Good morning Eurohubsters, it’s Nina Lindholm here, writing the Friday Dealflow for the first time.
We’ve had bit of a recurring sports theme on here recently that looks like it’ll continue a little longer. While I can’t claim to be a football fan like my colleagues at PE Hub Europe, there is further activity in European football today I must mention. I’ll balance it with some communications infrastructure, gardening and baked goods.
Hungry for more. Silver Lake has increased its stake in Manchester City Football Club with the acquisition of a 4.1 percent share in parent company City Football Group from China Media Capital. The deal takes Silver Lake’s holding up to 14.5 percent, making it the second largest shareholder in the business, right behind Abu Dhabi-based Newton Investment and Development.
The Silicon Valley-based Silver Lake bought its original 10 percent stake in CFG for $500 million in 2019, valuing the business at $4.8 billion.
Instant changes. Sticking with the sports theme, TGI Sport, a global sports technology, media and marketing company jointly owned by Bruin Capital and Quadrant Private Equity, announced the acquisition of Interregional Sports Group (ISG).
London-headquartered ISG specialises in rights sales, content creation and distribution of virtual media through live sporting events and works with clients including Serie A, La Liga and Formula 1. The deal is the first add-on by TGI since Bruin backed it in spring 2021.
“We are thrilled about this acquisition because it is emblematic of how we plan to grow TGI going forward,” said TGI Sport’s global CEO Martin Jolly. “Instantly, our business enters a new sector – one that many believe is the future of live sports media and advertising.”
Seeking a connection. Multiple private equity firms are competing to buy a stake in Vodafone’s $13 billion mobile towers business Vantage Towers, sources told Bloomberg. KKR, Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT are reportedly all interested in a holding in the Frankfurt-listed business.
According to the report, Vodafone has not decided on the size of the stake it plans to sell, but the interested firms are eager to snatch a majority holding. Vodafone holds approximately 82 percent, the report said.
Newbury-based Vodafone spun off its European mobile towers in 2019 with the aim of providing infrastructure services to other operators to attract third party investment. Vantage’s portfolio consists of more than 82,000 sites across 10 countries.
Mowing the way. Autumn may be on its way, but some PE firms still seem to be in a summery mood. Genesis Capital, alongside SPM Investment Group, announced a minority investment in Hecht Motors, a supplier and manufacturer of garden machinery and equipment. The Mukařov, Czech Republic-based Hecht has achieved 15 percent to 20 percent annual growth in recent years.
“Hecht is a dynamic company with a unique business model combining a comprehensive and attractive product portfolio with a large, branded retail network, supported by online sales channels and wholesale distribution channels,” said Martin Viliš, partner at Genesis Capital. “This business strategy creates various expansion and growth opportunities.”
Genesis Capital is a private equity group that invests in Central European SMEs. It was founded in 1999, is based in Prague and has six private equity funds with total assets above €350 million.
A sweet deal. One of my favourite fresh deals reported by my colleague David Wansboro must be FSN Capital Partners buying German bakery group Bäcker Görtz via its FSN Capital VI fund. Bäcker Görtz is a Ludwigshafen, Germany-based bakery chain that has a network of approximately 200 branches. Owners the Görtz family founded the firm in 1963.
As part of the deal, Peter and Frank Görtz will continue as co-CEOs and retain a minority stake. The investment by FSN is in line with the firm’s approach to support founder led businesses in their next stage of growth.
“We look forward to supporting the two founder CEOs in growing their business organically and through M&A – and bringing the Görtz system into further regions in Germany,” said Robin Mürer, co-managing partner at FSN Capital Partners. “Eating out-of-home is a consumer macrotrend that will drive market growth for many years to come, and Bäcker Görtz is well-positioned to serve this need.”
Not sure if writing about a bakery was the best move this morning, as now I could go for some pastries.
That’s all from me. Craig McGlashan will be back with the next Dealflow on Tuesday. PE Hub Europe will be quiet on Monday in observance of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Cheers,
Nina
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