VideoWhen only two transactions in the week-load of North American deals are in nine figures — and in both cases the first figure is "one" — dealmakers can't miss the message that they're finally back in the grey of Kansas, after an extended Technicolor adventure in Oz.
Even if recent weeks have offered fairly sickly North American transaction totals, the odd blockbuster has kept the totals looking respectable. Last week, for example, a $900-million purchase of Ovation Pharmaceuticals by Lundbeck Research, part of a Danish pharma, joined with Live Nation's $637-million purchase of Ticketmaster to keep the total M&A values comfortably in the billions.
But not last week. The largest deal — Aberdeen, UK-based Dana Petroleum's $179-million purchase of Bow Valley Energy, out of Calgary, Canada — barely edged out Match.com International's $110-million sale to French online dating company Meetic SA for top honors. And the number nine and ten deals in the North American top ten weighed in at a mere $12 million.
The 25 transactions for all of last week totaled just $386 million, down from 38 deals worth $2.56 billion in the prior week, according to data provided to CFO.com by mergermarket.
The 2009 dollar value of year-to-date dealmaking still exceeds last year's $91.2 billion, represented by 683 deals. But that's only because several blockbuster transactions this year have kept things healthy-looking. So far, 266 deals have been struck this year, with trophy acquisitions like the $67.5-billion Pfizer-Wyeth and $43.2-billion Roche-Genentech deals pumping things up to gargantuan levels.
Dana Petroleum Plc to buy Bow Valley Energy Ltd. for $179 million
Aberdeen, UK-based oil and gas exploration and production company Dana agreed to acquire all Bow Valley Energy's shares for 40 cents a share, a premium of about 69.49 percent. The implied equity value of the deal is $35.07 million for the transaction, which is expected to close in mid-April.
Seller financial advisor: Scotia Capital
Bidder financial advisor: RBC Capital Markets
Seller legal advisor: Macleod Dixon
Bidder legal advisor: Allen & Overy; Blake, Cassels & Graydon; McGrigors
Meetic SA to buy Match.com International Ltd. from IAC/InterActiveCorp. for $110 million
Boulogne-Billancourt, France-based online dating service provider Meetic agreed to acquire Match.com International, known as (Match Europe, the UK-based European operations of Dallas-based online dating service provider Match.com. The seller is IAC/InterActiveCorp., the New York City-based E-commerce group, which is paying $16.9 per share for 6,094,334 new shares, along with promissory notes of $6.64 million, in a transaction that will give IAC a 26.8-percent stake in Meetic and 21.1 percent of its voting rights. The transaction is expected to close no later than June 30.
Seller financial advisor: Not Available
Bidder financial advisor: Messier Partners
Seller legal advisor: Not Available
Bidder legal advisor: Not Available
Barrick Gold Corp. to buy a 50-percent stake in Hemlo Property Mine from Teck Cominco Ltd. for $65 million
Toronto-based mining company Barrick agreed to acquire the remaining stake in Hemlo Property Mine, the gold mining operations mear Thunder Bay, Ontario. Vancouver-based mining company Teck Cominco and Barrick expect the transaction to close in the second quarter.
Seller financial advisor: Not Available
Bidder financial advisor: Not Available
Seller legal advisor: Not Available
Bidder legal advisor: Not Available
ABS Capital Partners to buy Alarm.com from MicroStrategy Inc. for $28 million
A consortium of investors led by Baltimore-based private equity concern ABS agreed to acquire a majority ownership in McLean, Va.-based Alarm.com, a provider of Web-enabled residential and commercial security and activity monitoring technology, from MicroStrategy, a business intelligence software provider also of McLean. Alarm.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of MicroStrategy Inc.
Seller financial advisor: Not Available
Bidder financial advisor: Not Available
Seller legal advisor: Not Available
Bidder legal advisor: Hogan & Hartson
Intertek Industrial Services to buy WISco Enterprises LP from WISco Enterprises LP's management owners for $27 million
London-based Intertek, a provider of third-party services, acquired Houston-based WISco Enterprises, a provider of inspection, expediting, and coordination services for oil and gas companies in a deal that was part of a multiple acquisition in which Intertek Group acquired both WISco Enterprises LP and Aptech Engineering Services.
Seller financial advisor: Not Available
Bidder financial advisor: Not Available
Seller legal advisor: Not Available
Bidder legal advisor: DLA Piper
Reader Comments» Post a comment