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

• 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.

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.

• 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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