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BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund targets $1bn to invest in communities of color across the US. (FS)
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Philip Morris, a Swiss-American multinational cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company, agreed to acquire Swedish Match, a Swedish multinational tobacco company headquartered in Stockholm, for $16bn.
"We are pleased to announce this exciting next step in Philip Morris International's and Swedish Match's trajectory toward a smoke-free future. Underpinned by compelling strategic and financial rationale, this combination would create a global smoke-free champion—strengthened by complementary geographic footprints, commercial capabilities and product portfolios—and open up significant platforms for growth in the US and internationally. Swedish Match's dedicated employees and management have steadfastly pursued the company's vision of a world without cigarettes, while delivering very strong results. We look forward to building upon this success and joining forces to accelerate our shared smoke-free mission," Jacek Olczak, PMI CEO.
Swedish Match is advised by Goldman Sachs, SEB Corporate Finance, KANTER Advokatbyra and Mannheimer Swartling. PMI is advised by Bank of America, Citigroup, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Roschier Attorneys.
DigitalBridge, a global digital infrastructure investment firm, and IFM Investors, a provider of investment services, agreed to acquire Switch, a company based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that develops and operates the SUPERNAP data center facilities and provides colocation, telecommunications, cloud services, and content ecosystems, for $11bn.
"Today's announcement is an important step towards our long-term vision for the growth and evolution of our company. Through this partnership we will be ideally positioned to continue to meet strong customer demand for Switch's environmentally sustainable Tier 5 data center infrastructure," Rob Roy, Switch Founder and CEO.
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Switch is advised by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Latham & Watkins. DigitalBridge and IFM Investors are advised by RBC Capital Markets, TD Securities and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Debt financing is provided by Citizens M&A, RBC Capital Markets, Societe Generale and TD Securities.
FL Entertainment, a provider of independent content production and the fastest-growing online sports betting platform in Europe, agreed to go public via merger with Tikehau Capital-backed Pegasus Entrepreneurs, a special purpose acquisition company, in a €7.2bn ($7.6bn) deal.
"Pegasus Entrepreneurs was created by long-term investors with the objective of partnering with an entrepreneur-led European company with a track record of achieving profitable growth, and the potential to accelerate growth and create value with access to our expertise, network and listing platform. We could not dream of a better opportunity than partnering with FL Entertainment and Stéphane Courbit to achieve our objective on behalf of our shareholders. The proposed business combination with FL Entertainment benefits from strong support from our shareholders and investors, as evidenced by unprecedented level of non-redemption commitments already received, as well as the largest ever PIPE raising by a European-listed SPAC. We look forward to the next stage of FL Entertainment's growth and value creation," Pierre Cuilleret, Pegasus Entrepreneurs CEO.
FL Entertainment is advised by Rothschild & Co, d'Angelin & Co, Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier, Stibbe, Image Sept, Primatice and Villey Girard Grolleaud. Pegasus Entrepreneurs is advised by BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Agricole, Natixis Partners, Societe Generale, NautaDutilh, White & Case, FinElk, Image Sept and Prosek Partners. Financial advisors are advised by Linklaters.
Getaround, a global and digital carsharing marketplace, agreed to go public via merger with InterPrivate II Acquisition, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, in a $1.2bn deal.
"Getaround is one of the two largest players in the global carsharing market that it helped pioneer. We are proud to partner with such an established leadership team — founder-led and bolstered by top executives with experience across leading Silicon Valley companies. As a relentless innovator, the Company has designed and deployed its proprietary Getaround Connect technology to build formidable network effects in cities across the globe, improving utilization of automotive assets and transforming the way its customers access transportation," Ahmed Fattouh, InterPrivate Chairman and CEO.
BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund targets $1bn to invest in communities of color across the US. (FS)
BlackRock has secured more than $800m in initial commitments toward its $1bn target for the BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund. This new fund, the first multi-alternatives strategy of its kind, is already beginning to invest in businesses and projects owned, led by, or serving people of color, with a particular focus on Black, Latinx, and Native American communities in the United States.
“Black, Latinx, and Native American people face a number of systemic barriers in accessing the market and acquiring the capital necessary to drive economic growth and wealth creation in their communities. The BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund aspires to change the way institutional capital flows to communities of color, and is just one step BlackRock is taking with our clients and partners to address this significant investment opportunity,” Edwin Conway, BlackRock Alternative Investors Global Head.
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