Today's Private Equity Pulse
SpaceX's $250B xAI acquisition marks the largest private‑equity exit of 2026
SpaceX agreed to buy Elon Musk’s xAI for $250B, delivering massive liquidity to a backer syndicate that includes Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Valor Equity Partners. The deal is being called the largest private‑equity exit of the year and could reset valuation expectations for AI‑focused firms.
Deal Roundup: Schroders Shareholders Back £9.9bn Takeover by Nuveen, TPG Rise Backs Zum at $1.7bn Valuation
Nuveen, the US asset‑manager arm of TIAA, secured approval for its £9.9 billion (≈$12.7 billion) takeover of UK‑based Schroders, with more than 99.9% of shareholders voting in favour. The offer values Schroders at £5.90 per share plus a £0.22 dividend. Once completed, the combined firm will oversee roughly $2.5 trillion in assets under management. In parallel, TPG Rise backed fintech startup Zum at a $1.7 billion valuation.
Top Bank Posts $4.6 B in M&A Advisory Fees as Stratgyk Launches AI Deal Platform
A leading investment bank reported $4.6 billion in M&A advisory fees for the prior year, underscoring the scale of advisory revenue in the sector. At the same time, Stratgyk introduced DealArchitect™, an AI‑first platform that promises end‑to‑end orchestration of mid‑market transactions...
Bouygues, Free-Iliad and Orange Team up in $22 Bn Bid for SFR
Bouygues Telecom, Free-iliad and Orange have submitted a joint offer worth €20.35 bn (about $22 bn) to buy Altice France’s SFR assets. The consortium, which splits the purchase 42‑31‑27, has an exclusivity window until May 15, 2026, and will reshape the French telecom...
Conditioning Merger Payment on Release Constituted Breach of Certificate & DGCL Section 262
The Delaware Chancery Court ruled that OnSolve breached its certificate of incorporation and DGCL Section 262 by conditioning merger consideration on a stockholder’s execution of a release‑laden joinder agreement. The plaintiff, Chertok, had withdrawn his appraisal demand post‑closing and refused to...
Aditya Birla Housing Finance Raises ₹2,750 Crore by Selling 14.29% Stake to Indriya
Aditya Birla Housing Finance Ltd (ABHFL) raised about ₹2,750 crore ($335 million) by selling a 14.29% stake to Indriya Ltd, an Advent International vehicle. The preferential issue priced the shares at ₹223.12 each, bringing Indriya’s ownership to 14.285% and reducing Aditya Birla Capital’s holding...
Banks Tighten Terms on Private Credit Funds as Collateral Disputes Rise
Private credit funds are confronting tighter leverage terms as major banks such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Barclays raise interest rates and revalue collateral. Leverage costs have jumped 50 to 150 basis points, pushing spreads above three percentage points over...
EU’s Potential Antitrust Rules Relaxation a Boost for PE Exits, Says EY-Parthenon; PAI Partners-Backed Pasubio Adds on Textile Capabilities
EY-Parthenon warns that the European Union’s likely softening of antitrust rules could accelerate private‑equity exits by reducing regulatory hurdles for cross‑border sales. The analysis comes as the private‑equity‑backed leather supplier Pasubio announced the purchase of French textile firm Luilor, expanding...
Prosus Offloads 4.5% of Delivery Hero to Uber for €270-Million
Prosus, the Naspers‑controlled tech investor, is selling a 4.5% stake in German food‑delivery platform Delivery Hero to Uber for roughly €270 million (about $292 million). The transaction values the shares at €20 each, a 22% premium to the recent average price, and will...
Partners Group Closes Latest PE Secondaries Programme on $9bn+
Partners Group has closed its latest private‑equity secondaries programme, now exceeding $9 billion in total commitments. The fund is more than 60% funded, reflecting strong investor demand. The firm’s secondaries unit previously deployed over $4 billion globally in 2023, underscoring its active...
Jardine Matheson Poised to Dominate Hong Kong Grocery Market
Jardine Matheson is in talks to acquire CK Hutchison's supermarket business ParknShop and merge it with Wellcome. Competition in Hong Kong's grocery industry would go down significantly, with the combined entity controlling >50% of the market. https://t.co/4MD3n7ptN1
Riot Considered Acquiring Ashes of Creation Studio for Its MMO Title, Says Co-Founder
Riot Games co‑founder Marc Merrill confirmed the company once considered investing in or acquiring Intrepid Studios, the developer behind Ashes of Creation, with a potential valuation between $250 million and $500 million. Ultimately Riot decided not to proceed, citing misalignment of goals....
SEC Exemptive Order Provides Path to 10-Business Day Equity Tender Offers
The SEC’s Office of Mergers and Acquisitions issued an exemptive order that lets qualifying equity tender offers close in ten business days instead of the standard twenty. To use the shortened period, offers must meet strict criteria, including cash‑only consideration...
Infrastructure Megadeals Surge: Inside the $33 Billion AES Acquisition and the Global Race for Energy Assets:
A consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and EQT agreed to acquire AES Corporation for roughly $33.4 billion, making it one of the largest infrastructure buyouts of 2026. The deal reflects a broader shift toward private capital funding critical energy...
Viant to Acquire TVision for $40 Million, Expanding TV Measurement
Viant, the public ad‑tech firm, agreed to buy TVision for $40 million—$22.5 million in cash and $17.5 million in stock. The deal gives Viant access to TVision’s 5,000‑household panel that tracks linear TV, open CTV and walled‑garden viewership. Executives say the purchase will...
Accenture Buys Spanish AI Firm Keepler, Adding 240 Experts to Its Data Practice
Accenture announced the acquisition of Keepler, a Spanish data and AI consultancy, bringing a 240‑person team in Madrid, London and Lisbon into its AI and data analytics practice. The deal, terms undisclosed, deepens Accenture’s end‑to‑end AI offering and positions it...
TriNet Acquires Cocoon to Add AI‑Enhanced Leave Management for SMBs
TriNet has completed its acquisition of Cocoon, a specialist leave‑management startup, to embed AI‑enhanced leave tracking into its small‑ and mid‑size business (SMB) offering. The move targets a compliance‑heavy, under‑served HR segment and pits TriNet against larger platforms that have...
ZIM CEO Eli Glickman to Exit as $4.2 B Merger with Hapag‑Lloyd Nears Completion
Eli Glickman, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services' president and CEO, announced he will step down after nine years, remaining for a six‑month transition as the Israeli carrier prepares for a $4.2 billion acquisition by Germany’s Hapag‑Lloyd. The departure underscores strategic tension over...
Havas on the Lookout as Omnicom and WPP Assets Emerge as M&A Targets
Havas is actively scouting acquisition targets as rivals Omnicom and WPP appear poised to divest assets. The French group has continued its bolt‑on pace, adding five agencies in 2025 and taking majority stakes in four more this year, raising its...
Thoma Bravo, Google Cloud Team Up to Embed AI Across $8B Cybersecurity Portfolio
Thoma Bravo and Google Cloud have launched a strategic partnership that will give the private‑equity firm’s enterprise software portfolio direct access to Google’s Gemini AI models and engineering resources. The deal targets roughly $8 billion in revenue from Thoma Bravo’s cybersecurity...
SCA–Seven Deal ‘Snuck in’ Before ACCC Overhaul
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) completed a $385 million AUD (≈$254 million USD) acquisition of Seven West Media in early January 2026. The deal was finalized just days before Australia’s mandatory, public merger regime took effect on 1 January 2026, allowing it to avoid...
IAG's Acquisition of RAC Insurance Requires Phase 2 Review
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has moved Insurance Australia Group's (IAG) proposed purchase of RAC Insurance into a Phase 2 review, citing a substantial lessening of competition in Western Australia’s motor and home‑contents insurance markets. IAG would underwrite these...
Day 2: Video Goes Viral, Meeting 15 Founders Fast
Day 2 of buying companies (even dog shit ones 😂) my video post yesterday blew up and I met 15 fantastic founders across saas newsletters chrome extensions distributors agencies multiple progressing to next steps quickly DMs open
Dominus Surpasses Target in $640 Million Fund IV Close
Dominus Capital closed its fourth private‑equity fund, Dominus Capital Partners IV LP, at $640 million—well above the $500 million target and at the fund’s hard cap. The capital raise attracted limited partners from 16 countries, with North‑American investors providing 52% of commitments. The new...
ValOre Provides Update on Hatchet Uranium Corp. Transaction
ValOre Metals announced an update on the sale of its 51%‑owned subsidiary Hatchet Uranium Corp. to Future Fuels Inc., with the amalgamation agreement’s “outside date” pushed to April 30 2026. HUC shareholders approved the deal on March 10, and the TSX Venture Exchange...
Co-Founder of TwinFocus: Private Equity Bets Increasingly Selective Amid ‘DPI Crisis’
Paul Karger, co‑founder and managing partner of Boston‑based multi‑family office TwinFocus, says the private‑equity market is becoming more selective as limited partners grapple with a ‘DPI crisis.’ With roughly $12 bn under management for about 50 families, TwinFocus is steering capital...
Netflix Ready to Walk Away From Warner Deal
Ted Sarandos: Netflix Was ‘Willing to Put Emotion and Ego Aside’ and Walk Away from Warner Bros. Acquisition https://t.co/yPdLBCoAos via @variety
AIP to Take Avanos Medical Private in $1.27 B Deal
Private‑equity sponsor AIP announced a $1.27 billion cash offer to take Avanos Medical private. The deal values the med‑tech company at a premium to its 2025 revenue of $701.2 million and promises additional resources for its specialty‑nutrition and pain‑management portfolios.
Dycom Industries Acquires Data‑Center Assets, Raises Backlog Forecast by 37%
Dycom Industries announced the purchase of data‑center focused assets, expanding its telecom infrastructure portfolio. The deal helped lift the company's fiscal fourth‑quarter backlog by 23% and prompted a revised outlook that expects a 37% backlog increase, underscoring accelerating demand for...
XTI Aerospace Posts $121.6M FY 2025 Revenue, Guides $160M+ 2026 After $40M Drone Nerds Deal
XTI Aerospace announced FY 2025 revenue of $121.6 million and Q4 revenue of $22.5 million, highlighted a $40 million acquisition of Drone Nerds and a $25 million strategic investment from Unusual Machines. The company now expects 2026 revenue of at least $160 million, underscoring a...
Caterpillar Acquires Monarch Tractor Assets After CEO’s Software Pivot Fails
Caterpillar completed the purchase of Monarch Tractor’s assets after the California startup’s attempt to pivot to a software‑licensing model fell apart. The deal, announced in April, comes with no disclosed price but follows a series of layoffs, lawsuits and the...
Padres Sale Bids Near $4B, Shattering MLB Record
The latest bids are in for the San Diego Padres sale process, and three were at least $3.5 billion, including one nearing $4 billion. The sale will shatter the current MLB record of $2.42 billion for the Mets in 2020...
Vela Operating Group Secures Majority Stake in Hospitality SaaS Provider Derbysoft
Constellation Software’s Vela Operating Group, through its Juniper subsidiary, announced a deal to acquire a majority interest in Derbysoft Holdings Limited. The transaction keeps Derbysoft’s executive team as minority owners and sets a shareholders' agreement for future governance, underscoring ongoing...
MeiraGTx Reacquires Gene Therapy Candidate Bota-Vec for X‑Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa
MeiraGTx Holdings plc announced it has signed an asset purchase agreement with Johnson & Johnson to reacquire botaretigene sparoparvovec (bota-vec), its AAV‑RPGR gene‑therapy for X‑linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP). The company says the deal positions it to file Biologics License Applications...
When a LP Defaults
Limited partnership (LP) defaults on capital calls remain uncommon, affecting fewer than 5% of private‑equity funds, but heightened market stress is increasing scrutiny. Alexander Branton, CIO of Nodem Capital, outlines the contractual mechanisms that govern defaults, including enforcement rights and...
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RIA Buyers Say Slow Growers Must Prove Deal Will Boost Production
At RIA Edge Nashville, top RIA acquirers emphasized that slow‑growth firms must demonstrate the ability to accelerate client acquisition after a sale. Organic client growth remains a primary valuation metric, but buyers will also scrutinize the sustainability and repeatability of...
Paramount Is the Ideal Buyer for Warner Bros.
That’s the thing: Paramount was the BEST option for WB sale Anyone who doesn’t understand that does not truly care about theatrical
As De Beers Bid Deadline Looms, Botswana Pushes for Control – by William Clowes, Thomas Biesheuvel, Mbongeni Mguni and Antony...
Anglo American has set an April 16 deadline for bids to sell its De Beers diamond business, as the company moves to exit a market plagued by a deep downturn. Botswana, which already holds a 15% stake and mines two‑thirds of De Beers’...
Weston Firm and KingSett to Acquire First Capital in $6.8 Billion Property Deal
Weston Firm’s public real‑estate arm and KingSett Capital have signed a deal to buy First Capital REIT for C$9.4 billion ($6.8 billion). Shareholders will receive C$24.40 per share, and the combined assets will be divided between Choice Properties REIT and KingSett, creating...
Johnson Controls Mulls $4.5 B Sale of Security Units Amid Strategic Review
Johnson Controls is weighing the sale of its Access Control and Intrusion Detection units for a price tag that could reach $4.5 billion. The move, reported by Bloomberg via Reuters, reflects a broader effort to streamline the conglomerate’s portfolio and concentrate...
Foundation, a Prominent NFT Platform of the 2021 Boom, Shuts Down After Failed Sale
Foundation, the invite‑only Ethereum NFT marketplace that rose during the 2021 digital‑art boom, announced it will wind down after a planned sale to Blackdove collapsed. The platform, which has facilitated roughly $230 million in sales—including a $600,000 Nyan Cat auction and a...
Fonia Group Attracts New Investor to Support International Expansion
Polish telecommunications firm Fonia Group has secured a new investor as Mateusz Borowiecki, a veteran entrepreneur, acquired a stake in the company. Borowiecki, who previously held a majority position in the e‑commerce platform OptiBuy until its 2025 sale, brings both capital...
Media Ad Measurement Still Attracts Startups and M&A
Why we continue to see startup formation and m&a in media and ad measurement. https://t.co/uCJ23GTccm
Credit Secondaries Gains Traction Among Korean LPs
Korean limited partners are turning to credit‑focused secondary transactions as a way to acquire debt assets at discounted prices while preserving downside protection. The trend reflects broader growth in the global secondary market, which has seen double‑digit volume increases over...
Industrial Deals ‘Skittish to Launch’ and Taking Longer to Close, Say Investment Bankers; Companies for Sale Update
Investment bankers report that industrial M&A activity has become increasingly cautious, with deals hesitant to launch and closing timelines extending by roughly a third. The slowdown is tied to volatile oil prices triggered by the US‑Israel‑Iran conflict, which has unsettled...
Access Point Reveals $375M Capitalization for Studio 6 Conversion Initiative
Access Point announced a $375 million financing package to acquire and rebrand a 38‑hotel portfolio as Studio 6 properties. The deal includes $286 million of senior debt from Citi and a mezzanine layer funded by Access Point, secured on an accelerated timeline. The...
Now Tracking Revenue Growth Across Every Fund Portfolio
i can't believe i didn't have this before, but i can now see (and show) revenue growth across each fund's portfolio https://t.co/Jgmf7wORWv
ET Capital Launches Cambridge Venture Index Fund 2 to Broaden Access to Deeptech Investing
ET Capital has launched the Cambridge Venture Index SEIS/EIS Fund 2 (CVIF2), targeting up to 20 early‑stage, science‑based companies emerging from the Cambridge and Oxford ecosystems. The fund builds on CVIF1, raised in 2025, and applies proprietary synthetic‑venture modeling that...
Have Software Returns Faltered over the Past Five Years?
Software-focused private equity funds, including those managed by Vista, Insight and PSG, have largely matched or outperformed their vintage peers over the past five years. Despite widespread concerns about slowing SaaS growth and valuation compression, the sector’s returns have remained...
IBM's $11 B Purchase of Confluent Fuels Debate Over Enterprise Data‑Stack Consolidation
IBM announced an $11 billion deal to acquire Confluent, the commercial steward of Apache Kafka, intensifying debate over data‑stack consolidation in the enterprise cloud. Analysts warn that integrating Kafka into IBM’s broader platform could create architectural debt and lock‑in, while IBM...
Gloo Posts 418% Revenue Jump in Q4 2025, Raises FY2026 Guidance to $190M
Gloo Holdings released its Q4 2025 earnings call transcript, revealing a 418% year‑over‑year revenue surge to $33.6 million and a narrowed adjusted EBITDA loss of $18.6 million. Management also lifted full‑year 2026 revenue guidance to $190 million and announced the acquisition of Enterprise...