Among Other Deals, Food Wholesaler Supervalu Acquired by United Natural Foods

​Last week, two tech companies, one healthcare provider, and one food distributor made M&A headlines. LifePoint Health, a hospital operator was acquired for $5.6 billion. KLIK Communications was acquired for an undisclosed amount. LevelUp accepted a $390 million acquisition bid from GrubHub. Lastly, food wholesaler Supervalu was acquired by United Natural Foods for $2.9 billion.

• LifePoint Health (NASDAQ: LPNT) is in talks to be acquired by Apollo Global Management, an American private equity firm. Apollo will merge LifePoint with its RCCH HealthCare Partners in a $5.6 billion public-to-private leveraged buyout. Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, LifePoint Health is a provider of healthcare services, including inpatient, outpatient and post-acute facilities, intended for rural communities and small towns. The company operates 71 campuses in 22 states. Hospitals tend to draw more interest from private equity firms for their insulation from global trade and favorable tax benefits. Last month KKR and Veritas Capital also bought out publicly listed healthcare companies in billion-dollar deals.

• On Monday, Galaxy Next Generation, a distributor of interactive learning technology hardware and software, had agreed to acquire KLIK Communications. KLIK offers a wireless presentation application for presenters and facilities that support presentations, such as conference centers. KLIK’s presentation system is a media streaming device that enables one or more users to wirelessly present content from a PC, tablet, or smartphone on a bigger screen, using screen mirroring technology, with the intent of eliminating cable mismatching and to streamline transitions between presenters. “The opportunity in the education technology space is both significant and timely,” commented Costa Lakoumentas, President of KLIK Communications. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• GrubHub (NYSE: GRUB) announced it has reached a definitive agreement with to acquire LevelUp for $390 million. LevelUp is a developer of a next-generation mobile payment network, already serving 200 restaurants. LevelUp’s software facilitates mobile payment transactions and offers customer relationship-management and loyalty tools. Grubhub, an online food ordering and delivery service, plans to deploy LevelUp's tech to drive online delivery and pickup orders, as well as attract potential diners. Point-of-sale (POS) integration is also a key to LevelUp’s success, and that should help GrubHub more easily integrate into the POS systems of major chain restaurants.
  

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• United Natural Foods (NASADQ: UNFI) announced last Thursday that it would acquire grocery chain Supervalu (NYSE: SVU) for approximately $2.9 billion including debt. United Natural Foods is the largest distributor of organic and natural foods in North America and is the primary supplier of Whole Foods. Supervalu, the largest publicly traded food wholesaler, serves customers through its nationwide network of 3,437 stores, according to recent SEC filings.