M&A deals of the week

Private Equity Buys

🔥 Agellus Capital acquired Phillips Fire & Life Safety, a Houston-based fire and life safety services company, adding it to Bluejack Fire & Life Safety. Go deeper

⚡ Albireo Energy, a Huron Capital portfolio company, acquired Powers' regional units in Oklahoma and Mississippi/Louisiana. Go deeper

⚡ Ardian acquired minority stakes in Texas-based wind farms Horse Creek and Electra from a Munich Re subsidiary. Go deeper

🏈 Arctos Partners agreed to buy a 10% stake in the NFL's Atlanta Falcons at a $10.6b enterprise value, per CNBC. Go deeper

• Astara Capital Partners acquired Dynatec Systems, a Burlington, N.J.-based maker of industrial wastewater treatment systems. Go deeper

• Aventia, backed by Bernhard Capital Partners, acquired Bryant Hammett & Associates, a Ferriday, La.-based civil engineering, land surveying and hazard mitigation firm. Go deeper

• Bowmark Capital acquired a majority stake in InfraXmedia, a London-based media and events company for the digital-infrastructure market, from Opus Origin. Go deeper

🌎 Canada Growth Fund and Rice Investment Group invested $35m in EnerPure, a Canadian developer of motor oil recycling tech. Go deeper

• Carlyle and CVC Capital Partners are prepping a takeover bid for German security systems provider Bauwatch for around €1b, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

• Certerra, backed by OceanSound Partners, acquired Skyrise Engineering and Testing, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based geotechnical and materials testing firm. Go deeper

• Charlesbank is in talks for a $700m stake in U.S. law firm WSHB, per the FT. Go deeper

🚑 Columna Capital sold its majority stake in French dental care provider Ardentis Cliniques Dentaires to Medbase, part of Migros Group. Go deeper

• The Crest Group, backed by Stellex Capital Management, acquired Dukane, a St. Charles, Ill.-based maker of ultrasonic solutions and plastic joining technologies. Go deeper

• CVC Capital Partners invested in OpenRent, a U.K. property rental platform. Go deeper

• Deutsche Telekom agreed to buy Polish network operator Fiberhost and broadband provider Inea from Macquarie Asset Management for €1b. Go deeper

• DoiT acquired Israeli startup Attribute, which measures AI and cloud spending. DoiT backers include Pantheon, Bain Capital, Charlesbank Capital Partners, and Deutsche Bank. Attribute had raised $13.5m from Mensch Capital, SCapital, HarelTech, and IBI. Go deeper

• EQT acquired a majority stake in Australian rugby club Melbourne Storm. Go deeper

• EQT is weighing a sale of ILA Vietnam, an English language education business in Vietnam that could fetch around $500m, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

⚡ Exponent agreed to invest more than €70m into OFS, an Irish provider of specialist technical services to the power industry. Go deeper

⚽ Fenway Sports Group, whose backers include RedBird Capital Partners, agreed to sell around a one-third stake in Liverpool FC for £1.65b to a consortium that includes Amit Bhatia, Jeff Bezos, and Eduardo Saverin. Go deeper

• Foods Connected, an Apax Partners portfolio company, acquired food quality inspection provider HarvestMark Quality Insights. Go deeper

🚑 Francisco Partners agreed to acquire Weave Communications (NYSE: WEAV), a patient engagement and payments platform, for around $650m, or $7.40 per share. Go deeper

• General Atlantic refreshed its confidential IPO paperwork with the SEC, nearly three years after the private equity firm's original submission, per the WSJ. Go deeper

• Genstar Capital is investing in Ascensus, a Dresher, Pa.-based retirement and savings account provider it sold to Stone Point Capital in 2021. Genstar and Stone Point now will be co-owners. Go deeper

• Genstar Capital agreed to buy Oncourse Home Solutions, a Naperville, Ill.-based provider of home infrastructure warranties, from Apax Partners. Go deeper

• Global Infrastructure Partners and I Squared Capital each submitted bids for Porto Sudeste, a Brazilian port being sold by Trafigura Group and Mubadala Capital, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

🚑 Guidant Power, backed by Shore Capital, acquired Dyna Scan Technical Services, a Cincinnati-based infrared inspection firm specializing in health-care facilities. Go deeper

🚑 Hg invested in Nourish Care, a provider of software for the U.K. social and community care sector. Go deeper

• Investcorp acquired Indian contract logistics platform 20Cube 3PL Solutions for about $52m. Go deeper

🚑 JLL Partners agreed to acquire Life Couriers, a German provider of health-care logistics, from Auctus Capital Partners. Go deeper

🚽 John To Go, an Ironwood Capital portfolio company, acquired Bravo Site Services, a Long Island-based portable toilet and trailer rental provider. Go deeper

⚡️ KKR offered to acquire natural-gas and electricity distributor UGI Corp (NYSE: UGI) for roughly $9b, or $42.50 a share, per WSJ. Go deeper

• KKR also invested up to $50m for a 6% stake in BookMyShow, an Indian ticketing and live entertainment platform. Go deeper

• KKR agreed to lead an A$7.7b takeover of Australian insurance broker Steadfast Group (ASX: SDF). As part of the deal, Genstar Capital-backed Amwins would acquire Steadfast's underwriting agency and Dragoneer would assume its broking business. Go deeper

🚑 Leo Pharma, owned by Nordic Capital, will pay up to $435m upfront (plus earnouts) for the rights to a skin disease drug from Tanabe Pharma, owned by Bain Capital. Go deeper

🚑 Linden Capital hired Jefferies to shop oncology-focused consultancy Aptitude Health, per Axios Pro. Go deeper

• Long Ridge Equity Partners invested in MarketSphere, an Atlanta-based provider of unclaimed property compliance solutions. Go deeper

• Lyntris, a defense-tech rollup backed by Trive Capital, raised $297.5m in its IPO. It priced 17m shares at $17.50, versus plans to offer 24m shares at $19-$22, and will list on the NYSE (LYNX). axios.link/4z8e7Ip

• Marquee Brands, owned by Neuberger Berman, acquired Roots (TSX: ROOT), a Canadian outdoors and lifestyle brand, for C$4.10 per share. Go deeper

🚑 Medmark, an Irish occupational health provider, secured up to €70m from Phoenix Equity Partners. Go deeper

🚑 New Heritage Capital invested in Carepoint Pharmacy, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based access hub and dispensing pharmacy. Go deeper

• Oakley Capital agreed to buy a majority stake in Graphwise, a Bulgarian provider of knowledge graph and semantic data technology. Sellers are Integral Capital Group, Portfolion Capital Partners, and Carpathian Partners. Go deeper

• Ode, the enterprise AI consulting business Go deeper and several PE firms, acquired AI services firm Casper Studios. Go deeper

🚑 Providence Equity Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in CheckedUp, an NYC-based patient education and engagement tech company, from Rockbridge Growth Equity. Varsity Healthcare Partners is taking a minority stake. Go deeper

• PSG invested in XBE, a Kansas City, Mo.-based "system of action" for heavy materials, logistics, and construction teams. Go deeper

• Quantexa, a British decision intelligence platform, is planning an IPO in either the U.K. or U.S., its CEO tells Reuters. The company has raised over $500m and was valued last year at $2.6b. Backers include Dawn Capital, Warburg Pincus, Teachers' Venture Growth, AlbionVC, Evolution Equity Partners, and British Patient Capital. axios.link/3U8QOy3

⚡ Quantum Capital Group agreed to sell Permian Basin-focused FireBird Energy II to Continental Resources. Go deeper

• Ridgeview agreed to buy U.K. auto services firm Pinewood Technologies (LSE: PINE) for £545m. Pinewood previously agreed to a deal with Apax, which later bailed. Go deeper

• Risepoint, backed by The Vistria Group, acquired the North American operations of Keypath Education, a health-care education company. Go deeper

• River Associates Investments acquired Diamond Wipes, a Chino, Calif.-based wet wipe maker. Go deeper

• Salt Creek Capital acquired Craig Wire Products, a Douglasville, Ga.-based maker of magnet wire. Go deeper

🔥 Security Fire Solutions Platform, backed by Blackford Capital, acquired Industrial Electronic Systems, a Rancho Cordova, Calif.-based provider of fire alarm, security, and life safety solutions. Go deeper

🚑 SEVA Growth invested in Serif Health, an SF-based provider of healthcare price transparency data. Go deeper

• Shur-Co, a portfolio company of Behrman Capital, acquired Heavy Motions, an Ontario, Calif.-based maker of hydraulic systems and motion products. Go deeper

🚑 Skye Bioscience (Nasdaq: SKYE) agreed to acquire Redx Pharma, a U.K. biotech focused on fibrotic diseases. The deal includes $125m of new financing from Abingworth, British Business Bank, NEXTBio Capital, and 5AM Ventures. Go deeper

• Stone Point Capital acquired the risk management unit of agri-food tech company Ever.Ag. Go deeper

• Strategic Value Partners hired JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for APCOA Parking, a London-based parking space operator that could fetch €2b, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

• Summit Partners hired Piper Sandler to find a buyer for freight factoring firm OTR Solutions, per Axios Pro. Go deeper

• Summit Restoration Group, backed by Point 41, acquired Capital Construction Services and Capital Fire & Water, Richmond, Va.-based emergency response and rebuild groups. Go deeper

• THL Partners agreed to buy a majority stake in Queue-it, a Copenhagen-based provider of online traffic orchestration solutions, from GRO Capital. Go deeper

• Trinity Consultants, backed by Veritas Capital and Oak Hill Capital, acquired Sacramento-based environmental consultancy Verux. Go deeper

• Triton Partners acquired Swedish media measurement firm Cint for less than $300m. Go deeper

• Truestar Capital agreed to buy Chinese mobile game developer Lingxi Games for around $2b from Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), per Reuters. Go deeper

• Turnspire Capital Partners acquired Hulcher Services, a Denton, Texas-based provider of rail infrastructure, maintenance, and field services. Go deeper

• Uplift Investors is acquiring Engage Fi, a financial services tech consultant, from Falfurrias Management Partners. Go deeper

• Upstox, an Indian online trading platform, is planning to raise up to $400m in a domestic IPO, per Bloomberg. It's raised over $50m from firms like Kalaari Capital and Tiger Global. axios.link/4x4dSN3

• VALD, backed by FTV Capital, acquired both BridgeAthletic (strength/conditioning software) and GymAware (training tech). Go deeper

• Valor Exterior Partners, a Cincinnati-based portfolio company of Osceola Capital, acquired Braintree, Mass.-based Associate Roofing. Go deeper

• Vensure Employer Solutions, a Stone Point Capital portfolio company, acquired TecsPal, an SF-based provider of IT asset management for remote teams. Go deeper

• Veritas Capital agreed to sell Epiq Design Solutions, a Rolling Meadow, Ill.-based provider of specialized radio technologies, to TTM Technologies (Nasdaq: TTMI) for $1.1b. Go deeper

• WSB, a GHK Capital portfolio company, acquired Civil Infrastructure Associates, a Murfreesboro, Tenn.-based municipal engineering firm. Go deeper

Private Equity Sells

🚑 Columna Capital sold its majority stake in French dental care provider Ardentis Cliniques Dentaires to Medbase, part of Migros Group. Go deeper

• Deutsche Telekom agreed to buy Polish network operator Fiberhost and broadband provider Inea from Macquarie Asset Management for €1b. Go deeper

• EQT is weighing a sale of ILA Vietnam, an English language education business in Vietnam that could fetch around $500m, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

⚽ Fenway Sports Group, whose backers include RedBird Capital Partners, agreed to sell around a one-third stake in Liverpool FC for £1.65b to a consortium that includes Amit Bhatia, Jeff Bezos, and Eduardo Saverin. Go deeper

• General Atlantic refreshed its confidential IPO paperwork with the SEC, nearly three years after the private equity firm's original submission, per the WSJ. Go deeper

🚑 Linden Capital hired Jefferies to shop oncology-focused consultancy Aptitude Health, per Axios Pro. Go deeper

⚡ Quantum Capital Group agreed to sell Permian Basin-focused FireBird Energy II to Continental Resources. Go deeper

• Strategic Value Partners hired JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for APCOA Parking, a London-based parking space operator that could fetch €2b, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

• Summit Partners hired Piper Sandler to find a buyer for freight factoring firm OTR Solutions, per Axios Pro. Go deeper

• Veritas Capital agreed to sell Epiq Design Solutions, a Rolling Meadow, Ill.-based provider of specialized radio technologies, to TTM Technologies (Nasdaq: TTMI) for $1.1b. Go deeper

More M&A

• Alphabet is paying $10m for business data from bankrupt Spirit Airlines. Go deeper

• Ascend Sport (dba AIM Sport), a Swiss sports tech company, is working on a reverse merger with shell company EvoNext (SIX: EVE) at around a $740m valuation, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

• AvalonBay Communities completed its merger with fellow apartment owner Equity Residential, forming a new company called Vivmark Residential (NYSE: VMRK) with around a $51b market cap. Go deeper

• Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) completed its $34.5b acquisition of Cox Communications from Cox Enterprises (parent company of Axios). Go deeper

⚡ Continental Resources of Oklahoma agreed to buy a 50% stake in Phoenix Global Resources, an Argentinian shale oil firm owned by Mercuria Energy Group. Go deeper

• DB Cargo of Germany reportedly is seeking to sell its U.K. railfreight business. Go deeper

• Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX) ended its efforts to acquire Genco Shipping & Trading (NYSE: GNK), claiming demands from Genco were unreasonable. Go deeper

📺 Disney (NYSE: DIS) has no interest in spinning off ESPN, per a CNBC interview with CEO Josh D'Amaro. Go deeper

⚡ Equinor (Oslo: EQNR) acquired an 87.7% stake in the Lackawanna Energy Center, a 1,483 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Pennsylvania, for $940m from Invenergy. Go deeper

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) will pay up to $410m to acquire LCN Capital Partners, an investment manager specializing in real estate sale-leasebacks, build-to-suit, and triple net leases. Go deeper

• Holcim (Swiss: HOLN) agreed to acquire Fermacell, a German maker of sustainable walling and flooring solutions, for €430m from James Hardie Industries (NYSE: JHX). Go deeper

• HomeTrust (NYSE: HTB) agreed to buy Richmond, Va.-based Blue Ridge Bank for $448m in stock. Go deeper

• Inspire Brands Asia is seeking to sell gym chain Anytime Fitness Asia for upwards of $400m, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

• Madison Air Solutions (NYSE: MAIR) agreed to buy Ebm-papst, a German provider of fans and other ventilation technologies, for $5.4b. Go deeper

• MAI Capital Management acquired Waypoint Wealth Counsel, an Atlanta-based RIA with $490m under management. Go deeper

• Mavis Tires completed its acquisition of auto services chain Pep Boys from Icahn Enterprises for $700m in cash. Go deeper

⚡ Mitsubishi Electric (Tokyo: 6503) agreed to acquire PCI Energy Solutions, a Norman, Okla.-based energy software provider, for $1.4b. Go deeper

⚡ Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) agreed to invest $1.5b into SB Energy, a Redwood City, Calif.-based data center infrastructure firm, as part of an Ohio project. SB Energy previously raised around $3.8b from firms like SoftBank and OpenAI, and has filed confidential IPO paperwork. Go deeper

• NY Jets owners Woody Johnson agreed to buy a minority stake in the Aston Martin Formula One team, which is owned by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll and includes minority backers Arctos Partners, HPS Investment Partners and Saudi Arabia's PIF. Go deeper

• OceanaGold (TSX: OCG) agreed to acquire Australian miner Ausgold (ASX: AUC) for around A$776m. Go deeper

⚡ Optiver agreed to buy a majority stake in Dutch energy trader Northpool. Go deeper

🏀 Patrick Soon-Shiong said he doesn't plan to sell his 4% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to the group led by Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger. Go deeper

• Saputo (TSX: SAP) agreed to sell its U.K. dairy unit to France's Lactalis for £988m. Go deeper

• T. Rowe Price agreed to acquire F/m Investments, a fixed-income and ETF manager with around $19b. Go deeper

🚑 Trusted Health, an SF-based health care workforce technology company, acquired ShiftOS, an SF-based AI scheduling agent for hospitals and health systems. Go deeper

🚑 Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) closed its acquisition of Talkspace, a virtual mental health platform. Go deeper

• Woody Johnson, owner of the woeful New York Jets, agreed to buy a minority stake in the Aston Martin Formula One team. Go deeper

• WSP Global (TSX: WSP) plans to keep pursuing Arcadis, a listed Dutch engineering and consulting group that has rejected two unsolicited approaches. Go deeperFundraising

• Academic Capital Partners is raising $300m for a debut fund that will buy educational assets in Asia and the Middle East. Go deeper

• Broadwing, a Dallas-based PE firm focused on midmarket manufacturing and services companies, raised $440m for its debut fund. Go deeper

• Crestline Management of Texas raised $625m for its second Europe-focused PE fund. Go deeper

• GD1, a New Zealand venture firm, held an NZ$56.7m first close on its second flagship fund, which is targeting NZ$150m. Go deeper

• Homestead Capital, an SF-based investment firm focused on U.S. agriculture, is targeting $350m for its first private credit fund. Go deeper

• Jefferies Credit Partners is targeting €1b for a secondaries fund, per Bloomberg. Go deeper

• Ninety One raised $404m for its third Africa credit opportunities fund. Go deeper

• Siguler Guff raised $500m for its latest India-focused fund. Go deeper

It's Personnel

• Adit Singh joined Mayfield as a partner focused on AI infrastructure. He previously was with Cota Capital. Go deeper

• Andrew Williams joined Blue Owl Capital as head of communications. He previously was with Brunswick Group and Goldman Sachs. Go deeper

• Doug Brockway joined Citizens Capital Markets & Advisory as head of cybersecurity and infrastructure software investment banking. He previously was with Stephens. Go deeper

• Jessica Cooney joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as a Boston-based partner in the law firm's M&A practice. She previously was with Ropes & Gray. Go deeper

• John Plueger joined AE Industrial Partners as a senior advisor. He previously was CEO of Air Lease Corp. Go deeper

• Kevin Swan joined Luge Capital as a venture partner. He's the former head of private markets at Morgan Stanley. Go deeper

• Nathaniel Robertson joined StartEngine as a managing director and head of capital markets. He previously was with Hiive. Go deeper

• Nick Theccanat left Blue Owl Capital, where he was managing director of comms and public affairs, to become a managing director at ICR. Go deeper

• Sam Liu joined Great Hill Partners as director of AI. He previously was with Bain & Co. Go deeper

• Tim Hsu and Chris Todisco joined H.I.G. Capital as managing directors of capital formation. Hsu previously was with Oaktree Capital, while Todisco was with Schroders Capital. Go deeper

• Tim Luke is leaving Barclays to become vice chair of tech investment banking at Morgan Stanley, per Bloomberg. Go deeper