Good morning Hubsters, Nina Lindholm of PE Hub Europe here. As promised, on Thursday and Friday this week we're giving our US audience a special holiday treat by sending you some news from Europe.
Today we have a bit of a mixed bag of deals to discuss, as no sector has stolen the limelight this week. We have two larger deals, one of which we’ve followed for a while. We also have a couple of add-ons to check out, so let’s get right to it.
On the finish line. Back in July, Craig McGlashan wrote about his former employer, Euromoney, and how its board had agreed to a cash offer from Astorg and Epiris. We’ve kept our eyes on the progression of the deal, and yesterday, Astorg and Epiris announced that they have completed their acquisition of the B2B information-services company.
Becketts Bidco, a new company indirectly owned by funds managed by Astorg and Epiris, bought Euromoney from shareholders at a price of £1.6 billion ($1.9 billion; €1.9 billion), or £14.61 per share.
The private equity firms will separate Euromoney. The Fastmarkets division will become a standalone business owned and controlled by Astorg. Epiris will have majority ownership and control of the remainder, Financial & Professional Services (FPS) and Asset Management.
“Euromoney has successfully built a strong portfolio of trusted, specialist brands across its FPS and Asset Management divisions,” said Henry Elkington, chairman of FPS and Asset Management, in a statement. “The investment from Epiris and its experience in B2B information services will provide these brands with the support and flexibility to take advantage of the attractive growth opportunities across their end markets.”
Euromoney provides data and analysis and runs events globally. It has customers in more than 160 countries and is headquartered in London.
To find out more about the deal, such as the revenues of the different Euromoney divisions, check out our full coverage here.
Makes SSENse. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board announced this morning that it has reached an agreement with Scotland-based energy provider SSE, to acquire a 25 percent minority stake in its electricity transmission network business, SSEN Transmission.
The transaction is based on an effective economic date of 31 March 2022, and total cash proceeds of £1.47 billion for the 25 percent stake are expected at completion.
SSEN Transmission, headquartered in Perth, transports electricity generated from renewable resources, including onshore and offshore wind and hydro, from the north of Scotland across more than a quarter of the UK landmass.
According to Ontario Teachers’, the investment will help support the UK government’s Net Zero 2050 targets, including the delivery of 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
“SSEN Transmission is one of Europe’s fastest growing transmission networks,” said Charles Thomazi, senior managing director, head of EMEA infrastructure & natural resources at Ontario Teachers’. “Its network stretches across some of the most challenging terrain in Scotland – from the North Sea and across the Highlands – to deliver safe, reliable, renewable energy to demand centres across the UK.”
Ontario Teachers’ has been busy in the UK – earlier this week we reported on the investor’s exit from Camelot UK, the operator of the National Lottery.
Make it double. Next up we have some add-ons,and two of them are from Triton Partners’ portfolio companies.
Triton Partners-backed Grupo Fertiberia, a fertilizer and ammonia producer, entered an agreement to buy Van de Reijt as it looks to expand its distribution capabilities to the Benelux.
Van de Reijt operates two waterfront bulk terminals, one near Breda in the Netherlands and the other in Grobbendonk, Belgium. That allows it to service customers in Benelux, as well as Germany and Southeast Asia, “thanks to efficient logistics from Rotterdam”, according to a statement. The Dutch firm is headquartered in Moerdijk and had a turnover of around €160 million in its last financial year.
Check out the full coverage of the deal here.
The second add-on is Triton’s portfolio company All4Labels Global Packaging Group acquiring Romprix Exim.
Romprix Exim makes decorative self-adhesive labels and has the largest industrial digital printing capacity in the Romanian market, according to a statement. It is based in the outskirts of Bucharest.
The latest add-on will strengthen All4Labels’ Eastern European footprint, the statement said.
Triton has been the majority shareholder of All4Labels since 2019. The London-headquartered private equity firm focuses on the industrial tech, services, consumer and healthcare sectors.
Check out our full coverage to find out more on the deal.
Healthy deal. One more add-on to finish up with. We’re switching sectors but staying in the CEE region.
Abris Capital Partners announced its portfolio company Scanmed, a Polish healthcare business, is acquiring Ars Medical.
Ars Medical, based in Piła, Poland, specialises in oncology, haematology, cardiology, internal medicine and palliative care, as well as general and specialist outpatient care. The company has a team of 400 doctors and nurses, including over 100 specialists in 48 therapeutic areas.
“The acquisition of Ars Medical is the latest step in our ambitious buy-and-build strategy for Scanmed,” said Sylwester Urbanek, investment director at Abris Capital Partners. “We welcome the Ars Medical team on board and we will continue supporting Scanmed’s development and the constant improvement of quality of care in key therapeutic areas.”
To find out the strategic reasoning behind the deal and Warsaw-based Abris’ previous investments in the sector, check out our full coverage here.
Conference. Next week, Craig McGlashan and I will be at Private Equity International’s Women in Private Markets Summit in London. If you’re also going, and would like to meet, drop me a line at nina.l@pei.group.
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That’s all from me. I hope you all have a great weekend.
Cheers,
Nina
