Transacted
Happy Monday. Here’s what we’ve got today…
No feature story today as we focus on the release of our Q2 M&A trends update
Plus, Mars nears deal for Kellogg’s old snack business
PRESENTED BY MACABACUS
Deal volume continued its steady recovery through the first half of the year and is tracking toward solid year-over-year growth. Despite the positive trend, activity remains well below the pandemic-era peak as dealmakers navigate a market that has only gotten more complex.
Presented by Macabacus, The State of Transactions report focuses on the M&A trends just below the surface (and how to effectively manage them): anti-trust, corporate carve-outs, joint ventures, earnouts, and speed of execution.
DEALS, DEALS, DEALS
• Mars is in advanced talks to acquire Kellanova (NYSE: K), a manufacturer of snacks and convenience foods spun off from Kellogg Co. last year, which could value Kellanova at around $30 billion, per the WSJ.
• Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL) hired the research team and cofounders of Character.AI, an AI chatbot startup that lets users chat with real-life or fictional characters, alongside an agreement for a non-exclusive license to its technology and a payout to venture backers at around a $2.5 billion valuation.
• Quantum Capital Group agreed to acquire Cogentrix Energy, operator of 11 natural gas-fired power plants, from Carlyle Group for around $3 billion.
• Apax Partners agreed to acquire Thoughtworks (Nasdaq: TWKS), a technology consultancy, for around $1.75 billion.
• Woodside Energy Group agreed to acquire OCI Clean Ammonia, a 1.1 million metric tonne clean ammonia project under construction in Texas, from OCI Global for $2.35 billion.
• Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) is weighing a sale of the company, which provides business data and analytics services, and has engaged Bank of America to lead a market check, per Reuters.
• Neuberger Berman is in talks to acquire a minority stake in Nord Anglia Education, an international private school operator owned by EQT and CPPIB, at a valuation of around $15 billion.
• Iberdrola (BME: IBE) agreed to acquire an 88 percent stake in Electricity North West, a power distribution network operator in northwest England, for £2.1 billion from a consortium led by Kansai Electric Power, Equitix, and CNIC.
• Flywire (Nasdaq: FLYW), a U.S. payments processor trading at around a $2.3 billion market value, is exploring a sale following inbound takeover interest and has hired Qatalyst Partners, per Reuters.
• CVC Capital Partners agreed to acquire Therakos, a provider of extracorporeal photopheresis systems, from Mallinckrodt (NYSE: MNK) for $925 million.
• Stellex Capital Management agreed to acquire McConway & Torley and Standard Forged Products, Pittsburgh-based manufacturers of cast, forged, and machined products for rail and industrial customers, from Arcosa (NYSE: ACA).
• Hartree Partners agreed to acquire ED&F Man Commodities, a trader of soft commodities including sugar, coffee, molasses, and animal feeds, from ED&F Man Holdings.
• K1 Investment Management acquired a majority stake in Board Intelligence, a UK-based provider of board of directors management software backed by Susquehanna Growth Equity.
• L'Oréal acquired a 10 percent stake in Galderma, a Swiss skin care company, which had been taken public in March by backers EQT, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Auba Investment.
• Equistone Partners Europe acquired a minority stake in QuestGates, a UK-based loss adjusting and claims solutions group.
• Carlsberg agreed to acquire the remaining 33.33 percent stake in Carlsberg South Asia, a holding company for its operations in India and Nepal, for $744 million from CSAPL Holdings.
• Union Bancaire Privée agreed to acquire SG Kleinwort Hambros and Societe Generale Private Banking Suisse, UK and Swiss private banking units, from Société Générale (EPA: GLE) for around €900 million.
• McDermott International is weighing the divestiture of its storage tank unit.
VENTURE & EARLY-STAGE
Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise
• Groq, an AI chip startup developing fast inference engines, raised $640 million in Series D funding led by BlackRock, with participation from Neuberger Berman, Type One Ventures, Cisco Investments, Global Brain's KDDI Open Innovation Fund III, and Samsung Catalyst Fund.
• Moonshot AI, a Chinese generative AI startup, raised $300 million in new funding led by Tencent, pushing the company's valuation to $3.3 billion, per Bloomberg.
• Cartridge, an onchain gaming infrastructure provider, raised $7.5 million in Series A funding led by Bitkraft Ventures, with participation from Fabric, Dune, StarkWare, Primitive, and Ergodic.
Fintech
• Savvy Wealth, a workflow platform for financial advisors, raised $15.5 million in Series A-2 funding led by Canvas Ventures, with participation from Thrive Capital, Brewer Lane Ventures, Index Ventures, The House Fund, and Alumni Ventures.
Consumer & Media
• Dstlry, a comics publisher and digital collectibles platform, raised $5 million in seed funding led by 1AM Gaming, with participation from Kodansha USA and Groupe Delcourt.
FUNDRAISING
• Thrive Capital raised $4 billion across new early-stage and growth funds.
• Knox Lane raised $1 billion for its second middle market fund.
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