On October 24, 2017, Toshiba Corporation held an extraordinary shareholder’s meeting where Toshiba’s shareholders approved the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA). Toshiba had agreed to enter this agreement with K.K. Pangea, a special acquisition company formed to buy all shares of Toshiba’s wholly owned subsidiary, Toshiba Memory Corporation (TMC). K.K. Pangea (Pangea) consists of a consortium of companies, most notably Bain Capital Private Equity, Apple, Dell Technologies Capital, and SK Hynix. This deal, which may or may not close, has several issues that could prevent success. The deal’s value ultimately comes out to an estimated $18 billion.
HELLMAN & FRIEDMAN CARDS NETS A/S
San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC announced on September 25th that it had agreed to acquire Nets A/S for 33.07 billion Danish Krone, or $5.3 billion. Hellman & Friedman is joining Singapore wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd. and funds managed by advent International Corp. and Bain Capital Ltd. (the latter two are already major shareholders in Nets). Hellman & Friedman has offered 165 Danish Krone per share for the company, which represents a 27% premium. Investors owning 46% of Nets have agreed to tender their shares.
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN: INVESTCORP ACQUIRES KEE SAFETY
On October 18th of this year, Bahrain-based investment firm Investcorp announced that it would acquire Kee Safety Ltd (“Kee Safety”) from Dunedin LLP and LDC for an enterprise value of $370 million. Investcorp is a leading global manager of alternative investments, which the company offers to its high net-worth clients regularly. Moreover, Investcorp is mid-market private equity firm, investing primarily in both North America and Europe.
WINNING THE BATTLE AGAINST AMAZON IN INDIA
While most people are aware of Amazon’s global market leadership position in the e-commerce sector, few are attuned to the growing potential of local e-commerce startups in developing economies. With Softbank’s recent $2.5 billion investment in Flipkart, a leading e-retailer in India, investor confidence in these local startups is bound to increase.
A SWEET DEAL: PRIVATE EQUITY TAKES OVER THE BOTTLING INDUSTRY
Just a month after becoming the world’s largest independent bottler for retailers with their $1.25 billion acquisition of Cott Corp, Netherlands-based soda bottler Refresco Group has been taken over. Concluding a six-month pursuit, which involved a declined offer three months ago, Refresco was sold. The buyers are PAI Partners, a French private equity group, and British Columbia Investment Management (bcIMC).
EXITING UBER OR GOING THE EXTRA MILE?
Benchmark Capital was one of the first investors in Uber, participating in the Series-A financing in 2011 and acquiring a 13% stake in the company for a $20 million investment. Now, after watching Uber suffer through 24 consecutive quarters of cash burn, managerial controversy, a power vacuum in the C-suite, and multiple lawsuits filed against Uber by the powerhouse venture capital fund, Benchmark Capital is considering exiting from Uber at more than 200 times its initial investment.
LOGISTICS INDUSTRY: M&A ACTIVITY TODAY, CONSOLIDATION TOMORROW
The logistics industry is significantly fragmented with a high percentage of family-owned firms, presenting numerous opportunities for acquisitions. The largest ten freight-forwarding firms account for 43.5% of the market’s $141 billion 2016 global revenues, suggesting there is plenty of room for more M&A activity. XPO Logistics has been the pioneer in this field, with eight major acquisitions in the last five years as well as ten smaller ones.
BLACKSTONE SELLS REMAINING STAKE IN SEAWORLD TO CHINESE INVESTMENT FIRMS
On March 24th, Blackstone sold its stake in SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. for $448.5 million to Zhonghong Group, a Chinese holding company that focuses on opportunities in the leisure and tourism space. Prior to the sale, Blackstone was SeaWorld’s largest shareholders with 19.5 million shares. Zhonghong Group agreed to purchase Blackstone’s stake in the theme park for $23 per share, which represents a 33% premium from the previous day’s closing price of $17.31.
HOSTESS: APOLLO’S SWEET DEAL
$59.99. That’s how much a box of Twinkies sold for in November of 2012, when the fate of Hostess Brands, the maker of the iconic snack food, seemed to be hurtling towards extinction. In 2013, along with Dean Metropoulos—a Greek businessman and investor with a track record in the food industry—Apollo bought the Hostess brand for $410 million, of which the two parties invested approximately $200 million of equity and raised debt for the remaining $210 million.
ASSALA ENERGY ACQUIRES SHELL’S GABON ASSETS
Carlyle Group backed Assala Energy announced March 24th they would be acquiring Royal Dutch Shell’s onshore assets in Gabon, Africa for $587 million. Shell has recently sold its North Sea assets to private equity-backed Chrysaor for $3.8 billion. These sell offs have been steps in Shell’s $30 billion disposal program, which was started after the $54 billion merger with BG Group.