KKR-led consortium agrees €1.56bn Accell acquisition

BY Richard Summerfield

A consortium led by private equity giant KKR has agreed to acquire Accell Group in a deal worth €1.56bn.

Under the terms of the deal, the consortium will pay €58 per share for all shares in Accell Group, representing a total consideration of approximately €1.56bn. The offer price represents a premium of 26 percent over the closing price on 21 January 2022, a premium of 42 percent over the last three months volume-weighted average price per share, and a premium of 21 percent to Accell Group’s all-time high closing price of €48 per share.

The group’s two largest shareholders, Teslin and Hoogh Blarick, which hold 10.8 percent and 7.5 percent of shares respectively, said they would support the transaction. The deal is expected to close in late Q2 or early Q3 2022.

Accell Group’s existing board, comprised of chief executive Ton Anbeek, chief financial officer Ruben Baldew and, as of 1 February 2022, chief supply chain officer Francesca Gamboni, will continue to lead the group.

“Today’s announcement marks an important step for Accell Group,” said Mr Anbeek in a statement. “With the Consortium as our new shareholder we will have a financially strong and knowledgeable partner to accelerate the roll-out of our existing strategic roadmap, enhance our global footprint, explore suitable acquisitions and further leverage our scale. As such, the Transaction will enable us to take a leap forward as a group which also brings along enhanced career opportunities for our employees.”

He added: “We continuously strive to be a leader in the bicycle industry by combining smart design and innovative technology with the best value and customer experience. With KKR coming on board as majority shareholder, and with the continued support of Teslin, we would be able to accelerate the execution of our strategic agenda, launch new innovations for green mobility and support to the benefit of people and communities.”

“With Accell Group, the Consortium is committed to further developing the Netherlands as the global capital of cycling by building on the company’s leading position in the European e-bike market and continuing to grow its strong heritage brands,” said Daan Knottenbelt, partner and head of Benelux at KKR. “This investment in Accell Group would build on KKR's significant experience of investing in the Netherlands. KKR has the capabilities to support high quality Dutch businesses to accelerate their domestic and global growth ambitions, and to overcome challenges such as those Accell Group faces in the competitive global bike market.”

News: KKR buys Sparta, Raleigh bike maker Accell for $1.77 bln

Microsoft’s $68.7bn Activision Blizzard acquisition

BY Richard Summerfield

Microsoft Corp has announced a $68.7bn all-cash deal to acquire Activision Blizzard in the biggest gaming industry deal in history. The deal will see Microsoft become the world’s third-biggest gaming company by revenue behind China’s Tencent and Japan’s Sony.

The deal, which is also set to become the largest all-cash acquisition on record and Microsoft’s biggest ever deal, will see the company pay $95 per share – a 45 percent premium to Activision’s closing price last Friday.

Under the terms of the deal, Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as chief executive of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth. Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, chief executive of Microsoft Gaming.

“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive of Microsoft. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”

“Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them,” said Mr Spencer. “Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”

“For more than 30 years our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games,” said Mr Kotick. “The combination of Activision Blizzard’s world-class talent and extraordinary franchises with Microsoft’s technology, distribution, access to talent, ambitious vision and shared commitment to gaming and inclusion will help ensure our continued success in an increasingly competitive industry.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory review and Activision Blizzard’s shareholder approval. The deal is expected to close in fiscal year 2023 and will be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share upon close. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, gaming has enjoyed a dealmaking boom. Last week, Take Two Interactive acquired Zynga in a $12.7bn deal, creating a global console and mobile gaming giant.

News: Microsoft to gobble up Activision in $69 billion metaverse bet

Record year: US-VC fundraising hit $329.6bn, reveals new report

BY Fraser Tennant

Toppling previous records, US-venture capital (VC) fundraising hit £329.6bn in 2021, despite ongoing pandemic disruption and growing adversities such as supply chain issues and labour shortages, according to a new report by Pitchbook.

The ‘Q4 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor’ also reveals that total deal count increased substantially in 2021 to an estimated 17,054 deals – up from 12,173 in 2020.

Additionally, investment activity for seed and angel and early and late-stage companies all hit records, as did investment activity for companies receiving their first equity round of institutional financing and companies raising VC mega-rounds ($100m or more).

According to the report, partly what makes 2021’s VC industry activity so remarkable is that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic disruption continued to have an impact despite the widespread availability of vaccines and national vaccination programmes.

“2021 began with a bang in VC activity and ended in spectacular fashion, producing another record-setting year,” states the report. “While many were bullish on the industry at the start of the year, possibly no one predicted how remarkable the year would prove to be.”

2021 VC highlights include: (i) US VC-backed companies collected nearly $330bn in 2021 – approximately double the previous record of $166.6bn raised in 2020; (ii) non-traditional investors such as corporate VC funds, hedge funds, private equity (PE) firms and sovereign wealth funds participated in nearly 77 percent of total annual deal value; and (iii) exits were a huge part of 2021's story, with more than $774bn in annual exit value created by VC-backed companies that either went public or were acquired.

Looking to 2022, the report forecast that non-traditional investor interest and momentum will likely continue, in part due to the continued strong outperformance of VC portfolios.

“At the same time, traditional VC investors are flush with capital to deploy,” concludes the report. “For entrepreneurs there is a deeper and wider pool of capital sources available to fund and scale the next generation of innovative companies.”

Report: Q4 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor

Aptiv acquires Wind River in $4.3bn transaction

BY Fraser Tennant

In a $4.3bn transaction which accelerates the journey toward a software-defined automotive industry, global technology company Aptiv PLC is to acquire intelligent edge software solutions provider Wind River, which is backed by private equity firm TPG Capital.

The deal is to be financed through a combination of cash and debt, and will allow Aptiv to expand into multiple high-value industries with Wind River’s world-class team and leading intelligent systems software platform.

Moreover, the combination will enable multiple end-use innovations and applications, particularly as computing and processing continue to move closer to the edge and connected devices, including vehicles, and expand in complexity and capabilities.

“The automotive industry is undergoing its largest transformation in over a century, as connected, software-defined vehicles increasingly become critical elements of the broader intelligent ecosystem,” said Kevin Clark, president and chief executive officer of Aptiv. “Fully capitalising on this opportunity requires comprehensive solutions that enable software to be developed faster, deployed seamlessly and optimised throughout the vehicle lifecycle.”

Developing safer, greener and more connected solutions that enable a more sustainable future of mobility, Aptiv has more than 180,000 employees strategically located to serve customers globally – solving the automotive industry’s toughest challenges with scalable, intelligent platforms that accelerate the transition to software-defined, electric vehicles.

“Wind River has established itself as a worldwide leader in intelligent edge software that delivers the highest levels of security, safety, reliability and performance,” said Kevin Dallas, president and chief executive of Wind River. “Combining Wind River’s industry-leading software, customer base and talent with Aptiv’s complementary technologies, global resources and scale will realise our vision of a new machine economy.”

A global leader in delivering software for mission-critical intelligent systems, Wind River software is used on over 2 billion edge devices across more than 1700 customers globally. The company generated approximately $400m in revenues in 2021.

The acquisition is expected to close mid-year 2022 and is subject to customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

“Together we will accelerate the digital transformation of our customers across industries through best-in-class intelligent systems software,” concluded Mr Dallas. “We look forward to working with the Aptiv team to reach even greater heights and provide further growth opportunities for our customers and partners.”

News: Aptiv to bulk up software offerings with $4.3 bln Wind River deal

Stryker Corp agrees $2.97bn Vocera deal

BY Richard Summerfield

Medical device manufacturer Stryker Corp has agreed to acquire Vocera Communications in a deal worth $2.97bn. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year and is estimated to have a neutral impact on net earnings per diluted share in 2022, Stryker said in a statement.

Under the terms of the deal, Stryker will pay $79.25 per share for the company, for a total equity value of approximately $2.97bn and a total enterprise value of approximately $3.09bn including convertible notes. The boards of both Stryker and Vocera have unanimously approved the acquisition.

Vocera specialises in communication and workflow platforms, as well as software for healthcare providers such as hospitals, allowing for internal and patient-to-doctor communications to improve patient data sharing. The company also makes smart wearable devices for healthcare professionals as well as smartphone applications.

“This acquisition underscores our commitment and focus on our customer,” said Kevin Lobo, chair and chief executive of Stryker. “Vocera will help Stryker significantly accelerate our digital aspirations to improve the lives of caregivers and patients.”

“Today’s milestone represents an exciting opportunity for Vocera given the clear alignment of mission, goals and culture between our two organizations and our ability to drive even greater economic and clinical value for our customers,” said Brent Lang, chairman and chief executive of Vocera.

Stryker officials are said to have been attracted to Vocera’s “highly complementary and innovative portfolio” of tools to help connect caregivers and “disparate data-generating medical devices”, with an eye toward boosting patient safety and outcomes and improving provider workflows.

Specifically, Vocera’s software and hardware for remote communication complements Stryker’s Advanced Digital Healthcare tools, the company said, and will improve its efforts to help its customers reduce and prevent adverse events across the care continuum.

The deal is the latest in a number of significant multibillion health IT acquisitions. Other deals announced so far this year include Castlight Health’s merger with Vera Whole Health and Aetion’s acquisition of Replica Analytics.

News: Medical device maker Stryker to buy Vocera Communications for $2.97 bln