AMERICAS
Xerox is pulling the plug on its hostile bid to acquire its larger rival HP after the coronavirus pandemic undermined Xerox's ability to pull off the debt-laden merger.
Xerox intends to end both its c. $30bn tender offer and a proxy fight to replace the printer and PC maker's board. Xerox has concluded it is no longer reasonable to pursue the deal given the public health crisis and resulting market collapse.
HP is advised by Goldman Sachs and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. Xerox is advised by Citigroup, King & Spalding, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Debt financing is provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Mizuho Securities.
A Tencent-led consortium completed the acquisition of a 10% stake in Universal Music Group, an American global music corporation, from Vivendi, a French mass media conglomerate headquartered in Paris, for $3.4bn.
The consortium has the option to purchase up to an additional 10% equity stake in UMG at an equivalent enterprise valuation as in the transaction until January 15, 2021.
"Tencent and the Consortium members are excited to support UMG's growth through this investment. Together with Vivendi, Tencent and Tencent Music Entertainment will work to broaden the opportunities for artists and to enrich experiences for music fans, further promoting a thriving music and entertainment industry," Tencent.
Tencent-led consortium was advised by Morgan Stanley, Davis Polk & Wardwell, NautaDutilh, Deloitte and FTI Consulting. Debt financing was provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of China, HSBC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Morgan Stanley.
"We are excited to have Stonepeak as our new sponsor. We welcome the operational and capital support that Stonepeak will provide. Their deep experience and relationships in North America will help fuel our continued growth and reinforce our industry leadership position in providing the highest quality products, reliable equipment and best-in-class customer service to the marine intermodal and transportation industries," Jennifer Polli, TRAC President and CEO.
TRAC was advised by Citigroup, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and RCL Communications. Stonepeak was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
"We have been impressed with EVO’s growth strategy since we made our initial investment in December 2012. We look forward to building on our partnership with EVO’s leadership team as we work together to continue to extend the Company’s global footprint and further its growth," Vahe Dombalagian, MDP Managing Director.
EVO Payments is advised by JP Morgan and King & Spalding. MDP is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Latham & Watkins and Abernathy MacGregor Group.
"We’ve had the benefit of knowing and watching Command Alkon and Phil Ramsey for over a decade now. We believe in the company’s vision of an integrated supply chain across the heavy construction market, and we can bring our world-class operating principles to help realize their vision faster for the benefit of all constituents," A.J. Rohde, Thoma Bravo Partner.
Command Alkon is advised by William Blair & Co, Dechert and MediaFirst PR. Thoma Bravo is advised by Kirkland & Ellis.
"The divestiture of Cimcool aligns with our previously disclosed intent to seek strategic alternatives for the business and allows us to remain focused on the continued integration of the Milacron APPT and MDCS businesses with Hillenbrand. The proceeds from the sale will be used for de-leveraging activities, strengthening our financial position as we seek to enhance our leadership positions in the industrial platforms that represent our most compelling opportunities for profitable growth," Joe Raver, Hillenbrand President and CEO.
DuBois Chemicals was advised by De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and Mayer Brown. Hillenbrand was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Baker McKenzie.
ElevateBio completed a $170m Series B financing round. (FS)
ElevateBio, a Cambridge-based creator and operator of a portfolio of innovative cell and gene therapy companies, completed a $170m Series B financing round. New investors, The Invus Group, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), EDBI, and Vertex Ventures, join existing investors, F2 Ventures, MPM Capital, EcoR1 Capital, Redmile Group, and Samsara BioCapital, all of whom also participated in this financing.
"In less than a year since launching ElevateBio, we have firmly established our first-of-its-kind business model in cell and gene therapy, by announcing our initial two therapeutic companies, commencing operations for additional companies, and entering into a 10-year manufacturing partnership with one of the world's top hospital systems. With the support of our new and existing investors, our highly disruptive, capitally efficient model uniquely positions ElevateBio to accelerate the rate of innovation in cell and gene therapy manufacturing, enabling technology platforms, and therapeutic development for many years to come," David Hallal, ElevateBio Co-Founder and CEO.
ElevateBio was advised by ScientPR.
Palo Alto Networks, a global cybersecurity provider, agreed to acquire CloudGenix, a cloud-delivered SD-WAN provider, for $420m.
"As the enterprise becomes more distributed, customers want agile solutions that just work, and that applies to both security and networking. Upon the close of the transaction, the combined platform will provide customers with a complete SASE offering that is best-in-class, easy to deploy, cloud-managed, and delivered as a service," Nikesh Arora, Palo Alto Networks Chairman and CEO.
AlleyCorp to acquire Meetup from WeWork. (FS)
AlleyCorp, a startup studio that invests in early-stage companies, agreed to acquire Meetup, a service used to organize online groups that host in-person events for people with similar interests, from WeWork, an American commercial real estate company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"This acquisition provides the long-term capital to ensure that Meetup focuses on what is most important: the organizers who make Meetup successful, our passionate members, and our dedicated employees. We are excited to continue on our mission of empowering personal growth through real human connections, and I'm happy to have brought in a team of smart investors who share and support the same values," David Siegel, Meetup CEO.
"As a company focused on rapid development and commercialization of new technologies, it's critical that we have the capability to quickly manufacture prototypes while being able to efficiently transition to production level volumes. Adhering to high-quality standards and ensuring timely delivery of our Revenue Ready® solutions benefits our strategic partners and distribution channels. We are looking forward to having increased capabilities at our disposal in order to best serve surgeons and patients," Ryan Schlotterback, Nextremity Solutions CTO.
Via Transportation, an American transportation network and real-time ridesharing company, raised $200m in an Exor-led Series E funding round. The funding round values the company at $2.25bn.
New investors include Shell, Mori Building and Macquarie Capital, along with existing investors Hearst Ventures, Pitango Venture Capital, Planven Ventures, 83North, Ervington Investments, Broadscale Group, RiverPark Ventures.
"We are honored to partner with John, Noam, and the EXOR team to help cities provide accessible, affordable, and environmentally-friendly transit to their residents. Especially in these difficult times, we greatly value EXOR's commitment to Via's vision of a dynamic, data-driven public mobility system that provides more cost-effective and equitable transport to communities everywhere. During this emergency period, we are proud to apply our technology and operational expertise to assist cities with optimizing transit networks, transporting essential workers, and delivering goods and services to individuals in need," Oren Shoval and Daniel Ramot, Via Co-Founders.
"VitalPet aligns nicely with our commitment to provide the most comprehensive care to today's pets. This acquisition is a significant step in our growth strategy and highlights our commitment to delivering high-quality care and integrated extending services focused on the total health and wellbeing of the pet," Shane Kelly, Destination Pet CEO.
"Never before has identity been so critical to building and maintaining a stable and productive economy. Businesses must rely on trusted identities to successfully transact, fight fraud and stay compliant. Our Trusted Identity Platform, now with IdentityMind's orchestration layer, creates a new standard in identity verification," Yossi Zekri, Acuant President and CEO.
JP Morgan to raise up to $10bn for alternative investments. (FS)
JP Morgan’s alternative investments unit is looking to raise up to $10bn to boost its spending power in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, DealStreetAsia reported.
The bank plans to raise $5bn to $10bn in the next couple of months from clients including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private banks. The biggest US bank by assets already has about $10bn of client capital that it plans to use on opportunities created by the market disruption in the wake of the outbreak. That amount has roughly $3bn earmarked for credit, $3bn for real estate and $4bn across transportation and infrastructure.
Covidien's 2012 merger spurs query from FTC official.
A member of the US Federal Trade Commission stated that the agency should review its 2012 decision to approve the acquisition of Newport by medical-device maker Covidien, a deal that may have stymied a government effort to produce the machines, Bloomberg reported.
The failure of the project to produce ventilators now raises questions about whether Covidien bought Newport to block competition from a rival product and protect its own ventilator business and whether the transaction received the appropriate scrutiny from federal antitrust officials.
Starboard disclosed a 9.3% stake in Commvault. (FS)
Activist investor Starboard Value built a stake in US data protection and data management software company Commvault. The hedge fund began buying forward contracts in February and bought common stock this month.
Starboard, run by Jeffrey Smith, often seeks operational changes at the companies it targets. The Commvault filing did not give any hints as to what Starboard may be planning, saying only that the shares, when bought, “were undervalued and represented an attractive investment opportunity.”
Gemspring Capital raised $750m for the second fund. (FS)
Gemspring Capital, a lower middle-market private equity firm, closed its second fund, Gemspring Capital Fund II, with $750m of capital commitments.
Gemspring secured commitments for Fund II from a globally diversified investor base comprised of leading endowments, foundations, family offices, consultants, insurance companies, pension plans and funds of funds. Each of Gemspring’s institutional investors from its first fund, which closed in 2016, committed to Fund II.
Gemspring was advised by Acalyx Advisors and Kirkland & Ellis.
BorgWarner may back away from its $1.5bn deal to acquire Delphi Technologies after the targeted auto-parts supplier tapped out its credit line without receiving permission from its acquirer, Bloomberg reported.
Delphi drew down its full $500m revolving credit facility to position for the downturn related to the coronavirus pandemic. BorgWarner gave Delphi notice that this breached their agreement announced in January and that it has 30 days to resolve the issue.
Delphi is advised by Goldman Sachs and Kirkland & Ellis. BorgWarner is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Rockefeller Capital Management, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Euronext withdrew its offer for Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles.
Euronext announced its decision not to bid for Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles, the Spanish company that deals with the organizational aspects of the Spanish stock exchanges and financial markets. The decision left Swiss-based SIX Group as the sole bidder for BME.
"Euronext considers that the financial terms of a potential competing offer, despite the significant potential synergies, would not be compatible with value creation and adequate return on invested capital for Euronext shareholders," Euronext.
BME is advised by Morgan Stanley, Garrigues and Latham & Watkins. SIX Group is advised by Alantra, Credit Suisse, Linklaters, Brunswick Group and Estudio de Comunicacion. Debt financing is provided by Credit Suisse.
"We are excited to welcome Orchard into the MRI family. By uniting Orchard's expertise in social housing with MRI's solutions for managing residential, build-to-rent, leasehold block management and mixed-use properties, we are now extremely well equipped to address the varying needs and evolving business models of the UK residential market with a comprehensive and flexible product portfolio. Together, MRI and Orchard provide important tools for our clients to positively impact their communities and support the increased need for social housing in the UK," Patrick Ghilani, MRI Software CEO.
MRI Software was advised by Platform Communications and Saygency.
Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo suspended dividend payments to comply with regulatory demands and said the coronavirus crisis strengthened the case for its proposed takeover of rival UBI Banca, Reuters reported.
"The strategic rationale for the transaction takes on even stronger significance in the aftermath of the Covid-19 epidemic," Intesa.
Intesa is advised by Pedersoli Studio Legale.
Banque des Territoires to invest €90m in Terres d'Energie.
Banque des Territoires, a financial institution based in Paris, agreed to invest €90m ($100m) in Terres d'Energie, a long-term investment platform for operating renewable energy plants, created in 2018 by Tenergie and Crédit Agricole Pyrénées Gascogne.
"This operation is a new structuring step in our development and investment plan. With Terres d'Energie, we have created one of the most competitive vehicles to finance the development and construction of new renewable energy production projects. We are delighted to welcome Banque des Territoires to the capital of Terres d'Energie, to accelerate the growth of the second solar energy platform in France," Nicolas Jeuffrain, Tenergie President.
Banque des Territoires is advised by Nomura.
Altice Europe terminated its acquisition of Partner Communications.
Telecoms and media company Altice Europe terminated its acquisition of Israel's Partner Communications, a global mobile communication systems operator, after the company reported a 63% drop in fourth-quarter profit and warned of a negative impact ahead due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"Altice Europe confirms that its fully owned subsidiary HOT has terminated discussions regarding the potential acquisition of Partner Communications," Altice.
Ardian raises $18bn to acquire buyout stakes. (FS)
Ardian raised around $18bn for a new fund to acquire private equity stakes and will shortly close it to new money, in one of the largest capital raisings since the coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg reported.
The European asset manager aims to complete fundraising for the ASF VIII fund as soon as next month. The secondaries fund, set to be the industry's largest-ever, will target investments including stakes in large US and European buyout funds being sold by existing backers.
Solidium increases its stake in Nokian Tyres. (FS)
Finland's state investment arm Solidium increased its stake in Nokian Tyres, sending the Finnish tyre maker's share up more than 15%, Reuters reported.
Solidium's holding in Nokian now amounts to 6.2% of its shares, up from 5% at the end of the year. Nokian Tyres' share hit a more than five-year low earlier this month due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has caused it to lay off staff temporarily and scrap its outlook.
Dana Gas considers spin-off and listing of upstream business.
United Arab Emirates’ Dana Gas is considering spinning off its upstream business and listing the unit on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the Sharjah-based energy company said.
Dana Gas, which operates concessions Iraq’s Kurdish region and Egypt, said it was studying a potential demerger of the business into a new company. Should the transaction succeed, shareholders in Dana Gas will own shares in the two companies.
Smiths delays medical unit split to focus on ventilator production.
UK’s Smiths Group said the separation of its medical unit will be delayed, as it focuses on making and delivering ventilators and critical-care devices to hospitals tackling the shortage of life-saving equipment as the coronavirus spreads.
Britain ordered 10k ventilators from a consortium of aerospace, engineering and Formula One racing companies, which will start production this week in response to an urgent government call for industry to help save lives.
The separation of Smiths Medical, historically the group’s largest business, was due to be completed in the first half of this year. The British technology firm said it still intended to split the unit but will wait until conditions improve.
Saudi Aramco considers pipeline stake sale to raise cash.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, is weighing the sale of a stake in its pipeline unit to raise money amid a slump in crude prices, Bloomberg reported. Aramco, the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company after selling shares on the Riyadh exchange last year, could raise more than $10bn from the sale.
Alchemist Capital Partners and Credian Partners, two private equity firms, agreed to acquire MagnaChip's Foundry Services Group, a provider of specialty analog and mixed-signal foundry services, and FAB4, a factory in Cheongju, for $435m. The transaction is expected to close within four to six months, subject to customary closing conditions.
"This is an excellent outcome for all our stakeholders, including customers, employees and investors. Importantly, it will allow us to meaningfully improve our balance sheet, and fully focus as a pure-play standard products company on the attractive high-growth opportunities in our Display Solutions and Power Solutions business lines. Finally, we are confident there will also be myriad benefits for the Foundry business and its employees, who will have significant new opportunities as a result of the transaction," YJ Kim, MagnaChip Chief Executive Officer.
MagnaChip is advised by JP Morgan, Kim & Chang, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and Sloane & Company. Alchemist Capital Partners is advised by KPMG, Samsung Securities, KL Partners and Lee & Ko.
A consortium of investors, comprising of Han Zi Jing, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Media, Ant Financial, a fintech company, JCDecaux, an outdoor advertising company, and China Wealth Growth Fund III agreed to acquire Clear Media, an operator of bus shelter advertising panels, for $497m.
The offer is conditional upon the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions described in the offer announcement.
JCDecaux is advised by Goldman Sachs and Slaughter & May.
"The Abano board and management team will continue to assess alternative options for the company, with a view to maximising shareholder value, including an intention to engage with Bidco, which has indicated that it is willing to explore whether there is an alternative potential transaction," Abano.
Warburg- and Tencent-backed Yuanfudao, an online education company, raised $1bn in a Hillhouse Capital-led Series G funding round. Boyu Capital, a private equity firm, Tencent and IDG Capital, a Boston-based investment company, also participated in the investment.
"The new investment is our Series G round, and some people jokingly asked if we plan to use up all the letters of the alphabet. The new round marks the continuous support and belief we have obtained from the capital market, as well as the arduous and lengthy path an online education company has to take," Li Yong, Yuanfudao Founder and CEO.
58com, an online marketplace, completed a $71m investment in Daojialecom, an online real estate agent.
The investment will help Daojialecom expand market presence and advance its capabilities in the fields of real estate brokerage, management of new and second-hand residential properties, and expansion of real estate listing information, seeking to build it into a one-stop online intelligent real estate agent in southwestern China.
"We will leverage the MatchMove reach and network to originate new customers as well as accelerate our platform growth across the region. With this partnership with MatchMove we can seamlessly integrate iFinancial offerings and provide our customers with rich banking-in-an-app experience that MatchMove offers," Anurag Avula, Shopmatic Co-Founder and CEO.
Alibaba considers buying at least a 10% stake in Yunda.
Alibaba Group plans to buy at least 10% of Yunda Holding, marking the e-commerce giant’s fifth investment in a large courier, Reuters reported.
Alibaba is looking to buy the stake from Yunda’s controlling shareholders - founding couple Nie Tengyun and Chen Liying - who own 52.19% of Yunda through their wholly-owned firm Shanghai LuoJieSi Investment Management. At the current market price, the stake would be worth at least $790m, as Yunda has a market capitalization of about $8.78bn.
Warburg-backed ESR to invest $215m in Greater Tokyo logistics facility. (FS, RE)
Warburg Pincus-backed logistics real estate major ESR plans to invest about JPY24bn ($215m) in developing a new logistics facility in the Greater Tokyo Bay Area in Japan.
The four-storey facility, ESR Ukishima DC, will have a gross floor area of 66.9k square metres. Construction will commence in March 2021, with completion expected in August 2022. The project is located in Kawasaki, a sub-market for accessing Tokyo and Yokohama central business districts, with close proximity to the Haneda International Airport and Tokyo Station.
“ESR Ukishima DC, with its strategic location and high specifications, is well positioned to capitalise on the robust distribution needs within the Greater Tokyo Area, which has witnessed extremely low vacancy rates and strong potential for rental growth,” Stuart Gibson, ESR Co-Founder and Co-CEO.
iDreamSky and CVC consider lowering bid for Leyou. (FS)
iDreamSky Technology Holdings and buyout firm CVC Capital Partners are considering reducing their offer to jointly acquire rival gaming company Leyou Technologies Holdings, Bloomberg reported.
The suitors are seeking to significantly cut from a previous offer that would have valued Leyou at about $1.4bn. Market volatility and tighter funding conditions due to the coronavirus outbreak are among the reasons. Leyou’s slumping earnings were also a factor. Shares of Leyou have dropped about 13% this month, giving the gaming firm a market value of $929m.
Mistry Group seeks to raise up to $1bn by pledging Tata stake. (FS)
The Shapoorji Pallonji Group, controlled by billionaire Pallonji Mistry and his family, is in preliminary discussions to borrow as much as $1bn to repay maturing debt using part of its stake in Tata Sons as collateral, DealStreetAsia reported.
Mistry, whose son Cyrus was ousted as chairman of Tata Sons in 2016, is the biggest single shareholder in India’s largest conglomerate and is seeking a loan as the coronavirus outbreak delays a plan to sell assets. Mistry is trying to use his 18% stake in Tata Sons, which is estimated to be worth as much as $14bn, as the Covid-19 pandemic stalls economic activity across the world. However, he may face a hurdle: the shares in the unlisted Tata holding company are closely held and illiquid. A legal battle between Tata Sons and Cyrus Mistry following his ouster may also deter potential creditors.
SoftBank-backed Chehaoduo Group considers funding options. (FS)
China’s car trading platform Chehaoduo Group, backed by SoftBank Vision Fund, is exploring options to raise several hundred million dollars after auto sales took a hit in the coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg reported.
The company is studying possibilities, including equity fundraising and asset-backed securities issuance. The car platform is also considering seeking support from the local government.
Chehaoduo has worked with local governments before. In 2018, it received $423m in funding from the city government of Kunshan, where it set up the headquarters for one of its units.
Asia’s largest companies are selling down stakes in start-ups. (FS)
Asia’s biggest companies are selling down their stakes in the region’s most promising tech start-ups, including Indonesia’s Gojek and China’s Didi Chuxing, as they refocus their resources to weather the coronavirus crisis.
The venture capital arm of one large Asian company has approached secondary market investors about selling a slice of Gojek worth between $50m to $100m, Financial Times reported. Mitsubishi, Rakuten, Samsung and Tencent are all investors in Gojek, along with several other corporate venture capital funds. The start-up is Indonesia’s most valuable company, providing a range of services including ride-hailing, food delivery and financial services.
“We have had a number of approaches from companies we spoke to in December about buying their assets who are now saying: ‘Oh it looks like my board would now consider the transaction you were looking to do',” Michael Joseph, Ion Pacific Founding Partner.
CNIC considers buying a stake in Greenko Group. (FS)
Chinese state-backed investment fund CNIC is considering purchasing about a 10% stake in Greenko Group, one of India’s largest renewable energy companies, Bloomberg reported.
Greenko, whose backers include Singapore sovereign fund GIC and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, has been seeking to raise c. $800m by introducing a long-term investor. The Indian company is planning to use the fresh funds to expand its energy storage capacity in the country during peak hours, in competition with coal-based power plants.
Resolute Mining completed the sale of its Ravenswood gold mine. (FS)
Australia's Resolute Mining, a gold miner, completed the deal to sell its Ravenswood gold mine to private equity manager EMR Capital Management and Singapore-listed mining and energy company Golden Energy and Resources for A$300m ($207m).
"The sale of our Ravenswood Gold Mine delivers on our objective of ensuring a new long-life future for Ravenswood while maximising value for Resolute shareholders. Settlement enables us to focus our attention and energy on our African portfolio and the abundant opportunities for further growth and value creation," John Welborn, Resolute Managing Director and CEO.
Resolute was advised by Berenberg and Tavistock.
Pierfront Capital raises $200m for the first close of a private credit fund. (FS)
Pierfront Capital Fund Management announced the first close of its latest real asset private credit fund at $200m. The fund, Keppel-Pierfront Private Credit Fund, secured $100m each from its two sponsors, Pierfront Capital Mezzanine Fund and Keppel Capital Holdings.
PCMF is owned by Temasek Holdings and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking.
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