1 big thing: Activist investor takes on car auction company

2. The BFD: Kohl's attracts another suitor 

3. Another department store, another campaign 

Illustration of a hand holding a hammer breaking away pieces of a briefcase. 

4. Retail transactions

Good morning, Retail Readers, and happy hump day! 🐫

Retail Deals

Standard

1 big thing: A tale of 3 activists campaigns

2. The BFD: Dunkin' inks sports deals

Illustration of the Wall St. bull statue eating a donut.

3. Retail therapy: Macy's upgrade and PPI surge

Illustration of Sigmund Freud holding a collection of shopping bags.

5. It's Personnel 

🐫 We're nearly over this week's hump Retail Readers! 

In the immortal words of Austin Powers, "allow myself to...introduce...myself." Michael Flaherty here, normally the editor/co-conspirator with Richard. Richard's out today, so I'm coming in from the bullpen like Ricky Vaughan. 

📈 Situational awareness: This morning’s retail sales (+3.5%) tell us consumers and inflation are both moving up and to the right. 

Remember to tell your friends to sign up for this newsletter if you haven't already.

1. a16z, Coatue place carbon-software bet

2. Goldman power

3. Monta nets €30M for EV charging SaaS

4. Construction startup raises $11.5M

$100 bill with construction helmet on Franklin's head

5. Chart of the week: Nickel and dimed

Enjoy this week's digest and then subscribe and listen to the latest season of "Elon Musk vs. Twitter" — a docuseries about Musk's astonishing career, the rise of Twitter, and what the collision between the two could mean for us all. 

That was a whirlwind of a week. Rest up. Megan and Alan will be back Monday to catch you up on the latest. 

And thank you for reading Climate Deals! Please share with your friends, family and nickel enthusiasts.

Climate Deals

1 big thing: Reading the TreeHouse Foods tea leaves

Illustration of a coffee cup with steam in the shape of a dollar sign.

2. The BFD:  Kering sets sights on Maui 

3. Retail therapy

🦅 Today, March 15, is Buzzards Day. OK, I know that's not a buzzard emoji but it's the closest I could find, other than a turkey 🦃. 

1 big thing: Yum China's full plate 

Illustration of magnifying glass over china's national star

2. The BFD: Softbank cashes in on discount Coupang stake

3. TreeHouse Foods tells Jana thanks, but no

Illustration of a tree with money as the leaves. 

4. Retail therapy

5. Retail transactions

🥧  Pi Day, Retail Readers! See below for more on this particular day.

🌡  Richard is not feeling well today, so Mike's hopping in.

➗  According to the official Pi Day website, "Pi Day is an annual opportunity for math enthusiasts to recite the infinite digits of Pi, talk to their friends about math, and eat pie."

Nothing against math, but I'm going to opt for the latter option there. 

Health Tech Deals

Dealmakers see a rosier M&A outlook for Q4 and beyond, as corporate buyers prepare to pounce, and as piles of cash burn holes in private equity pockets. 

Driving the news: Fueling these hopes are a surprising number of big-ticket summer deals, improved business confidence and easier bank lending.

What's happening: M&A markets were dead quiet in the first half of the year, but deal activity came to life in the normally quiet summer months, across multiple sectors. Significant deals announced since July 1 include:

Pipeline operator Energy Transfer agreeing to acquire rival Crestwood for $7.1 billion.

Private equity firm GTCR agreeing to buy a 55% stake in fintech Worldpay, which included a $1.25 billion check for Worldpay to pursue more deals.

And last month, fashion conglomerate Tapestry struck a deal to buy competitor Capri Holdings last month for $8.5 billion.

State of play: These stirrings have bankers getting back to work.

 Brian Haufrect, co-head of Goldman Sachs' Americas M&A, says his team has been able to "relaunch processes and dialogue that had previously been put on hold."

The IPO market rebound is also helping to kickstart dual track discussions from sellers, says Dan Grabos, co-head of Barclays' Americas M&A team.

"In virtually every private equity IPO exit situation that we've talked about with clients, they want to evaluate a dual track M&A and IPO," Grabos says.

Meanwhile, Haufrect says he expects to see corporate spin-offs increase as strategics continue to assess their portfolios. 

By the numbers: Through Aug. 31, U.S. M&A was down 26.7% to $981 billion, according to LSEG, the lowest year-t0-date value in a decade, excluding 2020. The number of deals notched up through that date totaled 12,743, an 8.4% drop.

Yes, but: The trend line is ticking up. U.S. M&A value was down 40% as of June 30. 

What they're saying: Haufrect and Grabos both zeroed-in on one sector to watch: energy transition.

"A lot of clients are evaluating the appropriate pace of transition from fossil fuels to a lower carbon business model given the practicalities in the market, and many are looking to investments and M&A to facilitate that transition," Grabos says. 

M&A interest in the energy sector is tracking close to venture capital dollars, as funds are expected to invest more into carbon and emissions-tech startups this year than in 2022.

With significant capital now invested in the sector, Haufrect says he expects M&A to play a larger role.

Yes, but: A stricter antitrust regime and new merger guidelines are casting a shadow over the deals landscape. 

Both Haufrect and Grabos say potential antitrust concerns loom when vetting prospective buyers.

"People are spending more time thinking about regulatory risks and thinking about it up front," Haufrect says. 

The bottom line: Dealmakers are more than ready for an M&A boom — but wishing doesn't make it so. 

U.S. M&A sees uptick as dealmakers eye energy bids, dual-track sales

Dealmakers see a rosier M&A outlook for Q4 and beyond.

Mergers and acquisitions

Dealmakers see a rosier M&amp;A outlook for Q4 and beyond, as corporate buyers prepare to pounce, and as piles of cash burn holes in private equity pockets. Driving the news: Fueling these hopes are a surprising number of big-ticket summer deals, improved business confidence and easier bank lending.

Car-sharing company Turo may finally start its IPO roadshow next month, Bloomberg reports, after tapping the brakes on its effort to list.

Why it matters: The timing update for the company's aging plans to go public is another sign that the IPO market is perking back to life, albeit slowly.

Details: Bloomberg's report is thin on specifics, other than saying the company has recharged its listing-process battery. The company has raised around $500 million.

Its service provides a sort of Airbnb for cars.

Big picture: Car/ride-sharing is a climate-tech play in that the business takes a ton of vehicles, and the pollution that comes with them, off the road.

Turo competitor Getaround published a piece on that very subject.

Turo's largest investors include IAC/InterActiveCorp, August Capital, Canaan Partners, G Squared, Shasta Ventures and GV and their affiliates, according to a filing.

Of note: Two other listings issued more details today, showing that the market is ready for them but with muted expectations. Axios' Dan Primack has more on the Instacart and Klaviyo roadshow launches.

Turo was working with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan last year, according to its prospectus.

Turo pulls its car-sharing IPO back into the fast-lane

Roadshow could start next month, report says.

Initial public offerings (IPO)

Car-sharing company Turo may finally start its IPO roadshow next month, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Bloomberg reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-08/car-sharing-service-turo-restarts-ipo-plans-for-fall" data-vars-content-id="281679e7-3da4-4bf7-9c0d-c0cd881a1657" data-vars-headline="Turo pulls its car-sharing IPO back into the fast-lane" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-08/car-sharing-service-turo-restarts-ipo-plans-for-fall" target="_blank">Bloomberg reports</a>, after tapping the brakes on its effort to list.Why it matters: The timing update for the company&#x27;s aging plans to go public is another sign that the IPO market is perking back to life, albeit slowly.Details: Bloomberg&#x27;s report is thin on specifics, other than saying the company has recharged its listing-process battery. The company has raised around $500 million.<ul><li>Its service provides a sort of Airbnb for cars.</li></ul>Big picture: Car/ride-sharing is a climate-tech play in that the business takes a ton of vehicles, and the pollution that comes with them, off the road.<ul><li>Turo competitor Getaround <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="published a piece" data-vars-click-url="https://blog.getaround.com/driving-down-emissions-doubling-down-sustainability/" data-vars-content-id="281679e7-3da4-4bf7-9c0d-c0cd881a1657" data-vars-headline="Turo pulls its car-sharing IPO back into the fast-lane" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://blog.getaround.com/driving-down-emissions-doubling-down-sustainability/" target="_blank">published a piece</a> on that very subject.</li><li>Turo&#x27;s largest investors include IAC/InterActiveCorp, August Capital, Canaan Partners, G Squared, Shasta Ventures and GV and their affiliates, according to a filing.</li></ul>Of note: Two other listings issued more details today, showing that the market is ready for them but with muted expectations. Axios&#x27; Dan Primack <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="has more" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/11/ipo-instacart-klaviyo-valuations" data-vars-content-id="281679e7-3da4-4bf7-9c0d-c0cd881a1657" data-vars-headline="Turo pulls its car-sharing IPO back into the fast-lane" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/11/ipo-instacart-klaviyo-valuations" target="_self">has more</a> on the Instacart and Klaviyo roadshow launches.<ul><li>Turo was working with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan last year, according to its prospectus.</li></ul>

Two pension fund giants in Canada have hung a "for sale" sign on Cubico Sustainable Investments, a sustainable investment group they own, Reuters reports. 

Why it matters: The sale could generate around $6 billion (including debt) for the two pension funds, the report says, a 10X valuation on the group's EBITDA that it's targeting. 

Details: Montreal-based Public Sector Pension (PSP) Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) are planning to appoint a banker in the coming weeks to advise on the sale. 

"In 2015 the two funds partnered with Banco Santander SA to launch Cubico, and became equal owners after buying out the Spanish bank's stake the following year.

Cubico operates wind and solar farms in 12 countries in Europe and America, as well as concentrated solar power and transmission line technology operations with a capacity of 2.8 GW." 

Canadian pension funds said to eye $6 billion sale of renewables group Cubico

The group operates wind and solar farms in 12 countries.

A Canadian wind farm. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)

Renewable energy

Two pension fund giants in Canada have hung a &quot;for sale&quot; sign on Cubico Sustainable Investments, a sustainable investment group they own, Reuters reports. Why it matters: The sale could generate around $6 billion (including debt) for the two pension funds, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the report says" data-vars-click-url="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/canadian-pension-funds-explore-6-bln-sale-renewables-firm-cubico-sources-2023-08-10/" data-vars-content-id="76fe6551-f4b1-4079-a72e-746b136e380e" data-vars-headline="Canadian pension funds said to eye $6 billion sale of renewables group Cubico" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/canadian-pension-funds-explore-6-bln-sale-renewables-firm-cubico-sources-2023-08-10/" target="_blank">the report says</a>, a 10X valuation on the group&#x27;s EBITDA that it&#x27;s targeting.

National

Merger Mondays used to be CNBC's version of Must-See TV, with corporate mergers kicking off every workweek. After a long hiatus, dealmakers think they're ready for a comeback.

By the numbers: The trend line ticked up this summer. U.S. M&A was down 26.7% to $981 billion through Aug. 31, according to LSEG. 

Brian Haufrect, co-head of Goldman Sachs' North American M&A, says his team has been able to "relaunch processes and dialogue that had previously been put on hold."

The IPO market rebound is also helping to kickstart dual track discussions from sellers, says Dan Grabos, co-head of Barclays' North American M&A team.

Meanwhile, Haufrect says he expects to see spin-offs increase as corporations continue to assess their portfolios.

Yes, but: A stricter antitrust regime and new merger guidelines are casting a shadow over the deals landscape.

"People are spending more time thinking about regulatory risks and thinking about it up front," Haufrect says.

Claire Rychlewski and Michael Flaherty are editors for Axios Pro Deals.

Axios reporters dove deep into the M&A market outlook in Tuesday's Health Tech, Fintech, Media and Retail Deals newsletters. Start your free trial today.

After drought, experts see return of merger gusher

Corporate M&A showed signs this summer of returning to past levels.

Economy & Business

Media Deals

Chelsea FC raised about $500 million from Ares Management, the Financial Times reports. 

Why it matters: The investment is another large chunk of cash headed to a professional sports team, and this time, it comes from a rapidly growing investment firm that has its various arms in vast piles of loans, financing, acquisitions and other securities.

Details: Bloomberg reported in August that Ares was in talks about the funding, a deal that would follow a range of investments the firm has in other pro soccer teams. FT said on Thursday that the money has arrived. 

The funding also comes after Chelsea's new owners took over the club and spent lavishly on players, a spree that failed to boost the team's standings. Chelsea finished in 12th place last season in the Premier League. 

What they're saying: The FT reports that the $500 million came in the form of a preferred equity deal. 

"Chelsea, which is controlled by a consortium including private equity group Clearlake Capital and US financier Todd Boehly, is looking for ways to boost revenue after an expensive transfer window," FT reports.

Ares kicks $500M over to struggling Chelsea FC

The investment comes from a rapidly growing investment firm with various arms in vast piles of loans, financing, acquisitions and other securities.

Michael Arougheti, co-founder of Ares. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Investments

Chelsea FC raised about $500 million from Ares Management, the Financial Times <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ft.com/content/2ad36a20-5036-4018-aa0f-91c7ecdd286c" data-vars-content-id="b22580d0-7af9-4b90-8f88-7381e0f2e554" data-vars-headline="Ares kicks $500M over to struggling Chelsea FC" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ft.com/content/2ad36a20-5036-4018-aa0f-91c7ecdd286c" target="_blank">reports</a>. Why it matters: The investment is another large chunk of cash headed to a professional sports team, and this time, it comes from a rapidly growing investment firm that has its various arms in vast piles of loans, financing, acquisitions and other securities.

Michael Flaherty

Stories

Ares kicks $500M over to struggling Chelsea FC

Turo pulls its car-sharing IPO back into the fast-lane

U.S. M&A sees uptick as dealmakers eye energy bids, dual-track sales

After drought, experts see return of merger gusher

Canadian pension funds said to eye $6 billion sale of renewables group Cubico

Newsletter editions

Climate: 🗞 Catch up quick

Retail: Hudson's Bay eyes Kohl's

🫖 Retail: TreeHouse spills tea

Retail: Yum's double whammy

Retail: Another full slate attack