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AMERICAS
Sun Capital, a private investment firm focused on defensible businesses in growing markets with tangible performance improvement opportunities, completed the acquisition of Fresh Origins, a grower and shipper of Microgreens and Edible Flowers for food service and retail customers across the United States. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are excited about the opportunity to work closely with Fresh Origins' CEO, Norma St. Amant, to continue to grow and enhance the business. Norma and Company management have built a great organization and we look forward to supporting the company with our operational resources and extensive food industry expertise to help Fresh Origins expand its leadership position in the growing Microgreens and Edible Flowers market," Marc Leder, Sun Capital Co-CEO.
Fresh Origins was advised by Forvis Capital Advisors, Houlihan Lokey and Sidley Austin. Sun Capital was advised by EY Parthenon, Ernst & Young, Kirkland & Ellis and Stanton PRM.
Sun Pharma, the world's fourth largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire Concert Pharmaceuticals, a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, for $427m.
"We are pleased to enter into this exciting transaction with Sun Pharma, which delivers substantial value to our shareholders and is the outcome of a thorough review process overseen by the Concert Board. Our mission at Concert has always been to translate innovative science to clinical solutions in order to meaningfully improve patients' lives. We are proud to see our team's accomplishment – creating a valuable new drug candidate for a major, underserved disease – appropriately recognized and valued by Sun Pharma as a means to expand their ongoing, international commitment to dermatology. I am confident that this transaction will maximize value for our shareholders and enhance access to deuruxolitinib for patients with Alopecia Areata," Roger Tung, Concert President and CEO.
Concert is advised by Chestnut Corporate Finance, MTS Health Partners and Goodwin Procter. SunPharma is advised by Moelis & Co and Davis Polk & Wardwell.
WildFire Energy I, an independent energy company, agreed to acquire the Brazos Valley region of Eagle Ford assets of Chesapeake Energy, an American exploration and production company, for $1.4bn.
"Today marks an important step on our path to exiting the Eagle Ford as we focus our capital on the premium, rock, returns and runway of our Marcellus and Haynesville positions. We remain actively engaged with other parties regarding the rest of our Eagle Ford position," Nick Dell'Osso, Chesapeake President and CEO.
Chesapeake Energy is advised by Citigroup, Evercore, RBC Capital Markets, Haynes and Boone and DrivePath.
Grain Management, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Spectrotel, a next-generation aggregator and integrated technology services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Grain is a significant investor around the broadband and managed services sector, and we could not be more excited to be taking this step with the Spectrotel team. We deeply admire the value Spectrotel brings to the marketplace and the exceptional reputation they have built with their customers and partners, and we look forward to supporting their continued growth as a leader in their space," Jenny Kashdan, Grain Management Managing Director.
Spectrotel was advised by Citizens M&A and Wachtel Missry. Grain Management was advised by Alston & Bird.
Astara Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, completed the investment in Wyandot Snacks, a high-quality snack foods manufacturer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to partner with Astara on this exciting new chapter for Wyandot. Astara's investment will allow Wyandot to better serve our customers and accelerate our growth – while upholding the legacy and core values instilled by the Brown family that have made Wyandot a success since its founding over 85 years ago," Dewey Armstrong, Wyandot Snacks CEO.
Astara Capital Partners was advised by Fredrikson & Byron and Cascadia Capital.
Capacity, the AI-powered support automation platform, agreed to acquire Textel, a cloud-based texting platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Providing the ideal customer experience is top of mind for businesses, but can create redundant tasks that prevent employees from focusing on more complex projects requiring a higher level of attention. Capacity eliminates repetitive tasks by streamlining support via web, mobile, email and internal chat. Still, we needed to incorporate a missing element to the equation: SMS. Adding Textel's deep expertise in SMS messaging will allow us to enrich our current offering and give teams even more time back in their days to complete their best work," David Karandish, Capacity Co-Founder and CEO.
Capacity is advised by BLASTmedia.
HGGC, a middle-market private equity firm, completed the investment in Dentive, a founder-run dental service organization. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"HGGC is focused on being a good partner — helping where we can while empowering teams to reach their full potential. What we love about Dentive is their approach is exactly the same – all of Dentive's partners are owners, and they empower the dentists they work with. That's a perfect fit for HGGC," Steve Young, HGGC Chairman and Co-Founder.
HGGC was advised by Stanton PRM.
General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, completed the investment in Village Pet Care, a new pet care services platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to launch Village Pet Care with the mission of providing high-quality services to families across the US. As the pet population continues to grow, we see a real opportunity to build a trusted network of care providers offering key services and adhering to our standards of excellence. With the support of General Atlantic, we intend to continue expanding our geographic reach and service offerings, all while striving to go above and beyond for our customers and their pets," Shane Kelly, Village Pet Care CEO.
Intelliswift Software, a digital transformation and talent solutions provider, completed the acquisition of Global Infotech, a consulting firm specializing in Salesforce development, business/product orchestration, enterprise IT integration, and testing. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are very enthusiastic about this move. We established natural synergies early on during our conversations with Intelliswift and envisioned the compelling value proposition we would be able to offer to our existing and new clients. As a proven expert in our ecosystem, we will add to Intelliswift's vast capabilities by strengthening their Salesforce offerings," Atul Sharma, GIT CEO.
HealthEdge Investment Partners-backed The Corridor Group, an outsourced coding, revenue cycle and education solutions provider, completed the acquisition of outsourced services business unit of Select Data, a healthcare technology company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Select Data is an innovative service provider with expert staff and an excellent reputation. Corridor's unique ability to deliver quality services at scale will bring added value to Select Data's clients," Des Varady, Corridor CEO.
Simplicity, a financial product distribution company, completed the acquisition of IMS Associates, a brokerage general agency based in Orange County. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Sean and the entire IMS team will make a great addition to Simplicity. Their growth-minded approach and dedication to service has made them a success since IMS was founded by Brent Giroux in 1986. With a strong, young leader like Sean driving the business forward, we look forward to working together to help streamline efficiencies, add resources for their agents, and continue to expand their business," Bruce Donaldson, Simplicity President and CEO.
Abingworth, a trans-atlantic bio-science investment firm, led a $150m funding round in Pathalys Pharma, a private, late-stage biopharma company, with participation from Carlyle, OrbiMed, Catalys Pacific and DaVita Venture Group.
"Pathalys is very excited to collaborate with Launch Tx and to have the backing of such an esteemed group of healthcare investors. Through this collaboration and transaction, Pathalys expects to be fully funded through the completion of its planned phase 3 trials, and pre-commercialization efforts for upacicalcet. We look forward to working closely with Launch Tx to advance upacicalcet toward registration in the US with the goal of making this important product candidate available for dialysis patients with SHPT," Neal Fowler, Pathalys CEO.
RSA Security explores $2bn plus sale of Archer.
RSA Security, the former cyber security division of Dell Technologies, is exploring a sale of its risk and compliance software unit Archer for more than $2bn, Reuters reported.
RSA is working with investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group on an auction for Archer, which has attracted interest from other companies and buyout firms.
Crypto news site CoinDesk hires banker to explore potential sale.
Crypto outlet CoinDesk is exploring a full or partial sale of its business and has hired investment bank Lazard to lead the process, Reuters reported.
"My goal in hiring Lazard is to explore various options to attract growth capital to the CoinDesk business, which may include a partial or full sale," Kevin Worth, CoinDesk CEO.
Preston Hollow Community Capital completes $185m financing for residential housing development at Brooks. (RE)
Preston Hollow Community Capital announced the closing of a $185m tax-exempt bond financing related to the development of a new build-to-rent residential community known as Los Cielos in partnership with the Brooks Development Authority, located in San Antonio.
Los Cielos covers approximately 70 acres on the Brooks campus and will feature 492 for-rent, single-family homes, each with an attached two-car garage and a backyard. Neighborhood highlights include an amenity center, a working center, a pool, gathering areas, a dog park, and pickleball courts.
Crypto startup Chia’s new CEO isn’t giving up on IPO goals.
Chia Network has a new chief executive officer who says he’s planning for an eventual public offering, despite the deep freeze in the crypto markets, Bloomberg reported.
The blockchain startup plans to announce that Gene Hoffman was appointed CEO. Hoffman, who was the company’s chief operating officer, succeeds Bram Cohen in the top post. Cohen was named chairman of the board and chief technology officer.
Blackstone raises record secondary PE fund. (FS)
Blackstone has held the final close of its latest global secondaries strategy, Strategic Partners IX, and inaugural GP-led continuation fund strategy, Strategic Partners GP Solutions with commitments of $22.2bn and $2.7bn respectively.
Blackstone Strategic Partners is focused on providing a range of liquidity solutions to both investors and private equity sponsors, including single interest and portfolio sales, GP-led secondaries, and co-investments.
Audax Private Debt closes Audax Direct Lending Solutions Fund II, with $4.5bn of investable capital. (FS)
Audax Private Debt, a provider of financing solutions for middle market private equity sponsors, successfully closed Audax Direct Lending Solutions Fund II with $3bn of capital commitments. The new fund, which reached its hard cap, exceeded its fundraising target of $2.25bn and, including targeted leverage, provides New York-based Audax Private Debt with $4.5bn of total investable capital.
“We are extremely pleased to have again received broad investor interest in our Direct Lending Solutions strategy and want to thank our limited partners. We believe the demand for DLS Fund II reflects our excellent investing track record, our deep experience across multiple credit cycles, and our consistent underwriting approach in a wide variety of economic environments. Coupled with our other senior debt and junior capital funds, the expansion of our unitranche financing capabilities through DLS Fund II further positions Audax Private Debt as a lender of choice to private equity borrowers,” Kevin P. Magid, Audax Private Debt President.
B Capital closes third growth fund series at $2.1bn. (FS)
B Capital, a global multi-stage investment firm announced the close of its third venture growth fund and related companion funds, with aggregate capital commitments of approximately $2.1bn. Together, these funds position B Capital to leverage the firm’s growth investing capabilities across the globe, with an emphasis on the US and Asia.
“Since its inception, B Capital has been committed to investing in cutting-edge technology companies. Growth Fund III’s portfolio includes companies that are transforming their respective industries and generating meaningful impact. Our strategic partnership with Boston Consulting Group and strong on-the-ground presence in key geographies enable us to provide our portfolio companies with targeted insights and expert advice. This multi-faceted, forward-thinking strategy lays a foundation for consistent portfolio company growth and firm success," Eduardo Saverin, B Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner.
Garnett Station Partners closes fund 4.0 with $850m in committed capital. (FS)
Garnett Station Partners, a New York-based principal investment firm that manages $2bn of assets, announced the successful close of GSP 4.0 Fund-A and GSP 4.0 Fund-B with total committed capital of $850m. Raised over a period of six months, the Fund was significantly oversubscribed with commitments from leading global investors, including financial institutions, endowments, foundations, pensions and family offices.
“We will bring the same GSP values of accountability, analytical rigor, collaboration and entrepreneurship to the Fund that have driven our firm since day one. We are excited for what we believe will be a compelling investment landscape, particularly given our team’s track record investing up and down the capital structure and across economic cycles,” Alex Sloane, Garnett Station Partners Managing Partner and Co-Founder.
LA Fire & Police makes $190m alts allocation. (FS)
Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions has committed an additional allocation totalling $190m to four alternative investment funds.
The $26.9bn pension fund revealed new commitments of up to $75m to buyout fund GTCR XIV, up to $50m to buyout fund Accel-KKR Capital Partners VII, and up to $15m to buyout fund New Heritage Capital Fund IV.
EMEA
Schneider Electric, a manufacturer of electrical power products, completed the acquisition of the remaining 40% stake in AVEVA, a British software company, from Davidson Kempner, an alternative investment management firm, for £4bn ($4.9bn).
"By taking 100% ownership of AVEVA, we will be able to grow the business faster by simplifying decision-making, enabling seamless interactions between teams, accelerating our investments in R&D and enabling a more coordinated sales strategy, while respecting the companies' particular strengths, and accelerating the transition to a subscription business model under private ownership," Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric CEO.
Private equity firms Altor Equity Partners and Marlin Equity Partners agreed to acquire Meltwater, a software-as-a-service solution and the world's first online media monitoring company, for $586m.
"Altor and Marlin are aligned with Meltwater's strategy and taking Meltwater private will enable a greater ability to execute on this strategy by investing in product, sales and strategic M&A, as Meltwater has successfully pursued historically. Our longstanding investment in Meltwater is based on our confidence in its leadership position, strong culture, and team, and we remain very confident in the company's future potential," Mattias Holmström, Altor Partner.
Meltwater is advised by DNB Bank, JP Morgan, DLA Piper, Houthoff and Schjodt. Altor is advised by Carnegie Investment Bank, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Thommessen. Marlin Equity is advised by Carnegie Investment Bank, AKD, Goodwin Procter and Wiersholm.
Equistone, a mid-market private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Nexus Vehicle Rental, a B2B vehicle rental aggregator platform, from Phoenix Equity Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Nexus operates a unique business model very effectively, and provides a great service to its customers and suppliers where the attractiveness of its proposition has been demonstrated over many years. The business, led by an impressive management team, has navigated the challenges presented by the pandemic and the vehicle supply shortage admirably, demonstrating its resilience and its ability to provide a top-quality service to its customer base to whom vehicle supply is often 'mission-critical.' Equistone's Manchester office has been tracking Nexus for a number of years and we're excited to be partnering with the team in its next phase of growth," Andi Tomkinson, Equistone Partner.
Nexus Vehicle Rental was advised by Deloitte, KPMG, OC&C Strategy Consultants, Houlihan Lokey, Park Place Corporate Finance, Squire Patton Boggs, Travers Smith and Endava. Equistone was advised by Deloitte, Simon Kucher, Rothschild & Co, Addleshaw Goddard (led by Paul Medlicott), PricewaterhouseCoopers and Crosslake Technologies. Debt financing was provided by Ares Management. Ares Management was advised by Dentons.
Symphony Technology Group, an American private equity firm based in Menlo Park, agreed to invest in Alveo, a cloud-based data management, analytics, and Data-as-a-Service provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Alveo's employees, customers and partners, have helped build a leading solution for the financial services sector. We are excited to partner with STG to continue enhancing our customer value proposition and expanding the range of products and services we can offer. STG's experience in investing in software, data and analytics companies and their capital markets domain experience makes them a great partner to accelerate our progress and the development of Alveo in a highly dynamic and regulated market," Mark Hepsworth, Alveo CEO.
Alveo is advised by Houlihan Lokey. STG is advised by KPMG and Paul Hastings.
PINOVA Capital, a private equity firm in Munich, completed the acquisition of VTI Ventil Technik, a manufacturer of valves and regulators in the high-pressure segment, from Aalberts, an aluminum precision extrusion company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We are very pleased to have found in PINOVA an experienced partner that fully supports our ambitious growth plans within and outside Europe," Lutz Lohmann, VTI Managing Director.
Aalberts was advised by Houlihan Lokey.
OptiGroup, a business-to-business distributor, agreed to acquire Facility Trade Holding, a hygiene & cleaning products distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We look forward to welcoming Facility Trade Holding to OptiGroup. Facility Trade Holding will complement and further strengthen OptiGroup's service offering for B2B customers active in facility management, hotel & restaurant and high-risk work environments in the Benelux region," Sören Gaardboe, OptiGroup President and CEO.
Global Switch $10bn deal talks peter out on valuation.
Discussions about a potential sale of Global Switch have nearly ground to a halt, amid tightening financing conditions and lower-than-expected bids for the London-based data center company, Bloomberg reported.
Deal talks between Global Switch’s Chinese owners and prospective bidders aren’t moving forward as the parties have been unable to bridge a significant value gap from the initial $10bn sought by the sellers. While some bidders haven’t walked away from the discussions, access to financing and differing valuation estimates remain key hurdles to any transaction.
Helios Investment Partners plans to list in US via $1bn SPAC deal. (FS)
Private equity firm Helios Investment Partners plans to merge with Onyx Acquisition I in a deal valued at nearly $1bn, including debt.
Founded in 2004, the Africa-focused firm manages $3.6bn of funds. Helios acquired a 60% stake in major oil company Oando’s downstream business along with Vitol in 2016, DealStreetAsia reported.
Hellman & Friedman weighs options for Italy's TeamSystem. (FS)
Hellman & Friedman is weighing options for its Italian cloud software maker TeamSystem, a business which could be valued at several billion euros.
Private equity investors are showing interest in TeamSystem, which may also attract sovereign wealth funds. Hellman & Friedman is likely to begin a formal sales process next month, Reuters reported.
Openmarkets, a trading and wealth management tech solutions provider, agreed to go public via merger with Broad Capital Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, in a $90m deal.
"The transaction we announced with BRAC today is another important milestone in OMG's recent trajectory. The BRAC board's recognition of our ambition through this merger will allow us to amplify our growth plans, expand our reach into new markets and wealthtech verticals, and continue to strengthen our disruptive B2B solutions for fintechs and finance professionals," Dan Jowett, Openmarkets CEO.
Openmarkets is advised by MSPC Certified Public Accountants and Advisors, ARC Group, Biztech Lawyers, Six O’Clock Advisory and Moore Australia. Broad Capital Acquisition is advised by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough and King Kee Appraisal and Advisory.
General Atlantic, an American growth equity firm, led a $350m funding round in PhonePe, an Indian digital payments and financial technology company, with participation from Marquee Global.
“I would like to thank General Atlantic and all our existing and new investors for the trust they have placed in us. PhonePe is proud to help lead India’s country-wide digitization efforts and believes that this powerful public-private collaboration has made the Indian digital ecosystem a global exemplar. We are an Indian company, built by Indians, and our latest fundraise will help us further accelerate the Government of India’s vision of digital financial inclusion for all,” Sameer Nigam, PhonePe Founder and CEO.
Capital Square Partners, a private equity investment firm, completed the merger with Basil Technology Partners, a specialist technology investor that identifies and invests in niche technologies that are disrupting the IT services space, in a $700m deal.
The companies combined to form a new entity, also known as Capital Square Partners, to deepen their technology services-focused investments.
Novo Tellus, a private equity fund, completed the investment in SP Manufacturing, an electrical/electronic manufacturing company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We're pleased to partner with Novo Tellus to build the future of SP. We found in Novo Tellus a kindred appreciation of our strong customer orientation, and also a deeply informed mindset around how SP is positioned to benefit from long-term tailwinds of digitalisation and automation in our key industries. We've been impressed with Novo Tellus' track record of growing industrial companies globally, and look forward to accelerating growth in our customers and capabilities together in the coming years," Philip Ong, SP Manufacturing CEO.
Sun Life nears insurance deal with Hong Kong’s Dah Sing.
Sun Life Financial is close to sealing an insurance partnership with Hong Kong banking group Dah Sing Financial.
The Canadian insurer has emerged as the likeliest partner for Dah Sing after beating out rival bidders. The so-called bancassurance agreement could be valued at about $200m, Bloomberg reported.
India regulator probes investments between Nippon Mutual Fund, Yes Bank.
An Indian regulator is investigating investments between Nippon India Mutual Fund, the largest foreign-owned fund in the country, and Yes Bank between 2016 and 2019 for suspected misuse of investors' money.
At the time, the parent company of the mutual fund was owned by the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Yes Bank was taken over by the central bank in 2020 and sold to a consortium of banks after a dramatic rise in toxic assets, Reuters reported
Shein in talks to raise funds at a $64bn valuation. (FS)
Shein is in talks to raise up to $3bn in a move that would lead to the Chinese fast-fashion group accepting a vastly reduced valuation of $64bn, down more than a third from its peak following a downturn that has led investors to re-evaluate frothy tech start-up valuations, FT reported.
The internet retailer is seeking to close a new fundraising round from existing investors including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, venture capital group Sequoia China and private equity group General Atlantic.
Vedanta transfers zinc assets to Hindustan Zinc for $3bn.
Vedanta, an Indian multinational mining company headquartered in Mumbai, transferred its zinc assets to its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc for $3bn.
The cash consideration will be done in a phased manner basis agreed milestones. The proposed transaction is subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.
China to soon launch state-backed online platform for ride-hailing, trucking.
China will soon launch a state–backed platform for transport which includes services of ride-hailing, cargo trucking, road transport, railway, ferry and flight services.
The online platform, which has completed internal tests, is expected to integrate more than 90% of total capacity of the transportation market, DealStreetAsia reported.
IQ-EQ to administer TR Capital’s Fund V. (FS)
TR Capital, a secondary private equity fund manager in Asia, has selected IQ-EQ’s Hong Kong and Luxembourg teams to administer the Cayman and Luxembourg parallel structures of its new Fund V.
The Fund V mandate involves both IQ-EQ Hong Kong and IQ-EQ Luxembourg, and the cross-border collaboration is being led by Clare Chang, Business Development Director for Funds in Hong Kong, and Riccardo Zorzetto, Client Relationship Director and Head of Private Equity in Luxembourg.
Bain & Company appoints co-head of Asia Pacific PE practice. (FS, People)
Bain & Company has appointed Sebastien Lamy as co-head of the firm’s private equity practice in Asia Pacific. With over 20 years of consulting experience in the company, Lamy specialises in growth and portfolio strategy, fund strategy, M&A advisory and due diligence, and innovation.
Most recently, he was leader of the region’s Infrastructure Investing practice. Prior to joining Bain, Lamy was managing director of Singapore-based Keppel, where he led group strategy, M&A, technology and innovation. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and an undergraduate degree from the HEC School of Management.
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