Data Analyst Katrin Kostadinova highlights the most significant financial and corporate legal deals announced or closed in the last week.
Americas
In Peru the country's private investment promotion agency ProInversión has awarded the contract for the Hidrovía Amazónica PPP project to the Hidrovías II consortium. The project is to develope and operate a river navigation channel along 2700 km of the Peruvian Amazon.
In the United States, in the private equity space, KKR has taken over WebMD Health for $2.8 billion. The target is an online health information company that includes sites such as Medscape.
In the oil and gas sector QEP Resources announced that subsidiary QEP Energy Company would be selling two natural gas assets in Wyoming for $777.5 million. The first asset in the Pinedale Anticline field was sold to Pinedale Energy Partners. The second asset in Southern Wyoming was sold to an undisclosed buyer.
Asia-Pacific
Sharp, the Japanese electronics maker, has invested $1 billion in SoftBank's Vision Fund. The fund is the largest ever private equity fund and is expected to raise $100 billion. Vision Fund has already raised $93 million for technology investments in artificial intelligence and robotics sectors.
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
In France CTE has issued a €2.92 billion bond. The three tranches consisted of €500 million 0.875% notes due 2024, €1.2 billion 1.5% notes due 2028 and €1.22 billion 2.19% notes due 2032. The proceeds will be used to repay bridge loans and for the payment of priority dividends.
In Israel Blackstone has acquired 40% of NSO Group, a spyware maker for mobile devices, for $400 million. After the deal, Blackstone and ClearSky will own 40%, Francisco Partners another 40%, the founders – 6% each and all 500 employees will hold the other 8%.
Another major acquisition in Israel saw Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma acquire Neuroderm for $1.1 billion. Neuroderm is a pharmaceuticals company and the deal is the largest ever in this sector in Israel.
In the Middle East the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has issued its first Islamic sovereign bond this year raising SR17 billion through a three tranche sukuk issue. The issue consisted of 3.55% notes due 2027, 3.25% notes due 2024 and 2.95% notes due 2022. The funds raised will help the country with its budget deficit caused by low oil prices.
In Sweden, Ingenico Group has acquired Bambora for €1.5 billion from Nordic Capital. Bambora is a payment management company with over 110,000 customers that manages transactions worth over €55 billion each year. The deal follows another substantial deal in the sector when US Vantiv acquired Worldpay.
In Switzerland Landis+Gyr has undertaken an IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The issuer is a producer of energy smart meters and is owned by Toshiba. The opening price was SFr79 per share giving the company a market capitalisation of SFr2.3 billion.
In the United Kingdom Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners have bid £2.86 billion for Paysafe Group, an UK company that provides pre-paid cashcards and online wallets. If successful the bid will lead to a return to the payments sector for CVC.
Elsewhere Partners Group has acquired Civica for £1 billion from OMERS. Civica provides software solutions and has around 3700 employees worldwide.
The London real estate market remains hot and this week saw LKK Health Products Group acquire 20 Fenchurch Street (the ‘Walkie Talkie’) for £1.28 billion. The target is an office building in the City of London and the value represents the highest amount paid for a single UK asset.
In the consumer goods and services sector, Michael Kors has acquired Jimmy Choo for $1.17 billion. Jimmy Choo is a fashion brand and manufacturer of shoes and handbags. The deal follows Coach’s acquisition of Kate Spade earlier this year
Finally Strix Group has undertaken an IPO on the LSE’s AIM market. The offering that raised £190 million seeks to enhance the business profile of the company and strengthen its new product development.