M&A Deal Summary

Sycamore Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Essling Capital Acquire Staples

On June 28, 2017, private equity firm Sycamore Partners, private equity firm HarbourVest Partners and asset manager Essling Capital acquired retailer Staples for 6.9B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Sycamore Partners’ 7th, HarbourVest Partners’ 5th and Essling Capital’s 1st transaction in the Retail sector.
  • This is Sycamore Partners’ , HarbourVest Partners’ 9th and Essling Capital’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Sycamore Partners’ 12th, HarbourVest Partners’ 97th and Essling Capital’s 1st transaction in the United States.
  • This is Sycamore Partners’ 2nd, HarbourVest Partners’ 8th and Essling Capital’s 1st transaction in Massachusetts.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2017-06-28
Target Staples
Sector Retail
Buyer(s) Sycamore Partners
HarbourVest Partners
Essling Capital
Deal Type Going Private
Deal Value 6.9B USD
Advisor(s) Barclays Investment Bank
Morgan Stanley (Financial)
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (Legal)

Target

Staples

Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Entrance to Staples' corporate headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Entrance to Staples' corporate headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Staples is an office supply retailer. Staples sells and distributes a variety of office products for consumers as well as small to large companies around the world. Staples was founded in 1985 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts.

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Buyer(S) 3

Buyer

Sycamore Partners

New York, New York, United States

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 2011
PE ASSETS 10.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION

Sycamore Partners is an opportunistic and operationally focused private equity firm that targets businesses and divisions in the consumer and retail sectors. The Firm looks to partner with management teams to improve the operating profitability and strategic value of their businesses. Sycamore was formed in 2011 and is based in New York City.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 14 of 26
Sector (Retail) 7 of 9
Type (Going Private) 3 of 5
State (Massachusetts) 2 of 2
Country (United States) 12 of 22
Year (2017) 3 of 3
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 9
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-04-28 Dollar Express

Chesapeake, Virginia, United States

Dollar Express is a discount general merchandise retailer currently operating over 300 stores across the US.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-04-06 Nine West Holdings

White Plains, New York, United States

Nine West Holdings is a women’s footwear and denim business with a portfolio of brands that includes Nine West, Easy Spirit, Anne Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, and l.e.i. The company is a wholesale partner to major U.S. retailers, operates over 250 branded concept stores, and has international licensing relationships with over 1,200 points of sale abroad.

Sell -
Buyer

HarbourVest Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1978
PE ASSETS 86.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

HarbourVest Partners, LLC is an investment firm that makes investments in new private equity partnerships, acquires secondary interests, and makes direct investments in operating companies. HarbourVest's largest investment area is investments in private equity funds, comprising of approximately 2/3 of HarbourVest's assets. HarbourVest's direct investment group looks for investments in growth oriented businesses at a variety of stages. The Group generally targets co-investments of $5 to $100 million, growth capital financings of $5 to $40 million, or mezzanine commitments of $5 to $20 million. Sectors of interest include software, hardware, data communications, telecommunications, and financial services. HarbourVest was formed in 1997 to assume the business of Hancock Venture Partners which was formed in 1982. HarbourVest Partners is based in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional offices in London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 159 of 223
Sector (Retail) 5 of 5
Type (Going Private) 21 of 27
State (Massachusetts) 8 of 9
Country (United States) 97 of 134
Year (2017) 7 of 15
Size (of disclosed) 9 of 68
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-06-20 Investment Metrics

Norwalk, Connecticut, United States

Investment Metrics is a provider of investment performance analytics and reporting solutions for institutional consultants, asset managers, and private wealth advisors. Built by institutional investment consultants for investment professionals, the company’s solutions include PARis (performance analytics and reporting), InvestWorks (manager search and due diligence), EQuest (manager data portal), peer universe data, outsourced reporting services and InterSec Research for market intelligence. The company's solutions enable investment professionals to analyze, measure, and report client portfolios in a highly insightful, accurate, and efficient manner. Investment Metrics was formed in 2010 and is based in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-07-18 Lightower Fiber Networks

Boxborough, Massachusetts, United States

Lightower Fiber Networks LLC is a fiber network and broadband service provider in the Northeast, offering over 4,600 fiber route miles coupled with comprehensive transport, alternative access, and nationwide long haul services.

Sell $7.1B
Buyer
DESCRIPTION


DEAL STATS #
Overall 4 of 16
Sector (Retail) 1 of 1
Type (Going Private) 1 of 1
State (Massachusetts) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 1 of 1
Year (2017) 1 of 3
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-06-15 GetBack

Wroclaw, Poland

GetBack is active in debt recovery industry. GetBack acquires on its own balance sheet and on behalf of third parties, portfolios of Non-Performing Loans (“NPL”) mainly from banks, but also from telecoms and utilities. GetBack was founded in 2012 and is based in Wroclaw, Poland.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-11-20 Kiloutou

Marcq-en-Baroeul, France

Kiloutou is a rental company and a major player in equipment rental in France, the Kiloutou Group provides products and services to a diversified client base: public corporations, construction companies, craftsmen, municipalities, administrations, industries, service companies and SMEs. The Kiloutou group offers the widest product range on the market with more than 1,000 references: access equipment, earthmoving and construction equipment , commercial vehicles and events. Kiloutou was founded in 1980 and is based in Marcq-en-Baroeul, France.

Buy -