Affinity aims to take Lock&Lock private; Clearlake boosts Blackbaud bid

S&P Global Market Intelligence presents In Play Today, a periodic summary of potential private equity deal activity, including rumored transactions. This summary is based on information obtained on a best-efforts basis and may not be inclusive of all potential deal activity.

– Affinity Equity Partners plans to take Seoul-listed kitchen household product manufacturer Lock&Lock Co. Ltd. private, The Korea Times reported, citing a public tender offer issued by the private equity firm. Affinity, which already holds a 69% stake in Lock&Lock, aims to acquire approximately 13.1 million shares to obtain full ownership of the company before delisting it, the report added.

– Mizuho Bank Ltd. and Emirates NBD Bank PJSC lead the competition to acquire KKR & Co. Inc.'s roughly 63% stake in India-based financial services firm Avendus Capital Pvt. Ltd., The Hindu Business Line reported, citing sources. Both suitors are conducting due diligence and are likely to submit bids for the Avendus stake in two to three weeks, the report added.

– Madison Dearborn Partners LLC and a consortium comprising TowerBrook Capital Partners (UK) LLP and Embedded Finance Ltd., trading as Railsr, are both conducting due diligence on the potential acquisition of Equals Group PLC, a London-based developer of scalable payment platforms, according to a statement issued by the company's board. The deadline for Madison and the consortium to announce whether they intend to make offers was recently extended to May 15.

– TAQA Arabia SAE is discussing a potential takeover of Naturgy Energy Group SA from the Madrid-based natural gas utility's three largest shareholders, CVC Capital Partners Ltd., Global Infrastructure Management LLC and Criteria Caixa SA, Reuters reported, citing earlier reporting by Cinco Dias. Criteria owns a roughly 26.7% stake in Naturgy, and CVC and Global each own about 20%, the report added.

– Clearlake Capital Group LP revived an offer to buy out Blackbaud Inc. at an improved cash bid of $80 per share, a deal that would value the cloud software provider at $4.13 billion, SeeNews reported, citing a filing with the SEC. Clearlake, which holds an 18.2% stake in the business, offered to take Blackbaud private at $71 per share in 2023 but was rejected, the report added.

– Potential bidders for UK-based electrical distribution network operator Electricity North West Ltd. include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a consortium formed by KKR & Co. Inc. and APG Algemene Pensioen Groep NV, Engie SA, and Iberdrola SA, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Electricity North West investors include Equitix Investment Management Ltd. and The Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc., each of which controls a 40% stake.

– ChrysCapital plans to exit its investment in healthcare business outsourcing company GeBBS Healthcare Solutions Inc., The Economic Times reported, citing multiple people aware of the development. A deal could value GeBBS at $800 million to $1 billion, the report added.

– Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is in late-stage negotiations to acquire a majority stake in Castlelake LP, Financial Times of London reported, citing three people briefed on the matter. Brookfield could invest more than $1.5 billion to acquire a stake in the private credit specialist, the report added.

– Platinum Equity LLC is weighing the potential sale of Spanish waste management company Urbaser SA, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Likely to attract bids from large infrastructure funds and other financial investors, a deal could value Urbaser at $6.4 billion or more, the report added.

To view potential M&A in other regions, click here.