The baby deal turned out to be the biggest in North American last week, when Swiss food giant Nestle agreed to pay $5.5 billion to Novartis for its Gerber baby food division. Novartis says the sale is another step in its divestiture plan to help the company regain a focus on its core pharmaceutical businesses. In other activity, a trio of the week’s top 10 deals were private equity exits, the largest of which was Google’s $3.1 billion acquisition of online advertiser DoubleClick. Spain’s energy giant Iberdrola wound up with CPV Wind Ventures—just a few weeks after neighboring Energias de Portugal scoffed up Horizon Wind Energy.
Meanwhile, leveraged buyout firms were relatively quiet, with only one private equity transaction of note: Apollo Management’s buyout of Xstrata Aluminum. However, business was brisk for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup which each scored two deals, according to data provided to CFO.com by mergermarket
Nestle to buy Gerber Products from Novartis for $5.5 billion.
Nestle, which expects the deal to be finalized during the second half of the year, intends to grow the baby food business into a global brand.
Seller financial advisor: Goldman Sachs
Buyer financial advisor: Credit Suisse; Lazard
Seller legal advisors: Allen & Overy; Cravath Swaine & Moor; Sullivan & Cromwell (Advising Goldman Sachs)
Buyer legal advisors: Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw
Google to buy DoubleClick from Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity for $3.1 billion.
The private equity firms originally snagged the online darling for $1.1 billion in April of 2005.
Seller financial advisor: Bear Stearns; Morgan Stanley
Buyer financial advisor: Not available
Seller legal advisors: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Buyer legal advisors:Not available
Iberdrola to buy CPV Wind Ventures from ArcLight Capital Partners and Competitive Power Ventures for $2 billion
The acquisition fits well into Iberdrola’s international expansion plans.
Seller financial advisor: Marathon Capital
Buyer financial advisor: Not available
Seller legal advisors: Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky
Buyer legal advisors: Not available
Astral Media to buy Standard Broadcasting from the Slaight family for $1.6 billion
The family will collect a cash payout of $765 million, and 4.75 million shares of Class A non-voting stock, for an equity consideration valued at $826 million.
Seller financial advisor: Scotia Capital
Buyer financial advisor: National Bank Financial
Seller legal advisors: Goodmans
Buyer legal advisors: Stikeman Elliott
Lundin Mining to buy Tenke Mining for $1.2 billion
In the deal, which is expected to close by late June, 1.73 shares of Lundin will be exchanged for each share of Tenke.
Seller financial advisor: Dundee Securities
Buyer financial advisor: GMP Securities
Seller legal advisors: Cassels Brock & Blackwell; DuMoulin Black
Buyer legal advisors: Blake Cassels & Graydon; McCullough O’Connor Irwin
Apollo Management to buy Xstrata Aluminum for $1.2 billion
The deal follows Apollo’s investment strategy of expanding its portfolio of basic materials and value-added processing businesses.
Seller financial advisor: Merrill Lynch
Buyer financial advisor: Citigroup
Seller legal advisors: Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Buyer legal advisors: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Citibank Overseas Investment, a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., to buy Bank of Overseas Chinese for $426 million
Based on the terms of the transaction, sharholders of Bank of Overseas Chinese will receive a cash consideration of $0.357 per share (subject to an adjustment factor which will depend on the effective date of the merger.) The acquisition crowns Citibank as the largest international bank in Taiwan.
Seller financial advisor :Goldman Sachs
Buyer financial advisor :Citigroup
Seller legal advisors :Giant Era; Lin & Partners Attorney at Law; Lovells
Buyer legal advisors :Lexcel Partners Attorneys at Law; Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
GateHouse Media to buy four newspapers from Gannett Media for $410 million
The four newspaper companies are: Gannett Satellite Information Network, (which publishes the Norwich Bulletin); Rockford Newspapers (Rockford Register Star); Gannett Co. (Observer Dispatch); and Gannett River States Publishing (Huntington Herald-Dispatch).
Seller financial advisor: Internal
Buyer financial advisor: Not Disclosed
Seller legal advisors: Internal
Buyer legal advisors: Sherman & Howard
Jarden Corp. to buy Pure Fishing Inc. from Whitney & Co for $400 million
Whitney will receive $300 million in cash and $100 million in five-year notes—with a 2 percent coupon and warrants exercisable into Jarden common stock with a strike price of $45.32 per share.
Seller financial advisor: Not Available
Buyer financial advisor: Not Available
Seller legal advisors: Kirkland & Ellis
Buyer legal advisors: Kaye Scholer
Allen Systems Group to buy Mobius Management Systems for $186 million
In the deal, Mobius wil be paid $197 million in cash and receive 19.61 millions shares of Allen Systems common stock, valued at approximately $10.05 per share.
Seller financial advisor: Jefferies & Co.
Buyer financial advisor: Halyard Capital Advisors
Seller legal advisors: Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel; Latham & Watkins (advising Jefferies
Buyer legal advisors: Carlton Fields
source: mergermarket