TMCnet News
M&A Navigator: Deal pipeline - 22 July(M&A Navigator Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The following is a list of deals covered in detail by M&A Navigator this week: - FRANCE EYES MAJORITY IN EUROFARAD Private equity firm LBO France is considering to buy a majority stake in French electronic components maker Eurofarad. Status: Speculation; Bidding - BOARD OF SPANISH BANK CAM TO LOOK AGAIN AT MERGER WITH PEERS The board of Spanish savings bank Caja Mediterraneo (CAM) will discuss again the possibility of merging with peers Cajastur, Caja Extremadura and Caja Cantabria, after rejecting such a plan last week. Status: Talks - CONOCOPHILLIPS SAYS MAY SELL GERMAN REFINERY WILHELMSHAVEN US oil and gas company ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) said it was looking at options for its German refinery Wilhelmshaven, including a sale, in line with its strategy to scale down its downstream portfolio. Status: Auction - GERMAN AAREAL BANK'S BID FOR WESTIMMO BELOW RIVAL OFFERS German Aareal Bank's (ETR:ARL) EUR400m (USD513m) binding offer for wholesale bank WestLB's property arm Westimmo is lower than rival bids by private equity firms Apollo and Terra Firma. Status: Bidding - UMB FUND SERVICES CLOSES BUY OF JP MORGAN'S UNIT US UMB Fund Services Inc (UMBFS), part of UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:UMBF), said it had wrapped up the takeover of the Managed Account Solutions operations of custody services provider JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services. Status: Closed - AUSTRIAN EVN IN TALKS TO BUY ENEL'S BULGARIAN POWER PLANT Austrian utility EVN (WBAG:EVN) is in negotiations on the purchase of the 73% stake in Bulgarian power producer Maritsa East Three owned by Italian Enel (BIT:ENEL). Status: Talks - VOLGA RESOURCES BOOSTS STAKE IN RUSSIAN NOVATEK TO 23.13% Luxembourg-based investment fund Volga Resources said it had bought an additional 2.36% in Russian natural gas producer Novatek (RTC:NVTK), raising its total holding in the company to 23.13%. Status: Closed - US RESACA EXPLOITATION SAYS CANO DROPS MERGER PLANS US oil and gas exploitation company Resaca Exploitation (LON:RSOX) said it had been notified that Cano Petroleum (AMEX:CFW) has cancelled the announced merger deal. Status: Terminated - UK RICMORE CAPITAL TO BUY SWISS VIPERA FOR GBP8.81M UK investor Ricmore Capital (LON:RCAP) has agreed to purchase Swiss-based mobile financial services provider Vipera in an all-stock deal worth GBP8.81m (USD13.4m/EUR10.5m), subject to shareholders' approval. Status: Agreed - US AUTODESK BUYS IN-GAME LIGHTNING SPECIALIST ILLUMINATE LABS US software firm Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) said it had purchased Sweden-based Illuminate Labs, a company specialising in game lighting technologies, but did not disclose the acquisition price. Status: Closed - UK PEARSON TO BUY BRAZILIAN SEB'S LEARNING SYSTEMS UNIT FOR BRL888M UK-based international education group Pearson (LON:PSON) said it was taking over the learning systems operations of Brazilian education group Sistema Educacional Brasileiro's (SAO:SEBB3), or SEB, for cash BRL888m (USD499m/EUR390m), or BRL22 per unit. Status: Agreed - FRENCH DAMARTEX BUYS PEER AFIBEL FOR EUR52.5M French clothing and personal articles retailer Damartex (EPA:DAR) has completed the acquisition of sector player Afibel for EUR52.5m (USD67.3m). Status: Closed - DUTCH SLIGRO TO CLOSE SANVIER ACQUISITION IN AUGUST Dutch Sligro Food Group (AMS:SLIGR) said it will complete the previously announced acquisition of Sanvier BV, the holding company of Sanders Supermarkten and a meat processing firm, in August. Status: Agreed - US ALTOUR BUYS ADVANTAGE TRAVEL & INCENTIVES US travel agency Altour International said it has acquired sector company Advantage Travel & Incentives without disclosing financial details. Status: Closed - US SPEEDUS AGREES ON INVESTMENT BY HMH Speedus Corp (NASDAQ:SPDE) and Dubai-based equity investor Hye Mar Holdings Ltd, or HMH, have signed a letter of intent envisaging for HMH to buy into Speedus for some USD4m (EUR3.1m). Status: Exclusivity - DUTCH DOCDATA SELLS BERLIN OPTICAL DISC Dutch IT company Docdata NV (AMS:DOCD) announced the sale of its German unit Berlin Optical Disc, which specialises in CD and DVD replication. Status: Closed - VISA WRAPS UP CYBERSOURCE TAKEOVER US electronic payment company Visa (NYSE:V) said it has completed the acquisition of electronic-pay and risk management firm Cybersource (NASDAQ:CYBS) for some USD2bn (EUR1.5bn) in cash. Status: Closed - GERMAN INFINEON MOOTS CELL PHONE CHIP JV WITH SAMSUNG German chip maker Infineon AG (ETR:IFXA) is exploring the opportunities for creating a cell phone chip joint venture with South Korean Samsung Electronics (SEO:005930). Status: Talks - MANAGEMENT KEEN TO BUY OUT ALPINVEST Dutch private equity firm Alpinvest Partners' management has expressed interest in buying the company from pension funds PGGM and APG. Status: Bidding; Speculation - CHINESE BRILLIANCE AUTO, AUSTRIAN DLOUHY FORM JV Chinese vehicles producer Shanghai Shenhua Nuoyu Medical Auto, subsidiary of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings (HKG:1114), has signed a joint venture agreement with Austrian ambulance maker Dlouhy GmbH Fahrzeugbau. Status: Closed - US ALM BUYS LEGAL-NEWS FIRM VERDICT RESEARCH GROUP US legal-news media group ALM said it has acquired sector firm Verdict Research Group (VRG) for an undisclosed sum. Status: Closed - IDEX TAKES OVER ITALIAN HYDRAULIC PUMPS FIRM OBL US fluid and metering technologies firm IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) said it has acquired Italian sector firm OBL without providing financial details. Status: Closed - FRENCH CEVA SANTE ANIMALE BUYS AUSTRALIAN PEER NATURE VET French veterinary health company Ceva Sante Animale announced the acquisition of Australian sector player Nature Vet, without providing financial details. Status: Closed - BSKYB TO SELL B2B TELECOM UNIT FOR GBP100M British satellite broadcaster BSkyB (LON:BSY) unveiled an agreement to sell its business-to-business telecom unit Easynet to private-equity firm LDC in a deal worth GBP100m (USD152m/EUR118.9m). Status: Agreed - JAPANESE FUJIREBIO TO BUY INNOGENETICS IN BELGIUM Japanese Fujirebio Diagnostics, the diagnostic-drug arm of Miraca Holdings (TYO:4544), said it plans to acquire Belgian sector company Innogenetics (EBR:INNX) for JPY9.7bn (USD111.3m/EUR86.3m). Status: Agreed - US DCP MIDSTREAM AGREES ON ATLANTIC ENERGY TAKEOVER US midstream energy company DCP Midstream Partners (NYSE:DPM) said it had agreed to take over Atlantic Energy, part of local energy holding UGI (NYSE:UGI), for USD49m (EUR38.3m) in cash. Status: Agreed - US SENTRY EQUIPMENT ACQUIRES AQUATIPRO US provider of industrial sampling products Sentry Equipment said it had bought AquatiPro in a deal aimed at boosting its portfolio of analytical and maintenance services. Status: Closed - ZIGNAGO VETRO, ARDAGH GLASS, SAINT-GOBAIN VETRI JOIN FORCES IN GLASS RECYCLING Italian glass product maker Zignago Vetro (BIT:ZV) said it has established a green glass recycling joint venture with sector players Ardagh Glass Srl and Saint-Gobain Vetri. Status: Closed - ROMANIA TO SELL STAKES IN ENERGY COMPANIES TO RAISE CASH The Romanian government is looking to dispose of 15% in each of utilities Transelectrica (BSE:TEL) and Transgaz (BSE:TGN) as well as gas producer Romgaz to raise cash for infrastructure projects. Status: Auction - SPANISH SABADELL TO CLOSE BUY OF GUIPUZCOANO BY MID-NOVEMBER Spanish bank Sabadell (MCE:SAB) aims to wrap up the full takeover of local peer Banco Guipuzcoano (MCE:GUI) by mid-November 2010. Status: Agreed - US INGENIX ANNOUNCES PICIS ACQUISITION US healthcare information company Ingenix said it had struck a definitive agreement to buy Picis, a provider of high-acuity health information software to hospitals, for an undisclosed price. Status: Agreed - US CAMSTAR SYSTEMS BUYS SAAS SOFTWARE FIRM SIGMAQUEST US Camstar Systems, a provider of manufacturing execution systems (MES) software, said it had taken over SigmaQuest, a developer of software as service (SaaS) supply chain intelligence solutions, without giving financial details. Status: Closed - US WENR TAKES OVER CABLE TV PROVIDER IN NEVADA, UTAH US holding company WENR Corp (PINK:WNRC) said it had bought US cable TV and Internet provider Satview Broadband Ltd in exchange for 5m ordinary shares and taking over of debt. Status: Closed - NTT CLOSES US INTELLIGROUP TAKEOVER Japanese telecom Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (TYO:9432), or NTT, said it had wrapped up the takeover of US IT services firm Intelligroup (OTC:ITIG) after carrying out a short-form merger. Status: Closed - US OCLARO TAKES OVER OPTICAL TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS FIRM US optical communications provider Oclaro Inc (NASDAQ:OCLR) said it had taken over local optical transport sub-systems solutions company Mintera Corporation for USD12m (EUR9.4m) in cash. Status: Closed - FRENCH PAI PARTNERS MULLS OVER SELLING STAKE IN YOPLAIT French private equity firm PAI Partners said it is considering selling its 50% stake in yoghurt maker Yoplait. Status: Auction - THAI BERLI JUCKER EYES CARREFOUR'S STORES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA Thai supply chain operator Berli Jucker (BAK:BJC) is ready to bid for Carrefour's (EPA:CA) Southeast Asian business on sale for some USD1bn (EUR778.2m). Status: Bidding - US DRUMMOND SAID TO DISPOSE OF COLOMBIAN OPERATIONS US coal miner Drummond plans to sell its activities in Colombia. Status: Auction; Speculation - GERMAN MORPHOSYS SEEKS ACQUISITIONS German biotech company Morphosys AG (ETR:MOR) is exploring potential acquisitions, chiefly in the field of diagnostics. Status: Bidding - UK FIRESTONE DIAMONDS IN STOCK DEAL TO BUY KOPANE UK-based diamond miner Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) said its board had agreed to buy peer Kopane (LON:KDD) in an all-stock deal, subject to approval by the companies' shareholders. Status: Bidding - BOSNIAN BOBAR IN TALKS TO BUY BUS OPERATOR AUTOPREVOZ Drinatrans, the transport unit of Bosnian financial group Bobar (BANJ:BBRB-R-A), is in negotiations on the purchase of bus line operator Autoprevoz. Status: Talks - GERMAN SAP GETS EU NOD TO BUY US SYBASE German software developer SAP (ETR:SAP) said it has received approval from the European Commission (EC) for its proposed acquisition of US enterprise and mobile software developer Sybase (NYSE:SY). Status: Bidding - RUSSIAN RAILWAYS TO SELL 50% OF TRANSTELECOM WITHOUT MAIN NETWORK State-owned Russian Railways will sell 50% minus one share in its wholly-owned telecom unit TransTeleCom without including in the sale the main communications network used by the unit. Status: Auction - US IA GLOBAL TO TAKE OVER JAPANESE ZEST US global services and outsourcing company IA Global Inc (PINK:IAGI) said it had inked a letter of intent to fully acquire Japanese construction firms Zest Corporation Co Ltd and Zest Home Co Ltd from Kansai Trust Co Ltd. Status: Exclusivity - FINMECCANICA, DCNS, THALES MAY TIE UP TORPEDO, SONAR ASSETS Italian aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica (BIT:FNC) and French defence groups DCNS and Thales (EPA:HO) are discussing a combination of their torpedo and sonar operations. Status: Talks - RBS GETS THREE BIDS FOR WORLDPAY FROM PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) received three offers for its payment processing unit WorldPay by the deadline on July 20 from private equity firms. Status: Bidding; Speculation - TROIKA DIALOG SHAREHOLDER MAY SELL STAKE OVER NEXT 2 YEARS Ruben Vardanyan, a major shareholder of Russian private investment bank Troika Dialog, could dispose of his holding in the bank within the next two years. Status: Speculation; Auction - AUSTRIAN CPAG MANAGERS AGREE TO EUR47 P/S SQUEEZE-OUT Sulipo, the majority owner of Austrian Constantia Packaging (WBAG:COV), or CPAG, agreed with CPAG's management on cash EUR47 (USD61) per share squeeze-out price for the minority shareholders. Status: Bidding - BARCLAYS SAYS OFFER FOR SWEDISH TRICORONA UNCONDITIONAL UK financial group Barclays (LON:BARC) said the SEK8.00 (USD1.09/EUR0.84) recommended cash offer by its unit TAV AB to buy Swedish Tricorona (STO:TRIC) is now unconditional. Status: Bidding - US TACTICAL AIR IN MOU TO TAKE OVER COLOMBIAN SUDAMIN US Tactical Air Defense Services Inc (OTC:TADF), a contractor to the aerospace and defence industries, has inked a memorandum of understanding to purchase Colombian defence services contractor Sudamin A&D SA. Status: Exclusivity - CYPRESS BIOSCIENCE SAYS TO REVIEW RAMIUS' UNSOLICITED OFFER US Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ:CYPB), a provider of therapeutics and personalised medical services, said it would review the unsolicited USD4 (EUR3.08) per-share cash offer from investment advisor Ramius. Status: Bidding - BLACKSTONE, TPG SAID TO WITHDRAW FROM BIDDING FOR RADIOSHACK US private equity firms Blackstone (NYSE:BX) and TPG Capital will probably call off a planned bid for electronics retailer RadioShack (NYSE:RSH). Status: Speculation; Talks - GERMAN SAP EXTENDS TENDER OFFER FOR US SYBASE German software developer SAP (ETR:SAP) has extended the tender offer for all outstanding shares in US enterprise and mobile software developer Sybase (NYSE:SY) to 26 July. Status: Bidding - ITALIAN ENI MULLS OVER SELLING GALP ENERGIA STAKE Italian oil and natural gas group Eni (BIT:ENI) is negotiating the sale of its 33.34% stake in Portuguese peer Galp Energia (ELI:GALP). Status: Talks - INDIAN RELIANCE REPORTEDLY IN TALKS WITH US QUICKSILVER Indian refiner Reliance Industries (BOM: 500325) is negotiating a partial or entire acquisition of US independent energy company Quicksilver Resources (NYSE:KWK). Status: Talks; Speculation - RAMIUS MAKES USD4 P/S CASH APPROACH FOR CYPRESS US investment advisor Ramius said it had approached the board of Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ:CYPB), a provider of therapeutics and personalised medical services, with a USD4 (EUR3.09) per-share all-cash offer to buy the rest of the company. Status: Bidding - US CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES EXTENDS BID FOR SPIDER, OWNS 81.8% US miner Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF) said it had extended to 26 July its CAD0.19 (USD0.18/EUR0.14) per share offer for Canadian mineral exploration firm Spider (CVE:SPQ) after securing 81.8% acceptance by 16 July. Status: Bidding - BELGIAN DELHAIZE SHOWS INTEREST IN ALDI'S GREEK STORES Belgian food retailer Delhaize (EBR:DELB) has expressed interest in German discount retailer Aldi's Greek business. Status: Bidding; Speculation - GDF SUEZ CONFIRMS MERGER TALKS WITH INTERNATIONAL POWER French utility GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ) said it was in preliminary merger talks with British sector player International Power (LON:IPR). Status: Talks - CANADIAN CONSORTIUM BIDS GBP3.25 P/S FOR UK TOMKINS The board of UK engineering and manufacturing company Tomkins (LON:TOMK) said it had been approached by a consortium with a proposal to buy it for GBP3.25 (USD4.9/EUR3.9) per share in cash. Status: Bidding - NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE SAID TO PLAN MERGER National Bank of Greece (NYSE:NBG) plans to merge with either another leading Greek bank or a foreign lender. Status: Speculation - GERMAN ARQUES PLANS TO EXIT GIGASET CAPITAL IN 2010 German venture capital group Arques (ETR:AQU) intends to offload its telephone unit Gigaset Communications later this year after fully acquiring it. Status: Auction - UK KEWILL SAYS STILL IN TALKS TO BE TAKEN OVER The board of UK software and services company Kewill (LON:KWL) said it was still in talks with an unnamed party over a possible offer for Kewill, without giving any further details. Status: Talks; Bidding - UK INTERNATIONAL POWER SAYS IN TALKS TO TIE UP WITH GDF SUEZ UNITS The board of UK power generation company International Power (LON:IPR) said it was in preliminary discussions with French utility GDF Suez (EPA:GSZ) over a proposal to merge with GDF Suez's Energy International Business Areas and some operations in the UK and Turkey. Status: Talks ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2010 M2 COMMUNICATIONS |