Illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios
Private Equity Buys
• 26North Partners agreed to acquire MEI Industrial Solutions, a Coppell, Texas-based provider of equipment execution services, from Olympus Partners. Go deeper
• Advantage Distribution Holdings, an HVAC platform backed by Tigertail Capital Partners and D1 Capital Partners, acquired Badger Metals, a distributor of HVAC equipment, parts, and supplies in Wisconsin. Go deeper
• AKAM, a property management firm backed by Audax Private Equity, acquired NYC-based Matthew Adam Properties. Go deeper
🌎 Ambienta acquired a majority stake in Energreen, an Italian maker of vegetation management machines, from 21 Invest. Go deeper
• Apax Partners agreed to buy out Warburg Pincus' stake in Dutch telco Odido. Go deeper
🌎 Ara Partners acquired a majority stake in Pacific Ag, a Hermiston, Ore.-based crop residue supply and logistics company. Go deeper
🌎 Archimed agreed to acquire Genetica, a Brazilian provider of bio-based industrial wastewater treatment, biogas generation and bio-based crop protection. Go deeper
• Ardian and Oak Holdings are exploring a bid for INWIT (Milan: INW), Italy's largest mobile telco towers firm, per Reuters. Go deeper
⚡ Ardian and Hy24 agreed to buy Hynamics, a developer of clean hydrogen projects in France and the U.K., from EDF. Go deeper
• Atlantic Ridge Capital and Grafine Partners agreed to buy Paragon Films, a maker of stretch and shrink films, from Rhône for around $900m. Go deeper
• Atlas Holdings and Lone Star Funds are weighing bids for International Paper's (NYSE: IP) European packaging business (fka DS Smith), which has been expected to go public, per the FT. Go deeper
• ATL Partners acquired Precise Metal Products, a Phoenix-based provider of airflow management solutions, from Staple Street Capital. Go deeper
• Aurelius agreed to buy the Enterprise Campus Edge business of Nokia (NYSE: NOK). Go deeper
• Bain Capital completed its $1.5b investment in Eaton Fiber, an affiliate of Tillman Global Holdings, for expansion of Verizon fiber broadband network deployment. Go deeper
• BBH Capital Partners made a minority investment in Goal Solutions, a San Diego-based provider of loan servicing, asset management, and SPV administration. Go deeper
⚡️ Blackford Capital acquired E.G. Middleton, a Norfolk, Va.-based electrical contractor. Go deeper
🚑 BlackRock signed a joint venture with Humana (NYSE: HUM) to manage and operate nearly 150 CareWell Senior Primary Care clinics. As part of the deal, BlackRock's HPS Investment Partners will acquire Walsh Carson Anderson & Stowe's current equity stake, valued at around $2.8b. Go deeper
• Bregal Milestone acquired a majority stake in Asolvi, a Norwegian provider of field services software. Go deeper
🚑 Buenavista acquired a 71% stake in Tiryaq Medical, a Spanish orthopedic and regenerative medicine group. Go deeper
• Capital Machine, a Rotunda Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired KC Robotics, a West Chester, Pa.-based robotic systems integrator. Go deeper
• Chubby Group, a restaurant and hospitality company, raised $50m at a $500m post-money valuation led by Prysm Capital, per Axios Pro. It also plans to acquire 47 restaurants from GEN Restaurant Group (Nasdaq: GENK) for $100m. Go deeper
• Dastex, backed by The Riverside Co., acquired Abovo, a Swiss distributor of cleanroom consumables. Go deeper
🚑 Fengate acquired a majority stake in CRWF, a clinical research site network in the Tampa Bay market. Go deeper
• First Class Air, backed by O2 Investment Partners, invested in Vertical Aerospace, a Bristow, Okla.-based aircraft MRO. Go deeper
• FormativGroup, a Rockbridge Growth Equity portfolio company, acquired Saige Consulting, an NYC-based AI and technology consultancy. Go deeper
• GHK Capital Partners acquired USA Hometown Experts, a residential services platform in the Southeastern U.S. Go deeper
🌎 Godspeed Capital acquired GreenVest, a Bowie, Md.-based provider of ecological restoration and resilience solutions. Go deeper
• GTCR and Elliott Investment Management agreed to buy car insurance software provider CCC Intelligent Solutions (Nasdaq: CCC) for $6.1b. Go deeper
🚑 Healthpoint Capital invested in Ospitek, a San Diego-based surgical software company. Go deeper
• HR Path, a French portfolio company of Ardian, acquired SnapAI, a provider of regulatory compliance solutions. Go deeper
• Innovative Refrigeration Systems, backed by CCMP Growth, acquired QuickFreeze, a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based maker of blast-chilling products. Go deeper
⚡️ Integrated Power Services, backed by Searchlight Capital Partners, acquired Bold Renewables, a Windsor, Colo.-based maintenance and parts provider for solar inverters. Go deeper
• Ithaca Holdings is in talks to acquire dating app Bumble (Nasdaq: BMBL) for around $1b, per the WSJ. Blackstone holds around a 14% stake, stemming from its 2019 buyout. Go deeper
🚑 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) said it's leaning toward spinning off its orthopedics unit, after having reportedly been in talks to sell it for around $20b to Apollo. Go deeper
• Lewis & Ellis, backed by Novacap, acquired Boston-based consultancy Alan Gray from Premia. Go deeper
• Llama Capital acquired Fabspeed Motorsport, a maker of aftermarket parts for exotic and sports cars. Go deeper
• Mubadala Capital completed its $6.2b take-private buyout of Clear Channel Outdoor. Go deeper
• Northrim Horizon bought Cressy Door and Fireplace, a Seattle-based installation and repair company. Go deeper
⚡ One Equity Partners agreed to buy IT group Nexora from Ireland's DCC Energy (LSE: DCC) for $725m. Go deeper
• ORS Nasco, an industrial maintenance products wholesaler backed by Wynnchurch Capital, is buying Techniweld & PowerWeld and several brands from Sycamore Partners-owned Essendant. Go deeper
• PACT Capital Partners acquired a passive minority stake in midmarket PE firm Sterling Investment Partners. Go deeper
🚑 Sopris Capital acquired Blackford Analysis, a U.K. provider of AI orchestration for medical imaging, from Bayer. Go deeper
• Terminus Capital Partners agreed to acquire Eventus, an Austin, Texas-based provider of trade surveillance and financial risk solutions. Eventus had raised around $60m from firms like Jump Capital, LiveOak Venture Partners, Coinbase Ventures, Chimera Securities, and Cadenza Capital. Go deeper
• Terminus also acquired PickTrace, a Glendale, Calif.-based workforce management and compliance platform for agriculture. Go deeper
💍 The Knot, a Permira portfolio company, agreed to buy Zola, a VC-backed wedding planning and registry platform. Go deeper
• Transaction Network Services, backed by Koch Equity Development, acquired Netnumber, a Marlborough, Mass.-based provider of phone number intelligence and registry services, from Abry Partners. Go deeper
• Vivify Specialty Ingredients, a Gryphon Investors portfolio company, acquired AuNutra Industries, a Chino, Calif.-based supplier of botanical extracts and nutritional ingredients to the nutraceutical and supplement industries. Go deeper
• West Madison Foods, a Brynwood Partners portfolio company, acquired The Flavor of California, the holding company of Bob's Big Boy Salad Dressings & Dips, from investors like Salt Creek Capital. Go deeper
Private Equity Sells
• AirTrunk, an Australian data center operator owned by Blackstone and CPP Investment Board, is delaying a $1.5b REIT IPO until 2027, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
🚑 Blackstone agreed to sell Irvine, Calif.-based dermatology products maker ZO Skin Health to Galderma (SIX: GALD) for $1.5b (including debt). Go deeper
• Great Hill Partners hired Jefferies to find a buyer for Custom Ink, a custom-designed apparel maker that could fetch nearly $1.5b, per Reuters. Go deeper
• Permira is in talks to sell credit platform Octus to London Stock Exchange Group (LSE: LSEG) for around $3.5b. Go deeper
• PSP Capital agreed to sell StormTrap, a Romeoville, Ill.-based provider of stormwater management systems, to Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE: WMS). Go deeper
• United Group, a Dutch telco owned by BC Partners, hired JPMorgan to find a buyer for its Croatian business at around a €700m price, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
🚑 vVardis, a Swiss dental products maker backed by Apollo and OrbiMed, filed for an IPO. It plans to list on the NYSE (VVVV) and reports a $28m net loss on $29m in revenue for the first half of 2026. Go deeper
More M&A
Albertsons (NYSE: ACI) is asking a Delaware court to force Kroger (NYSE: KR) to pay more than $9b for their busted merger, arguing that Kroger didn't use its "best efforts" to secure regulatory approval.
• Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A) agreed to acquire Philadelphia pathology software company Proscia for $240m in cash and up to $30m in earnouts. Go deeper
• Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is in talks to buy Decart, a VC-backed developer of world models and chip optimization software, for around $7b, per the WSJ. Go deeper
• Ancora has built a stake in Big Yellow Group (LSE: BYG) and is asking the self-storage company to explore a sale, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
- Irenic Capital became the second activist investor to push for Big Yellow to consider a sale, per the FT. Go deeper
• AT&T (NYSE: T) agreed to sell its Mexico business to Grupo Televisa and Fintech Holdings for $2b. Go deeper
🥗 Crisp & Green is buying 33 restaurants from Coors family-owned Salad Collective, and the Coors family will become Crisp & Green's first outside investor, per Axios Pro. Go deeper
🚀 CSG, a Czech arms maker, acquired a 9.5% stake in Canadian space-tech MDA Space (NYSE: MDA). Go deeper
⚡ Drilling Tools International (Nasdaq: DTI) agreed to acquire Saltire, a Scottish provider of rental drilling tools, for around $80m in cash and stock. Go deeper
• Eliyan, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip connection startup, has held sale talks with Arm, per The Information. Go deeper
• EQT agreed to buy Stockbridge, a U.S. real estate investment manager with approximately $16.5b in fee-generating AUM. Go deeper
• Fairfax Financial (TSX: FFH) of Canada agreed to buy a majority stake in India's IDBI Bank for around US$5.43b. Go deeper
• Fortune Brands Innovations (NYSE: FBIN) agreed to sell its Fiberon composite decking business to Inteplast Group. Go deeper
• International Seaways (NYSE: INSW) agreed to acquire Bruton (Oslo: BRUT), including four VLCC vessels, for around $370m. Go deeper
• IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) agreed to buy VC-backed Elisity, a San Jose, Calif. provider of identity-based network microsegmentation, for up to $1.3b in stock, per the WSJ. Go deeper
🚑 Labcorp (NYSE: LH) agreed to buy the lab testing business of BioReference Health from OPKO Health (Nasdaq: OPK) for $722m in cash upfront and $150m of potential earnouts. Go deeper
• Lineage (NYSE: LINE) hired Drake Star to sell transportation management system subsidiary Turvo, per Axios Pro. Go deeper
• Lufthansa agreed to invest €1.2b for a 44.9% stake in Portuguese airline TAP. Go deeper
• Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG) agreed to go private for $16.3b, via a joint entity owned by Penske Corp. and Mitsui & Co. Go deeper
• Piper Sandler (NYSE: PIPR) ended talks to buy advisory firm Perella Weinberg Partners (Nasdaq: PWP), per Reuters. Go deeper
🚑 Roche (SWX: ROP) signed an obesity drug licensing deal with VC-backed Chinese biotech Rona Therapeutics, including $100m upfront and up to $1.06b in earnouts. Go deeper
⚡️ Sakuu, a San Jose, Calif.-based battery machine manufacturer, plans to go public at an implied $600m valuation via a reverse merger with Pyrophyte Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: PAII). Go deeper
⚡ Shell (LSE: SHEL) agreed to sell its Nigeria business to Vaaris Energy. Go deeper
🚑 Solventum (NYSE: SOLV) is seeking to sell its Health Information Systems business for between $5.5b and $7b, per Axios Pro. Go deeper
🚑 Steris (NYSE: STE) agreed to buy Xodus Medical, a New Kensington, Pa.-based maker of surgical products, for $2.1b. Go deeper
• Workday (Nasdaq: WDAY) agreed to acquire C1.ai, a Portland, Ore.-based agentic identification startup. Go deeper
Fundraising
• Aldaron, a new PE firm focused on using AI to increase portfolio company revenue, raised $885m for its debut fund. Go deeper
• Catalio Capital Management is raising $500m for its fifth "Nexus" fund, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
• EMK raised €1.25b for a single-asset CV focused on VDK Group, a European provider of tech installation services. Go deeper
• GenNx360 Capital Partners raised $285m for a single-asset CV focused on Whitsons Culinary Group. Go deeper
• H.I.G. Capital is targeting $2.6b for its second infrastructure fund, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
• SoftBank is in talks to raise a $100b fund focused on AI, per the FT. Go deeper
⚡️ Waterous Energy Fund plans to seek $1b for a single-asset fund focused on Canada's oil patch, per the WSJ. Go deeper
It's Personnel
• AE Industrial Partners promoted Chris Aguemon and Bill Strobel to principals. Go deeper
• Bow River Capital promoted Greg Hiatrides to CEO. He previously led PE for Bow River and succeeds Blair Richardson, who transitions to chairman. Go deeper
• Castlelake promoted Luke Jackson and Betsy Sylvester to partners. Go deeper
• Chip Nierlich is joining Debevoise & Plimpton as a partner in its antitrust group. He previously was with the DOJ's antitrust division. Go deeper
⚡️ CIV promoted Josh Zoffer and Mitchell Brady to partners. Go deeper
• Eric Coonrod joined National Business Capital as managing director of institutional partnerships. He previously sold his I-banking firm to Expa portfolio company Iconic Business Services. Go deeper
• Go Suzuki joined I Squared Capital as a principal at the firm's new Tokyo office. He previously was with BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners. Go deeper
• Harmonic Growth Partners promoted Daniel Vernic to partner. Go deeper
• Harry Brun joined Stifel as a managing director of tech banking, per Financial News. He previously was with Raymond James. Go deeper
🚑 Krishna Yeshwant is retiring as a partner and co-head of life sciences at GV, where he'll continue to serve as a managing partner emeritus. Go deeper
🌎 Lucie Hankin joined climate-focused VC firm Overture as a partner. She previously was with True Vectors. Go deeper
• Mario Giannini is retiring as executive co-chair of Hamilton Lane at the end of March 2027. He stepped back as CEO in 2023, succeeded by co-CEOs Erik Hirsch and Juan Delgado-Moreira. Go deeper
• Reed Smith promoted Christopher Sheaffer to global chair of its private equity group. Go deeper
• Rich Peacock is joining JPMorgan as global head of consumer and retail M&A, per Reuters. He previously was with Bank of America. Go deeper
• Sebastian Inger joined Searchlight Capital Partners as a London-based partner. He previously was with Investcorp. Go deeper
• Sonya Li and Imran Ahmed joined Ancient Capital as a managing director and chief investment officer, respectively. Li previously was at Blue Owl Capital and Ahmed was with Silver Rock Capital Partners. Go deeper
