AMERICAS
Nasdaq, a global technology company, completed the acquisition of Verafin, a provider of anti-financial crime management solutions, from a consortium of investors for $2.75bn.
“At Nasdaq, we believe that fair, secure and transparent markets are vital to creating strong economies that move the world forward. Nasdaq’s global reach combined with Verafin’s powerful analytics, robust data insights, and innovative investigation tools, will create a next generation suite of solutions to fight financial crime and promote integrity throughout the financial ecosystem. We are thrilled to welcome Verafin’s talented employees into the Nasdaq family and look forward to supporting local institutions in Newfoundland and Labrador to promote continued innovation,” Adena Friedman, Nasdaq President and Chief Executive Officer.
Verafin was advised by William Blair & Co and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt. Nasdaq was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Evercore, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Blake Cassels & Graydon, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Brunswick Group and Longview Communications. Debt financing was provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.
II-VI, a manufacturer of optical materials and semiconductors, offered to acquire Coherent, a global company that manufactures and sells a variety of laser- based photonic products, for $6.4bn.
“We believe now is the right time to embark on this combination given significant megatrends, with burgeoning applications in both industrial and semiconductor capital equipment segments, including those that enable consumer electronics and displays. With expanded capabilities, we expect to collaborate even more broadly across our customer base as their design-in leader of choice. In addition, with our culture of innovation and strong track record of merger integration, we expect to deliver significant value to all stakeholders, including both companies’ shareholders, customers, employees, and business partners,” Vincent D. Mattera, II-VI CEO.
Coherent is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Brunswick Group. II-VI is advised by Allen & Company, JP Morgan, K&L Gates, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Sard Verbinnen & Co. MKS Instruments is advised by Barclays, Lazard and WilmerHale. Debt financing is provided by Barclays.
Fusion Acquisition, a SPAC, agreed to merge with MoneyLion, a digital financial platform, in a $2.4bn deal.
“Our platform surrounds each customer with the financial tools, content, and actionable advice relevant to their unique situation. This model is generating high user growth, multiple product engagement, and low cost of acquisition. A public listing enhances our ability to scale more quickly and continue to innovate so that we can help more people take control of their finances and achieve their life goals,” Dee Choubey, MoneyLion CEO and co-founder.
MoneyLion is advised by Broadhaven Capital Partners, Citigroup, Financial Technology Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell. Fusion Acquisiton is advised by Cantor Fitzgerald, JP Morgan, Odeon Capital Group, White & Case and Gateway Investor Relations.
Institutional Shareholder Services, an independent proxy advisory firm, recommended the shareholders of cannabis provider Liberty Health Sciences to accept the $372m offer by Ayr Strategies, an expanding vertically integrated, US multi-state cannabis operator.
"We are pleased that ISS shares our belief that the transaction we have proposed is good for Liberty shareholders and supports the Liberty Board's recommendation to vote "FOR" the proposed acquisition by Ayr. Together, Ayr and Liberty will be a competitive force in Florida," George Gremse, Liberty Health Sciences Interim Chief Executive Officer and Director.
Liberty Health Sciences is advised by ATB Capital, Cormark Securities, Greenspoon Marder, Miller Thomson and Nauth. Ayr Strategies is advised by Canaccord Genuity, Dorsey & Whitney and Stikeman Elliott.
PNM Resources shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the merger agreement with Avangrid, at a special shareholders meeting. Under the terms of the proposed merger, PNM Resources shareholders will receive $50.3 in cash for each share of PNM Resources common stock held at closing.
"We remain focused on the ultimate goal of this merger to provide benefits to customers, employees and communities by advancing our utilities into the clean energy future. We continue to move forward on the remaining regulatory approvals in New Mexico and Texas, along with federal approvals, to realize these benefits for our stakeholders," Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources Chairman, President and CEO.
PNM Resources is advised by Evercore and Troutman Pepper. Evercore is advised by Fried Frank. Avangrid is advised by BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley, Garrigues, Latham & Watkins and FTI Consulting.
True Wind Capital-backed Nebula Caravel Acquisition, a special purposes acquisition company, agreed to merge with Rover, an online pet care marketplace that connects pet parents with pet sitters and dog walkers, in a $1.35bn deal. Upon closing of the transaction, Caravel will be renamed Rover Group and remain Nasdaq-listed under the ticker symbol “ROVR”.
“Partnering with the True Wind team represents a unique opportunity to bring the unconditional love of pets to more people. A public listing will provide the capital to accelerate the expansion of core service offerings, support other pet types, and continue to grow our geographic footprint," Aaron Easterly, Rover Co-Founder and CEO.
Rover is advised by Morgan Stanley, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Blueshirt Group. Nebula Caravel is advised by Deutsche Bank, Stifel, William Blair & Co and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Apax Partners, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Herjavec Group, a cybersecurity services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"In an increasingly complex cybersecurity and IT market, where we are seeing ever more sophisticated cyber-crime, HG is a trusted partner that relieves the burden from internal enterprise security teams. We are excited to partner with Robert and team as we look to drive the business forward, investing in continued product innovation and growth acceleration while maintaining the company's number one priority: its customer eccentricity," Rohan Haldea, Apax Partner.
Herjavec is advised by Momentum Cyber and Dentons. Apax is advised by Stifel, UBS, Kirkland & Ellis and Greenbrook.
Canada’s Inter Pipeline rejected an unsolicited offer from its largest shareholder Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm.
Brookfield, which acquires and manages infrastructure assets, it intended to offer $12.9 per share, a 23% premium to the stock’s prior closing price, and said it was willing to raise it to as much as $14.3 if the pipeline operator gave it access to due diligence.
Brookfield is advised by BMO Capital Markets, Barclays, McCarthy Tetrault and Laurel Hill. Inter Pipeline is advised by Burnet Duckworth & Palmer and Dentons.
Falcon Capital Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, agreed to merge with Sharecare, a digital health company, for $3.9bn.
Investors led by Koch, Baron Capital Group, Eldridge, Woodline Partners and strategic partner, Digital Alpha, have committed $425M in a PIPE, satisfying the minimum proceeds conditions to closing.
“We believe that Sharecare is uniquely positioned to transform the way people access, providers deliver, and employers and health plans administer high quality, cost efficient healthcare. Strategic partners, Anthem and Digital Alpha, will enable continued innovation in delivering high-impact solutions at scale. We believe Falcon will be invaluable as we pursue this next phase for Sharecare," Jeff Arnold, Sharecare Founder Chairman and CEO.
Sharecare is advised by JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and King & Spalding. Falcon Capital is advised by Goldman Sachs and White & Case.
ARC Resources, a Canadian oil and gas producer, agreed to acquire Seven Generations, an energy producer, for $2.2bn.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Seven Generations shareholders will receive 1.108 common shares of ARC for each common share of Seven Generations held. Following the close of the transaction, ARC shareholders will own approximately 49% and Seven Generations shareholders will own approximately 51% of the total shares outstanding.
Seven Generation Energy is advised by CIBC World Markets and Stikeman Elliott. ARC Resources is advised by RBC Capital Markets and Burnet Duckworth & Palmer.
Canada has approved Air Canada’s purchase of troubled rival Transat, subject to a number of conditions, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said. The deal is still pending approval from the European Union, which halted its investigation into the deal on December 22.
Air Canada’s commitments include encouraging and helping other airlines to take up former Transat routes to Europe, preserving the Transat head office in the province of Quebec and facilitating aircraft maintenance in Canada.
Air Canada is advised by Morgan Stanley.
Life House, a network of lifestyle hotels, completed the acquisition of the management portfolio of IMPRINT Hospitality, a hospitality services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to finalize this transaction with IMPRINT Hospitality and their experienced management team and happy to be able to help solve problems for hotel owners and our peers in the industry during these difficult times. Matt and Alex have been great to work with and we are excited to expand our presence in Colorado following the opening of our Denver hotel while entering strategic submarkets in California and New Mexico," Rami Zeidan, Life House Founder & CEO.
Life House is advised by Destination Capital.
LANXESS, a specialty chemicals company, agreed to acquire Emerald Kalama Chemical, a manufacturer of specialty chemicals, for $1.08bn.
“We are gaining further momentum on our growth course. The businesses of Emerald Kalama Chemical are an ideal fit for us. We will further strengthen our Consumer Protection segment and open up new application areas with strong margins, for example in the food industry and animal health sector. In addition, we will also enlarge our presence in our growth region of North America. All this will make us even more profitable and stable,” Matthias Zachert, LANXESS Chairman of the Board of Management.
WEX, a financial services provider, agreed to acquire certain health savings account assets of HealthcareBank, the custodian bank for customers of WEX’s Health division, for $250m.
“This asset purchase expands WEX’s role in the attractive consumer-directed healthcare ecosystem and aligns with our growth strategy. We are excited to provide a more streamlined relationship experience, one that positions us to better leverage our investments to provide market-leading HSA solutions," Robert Deshaies, WEX President.
The US Justice Department asked two federal appeals courts to put on hold government appeals of lower court rulings blocking restrictions the Trump administration imposed on Chinese-owned app TikTok.
Under former President Donald Trump, the Commerce Department sought to ban Apple and Alphabet’s Google app stores from offering TikTok for download to new users and to ban other technical transactions TikTok said would effectively barred the app’s use in the United States.
The Justice Department told appeals courts for the District of Columbia and the Third Circuit that the Commerce Department “plans to conduct an evaluation of the underlying record justifying those prohibitions” to determine if they are warranted by the national security threat Trump described, Reuters reported.
Vivendi, a media conglomerate, agreed to dispose of a 60% stake in Universal Music Group, a music company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The plan to list Universal represents part of a process launched by Vivendi’s top shareholder French billionaire Vincent Bollore to cash in on the music industry’s revival.
“Vivendi’s leading institutional shareholders have been pressing for a number of years for a split or the distribution of Universal Music Group to reduce Vivendi’s conglomerate discount,” Vivendi.
Guillevin International, a distributor of industrial products, completed the acquisition of WESCO Datacom business from WESCO International, an industrial conglomerate. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This transaction is a highly successful outcome for WESCO. We will support our associates as they transition to Guillevin, and we wish them continued success. WESCO is committed to continuing to serve datacom customers in Canada, through the legacy business we acquired with Anixter," John Engel, WESCO Chairman, President and CEO.
Moore, a provider of performance-driven marketing solutions, agreed to acquire Worcester Envelope, a manufacturer of custom envelopes. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition was the right fit for us as we are committed to increasing our capacity and geographic footprint in the envelope manufacturing space. With this addition, we have over 347k square feet of envelope manufacturing in Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri and Virginia," Gretchen Littlefield, Moore CEO.
Converge Technology Solutions, a Hybrid IT services provider, completed the acquisition of Accudata Systems, an IT consulting and integration firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition of Accudata adds extensive market and industry experience, deep customer relationships, and a highly-regarded organization to Converge's already substantial practice.
"The increased capabilities, technology offerings, and nationwide coverage will deepen our skillset and create additional opportunities for our employees while delivering increased value to our customers. We look forward to what we can do for our customers present and future under the Converge umbrella," Patrick Vardeman, Accudata CEO.
SIGNA Sports United, an online sports commerce and tech platform, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Midwest Sports, an online tennis goods retailer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Midwest Sports has been a true American success story since its beginning. It is amazing, how Greg and his team self-built their company into what it is today. The US tennis market is huge. We are thrilled to start acting directly as a major player in this market, building on Greg's work and our experience in Europe. This is an important milestone on our path to successfully expand our sports platform across the globe," Stephan Zoll, SIGNA Sports United CEO.
Data Storage FL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Data Storage, a provider of diverse business continuity, disaster recovery protection and cloud solutions, agreed to merge with Flagship Solutions Group, which provides IBM solutions, managed services, and cloud solutions worldwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We continue to provide a wide array of multicloud information technology solutions in highly secure, 100% reliable enterprise level cloud services for companies using IBM Power systems, Microsoft Windows and Linux, including: Infrastructure as a Service; Disaster Recovery as a Service; Cyber Security as a Service; and Data Analytics as a Service. Flagship has a first class customer base including premier companies across a wide array of sectors such as banking and finance, education, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, sports and entertainment, real estate, insurance, telecom, travel, transportation and more,” Chuck Piluso, Data Storage CEO.
Transaction Services Group completed the acquisition of Adaptive Analytics, a provider of data analytics and visualization tools for the health and wellbeing, and fitness sectors. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Our unique combination of great technology and deep domain expertise allows our premier boutique fitness clients to do more of what they love. Bringing Adaptive Analytics into TSG deepens our commitment to the boutique fitness sector. Intelli-hub's data visualization tools will allow us to enhance our innovative software solutions with reporting built for the studios and fitness franchises of the future," Christina Hamilton, TSG CEO Boutique.
Colorado Mechanical Systems, a company in commercial and industrial HVAC, plumbing and building controls services, completed the acquisition of AMI Mechanical Systems, a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration solutions provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"While we feel we are each best-in-class in our own unique ways, we also complement one another to offer our combined customer base superior solutions. The combination of the CMS platform and resources with AMI Mechanical Systems' people and capabilities will create significant value and growth potential for vendor partners, employees and customers. The move also underscores our focus to grow our service department and client base," Josh Skinner, CMS President.
Routemaster Capital, the decentralized finance firm, completed the acquisition of a 20% stake in Valour Structured Products, a Cayman Island-based company focused on issuing exchange-traded products with a focus on digital assets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The demand for secure, digital structured products is at an all-time high and I look forward to developing innovative products alongside Routemaster,” Diana Biggs, Valour Structured Products CEO.
Apptio, the provider of technology business management solutions that help organizations analyze, optimize, and plan technology spend, completed the acquisition of Targetprocess, an Agile portfolio and work management solution. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"As a result of the large-scale shift to remote working in the past year, it is more important than ever to solve these challenges in order to enable distributed teams to work together as efficiently as possible in pursuit of business objectives. Through this acquisition, Apptio will help our customers accelerate their Agile transformation through effective portfolio management and financial governance," Scott Chancellor, Apptio Chief Product and Technology Officer.
Insight Partners prepares new fund targeting at least $12bn. (FS)
Insight Partners, an investment firm focused on technology deals, soon plans to pitch its next flagship fund with a goal of at least $12bn, WSJ reposted.
The New York firm—which could start the fundraising process as early as next month—will come to market less than a year after it corralled $9.5bn for Insight Partners XI in April. Insight is also currently seeking $875m for its first fund focused exclusively on preferred equity investments.
LinkedIn and Zynga founders near deal to buy Joby.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and tech entrepreneur Mark Pincus are nearing a deal to merge their blank cheque company with Joby Aviation, valuing the flying taxi developer at about $5.7bn, FT reported.
Reinvent Technology Partners, their special purpose acquisition company, which raised $690m in a public listing in 2020, is finalising financing for the deal and an agreement could be announced later this month.
If successful, the merger will provide Joby - whose existing backers include Japanese carmaker Toyota and British investment manager Baillie Gifford - with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Goldman Sachs creates JV for Autos Technology deals. (FS)
Goldman Sachs is creating a joint venture in its investment bank focused on catering to auto technology clients like Tesla and the new class of companies trying to take on the top electric-vehicle maker, Bloomberg reported.
The bank named San Francisco-based technology banker Chris Buddin and New York-based industrial banker Fausto Monacelli as the co-heads of the autotech effort.
The venture formalizes a partnership between Goldman’s industrial and technology, media and telecommunications teams that had been collaborating already on deals for years, David Friedland, head of the Americas cross-markets group.
Alden is in talks to buy Tribune Publishing. (FS)
A hedge fund that owns a big stake in Tribune Publishing is in talks to buy the newspaper chain behind titles including the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News.
Alden Global Capital, Tribune’s largest shareholder with a 32% stake, is discussing a deal with the publishing company to buy the shares it doesn’t already own, WSJ reported.
Baker, Sloan abandons plans for multi-deal SPAC.
A blank-check acquisition company backed by investors Harry Sloan and Eli Baker has abandoned a novel plan that would have enabled it to take multiple companies public, Reuters reported.
The investors made the change because of feedback from the US SEC that it was reluctant to approve the plan as long as it did not have a new chair.
Michael Klein-backed SPACs raise $1.68bn in IPOs. (FS)
Two blank-check firms, led by veteran Wall Street dealmaker Michael Klein, collectively raised $1.68bn in IPOs.
Churchill Capital VI raised $480m after upsizing their offer from $400m, while Churchill Capital VII garnered $1.2bn, raising from $1bn.
Clearing House Apex in merger talks with Ledecky’s SPAC.
Northern Star Investment II, a securities custody and clearing firm, is in talks to go public through a merger with the blank-check company.
A merger would value Apex and Northern Star Investment II at as much as $5bn. Units of Northern Star Investment II, which is backed by Jonathan Ledecky, co-owner of the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders, rose as much as 9.1% in New York trading.
Origin Materials is in talks to go public via Artius SPAC.
Origin Materials, a chemical-technology company, is in talks to go public via a merger with blank-check firm Artius Acquisition, Bloomberg reported.
Origin Materials extracts chemicals from plants that are used to make a more environmentally friendly version of plastic. Its partners and customers include Nestle, Danone and PepsiCo.
CSN’s unit IPO is said to raise c.$838m.
The initial public offering of Brazilian steelmaker Cia Siderurgica Nacional’s mining unit raised at least $838m, Bloomberg reported.
CSN Mineracao, as the unit is known, and selling holders sold shares at $1.5 apiece, the bottom of the indicative range. If over-allotments are fully sold, the transaction could raise $1.1bn.
BayPine progresses toward $2bn target for debut fund. (FS)
BayPine, which was co-founded by Silver Lake co-founder David Roux, has rounded up at least $1.1bn in an initial closing on its debut fund, putting the fund more than halfway to a $2bn goal, WSJ reported.
Boston-based BayPine itself is committing about $100m. Mr. Roux set up BayPine last year along with Anjan Mukherjee, a former senior executive at Blackstone. BayPine looks to acquire controlling stakes in businesses across multiple sectors to help facilitate their digital transformations.
Three Khosla Ventures-backed SPACs seek to raise $1.2bn. (FS)
Three blank-check companies backed by venture capital firm filed to raise a combined $1.2bn. The single-day triple filing is another sign of how hot listings by special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, have become, Bloomberg reported.
After a record-setting 2020, 143 SPACs have already raised more than $44bn on US exchanges this year. At least 113 more blank-check firms seeking to raise a combined $30bn are awaiting initial public offerings.
Cameo in talks to raise funds at c.$1bn value. (FS)
Cameo, an app connecting customers to celebrities paid to record personalized messages, is in discussions to raise funds at a valuation of about $1bn, Bloomberg reported.
Cameo is seeking about $100m in the funding round. The round would be the first to make a so-called unicorn of Cameo, the business name of Baron App. The Chicago-based company was last valued at $300m in 2019 after it raised $50m.
Mill Point Capital closes $886m fund II at hard cap. (FS)
Mill Point Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm, announced today the final close of Mill Point Capital Partners II. Fund II was highly oversubscribed with $886m of total capital commitments and closed at its hard cap in less than four months. This is the second fund raised by Mill Point, which targets control investments in lower middle-market companies in North America across the industrial, business services, and IT services sectors, PE Insights reported.
“We look forward to continuing to partner with lower middle-market businesses where we can implement transformative strategic initiatives and operational improvements to build enduring value,” Dustin Smith, Mill Point Partner.
Ex-SoFi CEO starts the blank-check firm to raise $250m. (FS)
Mike Cagney’s blockchain lending startup Figure Technologies plans to raise $250m through a new blank-check company, Bloomberg reported.
SPAC is called Figure Acquisition I and is sponsored by an affiliate of Figure’s dubbed Fintech Acquisition. Ellington Management owns a significant economic interest in the fintech entity and has the right to designate a director for election to our board of directors.
Figure, a mortgage firm, has not yet selected any business combination target nor initiated any substantive discussions with any company.
EMEA
Britain’s takeover regulator will hold an auction for G4S, to resolve a rancorous and long-running bidding war for the world’s biggest private security company. The regulator rarely steps in to referee an auction but in this case the battle for G4S has become increasingly acrimonious, causing instability for its 535k staff and clients, which include the UK, US and Australian governments, FT reported.
US-based Allied Universal and Canada’s GardaWorld will submit sealed bids for G4S over five days from February 22. The panel said the bidders would have until Feb. 20 to make revised bids for G4S, and if the situation hadn’t been settled by then, the process would head to an auction.
G4S is advised by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Lazard, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters and Brunswick Group. Allied Universal is advised by Credit Suisse, Moelis & Co, Morgan Stanley, AZB & Partners, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Kirkland & Ellis, Sullivan & Cromwell and Teneo.
Turkish Competition Board has approved the $1.9bn acquisition of Calisen, without any conditions.
Completion of the acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction or (if capable of waiver) waiver of the remaining conditions to the acquisition set out in Part Three of the Scheme Document, including the anti-trust condition relating to Ukraine, and the court's sanction of the scheme at the Scheme Sanction Hearing and the delivery of a copy of the court order to the registrar of companies.
Calisen is advised by Citigroup, HSBC, Allen & Overy and Finsbury Glover Hering. West Street is advised by Sullivan & Cromwell. Debt financing is provided by Credit Agricole. Mubadala is advised by Goldman Sachs, Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Goldman Sachs is advised by Norton Rose Fulbright. Blackrock is advised by Goldman Sachs, Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Debt financing is provided by BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs and NatWest Markets.
Some of the world's largest technology companies are complaining to US antitrust regulators about Nvidia's acquisition of Arm Holdings because the deal will harm competition in an area of the industry that is vital to their businesses.
Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and Qualcomm are among companies worried about the $40bn deal and are urging antitrust officials to intervene. The acquisition would give Nvidia control over a critical supplier that licenses essential chip technology to the likes of Apple, Intel, Samsung Electronics, Amazon and China’s Huawei Technologies.
Arm Holdings is advised by Hogan Lovells. Nvidia is advised by Morgan Stanley, AZB & Partners, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Latham & Watkins and Brunswick Group. SoftBank is advised by Goldman Sachs, The Raine Group, Zaoui & Co, Morrison & Foerster, Kekst CNC and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Financial advisors are advised by White & Case.
Sanofi, a global biopharmaceutical company, offered to acquire Kiadis, a clinical-stage company developing cell-based immunotherapy products, for $373m.
“The Kiadis Boards unanimously believe that Sanofi has the resources and financial strength to accelerate development of our NKcell products, to the benefit of patients. We believe this transaction represents compelling value to shareholders and offers a fair reflection of the potential of our platform and pipeline, given the risk/reward profile typical to biotech and the capital required to execute our business plan," Arthur Lahr, Kiadis CEO.
Kiadis is advised by Moelis & Co, Allen & Overy, LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication and Optimum Strategic Communications. Sanofi is advised by PJT Partners and NautaDutilh.
Blackstone Group’s credit unit and Starwood Capital Group will provide $2.5bn in debt financing for the investment firm’s acquisition of a British holiday company. The two private credit providers will split the financing equally for Blackstone’s buyout of Bourne Leisure Holdings.
It’s not clear if some of the debt will be offered to other investors. Blackstone will distribute the real estate-linked debt across its various credit funds including its real estate debt and direct lending vehicles, Bloomberg reported.
Bourne Leisure is advised by Media House. Blackstone is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Sensata Technologies, a industrial technology company, agreed to acquire Xirgo Technologies, a telematics and data insight provider, for $400m. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Sensata’s adjusted net income per share in 2021.
“Xirgo is our first acquisition to expand our smart & connected growth vector, demonstrating progress against this large, fast-growing market opportunity. Xirgo establishes the foundation for our next phase of growth as we become a data insight provider for fleet managers – giving them actionable data in the right place at the right time,” Jeff Cote, Sensata Technologies CEO and President.
Xirgo Technologies is advised by Harris Williams & Co.
Mayr-Melnhof Karton, a paper and packaging manufacturer, agreed to acquire Kwidzyn pulp and paper mill from International Paper, an American pulp and paper company, for $812m.
"The takeover enables MMK to drive innovations for more sustainable packaging solutions in the growing market for virgin fiber cardboard and also creates attractive new perspectives through the integration of pulp and paper at a European location with cost advantages. We have great confidence in the highly qualified team at Kwidzyn to shape a promising future together," Peter Oswald, Mayr-Melnhof CEO.
Teneo swoops to buy Deloitte's UK restructuring arm.
The shake-up of Britain's big four audit firms is to continue in earnest when Deloitte unveils the sale of its restructuring arm to Teneo, a strategic consulting firm which advises many of the UK's biggest companies, Sky News reported
Teneo, which is backed by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, is in advanced talks to acquire the Deloitte business, which has been acting as administrator to the former retail empire of Sir Philip Green.
Macif emerges as frontrunner to acquire Aviva France unit for $3.6bn. (FS)
French mutual insurer Macif has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire Aviva's insurance operations in the country, Bloomberg reported.
Macif is seen as the most suitable buyer because it’s a local player. The unit could fetch more than $3.6bn. The company is competing against French private equity firm Eurazeo.
For Macif, a purchase of Aviva France would be its biggest-ever deal. Eurazeo has been holding talks with Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali about potentially teaming up.
Daimler Trucks labour chief wants clean-tech investments in Germany.
Daimler Trucks, which is being spun off by its parent group later this year, should invest much of a $1.8bn fund for cleaner technologies in Germany, works council chief Michael Brecht.
Daimler announced the fund on February 3 alongside plans to spin off the world’s largest truck and bus maker, as it seeks to increase its appeal to investors as a focused electric, luxury cars business, Reuters reported.
Daimler Trucks has operations around the world and last April announced a fuel joint venture with Sweden’s Volvo Trucks.
Botswana names Premium Nickel Resources as preferred bidder for copper mine.
Botswana picked Premium Nickel Resources as the preferred bidder for its shuttered copper mining group BCL, Bloomberg reported.
The privately-owned Canadian minerals investor has six months to conduct due diligence before making an offer for the state-owned miner, Trevor Glaum, BCL’s liquidator, said in a February 11 memorandum to remaining workers at the group.
Sibur plans to list near opening of $10bn petrochemical unit in mid-2024.
Russia’s largest petrochemicals producer SIBUR was more likely to list in the public markets close to the opening of a $10bn Eastern Siberia production plant by mid-2024, Reuters reported.
The company, which is halfway through a $19bn expansion push to open two new production sites that will roughly treble its pre-2020 polymer output, will instead focus on ramping up its exports to China and other Asian markets, CFO Peter O'Brien told.
Darktrace £4bn float dealt blow as UBS quits as a sponsor. (FS)
The £4bn ($5,5bn) flotation of Darktrace, one of Britain's most prominent technology companies, has been dealt a severe blow by the resignation of one of the investment banks hired to lead it, Sky News reported.
UBS, the Swiss bank, has informed Darktrace that it is no longer able to work on the cybersecurity provider's IPO, which is expected to be among the biggest floats in London this year.
Ardagh considers listing cans unit via Alec Gores SPAC.
Ardagh Group, the global packaging group, is considering listing its beverage can business via a deal with blank-check company Gores Holdings V, Bloomberg reported.
US-listed Ardagh has held talks to merge the unit with the special purpose acquisition company backed by billionaire financier Alec Gores.
KPMG chair resigns. (People)
The senior partner and chair of KPMG UK, Bill Michael, has resigned following a backlash to comments he made during a video call with staff.
KPMG confirmed on February 12 that Michael had resigned and would leave the firm at the end of the month. His resignation follows a virtual town hall meeting on February 8.
“I love the firm and I am truly sorry that my words have caused hurt among my colleagues and for the impact the events of this week have had on them. In light of that, I regard my position as untenable and so I have decided to leave the firm. It has been a privilege to have acted as chair of KPMG. I feel hugely proud of all our people and the things they have achieved, particularly during these very challenging times,” Bill Michael.
APAC
SoftBank-backed Coupang reveals revenue increase ahead of US IPO.
South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang, backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group, filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange, hoping to cash in on strong demand for high-growth tech stocks as it reported a near-doubling of annual revenue and narrowing losses, Reuters reported.
Coupang is aiming for a valuation of around $50bn in its US IPO. This would make it the largest IPO in New York by a company based outside the United States since Alibaba Group Holding in 2014.
Blackstone in advanced talks to acquire Embassy Industrial Parks for $700m. (FS)
Private equity giant Blackstone Group is in advanced talks to acquire Embassy Industrial Parks for $700m from Warburg Pincus and the Embassy Group.
The deal will make Blackstone the biggest warehousing landlord and retail asset owner in India. It would also be India’s first large private equity transaction of 2021 and the largest ever logistics and warehousing deal in the country.
ByteDance explores the sale of Indian TikTok assets to rival Glance.
China’s ByteDance is said to be exploring the sale of the India operations of TikTok to rival unicorn Glance, Reuters reported.
Glance’s parent, mobile advertising technology firm InMobi, also owns short-video app Roposo that has gained in popularity after TikTok was banned by the Indian government in July last year.
SoftBank is a backer of InMobi as well as TikTok’s Chinese parent
PTT Oil surges in Bangkok debut after $1.57bn IPO.
PTT Oil & Retail Business, the retail unit of Thailand’s biggest energy company, jumped in its trading debut after raising about $1.57 bn in the country’s biggest initial public offering in almost a year, Bloomberg reported.
Shares surged 63% in Bangkok, ranking the debut as Thailand’s best on record for an IPO raising more than $500m. The company sold 2.61bn shares to the public at the top end of the marketed price range. The company also has a so-called greenshoe option of 390m shares.
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