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Don't Miss It: Hot Deals & Firms We Followed This Week

16 December 2016

With so much M&A news this week, you may have missed several deals announced in recent days helmed by firms such as Latham and Davis Polk.

Here, Law360 recaps the ones you might have missed.

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis will bolster its dermatology portfolio with the acquisition of Ziarco Group Ltd., an independently owned company developing novel treatments in the space, for an undisclosed amount, according to a Friday statement.

The deal will specifically bolster Novartis’ atopic dermatitis, or eczema, treatment portfolio with a once-daily oral therapy, which is still at the investigational stage but has showed promising results, according to a statement.

Retirement and college savings services provider Ascensus will snap up Matthews Benefit Group Inc., an independently owned third-party administration firm, according to a Friday announcement. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Medical products company Baxter International Inc. will pay $625 million to buy Claris Lifesciences Ltd.’s injectables business, which produces generic injectable medicines, like anesthesia and anti-infectives, the companies said Thursday.

Baxter is being advised by a Latham & Watkins LLP team led by corporate partners Thomas E. Keim Jr. and Robbie McLaren and associates Ian Helmuth, Tessa White, Jocelin Chang and Muli Zhou; tax partners Diana Doyle and Sean Finn and associates Robert Thomas, James Dabell and Sean FitzGerald; Dubai partner Christopher Lester and associate Donya Fredj on UAE matters; intellectual property partner Steven Chinowsky and counsel Darryl Steensma; health care regulatory partner Ben Hass; and Singapore-based partner Rajiv Gupta coordinated India law matters with local counsel.

German internet service provider United Internet AG inked an €800 million ($835 million) deal to buy Strato AG from Deutsche Telekom AG, according to a Thursday statement. Strato, which operates mainly in Germany and the Netherlands, offers a range of online services such as domains, email packages, websites, servers and online storage, among others.

Savanna Energy Services Corp., a North American and Australian contract drilling and oil field services company, revealed Thursday that potential suitors have begun cropping up since Total Energy Services Inc. in November said it planned to make an unsolicited takeover bid for the energy company.

Savanna said its special committee is still conducting a formal review of Total’s interest in the company, while at the same time seeing the benefits of increased drilling and well servicing activity and commodity prices improve.

Packaging company RPC Group Plc agreed to pay €262.5 million to buy ESE World B.V., Europe’s largest pure-play temporary waste storage solutions provider, from Stirling Square Capital Partners, according to a Thursday statement.

Rothschild is acting as financial adviser to RPC Group.

Connecticut-based SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc., a provider of financial services software and software-enabled services, nabbed independent asset services firm Conifer Financial Services LLC for $88.5 million, the companies said Thursday.

SS&C is advised by a Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP team including partner Leonard Kreynin and associate Robert F. Smith; intellectual property and technology partner Pritesh P. Shah and associate Bonnie Chen; tax partner Michael Mollerus; and executive compensation counsel Cynthia Akard.

Finland-based Nokia will buy Deepfield, a U.S.-based analytics provider for IP network performance management and security for an undisclosed amount, the companies said Thursday.

The deal is part of Nokia’s plans to build out its leadership in real-time, analytics-driven network and service automation, according to a statement.

Nokia is advised by a Shearman & Sterling LLP team led by corporate partner Scott Petepiece and including compensation, governance and ERISA partner Doreen Lilienfeld, intellectual property transactional partner Jordan Altman and tax partner Laurence Crouch.

DLA Piper LLP is advising Florida-based Boatsetter, a peer-to-peer boating rental service, in its $13 million Series A financing round as the company looks to expand its sales and marketing efforts as well as its geographical footprint, the law firm said Thursday.

The DLA Piper team is led by partner Eric Grossman, of counsel Matt VanderGoot and associate Steve Ryan.

Massachusetts-based Repligen Corp., a life sciences company that makes products that help biotechs make their drugs, inked a €37 million deal to buy TangenX Technology Corp., which makes a Suis brand of tangential flow filtration cassettes and hardware, according to a Thursday statement.

Healthcare company Grifols on Wednesday unveiled plans to buyout the rest of its joint venture with Hologic in a $1.85 billion transaction, as part of Grifol’s plans to consolidate and grow its diagnostic division.

The deal will see Grifols pick up the Hologic unit that is responsible for the research, development and manufacturing of assays and instruments based on nucleic acid testing technology for transfusion and transplantation screening, Grifols said in a statement.

The specific assets include a plant in San Diego and the development rights, licenses to patents and access to product manufacturers, according to a statement.

Grifols is advised by Osborne Clarke SLP and Proskauer Rose LLP. Nomura is acting as financial adviser.

The Proskauer team is led by M&A partners Peter Samuels and Dan Ganitsky, intellectual property partner Daryn Grossman and finance partner Ron Franklin, and includes tax partners Stuart Rosow and Martin Hamilton; employee benefits and executive compensation partners Andrea Rattner and Colleen Hart; and corporate associates Kunal Dogra, Laura McAleer and Laura Goldsmith.

New York-based holding company Leucadia National Corp. is readying the sale of Conwed Plastics, which makes lightweight plastic netting, to Schweitzer-Mauduit, according to a Wednesday announcement.

Under the terms of the deal, Schweitzer-Mauduit will pay $295 million in cash at closing, with potential earnout payments totaling $40 million based on performance thresholds over the five years after closing, according to a statement.

Leucadia is advised by a Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP team led by partners Sheryl Orr and Alec Dawson and associates Sarah Wong and Annie Heiss.

Private equity firm Bain Capital will buy Innocor Inc., a New Jersey-based designer and manufacturer of foam products for commercial and retail channels, for an undisclosed amount, according to a statement.

Bain Capital is advised by a Ropes & Gray LLP team that includes private equity partner William Mone, finance partner Byung Choi, tax partner Christopher Leich, private equity associate Adam Leamon and finance associate Daniel Coyne.

U.S. private equity firm The Jordan Co. will buy Vectra, a technology-driven diversified industrial company, for an undisclosed amount, according to a Wednesday announcement.

Jordan is advised by a Mayer Brown LLP team including corporate and securities partners Phil Brandes and Ugo Ude.

Vectra is advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP. O’Melveny & Myers LLP is advising on environmental matters. Moelis & Co. is acting as lead financial adviser, with support from Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC.

Sika AG will pick up U.S.-based Rmax Operating LLC, which makes polyiso insulation products, giving the Swiss chemical firm the technology and know-how it needs to expand into the North American market, according to a Wednesday statement.

Sika is being advised by a Baker & McKenzie LLP team including Alan Zoccolillo, Nicholas Marchica, Lelise Gobena, Jason Kramer, Brian Burke, Teisha Johnson, Michael Poland, Lauren Schuster, Ryan Vann, Miriam Petrillo Geraghty, Jessica Wicha, Joshua Wolkoff, Alysha Preston, Richard V. Wells, Jonathan Stevens and Ashleigh Hebert.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP guided Inkling Systems Inc., a mobile communication platform that allows companies to convey critical information to deskless workers, in its $25 million Series E round of financing, the firm said Wednesday.

The financing round was led by venture capital firm Sapphire Ventures, according to a statement.

The Davis Polk team includes partner Sarah K. Solum and associates Jason Bassetti and Dongbiao Shen.

Pacific Premier Bancorp. Inc. plans to merge with fellow California bank operator Heritage Oaks Bancorp in an all-stock transaction worth $405.6 million, the banks said Tuesday. The deal will see Pacific Premier hand over $11.68 worth of stock per Heritage Oaks share, according to a statement.

Pacific Premier is advised by Holland & Knight LLP. D.A. Davidson & Co. is acting as financial adviser to the bank and delivered a fairness opinion to its board of directors.

Heritage Oaks is advised by Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP. O’Neill + Partners LLP is acting as financial adviser and delivered a fairness opinion to the board of directors.

BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide and U.K.’s biggest commercial broadcaster, ITC, on Tuesday announced plans to create a joint venture that will launch BritBox, an ad-free subscription video-on-demand services in the U.S.

The streaming service will offer British TV in the U.S., according to a statement.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is advising AMC Networks, which is investing in the joint venture. The Sullivan team includes corporate partner Brian E. Hamilton and Lauren S. Boehmke.

KKR and KSL Capital Partners will join forces to buy hospitality company Apple Leisure Group, which sells all-inclusive vacation packages, from Bain Capital Private Equity, according to a Tuesday statement. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

KKR and KSL are advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Dentons.

The Simpson Thacher team is led by partners Marni Lerner and Chad Skinner.

The Dentons team includes partners Chris Lee and Matthew Yoon, managing associates Caroline Pricher and Christopher Jaquez, and associate Brian Kim; partners Rogelio Lopez-Velarde and Amanda Valdez, senior associate Dante Trevedan and associate Daniel Delgado from Dentons Mexico; and Mauricio Ambrosi from partnering firm Turanzas.

Bain Capital is advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Credit Suisse is serving as financial adviser.

Adecco Group’s Beeline will merge with GTCR-backed IQNavigator, allowing the duo to leverage their complementary strengths in order to form the world’s No. 1 independent technology provider for extended workforce management solutions, according to a Tuesday announcement. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is advising private equity firm GTCR and IQNavigator on the transaction. The Kirkland team is led by corporate partners Stephen Ritchie and Daniel Guerin and associates Peter Stach, Joanna Lee and Jenn Betts.

Industrial bioscience company Amyris will join forces with Japan’s NIKKOL Group, a cosmetic specialty chemical provider, to form a cosmetics ingredients joint venture, the companies said Tuesday.

As part of the deal, NIKKOL will pay up to $20 million for 50 percent of the Amyris Neossance business, with $10 million paid upfront and $10 million as an earn out over the joint venture’s first three years of operations, according to a statement.

Shearman & Sterling LLP is advising Amyris. The Shearman team is led by corporate partner Michael Dorf and includes intellectual transactional partner Jordan Altman and tax partner Laurence Crouch.

Imerys, which transforms minerals into high-value specialty products, will buy Kerneos, which has expertise in calcium aluminate technologies, in a €880 million transaction, according to a Monday statement. The deal is part of Imerys’ continued push to expand its operations.

Newell Brands Inc., the consumer goods company formed by the $13.2 billion combination of Newell Rubbermaid and Jarden, unveiled a pair of transactions on Monday as it looks to continue to snap up growing product lines.

New Jersey-based Newell Brands will pay 660 million New Zealand dollars ($459 million) for Sistema Plastics, which makes food storage containers, and $100 million for Smith Mountain Industries, a home fragrance product maker that primarily consists of the WoodWick Candle brand.

Cameron Partners Ltd. and Rothschild Inc. are acting as financial advisers to Newell Brands.

Italian oil giant Eni will sell a 30 percent participating interest in the Shourouk Concession offshore of Egypt, where the Zohr gas field is located, to Russia’s Rosneft, according to a Monday statement.

The deal includes a $1.125 billion payment and the pro quota reimbursement of past expenditures, which currently sits at $450 million, according to a statement.

Netherlands-based Cimpress N.V., which specializes in mass customization, inked a $218 million deal for National Pen Co. LLC, a top manufacturer and marketer of custom writing instruments for small and medium businesses, according to a Monday statement.

AnaCap Financial Partners, a private equity firm focusing on European financial services, will buy Barclays plc’s French retail banking operations, including its branch network, life insurance business, wealth and investment management and brokerage operations, according to a Monday statement.

The deal is part of AnaCap’s plans to build an independent wealth management firm in France, according to a statement.

Short-line railroad holding company Genesee & Wyoming Inc. will shell out £87 million ($108.6 million) through its subsidiary, GWI UK Acquisition Co. Ltd., to pick up Pentalver Transport Ltd., an off-dock container terminal operator, from APM Terminals, according to a Monday announcement.

Apax Partners LLP will nab a controlling stake in Unilabs from Nordic Capital and Apax Partners France, giving it all the shares it doesn’t already own in one of Europe’s top clinical laboratory testing and medical diagnostic imaging services companies, the private equity firm said Monday.

Apax is being advised by a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP team led by partner Derek Baird.

Private investment firm Altamont Capital Partners on Monday revealed it will acquire Maxi Canada Inc., a manufacturer of frozen poultry products based in St-Lin-Laurentides, Quebec, from Lake Pacific Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Maxi Canada’s products are sold throughout the U.S. under brands like Yummy and Dino Buddies, according to a statement.

Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are providing financing for the transaction.

Houlihan Lokey is acting as financial adviser to Maxi Canada.

Lake Pacific Partners is being advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP. The Kirkland team includes corporate partners Sanford Perl, Shelly Hirschtritt and Hayley Smith and associate Caitlin Powell-Gimpel.

Fenwick & West LLP advised Model N Inc., which provides cloud-based revenue management services to life sciences, technology and manufacturing companies, in its acquisition of life sciences revenue management software Revitas Inc., announced Monday.

The Fenwick team includes corporate lawyers Gordy Davidson, David Michaels, Scott Behar, Michael Duignan, Chris Gorman, Taylor Cashwell and Travis Robertson; executive compensation and employee benefits lawyers Blake Martell and Kristin O’Hanlon; technology transactions lawyers Stephen Gillespie, Joseph Schenck, Jung Yoo and Russell Wong; antitrust lawyer Mark Ostrau; and tax lawyers Will Skinner and Sophia Huang.

California-based Dynamic Signal, a company communications platform, drew $25 million in growth financing, according to a Monday statement.

The financing round featured several new investors, including Akkadian Ventures, Microsoft Ventures and Focus Ventures, as well as several existing investors, including Trinity Ventures, Venrock, Rembrandt, and Time Warner.

The latest infusion will be used to expand the company’s international operations and improve engineering, sales, marketing and customer service as its customer list continues to grow, according to a statement.

Dynamic Signal’s total funding is now $68.3 million, according to a statement.

Dynamic Signal is advised by a Fenwick & West LLP team led by corporate lawyers Ted Wang, Steven Levine, Cynthia Kaneshiro and Willow Yang.

New Jersey-based J.M. Huber Corp., which operates a portfolio of engineered materials businesses, will part ways with the Silica business unit of Huber Engineered Materials, according to a Dec. 9 announced.

J.M. Huber is selling the business unit, which includes operations in North America, Europe and Asia, to Evonik Industries AG, a global specialty chemicals company, for an undisclosed amount.

J.M. Huber is advised by Jones Day. BofA Merrill Lynch and Moelis & Company LLC are acting as financial advisers.

Peter Stach, P.C.

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