Wittington Investments, the holding company of Canada’s Weston family, has agreed to acquire Boots from Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family in an $8.9bn transaction including assumed debt. The deal gives the private equity firm an exit from the British pharmacy retailer little more than a year after taking its former parent Walgreens Boots Alliance private. Wittington is partnering with Fairfax Financial Holdings, which has agreed to provide up to $2.3bn of equity and will own 50% of Boots following completion. Wittington will retain operational control, with Galen Weston becoming chairman. The transaction covers Boots’ UK and Ireland retail operations, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchise businesses, while Sycamore and the Pessina family will retain the group’s German and Mexican interests.
BT Group has acquired the consumer and wholesale operations of debt-laden TalkTalk through pre-pack administrations, bringing an end to a prolonged attempt to find a buyer for the business. BT expects a total cash impact of about £400m, including transaction costs and other associated payments, rather than that figure representing solely the acquisition consideration. The deal transfers about 900 employees and protects services for roughly 2.5 million consumer and wholesale customers. TalkTalk had been taken private by Toscafund in 2021 and subsequently became heavily dependent on financing from creditors including Ares Management. Sky News reported that Ares was expected to receive about £100m from the transaction, with KKR, which acted as securitisation agent, receiving roughly £60m.
Brookfield has acquired a 10.5 million sq ft industrial and logistics portfolio from ESR, marking its entry into India’s industrial and logistics property sector. Brookfield has committed ₹4,300 crore, equivalent to about $450m, towards the acquisition and future development of the assets, according to the company’s announcement reported by Bloomberg. The portfolio comprises eight Grade A industrial parks spread across about 400 acres in six metropolitan clusters, including Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Chennai and Kolkata. The operating assets are 98% leased and include manufacturing, fulfilment and warehousing facilities. ESR will continue managing the portfolio in the near term. Brookfield manages about $33bn of assets across India, including more than $13bn of real estate investments.
Sojourner Consumer Partners has announced a $279m merger between portfolio company Lornamead Products and AMG Brands, creating a combined personal care and household products business called LPNA Group. The transaction brings together established consumer brands including Yardley London, Finesse, Aqua Net, Lypsyl, Wizard, Handi-Wrap and Scrub Free. Sojourner senior partner Rob DesMarais will serve as chairman of the combined business, which is intended to benefit from a broader range of manufacturing, sourcing and marketing capabilities. The transaction represents a significant platform combination for the consumer-focused investment firm.
Engineering simulation software developer Vinci4D has raised $250m in a Series B financing led by Advent International, Temasek and Xora, according to reporting by technology publication SiliconANGLE. The investment values the business at $1.5bn, with AMD Ventures among the additional investors. Vinci4D develops simulation technology used by hardware engineers to test designs and identify potential problems before physical production. The investment reflects growing private capital interest in engineering software and technologies intended to accelerate industrial product development.
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