Morning all, Craig McGlashan here with the Europe Wire from the London newsroom.
We’re back after the bank holiday in the UK yesterday – I hope readers who also had the day off enjoyed their time away from their desks.
H2 should be busy, according to sources – and September seems to have got off to a strong start.
We’ve got a series of deal announcements from this morning, including the latest developments in two take-private tussles.
Once we’ve rounded up today’s business, we’ll do a quick recap of some announcements from yesterday.
In the lead
Veritas Capital has emerged as the frontrunner in a battle to take heat treatment and metallurgical services provider Bodycote private, after the board of the London-listed company today said it had agreed to the private equity firm’s latest offer.
The 940p per share offer values the company’s total equity at around £1.65 billion ($2.23 billion; €1.93 billion) and gives an enterprise value of around £1.85 billion. It gives a premium of 37.5 percent over the three-month average to May 21, when the Bodycote board addressed press speculation of a bid, and 42.5 percent over the 12-month average over that period.
“Bodycote has established itself as a global leader in providing essential technologies for performance metallurgy across a range of mission-critical end markets,” said James Dimitri, partner and co-head of flagship private equity at Veritas, in a statement.
Veritas had made a 914p per share offer in August that the Bodycote board said was sufficient for a unanimous recommendation, should Veritas go ahead with a firm intention.
CVC had made a 915p per share offer at the same time, which the Bodycote board had also said was sufficient for a recommendation. CVC this morning said it was considering its position following the latest Veritas announcement.
Apollo had made a conditional offer for Bodycote of 885p per share in May – valuing the total equity at around £1.53 billion – but withdrew the offer in June.
Apollo gave no reason for its decision to withdraw at the time but stated that the firm “continues to hold Bodycote and its management team in high regard.”
Another agreement
Speaking of take-private tussles, Epiris has agreed on a deal for London-listed communication technology company Gamma Communications.
The offer is for 1,120p per share, which values Gamma’s equity at around £1.015 billion ($1.37 billion; €1.18 billion) and gives it an enterprise value of around £1.079 billion. It’s a premium of 53 percent to the company’s undistributed share price on April 7.
There’s been other interest in the company. Gamma Communications confirmed in August that Waterland Private Equity is among the firms in discussions to take the company private.
Giacom, a telecoms services business backed by Inflexion, is acting in concert with Waterland, whereby it would acquire certain business divisions of Gamma, according to a statement.
But the number of suitors has diminished. In June, Oakley Capital and Providence Equity Partners withdrew from the potential bidding for Gamma.
Right formula
Mutares has been making a big push in the US and in its chemicals strategy, as CIO Johannes Laumann outlined to PE Hub earlier this year.
Now, the firm has acquired AmeriTerpenes, the terpene ingredients business of Symrise. AmeriTerpenes generates approximately $200 million in revenue and employs around 170 people. With manufacturing across two integrated US production sites in Jacksonville, Florida, and Colonels Island, Georgia, the business serves customers globally, particularly across North America.
AmeriTerpenes produces natural terpene-based ingredients derived from renewable pine-based feedstocks. Its portfolio includes Dihydromyrcenol, Linalool and Anethole, used in perfumes, household products, and food and beverage flavorings. The company supplies customers across the consumer goods, personal care, food and beverage, and industrial chemicals markets.
Mutares’ chemicals and materials segment was established following its acquisition of the engineering thermoplastics business of Sabic in a $450 million EV deal that was the German firm’s largest ever.
Adding up
The technological modernization of healthcare was one of the big topics in our Sector Spotlight on the industry a little while ago, and it’s the focus of one of the deals announced this morning.
Keensight Capital-backed DimoMaint, a provider of computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software, has announced the acquisitions of Qb7, AssetPlus and Cimaint. The moves are part of DimoMaint’s consolidation strategy in the healthcare and biomedical sectors, aimed at giving hospitals and other institutions modern maintenance software.
Qb7 and AssetPlus strengthen DimoMaint’s health and biomedical CMMS business and reinforce its position in France. Qb7 is a French specialist in managing maintenance of medical equipment, including scanners and dialysis machines, in hospitals and healthcare establishments. AssetPlus, GE HealthCare’s longstanding CMMS platform, has supported biomedical teams and healthcare institutions in France and internationally for more than 20 years.
Services deal
Searchlight Capital Partners has announced an investment in Aderian Group, a Nordic managed IT services provider with more than 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprise customers across Sweden and Norway. Aderian’s management team will reinvest in the company.
Aderian provides cloud, cybersecurity, AI and analytics, networking and modern workplace services. Founded in 2022, the company has grown to about SKr2.5 billion ($260 million; €228 million) in revenue, with more than 850 employees and over 10,000 SME customers in Sweden and Norway.
Adelis Equity Partners became the majority owner of the business in 2023.
Bank holiday round-up
As we were off for the UK bank holiday yesterday, here’s a quick round-up of deals announced that day.
Apollo Global Management has agreed to sell Kelvion, a global developer and manufacturer of thermal management technology, to SLB for $4.1 billion.
Kelvion is majority owned by Apollo-managed funds, with funds advised by Triton holding a minority stake that will also be sold to SLB.
EQT has completed its combination with Coller Capital, the secondaries specialist now rebranded Coller EQT, as the Stockholm-listed investor pushes to build what it calls the most attractive private markets firm of scale.
Base consideration for the deal totals $3.2 billion on a cash-and-debt-free basis.
That’s all from me today. Obey Martin Manayiti will bring you the US Wire later today and I’ll be back with you from London tomorrow.
Cheers,
Craig