Nouryon—€10.1 billion buyout completed in October
The Carlyle Group and GIC closed a deal to buy AkzoNobel which was part of a Dutch paint conglomerate and was rebranded to Nouryon. These companies beat out bids from prominent investment companies like Advent International, Apollo Global Management, and Bain Capital.
Unilever Spreads Business—€6.8 billion buyout completed in July
KKR won an auction for Unilever’s spreads business that created a stiff competition between Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners. This unit which owns important brands like Flora and Becel had sales of €3 billion in 2016 and EBITDA of €680 million.
TDC—$6.7 billion buyouts finalized last May
The Danish telecoms operator accepted an offer of 50.25 Danish kroner per share (around €6.7 per share) from an investment pool, which included famous Danish funds PFA, PKA, and ATP. These funds turned down investors just the prior week.
Banco Popular—€5 billion buyouts completed last March
Blackstone obtained up to 51% of Banco Popular’s real estate business, which included assets grossly valued at €30 billion.
AccorInvest—€4.6 billion buyouts finished in May
A membership of funds including Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund PIF, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Credit Agricole Assurances, Colony NorthStar and Amundi acquired 57.8% of AccorInvest which was part of the French hotel group AccorHotels. This company had a hotel real estate portfolio with more than 890 European properties.
Private Equity Exit Plays
Worldpay—£9.3 billion acquisition last January
Bain Capital and Advent completed this year’s largest exit when they sold this card payment provider to Vantiv. The deal implemented a total business that processes approximately $1.5 trillion in payments and 40 billion transactions. These include over 300 payment methods, resulting in net revenues greater than $3.2 billion.
Buwog—€5.2 billion acquisition in March
German residential property major player Vonovia paid €29.05 per share to claim roughly 91% of its Austrian counterpart. The acquirer gained a company with over 49,000 apartments. In August, Vonovia agreed to compensate the remaining stakeholders with €334.4 million for their shares.
Sky Betting & Gaming—$4.7 billion acquisition in July
CVC Capital Partners and Sky, sold the company to peer gaming firm The Stars Group. CVC had 80% of the stock, which resulted in the PE investor gaining £1.9 billion with Sky earning around £570 million.
Aston Martin—€3.6 billion IPO last October
This sports car manufacturer had an IPO which proved the automaker’s poor timing. Aston Martin has been bankrupt 7 times and has failed to reach its optimal valuation, due to shares falling from £19 to £18.10 on its debut trading day. It closed lower at £12 per share Monday.
CeramTec—€2.6 billion secondary buyouts in March
This last top 5 deal is by an investment pool led by BC Partners, which regained control over the industrial ceramics provider from Cinven. PSP investments and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan also invested in this buyout.
Private Equity Fund Updates
EQT VIII valued at €10.75 billion in February
EQT started the year with its largest fund which focuses on investments in Northern European companies in a variety of industries like healthcare, tech, media, and some sporadic deals in IT as well as and consumer goods.
BC European Capital X—closed on €7 billion last January
BC Partners’ 10th flagship fund obtained €300 million more than its predecessor, which represented investments from more than 130 different investors. BCEC X backs many large European and North American businesses in health care, finance, and industrials.
PAI Europe VII—closed on €5.1 billion in March
This fund surpassed its original €4 billion goal in just 3 months to more than €16 billion. This fund’s current portfolio includes famous board game company Asmodée, with both companies entering in private talks in July, which were valued at €1.2 billion.
Nordic Capital Fund IX—closed on €4.3 billion in May
Nordic countries received more investment after this Stockholm-based private equity group closed its ninth flagship fund 23% higher than the original target. This fund has also invested in companies like the European Dental Group, ophthalmology group, Ober Scharrer, and mobile payments firm Trustly.
TDR Capital IV—closed on €3.5 billion in March
This London based private equity firm closed a good deal more than its first goal of €2.5 billion. The firm follows the same strategies as its precedent companies like emphasizing mid-markets and controlling buyouts investments in European. Many investors such as HarbourVest and Ardian confirmed investment commitments.
