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AMERICAS
Twitter, an American microblogging and social networking service, is re-examining Elon Musk’s $43bn takeover offer after the billionaire lined up financing for the bid, in a sign the social-media company could be more receptive to a deal, WSJ reported.
Twitter and Elon Musk could finalize a deal this week, a dramatic turn of events just ten days after the billionaire unveiled his $43bn bid. The two sides met Sunday to discuss Mr. Musk’s proposal and were making progress, though they still had issues to hash out.
Twitter had been expected to rebuff the offer, which Mr. Musk made earlier this month without saying how he would pay for it. But after he disclosed last week that he now has $46.5bn in the financing, Twitter is taking a fresh look at the offer and is more likely than before to seek to negotiate.
Twitter is advised by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Elon Musk is advised by Morgan Stanley and McDermott Will & Emery. Debt financing is provided by BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Barclays, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Securities, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale. Debt providers are advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Commercial Metals Company, a steel and metal manufacturer, completed the acquisition of Tensar, a global provider of engineered civil construction solutions, from Castle Harlan, a company that invests in middle-market companies, for $550m.
“Tensar will create a powerful platform for incremental growth into complementary engineered products that target CMC’s largest core market, construction, serving end-use markets and customer segments where we have strong and existing relationships,” Barbara R. Smith, CMC Chairman and CEO.
Tensar was advised by Morgan Stanley, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Creative Influence. CMC was advised by Rockefeller Capital Management and Kirkland & Ellis.
Owens Corning, a manufacturer of glass fiber utilized in composites and building materials, agreed to acquire WearDeck, a producer of composite weather-resistant decking for commercial and residential applications in North America, from JR Plastics, a manufacturer of paper coated and laminated packaging. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The acquisition of WearDeck is a positive step in advancing our strategy to drive continued growth in Owens Corning and pivoting our Composites business to focus on high-value material solutions within the building and construction space. WearDeck brings exciting opportunities to further leverage our building materials expertise and glass fiber material science technology to significantly expand our current addressable markets," Marcio Sandri, Owens Corning Composites President.
Owens Corning is advised by Calfee Halter & Griswold and Jones Day. JR Plastics is advised by Eversheds Sutherland, Hogan Lovells and Klein and Klein.
Blackstone, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire PS Business Parks, a a publicly-traded REIT, from Public Storage, an American international self storage company, for $7.6bn.
"I am extremely proud of everything we have accomplished at PS Business Parks. This transaction is an exceptional outcome for our stockholders and a testament to the incredible company and portfolio of high-quality assets our team has built, acquired and enhanced over the years," Stephen W. Wilson, PS Business Parks President and CEO.
PS Business Parks is advised by Eastdil Secured, JP Morgan and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. Blackstone is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Volt Information Sciences, a provider of staffing services, and ACS Solutions-backed Vega Consulting, a recruitment-oriented IT consulting firm, announced the expiration of the previously announced tender offer Vega to acquire any and all issued and outstanding shares of common stock of the company for $6 per share in cash, without interest.
The offer expired on April 21, 2022. Tendered Shares represent approximately 87.89% of the outstanding shares, and in addition, shares were tendered through notices of guaranteed delivery, representing approximately 1.12% of the outstanding shares.
Volt is advised by Foros, Milbank and Three Part Advisors. Vega Consulting is advised by Kilpatrick Townsend.
DCVC, a venture capital firm, and Playground Global, an early-stage venture capital firm, led a $150m Series B funding round in Agility Robotics, a creator and manufacturer of robots designed to work alongside people in logistics and warehouse environments, with participation from Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, MFV Partners, ITIC, Robotics Hub, Safar Partners, and TDK Ventures.
“Unprecedented consumer and corporate demand have created an extraordinary need for robots to support people in the workplace. With this investment, Agility can ramp up the delivery of robots to fill roles where there’s an unmet need," Damion Shelton, Agility Robotics CEO.
Agility Robotics was advised by Strange Brew Strategies.
Buckley Ventures, a venture capital firm, led a $125m Series C funding round in NexHealth, a provider of patient experience platform for patients, doctors, and developers, with participation from Lachy Groom, Jack Altman, Scott Belsky, Shreyas Doshi, Eric Glyman, Shahed Khan, Packy McCormick, and Rahul Vohra.
“Consumers have frictionless digital experiences when doing virtually anything except visiting the doctor’s office. We’ve come to expect very little innovation in the healthcare world, and NexHealth is here to change that, accelerating innovation in healthcare by connecting patients, doctors, and developers," Alamin Uddin, NexHealth CEO.
NexHealth was advised by InkHouse.
Mondelez International, an American multinational confectionery, agreed to acquire Ricolino, a Mexican confectionery company, from Grupo Bimbo, a baking company, for $1.3bn.
"This acquisition will provide a step change for our business in Mexico, an important growth market for us, more than tripling our routes to market and growing our position in core snacking categories. We are thrilled to welcome Ricolino’s talented people and amazing brands into the Mondelēz International family," Dirk Van de Put, Mondelez Chairman and CEO.
Cummins' filtration business submitted for IPO.
Cummins announced that its filtration business has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed underwritten initial public offering of newly issued common stock of the business in the United States.
The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the IPO have not yet been determined. The IPO is expected to commence after the completion of the SEC review process, subject to market and other conditions.
KKR closes NAX3 at $19bn. (FS)
KKR, a global investment firm, announced the final closing of KKR North America Fund XIII, an over-subscribed $19bn fund focused on pursuing opportunistic private equity investments in North America.
NAX3 received strong support from a diverse group of both new and existing investors globally, including public and private pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, private wealth platforms, family offices, high-net-worth individual investors and other institutional investors.
KKR was advised by Debevoise & Plimpton.
Macquarie's former global co-head Wong joins Stonepeak as head of Europe. (People)
Infrastructure investment major Stonepeak brought in Macquarie Capital's former global co-head Daniel Wong as a senior managing director and head of Europe.
"Daniel brings tremendous experience as a business leader, sustainability advocate, and investor across a wide range of infrastructure and energy sectors. We are excited to welcome him to Stonepeak as we become an increasingly more global firm and with sustainability at the heart of our operating principles and values. We look forward to his contributions to the platform as head of Europe and across our core and energy transition strategies," Michael Dorrell, Stonepeak Co-Founder and CEO.
EMEA
BenevolentAI, a clinical-stage AI drug discovery company, went public via a SPAC merger with Odyssey Acquisition in a $1.7bn deal. The transaction includes a c.$152m PIPE from Temasek, AstraZeneca, Ally Bridge Group and Invus.
"The combination with Odyssey will allow us to scale our vision and ambition of uniting purposeful technology and cutting-edge science to discover life-changing medicines," Joanna Shields, BenevolentAI CEO.
Odyssey Acquisition was advised by Accuracy, Oliver Wyman, JP Morgan, Zaoui & Co, Elvinger Hoss Prussen, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Arsene Taxand. Financial advisors were advised by Linklaters. Ally Bridge was advised by Morrison & Foerster. BenevolentAI was advised by Goldman Sachs, Latham & Watkins, NautaDutilh, Stibbe and Brunswick Group. Goldman Sachs was advised by Linklaters.
Grifols, a Spanish multinational pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer, completed the acquisition of an 89.88% stake in Biotest, a biotechnology company, for $1.2bn.
“This unique opportunity will allow Grifols and Biotest to mark a new milestone while shaping the plasma industry. It will enlarge our existing portfolio of plasma-derived therapies and fast-track the development of new products, with a concerted focus on delivering value to patients, shareholders and other key stakeholders. We look forward to partnering with the Biotest team," Raimon Grífols Roura, Grifols co-CEO.
Grifols was advised by Nomura, UBS, Osborne Clarke and Proskauer Rose. Financial advisors were advised by Milbank and White & Case. Biotest was advised by Bank of America, Rothschild & Co, Goodwin Procter, and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Financial advisors were advised by Clifford Chance.
Private equity firms EQT Infrastructure V and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, completed the acquisition of DELTA Fiber, an internet connectivity provider, from EQT Infrastructure III. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Stonepeak has long recognized the mission critical nature of broadband in today’s society and we look forward to working with Marco and the team to accelerate the additional rollout of DELTA Fiber’s network across the Netherlands. We are delighted to partner with a like-minded peer in EQT Infrastructure on this transaction, which will accelerate DELTA Fiber’s ability to connect households throughout the country with reliable broadband," Brian McMullen, Stonepeak Senior Managing Director.
Stonepeak was advised by Clifford Chance, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. EQT was advised by JP Morgan.
capiton-backed Wundex, a provider of home care services, agreed to acquire ELLIPSA, a wound care provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The acquisition of ELLIPSA allows us to continue our expansion in Bavaria with a strong and dedicated team of professionals in Regensburg and Munich. Our goal is to strengthen the current team quickly by adding further wound care professionals," Peter Orth, Wundex CEO.
capiton and Wundex are advised by KPMG, BMH Brautigam and Ernst & Young.
Helen of Troy, a designer, developer and worldwide marketer of consumer brand-name home, outdoor, health, wellness, and beauty products, completed the acquisition of Recipe Products, a provider of haircare products, for $150m.
“Helen of Troy has a talent for spotting exceptional indie brands that do things differently, and turbo charging them. So, from the get-go we knew that Curlsmith would be a compelling strategic fit. As a market-leading textured haircare brand, Curlsmith both complements and brings a new dimension to their already enviable prestige haircare portfolio," Michal Berski, Recipe Products Founder and CEO.
Helen of Troy was advised by ICR. Recipe Products was advised by Raymond James.
GIC, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of a 75% stake in Paddington Central, a campus, from The British Land, a property development and investment company, for $891m. The transaction establishes a new joint venture with ownership split 75:25 for GIC and British Land respectively.
"We are pleased to invest in Paddington Central, a high-quality office-led mixed-use campus with retail and leisure uses. It is very well-located with connectivity to national rail services and key transport links to Heathrow, West London and Oxford. Our earlier investment in Broadgate has demonstrated the high value of acquiring central London campuses and we are confident that this asset will generate resilient long-term returns," Lee Kok Sun, GIC CIO of Real Estate.
The British Land was advised by UBS.
Kantar, a provider of market research services to the automotive, fast-moving goods, energy and financial sectors, agreed to acquire Blackwood Seven, a developer of cloud-based media analytics and predictive sales modeling platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Kantar’s well-established credentials in ROI analysis are bolstered significantly by the addition of Blackwood Seven’s technology solution. Clients, including Honda, Suncorp and Telenor, already use their solution for budget setting, competitor analysis, reducing customer acquisition cost, measuring brand equity and minimising customer churn. The move will give Kantar’s global roster of clients access to the more granular analytics it provides, alongside the strategic guidance we are known for," Ted Prince, Kantar Chief Product Officer.
Kantar is advised by AxiCom.
Verdane, a capital provider, led a $190m funding round in Instabox, a Swedish tech company, with participation from Creades, EQT Ventures, Tham Special Investment, Nineyards, Tacito, and M2 Asset Management.
“I’m delighted with the trust that has been shown us by our existing and new investors. The global parcels market continues to grow every year, and Instabox’s lightning-quick, hassle-free, and completely fossil fuel-free shipping set us apart from traditional shipping companies. The new funding will help us build on that and further improve our service, making it even more sustainable and customer-focused," Alexis Priftis, Instabox CEO and Co-Founder.
Cyient, a global Technology Solutions company, agreed to acquire Citec, an international plant and product engineering services company serving customers across the energy, process, oil and gas, and manufacturing industries, for $101m.
"We are already enabling our customers to accelerate their digital industrial transformation with our intellicyient suite of solutions. This acquisition will allow us to take our combined Plant Engineering and Digital Solutions portfolio to a new set of customers who have extensive manufacturing facilities globally. Citec's strong brand value and talent pool, especially in the Nordic region, will be integral to Cyient gaining a strong foothold in the region and accelerating our future growth," Krishna Bodanapu, Cyient Managing Director and CEO.
ICD explores sales of SmartStream. (FS)
Dubai's sovereign wealth fund is exploring a potential sale of British software services company SmartStream Technologies Group, Bloomberg reported.
Investment Corp. of Dubai is working with advisers at Deutsche Bank to identify potential suitors for the business. SmartStream's owner is seeking about $1bn in a potential sale that could draw both financial and strategic investors.
EQT explores sales of SUSE. (FS)
Private equity firm EQT explored a sale of SUSE after receiving takeover interest in the listed German enterprise software developer, Bloomberg reported.
EQT entered advanced negotiations with tech-focused buyout firm Thoma Bravo after fielding inbound approaches from a number of potential buyers. Thoma Bravo, which pre-empted other bidders, couldn't reach an agreement on terms of a transaction and EQT has decided to keep its SUSE stake for now.
Sodexo plans to sell restaurant check business to CVC. (FS)
Sodexo, a French food services and facilities management company, entered talks with buyout firm CVC on a deal about its restaurant check unit, Reuters reported.
Sodexo is prepared to sell 20% to 30% of the unit, which could be valued at as much as $4.3bn to CVC.
Global auditing firms face difficulties in quitting Russian business.
Big consulting firms such as Accenture and McKinsey & Co have quit or stopped all client work in Russia while the Big Four accounting firms are still there, trying to unwind complicated relationships with their Russian counterparts, WSJ reported.
The protracted pullout puts Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers in the awkward position of condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine but still working for Russian companies, many of them state-owned.
Ardian closes ASF VIII Infrastructure with $5.25bn. (FS)
Private investment house Ardian raised $5.25 bn for its latest infrastructure secondary fund – Ardian Secondary Fund VIII Infrastructure.
The fund, which was significantly oversubscribed and reached its hard cap within nine months, is the largest infrastructure secondaries platform in the world.
Cambridge Innovation Capital closed fund II with $300m. (FS)
Cambridge Innovation Capital, a venture capital investor focused on building world-leading deeptech and life sciences businesses connected with the Cambridge ecosystem, raised £225m($300m) for its oversubscribed second fund.
Investors in Fund II include a geographically diverse group of around 50 institutional and strategic investors, with almost half of the capital raised from UK-based investors.
Credit Suisse prepares management turnover. (People)
Credit Suisse is preparing for another management shuffle after a year of crisis, WSJ reported.
The Swiss bank said its board hasn't made decisions but that it is reviewing senior appointments and succession plans. Long-serving executives in roles including the chief financial officer, general counsel and Asia head could be shifted out as the bank makes changes. A search was under way last fall for a new general counsel.
APAC
Tidewater, a publicly traded international petroleum service company, completed the acquisition of Swire Pacific Offshore, a marine services provider, from Swire Pacific, a highly diversified global group, for $190m.
"The acquisition of Swire Pacific Offshore marks another important milestone in the strengthening of Tidewater’s leadership position as we capitalize on the recovery in the OSV industry. I am excited to have acquired a high-quality fleet with a strong reputation in the maritime sector globally. I believe that the timing of this acquisition will allow Tidewater to capitalize on the continued improvement in the offshore supply vessel market, providing Tidewater with significant additional earnings and free cash flow generation potential as utilization and day rates continue to improve. All 50 acquired vessels are currently active and working throughout the world, allowing Tidewater to immediately leverage this new asset base," Quintin Kneen, Tidewater President and CEO.
Tidewater was advised by Evercore and Vinson & Elkins.
Future's share price dropped after Reliance's deal failed.
Shares of Future Group companies fell sharply, some as much as 20%, after India's retailer Reliance called off its $3.4bn deal with the group, pushing its flagship Future Retail towards a possible bankruptcy process, Reuters reported.
Shares of Future Supply Chain Solutions, Future Retail, Future Lifestyle Fashions, Future Consumer and Future Enterprises fell between 5% and 20%.
Sprng Energy nears $1.8bn deal with Shell. (FS)
Sprng Energy is nearing a deal for Shell to acquire the Indian renewable power producer for about $1.8bn including debt, Bloomberg reported.
An agreement between Sprng's private equity owner Actis and the energy giant could be signed in two to three weeks after Shell beat out rival bidders.
Mizuho plans to boost US operations for M&A advisory and equity underwriting.
Mizuho Financial Group plans to beef up its US operations for M&A advisory and equity underwriting, as Japan's No. 3 lender aims to grab a bigger share of the world's largest investment banking fee pool, Reuters reported.
"We are now compiling our strategy and analysing to what extent we can grow organically. The internal discussions include which industry sectors to focus on, how to extend analyst coverage and how to build collaboration with its sales and trading teams," Masahiro Kihara, Mizuho CEO.
Silicon Motion Technology is exploring a sale.
Silicon Motion Technology, an American -Taiwanese company involved in developing NAND flash controller integrated circuits for solid-state storage devices, is exploring a potential sale amid takeover interest in the semiconductor firm, Bloomberg reported.
The Taiwan-based company is working with advisers as it holds talks with potential suitors. No final decision has been made and the company could still opt against a sale.
LIC's stake sell amount for IPO dropped from $6.5bn to $2.8bn due to frightening fiscal deficit.
India's decision to go ahead with a much-reduced target for its vaunted life insurer's initial public offering, as skittish investors continue to pull money from the South Asian nation, is adding to the risks threatening the nation's fiscal deficit target, Bloomberg reported.
Life Insurance Corporation of India's board approved selling a 3.5% stake for about $2.8bn, far lower than the $6.5bn estimated before Russia invaded Ukraine. Anchor investors had been reluctant to commit as the war eroded demand for equities, with foreign funds withdrawing more than $16bn from Indian stocks this year.
Skadden lawyer Julie Gao will be ByteDance new CFO. (People)
ByteDance hired Julie Gao from international law firm Skadden as its new CFO, filling a position that has largely been vacant throughout the social media giant's decade-long history, Bloomberg reported.
Gao, who counseled tech companies on initial public offerings and other types of financing, will work out of ByteDance's offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.
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