According to Bloomberg, Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group are contemplating a joint buyout of multinational lighting manufacturer OSRAM Licht AG. The potential deal could be announced as early as this month.
CARLYLE AND GIC ACQUIRE SPECIALTY CHEMICALS BUSINESS
The Carlyle Group and Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund GIC have announced their intention to acquire the specialty chemicals division of Dutch conglomerate, Akzo Nobel, for a price of €10.1 billion ($12.6 billion). This purchase price includes debt. The specialty chemicals business of Akzo Nobel manufactures a variety of chemicals used in many consumer products, including soap, food products, pharmaceuticals, and adhesives.
MANUFACTURING: CAN THE U.S. STAY RELEVANT?
There is a lot to be said about the U.S. economy today. Phrases such as “manufacturing is on the decline” and “worker productivity has been slowing down” are all too common now.
To address the former, the U.S. economy is often described as having three phases. A booming agricultural U.S. economy lasting through the 1800s was followed by a shift to an industrial and manufacturing economy. Recently, as of the late 1900s, the U.S. seems to have lost its edge in manufacturing and turned to services, an industry portrayed as intangible and possessing low barriers to entry.
However, the story is a bit more nuanced.
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN: INVESTCORP ACQUIRES KEE SAFETY
On October 18th of this year, Bahrain-based investment firm Investcorp announced that it would acquire Kee Safety Ltd (“Kee Safety”) from Dunedin LLP and LDC for an enterprise value of $370 million. Investcorp is a leading global manager of alternative investments, which the company offers to its high net-worth clients regularly. Moreover, Investcorp is mid-market private equity firm, investing primarily in both North America and Europe.
LOGISTICS INDUSTRY: M&A ACTIVITY TODAY, CONSOLIDATION TOMORROW
The logistics industry is significantly fragmented with a high percentage of family-owned firms, presenting numerous opportunities for acquisitions. The largest ten freight-forwarding firms account for 43.5% of the market’s $141 billion 2016 global revenues, suggesting there is plenty of room for more M&A activity. XPO Logistics has been the pioneer in this field, with eight major acquisitions in the last five years as well as ten smaller ones.
EMAIL “BLOOPER” PAINTS MORE HOSTILE PICTURE
Akzo Nobel N.V. is a Dutch multinational company that specializes in producing paints, performance coatings, specialty chemicals, and essential ingredients for industrial protection materials. Its U.S. Rival, PPG Industries is a Fortune 500 global supplier of paints, coatings, specialty materials, and fiberglass headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
DUPONT DIVESTS TO SATISFY EU REGULATORS
Dow Chemical and DuPont, two of the largest and oldest companies in the American chemical industry, have been in merger talks since early December 2015. Their merger would fuse the two industrial giants into a single entity worth over $130 billion, which would serve as a vehicle for producing $3 billion of synergies. They then would split up into three separate businesses to better position themselves in their respective industries.
PRIVATE EQUITY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Ten years ago, private equity investors knew where the most secure investment opportunities existed. Countries like the United States and the United Kingdom provided stable governments, existing investment networks, and strong laws. Yet, in the past few years, we have seen private equity begin to migrate elsewhere. Yes, private equity investments have steadily increased in Southeast Asia and Africa, but one area of the world that remains relatively untapped is Central and Eastern Europe.