Syneos Health Taken Private, Apollo Loses Two UK Deals, SoftBank Looking for Exits
Private equity news for the week of May 15, 2023.
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Deal News
Drug research firm Syneos Health is being taken private in a $7.1B takeover by Elliott Investment Management, Patient Square Capital, and Vertias Capital. The company has been a buyout target since its stock dropped -60% from its highs in 2021, as funding for late-stage clinical trials (the firm’s core business) has slowed down post-COVID. The deal is expected to close in the second-half of this year. (Source)
Last week we reported that TPG was in talks to acquire alternative asset management firm Angelo Gordon. That deal is now official, as TPG has confirmed it will acquire the private credit investor for $2.7B. Angelo Gordon specializes in distressed debt, an investment area expected to surge over the next year as banks tighten lending requirements. TPG CEO Jon Winkelreid has been talking about wanting to become a bigger player in private credit for over a year. (Source)
Apollo Global Management is walking away empty-handed in two separate deals to take companies private from the London Stock Exchange. We learned last Friday that British eCommerce firm THG (fka The Hut Group) had rejected Apollo’s takeover bid. THG has been (successfully) fending-off PE firms ever since its stock tanked -90% off its highs in 2020 (Source). Then in a separate deal, we’ve learned that Apollo has pulled out of talks with Wood Group, a Scottish engineering company, after a four-month negotiation. Wood Group’s shares fell -34% on the news, as investors thought the deal was all-but-done. (Source)
Financial services giant TIAA has received regulatory approval to sell its banking business to a consortium of PE firms, including Stone Point Capital, Warburg Pincus, Reverance Capital Partners, Sixth Street, and Bayview Assemt Management. The deal was originally announced in December 2022, and is now expected to close as early as this summer, pending approval from the New York Department of Financial Services. Aside from the TIAA deal, PE firms have largely stayed away from deals in the banking sector this year. (Source)
KKR has increased its stake in Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu from 65% to 85%. The PE firm acquired its original stake in 2020 from Walmart at a valuation of $1.6B. KKR put a new management team in place in 2021 and has been helping the 77 year-old retailer outfit its 373 stores for omnichannel fulfillment. (Source)
Industry News
Envision Health, a medical staffing company which was taken private in a $9.9B deal by KKR in 2018, has filed for bankruptcy. The senior lenders taking control of Envision include Blackstone, Eaton Vance, Brigade Capital, and Strategic Value Partners. KKR is expected to lose its initial $3.5B equity investment. (Financial Times)
Softbank’s Vision Fund - known for its high-flying investments in the tech sector - has filed a $39B loss for the 2022 fiscal year, following a $27B loss in 2021. It’s evident SoftBank is now attempting to offset losses by exiting some of its investments, as the company recently sold or is actively in talks to sell: it early-stage VC arm SoftBank Ventures, UK chipmaker ARM, US investment firm Fortress Investment Group, and a hefty stake in Chinese eCommerce firm Alibaba. (Pitchbook)
US private equity firms are funding more than half of India’s private credit market the moment. Firms on the prowl include Carlyle Group, Apollo Global Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Ares Management, and Blackstone. India’s GDP growth is now outpacing China’s, but the country’s banks have pulled back on lending due to higher interest rates and economic uncertainty, presenting an opportunity for private lenders. (Quartz)
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