MergerLinks Daily Review
MergerLinks
Join a community of 250,000+ M&A professionals. Expand your network and discover new business opportunities.
Welcome to MergerLinks Daily Review. Sign up here to get the full round up of your daily dose of blue-chip M&A news directly to your inbox.
PE and data firms vie for a $10bn Global Switch deal. (FS)
ONGC Videsh and Indian Oil weigh a $3.4bn stake in Tullow Oil.
You can access today’s complete newsletter here.
Scroll down for more…
Ali Group, a provider of foodservice equipment, completed the acquisition of Welbilt, a provider of foodservice equipment and solutions, for $4.8bn.
“The completion of this transaction is an important milestone in Ali Group’s history and marks the beginning of our next chapter of growth. Welbilt brings to Ali Group a rich heritage, talented team and an expansive portfolio of industry-leading foodservice solutions. With greater scale, an enhanced worldwide footprint and a highly complementary and comprehensive portfolio of premier brands across the entire foodservice value chain, we are well positioned to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities ahead. We are excited to welcome the talented Welbilt team to the Ali Group family and look forward to leveraging our strong global presence as we build on our culture of quality and innovation," Filippo Berti, Ali Group Chairman and CEO.
Welbilt was advised by Morgan Stanley, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Sard Verbinnen & Co. Financial advisors were advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Ali Group was advised by Goldman Sachs, Mediobanca, Alston & Bird, White & Case and Joele Frank. Debt financing was provided by Goldman Sachs and Mediobanca.
Liberty Global, a private equity firm, Telefónica, a Spanish multinational telecommunications company, and InfraVia Capital Partners, a private equity firm, agreed to form a $4.5bn joint venture, to build a new fibre network in the UK covering up to 7m homes.
“This landmark agreement with Liberty Global, Telefonica and InfraVia will expand our FTTH footprint to millions of new UK homes, creating the undisputed second national fibre network in the UK. VMO2 has already committed to upgrading its entire existing 16m footprint to FTTH. This JV will take our aggregate FTTH footprint to up to 23m homes, reaching around 80% of the UK. VMO2 will bring significant build expertise, and will benefit from a meaningful off-net growth opportunity and as the anchor client will support attractive returns for the JV – a winning combination. Finally, we are very excited to be working with InfraVia who we already partner with in Germany, and welcome the expertise they bring to the JV,” Mike Fries, Liberty Global CEO and Vice Chairman.
InfraVia is advised by Lazard, De Pardieu Brocas Maffei and Linklaters. Telefonica and Liberty Global are advised by Barclays, LionTree Advisors and Allen & Company.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Pacific Energy, an independent energy resources development company, and Enbridge, a multinational pipeline company, agreed to invest $1.5bn in Woodfibre, an exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas used in hydroelectric power generation.
"The West Coast is highly competitive in any future energy scenario we see. This investment is a natural extension of our export pipeline strategy, with strong commercial underpinnings," Al Monaco, Enbridge CEO.
Pacific Energy is advised by BMO Capital Markets.
PE and data firms vie for a $10bn Global Switch deal. (FS)
About 10 private equity firms and data companies are considering bidding for Chinese-controlled Global Switch, in a deal that could value the company at a $10bn.
The UK-based data center operator, controlled by Chinese steelmaker Jiangsu Shagang Group, kicked off a formal sale process earlier this month with non-binding bids due in the next couple weeks. Potential suitors include global fund KKR, Europe-based EQT Group as well as regional fund PAG.
The funds are expected to compete with a number of global data companies for a controlling stake in Global Switch. Global Switch said last month its shareholders were exploring a divestment transaction and it had appointed JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and CITIC Securities to advise on the sale, DealStreetAsia reported.
ONGC Videsh and Indian Oil weigh a $3.4bn stake in Tullow Oil.
Indian oil companies ONGC Videsh and Indian Oil, are in talks to acquire a stake in Tullow Oil’s $3.4bn project in Kenya.
The transaction’s value may be between $2bn and $3bn. The Indian state-backed companies will be joint operators of the project after the deal. Tullow is the current operator of the project and has a 50% stake, while partners Africa Oil and TotalEnergies hold 25% each.
The potential deal signals the revival of Kenya’s aspiration to export oil on a commercial scale since Tullow discovered crude in the East African country in 2012. Tullow submitted a final field development program to the government in December, boosting the project that had stalled as the company focused on managing debt and finalizing its strategy., Bloomberg reported.
Interested to find more? Sign up here to get full round up of your daily dose of blue-chip M&A news directly to your inbox.
You can access today’s complete newsletter here.