Uber agreed to acquire Careem, a transportation network company based in Dubai, for $3.1bn, consisting of $1.7bn in convertible notes and $1.4bn in cash. The acquisition of Careem is subject to applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2020.
Uber will acquire all of Careem’s mobility, delivery, and payments businesses across the greater Middle East region, ranging from Morocco to Pakistan, with major markets including Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
“This is an important moment for Uber as we continue to expand the strength of our platform around the world. With a proven ability to develop innovative local solutions, Careem has played a key role in shaping the future of urban mobility across the Middle East, becoming one of the most successful startups in the region. Working closely with Careem’s founders, I’m confident we will deliver exceptional outcomes for riders, drivers, and cities, in this fast-moving part of the world,” said Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi.
Jefferies advised Careem on the transaction. Morrison & Foerster advised Uber.
McDonald’s will acquire Dynamic Yield, based in New York and Tel Aviv leader in personalization and decision logic technology. With this acquisition, McDonald’s builds on its significant technology investments for growth. Financial terms were not disclosed. However, deal value is rumoured to be over $300m.
McDonald’s will utilize this decision technology to provide more personalized customer experience by varying outdoor digital Drive Thru menu displays to show food based on time of day, weather, current restaurant traffic, and trending menu items.
“Technology is a critical element of our Velocity Growth Plan, enhancing the experience for our customers by providing greater convenience on their terms,” said Steve Easterbrook, President, and Chief Executive Officer, McDonald’s Corporation. “With this acquisition, we’re expanding both our ability to increase the role technology and data will play in our future and the speed with which we’ll be able to implement our vision of creating more personalised experiences for our customers.”
Citi advised McDonald's.
Bowmark Capital, the mid-market private equity firm, has completed the take-private of AIM-listed Tax Systems, the leading provider of corporate tax software and services in the UK and Ireland. The transaction values Tax Systems at £114m ($150m). The 115 (152 cents) pence per share price represents a premium of approximately 14.4% to the closing price on 6 February 2019.
Bowmark managing partner Charles Ind said: “We have been tracking the company for a number of years and are delighted to be supporting Gavin Lyons and his team. Tax Systems has an enviable position as a trusted partner to the majority of the UK’s largest corporates and accounting firms. We look forward to supporting the team as they capitalise on the opportunities arising from the digitilisation of tax compliance.”
Oakley Advisory, finnCap and K&L Gates advised Tax Systems. HSBC, Rothschild & Co, Altium, Hogan Lovells, and Stephenson Harwood advised Bowmark Capital.
Growth investor Synova Capital made a significant investment into Mediatonic, a leading global developer and publisher of video games.
Synova partnered with Mediatonic to support the continuing growth of the company including investment in strategic partnerships, development of its original games and the support and publishing of niche games by third-party developers.
Philip Shapiro, Managing Partner of Synova, commented: “The video games industry is a large and fast growth market, estimated to be £114bn ($149.9bn) in 2018 and larger than both the movie and music sectors combined. Mediatonic is an exceptional platform in this exciting space with a specific focus on the fast growing mobile games market; we are delighted to be partnering with Dave and Paul and look forward to supporting them in delivering the next exciting stage of the Company’s journey.”
GCA Altium advised Mediatonic.
British department store group Debenhams said it would consider any offer for the company from Sports Direct but warned a proposal would not solve its immediate funding needs. Sports Direct, which owns a near 30% stake in Debenhams, is considering buying the whole of the company to prevent a restructuring that could wipe out all shareholders.
Debenhams will continue with its plan to seek £200m ($264m) of additional funds from lenders that it detailed on Friday.
Investors of British lender Non-Standard Finance authorized issuing of new shares for its planned hostile takeover of Provident Financial. At a general meeting, 99.99% of the votes cast were in favor of share issue.
“We are very pleased with the overwhelming support our shareholders have shown for our plan to acquire Provident Financial,” NSF’s Chief Executive Officer John van Kuffeler said.
In February, NSF offered to acquire Provident valuing the equity of the business at £1.3bn ($1.7bn). Provident rejected this offer as highly opportunistic.
Provident Financial was advised by Barclays, JP Morgan, and Brunswick Group. Non-Standard Finance was advised by Shore Capital & Corporate, Deutsche Bank, Ondra Partners, Slaughter & May, and Maitland.
Global multi-asset investment platform eToro acquired Firmo, a solutions provider for derivatives to be securely enabled on any major blockchain. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Commenting on the news Yoni Assia, Co-founder and CEO of eToro, said: "The acquisition of Firmo will enable eToro to accelerate the growth of our tokenized assets offering. Blockchain and the tokenization of assets will play a major role in the future of finance. We believe that in time all investible assets will be tokenized and that we will see the greatest transfer of wealth ever onto the blockchain."
EQOS Energie, a Triton portfolio energy sector company, will acquire all shares of the overhead line construction specialist Bilfinger FRB as of 1 April 2019. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“With this acquisition, we are setting a strategic milestone for our service portfolio and will be able to cover the increasing market volume even better,” said Eric Mendel, CEO and President of EQOS Energie, summarising the takeover. “The merger facilitates a sustainable improvement of operative processes and structures for our Group. Bottom line: We offer our customers enormous added value by optimally linking the benefits of both parties in engineering and project execution.”
TowerBrook Capital Partners acquired a minority interest in GBA Group, a provider of end-to-end vehicle logistics services to the global automotive and shipping industries. TowerBrook will be a strategic investor alongside the Judah family, working with Cale and Yaniv Judah, who serve as Group Managing Director and Operations Director respectively. Financial terms were not disclosed.
TowerBrook’s transatlantic network and its significant experience in the automotive sector made it an attractive partner for GBA.
WEX, a leading financial technology service provider, plans to purchase the Go Fuel Card of EG Group, an independent fuel station and convenience retailer in Europe. The anticipated transaction is subject to completion of employee information and consultation processes, and other approvals, as appropriate. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"The addition of the Go Fuel Card business will strengthen our position in Europe by expanding our footprint in attractive markets and broadening our card acceptance through an independent, proprietary card network,” said Scott Phillips, President, Global Fleet, WEX. “I am also extremely excited about the opportunity to partner with EG Group to expand our Fleet business throughout EG locations in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. This is an attractive business that projects further reductions to our sensitivity to retail fuel prices while providing us a strong pathway for organic growth and value creation over time.”
Sidley Austin advise WEX.
Argand Partners, the middle market buyout firm, and it's subsidiary Oase Living Water, water gardening products provider, acquired the German-based Söll Group, a leading supplier of specialized water treatment products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Söll’s expertise is highly complementary to OASE’s current line of products and services,” said Thorsten Muck, CEO of OASE. “OASE’s customers, from hobbyists to expert users to commercial contractors, stand to greatly benefit from Söll’s solutions. The acquisition is an exciting milestone for OASE and promises to open up myriad business opportunities.”
Alibaba acquired Infinity Augmented Reality, an Israeli virtual reality startup. Alibaba and InfinityAR had had a strategic partnership since 2016 when Alibaba Group led InfinityAR’s Series C. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Prof. Lihi Zelnik-Manor, head of Alibaba Israel Machine Vision Laboratory, said "Alibaba is delighted to be working with InfinityAR as one team after three years of partnership. The talented team brings unique know-how in sensor fusion, computer vision, and navigation technologies. We look forward to exploring these leading technologies and offering additional benefits to customers, partners and developers.”
Mastercard to invest $300m in Network International IPO.
Mastercard said it would invest $300m as a cornerstone investor in the planned London float of Network International, the Dubai-based largest payments processor in the Middle East and Africa.
Network International is set to be the first international IPO in London this year. Network International is targeting a valuation of around $3bn according to banking sources, to which
Reuters is referring.
Qatari investors to resist potential Deutsche Bank-Commerzbank merger.
According to
Bloomberg, the Qatari investors are concerned that when Deutsche Bank is forced to sell shares to help fund the deal, their holdings will dilute. The Persian Gulf nation will also negotiate other concessions before backing the deal.
The opposition is widening to the deal, which Germany sees as a way to ensure financing to the country’s export-oriented economy during a downturn. However, not everyone is against the deal. Cerberus Capital, which owns significant stakes in both Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, favors a tie-up, the report said.
Travis Kalanick acquired London start-up FoodStars.
According to
Financial Times, Travis Kalanick’s City Storage Systems acquired "dark kitchens" company FoodStars last year, as the ex-Uber CEO expands his new global venture. FoodStars provide commercial kitchens for rent in London.
Last year's FoodStars deal is CSS’s first confirmed move outside the US, which underlines Mr. Kalanick’s appetite for growing the business through acquisition. The Los Angeles-based company is eyeing expansion in Asia.
Mr. Kalanick acquired a majority stake in CSS for $150m, using proceeds of a $1.4bn Uber stock sale.
Bpifrance will tackle activist funds targeting French firms.
According to
Reuters, French state-owned bank Bpifrance said it had almost €2bn ($2.3bn) to fend off activist funds’ attacks on French companies which have strategic importance to the country.
The comments by Bpifrance CEO Nicolas Dufourcq come with after French activist fund CIAM this week targeted French reinsurer Scor, demanding corporate governance changes.
China's Geely to buy 50% stake in Daimler’s Smart.
According to
Financial Times, Daimler is closing a deal to sell a 50% stake in its Smart brand to China’s Geely.
The sale of the stake shall be confirmed before the Shanghai Auto Show in April.
The move by Geely, Daimler’s largest shareholder, may help the German group. Smart currently struggles and sells only 130k cars a year. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz sells 2.25m vehicles annually.
European deals at crisis-level lows.
According to
Bloomberg, European dealmaking will have worst first quarter since 2013, the height of the credit crisis, when unemployment and austerity plans were causing protests and the European Union was asked to bail out banks.
UBS' CEO, Sergio Ermotti called this year “one of the worst first-quarter environments in recent history” at a conference last week.
Naspers will separate Tencent stake and other assets in the listing.
Naspers plans to spin off its internet businesses, including a $133bn stake in Tencent Holdings, which exceeded the South African technology investor’s market value.
Naspers chose Euronext Amsterdam to list a business that includes 31% stake in Tencent and investments in Russian platform Mail.Ru, food delivery business Delivery Hero and e-commerce startup Swiggy.
Germany's Merck made a full takeover bid to shareholders of Versum Materials for $48 per share, after the target's management rejected a previous deal proposal for the same price.
“The Versum Board’s hasty rejection of our proposal and unwillingness to engage in discussions with us has forced us to take this proposal directly to shareholders,” Merck said in a letter to Versum shareholders.
Merck won fully committed financing from BofA Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, and Deutsche Bank.
Lazard, Latham & Watkins, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advise Versum. Morgan Stanley and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz advise Entegris. Guggenheim Partners and Sullivan & Cromwell advises Merck.
The US Federal Trade Commission has sought additional information and documents from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Celgene Corp in connection with its review of their planned merger.
In January, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene Corporation reached a merger agreement under which Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire Celgene in a cash and stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $74bn. Bristol-Myers said both companies expect to close the merger in the third quarter of 2019.
Citigroup, JP Morgan, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz advise Celgene. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Morgan Stanley, Dyal, Evercore, Morgan Stanley, Kirkland & Ellis, and Joele Frank advise Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Spotify Technology, the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, agreed to acquire Parcast, a premier storytelling-driven podcast studio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The addition of Parcast to our growing roster of podcast content will advance our goal of becoming the world’s leading audio platform,” said Dawn Ostroff, Spotify Chief Content Officer. “Crime and mystery podcasts are a top genre for our users and Parcast has had significant success creating hit series while building a loyal and growing fan base. We’re excited to welcome the Parcast team to Spotify, and we look forward to supercharging their growth."
Aquicore, a commercial real estate software company, agreed to acquire Entic, a prescriptive analytics solution provider. With the acquisition, Aquicore begins to consolidate the fragmented property technology market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the merging of these two teams. Together, we will propel the proptech industry forward, giving the commercial real estate industry a powerful solution unlike any it’s ever seen. When experts look back at the evolution of this market, the combining of Aquicore and Entic will be a milestone,” said Aquicore Founder and CEO Logan Soya.
Harvard is said to invest $150m in startup buyout fund. (FS)
According to
Bloomberg, Harvard University invested in the biggest private equity fund launches in the US in almost a decade. Harvard Management allocated about $150m to Arcline Investment Management’s debut fund. Harvard oversees the university’s $39bn endowment.
APAC
Wesfarmers made a conditional, non-binding indicative proposal to acquire Lynas, the Australian-listed miner, and rare earth supplier, for AUD2.25 ($1.60) per share, payable in cash, under a scheme of arrangement. This offer implies a deal value of AUD1.5bn ($1.1bn).
The proposal is a premium of 44.7% to the last closing price and a premium of 36.4% to the 60-day weighted average price of Lynas to 25 March 2019.
Wesfarmers Managing Director Rob Scott said, “An investment in Lynas leverages our unique assets and capabilities, including in chemical processing, and will deliver Lynas’ shareholders with an attractive premium and certain cash return.”
The Carlyle Group together with Nomura Capital Partners completed JPY57bn ($518m) tender offer to acquire shares in Orion Breweries, Japan’s fifth-largest beer brewery, on March 22, 2019. This joint acquisition is expected to close on March 29, 2019. Following the transaction, Carlyle will own a 49% stake in Orion Breweries while Nomura will hold a 51% stake in the company.
Takaomi Tomioka, Managing Director of the Carlyle Japan buyout advisory team, said, “Orion Breweries has expanded its business over the past 60 years on the back of high brand value and support from the Okinawa community, making it Okinawa’s top beer brand. Carlyle will support the firm’s management teams and employees to realize further growth and entrench the pride that the people of Okinawa have in Orion Breweries. Carlyle is fully committed to sharing its knowledge and experience to strengthen Orion’s management capabilities, drawing upon our global network for support while collaborating with Nomura, a prominent Japanese financial company, to fully leverage our combined strengths.”
CHAMP Private Equity agreed to acquire Marand Precision Engineering, a global supplier of precision engineered solutions to a range of industries. Financial terms were not disclosed. However, the founding family retains an investment in the company.
Rohan Stocker, CEO of Marand said, "This is a wonderful opportunity to facilitate further growth in the Business. Marand's innovative engineering, advanced manufacturing, and sustainment capabilities will continue to add value to our customers, and we are excited by the prospect of working with CHAMP to take the Business to the next stage in its development”.
KPMG acted as financial adviser to Marand, Gadens Legal as legal adviser, and Dobbyn and Carafa as accounting adviser.
Cathay to buy a stake in Hong Kong Express.
According to
Bloomberg, Cathay Pacific Airways agreed to buy Hong Kong’s only budget carrier from Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, as Asia's biggest international carrier seeks to gain a foothold in the region's booming low-cost travel market.
An official announcement on the acquisition of Hong Kong Express Airways is still expected to be made.
Companies eyeing stake in Malaysia Airlines.
Suitors from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are eyeing a stake in national carrier Malaysia Airlines, according to the chairman of the Council of Eminent Persons, advisors the government on matters of economic and financial issues, Daim Zainuddin.
Daim added that the foreign companies are interested in buying a stake, and not the entire airline, which is 100% owned by Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional.
India's Edelweiss plans to raise $1bn for the latest fund.
Edelweiss aims to raise a $1bn corpus for its Edelweiss Special Opportunities Fund III, according to Hemant Daga, president, and deputy chief executive officer of Edelweiss Global Asset and Wealth Management. This is a nearly three times increase from the $350m it raised in April 2017 for ESOF II. ESOF focuses on investing in performing credit space.
