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LLR Bets on Video Software | Siguler Guff Banks $450 Million | EIG Begins Limetree Bay Restructuring Talks
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Good day. Exits are piling up as more sponsored companies plan IPOs or blank-check deals with the same end in mind. More than a dozen IPOs were expected this week, and we have details below on several that have either been registered or completed, including two notching double-digit first-day trading gains. The threat of higher capital gains taxes is one of the forces driving the flurry of deals, PricewaterhouseCoopers says.
In today’s news, our Maria Armental reports LLR Partners is running in the opposite direction, investing in video technology company JW Player. Meanwhile, our Preeti Singh writes that Siguler Guff’s small business strategy has a new credit fund that includes $60 million tabbed for deployment in lower-income areas. And finally our WSJ Pro Bankruptcy colleagues have news that an EIG Global Energy Partners company, Limetree Bay Energy, is starting restructuring talks for a shuttered oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands. We have those stories and many more condensed for you below, so please read on...
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JW Player's logo in the company's New York office. New investor LLR Partners has plans to help grow the video technology company, including through deals. PHOTO: JW PLAYER
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Video technology company JW Player, which got a pandemic-driven boost in demand as people live-streamed everything from fitness classes to happy hours, has raised $100 million in new funding, Maria Armental writes for WSJ Pro Private Equity. Midmarket private-equity firm LLR Partners is financing the deal, which gives the New York-based company capital to support its quest to become for video what online shopping platform Shopify Inc. is for e-commerce and cloud-based technology company Twilio Inc. is for communication.
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Multistrategy investment firm Siguler Guff & Co. has closed its second fund focused on providing credit to small businesses after collecting more than $450 million in commitments, Preeti Singh reports for WSJ Pro Private Equity. The New York-based firm lends to smaller businesses through the strategy, and plans to commit at least $60 million for lending to businesses in underserved communities in lower income areas.
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The private-equity backed owner of the Limetree Bay oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands is in restructuring talks with creditors after pollution incidents and a cash crunch shut down the troubled plant indefinitely, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy’s Alexander Gladstone and Andrew Scurria report, citing people familiar with the matter. Limetree Bay Energy LLC, which also owns an oil storage and logistics hub on the island of St. Croix, said on Monday the refinery would close indefinitely, clouding its future and throwing into doubt a crucial economic driver in the struggling U.S. territory. EIG Global Energy Partners controls the refinery and storage hub, which previously went through
bankruptcy in 2015 and emerged under private ownership.
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$150.1 Billion
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The amount of undeployed capital held by U.S. buyout firms, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s midyear outlook for private equity.
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The NFL Network’s home in Culver City, Calif., houses a year-round news and entertainment platform dedicated to football. PHOTO: CHRIS DELMAS / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE / GETTY IMAGES
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The National Football League is exploring options for its media properties including selling stakes to strategic partners, a move aimed at expanding the reach of its television networks and digital services, Joe Flint reports for The Wall Street Journal, citing a letter the league sent to team owners. The league said it has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to explore potential partnerships for the properties, which include the NFL Network and RedZone pay-TV channels as well as NFL.com
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Generation Investment Management in London led a $225 million investment in home healthcare software company Alaya Care Inc. The Montreal-based software-as-a-service provider said other participants in the Series D investment included Klass Capital and existing backers Inovia Capital, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Investissement Québec. The company plans to use the new capital to finance expansion, including in the U.S.
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PAI Partners has agreed to purchase automotive leather supplier Pasubio S.p.A. from CVC Capital Partners. The Vicenza, Italy-based company makes coverings for interiors of vehicles made by Volkswagen AG, including Porsches, as well as luxury brands such as Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Lamborghini and Maserati. PAI is investing from its PAI Europe VII fund. CVC initially backed the company in 2017 through its CVC Capital Partners VI fund.
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Canadian pension system Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board said it has led a 1 billion yuan (the equivalent of $154.5 million) funding round for CDFinance, a microfinance and rural services provider in China. Existing investor ABC World Asia, a Singapore-based impact investment fund focused on the Asia Pacific region, also participated in the round.
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s asset management arm led a $120 million growth investment in cloud-based wireless communications provider Aircall Inc. that raises its valuation to more than $1 billion. The company said many of its existing investors also participated, including Adams Street Partners and several strategic backers.
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Riverside Co. has invested in ToolWatch Corp., a provider of tool and equipment tracking technology and operations management software. The Englewood, Colo. company said it plans to use the additional capital to enhance its products and fund acquisitions.
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Intermediate Capital Group has backed its latest sale and leaseback deal with a $178 million acquisition of five properties around greater London from publicly traded information storage and management systems company Iron Mountain. The transaction is the third that ICG has made in 2021 out of its sale and leaseback strategy, according to a press release.
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Montreal-based private-equity firm Kairos Capital Management said it has acquired Pro-Fab Group Inc., a Quebec-based company that specializes in constructing and installing prefabricated buildings. The company has been owned for nearly 10 years by U.S. private-equity firm Wynnchurch Capital.
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EagleTree Capital has acquired legal services provider Integreon Inc. from NewQuest Capital Partners. The Fargo, N.D.-based company’s 3,500 employees work with law firms and corporate legal departments. NewQuest initially backed the company in September 2016, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
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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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BuzzFeed’s deal would generate capital to pursue additional acquisitions.
PHOTO: TED SHAFFREY / ASSOCIATED PRESS
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BuzzFeed Inc. is close to a deal to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, Benjamin Mullin reports for The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the situation. The move is part of a plan to consolidate with other players in digital media and a deal with blank-check company 890 5th Avenue Partners Inc. could be announced as early as this week, the people said.
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Advertising-technology company Innovid Inc. plans to go public through a merger with a new special-purpose acquisition company from ION Asset Management Ltd. in Israel, adding to a growing list of ad-tech firms going public or considering deals, Alexandra Bruell reports for CMO Journal. Innovid expects the deal to value the business at over $1 billion, it said. The SPAC, ION Acquisition Corp. 2, is led by executives of ION Asset Management and affiliates, a regulatory filing shows.
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A blank check company led by Stone Capital Partners founder Michael Hoffman and Ian Robertson, a co-founder of InfraStar Investments, has agreed to combine with self-driving vehicle company Embark Trucks Inc. in a deal that values the business at about $5.2 billion, Amrith Ramkumar reports for The Wall Street Journal. San Francisco-based Embark is working with companies such as Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and HP Inc. The blank-check company, Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II, raised about $414 million through an initial public offering in January with plans to acquire a business
that contributes to sustainability.
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Platinum Equity has agreed to sell food ingredients distributor JM Swank LLC to strategic buyer Brenntag SE in Essen, Germany, in a deal that values the operation at about $304 million, according to the buyer. Platinum initially invested in the North Liberty, Iowa business in 2016, buying it from ConAgra Foods. JM Swank’s revenue increased to about $500 million last year, the firm said.
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Sycamore Partners-backed women's apparel company Torrid Holdings Inc. plans an initial public offering that could give it a market capitalization topping $2 billion, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The retailer based in City of Industry, Calif. priced the deal at $18 to $21 a share and said all the stock being sold is held by Sycamore. The private-equity firm bought Hot Topic Inc. in 2013 for about $600 million and Torrid was spun off from that business in 2015. Sycamore is expected to remain the majority owner following the IPO with a roughly 77% stake.
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Silver Lake-backed EverCommerce Inc. plans to sell about 19.1 million shares at $16 to $18 each in an initial public offering to raise as much as $343.8 million, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Silver Lake would own a roughly 35% stake in the Denver-based provider of software services and payment processing, while Providence Strategic Growth Capital Partners would have an interest of about 44% in the company following the IPO, a regulatory filing shows. The offering at the top of the price range would give EverCommerce a market value of more than $3.5 billion.
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Citic Private Equity-backed Acotec Scientific Holdings Ltd. is moving forward with plans for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Ben Otto reports for Dow Jones Newswires, joining other Chinese medical device makers seeking to list shares in the city. Acotec was valued at $653 million by investors as recently as earlier this year, the company said in its filing. The company makes medical devices such as drug-coated balloons and thrombus aspiration catheters used in the treatment of vascular diseases
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Bertram Capital is selling its stake in skincare products maker Paula’s Choice LLC to global consumer brands company Unilever PLC. Bertram backed the Seattle company in 2012, while TA Associates invested alongside the firm in 2016.
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Blue Wolf Capital Partners has agreed to sell construction industry supplier Novo Building Products LLC to strategic buyer Hardwoods Distribution Inc. Blue Wolf acquired the Zeeland, Mich.-based maker and distributor of mouldings, stair parts and millwork in 2016.
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Silver Lake-backed personnel screening and identity verification company First Advantage Corp.’s shares rose 31% in their first day of trading Wednesday following an initial public offering. The offering priced at $15 a share, giving the company an initial market capitalization of more than $2.25 billion. Silver Lake acquired the business from Symphony Technology Group in January 2020 and was expected to retain a roughly 75% interest following the IPO.
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Shares of Hellman & Friedman-backed Sprinklr Inc. rose 10% Wednesday in their first day of trading following an initial public offering at $16 per share. The company’s backers also include Battery Ventures and Iconiq Strategic Partners. None of the investors planned to sell shares in the offering.
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Morgan Stanley Investment Management has launched a new fund focused on investments in early-stage technology or tech-enabled companies that have women or people from diverse backgrounds as part of their founding teams. The firm did not specify the size of the Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund, LP, but did note that its backers include Hearst Communications Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Walmart Inc.
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Apis & Heritage Capital Partners in Washington, which is led mostly by Black, indigenous and people of color, has collected $30 million for a private-equity fund to back employee-owned businesses, Abby Schultz reports for sister publication Barron’s. The firm has held a first closing on the fund, Legacy Fund I, toward a target of about $50 million.
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Igor Rozenblit, the former co-head of the private funds unit at the Securities and Exchange Commission, has left the agency to launch Iron Road Partners, a New York-based consulting firm that offers governance, risk and regulatory services to private markets fund managers. The firm’s services include regulatory examination and investigation support, compliance program design and testing and fundraising due diligence preparation.
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Consumer-focused private-equity firm TSG Consumer Partners has hired David Anderson as a managing director of investor relations. Mr. Anderson previously served as a senior portfolio manager at the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Co., which manages some $65 billion in Texas state assets.
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HCI Equity Partners said Kate Rumely Rodriguez has joined the HCI Executive Partner group to advise portfolio companies on human resources issues. She is currently a senior global executive recruiter at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.
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Venture debt investor Runway Growth Capital said it has expanded its team with the additions of Carmela Thomson as the firm’s first vice president of finance and accounting and Andy Weyer as a managing director on the firm’s origination team. Ms. Thomson previously was senior manager in the audit group of KPMG in Chicago, while Mr. Weyer most recently headed the West Coast technology originations team for Pacific Western Bank.
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President Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on households making under $400,000 helped get him elected and shaped an administration tax plan aimed at corporations and high-income households. Now that pledge is narrowing the path toward a bipartisan deal on infrastructure to avenues such as raising capital-gains tax rates and curbing the tax benefits of carried interest, Catherine Lucey and Richard Rubin report for The Wall Street Journal. The White House, citing the pledge and its preference for taxing corporations and high-income people, nixed calls for higher gasoline taxes and user fees to finance a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure proposal.
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GCM Grosvenor Inc. has increased a loan amount by $110 million to finance the repurchase of fund investments and carry rights from an affiliate of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The Chicago firm said the $238 million of assets consists of direct investments valued at $87 million and $150 million of unrealized carried interest, which are part of the firm’s Mosaic Transaction, detailed in regulatory filings.
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Vista Equity Partners is backing a solar power project in rural Tennessee to offset its corporate carbon footprint and spur economic development in Jackson, Tenn. Vista’s subscription to the Clearloop project will underwrite the construction of a solar plant capable of powering 44 average homes, with work set to begin in September, according to a news release.
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