thumbs-down to a Vivendi plan to create a wholly-owned subsidiary instead.
Elliott and Vivendi are locked in a battle over how to relaunch the debt-laden former Italian telecoms monopoly after the US fund last year managed to wrestle control of TIM’s board away from top shareholder Vivendi.
The watchdog’s decision confirmed the Vivendi’s plan, in allowing TIM to retain full control of the network, did not materially change the market situation, Elliott said in a statement. Elliott aims to separate the network into a newly created company and then sell part of it.
Sports Direct founder, Mike Ashley in talks to acquire music retailer HMV. (FS)
Mike Ashley is in talks to rescue music retailer HMV from the administration.
HMV last month said it was calling in administrators, blaming a worsening market for entertainment CDs and DVDs, to become the latest victim of brutal trading conditions in Britain’s retail sector.
If Ashley’s bid is accepted, he will be expanding his grip on UK shopping even more, after rescuing department-store chain House of Fraser last year. He also owns significant stakes in Debenhams, Game Digital and French Connection Group.
Orange studies bid for a Spanish peer Euskaltel.
Telecoms group Orange is weighing up making a bid for Spanish peer Euskaltel.
Reports have suggested the French company has hired Credit Suisse to advise on such a move, which would add 800k clients to Orange's portfolio. Euskatel, which is 21% owned by Kutxabank, saw its shares close up 9% on Friday, giving it a market cap of some €1.45bn ($1.65bn).
Patek Phillippe's owners ponder possible sale. (FS)
Patek Philippe, the iconic Swiss watchmaker, may be coming up for sale.
The 180-year-old company could fetch €7bn to €9bn ($8bn to $10bn). Patek Philippe has been owned by the Stern family for almost a century, and Thierry Stern became the company’s chairman in 2009.
Possible bidders for Patek Phillippe would be Swatch Group, Richemond as well as Private Equity Funds, not least CVC (owner of Breitling).
AMERICAS
Newmont's incoming CEO defends $10bn Goldcorp deal.
The incoming chief of the world's largest gold miner says he's confident Newmont Mining to maintain profitable gold production for "a couple of decades" following its $10bn acquisition of Goldcorp.
"We see a real value proposition in this acquisition in bringing Newmont's exploration expertise to bear on these assets. We see a real opportunity to leverage our technology and expertise in that space" Tom Palmer, Newmont's new CEO.
Mr. Palmer said Newmont had sent its "best and brightest" to do due diligence on Goldcorp's assets.
Goldcorp was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Fort Capital Partners, TD Securities, Cassel Brock & Blackwell, Neal Gerber & Eisenberg, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. Newmont was advised by BMO Capital Markets, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Goodmans, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, White & Case, and Joele Frank.
APAC
Takeda looking to sell $3bn worth of emerging market assets.
Takeda Pharmaceutical is considering a sale of some emerging-market drugs, as the Japanese drugmaker expands a push to cut debt after its $62bn takeover of Shire.
The company is working with Bank of America to gauge potential buyer interest in emerging-market assets it acquired through its 2011 purchase of Swiss rival Nycomed. The medicines, which include over-the-counter and prescription drugs, could fetch about $3bn.
Toyota and Panasonic to form a battery JV.
Toyota Motor and Panasonic are set to launch a Joint Venture next year to produce batteries for electric vehicles (EV) in an effort to compete with Chinese rivals. The probability of such a vehicle to appear is extremely high, taking into account the very fast-growing EV market.
The JV, to be owned 51% by Toyota and the rest by Panasonic, could also provide batteries to Toyota’s EV technology partners Mazda and Subaru.
The battery joint venture will help Toyota achieve an annual sales target of around 1m zero-emission battery EVs and fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) by 2030. Panasonic, the exclusive battery cell supplier for Tesla current production models, could also reduce its heavy reliance on the U.S.
Tokio Marine to seek overseas M&A.
The incoming CEO of Tokio Marine Holding said the insurer will actively pursue M&A opportunities overseas to further diversify its geographic footprint.
“Valuations of companies, or deal prices, have become expensive given excess of (global) money. But if there is a really good company and a good chance, we would like to try,” Satoru Komiya, currently senior managing director, was named to become CEO of Japan’s largest property-and-casualty insurer, succeeding Tsuyoshi Nagano.
Tokio Marine is the most aggressive and successful in overseas M&A among Japan’s insurers. Since Nagano took over the helm in 2013, it has made a string of deals, including buying US specialty insurer HCC Insurance Holdings for $7.5bn in 2015.
Nippon Life will pursue M&A in the US.
Nippon Life Insurance is actively seeking M&A overseas, with a focus on the US and Asia’s emerging economies, the president of Japan’s largest life insurer said.
“The United States is the world’s largest life insurance market. We are looking for ways to expand our business there. We would also like to explore various possibilities in Asia’s emerging countries,” Hiroshi Shimizu, Nippon Life President.
“We cannot expand life insurance and asset management by ourselves alone overseas, we need to find partners that we can have long-term trust relationship with,” Shimizu added.
Australian MOD's rejects Sandfire bid.
Australian copper miner MOD Resources said larger rival Sandfire Resources’ A$0.4 ($0.3) a share offer undervalued the company, but said it was willing to engage with its suitor to come to a “compelling price”.
Perth-based MOD confirmed the non-binding and conditional bid from Sandfire was made on Jan. 16 after allowing the company access to its data room and a site visit over a possible joint venture deal.
In the same statement, MOD said it would raise about A$15 million via a share placement and rights issue, with the majority of the proceeds to be used for funding its T3 copper project in Botswana.
MOD is advised by Sternship and DLA Piper.
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