by Amy-Jo Crowley and Ryan Gould in London
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been mandated as global coordinators (glocos) on Springer Nature’s planned IPO, two sources close to the situation and a banker following it told this news service. The syndicate has six banks in total, the two sources said, with the first adding that BNP Paribas and Citi are among the mandated banks.

by Amy-Jo Crowley in London
Dutch trust administrator Intertrust is focusing on bolt-on acquisitions, but will target larger deals after it lowers its leverage over the next year, CEO Stephanie Miller told Mergermarket.   The company is looking at present on bolt-on acquisition targets in the US, Europe and Asia valued at EUR 15m or less, Miller said. Ideal targets would

by Dane Hamilton in New York and Claire Rychlewski in Chicago
The late-stage sale process for West Coast dental practice management group Smile Brands is struggling to cross the finish line, said three sources familiar with the matter.   Smile and its private equity backer Gryphon Investors rejected a low double-digit EBITDA multiple bid from auction front runner Apax Partners late last month, two of the sources

by Béranger Guille in London
Global M&A activity in 2019 was down 6.9% on the exceptional 2018 vintage to USD 3.33tn (across 19,322 deals), according to Mergermarket Global & Regional M&A Report 2019 (with League Tables on Financial and Legal Advisors).  

Troy Hooper in Los Angeles
Web.com Group is not finished divesting its non-core businesses as it enters the second year under Siris Capital’s stewardship, CEO Sharon Rowlands said.   When it was listed, the Jacksonville, Florida-based company became bloated with “a lot of random things not core to the business,” said Rowlands, who joined the company in February. Siris took

by Hanna Gezelius and Carl-Johan Kullving
Swedish private equity firm Priveq has mandated Carnegie to oversee the exit of its Norway-based eHealth company CSAM, four sources familiar with the situation said.   The process is in the early stages and information memoranda are due just before Christmas, two of the sources said. Indicative bids are expected to be submitted in January, two of

SpaceX, a privately owned rocket company founded by Elon Musk, is actively raising up to USD 730m in new capital to fund its Starlink constellation project, according to two sources familiar with the matter.   The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) is leading the raise, which will value SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies,

by Dayna Fields in Los Angeles
​ Dinner concepts may be complementary   Could partner with PE to accelerate global expansion   ​The Wendy's Company could consider M&A opportunities in Europe if a deal were to bolster its upcoming expansion throughout the continent, CEO Todd Penegor told this news service.   The US-based company is entering the UK

by Rupert Cocke in Madrid
I Squared Capital could look at breaking up T-Solar in order to facilitate the sale of the Spain-based renewable energy portfolio company, a source familiar with the situation, two sector bankers and an infrastructure buysider said.   With both photovoltaic and solar thermal assets, and a footprint spread across six countries, the company is more

Dane Hamilton, Claire Rychlewski and Bhavna Kaul
The auction for Gryphon Investors-backed Smile Brands, a major West Coast dental practice management group, has narrowed down to a few potential buyers in the second round of its sale process, according to four sources familiar with the matter. Private equity firms Apax Partners and TSG Consumer Partners appear to be the most active in vying for