Fisker car is going public via merger

Spartan Energy (SPAQ), a blank check company backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management (APO), announced a deal for the Fisker car company, which makes electric vehicles.

Fisker plans to go public via a merger with Spartan Energy in a deal valuing the electric vehicle startup at $2.9 billion, the companies said Monday. In addition, the companies expect to close the deal in Q4 this year. Reuters first reported talks between the companies Thursday.

Meanwhile, the proposed deal provides funding needed for the first Fisker car, the Ocean luxury electric SUV, to reach the market in 2022.

Henrik Fisker launched the eponymous company in 2016 after an earlier automotive venture went bankrupt, costing taxpayers $139 million.

The now-defunct business produced a luxury plug-in hybrid electric Fisker car. But the company discontinued the car, called Karma, due to poor sales.

Soon-To-Be Fisker Car Stock
Shares of Spartan Energy reversed sharply lower to close down 9.8% at 15.06 on the stock market today after surging more than 17% earlier. Tesla (TSLA) also caused whiplash and fell 3.1% after jumping 11% earlier on reports it's dropping the price of its Model Y crossover Sunday. Tesla also canceled a low-end version of its newest electric vehicle Monday.

The Fisker car company is coming public in a hot market for electric cars. Nikola (NKLA) first attracted attention in June by going public through a sale to a blank check company, or special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Nikola's successful business model was quickly adopted by Hyliion, which agreed to merge with Tortoise Acquisition (SHLL). They will create a new company called Hyliion Holdings. And it will trade under the ticker "HYLN."

Blank check companies have been snapping up startups making electric cars as investors hunt for the next Tesla.

A SPAC or blank check company is a shell entity with no commercial operations, formed expressly to raise capital for buying an existing business. Investors bid up SPAC shares hoping to unlock value when the two companies merge.

ADT is planning a $2 billion IPO

ADT’s private-equity owner, Apollo, will continue to own most of the company’s shares after its return to the public market

The Boca Raton, Fla.–based ADT is planning to offer 111.1 million shares priced at $17 to $19, to raise about $2 billion at the midpoint of the estimated range. The company is planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “ADT.”

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, RBC, Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse are joint bookrunning managers on the deal, with eight other firms acting as co-managers. The deal is expected to price next week, according to data firm Ipreo.

Proceeds will be used to redeem debt, as well for the catchall “general corporate purposes,” which includes growth initiatives, according to ADT.

Apollo Global Management APO, +0.14%  , which took the company private in February 2016 in a $6.9 billion leveraged buyout, will continue to own the majority of the shares, making ADT a “controlled company” under NYSE rules. That means Apollo continues to call the shots.

It has roots in the 19th century
ADT was created in 1874 as American District Telegraph, harnessing what was the leading communications technology of the time. From there, the company advanced to the call box, a system that allowed signals to be transmitted by a watchman to alert the police, say, or the fire department of the need for assistance. In the 1900s, the company came under the control of AT&T (T), starting its switch to the signal business that was the first iteration of its security service. In 1940, it introduced the ultrasonic burglar alarm along with a fire-detection system. In 1969, the company went public for the first time on the NYSE.

It’s a big player in its market
ADT, which has grown through acquisitions, including most recently of Protection One and ASG, describes itself as the leading provider of security and monitoring services in the U.S. and Canada. The company estimates that it’s about five times bigger than the next largest residential alarm competitor, Vivint Home Security, measured by revenue, with a roughly 30% market share.

The company may have exposure to a surprising liability

One of the risk factors mentioned in the prospectus is the company’s liability for obligations of the Brink’s Co., thanks to its acquisition of a business formerly owned by Brink’s called Broadview Security. That business is subject to the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992, meaning it must cover the costs of health-care coverage for retired workers suffering from coal-related ailments.

Brink’s has created a Voluntary Employee’s Beneficiary Association trust to cover those liabilities, and Brink’s has agreed to indemnify the business for any and all liabilities stemming from its former coal operations. However, if Brink’s and the trust “are unable to satisfy all such obligations, we could be held liable, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows,” says the prospectus.

Apollo Global Preparing IPO for 2017 ADT

• Offering could value home-security company at more than $15 billion
• Apollo purchased Protection 1 and ASG Security in 2015, combined them, and then used that company to acquire ADT for about $7B last year.
• ADT did an $800M dividend recap in February.

Presidio (PSDO) began trading on Nasdaq on 10 March 2017

 Technology unicorn Presidio (PSDO) began its first day of trading Friday by debuting below its offer price, showing subdued investor reaction following the more splashy initial public offering of Snapchat operator Snap (SNAP).

Late Thursday, Presidio raised $233 million, pricing 16.7 million shares at 14 each and the low end of its estimated range of 14-to-16. Presidio stock opened at 13.50 on the stock market today, climbed as high as 14.36, closing up 1.8% at 14.25.

Apollo Global Management holds a majority of the shares in Presidio.

Presidio specializes in digital infrastructure, cloud computing and security solutions, with about 7,000 business and government customers. For the fiscal year ended June 30, Presidio reported revenue of $2.7 billion, up 14%, and a net loss of $3.4 million, vs. a net loss of $29.4 million the previous fiscal year. It competes against information technology giants such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), IBM (IBM) and Accenture (ACN).

Presidio came to market with a valuation of about $1.3 billion, making it the first tech unicorn to go public since the much-larger Snap did last week.

The Fresh Market (TFM) to be sold to Apollo Global Management (APO)

New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management has agreed to purchase The Fresh Market for $1.36 billion, the two companies said Monday.

News of the deal follows weeks of speculation about which of a number of suitors may end up acquiring Greensboro, N.C.-based The Fresh Market (Nasdaq: TFM), a specialty grocery retailer with nearly 200 stores in 27 states.

Among those said to have an interest in The Fresh Market was Cincinnati-based Kroger, with word leaking on Feb. 10 that Kroger was in the second round of an auction process that also attracted other companies and private equity firms. Kroger (NYSE: KR) is the nation’s largest operator of traditional supermarkets.

The cash tender offer puts a value on the company of $28.50 per share, or about 24 percent above what shares closed at last Friday, and more than 50 percent above what they were trading at in early February when speculation began that The Fresh Market might be sold.

The deal with Apollo was approved unanimously by The Fresh Market's board of directors, though Ray Berry, who founded the grocery retailer in 1982 and serves as chairman, recused himself from board discussions about the deal and from the vote on Apollo's offer.

Additionally, The Fresh Market can solicit alternative acquisition proposals through April 1.

The sale of The Fresh Market comes nearly six years after a 2010 initial public offering that was part of the company's plans to aggressively expand nationwide. At the time The Fresh Market went public, it had 95 stores in 19 Eastern and Midwestern states.

Record sales in 2011 were followed by further westward expansion in 2012, a year when the company said it planned to open 16 stores including an entry into California.
By late 2012, shares of The Fresh Market hit a peak of more than $62 and the Berry family and top executives had significantly reduced their stake in the company, with the sale in the middle of that year of a combined 10 million shares.

U.S. Silica Holdings (SLCA) started trading on the NYSE in Feb 2012

• Update  July 31, 2024:  U.S. Silica has been acquired by Apollo Global Management (APO) for $1.85 billion.

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Frac sand producer U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (SLCA, $12.92, +$1.10, +9.31%), which declined nearly 6% on its debut in February and is still trading below its IPO price of $17 a share.

Apollo goes ahead with IPO, but cuts price

Apollo Global Management, the private-equity firm headed by Leon Black, has bounced back so well from some embarrassing leveraged buyouts that it now plans to go public, like its rivals Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Leon Black

New York-based private equity giant Apollo Global Management has pressed ahead with its planned initial public offering (IPO), but cut its price range compared to earlier estimates.

The firm will now seek to sell 26.3 million shares at between $17 and $19 each, and will trade under the ticker symbol APO, according to a filing with US regulators.

Earlier reports put it on the point of announcing an $18 to $20 per share range last week, but the filing was delayed as stock markets tumbled after Japan’s earthquake and nuclear accident. At the mid-point of the new range, the offering will raise $473m.

Eighteen million shares will be sold by Apollo itself, with the remaining 8.3 million coming from existing stakeholders including Goldman Sachs, which is also among the underwriters.

The shares on sale represent only a fraction of the firm’s total equity, which is valued at $2.1bn. It has $67bn in assets under management.

Founders Leon Black, Josh Harris and Marc Rowan retain majority ownership of Apollo and control the company through a single Class B share, giving them 81 per cent of voting rights.

In a separate filing on the same day, Apollo Residential Mortgage, an investor in residential mortgage-backed securities and managed by an Apollo subsidiary, filed for an IPO, hoping to raise $300m.

When it goes public, Apollo will join two of the biggest private equity firms – Blackstone, which went public in June 2007, and KKR, which followed in July last year. Peers like Carlyle, TPG and Oaktree Capital Management are expected to follow.

Leon Black's Apollo Global Management is likely to score nicely in its initial public offering. Here's how it stacks up against two big rivals.

	Recent	EPS		P/E	Tangible	Mkt
Company/Ticker	Price	'10E	'11E	'11E	Book / Share	Val (bil)
Apollo Global/APO	$18.00*	$3.00	$2.00	9.0	$4.00	$6.4
Blackstone/BX	18.56	1.26	1.59	11.9	4.35	21.0
KKR/KKR	17.64	1.90	2.09	8.4	8.38	12.2
*Mid-point of IPO pricing range. E=Estimate. Sources: Bloomberg; Company reports; Barron's

Although the firm has had some notable failures, its overall private-equity record is excellent.
Managed	Total	Fee-	Historic
Assets	(bil)	Paying (bil)	Performance*
Private Equity	$38.8	$27.9	26%
Capital Markets	22.3	16.5	NA
Real Estate	6.5	2.7	NA
Total	67.6	47.1
*Annualized return since 1990 inception. NA=Not Available. Source: Company reports