Mergers and Acquisitions in July 2022
Business Intelligence, Bureau Van Dijk, recorded an impressively busy trading month in M&A with 155 transactions in July, highlighting a noteworthy increase of 35% from the last month. Overseas acquirers for July also experienced an increase of 12% with 55 deals recorded for this trading period.
The largest transaction of the month was the £1.4 billion acquisition of GRP (Jersey) Holdco Ltd by Brown & Brown UK Holdco Ltd. GRP was founded in 2013 and with an annual revenue of around US$340 million, the company has grown rapidly to become one the UK’s largest independent insurance intermediaries. It operates retail broking, specialist MGA, network and Lloyds businesses, enabling it to serve the growing insurance and risk management needs of its clients. Brown & Brown is quoted on NYSE and is the fifth largest independent insurance brokerage in the USA. They provide risk management solutions via four business segments: retail, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. They also offer insurance products and services to businesses, corporations, governmental institutions, professional organisations, trade associations, families, and individuals.
Another significant deal recorded for the month was the £1.2 billion acquisition of BenevolentAI Ltd by Odyssey Acquisition SA. CEO of BenevolentAI, Joanna Shields commented on the deal, “Our AI platform empowers scientists to leverage biomedical and experimental data at scale to understand the underlying causes of disease and develop more effective medicines faster. Every drug in our pipeline of 20+ programmes has been generated by the Benevolent Platform, which has a proven track record of scientifically validated discoveries, both in-house and in partnership with leading pharmaceutical companies.”
Other higher value deals for this month include the acquisition of Vivo Energy plc by VIP II Blue BV for £1.2 billion; Theramex Healthcare Topco Ltd by The Carlyle Group LP for £1.2 billion; Equus UK Topco Ltd by Cargill Velocity Holdings Ltd for £667 million; Finalto Financial Services Ltd by Gopher Investments for £207 million; 888 Holdings plc’s Bingo Business by Saphalata Holdings Ltd for £37 million; and Pub Oceans Ltd assets by Perion Network Ltd for £18 million.
Go Superfoods Ltd was acquired by Humble Group AB for £17 million. Go Superfoods is a leading producer and supplier of premium organic and ecological superfood products. The Company offers a wide range of superfoods to retail customers and distributors under its own brands Green Origin, Rainforest Foods, and Puira, as well as offering ingredient wholesale and private label production. Go Superfoods is also the license holder for the brand ‘Sevenhills Wholefoods’ which products are sold directly to consumers online. Harry Singh, CEO and founder of Go Superfoods says, “I am delighted to announce that Go Superfoods will be joining the Humble Family. At Go Superfoods we’ve always strived to be a bridge connecting growers of superfoods in the developing world with European consumers looking to improve their health and wellbeing. Humble are the perfect partner for us to continue our journey with and we look forward to working with Simon and his team and Humble to accomplish our shared vision.”
Some of the overseas deals that took place during the reporting period include the acquisition of Todd & Duncan Kinross Ltd by Zheijang Xinao Textiles Inc.; Western Gold Exploration Ltd by Cassowary Capital Corporation Ltd; Render GG Ltd by YDX Innovation Corporation; UltraSoC Technologies Ltd Siemens AG; Community Fibre Ltd by Warburg Pincus LLC; and Longland Resources Ltd by Conico Ltd.
The building and construction sectors proved to be particularly busy during this trading period with a number of deals taking place. Few of these acquisitions include Texon International by Coats Group plc; Infinergy Ltd by Boralex Inc.; and Walker Sime Ltd by Otak Inc.
To conclude, M&A activity in July spans across a number of sectors, with some significant deals contributing to this month’s overall figure. The UK maintains appeal from both the UK and global buyers, with active public trade buyers and private equity investors.
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