Disney Shops ABC, Dunkirk's Gigafactory, and Databricks Grabs $500M
September 15, 2023's biggest news in the private markets.
Mergers, Acquisitions, & Investments
Taiwan’s WT Microelectronics will acquire closely-held electronic components distributor Future Electronics in a $3.8B deal (BBG)
PE owner Berkshire Partners is exploring a sale of US carwash equipment provider National Carwash Solutions, which could be valued at ~$3B (RT)
British midsize lender Co-operative Bank, which has a book value of $1.6B, kicked off its sale and set an early October deadline for bids (RT)
Trucking firm Estes Express submitted a revised $1.53B cash bid for bankrupt trucker Yellow’s shipment centers, ahead of Old Dominion Freight Line $1.5B bid (RT)
PE firms I Squared Capital Advisors and TDR Capital bid $1.4B cash for Spanish certification and quality control service company Applus Services, challenging an earlier offer by Apollo Global (BBG)
Blackstone is considering a potential acquisition of Growatt Technology in a deal that could value the Chinese solar equipment maker at ~$1B (BBG)
Music investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund will sell some of its catalogues, including songs by Shakira and rapper Nelly, to a private Blackstone vehicle for $465M (RT)
GXO Logistics, the world’s largest pure-play logistics provider, will acquire order fulfillment company PFSweb at a $142M EV (GNW)
Disney held exploratory talks about selling its ABC network and TV stations to local broadcaster Nexstar Media Group (BBG)
PE firm Vista Equity Partners is preparing to put sports intelligence and data specialist Stats Perform up for sale (BBG)
Societe Generale is open to a sale of its Equipment Finance business (RT)
US commodities trader Cargill agreed to sell its 25% stake in its Russian KSK grain terminal to local firm Delo Group (RT)
Laurentian Bank of Canada ended its strategic review without finding a buyer and will continue as an independent firm (BBG)
Venture Capital
French battery startup Verkor raised $2.2B- $905M in capital, $639M in loans from the European Central Bank, and $639M in subsidies- to build a gigafactory in Dunkirk (RT)
Data analytics and AI software maker Databricks raised a $500M+ Series I at a $43B valuation from T. Rowe Price, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton (TC)
Generate:Biomedicines, a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company, raised a $273M Series C led by Amgen, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), and others (BW)
Defense AI startup Helsing raised a $223M Series B led by General Catalyst (TC)
Heliene, a Minnesota-based solar PV module manufacturer, raised $170M: $150M in debt from Orion Infrastructure Capital and 2Shores Capital and $20M in equity from OIC and 2Shores Capital (FN)
EquipmentShare, a Missouri-based equipment and digital solutions provider for the construction industry, raised a $150M Series E from existing and new investors (FN)
Unlock Technologies, a home equity investment technology company, raised $100M in financing led by Texas Capital Bank (FN)
Pixis, an AI-powered full-stack marketing platform, raised an $85M Series C1 led by Touring Capital (TC)
Embedded finance startup Swan raised a $39.3M Series B led by Lakestar (FN)
Parade, a capacity management platform for freight brokers, raised a $17M round led by I Squared Capital (FN)
LastMile AI, a platform designed to help software engineers integrate generative AI models into their apps, raised a $10M seed round led by Gradient (TC)
Ometria, a customer data and experience platform, received $9.9M from CIBC Innovation Banking (FN)
Insurance protection startup Delos Insurance Solutions raised a $7.3M seed round led by IA Capital Group (FN)
Sailes, a startup developing AI bots to automate the sales process, raised a $5.1M Series A led by Lewis & Clark Ventures (FN)
Databutton, an online app builder, raised a $5.1M seed round led by Skyfall Ventures and Maki.vc (FN)
Glass Health, an AI-powered clinical decision support platform, raised a $5M round led by Initialized Capital (FN)
Regenerative nature-based services provider ReSeed raised a $4.6M seed round led by One Small Planet (FN)
Orbee, a technology service provider for the automotive industry, raised a $4M Series A led by FM Capital (BW)
Caravelo, a Barcelona-based travel tech company, raised a $3.7M Series A led by Samaipata (FN)
Data and intelligence platform Ontopical raised a $3.3M seed extension round led by Rhino Ventures and Graphite Ventures (FN)
Patronus AI, a provider of an automated evaluation and security platform for large language models, raised a $3M seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners (FN)
Mecho Autotech, a startup offering automotive spare parts, vehicle repairs, and maintenance services, raised a $2.4M pre-Series A from Ventures Platform and Uncovered Fund (TC)
Avasa, a New Zealand-based medtech startup, raised $1.6M in funding led by New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, Pacific Channel, Booster Innovation Fund, and more (FN)
IPO
Arm Holdings jumped 25% in its debut day of trading, giving the chip designer a $68B fully diluted valuation (BBG)
Spanish cosmetics group Puig hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan for a possible IPO that could value the owner of the Carolina Herrera and Charlotte Tilbury brands as high as $8.6B (RT)
Saudi driller ADES Holding is expected to price its IPO at the top of the range and raise $1.2B (BBG)
Chinese battery metals producer CNGR Advanced Material is weighing a potential IPO of its Indonesian assets as soon as the end of 2024, which could raise as much as $500M (BBG)
Debt
WE Soda, the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash, is mulling a potential bond sale of up to $750M after scrapping its IPO plans (BBG)
Bankruptcy
Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth will seek bankruptcy protection for its sports nutrition products' segment BioSteel to rein in costs (RT)
U.S. Auto Sales, a subprime-focused car dealer, filed for bankruptcy last month as more Americans fall behind on car payments (BBG)
Fundraising
Norway-based growth equity firm Verdane Capital Advisors raised $1.2B for Verdane Capital XI (BBG)
Galvanize Climate Solutions closed its Innovation + Expansion Fund at $1B to invest in early to growth stage climate tech (AX)
Former Elliott Investment Management investor Leo Markel will launch Finch Bay Capital in early 2024 and hopes to raise $500M to take activist positions (RT)
SCVC, a UK-based early-stage tech VC, announced the first close of its second fund with a target of up to $100M to invest in pre-seed and seed stage startups (FN)