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AMERICAS
Cerberus Capital Management, an alternative investment firm, agreed to acquire the North American, Costa Rican, and Japanese businesses and related facilities of Closure Systems International, a global leader in closure design, manufacturing, and high-speed application systems, from Reynolds Group Holdings. Reynolds Group will retain and continue to operate closures businesses in Europe, the Middle East, Egypt, and South America. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“CSI continues to be at the forefront of innovation, addressing customers’ needs for functional, efficient, and environmentally conscious beverage closures. The enthusiasm and capabilities of the CSI leadership team have impressed us from the start. We look forward to supporting the company with financial and operating resources to ensure CSI can extend its track record of delivering high-quality, innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of its customers and to expand into new markets,” Lucas Batzer, Cerberus Managing Director.
Reynolds Group is advised by Goldman Sachs and Debevoise & Plimpton. Cerberus is advised by Schulte Roth & Zabel.
Lincolnshire Management has invested in Powerhouse as well as in two complementary, outsourced business services companies. The combined company will be an asset-light provider of these services for large scale, multi-site projects. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Simultaneous with completing the investment in Powerhouse, a nationwide provider of high-volume, multi-site rollouts, refresh, and recurring facilities maintenance services, Lincolnshire Management also invested in Security Vault Works, which included a highly complementary add-on, One Source Security & Sound.
"Powerhouse and SVW have unique but complementary offerings, backed by strong management teams. We see vast potential for these companies to grow together and believe the combination will create a market-leading provider of outsourced business services. We look forward to helping these highly scalable, tech-enabled companies grow, reach more customers, and develop more services," T.J. Maloney, Lincolnshire Management Chairman, and CEO.
Powerhouse is advised by Baird. Debt financing was provided by Cerberus Capital Management. Lincolnshire Management is advised by SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Kirkland & Ellis.
Genpact, a global professional services firm focused on delivering digital transformation, agreed to acquire Rightpoint, a premier digital consultancy with technology at its core. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal is designed to bring experience and process innovation together to help clients drive end-to-end digital transformation and win in the growing experience economy. Rightpoint's co-founder Ross Freedman will continue as CEO of this business.
"To compete in a digital-first world, drive better outcomes, and unlock new business models, businesses must be able to drive transformation throughout an organization – from customer experience through to operational processes. In the next two years, the fusion of experience innovation and process innovation will become 'table-stakes' as organizations look to reposition themselves in the market. I am very excited to have Ross and the very talented Rightpoint team join Genpact as we together help transform our clients' businesses in this experience economy," Tiger Tyagarajan, Genpact, president, and CEO.
Genpact is advised by Morgan Stanley. Rightpoint is advised by CG Petsky Prunier, part of the Canaccord Genuity.
Wendel, a Europe listed investment firms, agreed to acquire the Crisis Prevention Institute, a training organization specializing in the safe management of disruptive and assaultive behavior, from FFL Partners at an enterprise value of $910m. Under terms of the proposed acquisition, Wendel will make an equity investment of up to approximately $590m for a 98% ownership interest in the company, alongside CPI’s management team. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019 or the first quarter of 2020, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.
“CPI is at the forefront of providing crisis management and prevention skills to professionals in the healthcare and education fields that face traumatic and potentially violent incidents on a daily basis. CPI has a long track record of growth under the leadership of Tony Jace, and we think it has a substantially larger opportunity to expand into other geographies and industries that can benefit from its programs. We look forward to working with Tony and his team to support the Company’s mission and its continued growth," Adam Reinmann, Wendel North America CEO.
CPI is advised by Raymond James, Harris Williams, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
Repay, a provider of vertically-integrated payment solutions, agreed to acquire APS Payments for $60m, of which $30m was paid at closing. The remaining $30m will be paid based on APS’ performance for the 12-month periods ending December 2019, June 2020, and December 2020.
APS is an integrated payments provider focused on the B2B vertical. APS goes to market in the B2B vertical through key integrations with ERP platforms.
“APS fits our M&A strategy of acquiring high growth businesses with attractive margins, a strong existing distribution model, and technology enhancement opportunities – operating in large, fast-growing addressable markets. In addition, APS provides us with end-market diversification and organic growth opportunities, which we believe will help drive shareholder value. We are thrilled to welcome the APS team into the REPAY family and look forward to working together to grow B2B electronic payments, as businesses continue to implement new payment technology,” John Morris, Repay CEO.
Lee Equity Partners, a buyout house which invests between $50m and $100m of equity per transaction, agreed to acquire TZP Group's student housing and hospitality furniture business - The Living Company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
TLC has an installed base of more than 600k rooms at more than 2k student housing properties in the US. TZP bought the business three years ago when it was known as University Furnishings, and has since expanded its remit to cover furniture delivery and installation for corporate housing, hotels, and other hospitality providers.
“TLC has an impressive reputation with clients given their strong value proposition as a risk manager and their exceptional, decade-long on-time delivery and installation track record," Yoo Jin Kim, Lee Equity Partner.
Intel, a designer, manufacturer and seller of computer products and technologies, agreed to acquire the Smart Edge, a cloud-native, scalable, and secure platform for multi-access edge computing, from Pivot Technology Solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This transaction enhances our ability to address the 5G network transformation with a leading position in edge computing. We plan to take full advantage of our combined technologies and teams to accelerate the development of the edge computing market while creating a compelling solution for customers,” Dan Rodriguez, Intel vice president in the Data Center Group and general manager of the Network Compute Division.
Mintaka Financial, a commercial finance company, agreed to acquire a majority stake in Summit Commercial Finance. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal comes as part of Mintaka's strategy to form closer relationships with origination channels, to better understand customer and vendor needs. With the acquisition of Summit, Mintaka will benefit from direct relationships with Summit's vendor channel affiliates and the ability to develop more competitive products to borrowers.
"This is the culmination of an extremely close relationship. This deal enables us to be closer to the customer and better understand the market, ultimately leading to more competitive offerings. In addition, our ability to dedicate additional sales and marketing resources towards deeper vertical market penetration means growth for our company and more value for our investors," Quentin Cote, Mintaka President.
CISOSHARE, provider of security program development, professional, and managed services, completed the acquisition of Latus Solutions, a highly specialized technology integrator that is focused on supporting our clients across the entire information security lifecycle. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The combination of the companies will further strengthen CISOSHARE as a provider of security program solutions and services. Latus' technical security solution reselling capability will complement CISOSHARE's existing professional and managed services. This acquisition enables CISOSHARE to offer a full suite of security program-related services and capabilities to clients.
"We have partnered with Latus for years and know that they believe in the same value philosophies that we do. We are excited to add more fuel to the fire as we position ourselves as the go-to partner for our clients in winning this cybersecurity war," Mike Gentile, CISOSHARE Founder, CEO, and President.
WeWork to choose JP Morgan's financing package over SoftBank's control. (FS)
WeWork is more interested in a near $5bn financing package led by JP Morgan, instead of selling a controlling stake to Japan's SoftBank Group, Bloomberg reported.
The debt package may include at least $2bn of unsecured notes with a 15% coupon. The report said that WeWork preferred the JP Morgan package over a stake sale to SoftBank, which already owns around one-third of the company because it would not dilute the stakes of top private shareholders.
Groups interested in PES refinery entered into the second phase of the bidding process.
Groups vying for the idled Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery have entered the second phase of the bidding process and are gearing up for visits to the plant, Reuters reported.
Parties that have publicly declared their pursuit of the PES complex include a group led by onetime PES Chief Executive Officer Philip Rinaldi, which has proposed restarting the full 335k barrel-per-day refinery and adding renewable natural gas production. Philadelphia-based S.G. Preston pitched a renewable diesel and renewable jet fuel operation that would use a portion of the plant’s processing and logistics infrastructure. Real estate developers, including Industrial Realty Group and Alterra Property Group, have also made early bids.
Roughly a dozen parties are in the running to buy the refinery, pitching various uses for the fire-damaged facility that has been used to store and process fossil fuels for the last 150 years. The effort began after PES closed its refinery and filed for bankruptcy on July 21, following a colossal blaze at one of its most dangerous fuel-producing units.
Barneys to complete $270m bankruptcy deal with Authentic Brands.
US luxury department-store chain Barneys New York is nearing a roughly $270m deal with brand developer Authentic Brands Group that could lead to Barneys shops opening in Saks Fifth Avenue stores, Reuters reported.
Without an offer from Authentic Brands, Barneys faced winding down its business entirely. It filed for bankruptcy protection in August, citing rent hikes as a factor in its decision.
Authentic Brands’ offer for Barneys calls for a handful of its storied brick-and-mortar outposts to remain open, potentially including its flagship Madison Avenue store in Manhattan and its Beverly Hills location. Whether the existing retail locations remain open will depend on negotiations with landlords. Barneys currently has seven physical retail locations remaining.
Faraday Future founder files for bankruptcy to repay personal debts.
Faraday Future founder and Chief Executive Officer Jia Yueting has filed for bankruptcy in the United States and plans to turn over his stake in the Chinese electric vehicle firm to repay his personal debts, which are around $2bn.
Yueting’s plan will not affect Faraday Future’s business operations, said the company, which has ambitions to overtake Tesla. Faraday Future added that CEO Yueting would focus on its US-China dual home market strategy and help prepare for an IPO.
Russia's Rosatom considers buying a controlling stake in the Chile lithium project.
Uranium One Group, a subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom, may buy a controlling stake in a lithium project in Chile’s Atacama salt flat from Wealth Minerals, a Canada-listed company said.
Under a deal struck with Wealth, the Russian nuclear firm has the option to purchase up to a 51% stake in Wealth’s Atacama project in northern Chile. Chile’s Atacama salt flat, home to lithium producers SQM and Albemarle, accounts for around one-third the world’s supply of lithium, a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric vehicles, tablets, and cell phones.
Brazil's Yduqs considers acquiring Adtalem business.
Brazilian for-profit education company Yduqs, formerly known as Estacio Participacoes, is in exclusive talks to acquire assets owned by Adtalem Global Education, Reuters reported.
Reuters reported in August that Adtalem had put its assets in Brazil up for sale, including flagship university Ibmec, and expected to fetch at least BRL2bn ($482m).
Apollo considers offering $40 per share for Hilton Grand. (FS)
Apollo Global Management made the first-round offer for Hilton Grand Vacations valuing the timeshare resort operator at about $40 per share, Bloomberg reported.
The Blackstone Group also bid for the Orlando, Florida-based company.
Whiting Petroleum in talks with smaller rival Abraxas Petroleum.
Whiting Petroleum, an oil and gas producer with operations in North Dakota and Colorado, is in deal talks with San Antonio-based Abraxas Petroleum, Reuters reported.
A deal would increase Whiting’s acreage in the second-largest US shale field by output and spread its overhead costs over higher production.
EMEA
Seplat, an indigenous E&P with a robust operational platform, agreed to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Eland Oil & Gas, an AIM-quoted independent oil and gas company focused on production and development in West Africa, for £382m ($480m).
The Seplat Board believes that a combination with Eland will create a scaled Nigerian E&P champion with the footprint and technical capabilities to further grow and consolidate in Nigeria, cementing Seplat's position as one of the independent players.
"This recommended offer from Seplat represents the culmination of a very successful journey by Eland, the management team, and all of its stakeholders. Since founding Eland, we have, jointly with our partners in Elcrest, acquired our interests in OML 40, a non-producing asset, achieved a record production on this asset and become a significant independent producer in Nigeria's E&P landscape and one of the biggest oil producers on London's AIM market. Eland has, in a period which has seen a significant cyclical downturn in our industry, outperformed most of its peers and the AIM Oil & Gas Index. This transaction represents a record share price for Eland and crystallizes Eland's stated goal to maximize shareholder value," George Maxwell, Eland CEO.
Eland Oil & Gas is advised by Peel Hunt, Stifel, Evercore, Mayer Brown, Streamsowers & Köhn, Stronach, and Camarco. Seplat Petroleum Development is advised by Investec, Citigroup, Olaniwun Ajayi, White & Case, and FTI Consulting.
Russia’s anti-monopoly service is considering changing regulations to allow Finnish utility Fortum to raise its stake in Germany’s Uniper, Reuters reported.
In October, state-controlled Fortum agreed to buy a stake of more than 21% in Uniper for €2.3bn ($2.5bn), bringing its total holding to more than 71%.
The deal, however, is subject to approval in Russia, where regulators have so far capped Fortum’s ownership of Uniper at 45% due to a water license operated by the German firm’s local subsidiary Unipro.
Uniper is advised by Morgan Stanley, Rothschild & Co, Shearman & Sterling, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Finsbury. Fortum is advised by Barclays, Perella Weinberg Partners, Clifford Chance, Hengeler Mueller, and Roschier Attorneys. EON is advised by Goldman Sachs and Linklaters.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will invest at least €500m ($552m) in a KKR-owned holding firm which is conducting a public tender offer for the shares of German publisher Axel Springer, Reuters reported.
The investment by CPPIB's European subsidiary will happen in the coming months and is subject to regulatory approvals.
Axel Springer is advised by Allen & Company, Goldman Sachs, Lazard, Hengeler Mueller, and FTI Consulting. KKR is advised by UniCredit, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Community Group, Finsbury.
Pilgrim’s Pride, a Brazilian-owned, multi-national food company, completed its acquisition of Tulip, an integrated prepared foods supplier with 12 new and value-added operations in the United Kingdom, from Danish Crown, a Danish food processing company, for £290m ($354m).
The parties said the transaction would solidify Pilgrim’s as an European food company and one of the most significant integrated prepared foods businesses in the United Kingdom.
“Pilgrim’s is already strongly positioned within the UK chicken market and would like to strengthen its position within the market for pork,” the company said.
Danish Crown was advised by Linklaters.
Apax Partners, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire majority stake in GNB Vida from Novo Banco, and launch GamaLife, a new European life and wealth consolidation platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
GNB Vida offers protection, savings, and retirement products distributed through Novo Banco’s 401 branches. The transaction will see GamaLife relaunch the product and distribution offering of GNB Vida with a view to becoming a true leader in the Portuguese insurance market thanks to a new long-term exclusive distribution agreement with Novo Banco.
“We have been proactively targeting the life insurance and wealth management markets for a number of years. We are excited to back Matteo and his team to grow the GamaLife platform, both organically and through further consolidation of the European market. In doing so, we are pleased to have the opportunity to help cement GNB Vida’s position as a life insurance partner for Novo Banco,” Frank Ehmer, Apax Partners Partner.
Apax Partners is advised by Greenbrook and Kekst CNC.
Nordic Capital, a private equity investment company, agreed to acquire majority stake in iLOQ, provides self-powered digital locking and mobile access management solutions, from Sievi Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are very excited to take the next step on our journey. Together with Nordic Capital, we will be able to accelerate our international growth agenda and continue to invest to develop new technologies, features, and products to best serve our customers. Nordic Capital is well placed to support our future growth through its sector expertise and extensive experience in organic growth acceleration and international expansion,” Heikki Hiltunen, iLOQ CEO.
Naturgy, which provides gas and electricity, and Sonatrach, the owner, and operator of the gas pipeline in Algeria, both agreed to acquire a 42% stake in Medgaz pipeline from Mubadala, an Abu Dabi investment firm, for $880m. Naturgy will pay €445m ($490m) to Mubadala for a 34% stake and structure the deal through a particular purpose vehicle, while Sonatrach is bidding for the other 8%.
The operation will allow Naturgy to transform its current 15% stake in Medgaz, from being a financial investment with minimal government rights to a strategic stake that will allow joint control of the company along with Sonatrach.
“As a whole, it is a desirable operation for Naturgy, both because it is a strategic infrastructure asset, where we increase our control position significantly, as well as the financial terms reached in the agreement, which represent an attractive price for stable dividends and Long-term predictable that meet our criteria for generating shareholder value,” Francisco Reynés, President of Naturgy.
ARX Equity Partners, a private equity firm with a 20-year track record supporting the growth and development of mid-sized companies in Central Europe, completed the majority acquisition of TES Vsetin, an engineering company active primarily in the manufacturing of system components relating to electrical machines. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“We are very impressed with TES’ ability to deliver high-quality solutions for a demanding blue-chip customer base, and we look forward to partnering with their already strong management team to drive future growth in an exciting new chapter for the business,” Michal Aron, ARX Partner.
AXA considers exiting operations in Central Europe.
French insurer AXA is considering selling its Central European business as part of a restructuring to quit markets where it lacks scale, Reuters reported.
AXA is undergoing a profound restructuring to help it cope with a negative interest rate environment and make the French group stronger on health and property and damage insurance.
Ardian considers selling French chemicals maker DRT. (FS)
Buyout group Ardian is preparing to sell French maker of chemicals used in food ingredients, fragrances, and adhesives Les Derives Resiniques et Terpeniques (DRT) as it seeks to benefit from the strong performance of the sector, Reuters reported.
Ardian is working with Rothschild & Co and Citi on the divestiture, which is expected to launch before year-end. DRT, which produces ingredients derived mainly from pine trees, could be valued at up to €2bn ($2.2bn).
KKR to prepare defense supplier Hensoldt's IPO. (FS)
KKR is advancing with preparations for a stock market flotation of German defense supplier Hensoldt in a deal potentially valuing the company at more than €2bn ($2.2bn), Reuters reported.
The buyout group is working with JP Morgan and Bank of America on potentially listing 20-30% of the company on the Frankfurt stock exchange, in a deal that could take place in the second quarter of 2020.
Aramco to pay up to $450m in fees to IPO advisers. (FS)
Advisers working on Saudi Aramco’s mammoth share sale may split a fee pool of as much as $450m, Bloomberg reported, making it one of the biggest IPO payouts globally.
The oil giant is set to pay between $350m and $450m to a group of more than 20 banks working on its initial public offering. The payment would represent a fee of about 1% on the $40bn Aramco is seeking to raise - relatively low in comparison to other markets.
UK Government ministers were not involved in talks to save Thomas Cook.
Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fankhauser said it was only in an "awfully sad" phone call with an official from the Department for Transport, hours before the liquidation, in which he learned that the government had refused to provide a £200m ($251m) lifeline to the 178-year-old firm.
He added that there had been no contact at all from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy - and that meanwhile, ministers from five other countries had been in touch.
Helios Towers' successful IPO provides relief to the restless market. (FS)
Shares in African mobile networks operator Helios Towers were up slightly on their market debut in London, providing some relief to a jittery market for initial public offerings.
Helios Towers, which operates phone masts in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, set its IPO size at $317m and gave the company a market capitalization of $1.45bn. The format was short of the maximum target of $500m. The shares rose more than 4% at one stage in early trade.
Market participants were watching the Helios IPO closely after Kazakh fintech Kaspi kz postponed its float in London last week, reviving concerns about stock market listings in Europe. The London market has faced additional volatility from uncertainty about Britain’s departure from the European Union.
HSBC chooses Lazard to sell the French retail business. (FS)
HSBC Holdings has hired US investment bank Lazard to sell its French retail business, Reuters reported, as part of a plan by new interim chief executive Noel Quinn to reduce costs across the banking group.
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank by assets, has carried out a strategic review of the French retail business, which has around 270 branches and employs up to 3k staff out of 8k in France overall.
The business could be worth about €1bn ($1.1bn), analysts and bankers estimated.
APAC
KKR and GIC agreed to invest $685m in Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, the operator of the largest private hospitals and healthcare network in the Philippines in terms of authorized bed capacity and revenue, with interests in 14 hospitals and approximately 3.2k beds across the country.
“We welcome KKR as a new shareholder. Its cash infusion into Metro Pacific Hospitals will enable us to further grow our network, on our way to our new target of 5k beds and 30 hospitals before 2030. We also look forward to accessing KKR’s various healthcare companies in its global portfolio to bring over new technologies and processes to improve healthcare services in our country,” Augusto P. Palisoc Jr., Metro Pacific Hospitals President & CEO.
MPIC and GIC are advised by Milbank, Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS. KKR is advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Sycip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan.
Acino, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire the drug portfolio of Takeda Pharmaceutical, a global, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical firm headquartered in Japan, for $200m.
This is the third transaction in FY19 that furthers Takeda’s strategy to focus on business areas core to its long-term growth and facilitate rapid deleveraging following its acquisition of Shire.
“The divestment of non-core assets sold in NEMEA represents the continued execution of our strategy to optimize our portfolio, invest in the defined core business areas, and accelerate our progress toward reaching our target leverage ratio,” Costa Saroukos, Takeda Chief Financial Officer.
Takeda is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, White & Case, and Deloitte.
Saudi Aramco considers buying the government's stake in BPCL.
Saudi Aramco may be in the fray to buy out the Indian government’s stake of Bharat Petroleum, as it allows the oil giant to pierce into one of the world’s biggest oil retail markets, EconomicTimes India reported.
The Indian government is looking at selling its 53.3% percent stake into a strategic investor in the most significant privatization bid in the history of India.
KKR-led consortium to cancel Australia's Latitude IPO. (FS)
KKR and its partners have canceled what was expected to be the most significant Australian IPO of the year, the listing of their lender Latitude Financial, Reuters reported.
In what was to be their second attempt at listing in just over a year, KKR, Deutsche Bank and Varde Partners, decided to cancel the expected A$1bn ($676m) offering, because a large proportion of demand for shares was coming from hedge funds rather than desired long-term investors.
PT Dayamitra to acquire Indonesia's Indosat telco towers in a $450m deal.
PT Indosat, the Indonesian unit of Qatar’s Ooredoo Group, said it has signed a IDR6.4tn ($452m) deal to sell 3k telecommunication towers, which will be leased back.
Indosat said in a statement 2.1k units of towers will be sold to PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi, and one thousand units will be sold to PT Profesional Telekomunikasi Indonesia. The company aims to close the sales, which will be paid in cash before the end of the year.
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