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Merger Arbitrage Mondays – WindAcre Doubles Its Stake In Nielsen Holdings (NLSN)

  • April 11, 2022

Merger activity decreased last week with three new deals announced and six deals completed.

Tivity Health (TVTY)

Originally known as American Healthways, Tivity Health was founded in 1981. The company provides fitness, health improvement and social engagement solutions through programs that include

  • SilverSneakers, a health and fitness program that provides gym access and fitness classes for members of Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and group retiree plans.
  • Prime Fitness, a nationwide network of of fitness locations, that offers basic multi-access to a wide range of gyms, sports facilities, specialty studios, through commercial health plans, employers, and other sponsoring organizations.
  • WholeHealth Living, a program that offers a continuum of services related to complementary, alternative, and physical medicine.

The company reviewed various strategic alternatives after receiving an unsolicited proposal from Stone Point Capital. Tivity’s Board agreed that Stone Point’s bid was best suited for the company and entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Stone Point on April 5, 2022 in an all cash deal worth $32.50 per share. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022.

This deal comes after Tivity went through a difficult two year period that began with the dismissal of the-then CEO Donato Tramuto, whose 2019 purchase of Nutrisystem resulted in a $287 million loss for the company. The new CEO Richard Ashworth sold Nutrisystem for $575 million, which was less than half of what the company had paid for it two years ago. Before joining Tivity, Mr. Ashworth served as Walgreens’ President and spent 30 years at Walgreens. Tivity, however rebounded after this setback and has done very well under Mr. Ashworth’s tenure.

Nielsen Holdings (NLSN)

Within a week of agreeing to be acquired by a private equity consortium, Nielsen Holdings is experiencing troubled waters.

WindAcre Partners, which owns a 9.6% stake in the company opposed the transaction on April 6, 2022. WindAcre had also stated that it would increase its stake in Nielsen, making the takeover more difficult. Between April 6 to April 8, Windacre bought over 31 million Nielsen shares, at prices ranging between $27.05 per share and $27.71 per share, for a total of over $870 million, bringing WindAcre’s investment in Nielsen to more than $1.6 billion and doubling its stake in Nielsen Holdings to 18.9%.

According to a report by Bloomberg, WindAcre said that it would offer its support to the deal if it received about another $1 billion in equity.

Change Healthcare (CHNG)

The acquisition of Change Healthcare (CHNG) by UnitedHealth Group (UNH) has been going through hurdles for almost a year now. A timeline of the DOJ’s investigation into this deal:

  • On May 6, 2021, The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) warned that UnitedHealth Group’s planned acquisition of Change Healthcare could stifle competition. The nonprofit wrote in a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that the deal was “likely to harm competition and consumers.”
  • On August 12, 2021, Change Healthcare and UnitedHealth Group entered into a timing agreement with the DOJ, agreeing to not consummate the merger before 120 days following the date on which both parties have certified substantial compliance with the Second Request unless they have received written notice from the DOJ before the end of the 120-day period, stating that the DOJ had closed its investigation of the pending Merger.
  • On November 1, 2021, the companies entered into an amendment to the Timing Agreement with the DOJ, once again agreeing not to consummate the merger before February 22, 2022, unless they had received written notice from the DOJ, before the given date stating that the DOJ had closed its investigation.
  • On December 9, 2021, UnitedHealth Group delivered written notice to Change Healthcare that it was exercising its unilateral right to extend the Outside Date to April 5, 2022.
  • On February 18, 2022, Change Healthcare and United Healthcare disclosed that the U.S. Dept of Justice had until February 27 to sue to block the transaction.
  • On February 24, 2022, Change Healthcare issued the following statement regarding the announcement that the DOJ intended to pursue litigation to block the proposed merger between the two companies: “We are aware and disappointed that DOJ has filed litigation to prevent Change Healthcare from closing our merger with UHG. As we previously disclosed, UHG extended our merger agreement through April 5, 2022. We will continue our support of UHG in working toward closing the merger as we comply with our obligations under the merger agreement.
  • The latest development to this deal came on April 5, 2022 with the companies agreeing to extend their merger agreement to December 31, 2022. As part of the extension, UHG will pay a $650 million termination fee to Change Healthcare if the merger is unable to be completed because of the court’s decision. Change Healthcare will pay a special cash dividend of $2.00 per share to its shareholders at or about the time of the closing.

We wrote to Change Healthcare’s investor relations team and they were able to confirm that the special dividend would only be paid out if the deal closes. We adjusted the price of the deal in our merger arbitrage tool to include this special dividend.

You can find all the active deals listed below in our Merger Arbitrage Tool (MAT) that automatically updates itself during market hours.

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Deals In The Works

There were five new deals announced in the Deals in the Works section last week.

SPAC Arbitrage

There was one new SPAC IPOs filed and three new SPAC combinations announced last week. One SPAC business combination was terminated last week.

You can find the new SPAC IPO announcements in our SPACs tool here.

  1. Hypebeast Limited, the go-to platform for contemporary culture and lifestyle and a premier destination for editorially-driven commerce and news, and Iron Spark I Inc. (ISAA), entered into a definitive merger agreement that is expected to result in Hypebeast acquiring Iron Spark and becoming dual-listed on NASDAQ and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
  2. Westrock Coffee Holdings announced its plan to go public via a business combination with Riverview Acquisition Corp. (RVAC).
  3. Caravelle Group, an ocean technology company providing international shipping services and a carbon-neutral solution for wood desiccation entered into a definitive merger agreement with Pacifico Acquisition (PAFO).

Terminated

  1. On April 5, 2022, MDH Acquisition (MDH) and Olive Ventures Holdings mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced agreement and plan of merger.

Weekly Spread Changes:

The table below shows weekly spread changes between April 1 and April 8, 2022.

SymbolQuoteAcquiring
Company
Acquiring
Company Quote
Current
Spread
Last Week
Spread
Spread Change
Weekly
Deal
Type
TEN17.7Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO)57.5612.99%9.41%3.58%All Cash
PTRS8.95OceanFirst Financial Corp. (OCFC)18.7415.98%13.57%2.41%Special Conditions
ZNGA9.02Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO)141.319.31%7.06%2.25%Special Conditions
MBII0.9701Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (BIOX)12.3512.03%10.00%2.03%All Stock
AZPN165Emerson Electric Co. (EMR)94.57-3.03%-4.17%1.14%Special Conditions
EXTN6.99Enerflex Ltd. (EFX.TO)8.873.09%4.94%-1.85%All Stock
POLY40.38HP Inc. (HPQ)38.63-0.94%1.09%-2.03%All Cash
EMCF38Farmers National Banc Corp. (FMNB)16.05-9.19%-2.72%-6.47%All Stock
PBIP15.96Fulton Financial Corporation (FULT)16.012.86%9.75%-6.89%Cash Plus Stock
SAVE26.25Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (ULCC)10.73-13.71%8.69%-22.40%Cash Plus Stock

Deal Statistics:

Total Number of Deals Closed in 202259
Total Number of Deals Not Completed in 20224
Total Number of Pending Deals
Cash Deals44
Stock Deals10
Stock & Cash Deals9
Special Conditions8
Total Number of Pending Deals71
Aggregate Deal Consideration$710.05 billion

New Deals:

  1. The acquisition of Tivity Health (TVTY) by funds managed by Stone Point Capital for $2 billion or $32.50 per share in cash.
  2. The acquisition of Tufin Software Technologies (TUFN) by Turn/River Capital for $570 million or $13.00 per share in cash.
  3. The acquisition of CDK Global (CDK) by Brookfield Business Partners for $8.3 billion or $54.87 per share in cash.

Deal Updates:

  1. On April 4, 2022, Citizens Financial Group (CFG) and Investors Bancorp (ISBC) announced that the expected close date of the previously announced merger between the two companies is April 6, 2022.
  2. On April 4, 2022, SOC Telemed (TLMD) announced that its stockholders approved the acquisition of SOC Telemed by Patient Square Capital.
  3. On April 4, 2022, the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”), expired in connection with the previously announced proposed merger between Volt Information Sciences (VOLT) and Vega Consulting.
  4. On April 5, 2022, Optum and Change Healthcare (CHNG) have agreed to extend their merger agreement to December 31, 2022. As part of the extension, Optum will pay a $650 million fee to Change Healthcare in the event the merger is unable to be completed because of the court’s decision. Change Healthcare will pay a special cash dividend of $2.00 per share to its shareholders at or about the time of the closing.
  5. On April 5, 2022, Spirit Airlines (SAVE) announced that it has received an unsolicited proposal from JetBlue Airways (JBLU) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Spirit’s common stock in an all-cash transaction for $33.00 per share.
  6. On April 6, 2022, Nielsen (NLSN) holder WindAcre 9.6% said it plans to take steps to block the sale of the TV measurement company to a private equity consortium.
  7. On April 7, 2022, The Board of Directors of Spirit Airlines (SAVE) determined that the unsolicited proposal received from JetBlue Airways (JBLU) could reasonably be likely to lead to a “Superior Proposal”. Spirit intends to engage in discussions with JetBlue with respect to JetBlue’s proposal.

Closed Deals:

  1. The acquisition of SPX FLOW (FLOW) by Lone Star Funds on April 5, 2022. It took 113 days for this deal to be completed.
  2. The acquisition of BP Midstream Partners (BPMP) by BP p.l.c. (BP) on April 5, 2022. It took 106 days for this deal to be completed.
  3. The acquisition of SOC Telemed (TLMD) by Patient Square Capital on April 6, 2022. It took 62 days for this deal to be completed.
  4. The acquisition of Investors Bancorp (ISBC) by Citizens Financial Group (CFG) on April 6, 2022. It took 252 days for this deal to be completed.
  5. The acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company (HMHC) by Veritas Capital on April 7, 2022. It took 44 days for this deal to be completed.
  6. The acquisition of Spirit of Texas Bancshares (STXB) by Simmons First National Corporation (SFNC) on April 8, 2022. It took 140 days for this deal to be completed.

Top 10 deals with largest spreads:

Please do your own due diligence on deals with large spreads. Some of these large spreads might be related to regulatory issues or because of the way the deal is structured. We classify some of these deals as “special conditions” deals in our merger arbitrage tool and provide additional details to help with the analysis. There may be unique situations related to special dividends, spinoffs, proration, etc. that need to be accounted for when looking at these spreads.

SymbolAnnounced
Date
Acquiring
Company
Closing
Price
Last
Price
Closing
Date
ProfitAnnualized
Profit
ATVI01/18/2022Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)$95.00$80.0906/30/202318.62%15.24%
CHNG01/06/2021UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)$27.75$23.7612/31/202216.79%23.13%
PTRS11/04/2021OceanFirst Financial Corp. (OCFC)$10.38$8.9506/30/202215.98%72.00%
WLL03/07/2022Oasis Petroleum Inc. (OAS)$91.88$80.3212/31/202214.40%19.83%
TEN02/23/2022Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO)$20.00$17.712/31/202212.99%17.90%
BRG12/20/2021Blackstone Real Estate (N/A)$29.85$26.5206/30/202212.56%56.58%
MBII03/16/2022Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (BIOX)$1.09$0.970109/30/202212.03%25.38%
ZNGA01/10/2022Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO)$9.86$9.0206/30/20229.31%41.96%
TSEM02/15/2022Intel Corporation (INTC)$53.00$48.5502/15/20239.17%10.76%
MILE11/08/2021Lemonade (LMND)$1.24$1.1406/30/20228.48%38.19%

List of all pending deals:

The list of all pending deals is only available to InsideArbitrage Premium and Plus members.

TargetAnnounced
Date
AcquirerDeal
Type
Closing
Value
Deal
Price
Last
Price
Target VolumeEstimated
Closing Date
ReturnAnnualized
Return
+TMX12/14/21Rentokil Initial plc (RTOKY)Special Conditions$6.7 B$55.00$45.73737,63512/31/2220.27%28.03%
+ATVI1/18/22Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)All Cash$68.7 B$95.00$80.093,045,3096/30/2318.62%15.27%
+CHNG1/06/21UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)All Cash$13.28 B$27.75$23.761,399,47212/31/2216.79%23.22%
+PTRS11/04/21OceanFirst Financial Corp. (OCFC)Special Conditions$186 M$10.38$8.951,7556/30/2215.98%72.90%
+WLL3/07/22Oasis Petroleum Inc. (OAS)Cash Plus Stock$2.82 B$91.88$80.32359,54212/31/2214.40%19.91%
+TEN2/23/22Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO)All Cash$7.1 B$20.00$17.7551,71412/31/2212.99%17.97%
+BRG12/20/21Blackstone Real Estate (N/A)Special Conditions$3.6 B$29.85$26.52288,6286/30/2212.56%57.29%
+MBII3/16/22Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (BIOX)All Stock$236 M$1.09$0.9701497,2669/30/2212.03%25.53%
+ZNGA1/10/22Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO)Special Conditions$12.7 B$9.86$9.0220,889,2196/30/229.31%42.49%
+TSEM2/15/22Intel Corporation (INTC)All Cash$5.4 B$53.00$48.55714,6292/15/239.17%10.79%
+MILE11/08/21Lemonade (LMND)All Stock$201.47 M$1.24$1.14668,6406/30/228.48%38.67%
+SAFM8/09/21Cargill and Continental Grain Company (N/A)All Cash$4.49 B$203.00$188.92204,5326/30/227.45%34.00%
+FHN2/28/22The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)Special Conditions$13.4 B$25.00$23.44,034,66011/27/226.84%10.85%
+TGNA2/22/22Standard General L.P. (N/A)Special Conditions$8.6 B$24.00$22.511,591,66012/31/226.62%9.15%
+NPTN11/04/21Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE)All Cash$745.24 M$16.00$15.16190,85412/31/225.54%7.66%
+PNM10/21/20Avangrid, Inc. (AGR)All Cash$8.05 B$50.30$47.85349,4576/30/225.12%23.36%
+ATC7/01/21MKS Instruments, Inc. (MKSI)Cash Plus Stock$6.5 B$22.95$21.861,075,3239/30/225.01%10.63%
+SJI2/24/22Infrastructure Investments Fund (N/A)All Cash$8.1 B$36.00$34.47726,45412/31/224.44%6.14%
+CCMP12/15/21Entegris, Inc. (ENTG)Cash Plus Stock$6.5 B$182.26$175.29412,43512/31/223.98%5.50%
+MGI2/15/22Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (N/A)All Cash$1.8 B$11.00$10.592,801,16112/31/223.87%5.35%
+COHR3/25/21II-VI Incorporated (IIVI)Cash Plus Stock$6.84 B$279.35$269.11130,3785/31/223.81%27.78%
+HTA2/28/22Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (HR)Cash Plus Stock$10.74 B$32.72$31.631,523,3669/30/223.45%7.31%
+MNDT3/08/22Alphabet Inc. (GOOG)All Cash$5.4 B$23.00$22.253,952,58912/31/223.37%4.66%
+SJR3/15/21Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI)Special Conditions$26 B$32.40$31.35310,9806/30/223.35%15.28%
+VG11/22/21Ericsson (ERIC)All Cash$6.2 B$21.00$20.382,906,7506/30/223.04%13.88%
+CDR3/02/22Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. (WHLR)All Cash$291.3 M$29.00$28.18266,0036/30/222.91%13.28%
+MTOR2/22/22Cummins Inc. (CMI)All Cash$3.7 B$36.50$35.48632,30212/31/222.87%3.97%
+PBIP3/02/22Fulton Financial Corporation (FULT)Cash Plus Stock$142.1 M$16.42$15.966,5879/30/222.86%6.07%
+EXTN1/24/22Enerflex Ltd. (EFX.TO)All Stock$735 M$7.18$6.99428,0419/30/222.75%5.84%
+CTXS1/31/22Vista Equity Partners and Elliott Investment Management LP (N/A)All Cash$16.5 B$104.00$101.29521,9266/30/222.68%12.21%
+RNDB3/28/22Hometown Financial Group, Inc. (N/A)All Cash$146.5 M$27.00$26.3592,24912/31/222.47%3.41%
+SUMR3/16/22Kids2, Inc. (N/A)All Cash$97.44 M$12.00$11.763,2356/30/222.04%9.31%
+NSEC1/26/22VR Insurance Holdings, Inc. (N/A)All Cash$41.4 M$16.35$16.0699236/30/221.74%7.95%
+CERN12/20/21Oracle Corporation (ORCL)All Cash$28.4 B$95.00$93.41,114,61612/31/221.71%2.37%
+ROG11/02/21DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (DD)All Cash$5.2 B$277.00$272.35139,6816/30/221.71%7.79%
+GCP12/06/21Saint-Gobain (N/A)All Cash$2.3 B$32.00$31.5195,23012/31/221.59%2.19%
+FBC4/26/21New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYCB)All Stock$2.6 B$40.15$39.53246,8603/31/221.57%0.00%
+LHCG3/28/22Optum (N/A)All Cash$6.2 B$170.00$167.54473,41812/31/221.47%2.03%
+XENT8/06/21Medtronic plc (MDT)All Cash$1.1 billion$28.25$27.85262,8974/30/221.44%27.59%
+REGI2/28/22Chevron Corporation (CVX)All Cash$2.75 B$61.50$60.661,386,44412/31/221.38%1.91%
+FOE5/11/21Prince International Corporation (N/A)All Cash$2.1 B$22.00$21.7371,3166/30/221.38%6.31%
+OCDX12/23/21Quidel Corporation (QDEL)Cash Plus Stock$8.33 B$19.40$19.15731,4766/30/221.30%5.93%
+PLAN3/20/22Thoma Bravo (N/A)All Cash$10.7 B$66.00$65.164,361,7836/30/221.29%5.88%
+CNR3/07/22Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (N/A)All Cash$5.8 B$24.65$24.35809,1809/30/221.23%2.61%
+WBT7/14/21Ali Holding S.r.l. (N/A)All Cash$4.8 B$24.00$23.731,090,6016/30/221.14%5.19%
+IIN2/28/22Altaris Capital Partners, LLC (N/A)All Cash$183.22 M$24.25$23.99120,4796/30/221.08%4.94%
+NLSN3/29/22Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation (N/A)All Cash$16 B$28.00$27.7513,473,14412/31/220.90%1.25%
+MN4/01/22Callodine (N/A)All Cash$137.1 M$12.85$12.7457,3369/30/220.86%1.83%
+ESBK10/04/21Community Bank System, Inc. (CBU)All Cash$82.8 M$23.10$22.947033/31/220.70%0.00%
+TVTY4/05/22Stone Point Capital (N/A)All Cash$2 B$32.50$32.28995,3519/30/220.68%1.45%
+UMPQ10/12/21Columbia Banking System, Inc. (COLB)All Stock$4.5 B$17.98$17.891,003,1976/30/220.51%2.33%
+CDK4/07/22Brookfield Business Partners (N/A)All Cash$8.3 B$54.87$54.603,843,4439/30/220.49%1.05%
+TUFN4/06/22Turn/River Capital (N/A)All Cash$570 M$13.00$12.941,339,6716/30/220.46%2.12%
+MGP8/04/21VICI Properties Inc. (VICI)All Stock$17.2 billion$38.58$38.4422,8386/30/220.46%2.09%
+EPAY12/17/21Thoma Bravo (N/A)All Cash$2.6 B$57.00$56.75314,9326/30/220.44%2.01%
+ANAT8/09/21Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partners Ltd. (BAMR)All Cash$5.1 B$190.00$189.350,6316/30/220.37%1.69%
+MIME12/07/21Permira (N/A)All Cash$5.8 B$80.00$79.71434,8896/30/220.36%1.66%
+TSC10/20/21Raymond James Financial, Inc. (RJF)Cash Plus Stock$1.1 B$33.16$33.04335,0686/30/220.35%1.59%
+APTS2/16/22Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (N/A)All Cash$5.8 B$25.00$24.92954,3336/30/220.32%1.46%
+HBP3/21/22Woodgrain Inc. (N/A)All Cash$350 M$10.70$10.67227,1976/30/220.28%1.28%
+VOLT3/14/22Vega Consulting, Inc. (N/A)All Cash$181.81 M$6.00$5.99139,5386/30/220.17%0.76%
+ECOL2/09/22Republic Services, Inc. (RSG)All Cash$2.2 B$48.00$47.95501,2886/30/220.10%0.48%
+JOBS6/21/21Garnet Faith Limited (N/A)All Cash$3.63 B$61.00$60.954,411,1006/30/220.08%0.37%
+Y3/21/22Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)All Cash$11.6 B$848.02$848162,76412/31/220.00%0.00%
+GNOG8/09/21DraftKings Inc. (DKNG)All Stock$1.52 B$5.98$6.01778,3545/31/22-0.52%-3.80%
+ABTX11/10/21CBTX, Inc. (CBTX)All Stock$1.5 B$41.03$41.3258,5436/30/22-0.69%-3.15%
+POLY3/28/22HP Inc. (HPQ)All Cash$3.3 B$40.00$40.382,865,59812/31/22-0.94%-1.30%
+AZPN10/11/21Emerson Electric Co. (EMR)Special Conditions$12.34 B$160.00$165217,5376/30/22-3.03%-13.83%
+NP3/28/22Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (SWM)All Stock$1.18 B$34.38$37.3574,22912/31/22-7.94%-10.98%
+EMCF3/24/22Farmers National Banc Corp. (FMNB)All Stock$105 M$34.51$388,36112/31/22-9.19%-12.71%
+SAVE2/07/22Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (ULCC)Cash Plus Stock$6.6 B$22.65$26.255,544,33712/31/22-13.71%-18.95%

Conclusion:

It was an active week on the merger front, with five potential deals in the works announced, multiple deals receiving required approvals, a bidding war for Spirit Airlines (SAVE), Nielsen Holdings facing issues with its largest stake holder and Change Healthcare (CHNG) entering into yet another deal amendment.

On March 30, 2022, the SEC proposed new stringent rules for SPACs, that would require these public shell companies to provide more investor disclosures, especially about their ownership and performance forecasts. We have been seeing a gradual decline in SPAC activity in the past few months and last week there was only one new SPAC IPO filed and another SPAC business combination was terminated.

Disclaimer: I have long positions in First Horizon (FHN), Tower Semiconductor (TSEM), Healthcare Trust of America (HTA), TEGNA (TGNA) and Bluerock Residential Growth REIT (BRG). Please do your own due diligence before buying or selling any securities mentioned in this article. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the content or data provided in this article.