Goldman hopes to net listed salmon farming services business; Phoenix invests in cybersecurity company

We have another take-private move to report for you this morning, this time in a sector that we haven’t covered too much on PE Hub Europe – salmon farming. Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the private equity firm involved.

Next, Phoenix Equity Partners takes a stake in a UK cybersecurity company, before we have a deal in the busy waste management sector to report – this time by CPP Investment Board Europe.

We then finish with a look at an acquisition of a data centres business by a portfolio company of I Squared Capital.

Fishing for deals

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is looking to make a move into the aquaculture business by taking a listed Norwegian company private via its infrastructure arm.

Frøy is a provider of services to Norwegian salmon farmers, with more than 900 employees and a fleet of 80 vessels, according to a statement. Its services include the transport, sorting and counting of fish, net cleaning, disease treatment and maintenance of salmon farming sites.

Goldman has agreed with NTS, a wholly owned subsidiary of salmon producer SalMar, to buy NTS’ entire holding in Frøy, which is about 72 percent of the company. If that move completes, then Goldman will make an unconditional mandatory cash offer for the rest of Frøy’s shares, which are listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

The agreement followed a strategic review, which found “strong interest from a broad field of reputable investors” for Frøy, according to the statement.

Goldman is offering Nkr76.50 and will offer at least the same to the other shareholders if the move reaches that stage. That would give a total consideration of all Frøy’s shares of around Nkr6.6 billion ($598 million; €560 million).

Investors look confident that the deal will go ahead, with Frøy’s share price jumping to Nkr74-Nkr75 this morning, just shy of the offer price, having been around Nkr70-Nkr72 last week.

That gives a premium of 50 percent to the closing price on 12 January, the last trading day before the announcement of the strategic review, and 30.5 percent to the six month average up to Friday. The Frøy board has unanimously recommended the offer and has agreed not to seek competing offers.

The sale is subject to approval from competition authorities. The parties expect it to complete in the third quarter of 2023.

“We are excited to invest in Frøy, as one of the leading companies providing mission-critical transportation and support infrastructure to the aquaculture industry,” said Tavis Cannell, global co-head of infrastructure, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a statement. “Wellboats and service vessels are vital to enabling best-in-class farming practices and Frøy is at the forefront of driving sustainability.”

DNB Markets is acting as financial advisor and Advokatfirmaet BAHR AS is acting as legal advisor to NTS and Frøy.

Goldman Sachs International, Nordea Corporate Finance and RBC Capital Markets are acting as financial advisors and Advokatfirmaet Thommessen and Linklaters are acting as legal advisors to Goldman.

Cybersecurity

From fishing to phishing, and Phoenix Equity Partners has made a growth investment in Logiq, a UK-based cybersecurity company.

Logiq is based in Bristol. Its market is growing at a rate of 20 percent per year, and its revenue has increased by a CAGR of over 60 percent since 2021, according to a release.

Phoenix will partner with Logiq’s founders, including James Morgan, CEO, to support Logiq’s growth plans.

Phoenix will assist in enhancing Logiq’s operational platform and support expansion into new end-markets, the release said.

“The UK’s public sector cybersecurity threat is well documented, and Logiq is playing a critical role in safeguarding the UK’s national digital infrastructure,” said Tim Dunn, partner at Phoenix.

Circular economy

We’ve been seeing a lot of action in the waste management sector of late, such as Cube Infrastructure Managers and Equitix Investment Management jointly acquiring a majority stake in RiverRidge Holdings and Energy Capital Partners taking Biffa private.

ECP partner Andrew Gilbert told me that the move to the circular economy was one of the reasons for ECP buying Biffa, and that seems to also be a factor in another new deal in the sector.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, via CPP Investment Board Europe, has agreed to acquire a 24.99 percent stake in FCC Medio Ambiente, a European waste management operator.

CPP Investments will pay €965 million for the stake.

FCC Medio is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It is the environmental services division of Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas.

“As major economies seek to meet circular economy objectives, businesses like FCC Medio Ambiente, with differentiated scale, reputation and technological expertise, are well-positioned to capture sustainable growth, providing an excellent long-term investment opportunity for CPP Investments,” said James Bryce, MD, global head of infrastructure, CPP Investments.

Data

nLighten, a digital infrastructure platform of I Squared Capital, has acquired Euclyde Data Centers, a French regional platform with six carrier-neutral data centres in Sophia Antipolis, Lyon, Strasbourg, Besançon and Paris.

nLighten will seek to further accelerate Euclyde’s record of entering new regional markets in France through accretive greenfield and M&A transactions, according to a release.