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Corporate Financier’s Notes by Aivars Jurcans
Done! And Done
Klarna, a Swedish payments firm, has agreed to buy Pricerunner, a price comparisons company, from Creades, a Swedish investment firm, for USD 124.36 million. Klarna will pay 40% of the price in cash and the rest with Klarna shares.
Source: Reuters
The management of PCF Insurance Services, a multiline insurance brokerage, has agreed to buy the company from HGGC, a private equity firm. The deal is said to value the company at more than USD 2.2 billion.
Source: WSJ
Uala, an Argentinian fintech, has agreed to buy 100% of shares in ABC Capital, a Monterrey-based Mexican bank. The value of the deal was not disclosed. Uala was valued at USD 2.5 billion in its latest funding round.
Source: Bloomberg
Siam Commercial Bank, a Thai lender, has agreed to acquire a 51% stake in Bitkub Online, a crypto exchange operator, for USD 535 million.
Source: Bloomberg
Franklin Templeton, a mutual fund company, has agreed to buy Lexington Partners, a closely-held private equity firm, for USD 1.75 billion in cash.
Source: Bloomberg, Reuters
BNP Paribas, a French lender, has announced a EUR 900 million share buyback plan. EUR 900 million is about 1.4% of BNP’s market capitalisation.
Source: FT
First Cash, a pawn store operator, has agreed to acquire American First Finance, a financial technology firm, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at USD 1.17 billion “to enter the buy-now-pay-later market”.
Source: Reuters
Grupo Mutua, a Spanish insurer, has agreed to invest EUR 1.15 billion in El Corte Ingles, a department store chain, in exchange for an 8% stake in the group and 50.01% of its insurance businesses.
Source: Reuters
Zhongyuan Bank, a China’s lender based in the province of Henan, has agreed to acquire Bank of Luoyang, Bank of Pingdingshan and Bank of Jiaozuo China Travel Services.
Source: Reuters
Deals On The Table
Netwealth Group, an Australian wealth manager, is said to have offered to buy Praemium for USD 590.4 million “to beef up its platform for asset management”.
Source: Reuters
Lazard, an investment bank, is said to be in “advanced talks” to acquire Brigade Capital Management, a hedge fund firm.
Source: Reuters
La Banque Postale, a French lender, is said to have offered to acquire the 16% stake it does not already own in CNP Assurances, an insurer. The offer values the firm at some EUR 15 billion.
Source: Bloomberg
Back At The Table
Covea, a French insurer, is said to have revived agreement to buy PartnerRe, a Bermuda-based reinsurer, from Italy’s Exor for USD 9 billion. Covea has returned to the price it had agreed to pay before trying to renegotiate the deal in the early months of Covid-19 pandemic.
Source: FT
Up-and-Comers
Tarabut Gateway, a Middle East developer of an open-banking platform, is said to have raised USD 12 million in a fundraising round led by Tiger Global Management and Dubai International Fintech Fund.
Source: Bloomberg
Nubank, a Brazilian online lender, is said to be targeting a valuation of over USD 50 billion for its initial public offering in the US. Nubank was last valued at USD 30 billion after a funding round led by Berkshire Hathaway. Its revenue reached USD 1.06 billion in the 9 months ended September 30.
Source: Reuters
Ebanx, a Brazilian financial technology firm, is said to have filed for an IPO and would seek a valuation of more than USD 10 billion.
Source: Bloomberg
Exciting Numbers
The market capitalisation of the world’s stock markets is about USD 120 trillion.
Source: FT
A Thought Worth Noting
“I started to think we might be near the bottom when people said China is not an investable equity market. It is. It is just not functioning as people think it should.”
Herald van der Linde, chief Asia equity strategist, HSBC
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Aivars Jurcans has more than 20 years of corporate finance and investment banking experience. His services are currently available through MURINUS ADVISERS.
Design by Artis Briedis, Photo by Joe Taylor on Unsplash
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