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| This week’s top Private Equity news |
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| Here is this week's biggest news in the private equity and venture capital markets. Feel free to email me directly if you think we missed important news about you or something equally important: simon@pe-insights.com. |
1. Vegan milk maker Oatly targets $10bn IPO |
Blackstone-backed Oatly, also counting Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z among its backers, has submitted plans for an IPO, the maker of vegan food and drink products said. Oatly raised a $200 million equity investment in July last year from a group led by Blackstone that includes Oprah Winfrey and former Starbucks chief Howard Schultz. Read more
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2. Bill Ackman's Pershing Square fund reports record 2020 returns |
Fund manager William Ackman, updated investors on how his flagship fund earned a record 70.2% return in 2020. Ackman has plenty to celebrate after his Pershing Square Capital Management put up a second straight year of record returns in 2020. In 2019 the fund returned 58.1%. And 2021 is off to a strong start 8.1% in return. Read more
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FREE WEBINAR
3. Drive Excellence with Digital Tools for PE Firms - Corporate Governance |
Inviting outstanding thought leaders from leading US PE firms, alongside the Nasdaq team, the webinar will dive into board governance best practices and address some significant challenges of 2021. The experienced panel will share insights on conflicts of interest, greater demands and digital transformation. Read more
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4. How Supply Chain Sensors will Lower Prices and Increase Connectivity |
How will the supply chain get to the next level of connectedness? Internet-enabled sensors. There are 50 million containers moving 95% of the world’s freight — yet fewer than 50,000 containers equipped with remote sensing capabilities. One of the things the pandemic surfaced was that globalization requires reliable supply lines. Read more
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5. Tikehau raises more than €1Bn for PE energy transition strategy |
Tikehau Capital has completed fundraising for its T2 investment strategy focused on energy transition with over €1 billion in commitments. Tikehau Capital launched this strategy in 2018 with €100 mln from its own balance sheet. Over the last 18 months, Tikehau Capital has invested EUR440 million in six European SMEs. Read more
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6. LVMH-backed PE firm L Catterton launches $250 mln SPAC |
L Catterton, a PE firm founded by Louis Vuitton owner LVMH and French billionaire Bernard Arnault, has launched a blank-check firm that aims to raise about $250 million in an initial public offering. L Catterton has $22 billion in assets under management and has invested in companies such as exercise bike maker Peloton. Read more
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7. Elon Musk’s SpaceX Raises $850 million in Private Funding |
SpaceX, Elon Musk's space company, raised $850 million in PE funding this week, boosting the company’s valuation by more than half. Stakeholders in SpaceX includes private investment firm Fidelity Investments. Among its other investors are Founders Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Valor Equity Partners and Capricorn. Read more
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8. UPDATE: KPMG close to £400m sale of restructuring arm |
KPMG is close to selling its restructuring division to a PE firm. HIG Europe is in exclusive talks to buy the restructuring arm for about £400 million. John Connolly, a former global chairman and UK chief executive of Deloitte, has been lined up as a potential chairman to run the standalone business. Read more
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9. German Soccer League Said to Kick Off Private Equity Stake Sale |
Germany’s elite soccer body will invite bids for a minority stake in its overseas media rights and PE firms are circling. The DFL could contact as many as 30 bidders interested in investing in Bundesliga International as soon as this week, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Read more
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10. Elliott Global management Seeks $1.5Bn in Two Blank-Check Listings |
Two SPAC's, backed by billionaire Paul Singer’s investment fund Elliott Investment, have filed for initial public offerings of up to $1.5 billion, their regulatory filings showed on Friday. Elliott Opportunity I Corp said it aimed to raise up to $1 billion, while Elliott Opportunity II Corp said it was looking to raise up to $500 million. Read more
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11. Blackstone Seeks About $15 Billion for New Secondaries Funds |
Blackstone is seeking to raise about $15 billion for two new investment funds in the fast-growing private equity secondaries market. Blackstone Strategic Partners, a $38 billion unit focused on investing in existing private equity portfolios, aims to raise $12Bn to $13Bn for a ninth flagship fund, its biggest ever. Read more
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12. The SPAC frenzy continues, how much can the market absorb? |
The SPACs continues. Some industry watchers as starting to wonder: Is the party just getting started, with more early guests still trickling in? Have we reached the party’s peak, with the music still thumping? Or did someone just quietly barf in the corner, an indicator it’s time to wrap things up before something worse happens? Read more
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13. Tesla rival Lucid Motors to go public in $24-billion mega SPAC deal |
Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors agreed to go public by merging with blank-check firm Churchill Capital IV Corp in a deal that valued the combined company at a pro-forma equity value of $24 billion. The deal, which has a transaction equity value of $11.75 billion, includes a $2.1 billion cash contribution from CCIV and a PIPE investment of 2.5 billion from investors. Read more
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14. Goldman Sachs-backed ReNew Power to go public in $8Bn U.S. deal |
ReNew Power, backed by Goldman Sachs, said it would go public through an $8 billion merger with a blank-check firm in the biggest deal in the fast-growing clean energy sector in India. The deal will be financed with cash proceeds of $1.2 billion, including $855 million in investments from serial blank-check dealmaker Chamath Palihapitiya, funds managed by BlackRock and Sylebra Capital. Read more
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15. Goldman Sachs makes investment in Arlington Capital Partners |
Arlington Capital Partners, a middle market private equity firm, has secured a minority equity investment by Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Petershill programme. The investment follows a multi-decade relationship between Goldman Sachs and Arlington in which GSAM has been a limited partner investor in Arlington's funds. Read more
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16. EQT Private Equity in $1Bn sell of Innovyze |
EQT Private Equity, through the EQT Mid Market US fund, has agreed to sell Innovyze to Autodesk for an Enterprise Value of $1Bn. In 2017, Innovyze merged with XP Solutions to become the leading global provider of smart water infrastructure software solutions designed to meet the technological needs of water / wastewater utilities, government agencies and engineering organizations worldwide. Read more
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17. Carlyle's Lee Aims to Raise $130 Billion While 'Thinking Bigger' |
Carlyle is embarking on a plan to supercharge growth and raise more than $130 billion. Senior managers led by Chief Executive Officer Kewsong Lee will lay out their strategy Tuesday during the firm’s first investor day since 2013. The team will be tasked with expanding core businesses and meeting new financial targets. Read more
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18. UPDATE: Asda’s Issa brothers in new tilt at Caffè Nero |
The billionaire owners of Asda are trying to launch an audacious raid on Caffè Nero by buying part of its £350 million debt pile. Brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa have reportedly approached lenders to the coffee chain seeking to build a position that would allow them to bid for control in a debt-for-equity swap if Caffè Nero was forced to restructure its borrowings. Read more
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19. SoftBank-backed Berkshire Grey to go public via $2.7 billion SPAC deal |
SoftBank-backed robotics firm Berkshire Grey has agreed to go public through a merger with a SPAC in a deal that values the company at $2.7Bn. The deal is expected to provide Berkshire Grey $413 million in cash, as the logistics automation company looks to take advantage of a surge in online shopping amid the pandemic. Read more
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20. Greensill and Apollo in talks about multibillion dollar financing deal |
Apollo Global Management is among a number of parties in discussions with Greensill Capital, a London-based firm set up by Lex Greensill a decade ago, about a multibillion dollar deal. City sources said this weekend that the talks with Apollo primarily related to the acquisition of assets created by Greensill. Read more
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