|
|
|
|
|
Covid Fails to Derail Pay Hikes | Platinum Deals for McGraw Hill | KPMG Backs Fund Data Standards
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good morning. We have much to impart so let’s get right to it. Our Chris Cumming sorts through compensation trends for private-equity professionals, based on a Heidrick & Struggles survey that shows the Covid-19 pandemic had little effect on pay or bonuses in 2020. And most expect compensation to rise again this year.
On the deals front, our Journal colleague Miriam Gottfried reports that Platinum Equity is buying publisher McGraw Hill from Apollo, valuing the education technology company at about $4.5 billion.
And finally our Luis Garcia has the latest on an effort to standardize data that passes between fund sponsors and their investors, as Big Four accounting firm KPMG signs on. We bring you all this and more, condensed and linked below so please jump in...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investment professionals at private-equity firms mostly saw base pay and bonuses rise last year, a Heidrick & Struggles survey shows. PHOTO: L.M. OTERO / ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
Covid’s arrival last year revolutionized how private-equity professionals work but left their stratospheric earnings intact, Chris Cumming writes for WSJ Pro Private Equity, citing a new survey. Many private-equity employees—like so many other workers—moved to lower-cost areas during the pandemic, a shift that could eventually change the status of cities such as New York, Boston and San Francisco as buyout industry nerve centers. Now firms are opening new offices and hiring staff away from the industry’s traditional core cities, while pay for many professionals in the Midwest and Southeast outpaced that of their peers in the Northeast last year, according to a Heidrick & Struggles International Inc.
report.
|
|
Platinum Equity has struck a deal to buy publisher McGraw Hill from Apollo Global Management Inc., Miriam Gottfried reports for The Wall Street Journal. The deal for the textbook and educational-technology company, announced Tuesday following a Journal report, is valued at about $4.5 billion, including debt.
|
|
Big Four accounting firm KPMG LLP has put its weight behind an organization that’s seeking to create a common language for the exchange of data between private-capital fund managers and their investors, Luis Garcia reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The London firm has joined the Private Capital Data Standard Alliance, formerly known as the ADS Initiative, a not-for-profit group developing digital reporting standards for private-capital fund fees, expenses and performance data.
|
|
|
|
|
|
$172.24 Billion
|
The value of U.S.-listed IPOs so far this year, including nearly $105.28 billion raised by SPACs and surpassing the $167.96 billion raised in all of last year, when blank-check companies brought in $82.62 billion, according to Dealogic figures.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EBanx focuses on international trade finance, such as transactions that move through the port of Rio de Janeiro, above. PHOTO: MAURO PIMENTAL / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE / GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
|
Advent International is investing $430 million in EBanx, a Latin American financial technology company focused on cross-border commerce. The private-equity firm joins FTV Capital as a minority stakeholder in the company, which is preparing to file for an initial public offering in the U.S. The deal marks the first time Advent has invested from all four of its fund investment strategies in a single company, according to a press release.
|
|
Blackstone Group Inc., G Squared and the Qatar Investment Authority led a $275 million investment in home management system company Thumbtack Inc. in a transaction that values the business at $3.2 billion. Several existing investors also participated in the investment, which will pay for further product development and market expansion. San Francisco-based Thumbtack’s system is designed to help homeowners manage and maintain their residences over the period of their ownership.
|
|
Insight Partners is investing $125 million in freight payments company PayCargo LLC. The Coral Gables, Fla.-based company’s payments system has more than 67,000 users making and receiving payments, according to a news release. Insight initially backed the company with a $35 million investment late last year.
|
|
Argo Infrastructure Partners has agreed to buy the MIC Hawaii businesses of Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. for $3.83 per unit in a deal that values the assets at about $514 million including assumed debt. That value is equivalent to about 12.9 times pre-tax adjusted earnings. Once the deal closes, expected in the fourth quarter, Macquarie Infrastructure will cease to be a publicly traded enterprise, as it has also sold off other major assets, including Atlantic Aviation FBO Inc. and its bulk liquids storage terminal business.
|
|
Oaktree Capital Management has raised the size of the financing it proposes for the purchase of shares in Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd. held by billionaire James Packer’s investment firm, Stuart Condie reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Crown described Oaktree’s revised proposal as providing a commitment of up to 3.1 billion Australian dollars (or roughly $2.39 billion) to buy back some or all of the 37% stake held by Mr. Packer’s firm, Consolidated Press Holdings.
|
|
SoftBank Group Corp. has led a $170 million investment in Get Together Inc., which operates as IRL, backing the Berkeley, Calif.-based business through its second Vision Fund. The operator of a social messaging network says the deal cements its $1.17 billion valuation, according to a press release.
|
|
Bain Capital is acquiring a majority stake in communications services provider Surf Broadband Solutions, investing through the firm’s credit arm alongside company management and Post Road Group, the current majority owner. The investment from Bain Capital is expected to finance further development of Elkhart, Ind.-based Surf’s products and expand its fiber-to-home networks that currently serve communities in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
|
|
Keensight Capital has agreed to buy a majority interest in hosted services provider Adista SAS, replacing Equistone Partners Europe as the company’s biggest shareholder. Keensight is investing in the French company alongside a co-investment partnership between Mubadala Capital and Bpifrance as well as management. Equistone became the company’s majority owner in 2016. Adista’s revenue reached €153 million (equivalent to about $185.4 million) last year and aims to reach €300 million by 2025.
|
|
Technology investor Prosus NV has acquired a majority stake in education-technology company GoodHabitz BV, a European provider of online training for businesses, for €212 million (or about $256.9 million), Adria Calatayud reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The Amsterdam-listed investor said GoodHabitz will continue to be led by its chief executive and founder, Maarten Franken.
|
|
Apax Partners has agreed to buy software-as-a-service provider CyberGrants LLC from Waud Capital Partners, according to an emailed news release. The Andover, Mass.-based company focuses on services used by corporations to coordinate and manage social responsibility activities, employee engagement and volunteer programs for roughly 10 million workers. Waud Capital initially backed the company in June 2015.
|
|
Level Equity has made a $30 million growth investment in mobile app maker Salesfloor, according to an emailed news release. The Montreal-based company’s application is used by sales people in retail stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s to serve customers who have been brought in by online sites.
|
|
Pine Tree Equity, a private-equity firm based in Miami, has backed Suncoast Skin Solutions, a Lutz, Fla.-based provider of medical dermatology services.
|
|
Vilnius-listed asset manager Invalda INVL has agreed to acquire insurer Mandatum Life in Finland. The carrier has nearly 30,000 customers in Finland and the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and reported €7.8 million (or about $9.5 million) in 2020 revenue and €22 million in premiums written.
|
|
|
|
Our add-on deal interactive tool allows you to sort and analyze volumes of add-on deal data compiled by WSJ Pro. View more.
|
|
|
|
A blank-check company backed by energy-focused Riverstone Holdings and led by Erik Anderson, the founder and chief executive of multi-strategy investment firm WestRiver Group, has agreed to acquire and take public electric-vehicle battery maker Solid Power Inc. in a transaction that gives the company an enterprise value of about $1.2 billion. Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp. III, the special purpose acquisition company that raised about $300 million through an initial public offering in March, said it would also bring $165 million in additional capital to the deal through a private placement of its shares. Louisville,
Colo.-based Solid Power recently raised $135 million from investors including automakers that will be rolled into the deal.
|
|
Apollo Global Management Inc. has agreed to invest as much as $30 million in a blank-check company tied to Artius Capital Partners to support its deal to buy and take public Micromidas Inc., which operates as Origin Materials. The private investment in public equities is priced at $10 per Artius Acquisition Inc. share, with the total investment to be determined by Artius. Based in West Sacramento, Calif., Origin uses wood to produce alternative materials for use in packaging and bottling.
|
|
|
Private-equity backed medical clinic operator Bright Health Group Inc. in Minneapolis plans to sell 60 million shares at $20 to $23 each in an initial public offering that could provide a market capitalization of more than $14.5 billion, a regulatory filing shows. New Enterprise Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners and Greenspring Associates collectively control more than 50% of the company’s shares. Blackstone Group Inc. and Tiger Global Management participated in a $500 million investment round in the company last September.
|
|
InterWest Partners-backed Doximity Inc. plans to sell about 19 million shares at $20 to $23 each in an initial public offering, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The deal would give it a market capitalization of more than $3.8 billion at the $21.50-a-share pricing midpoint. InterWest, a medical technology investment specialist, plans to sell nearly 4.3 million shares in the offering. The San Francisco company operates an online network for doctors and other medical professionals with more than 1.8 million members and plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
|
|
|
Italian firm Clessidra Private Equity has held a first close for its Clessidra Capital Partners 4 fund with about €270 million (or roughly $327 million) in commitments. Investors in the vehicle include sponsor Italmobiliare SPA, at €75 million, as well as Cassa Forense and Fondo Italiano d’Investimento, according to an emailed news release. The firm aims to collect at least €500 million for the fund, which it will invest in mid-market companies in Italy.
|
|
Meron Capital in Israel has closed its second fund to back growth-stage startups in the Middle East nation. The firm said it raised $50 million for the Meron II fund. The firm closed its first fund in 2017.
|
|
|
Oakley Capital has hired Valero Domingo as a partner in London. He joins from Charme Capital Partners, where he was a principal. Among other moves, the firm has also promoted Sam Fenton-Whittet and Sascha Günther to partner from investment director, according to an emailed news release.
|
|
Midmarket firm LongRange Capital has added three new members to its investment team. Sunny Patel has joined the firm as a senior principal from 3G Capital, while Taylor Elliott has joined as a senior associate from L Catterton. Finally, Austin Marcus has joined as an associate from Cerberus Capital Management.
|
|
|
StepStone Group Inc.’s assets under management climbed nearly 29% to $86.4 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended March 31, while the New York firm said it earned $1.22 per share on revenue of $359.1 million in the period. The firm said revenue more than doubled compared with the year-earlier quarter. StepStone’s assets under advisement jumped 48% to $340 billion, driven by the acquisition of Courtland Partners, which alone added about $90 billion.
|
|
KKR & Co.’s nearly $4.48 billion deal to buy Plano, Texas-based Atlantic Aviation FBO Inc. from Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. could lead to a debt downgrade from S&P Global Ratings if the business aviation services company’s leverage rises above a trigger point as a result of the transaction, the ratings company said. S&P Global said it expects KKR to finance about half of the purchase price, which would double the company’s debt. But S&P Global analysts noted that a quick rebound in general aviation at airports where Atlantic operates, returning to roughly 80% of 2019 levels by the third quarter of last year and producing a 5% increase in the 2021 first quarter from a year earlier, should keep the company’s operating performance stable and let it generate about $100 million in free operating cash flow this
year.
|
|
BlackRock Inc. is expanding its partnership with iCapital Networks Inc. to provide access to its alternative asset investments through the iCap system to wealth managers and high-net-worth individuals in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. BlackRock already provides access to its private equity, private debt, and real asset investment vehicles to North American investors through the iCap system.
|
|
Bain Capital’s credit arm is forming a second joint venture with SKW Funding to make loans in special situations and to acquire distressed debt, with the goal of making loans and acquisitions totaling $1.3 billion over several years. The new partnership has purchased a $42 million note backed by office properties in Austin, Texas and loaned $410 million secured by a lower Manhattan office building in New York. The firms formed their first joint venture in 2019.
|
|
Wealth-management software provider Addepar Inc. more than doubled its valuation to $2.17 billion from seven months ago through a $150 million investment from New York hedge-fund firm D1 Capital Partners. It was previously valued at nearly $1 billion after an investment round in November, Juliet Chung reports for Dow Jones Newswires, citing a person familiar with the deal. Earlier investors in Addepar, founded in 2009 by Palantir Technologies Inc. co-founder and serial entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale, include venture firms Valor Equity Partners and WestCap Group.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|