M&A Deal Summary

KKR Acquires OverDrive

On December 24, 2019, private equity firm KKR acquired information technology company OverDrive from Rakuten

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is KKR’s 13th transaction in the Information Technology sector.
  • This is KKR’s 143rd transaction in the United States.
  • This is KKR’s 6th transaction in Ohio.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2019-12-24
Target OverDrive
Sector Information Technology
Buyer(s) KKR
Sellers(s) Rakuten
Deal Type Divestiture

Target

OverDrive

Cleveland, Ohio, United States
OverDrive is a global digital distribution platform, supplying a catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and streaming video to 30,000 libraries, schools, and retailers worldwide. OverDrive was founded in 1986 and is based in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

KKR

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1976
PE ASSETS 510.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION
KKR's office in Menlo Park, California.
KKR's office in Menlo Park, California.

KKR is a global investment firm founded by Jerome Kohlberg, Henry Kravis, and George Roberts. The Firm is separated into several business segments including private markets, public markets, capital markets, and other principal activities. KKR's private equity practice invests in management buyouts, take privates, corporate divestitures, industry consolidations, and partnerships with family-owned companies. KKR will invest in a broad range of industries and companies and will consider businesses throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. Sectors of interest include chemicals, consumer products, energy and natural resources, financial services, healthcare, industrial, media/communications, retail, and technology. In addition to its traditional principal investment activity business, KKR also invests in infrastructure assets. KKR was formed in 1976 and is based in New York, New York.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 326 of 476
Sector (Information Technology) 13 of 27
Type (Divestiture) 35 of 53
State (Ohio) 6 of 7
Country (United States) 143 of 208
Year (2019) 31 of 32
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-12-20 European Locomotive Leasing

Wien, Austria

European Locomotive Leasing is known for its full-service leasing of electric locomotives for European corridors. The ELL Vectron is suitable for passenger and freight transportation and the whole fleet is fully equipped with ETCS. Predictive maintenance and a large inventory of spare parts are key to the concept of full-service leasing.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-12-26 Coastal GasLink

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Coastal GasLink transports natural gas to the approved LNG Canada facility near Kitimat. Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project involves the estimated CAD $6.6 billion construction of 670 kilometers (416 miles) of the natural gas pipeline and associated facilities. Coastal GasLink is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Rakuten

Tokyo, Japan

Category Company
Founded 1997
Sector Internet Software and Services
Employees30,830
Revenue 2.07T JPY (2023)
DESCRIPTION
Rakuten office in Tokyo, Japan.
Rakuten office in Tokyo, Japan.

Rakuten is an internet services company. Rakuten provides a variety of consumer and business-focused services including e-commerce, eBooks & eReading, travel, banking, securities, credit card, e-money, portal and media, online marketing and professional sports. Rakuten Group is expanding globally and currently has operations throughout Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. Rakuten was founded in 1997 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 3 of 4
Sector (Information Technology) 1 of 1
Type (Divestiture) 2 of 3
State (Ohio) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 2 of 3
Year (2019) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-11-28 O-net

Tokyo, Japan

O-net, Inc. is a provider of matchmaking services. O-net was founded in2007 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2020-11-16 Seiyu

Tokyo, Japan

Seiyu is an operator of supermarkets, shopping centers, and department stores. Seiyu offers customers a broad assortment including fresh food, general merchandise, and apparel products across Japan from Hokkaido to Kyusyu. Seiyu was founded in 1963 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Buy -