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Roark Prepares to Chip In $125 Million | Platinum Splurges on Carts
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Good morning. This year’s accelerating pace of IPOs picked up steam on Monday, with filings detailing five new offerings in New York and others in London and Stockholm. Apparently big private-equity firms such as KKR and Blackstone see today’s record-high stock markets as a good opportunity to list shares, even if they aren’t planning to sell any themselves. We have details on some of these deals below. And while there’s been a noticeable fall off in blank-check company IPO filings, it’s not at all clear that has to do with a spate of lawsuits involving some of the hundreds of SPACs that popped up in the past year. But big law firm Akin Gump has sent out an alert noting the legal actions and suggests more are in the wings.
In other private-equity news, our Preeti Singh reports Roark Capital plans to put at least $125 million into its latest buyout fund, if the vehicle reaches the Atlanta firm’s $5 billion target. And the Journal’s Micah Maidenberg offers a look at Platinum Equity’s $1.68 billion golf cart deal. We have those stories and much more for you below, so please read on...
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Roark Capital, which specializes in backing restaurant chains such as Arby’s, aims to commit as much as $125 million to its new buyout fund. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER OCCHICONE / BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Midmarket investor Roark Capital plans to commit at least $125 million to its latest buyout fund, Preeti Singh reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity, citing a publicly available document from the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana. The Atlanta-based firm plans to amass $5 billion for the new fund, Roark Capital Partners VI LP, WSJ Pro Private Equity previously reported. The firm plans to contribute 2.5% of the total as a general partner commitment.
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Platinum Equity has agreed to buy the Club Car specialty vehicle business of Ingersoll Rand Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at $1.68 billion, Micah Maidenberg reports for The Wall Street Journal. The Davidson, N.C.-based manufacturer of industrial systems said the deal values the unit at about 12.1 times its adjusted pre-tax earnings. Based in Augusta, Ga., Club Car makes electric-powered golf carts and other low-speed special-purpose vehicles and reported revenue of about $741.4 million last year.
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46%
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The rate of decline in the number of oil and gas companies backed by U.S. private-equity firms from 2018 to October 2020, according to Merit Energy, citing data from RBC Capital Markets
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Grab Holdings Inc. said it would go public on the Nasdaq Stock Market by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, securing a near-$40 billion valuation in a new milestone for the SPAC boom that has swept U.S. financial markets, Jing Yang writes for WSJ. Singapore-headquartered Grab said Tuesday it would merge with Altimeter Growth Corp., a SPAC sponsored by Altimeter Capital, of Menlo Park, Calif., confirming details reported earlier by the Journal.
One of China’s largest car makers, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., is making plans to tap into the surging market for SPACs, Jing Yang and Trefor Moss write. The multinational company, which owns Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., Volvo Car Group and several other electric-vehicle brands, is in talks to sponsor a special-purpose acquisition company that could raise $300 million in a Nasdaq initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Traffic control systems include orange safety cones, used here to direct motorists to hurricane evacuation routes in South Carolina. PHOTO: CHRIS KEANE / REUTERS
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Investcorp Holdings BSC and Trilantic North America have agreed to acquire RoadSafe Traffic Systems from Orix Capital Partners. The Chicago-based company provides marker and safety systems for road builders, government agencies, railroads and utilities, operating from more than 50 U.S. locations. Orix acquired the business in 2016.
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Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is understood to have agreed to acquire a group of shopping malls and plazas in the U.K. from Hammerson PLC, Elisângela Mendonça and Joe Hoppe report for sister publication Private Equity News in London. The sale would value the assets at about £350 million (equivalent to about $479.7 million), according to brokerage Goodbody Research. Hammerson’s losses more than doubled to about £1.7 billion last year because of lockdowns associated with the coronavirus pandemic and the company has been using asset sales to shore up its balance sheet.
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American Industrial Partners has received tenders for 70.2% of the outstanding shares of Seacor Holdings Inc., clearing the way for its take-private of the logistics company at $41.50 a share, the New York private-equity firm said. But the end date for the agreement to acquire the business has been extended to Friday to allow for physical transfer of shares.
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Multi-strategy TZP Group has acquired a majority interest in maternity clothing company Akerson Enterprises LLC, which does business as Kindred Bravely. The direct-to-consumer brand based in Oceanside, Calif. Provides undergarments, bags and accessories related to baby care.
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Mutares SE & Co. has acquired Alan Dick Communications Ltd. from Panasonic Europe BV. The Scunthorpe, England-based company specializes in communications systems for infrastructure assets such as railways and is projected to have 2022 revenue of about €40 million, Munich-based Mutares said in a news release.
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Sier Capital Partners is backing LLK Greenhouse Solutions, making a growth investment with support from Siguler Guff, according to a news release. The Strongsville, Ohio-based company designs, builds and maintains greenhouses for growers, garden centers and research institutions.
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Our add-on deal interactive tool allows you to sort and analyze volumes of add-on deal data compiled by WSJ Pro. View more.
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A blank-check company led by real estate private-equity investment firm executives Jordan Vogel and Aaron Feldman aims to acquire electric-vehicle startup Faraday & Future Inc. in a transaction that would give the debt-laden company a value of about $3.4 billion, Heather Somerville reports for The Wall Street Journal. Faraday is among the latest examples of an electric-vehicle startup without a clear record of success to raise hundreds of millions in capital and go public largely based on a vision of the future of transportation, owing to the booming popularity of an investment structure called special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs.
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An expected surge in lawsuits involving special purpose acquisition company public share offerings and transactions by the publicly traded SPACs to take private companies public may have begun, an alert from law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP reports. The firm said at least 35 blank-check companies had been hit with at least one shareholder lawsuit between September and last month, including some aimed at both the SPAC and its acquisition target, including directors. “The plaintiffs’ bar is actively monitoring and pursuing SPACs,” the firm observes.
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CIVC Capital-backed consumer finance company LendCare Capital has agreed to be acquired by Goeasy Ltd. for 320 million Canadian dollars (or about $255.4 million), Adriano Marchese reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The deal includes cash and C$10 million in common shares that will go to the Pickering, Ontario-based finance company’s founders, Ali Metel and Mark Schell. LendCare had about C$19 million in pre-tax earnings last year, according to a Goeasy investor presentation.
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Activant Capital Group has collected about $377.3 million so far for its fourth fund against a target of $425 million, according to a regulatory filing. Should Activant Capital IV LP reach its target, it would be more than 65% larger than the firm’s predecessor fund, Activant Ventures III LP, which closed on $257 million about a year ago. In a separate filing, the Greenwich, Conn.-based firm reported having about $1.25 billion of regulatory assets under management at the end of 2020.
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BlackRock Inc. and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund Temasek Holdings are teaming up to invest in companies and technologies that aim to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions. The giant New York asset manager said it is forming Decarbonization Partners with the Singapore firm to establish a series of growth-investment and late-stage venture funds with the target of raising $1 billion for the first of the vehicles. While BlackRock and Temasek together plan to invest $600 million across the planned funds, they are seeking institutional limited partners as well, according to a news release. Both firms will provide staff for the investment strategy, which will also be supported
by a dedicated team to source deals and manage its portfolio. BlackRock may face higher borrowing costs if it fails to reach sustainable business goals, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
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Lakeshore Capital has closed its second private-equity fund focused on Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, collecting $150 million for the vehicle. The firm said by email that it reached the hard cap for the Lakeshore Capital II LP fund despite the limitations deriving from the coronavirus pandemic. Lakeshore invests in small to midsize businesses. Asante Capital Group served as placement agent for the fundraising.
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KKR & Co. has hired three investment professionals for its infrastructure arm, scooping up the trio from Capital Dynamics AG. The firm named Tim Short and Benoit Allehaut as managing directors and Benjamin Droz as a principal, all based in New York and focused on sourcing renewable energy and energy transmission deals in North America. All three join from Zug, Switzerland-based Capital Dynamics, where Messrs. Short and Allehaut developed solar energy deals as managing directors in the clean energy group and where Mr. Droz was a vice president.
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Smith College in Northampton, Mass. has named Lisa Howie as its first chief investment officer, a step toward bringing the management of the school’s endowment fund in-house. Ms. Howie is currently a director in Yale University’s investments office in New Haven, Conn. A Yale graduate, she also serves on the investment committees of the New York Public Library and Ohio State University. Investure currently manages Smith’s more than $2 billion endowment. Ms. Howie starts the new job on June 28.
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Riverside Co. has promoted nearly a dozen professionals, including naming two, Joe Lee and Michael Weber, as senior partners for the firm’s Micro-Cap fund and its Europe fund, respectively, according to an emailed news release. Also, the firm elevated Brad Roberts and Peter Tsang to co-chief investment officer roles at its Capital Appreciation fund.
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Strauss Zelnick’s middle market-focused private-equity firm ZMC has promoted Ripan Kadakia to partner, Jason Sporer to principal and Ben Carus and Scott Lucas to vice president. Mr. Kadakia joined the firm in 2014 after working for Warburg Pincus and Audax Group’s private-equity unit. Mr. Sporer joined the firm in 2011 from Evercore, while Messrs. Carus and Lucas both came aboard in 2016.
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Appian Capital Advisory LLP, which focuses on mining and mining-related private-equity investments, has named Richard Johnson as a managing director and global head of investor relations. He was previously a partner and co-head of global distribution banking at placement agent Mercury Capital Advisors.
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EagleTree Capital has hired Fredrik M. Linder as an operating partner, mainly to work with leaders of its consumer products portfolio companies. He is an experienced executive, having led the Health & Nutrition business of Informa Markets and the Natural Products Expo East and West trade shows.
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Middle-market specialist Palladium Equity Partners has hired Erick Bronner as a managing director of fundraising and investor relations. He was most recently global head of fundraising and investor relations for peer firm Riverside Co.
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A garbage truck operated by Suez, which is being acquired by Veolia Environnement.
PHOTO: NATHAN LAINE / BLOOMBERG NEWS
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France’s Veolia Environnement SA reached a $15.5 billion deal to acquire rival Suez SA, creating a water and waste-management giant that aims to soak up a global surge in infrastructure and climate-change spending, Nick Kostov writes in The Wall Street Journal. The deal leaves private-equity investors Ardian and Global Infrastructure Partners on the sidelines, at least for now. “As we did not participate in the negotiations for this agreement and are currently informed neither on its specifics nor on its implications for all stakeholders, we shall now examine its consequences,” Ardian said on Monday. In January, Paris-based Ardian and New York-based GIP offered €11.31 billion (equivalent to $13.46 billion) to acquire waste and water management company Suez as an alternative to Veolia’s bid. Now Veolia plans to sell some of Suez’s French operations to private-equity firms and French shareholders.
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KKR & Co.-backed cybersecurity company KnowBe4 Inc. has set an expected price range of $16 to $18 per share for its initial public offering of about 11.8 million shares, giving it a valuation of as much as $2.85 billion. The Clearwater, Fla.-based company also lists Elephant Partners, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Tiger Global Management and Vista Equity Partners among its investors. The company said revenue climbed to $174.9 million last year from $120.6 million in 2019 while its net loss shrank to $2.4 million from $124.3 million.
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Nordic Capital-backed online payments company Trustly Group AB plans an initial public offering of shares to raise about 8 billion Swedish kronor (or roughly $935.9 million), Dominic Chopping reports in sister publication Private Equity News in London. Last year, BlackRock Private Equity Partners led a minority investment in Stockholm-based Trustly, joined by Aberdeen Standard Investments Inc., Neuberger Berman Group LLC, Investment Corp. of Dubai and Rsic Ltd. Trustly’s systems are used to transfer money between bank accounts. The company expects to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stockholm market.
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Providence Equity Partners-backed Double Verify Holdings Inc. plans to sell about 13.3 million shares in an initial public offering at $24 to $27 each to raise as much as $360 million, a regulatory filing shows. The shares will be sold by the digital advertising security and measurement company and certain shareholders, the filing shows. Providence expects to sell about 5.4 million shares, which would reduce its stake in the company to about 57.5% from 66%, the regulatory filing shows. Other backers include Tiger Global Management, which aims to increase its stake to 8.9% from 8.0%, and Blumberg Capital, which isn’t selling any of its 20 million shares and is expected to hold a 12.8% stake following the IPO.
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African infrastructure investor Africa Finance Corp. said its assets rose 20% to $7.36 billion last year from about $6.12 billion in 2019. The Lagos, Nigeria-based firm credited a steady flow of deals and investors interested in backing projects on the continent. Also during last year, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and the Republic of Gabon both became equity investors in the firm.
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Blackstone Group Inc.-backed digital outsourcing company TaskUs Inc. has registered for an initial public offering of shares, without listing the number of shares it expects to sell or the anticipated price range. The New Braunfels, Texas-based company said Blackstone and company co-founders Bryce Maddock and Jaspar Weir would continue to hold a majority of the company’s stock following the IPO. Blackstone initially invested in the provider of customer support services for technology
companies in mid-2018 in a deal that valued TaskUs at more than $500 million.
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KKR & Co.-backed wellness company Bountiful Co. plans an initial public offering of shares, Claudia Assis reports for sister publication MarketWatch.com. The Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based company, which changed its name from Nature’s Bounty Co. in January, said it earned $54.3 million in last year’s fourth quarter, or almost six times its earnings of $6.9 million in the same period a year earlier, while revenue jumped to $629.4 million from $429.8 million. KKR carved out the company’s business from parent Arco Pharmaceuticals in September 2017, according to the filing, which doesn’t say how many shares Bountiful expects to
offer or at what price range. Carlyle Group Inc. is a minority investor in the company.
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L Catterton Partners-backed Honest Company Inc. has registered for an initial public offering of shares, without setting an amount or price range in a registration filing. The “clean lifestyle” brand for women sells diapers, baby wipes, skin care and personal products as well as household goods online and through major retail chains such as Costco and Target stores. L Catterton holds a roughly 37.5% stake in the company, the filing shows.
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Cybersecurity firm Darktrace PLC aims to go public in London, hoping to cash in on growing demand for its software, despite ongoing legal uncertainty over one of its leading backers, Ben Dummett and Parmy Olson report in The Wall Street Journal. The British technology company is targeting a valuation of as much as $4 billion in the initial public offering, which could raise between $350 million to $400 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
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