Dealmakers in last-minute US$70b M&A rush before holidays
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DEALMAKERS racing to get transactions across the line before the holidays have finalised nearly US$70 billion of mergers and acquisitions this week.
Biotech giant Amgen is leading the flurry of transactions, saying on Monday (Dec 12) it will buy Horizon Therapeutics for US$28 billion to add drugs for rare disorders. Thoma Bravo announced a takeover of business-spend management platform Coupa Software for US$8 billion including debt, confirming a Bloomberg News report.
Novozymes said it will acquire fellow enzyme maker Chr Hansen Holding for about US$12 billion in the biggest-ever deal involving two Danish companies. Microsoft is buying a US$2 billion stake in London Stock Exchange Group, while Cie de Saint-Gobain agreed to sell UK building supplies merchant Jewson to an arm of CVC Capital Partners in a US$909 million deal.
Other acquisitions already announced since Sunday take this week’s volume to almost US$70 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The tally could grow further if more transactions are revealed in the US morning.
The flurry of late-year activity is a bright spot in an otherwise difficult 2022, with global deals down by almost a third and Wall Street firms cutting bonuses and headcount.
Goldman Sachs Group, perennially the No 1 M&A adviser, remained in top form with roles on two of the three biggest transactions announced on Monday. It was one of Thoma Bravo’s advisers on the Coupa acquisition (alongside Piper Sandler Cos.) as well as exclusive adviser to Chr Hansen on the sale to Novozymes.
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Citigroup and Bank of America are getting out their cheque books, leading a US$28.5 billion bridge financing for Amgen’s Horizon deal. The same pair of banks teamed up earlier this year to offer around US$16 billion of loans to fund Philip Morris International’s takeover of Swedish Match AB, Bloomberg News earlier reported.
Boutique banks were also giving Wall Street stalwarts a run for their money. Qatalyst Partners, which was founded by Frank Quattrone and is known for helping tech companies sell for top dollar, was a financial adviser to Coupa. Former Goldman rainmaker Gordon Dyal’s eponymous shop was lead adviser to Novozymes. PJT Partners was the main buyside bank steering Amgen’s pursuit of Horizon.
The question on bankers’ minds will be whether the scramble will be enough to push this year’s M&A volumes past the key US$4 trillion mark. For companies fond of announcing deals at the start of the week, they’ll only be one more opportunity to do so after today, as the last Monday of 2022 falls the day after Christmas. BLOOMBERG
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