Happy Wednesday. Here’s what we’ve got today…

• A look at Silver Lake’s run-in with open-source software

• Plus, Sycamore Partners considers Walgreens acquisition

Platform hostility:

Silver Lake and portfolio company WPEngine have been dragged into a contentious dispute with WordPress steward Automattic, whose CEO, Matt Mullenweg, is one of the original creators of the WordPress platform.

WPEngine, in which Silver Lake acquired a $250 million majority stake in 2018, has built its business around a managed hosting service for the open-source WordPress environment, which powers more than 40 percent of the web.

Earlier this year, Automattic went public with claims that WPEngine's $400 million in annual revenue is derived “entirely from extensive and unauthorized uses of the [WordPress] trademarks.”

Automattic sent a cease and desist letter demanding a halt to what it says is unlicensed use of its own exclusive commercial rights to the trademarks. The company’s proposed resolution was a licensing agreement with an 8 percent royalty on WPEngine’s sales, or around $32 million per year.

That's despite the WordPress Foundation's published trademark policy, which, at the time of the demand, noted that "The abbreviation 'WP' is not covered by the WordPress trademarks, and you are free to use it in any way you see fit."

The policy has since had additional language appended to it: "... you are free to use it in any way you see fit, but please don’t use it in a way that confuses people. For example, many people think WP Engine is ‘WordPress Engine’ and officially associated with WordPress, which it’s not."

In September, after a breakdown in negotiations over the proposed licensing arrangement, Automattic and Mullenweg launched what WPEngine executives described in sworn statements as a “scorched earth nuclear approach.”

Automattic allegedly cut off WPEngine’s longstanding developer access to WordPress, hijacked one of WPEngine’s flagship plugins without customer consent, and set up barriers to WPEngine’s hosting tools, taking down customer websites in the process.

Mullenweg then rescinded his original licensing proposal, suggesting instead that he would force Silver Lake into a fire sale of the WPEngine assets.

“That deal’s not on the table anymore. We’re seeking more, not 8 percent,” Mullenweg said. “I don’t want to speculate on what the deal might be… In July it was less than 8 percent, it was smaller. In September, it was 8 percent. The deal they have to do next could be taking over the company, they have no leverage.”

Shortly after, in his keynote speech at the WordPress conference WordCamp, Mullenweg openly encouraged WPEngine customers to “not renew their contracts.” He also singled out Silver Lake Managing Director Lee Wittlinger, accusing Wittlinger of "strip-mining the WordPress ecosystem" and "giving our users a crappier experience so [Silver Lake] can make more money."

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted WPEngine’s motion for a preliminary injunction, forcing Automattic to restore WPEngine’s full developer access.

The injunction also bans further tampering, including forced migrations or the “auto-updates” that surreptitiously substituted Automattic’s cloned versions of WPEngine’s tools.

For investors, the situation could prompt a closer look at conventional thinking around platform risk.

Investing in a business beholden to another for-profit entity is clearly risky. But, building on top of one of the world's most widely used open-source platforms was probably assumed to be far less problematic.

In this particular case, there's also an unorthodox element of third-party key person risk—as one developer commented on Reddit, "Matt is Automattic. Matt is WordPress.org. Matt is the WordPress Foundation."

Tuesday's ruling is a clear win for Silver Lake, though it doesn't mitigate the damage done. WPEngine has now incurred substantial legal expenses, operational disruptions, and customer churn.

Brand damage and shaken confidence are hard to fix. While many WordPress users have expressed support for WPEngine and criticized Mullenweg's actions, the reality is that purchasing decisions for WPEngine tools will now be tainted by the known risks to the end user associated with the tenuous situation.

It’s a dynamic Automattic has already used in its favor, allegedly issuing warnings to large web design agencies that working with WPEngine could lead to their own lockout from WordPress resources.

Beyond the immediate headache, any future exit event is now faced with the prospect of a substantial hit to valuation.

Mullenweg, again, has shown he's fully aware: “Silver Lake has disrupted the ecosystem, and I’m fighting for my life’s work. I have a lot to work with. Silver Lake used to hold this asset on their books for $2 billion… They stand to lose billions [in the event of a cut-price Automattic takeover].”

• Nippon Life Insurance has agreed to acquire Resolution Life from Blackstone for $8.2 billion, with the deal expected to close in the second half of 2025.

• Sycamore Partners is in talks to acquire Walgreens Boots Alliance (NYSE: WBA), currently trading at a market value below $10 billion, per the Wall Street Journal.

• Bain Capital raised its takeover offer for Fuji Soft, a Japanese software company, to ¥9,600 per share (a $4.3 billion valuation), besting KKR's previous offer of ¥9,451 per share.

• KKR and EQT are among those interested in bidding for Topcon, a Japanese optical equipment maker with a market value of $14.3 billion.

• Patient Square Capital agreed to acquire Patterson Companies (NYSE: PDCO), a dental and animal health products distributor, for around $4.1 billion.

• Advent International, Apollo Global Management, and Clayton Dubilier & Rice are exploring potential bids for Vestis (NYSE: VSTS), a uniform supplier with a $2.1 billion market value.

• Cinven and Stonepeak are among those submitting binding offers for Forgital, an Italian aerospace components manufacturer owned by Carlyle, which could be worth around €2.5 billion.

• Clarion Capital Partners acquired dance studio franchisor Arthur Murray International.

• Morgan Stanley Capital Partners agreed to acquire Prescott's, a provider of refrigeration and HVAC services.

• TeamViewer agreed to acquire 1E, a remote-working software platform, for $720 million from Carlyle Group.

• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group agreed to acquire WealthNavi, a Japanese robo-adviser, for around $665 million.

• Gen Digital (Nasdaq: GEN) agreed to acquire MoneyLion (NYSE: ML), a digital consumer finance platform, for $1 billion in cash plus additional CVRs.

• SK Group is considering selling its 65 percent stake in pharma manufacturing provider Imexpharm Pharmaceutical, which trades at a market value of around $288 million, per Bloomberg.

• Prudential is exploring the sale of a 30 percent stake in Eastspring Investments, its Asia-based asset management arm which could fetch around $3 billion, per Bloomberg.

• McWin Capital Partners is in talks to acquire UK bakery chain Gail's from Bain Capital Credit and Risk Capital Partners for up to £500 million, per Bloomberg.

• TPG Rise Climate, Google, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, and Greenbelt Capital Partners led an $800 million investment in Intersect Power, a clean energy and storage provider for data centers.

• New Heritage Capital invested in JA Moody, a manufacturer of valves and actuators for naval and marine applications.

• Growtheum Capital Partners invested $121 million in Mets Logistics, a Philippines-based cold-chain provider.

• Priority Courier Experts, backed by Trident and Bluejay Capital Partners, acquired Now Courier, an Indianapolis-based local delivery company.

• TailorCare, backed by Valtruis, acquired RecoveryOne, a virtual physical therapy platform.

• CES Power, a portfolio company of Allied Industrial Partners, acquired Base Craft, a provider of power solutions to the live entertainment industry.

• Thermal Technology Distribution Solutions, a Gryphon Investors portfolio company, acquired Applied Thermal Systems, a Minneapolis-based distributor of electric heaters and thermal management products.

• OpenClinica, a portfolio company of Thompson Street Capital Partners, acquired BuildClinical, an academic research-focused clinical patient recruitment platform.

• NovaTaste, a portfolio company of PAI Partners, acquired McClancy Foods & Flavors, a Fort Mill, South Carolina-based manufacturer of dry ingredients and seasonings, from CIC Capital Partners.

• Domino's Pizza, KKR, Sixth Street, and TSG Consumer Partners are among bidders interested in acquiring Wingstop UK, which could be worth around £400 million, per the Financial Times.

• Comvest acquired Bland Landscaping, a North Carolina-based commercial landscaping provider, from Prospect Partners.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Astrix Security, a non-human identity security platform, raised $45 million in Series B funding led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Workday Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, CRV, and F2 Venture Capital.

• LambdaTest, a cloud-based software testing platform, raised $38 million in Series D funding led by Avataar Ventures, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures.

• Stainless, an API-to-SDK generation platform, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by a16z, with participation from Sequoia, The General Partnership, Felicis, Zapier, and MongoDB Ventures.

• Albert Invent, an AI platform for chemical research and development, raised $22.5 million in Series A funding led by Coatue, with participation from TCV, Index Ventures, F-Prime, and Homebrew.

• Biomemory, a DNA-based data storage startup, raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Crédit Mutuel Innovation, with participation from Blast, Paris Business Angels, Sorbonne Venture, Adnexus, Prunay, Next Sequence, and Accelerem.

• RapidCanvas, a developer of AI agents for data science automation, raised $16 million in Series A funding led by Peak XV, with participation from Titanium Ventures, Accel, and Valley Capital Partners.

• Next Sense, a smart building platform for real estate decarbonization, raised €11.5 million in Series A funding co-led by ABP and ETF Partners, with participation from Edge, SHAPE Capital, and Timeless Investments.

Fintech

• Mynt, a Stockholm-based provider of corporate credit cards and spend management software for SMEs, raised €22 million in Series B funding led by Vor Capital, with participation from CNI and Incore.

• Relai, a Swiss Bitcoin self-custody platform, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Ego Death Capital, with participation from Plan B Bitcoin Fund, Timechain, and Solit Group.

• Lava, a New York-based Bitcoin lending platform, raised $10 million in Series A funding co-led by Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund.

• Interlace, a Singapore-based card issuance and digital asset management platform, raised $10 million in Series B1 funding led by Bitrock Capital.

Healthcare

• Angitia Biopharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotech developing treatments for musculoskeletal diseases, raised $120 million in Series C funding led by Bain Capital Life Sciences, with participation from Janus Henderson, OrbiMed, 3H Health Investment, Yonghua Capital, Legend Capital, and Elikon Venture.

• Veradermics, a clinical-stage dermatology biotech developing treatments for hair loss and skin conditions, raised $75 million in Series B funding led by Suvretta Capital Management, with participation from Longitude Capital, Surveyor Capital, Osage University Partners, PhiFund, JW Childs Associates, and Connecticut Innovations.

• Players Health, a provider of athlete safety and sports insurance solutions, raised $60 million in Series C funding led by Bluestone Equity Partners, with participation from Mosaic General Partners, RPM Ventures, SiriusPoint, and TriplePoint Capital.

• Syncell, a developer of subcellular protein purification and spatial proteomics analysis technology, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Taiwania Capital.

• Evidently, an AI platform for clinical data workflows, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by DN Capital, with participation from FRAMEWORK, Clear Ventures, and Fellows Fund.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• WeaveGrid, a software platform for EV charging optimization, raised $28 million in new funding led by Woven Capital, with participation from Activate Capital, Collab Fund, Emerson Collective, and Salesforce Ventures.

• SpotmyEnergy, a German smart meter developer, raised €10.5 million in seed funding led by Norrsken VC, with participation from Vorwerk Ventures and Picus Capital.

• Flocean, a subsea desalination startup, raised $9 million in Series A funding co-led by Burnt Island Ventures, Freebird Partners, and Nysnø Climate Investments, with participation from Katapult Ocean and MP Pensjon.

• Gavan Technologies, a developer of plant-based fat alternatives, raised $8 million in Series A funding led by MoreVC, with participation from Lever VC, EIT Food, and DarkBoot Group.

• J.F. Lehman & Company raised $2.23 billion for its sixth flagship fund focused on middle market aerospace and defense.

• Dimension Capital raised $500 million for its second life sciences fund.

• Laude Ventures, launched by former NEA partner Pete Sonsini, Databricks cofounder Andy Konwinski, and Antimatter CEO Andy Krioukov, raised $150 million for its debut fund focused on pre-seed and seed-stage research-driven startups.

Interested in partnering with Transacted? If you’re a financial services firm looking to connect with an engaged audience, please reach out.