The S&P remains down 23% since the start of this year despite this week’s mini-rally, meaning some US buyers are bargain hunting well in advance of Black Friday.

Our very own Aldrin Brown wrote recently that the bear market is sending stock prices to compelling levels and causing many companies to fall into the price ranges of value-investing activist funds. Though shareholder activism will likely be handled discreetly, out of sight from the bystander.

The largest three transactions of the 209 deals added to Mergermarket this week all had a listed US target.

Largest of all was Kroger’s USD 24.6bn merger with local grocery store Albertsons, followed by the Hamm family’s bid for Continental Resources and BP’s purchase of Archaea Energy.

As discussed in last week’s newsletter, defensive sectors are hot and there are none hotter than logistics, a key pinch point driving inflation across the world. Sam Weisberg concedes, logistics M&A may drop some 50% from last year’s record USD 20.6bn – 2021 being the strongest year for M&A over the past 20 years – but remains robust against historical data.

James Ward in Charlottesville interviewed Varun Badhwar, CEO and co-founder of Endor Labs – a technology startup focused on securing software supply chains. Serial entrepreneur Badhwar says he builds businesses at a “hyper scale”.

In Europe, returning to the grocery theme, Ryan Gould, Kezia Joseph, Francesca Veronesi, Joao Grando, and Josh O’Neill learned that refreshed bids are due at the end of October for IFF’s sale of Frutarom Savory Solutions.

And back to tech, Cristiano Dalla Bona interviewed business smartphone and tablet rental company Everphone’s CFO Veronika von Heise-Rotenburg, who talked about the possibility of an IPO or a private sale in around two years

In Asia, Lizzie Ko and Mick Basa revealed that Everstone is in the market for a slice of the action, reviving the sale process for the operator of Domino’s Pizza in Indonesia.

Jacob Parry in Brussels analyses the impact of the EU’s pending foreign subsidies regulation on private equity deal-making. If sponsor returns have been a leveraged play on low interest rates these past 15-20 years, tighter financing and increased paperwork will separate true value drivers from those along for the ride.

And finally, congratulations to the winners of our Australian M&A awards, which took place in Sydney yesterday.

Lucinda Guthrie

Executive Editor, Mergermarket

Lucinda.Guthrie@iongroup.com

News & analysis

Supply chain woes: Logistics M&A drops as demand falls
DATA INSIGHT AMERICAS
The early days of the pandemic were a boon for online shopping, putting pressure on global supply chains. That led to soaring freight rates and profits for logistics firms, with many capitalizing on frothy valuations to take dealmaking in 2021 to...

Endor Labs likely to seek more capital before eventual IPO, CEO says
INTERVIEW AMERICAS
Endor Labs, a technology startup focused on securing software supply chains, has at least two years’ worth of runway following its recent...

IFF attracts Triton, PAI, CapVest in sale of Frutarom Savory Solutions – sources
BREAKING NEWS GLOBAL
Triton Partners, PAI Partners and CapVest are part of a group of suitors planning to submit refresh bids for International Flavors & Fragrances' [NYSE:IFF] food ingredients division...

Everphone envisages IPO or sale in two years, plans M&A and asset-backed financing - CFO
INTERVIEW EMEA
Everphone, a provider of smartphone and tablet rentals for business customers, is exploring the possibility of an IPO or a private sale in around two years, CFO Veronika von Heise-Rotenburg...

Everstone revives sale of Domino’s and Burger King in Moelis-run process – sources
BREAKING NEWS APAC
Everstone has revived the sale process of its investee Dom Pizza Indonesia, which operates Domino’s Pizza in Indonesia, four sources familiar with...

CADE's unprecedented conviction of telcos creates burden for consortia in public procurement processes - lawyers
BREAKING NEWS APAC
Airwallex, an Australian cross-border business payments services provider, is expected to raise more than the planned amount from its Series E extension due to...

Upcoming Events

15-17 NOVEMBER 2022 | SINGAPORE
35th AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum
Asia's premier private equity & venture event for the last 35 years

1 DECEMBER 2022 | MIAMI
Debtwire Restructuring Forum - Miami
The must-attend event for the US restructuring community!

6 DECEMBER 2022 | HONG KONG
Mergermarket M&A Forum - Hong Kong
The premier M&A forum in Hong Kong

6 DECEMBER 2022 | LONDON
Mergermarket M&A Awards 2022 - Europe
Recognising the best in the M&A community!

Watch on Demand

19 OCTOBER 2022 | MILAN
Panel discussion – Deal activity in Italy: Energy and Technology as drivers for growth