Inbound M&A Transactions & Investments in the News in June
June produced a few more noteworthy green shoots for inbound deals.
In a strategic transaction announced at the beginning of the month, Taiwan-based Prime View International is acquiring Cambridge, Massachusetts-based E Ink Corporation for approximately $215 million. Prime View develops, manufactures and sells thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) products. Shares of Prime View are traded on the Taiwan stock exchange. E Ink is the leading supplier of electronic paper display (EPD) technologies and is privately-held. The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009. CFIUS approval is not specified. The Pulse 2 blog reports that Prime View and E Ink have been partners since 2006, and that together they have supported about 20 e-book manufacturing companies worldwide.
On June 16, Calgary-based TransCanada Corporation announced that it had reached an agreement to buy the remaining interest of Houston-based ConocoPhillips in the Keystone Pipeline System. Now under construction, Keystone will be one of the largest oil delivery systems in North America, extending through the upper Midwest to Illinois and Oklahoma. TransCanada will pay approximately $550 million, and assume both $220 million of short-term debt and ConocoPhillips’ obligation to fund its share of the capital investment to complete the project, valued at approximately $1.7 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2009, subject to regulatory approvals. CFIUS approval is not specified.
On June 23, Atlanta-based Office Depot sold a significant equity position to funds advised by BC Partners, the London-based international private equity firm, raising $350 million. The equity stake represents a 20% interest in the U.S. company, assuming full conversion of shares. Three executives named by the investors will join the board of Office Depot.
On June 25, Arcadis NV announced that it planned to acquire privately-held Malcolm Pirnie Inc., a water-services company based in White Plains New York, for $222 million in cash and stock. Malcolm Pirnie provides engineering and consulting services to states and cities in the United States. Arcadis, with over 13,500 employees worldwide, is based in Arnheim, Netherlands, and provides consultancy, engineering and management services worldwide. According to Mergers Unleashed, the shares being issued in the transaction were valued based on the closing stock price for shares of Arcadis of $14.981 on June 24. The Dealbook blog reports, “The deal, expected to be completed next month, will improve Arcadis’s position in the United States, and in the water services business worldwide.” Dealbook also reports that the deal will afford Arcadis access to investments in U.S. infrastructure by municipal governments. It is possible that access to infrastructure might lead the parties to seek CFIUS review, but there is no confirmation on that point.
We look forward to reporting what transactions July brings. With better weather, and a little less rain here on the east coast of the U.S., the shoots may become more of a lawn.
