|
|
|
|
|
SEC's Private Markets Priorities | Spring Lane Backs Electric Vehicle Services Provider 7Gen
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good day. With dealmaking seemingly running full tilt, it is hard to imagine that the Federal Reserve's ever-so-slightly more aggressive stance on inflation will goose the market enough to produce an even more frenetic pace. But it could. The more the merrier for the deal makers and their servants, no doubt. But it may also mean less sleep—or time at the beach.
In today's news, we have a look from our Chris Cumming at how a new regime at the SEC is expected to change the way the regulator deals with alternative investments and private equity. Also, our Luis Garcia writes about a small but telling Spring Lane Capital deal involving electric vehicles and related infrastructure. Those stories and many more are collected and condensed for you below, so please read on...
|
|
|
|
|
|
New SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is expected to shift the agency’s focus to private equity, as well as other issues. PHOTO: J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
The new leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been in charge for about two months, but private-equity firms and lawyers who work for them already see tougher regulation headed their way, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Chris Cumming reports. Private-equity attorneys say firms should watch out for ramped-up scrutiny on how fund managers calculate the value of fund assets and whether they follow through on their environmental, social and governance promises. Any dealings between private equity-backed companies and blank-check companies are also likely to be put under a microscope.
|
|
Spring Lane Capital has invested $20 million in 7 Generation Capital Corp., which helps fleet operators transition to electric vehicles, marking the sustainable infrastructure-focused firm’s first bet in the EV market. Founded last year, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company leases vehicles and develops charging stations for businesses looking to convert their fossil-fuel fleets to electric power.
|
|
|
|
|
$111 Billion
|
The value of canceled late-stage M&A deals in the U.S. consumer and retail sectors last year, more than twice the amount called off at the same stage in 2019, according to an A.T. Kearney Inc. survey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Waymo’s ride-hailing service shuttles around customers in minivans without a person behind the wheel.
PHOTO: ROSS D. FRANKLIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
Silver Lake joined other existing backers of Waymo LLC in investing $2.5 billion into the developer of autonomous-driving technology for passenger cars and in freight hauling, Dave Sebastian reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The investment in the affiliate of Google parent Alphabet Inc. comes amid a period of heightened interest and competition in the auto industry. Waymo said other existing investors participating in the investment round included Alphabet Inc., venture-capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, car-dealership chain AutoNation Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research Co.
|
|
Growth investor Sunstone Partners has committed $75 million to back event technology company Meeting Play LLC,. The Frederick, Md.-based company’s software is used to manage events, including attendees, virtual environments and broadcast-quality video programming by clients that include Marriott International Inc. and Autodesk Inc.
|
|
Blackstone Group Inc. and Starwood Capital Group have closed a take-private deal involving hotel operator Extended Stay America, Inc. and paired-share real estate investment trust ESH Hospitality Inc. in a transaction valued at roughly $6 billion. The buyers paid $20.50 per unit for the two enterprises.
|
|
Insight Partners and Tiger Global Management led a $70 million investment in professional networking and job-search site Apna operator Apnatime Tech Pvt. Ltd. in a deal that values the company at about $570 million. Existing investors in the company also participated, including Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed India, Greenoaks Capital and Rocketship VC.
|
|
EQT AB has launched a take-private bid for Spanish solar company Solarpack Corp. Tecnologica SA that values the business at around €881 million (or roughly $1.06 billion), Dominic Chopping reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The €26.50 per share represents a 45% premium to Tuesday's closing price of €18.28. Investors holding more than half of the shares in the developer of solar power sites have agreed to accept the offer but EQT must obtain acceptance from owners of more than 75% of the stock outstanding to close the deal.
|
|
Hellman & Friedman has increased its take-private offer for home decor retailer At Home Group Inc. to $37 per share in cash from $36, Michael Dabaie reports for Dow Jones Newswires. CAS Investment Partners LLC, the company’s biggest shareholder, had described Hellman & Friedman’s initial bid of $36 a share in early May as too low, even though it offered a roughly 17% premium to the undisturbed price. The original offer valued the Plano, Texas, business at about $2.4 billion. At Home operates some 226 retail stores across 40 states. The company’s shares rose on the New York Stock Exchange to trade around $36.71 at midday Wednesday.
|
|
Blackstone Group Inc. is offering to acquire Beijing-based property developer SOHO China for 5 Hong Kong dollars per share ($0.64) in a deal that values the builder of futuristic office buildings at roughly $3.05 billion. Blackstone wants to buy the company as a way to add to the roughly 6 million square meters of property it already owns in China, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. SOHO China owns about 1.3 million square meters of commercial space in the country.
|
|
EQT AB has agreed to buy a majority interest in U.K. delivery company Parcel2Go.com Ltd. from Mayfair Equity Partners and management, who remain minority backers of the technology-enabled service provider. Bolton, England-based Parcel2Go works with companies that sell their wares through websites such as Amazon, Etsy and eBay as well as in-house sites. The Stockholm firm is investing from its EQT Mid Market Europe fund.
|
|
Marlin Equity Partners is backing training software maker Learning Pool and providing an exit to Carlyle Cardinal Ireland, which invested in the U.K. company in 2016. Learning Pool works with companies to migrate their digital training and orientation materials to a cloud site and creates online training materials that have been used by more than 1,100 companies, according to a news release.
|
|
|
|
Our add-on deal interactive tool allows you to sort and analyze volumes of add-on deal data compiled by WSJ Pro. View more.
|
|
|
|
Brightstar Capital-backed BCP QualTek HoldCo LLC plans to go public through a combination with blank-check company Roth CH Acquisition III Co., Matt Grossman reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The deal values the resulting wireless communications technology business at about $829 million and includes a $66 million private investment in public equity. Renamed as QualTek Services Inc.,the Blue Bell, Pa.-based company plans to list on the Nasdaq stock market under the QTEK ticker symbol. Brightstar, which invested in the company in July 2018, plans to rollover its shares into the publicly traded enterprise.
|
|
|
|
|
Outside the New York Stock Exchange, where shares of TPG-backed Convey Holding Parent Inc. fell more than 7% in their trading debut Wednesday. PHOTO: RICHARD DREW / ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
TPG-backed Convey Holding Parent Inc. saw its shares fall 7.1% in their trading debut Wednesday after the healthcare technology and services company's initial public offering was priced at the bottom of expectations, Colin Kellaher reports for Dow Jones Newswires. The shares closed at $13 each in New York Stock Exchange trading after pricing at $14 each in the IPO. Majority shareholder TPG, which acquired Convey in 2019, sold about 1.67 million shares but was still expected to own more than 70% of Convey after the IPO.
|
|
Parthenon Capital has sold payments software brand BillingTree to strategic buyer Repay Holdings Corp. for $503 million in cash and stock. Parthenon initially backed the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company, whose legal name is Electronic Payment Providers Inc. in 2016. The deal with Repay includes $275 million in cash and 10 million Repay shares, representing about 10% of the Atlanta company’s equity.
|
|
Electra Private Equity PLC has provided more details around its planned spinoff of its hospitality brands, which include the TGI Friday’s restaurant chain and a cocktail lounge startup called 63rd+1st, Anthony O. Goriainoff reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Electra said they would be combined under the newly established parent company Hostmore PLC. Electra plans to list Hostmore on the London Stock Exchange later this year. Publicly traded Electra said in May that it would spin off Friday’s and its footwear brand, Hotter Shoes, which the firm also plans to list.
|
|
SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Full Truck Alliance Co., a Chinese startup that provides an Uber-like service for the road-haulage industry, aims to raise as much as $1.57 billion from its U.S. initial public offering, Joanne Chiu reported for Dow Jones Newswires, citing a regulatory filing. Also known as Manbang Group, the company runs a mobile app connecting truck drivers to businesses that need to transport goods within China. Backers also include Google parent Alphabet Inc.
|
|
Private-equity backed Angelalign Technology Inc.’s shares surged in their Hong Kong trading debut Wednesday after raising more than 2.72 billion Hong Kong dollars (or about $350.4 million) in net proceeds from an initial public offering, Clarence Leong reports for Dow Jones Newswires. Shares of the orthodontic-product company nearly tripled to as much as HK$490 per share from the IPO price of HK$173 per share. Backers of the Shanghai-based maker of plastic teeth straighteners include CareCapital Group and Hillhouse Capital.
|
|
Private-equity backed Dutch Bros Coffee Inc. plans to go public, a confidential registration filing indicates, Claudia Assis reports for sister publication MarketWatch. The Oregon coffee chain is backed by TSG Consumer Partners and Duckhorn Portfolio Inc.
|
|
VSS Capital Partners has sold technology-enabled services provider Tax Credit Co. to a unit of Dublin-based Experian PLC. VSS initially backed the Los Angeles company in 2012.
|
|
McNally Capital, a family office investment firm, said it has sold ITS Logistics, a third party logistics provider that it backed alongside fellow family office Coughlin Capital.
|
|
|
Bertram Capital raised $940 million for its Bertram Growth Capital IV LP fund, easily surpassing its $650 million target and an initial hard cap of $800 million. The total includes a $65 million commitment from the firm. Bertram began investing from the fund last year. Sixpoint Partners LLC acted as placement agent for the fundraising.
|
|
|
KKR & Co. said it has appointed Adriane Brown as an independent member of the publicly traded firm’s board of directors. Ms. Brown is managing partner at Flying Fish Partners, a venture capital firm focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning startups in the Pacific Northwest. She is the tenth independent member on KKR’s 14-person board, according to a press release.
|
|
|
|
|
Neiman Marcus exited about six locations during bankruptcy, including a location in New York City’s Hudson Yards that opened in 2019. PHOTO: RICHARD B. LEVINE / ZUMA PRESS
|
|
|
|
Sixth Street Partners-backed Neiman Marcus Group Inc.’s sales have rebounded from last year when the Covid-19 pandemic closed its stores and briefly pushed the chain into bankruptcy protection, Suzanne Kapner reports for The Wall Street Journal. While luxury shoppers are splurging again, the results aren’t yet back to pre-pandemic levels. Sixth Street joined other investors and creditors in bringing the retailer out of a chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
|
|
The Justice Department is stepping in to block insurance broker Aon PLC’s proposed $35 billion acquisition of rival Willis Towers Watson PLC, alleging the tie-up would lead to higher prices and reduced innovation for U.S. businesses, employers and unions that rely on their services, Brent Kendall and Ben Dummett report for The Wall Street Journal. The regulator filed a lawsuit challenging the deal on antitrust grounds in a Washington federal court, citing potential damage to brokering services for property, casualty and liability insurance, as well as health benefits for large corporate customers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|