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Harbour Energy fails in $10.8B Australian buyout bid

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Harbour Energy fails in $10.8B Australian buyout bid

S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of global private equity news stories and more published throughout the week.

M&A fallout

* Private equity-backed Harbour Energy Ltd.'s US$10.8 billion sweetened bid to buy out Santos Ltd. fell through amid escalating oil prices. The Australian oil and gas producer turned down the offer, saying it does not reflect the company's full valuation.

Top-dollar deals

* Blackstone Group LP, through affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII, agreed to acquire LaSalle Hotel Properties in an all-cash deal valued at US$4.8 billion, or US$33.50 per share, outbidding a US$32.49-per-share proposal from Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, a peer of LaSalle in the hotel space.

The proposed LaSalle buyout is the latest in Blackstone's quest to take real estate investment trusts private. The private equity giant is in the process of acquiring primarily industrial REIT Gramercy Property Trust and just closed its C$3.8 billion purchase of Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust. The LaSalle deal comes a few days after Blackstone sold its remaining stake in hotel giant Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.

* Private equity funds managed by Blackstone and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s merchant banking division agreed to sell Ipreo Holdings LLC, a financial services solutions and data provider, to IHS Markit Ltd. for roughly US$1.86 billion. The acquisition should broaden IHS Markit's alternatives data footprint, Chairman and CEO Lance Uggla said on a call.

* HgCapital Trust plc is joining forces with Intermediate Capital Group PLC to invest in IRIS Software Group Ltd. The deal, which values the British business software provider at about £1.3 billion, is the largest such private equity-led buyout in the U.K. and the third-largest in Europe, according to HgCapital.

* Sony Corp.'s Sony Corp. of America agreed to acquire Mubadala Investment Co.'s 60% stake in EMI Music Publishing for US$1.9 billion. In a release, Adib Mattar, head of private equity for Mubadala Capital and Chairman of EMI Music Publishing, said the sale represents a milestone for Mubadala and its private equity business.

In the works

* Cerberus Capital Management LP hired two investment banks to help the New York-based private equity firm evaluate a sale of defense contractor DynCorp International Inc. A potential deal could be worth more than US$1.3 billion, undisclosed sources told Reuters.

* Cerberus and diversified REIT Colony NorthStar Inc. reportedly are vying to potentially acquire the private equity business of United Arab Emirates-based Abraaj Group Ltd. The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, pegged the value of a potential deal at up to US$600 million.

Capital commitments

* Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is set to raise US$10 billion in its latest funding round that includes investors outside China, including Carlyle Group LP, Silver Lake Partners, Warburg Pincus LLC and BlackRock Inc., unnamed sources told the Financial Times.

* Macquarie Infrastructure Partners Inc., an investment fund managed by Macquarie Group Ltd. unit Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, raised US$3.84 billion for its fourth fund.

* Private equity firm Rockpoint Group is seeking more than US$2 billion for its third lower-risk real estate fund, with a roughly US$1 billion first closing expected in the summer, according to PERE News.

* DIF Management BV pulled in €1.9 billion for its unlisted infrastructure fund, surpassing its €1.5 billion target and €1.75 billion original hard cap.

* Primavera Capital Group, a Beijing-based private equity firm, drummed up US$490.5 million for its third U.S. dollar-denominated fund.

The VC beat

* Innovation Endeavors raised US$333.5 million for the Innovation Endeavors III LP fund. The venture capital house, which was co-founded by former Google Inc. CEO and former Alphabet Inc. Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, targets early and expansion-stage investments in the fintech sector.

* Insurance technology investment volume rose to US$724 million across 66 deals in the first quarter, up 155% from the same period in 2017, as investors form hybrid models that seek to mix the best aspects of traditional and incumbent insurer/reinsurer venture capital strategies, according to Willis Towers Watson's latest Quarterly InsurTech Briefing.

Movers and shakers

* Private equity firm Carlyle tapped Robby Winarta as managing director and Long Hoang as director for its Asian private equity platform. Winarta hails from Credit Suisse Group AG, where he was most recently head of Indonesia investment banking coverage.

* JPMorgan Chase & Co. tapped Mahir Zaimoglu, the bank's London-based managing director, for the newly created role of head of financial sponsors mergers and acquisitions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as the bank seeks to capitalize on the growing number of private equity transactions. Zaimoglu will also be deputy head of the bank's financial sponsors group, according to Financial News, which cited an internal memo.

Sector intelligence

Banking: Credit union growth continues as total membership passes 114 million

Energy: BP's latest investment another step toward M&A in battery minerals

Fintech: Blockchain needs a black box

Healthcare: As genetic testing companies look to enter the medical arena, criticism grows

Insurance: New EU data privacy rules spur questions, concerns in cyber liability space

Media and communications: More regulation, increased trust pushes more users into public clouds

Metals: Greenfields key to gold's future, says St Barbara CEO

Real estate: Multifamily REITs eye mile-high growth for Denver's apartment market

Retail, consumer products, gaming and leisure: UK grocery delivery company Ocado seen facing challenges in the US market