Featuring Bentley/Schneider, Envestnet, Citgo, Zuora and much more
Happy Friday!?
This week, Milana Vinn and yours truly teamed up to scoop that Bentley Systems, an engineering software company with a market value of nearly $16 billion, is exploring options that include a sale after attracting acquisition interest. Among the companies that have expressed interest in a deal with Bentley are electrical equipment maker Schneider Electric and design software firm Cadence Design Systems.
Our scoop was confirmed earlier on Friday after Schneider put out a statement on its talks with Bentley on a deal.
The Bentley family controls the eponymous company through a special class of shares. The company has formed a special committee of its board of directors to explore its options, that include an outright sale of the company as well as a joint venture. Bentley's shares jumped more than 5% on Thursday after we published our scoop.
It is entirely possible that other bidders, including Siemens AG - which held talks to buy Bentley in 2020 - could emerge. Siemens, which holds a stake in Bentley, has longstanding ties with the company. The two companies signed a strategic alliance in 2016 and expanded on that agreement two years later to set up an initiative to make joint investments. Bentley chose to proceed with an initial public offering in 2020 after its deal talks with Siemens did not progress.
As part of its ties with Bentley, Siemens has a right to bid for Bentley, if the latter explores a deal with an interested buyer.
Watch this space for more in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere, Milana broke news on fintech firm Envestnet exploring options that could include a potential sale after the company receiving inbound interest from potential suitors.
Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based Envestnet, which has a market value of about $3.5 billion is working with investment bank Morgan Stanley to engage with potential acquirers.
Private equity firms, including Bain Capital, are among the parties that have expressed interest in acquiring Envestnet.
Last year, Envestnet added three new directors to end a board challenge from activist investor Impactive Capital that had been pushing the company to improve its performance by cutting costs.
Envestnet, which is a provider of software to financial institutions and banks, is currently in the middle of a leadership transition. In January, CEO Bill Crager said he would step down from this role and continue with the company as a senior advisor starting April.
Envestnet provides technology tools to financial advisers and wealth managers. Its clients include more than 108,000 advisers, 16 of the top 20 U.S. banks, and several top wealth management and brokerage firms, according to its website.
The company previously explored a sale in 2022 after being approached by potential buyers.
Ron Bousso, David French and Marianna Parraga were first to report that hedge fund Elliott Investment Management is weighing a bid for shares in the parent of oil refiner Citgo Petroleum under a U.S. court-ordered auction, while a group of creditors represented by Centerview Partners aims to lure ConocoPhillips to join another offer.
Investment banker Centerview has been retained to craft a potential bid on behalf of investors and creditors pursuing Venezuela's foreign assets in federal court in Delaware to recoup claims for expropriations and debt defaults.
The Centerview group wants oil producer ConocoPhillips, which holds the largest claims in the court case, to join its effort ahead of the final bidding round, which closes in June. Conoco has not decided if it will.
Elliott, which has billions of dollars in investments in U.S. oil refining companies, separately met with Citgo managers to obtain financial and operational information as part of its preparations for the bidding round.
The arrival of two groups with substantial resources and experience in corporate restructurings has increased the likelihood of an ownership change for the century-old refiner, which is the crown jewel of Venezuela's foreign assets.
The court is auctioning shares in Citgo parent PDV Holding after a trial that broke new legal ground in sovereign immunity cases by finding the company liable for the South American country's past debt defaults and expropriations. PDV Holding's only asset is Houston-based Citgo.
A total of 18 creditors collectively claiming $21.3 billion have been cleared to cash proceeds from the auction. The court's sales process is set to be completed in July after seven years of litigation.
And finally, Milana also scooped that Zuora, which makes subscription management software for businesses, is exploring options that include a sale after receiving acquisition interest from potential suitors.
Redwood City, California-based Zuora has tapped investment bank Qatalyst Partners to advise on discussions with potential acquirers, which include private equity firms.
Zuora's board has formed a special committee comprising independent directors to handle the company's discussions on a deal to allow for the possibility that its CEO and founder Tien Tzuo and some other large shareholders may participate in the transaction. According to recent company filings, Tzuo holds about 43% of Zuora's total voting rights through a special class of shares.
Zuora's shares jumped more than 15% on our scoop, giving it a market capitalization of about $1.5 billion. Zuora has lost more than a third of its value since the company listed its shares on the stock market, as it faced stiff competition from larger players in the industry.
Founded in 2007, Zuora offers billing software and other subscription management tools to enterprise customers, which include cloud computing firm Nutanix and Siemens Healthineers.
In early 2022, Zuora raised $400 million through convertible notes and warrants from buyout firm Silver Lake, which currently holds a board seat at the company. Silver Lake is considering whether it will bid for Zuora or be part of a potential deal should there be a transaction.
Earlier this year, Zuora said it planned to lay off about 8% of its workforce as part of a broader company-wide cost-cutting drive.
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And here’s a quick recap of the?highlights from the Reuters corporate finance file from the past week:?
Nordstrom said the founding family behind the department store chain had shown an interest in pursuing a potential go-private deal, prompting the company's board to form a special committee of independent directors to evaluate any proposal. Nordstrom’s announcement confirmed our scoop from March.
EU antitrust regulators have concluded that Microsoft's $13 billion investment into OpenAI is not an acquisition, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, signaling the deal will avoid a formal European probe that could have led to onerous remedies for the U.S. tech giant.
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is working on improving an offer for the owner of Britain's Royal Mail, a source with knowledge of the plans said, after his investment vehicle said it had made a non-binding bid this month which was rejected.
Paramount Global’s sale process is on the verge of ending like “Thelma & Louise.” A complex transaction with production studio Skydance Media would allow controlling shareholder Shari Redstone to run off with the spoils, leaving rival suitors in the dust. Other investors know they’re just along for the ride, but are trying to avoid being driven off a cliff.
Denmark's Saxo Bank is exploring a possible sale, 18 months after talks to merge with a blank-cheque company fell apart, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Cybersecurity software firm Rubrik, which counts Microsoft among its prominent investors, is aiming to raise as much as $713 million in its initial public offering, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Morgan Stanley's North America head of consumer and retail equity capital markets (ECM) Tilli Dias Passi will leave the bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
Adam Taetle, a senior managing director at Evercore who advised on several transactions in the consumer & retail industry, will be leaving the investment bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
MFE-MediaForEurope, the TV group led by Italy's Berlusconi family, held talks in recent months with various banks ready to fund a potential bid for German peer ProSiebenSat.1 worth up to around 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion), according to people close to the matter and documents seen by Reuters.
Two senior JPMorgan Chase dealmakers, Andy Lipsky and Haidee Lee, are leaving the bank, two sources familiar with the matter said
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Have a wonderful weekend!
Best,
Anirban?
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Anirban Sen
Editor in Charge, U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions
Reuters News
Thomson Reuters