Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Venture Capital
• ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, is planning to launch a new employee share buyback that will value the company at $330b, per Reuters. Its last share sale valued the company at $315b. Go deeper
💊 Wugen, a St. Louis-based developer of off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies, raised $115m. Fidelity led, joined by RiverVest Venture Partners, Lightchain Capital, Abingworth, ICG, LYZZ Capital, Tybourne Capital Management, and Aisling Capital Management. Go deeper
• InstaLILY, a NYC-based AI company for industrial verticals, raised $25m led by Insight Partners. Go deeper
🌎 Reframe Systems, a Boston-based construction automation developer, raised $20m in Series A funding led by Eclipse and VoLo Earth Ventures, joined by MassMutual Catalyst Funds, Cubit Capital, Planetary Health at RA Capital Management, Saga Ventures, and Nor'easter Ventures. Go deeper
• BIGC, a South Korean entertainment-tech company, raised $14m in Series A funding. Stonebridge Ventures and BonAngels Venture Partners led with participation from Nextrans, NAU IB, Hana Ventures, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), and Alois Ventures. Go deeper
🌎 Terraton, a San Francisco-based biochar startup, has raised $11.5m in seed funding co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Gigascale Capital. Go deeper
💊 Sarborg Limited, a Wilmington, Del.-based maker of an AI drug development platform, raised $10m in seed funding led by Corvus Capital. Go deeper
• Mantic, a London-based startup that claims to forecast world events, raised $4m in pre-seed funding led by Episode 1. Go deeper
⚡ Vulcan Elements, a Durham, N.C.-based rare earth magnet maker, raised funding from 1789 Capital, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
Private Equity
• GTCR acquired Innovative Systems, a Mitchell, S.D.-based provider of software for regional broadband providers, from Alpine Investors. innovsys.com
• Liberty Service Partners, backed by NorthCurrent Partners, acquired Restivo's Heating & Air, a Rhode Island-based HVAC provider. Go deeper
• Salt Creek Capital acquired the sole franchisee of Red Robin restaurants in Canada. Go deeper
M&A
• HD Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea agreed to buy affiliate HD Hyundai Mipo for around $5.5b. Go deeper
• Mauritius will seek to sell a minority stake in its national airline, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
• Rheinmetall (DE: RHMG) reportedly is eyeing a takeover of German shipbuilder Naval Vessels Luerssen, per Bild. Go deeper
Going Public
• M3-Brigade Acquisition VI, a crypto and blockchain SPAC led by Mohsin Meghji, raised $300m in its IPO. Go deeper
Liquidity
• Sompo Holdings (Tokyo: 8603) agreed to buy Aspen Insurance (NYSE: AHL) for $3.5b, or $37.50 per share (35.6% premium). Aspen is majority-owned by Apollo Global Management. Go deeper
Fundraising
⚡GDEV Management, a New York City-based private equity firm, says it's secured $200m for its second fund to invest in energy technologies. Go deeper
It's Personnel
• Thad Sheely joined Arctos Partners as an operating partner. He is advising the Washington Commanders on their new stadium process and was previously was COO and head of real estate for the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. Go deeper
Odds & ends
⚡Fusion Fuel Cycles, an Ontario-based JV between Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Kyoto Fusioneering, is raising $20m from General Atomics for its fusion test bed fuel cycle. Go deeper
- Ryan Barwick, Natalie Breymeyer, Erin Brodwin, Colin Campbell, Katherine Davis, Katie Fehrenbacher, Ryan Lawler, Chris Metinko, Alan Neuhauser, Dan Primack, and Brock E.W. Turner contributed to this report.
