Archives

KoBold Metals: AI-Based Mining Company Raises $537 Million (Series C) At $2.96 Billion Valuation

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 3, 2025

AI-based mining company KoBold Metals announced it raised $537 million in Series C funding at a $2.96 billion valuation. The lead investors in this round were Durable Capital Partners LP and T. Rowe Price. There was also participation by Andreessen Horowitz Growth, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mitsubishi, StepStone Group, and WCM Investment Management.

Alibaba Selling Sun Art Stake To DCP In About A $1.6 Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 3, 2025

Alibaba Group announced it is selling its brick-and-mortar retail company Sun Art Retail Group Ltd. shares to private equity firm DCP Capital for up to HK$12.3 billion ($1.6 billion). Alibaba held over a 70% stake in Sun Art and paid about $3.6 billion for the stake in 2020.

Rembrand: In-Scene Media And Virtual Product Placement Raises $23 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 3, 2025

Rembrand, a leading innovator in In-Scene Media and Virtual Product Placement technology, announced it raised $23 million in Series A funding to expand and drive the company's already rapid growth. The funding round was led by super{set}. It included participation from The Trade Desk and Naver D2SF plus existing investors such as BOLD, the corporate venture capital fund of L'Oréal, Greycroft, and others.

White & Case: Michael Sykes Joins As Partner In Washington, DC

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 3, 2025

Global law firm White & Case announced it has expanded its Global Tax Practice and its Global Energy Industry Group by adding Michael Sykes as a partner in Washington, DC.

HUTCHMED Sells $608 Million Stake In SHPL

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 3, 2025

HUTCHMED, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that it is divesting a 45% equity interest stake in Shanghai Hutchison Pharmaceuticals Limited (SHPL) for about $608 million (RMB 4,478 million) in cash to GP Health Service Capital Co. and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding.

SJSemi: $700 Million In New Financing Closed

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 1, 2025

SJ Semiconductor Corporation (SJSemi) announced the closure of a new financing round of $700 million. The investors include Wuxi Chanfa Science and Technology Innovation Fund, Jiangyin Binjiang Chengyuan Investment Group, Fortera Capital, Shanghai International Group, Lingang Xinxin Fund of Shanghai Lingang Special Area Administration and Lingang Shuke Fund of Lingang Group, together with Social Security Fund Zhongguancun Independent Innovation Fund, China Life Private Equity Investment Limited, Golden Link, etc.

Accel Raises $650 Million For Eighth India Fund, Says Reports

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 1, 2025

Accel announced it has secured $650 million for its eighth India-focused fund, according to several reports. This brings Accel’s total commitments for India-focused companies to nearly $3 billion. Accel India has been an early-stage investor in successful companies such as Blackbuck, Bluestone, Flipkart, Freshworks, and Swiggy.

Hamershlag Private Capital: $150.15 Million Venture Structured Investment In Patho Care

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 1, 2025

Leading health technology investment firm Hamershlag Private Capital Management Limited (HPCM) has announced a significant venture investment in Patho Care, a leader in the "lab on a chip" non-invasive point-of-care diagnostic tests. Patho Care's Raman spectroscopy-based testing platform is supported by 17 patents.

Atlas Canada To Buy Orbit Brokers

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 1, 2025

Atlas Canada - a leader in relocation and logistics services - announced an acquisition of Orbit Brokers, a respected provider of customs brokerage services. This acquisition will enhance Atlas Canada’s ability to deliver seamless customs clearance solutions for clients across Canada and the US.

Casago Acquiring Vacasa In $128.6 Million Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 1, 2025

Casago (a vacation rental property management company) and Vacasa (a leading vacation rental management platform in North America) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Casago and Vacasa will combine in a transaction in which Casago will buy all outstanding shares of the company held by public stockholders for $5.02 per share, subject to adjustment as outlined in the merger agreement.

Tractor Supply Closes Allivet Acquisition

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 1, 2025

Tractor Supply Company announced that it has completed its acquisition of Allivet, a privately-held online pet pharmacy. The plans to buy Allivet were previously revealed on October 24, 2024.

Employer.com To Buy Bench Accounting

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 1, 2025

Employer.com - a leader in workforce management and business support solutions - announced the acquisition of Bench Accounting, a premier provider of bookkeeping services and financial solutions for small businesses. And this acquisition reflects Employer.com’s commitment in expanding its portfolio of services and enhancing the value delivered to small businesses.

Highlander Partners Buys Ergo Baby Carrier From Compass Diversified

By Amit Chowdhry ● Jan 1, 2025

Highlander Partners - a Dallas-based private investment firm - announced the acquisition of The Ergo Baby Carrier, Inc. from Compass Diversified. Launched in 2003 and based in Los Angeles, California, Ergobaby is the global market leader in premium baby carriers.

Samsung Invests Over $180 Million To Become Largest Rainbow Robotics Shareholder

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 31, 2024

Samsung Electronics announced that it will become the largest shareholder in Rainbow Robotics and accelerate future robot development like humanoid robots. Samsung first acquired a 14.7% stake in the Korean firm in 2023 with an investment of KRW 86.8 billion and has exercised a call option to increase its stake to 35%. Rainbow Robotics will be incorporated as a subsidiary under Samsung Electronics’ consolidated financial statements. To increase the stake in Rainbow, it appears that Samsung spent over 267 billion won (over $180 million), as revealed in a regulatory filing.

World Wide Technology Buying Softchoice For C$1.8 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 31, 2024

Softchoice and World Wide Technology, a global technology solutions and services provider, announced that they have entered into an arrangement agreement for Softchoice to be acquired by WWT via an all-cash transaction, which values Softchoice at an enterprise value of approximately C$1.8 billion. The shareholders, including each of the directors and senior officers of Softchoice representing about 51.3% of Softchoice’s issued and outstanding common shares, have entered into voting support agreements under which such shareholders have agreed to support and to vote all shares held by them in favor of the deal.

Honigman: Richard Catalano Joins As Partner In Chicago

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 31, 2024

Honigman LLP announced that it is growing its Chicago office by adding Richard “Richie” Catalano as a partner in the Transactions & Counseling Practice Group and Corporate Department. He joined the firm from Ballard Spahr.

PrivacyEngine: Interview With Co-Founder & CEO Dr. John Ghent About The Data Protection Company

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 31, 2024

PrivacyEngine is a market leader in data protection and privacy management software and solutions, helping businesses and organizations comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA with an unrivaled combination of technology, expertise, and experience. Pulse 2.0 interviewed PrivacyEngine co-founder and CEO Dr. John Ghent to learn more about the company.

Simpson Thacher: Bryan Robson And William Gwyn Join As Partners In London Office

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 31, 2024

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced that Bryan Robson and William Gwyn will join the firm as Partners in the London office, where they will focus on leveraged finance matters.

Immedica To Buy Marinus Pharmaceuticals In $151 Million Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 30, 2024

Immedica Pharma, a leading global rare disease company, and Marinus Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company committed to improving the lives of patients with seizure disorders, announced today that they have entered into an agreement and plan of merger under which Immedica has agreed to acquire Marinus, using a tender offer and subsequent merger.

Wabtec To Buy Bloom Engineering In $69 Million Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 30, 2024

Wabtec announced it has acquired Bloom Engineering, a leading provider of industrial heating applications. This deal enhances Wabtec’s portfolio of heat transfer and energy solutions, integrating Bloom Engineering’s advanced technologies in burners, combustion systems, and overall services for industrial and process heating applications.

Commure To Buy Digital Care Company Memora Health

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 30, 2024

Commure, a leading healthcare technology company, announced the acquisition of Memora Health, a digital care navigation platform. Memora will strengthen Commure's existing AI-based portfolio of patient engagement, clinical documentation, revenue cycle management, and RTLS solutions.

Zebra Technologies To Buy Robotic Vision Company Photoneo

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 30, 2024

Zebra Technologies - a leading digital solution provider enabling businesses to connect data, assets, and people intelligently - announced today it plans to acquire Photoneo, a leading developer and manufacturer of 3D machine vision solutions. The 3D segment of the Machine Vision market is the fastest growing, and this acquisition will further accelerate Zebra’s presence in the category.

Qolab: Superconducting Quantum Computing Company Raises $16 Million (Series A)

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 30, 2024

Qolab - a leader in superconducting quantum computing - announced today that it secured over $16 million to date in its Series A financing round, led by Octave Ventures with co-investment from the Development Bank of Japan Inc. (DBJ), Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), and Phoenix Venture Partners.

Baker McKenzie Reveals 18 New North America-Based Partners

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 27, 2024

Global law firm Baker McKenzie announced it has elected 18 new partners and two counsels in North America. And these promotions take effect on January 1, 2025.

NeueHealth To Go Private In $1.3 Billion Deal

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 27, 2024

Value-driven healthcare company NeueHealth announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which the company will be acquired by an affiliate of New Enterprise Associates (NEA) at an enterprise value of approximately $1.3 billion. And upon completion of the deal, NeueHealth will become a privately held company with the flexibility and resources to continue advancing its value-driven, consumer-centric care model.

DoubleU Acquiring Turkey-Based Paxie Games

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 27, 2024

DoubleU Games - a leading developer of social casino games - announced it has agreed to buy Turkish gaming studio Paxie Games, which is the developer of Merge Studio: Fashion Makeover. DoubleU Games will buy a 60% stake for $27 million at closing, with the remaining 40% to be acquired over three years, subject to achieving certain financial targets, resulting in full ownership by the end of the third year.

WiSA Technologies Signs Deal To Buy CompuSystems

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 27, 2024

WiSA Technologies - which anticipates closing its acquisition of Datavault intellectual property and information technology assets of privately held Data Vault Holdings and changing its name to Datavault on or about December 31, 2024 - announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held CompuSystems, Inc. (CSI), a premier provider of registration, data analytics, and lead management services for live events.

HomeStreet Enters Deal To Sell $990 Million In Multi-Family Loans

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 27, 2024

HomeStreet - the parent company of HomeStreet Bank - today announced today that the Bank entered into an agreement to sell to Bank of America, on a servicing retained basis, $990 million of multifamily commercial real estate loans at a price, including the value of the retained servicing, of 92% of the principal balance of the loans. This loan sale is expected to close before December 31, 2024.

Nordic Capital: Evolution II Closed At €2 Billion

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 27, 2024

Nordic Capital announced the first and final closing of Nordic Capital Evolution II at the hard cap of €2 billion. Raised within four months from launch with excess demand, this fund closed at its hard cap and significantly exceeded its target of €1.4 billion. Evolution II had attracted excess demand from its launch and benefited from strong support from its current investor base, with a high re-up rate of over 100% by capital and significant LP commitments from new investors and geographies, such as a substantial increase from the Americas.

USANA Health Sciences Announces Acquisition Of Hiya Health For $205 Million

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 27, 2024

USANA Health Sciences announced its acquisition of a 78.8% controlling ownership stake in Hiya Health Products, a leading direct-to-consumer provider of high-quality children’s health & wellness products. The $205 million cash transaction closed on December 23, 2024, and is anticipated to be accretive to USANA’s 2025 adjusted EBITDA. For the last year ended September 30, 2024 (unaudited), Hiya generated net sales of $103 million, net income of $19 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $22 million. As of September 30, 2024, Hiya had over 200,000 customers.