i-dopebouquetbeard

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Pepsi Buys Rockstar

Pepsi buys Rockstar.     PepsiCo buys Rockstar Energy Beverages for $3.85 billion.     Founded in 2001, Rockstar is drinks designed for people leading an active lifestyle. Available in 20 flavors at convenience and grocery stores in 30 countries. Distributed by PepsiCo in North America since 2009. Supporting the Rockstar lifestyle across the globe through action sports, motorsports, and live music. Pepsi's energy portfolio also includes Kickstart, GameFuel, and Amp Energy.     The deal reflects the shift from reliance on sales of sugary, fizzy drinks toward options ranging from tea and coffee to still and sparkling water varieties, which appeal to health-conscious and younger consumers. Neither PepsiCo nor Coca-Cola owns a major brand in the energy drinks category, which is forecast to grow to more than $80 billion over the next five years and is now dominated by Red Bull.     200 countries and territories around the world enjoy PepsiCo products a billion times a day. PepsiCo generated $67 billion in 2019 net revenue, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi, Quaker, and Tropicana. Pepsi has 22 brands producing more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.     PepsiCo is also buying online snack company Hangzhou Haomusi Food, known as Be & Cheery, for $705 million. Be & Cheery’s products include nuts, dried fruits, meat snacks, baked goods, and confectionery, all sold online through major e-commerce platforms. Pepsi’s goal is to be China’s leading consumer-centric food and beverage company.     Ramon Laguarta of Pepsi said: ‘As we become more consumer-centric and capitalize on rising demand in the functional beverage space, this highly strategic acquisition will enable us to leverage PepsiCo's capabilities to both speed up Rockstar's performance and unlock our ability to expand in the category with existing brands such as Mountain Dew. Over time, we expect to capture our fair share of this fast-growing, highly profitable category and create meaningful new partnerships in the energy space.’    Russ Weiner of Rockstar said: ‘We have had a strong partnership with PepsiCo for the last decade, and I'm happy to take that to the next level and join forces as one company. PepsiCo shares our competitive spirit and will invest in growing our brand even further. I'm proud of what we built and how we've changed the game in the energy space.’     Centerview Partners served as financial advisor to PepsiCo. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Davis Polk & Wardwell served as legal advisors.     Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor to Rockstar. King & Spalding served as legal advisor. 

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Compass Buys Marucci

Compass buys Marucci.     Compass Diversified Holdings buys Marucci Sports for $200 million.     Marucci Sports was founded in 2009 by Kurt Ainsworth, a retired pitcher for the San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles, Joe Lawrence, a former second baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays, and Reed Dickens, a former White House Assistant Press Secretary under George W. Bush.     Marucci’s first buy was Marucci Bat Company, launched out of a backyard shed in 2004. Ainsworth then led the buyout of an Amish-run Pennsylvania wood mill in 2008. This solidified Marucci's superior wood supply, and it still supplies all Marucci's wood today. In 2017 Marucci bought Victus, a baseball equipment maker known for its edgy designs and big attitude.     With vertically cohesive wood bat production, a global supplier group, and a client base of MVPs and World Series winners, Marucci and Victus are the top two bats among Big League players. Their product range now includes wood and metal bats, apparel and accessories, batting and fielding gloves, and bags and protective gear.     Compass will help Marucci invest in new products, grow its presence in Japan and South Korea, and further develop its Marucci Clubhouse retail franchise. No rainouts, no make-ups, no excuses.     Elias Sabo of Compass said: ‘We are happy to add Marucci Sports to our portfolio of niche market-leading brands. With an unwavering commitment to quality craftsmanship and focus on addressing players’ evolving needs, Marucci has firmly established itself as a leader in baseball equipment, and we are confident that together we will further expand Marucci’s best-in-class product portfolio, penetrate new markets, and increase the brand’s presence internationally. Leveraging CODI’s deep sector ability and proven track record of building businesses for the long-term, as well as Marucci’s loyal brand following, poises the company for continued success in the sports equipment space. As their roster of impressive customers continues to grow, we're delighted to partner with Marucci’s talented team to build on the success they have achieved since the company’s founding and further speed up their growth and expansion in the years to come.’     Kurt Ainsworth of Marucci said: ‘When we launched Marucci Sports, our goal was to offer all players, regardless of age or level, big-league quality products that they wanted and needed for success. This partnership with CODI is the beginning of a long-term relationship that recognizes the tremendous efforts and hard work of the Marucci team and demonstrates the high growth potential of our impressive suite of products. We look forward to working with Elias and the CODI team as we leverage their real abilities in the branded consumer products space and permanent capital base to meet our shared goals.’     Jefferies served as financial advisor to Marucci.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Covea Buys PartnerRe

Covea buys PartnerRe.     Covea buys PartnerRe from Exor for $9 billion.     Exor is the Agnelli family holding company which also controls Fiat Chrysler, CNH Industrial, and Ferrari.     PartnerRe is a pure-play reinsurer offering risk solutions for agriculture, aviation & space, cyber risk, directors & officers, downstream energy, engineering & construction, financial risks, financial institutions, health, life, marine & upstream energy, nuclear, property & casualty, property catastrophe, specialty property, sports, leisure & entertainment, structured & customized solutions, and terrorism. Scale is ever more important for reinsurers as their clients merge and then seek counterparties with greater capital strength when reinsuring their risks. Following this deal with Covéa, PartnerRe enters the top tier of reinsurers worldwide.     For Covéa, owned by its customers and operating in France, this diversifies its business beyond home, auto, life, and health. Insurers and reinsurers are under pressure from low to negative interest rates where they have to invest a large chunk of their premiums. They turn to deal-making and diversifying their revenue streams, such as moves into reinsurance and asset management.    Thierry Derez of Covéa said: ‘This acquisition project takes place in a changing sector, with the emergence of new risks, new lifestyles and the proliferation of players entering the insurance market. It's in perfect coherence with our development strategy, our adaptability, the necessary complementarity of ability, and the importance of international risk pooling.  It will join the future of PartnerRe and our mutualist group, respecting the interests of our members and customers, our employees, and our partners. By consolidating our diversification and internationalization, we create a top tier European insurance and reinsurance group.’     Emmanuel Clarke of PartnerRe said: ‘Over the past four years, under Exor’s ownership, we have strengthened PartnerRe’s position as a global, diversified reinsurer, thanks to a continuous focus on enhancing our client and broker franchise, our underwriting and investments portfolios, and our operational efficiency. And I’m confident we are in a good position to further evolve under our new ownership.’     John Elkann of Exor said: ‘PartnerRe today is a stronger company, with a more complete and efficient business. We have now been presented with an outstanding chance for PartnerRe to further strengthen its competitive advantage while providing important new opportunities for its people under Covea’s ownership. We are proud to have fulfilled Exor’s purpose of building another great company and are grateful to PartnerRe’s board, leadership, and people for all they have done to make this possible.’     Rothschild, Barclays, and JP Morgan served as financial advisors to Covéa. Bredin Prat and Debevoise & Plimpton served as legal advisors.     Goldman Sachs served as financial adviser to Exor. Sullivan & Cromwell served as legal advisor.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Gilead Buys Forty Seven

Gilead buys Forty Seven.     Gilead Sciences buys Forty Seven for $4.9 billion.     Forty Seven is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology firm developing therapies targeting cancer immune evasion pathways and specific cell targeting approaches based on tech licensed from Stanford. Forty Seven’s lead program, magrolimab, is a monoclonal antibody against the CD47 receptor, a ‘don’t eat me’ signal that cancer cells commandeer to avoid being ingested by macrophages. Evaluated antibodies are in many clinical studies of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and solid tumors. These assets complement the cell therapy franchise Gilead added with its 2017 buy of Kite Pharma.     Beyond magrolimab, Forty Seven is fixing to advance two more compounds into clinical testing. Developing FSI-174, an anti-cKIT antibody, in combination with magrolimab creates a novel, all-antibody conditioning regimen to address the limitations of current stem cell transplantation conditioning regimens. Developing FSI-189, an anti-SIRPα antibody creates a cancer treatment, as well as certain non-oncology settings, including transplantation conditioning.     Daniel O’Day of Gilead Sciences said: ‘This agreement builds on Gilead’s presence in immuno-oncology and adds significant potential to our clinical pipeline. Magrolimab complements our existing work in hematology, adding a non-cell therapy program that complements Kite’s pipeline of cell therapies for hematological cancers. With a profile that lends itself to combination therapies, magrolimab could potentially have transformative benefits for a range of tumor types. We are looking forward to working with the highly experienced team at Forty Seven to help patients with some of the most challenging forms of cancer. This is in the sweet spot of what you need for successful oncology. We aren't afraid to invest as we see signals in the data to move fast and be first with combinations with this molecule.’     Mark McCamish of Forty Seven said: ‘This is an exciting day for patients who may one day enjoy future anti-CD47 therapies and other immuno-oncology treatments based on our research and exciting time for Forty Seven as this allows us to meet our vision of helping patients defeat their cancer. We are happy to join Gilead and believe that by combining our scientific ability with Gilead’s strength in developing treatments that change the immune system, we will be able to advance our therapies.’     Citi and JP Morgan served financial advisors to Gilead. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as legal advisor.     Centerview Partners served as financial advisor to Forty Seven. Cooley served as legal advisor.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Platinum Buys Biscuit

Platinum buys Biscuit.     Platinum Equity buys Biscuit International from Qualium Investissement.     Biscuit makes a range of products with European or local presence, including traditional biscuits and a growing mix for people with specific dietary needs (organic, low-calorie, sugar-free, gluten-free, milk-free, no palm oil). Created in 2016 by the merger of Poult (the French leader) and Banketgroep (Netherlands), it grew to include A&W (Germany), Stroopwafel (Netherlands), NFF (United Kingdom), and Army (Spain). The group now produces 130,000 tons of biscuits and waffles in 14 European factories, with 1,900 people, and €500m in annual sales.     Louis Samson of Platinum Equity said: ‘Biscuit International has an exceptional portfolio and a well-deserved reputation for high-quality products. We support the company's plan to continue expanding its offering and its international reach, both organically and through more add-on investments. We look forward to working with the management team to optimize the platform and maximize operational performance throughout the business.’     Jean Eichenlaub of Qualium said: ‘We are proud to have supported the development stages that led Biscuit International to become a leader in the European private label biscuit market We are happy with the progress made by the group and its teams since our first investment in March 2014, and we are confident about the opportunities ahead with the support of their new shareholder.’     Giampaolo Schiratti of Biscuit International said: ‘By combining rigor and a sense of commerce with the creativity of others, by developing innovation and purchasing synergies, the group is promised a bright future.’     Rothschild & Co served as financial advisor to Platinum Equity. Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor.     Natixis Partners served as financial advisor to Qualium. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton served as legal advisor.     Jeausserand-Audouard served as legal advisor to Biscuit International. 

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Intuit Buys Credit Karma

Intuit buys Credit Karma.     Intuit buys Credit Karma for $7.1 billion.     Founded in 2007, Credit Karma has 100 million members in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Best known for helping people track and control their credit, members use the firm for everything finance. This includes identity monitoring, applying for credit cards, shopping for a car, home, or personal loan, filing taxes, and high-yield savings accounts. It’s a personal financial assistant providing insights into your money and helping you find the right products.     The deal unites two fintech leaders with a shared goal to help you manage debt, maximize savings, access better credit cards and loans, and put more money in your pocket. The background scenery is a United States household debt of $14.1 trillion. This includes $9.6 trillion mortgage debt, $1 trillion in credit cards, and $1.5 trillion in student loans.     Sasan Goodarzi of Intuit said: ‘Our mission is to power prosperity around the world with a bold goal of doubling the household savings rate for customers on our platform. We wake up every day trying to help consumers make ends meet. By joining forces with Credit Karma, we can create a personalized financial assistant that will help consumers find the right financial products, put more money in their pockets, and provide insights and advice, enabling them to buy the home they’ve always dreamed about, pay for education, and take the vacation they’ve always wanted.     There’s a lot of innovation and investment in fintech, but we don’t see anyone, with our collective capabilities, pursuing a personalized financial assistant to help consumers take control of their financial lives. Together with Ken and the Credit Karma team, we’re going to bring together consumers and financial institutions in innovative ways that lower costs for all those involved and level the playing field for consumers regardless of their economic status. We believe we can transform the personal finance industry and power the economy.’     Kenneth Lin of Credit Karma said: ‘We started Credit Karma with a goal to build a trusted destination for all consumers, to make financial progress regardless of where they are in life. We saw the opportunity to enrich people’s financial lives through transparency, simplicity, and certainty. We could not have picked a better partner than Sasan and the Intuit team to speed up our mission to champion financial progress for our members. Together, the complementary strengths of our combined companies will help us to invest in innovation, build faster, and deliver products our consumers expect and deserve.’     Qatalyst Partners served as financial advisor to Intuit. Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor.     Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor to Credit Karma. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati served as legal advisors. 

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Franklin Buys Legg

Franklin buys Legg.     Franklin Templeton buys Legg Mason for $4.5 billion.     The deal is to bring in new investors, expressly in foreign markets, gain scale for technology investments, and find new ways to market and sell each other’s fund lines. Legg Mason and its affiliates manage $806 billion in assets. This will make Franklin Templeton the sixth-largest independent fund firm with $1.5 trillion in assets. It deepens key geographies balanced between institutional and retail client AUM and creates a separately managed account business. Franklin will keep the autonomy of Legg Mason’s affiliates, making sure their investment philosophies, processes, and brands stay unchanged.     Greg Johnson of Franklin said: ‘This is a landmark acquisition for our organization that unlocks value and growth opportunities driven by greater scale, diversity, and balance across investment strategies, distribution channels, and geographies. Our complementary strengths will enhance our strategic positioning and long-term growth potential, while also delivering on our goal of creating a more balanced and diversified organization that is competitively positioned to serve more clients in more places.’     Jenny Johnson of Franklin said: ‘This acquisition will add differentiated capabilities to our existing investment strategies with modest overlap across world-class affiliates, investment teams, and distribution channels, bringing notable added leadership and strength in core fixed income, active equities, and alternatives. We will also expand our multi-asset solutions, a key growth area for the firm amid increasing client demand for comprehensive, outcome-oriented investment solutions.     This transaction gives us a significant scale, addresses strategic gaps, and brings greater balance to our business while positioning us for accelerated growth in the future. We have incredible respect and admiration for the success Legg Mason and its investment affiliates have achieved, and we have structured the transaction to make sure its affiliates have the right mix of independence and support to continue building on their strong track records. Legg Mason’s investment affiliates will be able to leverage Franklin Templeton’s global infrastructure and ongoing investment in technology and innovation, while clients can take comfort in the joint firm’s financial strength and aligned interests.’     Joseph Sullivan of Legg Mason said: ‘The incredibly strong fit between our two organizations gives me the utmost confidence that this transaction will create meaningful long-term benefits for our clients and provide our shareholders with a compelling valuation for their investment. By preserving the autonomy of each investment organization, Legg Mason and Franklin Templeton will leverage our collective strengths, while minimizing the risk of disruption. Our clients will enjoy a shared vision, strong client-focused cultures, distinct investment capabilities, and a broad distribution footprint in this powerful combination.’     Carol Anthony Davidson of Legg Mason said: ‘Today’s announcement marks the beginning of an exciting next chapter for Legg Mason, our investment affiliates, and valued clients, who will enjoy a leading global asset manager with the scale to compete and win in today’s markets. I'm honored to have served as the lead independent director of this dynamic board, and I am truly appreciative of the hard work and dedication of the entire Legg Mason team.’     Nelson Peltz of Trian Fund Management said: ‘Given the dynamics of today’s evolving and increasingly competitive asset management sector, I believe this transaction is compelling. In our view, it offers an attractive valuation for Legg Mason’s shareholders. I believe it will also enable Legg Mason’s investment affiliates to stay at the forefront of an industry where scale is increasingly vital to success and to join Franklin Templeton, an organization that I have a deep respect for and confidence in.’     Trian owns 4.5 percent of Legg Mason's outstanding stock.     James Hirschmann of Legg Mason affiliate Western Asset said: ‘Western Asset is excited to be joining the Franklin Templeton family, a firm with a long and storied history of proven financial performance and a leadership team and board with decades of asset management experience who value our investment independence and organizational autonomy. Like us, Franklin Templeton understands the importance of culture, teams, and core values to achieving outstanding investment results for clients.’     Terrence Murphy of Legg Mason affiliate ClearBridge Investments said: ‘As part of Franklin Templeton, we are confident that we will keep the strong culture that has defined our success as a recognized market leader in active equities. Their commitment to investment autonomy, augmented by the scale and reach that the joint organization will provide, will let us deliver for our existing clients and expand our ability to deliver our investment capabilities in new channels and regions. We are happy to join the team at Franklin Templeton and excited about what we can do together.’     EnTrust Global, a Legg Mason affiliate providing alternative investment solutions, and Franklin Templeton jointly agreed that EnTrust will repurchase its business. EnTrust will keep an ongoing relationship with Franklin Templeton.     Jenny Johnson added: ‘EnTrust is an excellent business, and we recognize and appreciate their wish to once again become a private company. We have appreciated their collaboration in our discussions and look forward to our ongoing relationship.’     Broadhaven Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley, and Ardea Partners served as financial advisors to Franklin. Willkie Farr & Gallagher served as legal advisor.     PJT Partners and JP Morgan served as financial advisors to Legg Mason. Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as legal advisors.     Dechert served as legal advisor to EnTrust Global.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Advisor Buys Ladenburg

Advisor buys Ladenburg.     Advisor Group buys Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services for $1.3 billion.     Ladenburg's independent advisory and brokerage firms are Securities America, Triad Advisors, Investacorp, KMS Financial Services, and Securities Service Network. Other divisions are insurance brokerage Highland Capital, trust services company Premier Trust, and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., a middle-market investment bank.  Each of these firms delivers unique, value-added solutions to Ladenburg financial advisors.     Advisor Group's network of firms is FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates, SagePoint Financial, and Woodbury Financial. This deal augments its industry leadership with the company now covering 11,300 financial advisors and $450 billion in client assets. Advisor Group is committed to a multi-brand network model delivering the advantages of industry-leading scale and resources through familiar relationship managers, a unique sense of community, and a personalized approach to service.     Jamie Price of Advisor Group said: ‘This acquisition brings together the best of two industry leaders, to the benefit of the financial advisors we collectively serve.  We believe the investments necessary for competitively differentiated technology, practice management, and product and service excellence require a greater level of scale than either of our companies can achieve on a stand-alone basis.  In fact, as our two organizations learned more about each other's platforms, it became obvious that our strengths rounded out each other's offerings, and combined, we have one of the most comprehensive and best-in-class platforms for financial advisors in the industry.  Equally important, Advisor Group and Ladenburg have a shared commitment to the flexibility of third-party clearing, together with maintaining a small-firm feel delivered through the distinct management teams and cultures of a multi-brand network model.  In today's fast-consolidating marketplace, where advisors fear becoming just another number in the crowd, the more intimate service culture and sense of community that our multi-brand approach offers are increasingly in demand.     This deal is a testament to the strength of both companies' management teams, the quality and early engagement of our advisor communities, and the overwhelmingly positive response from rating agencies and our investors. We have a shared excitement for creating an industry leader that offers a truly unique combination of resources, flexibility, and personalized service. We are thrilled to embark upon a new stage of growth and success for the advisors we support, and we offer the advisors who have joined us from Ladenburg a very warm welcome to the Advisor Group community of firms. For both our new and longstanding advisors, we look forward to continuing to demonstrate that we are in their corner, now and in the future.’     Richard Lampen of Ladenburg said: ‘This is a transaction that maximizes value for our shareholders while positioning our financial advisors for continued growth and success.  We have always been impressed with the Advisor Group's platform, offerings, and leadership.  Advisor Group's CEO, Jamie Price, and his management team offer a mature shared services model and a demonstrated ability to innovate and invest in ways that help advisors grow.   We believe the transaction will help our financial advisors speed up the growth of their businesses while continuing to benefit from the highly personalized service experience they have always enjoyed, under a very similar multi-custodial, multi-clearing and multi-brand structure. On behalf of the entire Ladenburg Board and management team, I want to sincerely thank our employees and financial advisors for their tireless work and dedication.’     Milton Berlinski of Reverence Capital Partners, majority equity owner of Advisor Group, said: ‘Ladenburg Thalmann and Advisor Group are highly complementary businesses, with nationwide footprints, technology capabilities and senior management talent that represent the best of what the wealth management industry has to offer for financial advisors and their clients. By combining these two firms, we have created one of the most robust platforms in the country to support advisors' growth, with the scale, resources and intellectual capital to position them for success, no matter their business model or client focus. The extraordinary collaboration across the Advisor Group and Ladenburg Thalmann teams to close the merger has only further validated our confidence in the future of this partnership.’     Eversheds Sutherland, Kirkland & Ellis, and Greenberg Traurig served as legal advisors to Advisor Group and Reverence Capital.    Jefferies served as financial advisor to Ladenburg. Sullivan & Cromwell served as legal advisor.     Bank of America, UBS Securities, Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities, and Goldman Sachs provided financing for the deal.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Heartland Buys AIM

Heartland buys AIM.     Heartland Financial buys AIM Bancshares and AimBank for $280.4 million.     AimBank was founded in 1925 as the First National Bank of Littlefield. Today it’s a community bank based in Levelland, TX with $1.78 billion in assets, $1.16 billion in loans, and $1.54 billion in deposits. AimBank serves Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, Amarillo, Abilene, and other West Texas communities from 19 banking centers. It also has 6 full-service banking centers in Northeastern New Mexico. AimBank will merge into Heartland’s existing Lubbock, TX-based subsidiary FirstBank & Trust which has $1.14 billion in assets. Founded in 1996, it specializes in business lending and deposit services, providing mortgage, private client, investment, treasury management, card services, and electronic banking programs. 8 locations serve the cities of Lubbock, Snyder, Wilson, Colorado City, Tahoka, and surrounding communities. This will create Heartland’s largest bank subsidiary with assets of $3 billion and 33 banking centers serving West Texas and Northeastern New Mexico.

Heartland is a diversified financial services holding company with assets of $13.2 billion. It provides banking, mortgage, private client, investment, treasury management, card services, insurance, and consumer finance to individuals and businesses. After completing the deal, Heartland will have assets of $15 billion with 140 locations serving 84 communities in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, and California.

Lynn Fuller of Heartland said: ‘We are highly impressed with the people and performance of AimBank and the solid community banking franchise they have built. We strongly believe in the growth prospects of the Texas market, and I am confident that AimBank will be an outstanding addition to the Heartland organization.’

Bruce Lee of Heartland added: ‘We entered the Texas market in 2018 through the acquisition of FirstBank & Trust and indicated that we fully expected to create a foundation for future growth. We are now delivering on this strategy through the AimBank acquisition. We are growing our presence and adding scale with a great new partner. AimBank has had remarkable growth both organically and through acquisitions while maintaining its efficiency. More importantly, AimBank has a similar culture to Heartland in the ways in which it engages its employees, serves its customers, and supports its communities. We are happy the AimBank team will be joining with the FirstBank & Trust team to expand and continue our success in the market.’

Barry Orr of FirstBank & Trust said: ‘We are excited about the opportunity to join forces with AimBank. We have immense respect for Scott Wade and his team of talented bankers. The leadership teams of our two institutions will be integrally working together to preserve our commitment to a quality customer experience. We are lucky to be joining two talented teams of local commercial banking professionals and staff with a broad knowledge of the communities and the clients they serve.’

Scott Wade of AimBank said: ‘We are delighted to reach this agreement with Heartland and look forward to joining such a high-quality organization. The combination of AimBank with the Heartland family of community banks increases our lending capabilities and gives us access to products and services offered by larger banks while preserving our legacy as a locally-led community bank. This is a great opportunity for our customers, who will enjoy a broader choice of banking products and will continue to deal directly with our current staff.’

Panoramic Capital Advisors and Stephens served as financial advisors to Heartland. Dorsey & Whitney served as legal advisor.

Hillworth Bank Partners served as financial advisor to AIM. Fenimore, Kay, Harrison & Ford served as legal advisor.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Simon Buys Taubman

Simon buys Taubman.     Simon Property Group buys 80 percent of Taubman Centers for 3.6 billion.     Founder Alfred Taubman was a pioneer developer who exploited the explosive growth of America’s suburbs. He built an empire of upscale regional malls, such as Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey, Woodfield Mall outside Chicago, Waterside Shops in Naples, and Beverly Center in Los Angeles. Taubman’s 26 shopping centers in the US and Asia are the most productive in the US regional mall industry. These will continue to be managed under the leadership of Robert Taubman, in partnership with Simon.     David Simon said: ‘We are happy to announce this transaction, which will be immediately accretive to Simon's FFO. By joining together, we will enhance the ability of TRG to invest in innovative retail environments that create exciting shopping and entertainment experiences for consumers, immersive opportunities for retailers, and substantial new job prospects for local communities. I look forward to partnering with Bobby and the TRG executive team in this exciting new joint venture.’     Myron of Ullman of Taubman said: ‘The Taubman Board of Directors has always been focused on maximizing shareholder value. With this transaction, we will deliver a significant, immediate cash premium to shareholders. The Special Committee of the Board unanimously believes that this transaction with Simon is a great outcome for all our stakeholders.’     Robert Taubman added: ‘Since Taubman Centers' founding 70 years ago, we have built a portfolio of high-quality assets and continuously adapted to the evolving retail landscape. I am proud of all that this company's talented employees have achieved and am thrilled to have the opportunity to join together with Simon through this joint venture. Over the last years, David and I have developed a personal relationship and importantly, Simon shares our commitment to serving retailers, shoppers, and the communities in which we operate. The Board and I are confident that Simon is the ideal partner to help us build on our progress.’ BofA Securities served as financial advisor to Simon. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Latham & Watkins served as legal advisors.      Goldman Sachs and Lazard served as financial advisors to Taubman. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Kirkland & Ellis, and Honigman served as legal advisors. 

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Harsco Buys ESOL

Harsco buys ESOL.     Harsco buys ESOL from Stericycle for $462.5 million.     ESOL will be joined with Harsco’s Clean Earth business in beneficial reuse solutions for hazardous wastes and contaminated soils. Stericycle will continue to provide unused pharma take-back and hazardous waste services to healthcare customers.  Harsco will deliver transport and disposal to Stericycle’s customers under a long-term services agreement.     ESOL offers a broad range of disposal solutions across industrial, retail, and healthcare. With a network of 13 federally permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, it collects, receives, and processes 500,000 tons of hazardous waste a year. It also provides transport services via its logistics network and runs a fleet of 700 vehicles serving 90,000 customer locations with 450,000 service stops each year.     With the addition of ESOL, Harsco will enjoy greater service offerings across the industrial waste value chain and added synergy with Harsco Environmental and Clean Earth. ESOL’s focus on hazardous waste treatment and disposal and its robust transport fleet complement Clean Earth’s established presence in hazardous waste and contaminated soils. Through Clean Earth, Harsco benefits from a leadership team with prior experience and tenure at ESOL.     The joint firm will run 19 TSDFs, making it a top network of federally permitted waste management sites. ESOL has 61 locations with 13 TSDFs and 48 ten-day facilities concentrated in the Midwestern and Western states. It’s a natural complement to Clean Earth’s existing coverage across 16 states in the Northeast. With larger disposal capacity across an expanded nationwide network, the joint business scales nicely.     Harsco will enrich ESOL’s relationships, grow its presence in new and existing industries, and drive added service and revenue prospects. ESOL brings new customer rapport in industrial and retail, and exposure to healthcare. In industrial, it serves 7,800 customers in government, municipal, education, energy, and infrastructure. In retail, it serves 150 superstores, home centers, pharmacies, groceries, and e-commerce platforms. In healthcare, it serves 25,000 hospitals, physicians’ offices, and dental practices, with a focus on hazardous waste collection, transfer, and disposal.     Nick Grasberger of Harsco said: ‘The addition of ESOL to the Clean Earth hazardous waste platform is a unique opportunity to bring together two highly complementary, market-leading, waste management portfolios. The leadership team at Clean Earth is familiar with the ESOL business, and we see a significant opportunity to optimize these joint businesses and unlock the added value creation potential of the ESOL assets. We look forward to welcoming the ESOL team to Harsco and realizing the benefits of this highly strategic and accretive transaction.     We are encouraged by Clean Earth’s strong performance to date and believe that our stakeholders will benefit from a more diverse business that has the scale, market presence, and customer relationships to compete and win in the fragmented hazardous waste services industry. Since outlining our new corporate strategy less than 12 months ago, we have announced five transactions that position the Company as a high-growth, single-thesis environmental solutions business.  As we look ahead, we continue to believe that shifting our portfolio to less-cyclical businesses with attractive growth potential is the best way to create sustainable, long-term value for Harsco and our shareholders.’     Cindy Miller of Stericycle said: ‘The sale of the Domestic Environmental Solutions business demonstrates important progress in our transformation as we improve margin percentages, reduce debt, enhance our balance sheet flexibility, and drive long-term shareholder value. As a focused provider of environmental solutions in the US, Harsco is well-positioned to drive this business forward, and we are confident this transaction is in the best interest of Stericycle and our shareholders, our customers, and team members. We thank our team members and customers for their continued support, and we look forward to working with Harsco to ensure a smooth transition.     Beyond our portfolio rationalization efforts, our team is focused on driving revenue quality and improving operational efficiencies across our business as well as the implementation of our global ERP system.  As we continue to make progress on these initiatives, we stay committed to deepening our value proposition for clients with differentiated services and enhancing value for Stericycle shareholders.’     Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor to Harsco. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal advisors. Stifel and Bank of America Securities served as financial advisors to Stericycle. Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor.  

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Platinum Buys Cision

Platinum buys Cision.     Platinum Equity buys Cision for $2.74 billion.     Cision is a global provider of media software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals. Cision's software allows people to find key influencers, craft and distribute strategic content, and measure meaningful impact. Cision has over 4,800 employees with offices in 22 countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.     Tom Gores of Platinum Equity said: ‘Cision is well established as the industry-standard platform for communications professionals navigating an increasingly complex environment. This is an investment that plays to Platinum's core strengths. We will deploy our full range of global operations capabilities, financial resources, and M&A support to help the company maximize its potential.’     Jacob Kotzubei of Platinum Equity said: ‘Cision offers an impressive value proposition built through a combination of innovation, commitment to customer service, and the development of a broad suite of solutions. We will continue investing in new product development and other opportunities to grow the business. Cision has a long history of leadership providing software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals and has developed a growing portfolio of earned media management offerings for the world's leading brands. Platinum looks forward to nurturing Cision's core business, supporting and anticipating the diverse needs of the company's customers, and driving new opportunities for innovation. As a private company, Cision will be able to make strategic investments for sustainable and profitable growth, while remaining agile and focused on operational excellence. We are excited to partner with Cision's management team as it embarks on this new chapter.’     Kevin Akeroyd of Cision said: ‘The Cision management team looks forward to partnering with the experienced and talented group of professionals at Platinum Equity. Building on the company's strong platform as a global leader in providing earned media software and services to public relations and marketing communications professionals, our near-term focus will be on improving customer experience, delivering innovative products, and increasing operating efficiencies. This transaction will give shareholders immediate and substantial cash value, while also providing us with a partner that shares in our commitment to customers and employees and can add strategic and operational value. Based on our extensive engagement with Platinum over the past months, we are confident that Platinum's support will enable Cision to execute on its strategy and next phase of growth.’     Equity financing will be provided by investment funds managed, advised, or sponsored by Platinum Equity. Platinum Equity has secured committed debt financing for the deal from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.     Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal advisors to Platinum Equity.     Rothschild & Co, Centerview Partners, and Deutsche Bank served as financial advisors to Cision. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Pacific Premier Buys Opus

Pacific Premier buys Opus.     Pacific Premier Bancorp buys Opus Bank for $1 billion.     Opus, with $8 billion in assets, $5.9 billion in loans and $6.5 billion in deposits, has 46 branches in California, Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. The deal builds Pacific Premier’s total assets to $20 billion. This bigger scale boosts efficiencies and leverages tech investments. The addition of Opus’ strong fee income-generating business makes for greater revenue diversification. A large source of stable, low-cost deposits through escrow and trust business lines will add $2 billion in deposits. The speedup of capital generation makes for sustained prudent management and creates other openings to return shareholder capital.     Pacific Premier Bank is a business bank with $11.8 billion in assets. It serves small and middle-market businesses in the counties of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara, California, and markets in Arizona, Nevada, and Washington. With 40 branches, it offers a diverse range of loans such as commercial, commercial real estate, construction, and SBA, as well as specialty banking products for homeowners' associations and franchise lending nationwide.     Opus Bank provides commercial and retail banking and solutions to its clients in Western markets. It offers a suite of treasury and cash management and depository solutions, and a range of loan products such as commercial, healthcare, media and entertainment, corporate finance, multifamily residential, commercial real estate and structured finance. It offers commercial escrow services and facilitates 1031 Exchange transactions through its Escrow and Exchange divisions. A wholly-owned subsidiary, PENSCO Trust Company, has $14 billion of custodial IRA assets and 46,000 client accounts, comprised of self-directed investors, financial institutions, capital raisers, and financial advisors.     Steven Gardner of Pacific Premier said: ‘We are excited to announce this transformative merger we believe will create one of the premier commercial banks in the Western United States. The combination with Opus provides us with a meaningful presence in attractive major metropolitan markets, a complementary set of banking products and service, and improved revenue and business diversification. As a result of this transaction, we'll be well-positioned to generate profitable growth in the future and to benefit the joint institution’s shareholders.’     Paul Taylor of Opus said: ‘We are happy to be partnering with Pacific Premier and believe the combination creates one of the most attractive banks in the Western US. We look forward to the opportunities and benefits this combination will bring to our shareholders, as prospects for future earnings growth, immediate dividend pick-up, and diversification, as well as to clients, employees and the communities we serve.’     D.A. Davidson served as financial advisor to Pacific Premier. Holland & Knight served as legal advisor.     Piper Sandler served as financial advisor to Opus. Sullivan & Cromwell served as legal advisor.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Westrock Buys S&D

Westrock buys S&D.     Westrock Coffee Company buys S&D Coffee and Tea from Cott Corporation for $405 million.     Founded in 1927 to offer fresh roasted coffee and tea to local and regional grocery stores, S&D is now a top custom coffee roaster and the biggest blender of iced teas for foodservice and convenience stores in the United States. It's also a leader in the extracts and ingredients category. The firm serves 110,000 customers through national distribution and direct store delivery in the restaurant industry and convenience stores. Customers include McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A, and Circle K.     Founded in 2009 by Scott Ford, his father Joe, and other private investors, Westrock Coffee is a farmer-focused, fully integrated firm providing coffee sourcing and financing, supply chain management, roasting, packaging, and distribution services to customers worldwide. Through its US-based roasting operations, the company roasts, grinds, packages, and delivers branded and private label coffee in bags, fractional packs, and single-serve cups. Westrock Coffee serves retailers like Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and CVS outlets, with a lesser market in hospitality, providing coffee to marquee hotels on the Las Vegas strip.     Westrock and S&D will continue to work under their respective brand names. Westrock Coffee will stay headquartered in Arkansas, with its enlarged roasting and packaging plant in North Little Rock already earmarked for further expansion. The S&D organization in North Carolina will continue as a major center of operations, also with plans to continue expanding these facilities.     The new company will be the nation’s top integrated coffee firm, importing, exporting, roasting, grinding, processing, and packaging coffee from growers in 21 countries. All serving the needs of the retail, restaurant, convenience store, and hospitality industries. 1,700 employees will roast, grind, and package 220 million pounds of coffee a year. The firm will also be one of the biggest tea suppliers in the US and the top premium extract supplier to global foodservice and consumer product companies.     Scott Ford of Westrock said: ‘This strategic combination will create the nation’s premier coffee, tea, and extract supplier capable of serving the most complex and demanding customers across the country and around the world. We intend to use the scale of the new company to offer the most innovative beverage solutions with competitive pricing to our global clients while simultaneously providing a premium price to our farmer partners at origin. Our unmatched commitment to customer service, product quality, and our industry-leading sustainability and transparent sourcing practices will stay a cornerstone of our business. Our joint organization will seek to lead the industry with our sustainability program and to speed up developing a broad array of innovative products.     This is tremendous news for our company and validates the work we’ve been doing for our customers and the growers who support our business. This is great news for Little Rock down the road as we work with our new team members to expand our growth organically and through acquisitions. They are a much bigger company than we are and have the people and infrastructure in place to help build a strong company. We’ll expand our roasting plant and offices in North Little Rock and have plans to expand the facilities in North Carolina. Together, we’ll be the biggest and the best coffee provider in the nation.’     John Hinson of S&D said: ‘Participating in S&D’s growth and success during the past four decades has been incredible. We achieved industry leadership by innovating to serve our customers. We invested in job and career growth for employees and our community, and I look forward to working with Scott and the newly combined leadership team to see these achievements go even further. The highly complementary product and customer focus S&D brings to Westrock Coffee makes this a terrific event for our business, our employees, and our customers.     This is an exciting new direction for the business. Combining two significant coffee companies will open new opportunities and help us continue to offer the innovative products, quality, and service you have come to expect. The two companies share the same values around people and sustainability. There's no doubt in my mind that this is the best next step to helping us achieve our vision of being the world’s leading beverage innovator and solution provider.’     Tom Harrington of Cott said: ‘The S&D team is known for its dedication, hard work, passion for quality beverages, and first-class service to its customers. That commitment is clear to anyone who visits or works with them, and we are confident they will continue to thrive under its new ownership. This sale, along with the recent announcement of Cott's acquisition of Primo Water Corporation, positions Cott as a pure-play water solutions provider with financial metrics more in line with our water peers.’     Concurrent with the deal, BBH Capital Partners, a private equity strategy of Brown Brothers Harriman, will provide acquisition capital alongside Westrock Coffee's existing investors, including The Stephens Group.     Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to Westrock Coffee.     BMO Capital Markets served as financial advisor to Cott. Drinker Biddle & Reath acted as legal advisor. 

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Comtech Buys Gilat

Comtech buys Gilat.     Comtech Telecommunications buys Gilat Satellite Networks for $532.5 million.     Founded in 1987 and based in Petah Tikva, Israel, Gilat focuses on satellite networking tech solutions and services. Its product group includes a cloud-based VSAT network platform, high-speed modems, high-performance on-the-move antennas, and high-efficiency, high-power amplifiers. It holds a top place in the satellite ground station and in-flight connectivity markets, with a deep ability operating big network arrangements.     The joint firms will drive global market access creating a world leader with joint sales of $1.0 billion. This will boost Comtech’s position as a top supplier of better comm solutions, adept in serving the need for ground infrastructure to support existing and emerging satellite networks. It expands Comtech’s product portfolio with complementary tech such as Gilat’s high-performance TDMA-based satellite modems and its next-generation solid-state amplifiers.     Fred Kornberg of Comtech said: ‘I am excited to have reached this agreement with Gilat and believe this combination is good for the stakeholders of both companies. The acquisition better positions Comtech to take advantage of key marketplace trends, particularly the growing demand for satellite connectivity and the enormous long-term opportunity set that is emerging in the secure wireless communications market. Combining accelerating satellite connectivity demand and the increasing availability of low-cost satellite bandwidth makes this a perfect time to unify Comtech and Gilat’s solutions and offer our joint customers best-in-class platform-agnostic satellite ground station technologies. Gilat is an exceptional business that has developed extraordinary technology and has a well-respected product portfolio supported by strong research and development capabilities. I welcome Gilat’s entire talented workforce to the Comtech family.’     Dov Baharav of Gilat said: ‘The Gilat Board of Directors and management believe this highly strategic combination is compelling. It's an excellent outcome for our shareholders who get both cash and an equity interest in a strong company with a broader range of products and the benefits of joint ability and resources that are well-positioned to create future value against a highly favorable industry backdrop. I have long admired Comtech’s commitment to technology leadership and I firmly believe that employees will have expanded opportunities for career development. No doubt, the future will be bright for Comtech and Gilat and all our stakeholders.’     Goldman Sachs served as financial advisor to Comtech. Proskauer Rose and Goldfarb Seligman served as legal advisors.     Alnitak Capital, Jefferies, and Quilty Analytics served as financial advisors to Gilat. Naschitz Brandes Amir served as legal advisor.

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

WEX Buys eNett And Optal

WEX buys eNett and Optal. WEX buys eNett International and Optal for $1.7 billion. eNett is a fintech company redefining virtual payments for the travel industry. Optal are world experts in optimizing B2B transactions. WEX is buying eNett from Travelport and its owners, partners of Siris Capital Group, and Elliot Management’s private equity partner, Evergreen Coast Capital. WEX is buying Optal from private shareholders. Optal is a shareholder of eNett, alongside Travelport, the majority shareholder. The two companies will be fully integrated under WEX’s ownership. This deal speeds up WEX’s global growth strategy by opening out its position in the travel segment. Optal brings global issuing ability, a broad suite of regulatory licenses, and a robust tech and banking base to ease expansion into new territories. It further reduces WEX’s exposure to macro-economic ebb and flow through diversification. This matchless combination of paired assets and a suite of payment offerings includes a redundant and organically discrete tech platform to further support travelers the world over. Melissa Smith of WEX said: ‘The combination of WEX’s travel business with eNett and Optal further strengthens our leadership in the global travel marketplace. In particular, this transaction strengthens our position outside of the US, adds a unique but complementary product suite, and brings a talented team with the ability to operate in international markets. We are confident this transaction will enable us to speed up our growth by deepening and expanding our position in the global travel market, broadening our product offerings to more fully address the needs of our Travel customers, and diversifying our business geographically while reducing our exposure to macro-economic factors. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Optal and eNett to WEX. We have a deep respect for these companies.’ Anthony Hynes of eNett said: ‘We are happy to join forces with WEX to offer leading travel companies globally an enhanced and unrivaled suite of creative payment solutions. We look forward to working with the WEX team to integrate our complementary assets, including our technology, products, and most importantly, our people.’ Robert Bishop of Optal said: ‘Over the years, Optal has helped to transform and streamline B2B payments for organizations - reducing risk and fraud, turning costs into revenue, and unleashing working capital. This deal will help to extend that value to WEX, its customers and the broader travel industry. It’s also great news for Optal, our customers and our people. As a joint company, we will be uniquely positioned to address the most complicated payment challenges of travel companies across the globe. We are excited about the future and look forward to the opportunity to reach a broader set of customers.’ BofA Securities and Grant Samuel served as financial advisors to WEX. Clifford Chance and WilmerHale served as legal advisors. Credit Suisse Securities and LionTree Advisors served as financial advisors to eNett. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor. Financial Technology Partners served as financial advisor to Optal. Herbert Smith Freehills served as legal advisor. 

[i-dopebouquetbeard]

Business First Buys Pedestal

Business First buys Pedestal.     Business First Bancshares buys Pedestal Bank for $211.2 million.     Pedestal Bank was founded in 1999 by uniting City Savings Bank & Trust, Coastal Commerce Bank, Kaplan State Bank, Teche Bank & Trust, and Tri-Parish Bank. It operates 22 branches across southern Louisiana. Business First Bank has rebranded itself as b1BANK to signal its varied growth. Over the past 4 years, it has bought 3 banks in Baton Rouge, Minden, and Monroe, and opened branches in New Orleans and Dallas. This deal makes Business First the third-largest Louisiana bank with assets of $3.5 billion.     Jude Melville of Business First said: ‘This is a transformative, franchise-building opportunity for our company. Pedestal Bank has for years been a well-managed, high performing competitor of ours, and teaming up with them grows our market share, broadens our shareholder base, and strengthens our already deep talent pool. It’s the next step in our quest to be our region’s bank of choice.’     Mark Folse of Pedestal said: ‘Over the last 20 years, Pedestal Bank has built its success and reputation on always striving to exceed our customer’s expectations. We believe this partnership is a positive move that is consistent with our pursuit of enhancing the customer experience and the communities we serve. Over the years we have built relationships with the leadership team at Business First, and I am confident that our like-minded approach to customer service, employee relations, and the creation of shareholder value will present positive opportunities for all involved.’     Business First will fix the size of its board of directors at 14 members, comprising 10 current Business First directors and 4 current Pedestal directors. Mark Folse of Pedestal will move to Baton Rouge to join b1BANK’s executive team.     Raymond James served as financial advisor to Business First. Alston & Bird served as legal advisor.     Stephens served as financial advisor to Pedestal. Fenimore, Kay, Harrison & Ford served as legal advisor.