The BFD
Outcome Health, a Chicago-based company that provides ad-supported patient information content via touchscreens in doctor's offices and waiting rooms, has closed on over $500 million at a $5 billion pre-money valuation. Backers include Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, CapitalG, Leerink Transformation Partners, Pritzker Group Venture Capital and Balyasny Asset Management. The company previously was known as ContextMedia, before purchasing rival AccentHealth last year.
- Why it's the BFD: For Chicago, this is now the city's most highly-valued tech startup since Groupon's halcyon days. For medical practices, it's an ad-supported way to save costs on patient distraction during lengthy waits or outpatient procedures like chemotherapy or dialysis (plus showing 3D models in exam rooms). For pharma, it's a new frontier in the dodgy practice of in-office promotion.
- Bottom line: "For drug companies, the value proposition is obvious: reach patients when they are thinking about their health, in the doctor's waiting room or in the exam room itself. Outcome Health claims it has tablets or wall-mounted screens in 40,000 or so doctor's offices, which it says accounts for 20% of U.S. doctor's offices." ― Alex Konrad & Matthew Herper, Forbes
Public Offerings
• The Ireland government plans to float around a quarter of Allied Irish Bank, which had been nationalized during the financial crisis. The offering would be on the LSE, and could value the bank at around €13 billion. http://on.ft.com/2rkLqIH
Liquidity Events
Berkshire Partners is exploring a sale of Citizens of Humanity, a Huntington Park, Calif.-based maker of denim apparel, according to Dow Jones. www.citizensofhumanity.com
• China Investment Corp. is nearing an agreement to acquire Logicor, a European warehouse property business, from The Blackstone Group for more than €12 billion (including debt), according to the FT. http://on.ft.com/2rRrq1f
• Leonard Green & Partners is considering a sale process for USIC, an Indianapolis-based provider of location and maintenance services for underground utility cables, according to Reuters. A deal could value the company at nearly $2 billion, including debt. http://reut.rs/2qxHLs3
More M&A
• American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) is considering takeover offer for listed Spanish telecom tower operator Cellnex Telecom, which currently is valued at around €4.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. https://bloom.bg/2siYrQl
• Dade Paper & Bag of Miami, Fla. has agreed to merge with Jersey City, N.J.-based Imperial Paper Co. in order to form a combined packaging company that would have more than $1 billion in annual revenue. No financial terms were disclosed. http://bit.ly/2rnxRIx
• Davide Campari-Milano (BIT: CPR) has hired Perella Weinberg Partners to explore a sale of its Irish Mist whiskey and Carolans Irish cream brands, according to Bloomberg. https://bloom.bg/2sgBc9C
• E.On, the German energy giant, has retained Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for its 46.65% stake in Uniper, a listed power plant and trading unit it spun off last year, according to Reuters. The position is currently valued north of $3 billion. http://reut.rs/2qzEng5
• Ferrero International, a Luxembourg-based chocolate confectioner, has completed its purchase of Fannie May Confections and Harry London Candles from 1-800-Flowers.com (Nasdaq: FLWS) for $115 million in cash. www.ferrero.com
🚑 Mallinckrodt (NYSE: MNK) is consider the sale of its generic drug business, which could be worth upwards of $2 billion, according to Reuters. http://reut.rs/2sjUWsI
It's Personnel
• Eric Hazard has joined Vested Ventures, the VC fund and startup incubator associated with financial communications firm Vested, as CEO. He previously was a managing director with PR firm Cognito. www.fullyvested.com
• Jang Sae Kim has been named head of global alternatives for South Korea's National Pension Service, following the February resignation of Sang-Hyun Yoo. http://bit.ly/2qFdAuc