Blackstone to acquire Tropical Smoothie Cafe from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. (FS)
Blackstone, a private equity firm, agreed to acquire Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a franchisor of fast-casual restaurants, from Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The key to this business is delivering an outstanding experience for each guest who walks through our doors. From high-quality products to exceptional guest service, our franchisees make our mission to become a beloved brand a reality day in and day out, and we are thrilled to see how the brand will continue to grow with Blackstone’s outstanding global resources behind it,” Charles Watson, Tropical Smoothie Cafe CEO.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is advised by Bank of America, North Point Advisors, Robert W Baird, and Kirkland & Ellis. Blackstone is advised by Barclays and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Levine Leichtman Capital Partners is advised by Gasthalter & Co (led by Alex Jeffrey and Mark Semer).
IBM to acquire HashiCorp for $6.4bn.
IBM, an American multinational technology company, agreed to acquire HashiCorp, a software company, for $6.4bn.
"Enterprise clients are wrestling with an unprecedented expansion in infrastructure and applications across public and private clouds, as well as on-prem environments. The global excitement surrounding generative AI has exacerbated these challenges and CIOs and developers are up against dramatic complexity in their tech strategies. HashiCorp has a proven track record of enabling clients to manage the complexity of today's infrastructure and application sprawl," Arvind Krishna, IBM Chairman and CEO.
IBM is advised by Barclays, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison (led by Steven Williams and Dotun Obadina). HashiCorp is advised by Joele Frank (led by Jed Repko) and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (led by Michael E. Coke, Tony Jeffries, Amanda Urquiza, Douglas K. Schnell, Martin W. Korman, Remi Korenblit and Joshua Gruenspecht).
Equinox Gold to acquire the remaining 40% stake in Greenstone Gold Mine from Orion for $995m.
Equinox Gold, a growth-focused gold producer, agreed to acquire the remaining 40% stake in Greenstone Gold Mine from Orion, a global alternative investment management firm, for $995m.
“Opportunities to own gold mines like Greenstone are incredibly rare in our industry, and the Greenstone Mine will now be the foundation for long-term value creation in our company. I also welcome Orion as a shareholder of Equinox Gold and thank them for being a great partner over the last few years, as together with the Greenstone team we have executed a very successful mine build. Greenstone is well into hot commissioning, with first gold in sight. Now, as full owners, we remain focused on advancing Greenstone to commercial production and look forward to surfacing its full potential,” Greg Smith, Equinox Gold President and CEO.
Equinox Gold is advised by GenCap Mining Advisory, Blake Cassels & Graydon and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Orion is advised by Torys and RBC Capital Markets.
Labcorp to acquire select assets of Invitae for $239m.
Labcorp, an innovative and comprehensive laboratory service, agreed to acquire select assets of Invitae, a medical genetics company, for $239m.
"The agreement with Labcorp marks a significant step in our financial restructuring and supports our efforts to continue to deliver innovative and industry leading products and services for healthcare," Ken Knight, Invitae President and CEO.
Labcorp is advised by Hogan Lovells and Kilpatrick Townsend. Invitae is advised by Moelis & Co, Kirkland & Ellis, and FTI Consulting.
KKR to acquire 19 purpose-built student housing properties from BREIT for $1.64bn. (FS, RE)
KKR, a global investment firm, agreed to acquire 19 purpose-built student housing properties from BREIT, a real estate investment trust company, for $1.64bn.
“Student housing is a sector that we have long-term conviction in. We are pleased to be working with Blackstone to complete this transaction which will add a diverse mix of high-quality properties to our portfolio. The operating capabilities we have built with University Partners over the past decade and our ability to transact at scale, position us to create value for our investors and to continue investing in great living experiences across these communities. We are deploying into what we view as a compelling market environment to purchase quality real estate,” Justin Pattner, KKR Partner and Head of Real Estate Equity in the Americas.
KKR is advised by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. BREIT is advised by JP Morgan, TSB Capital and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Incyte to acquire Escient Pharmaceuticals for $750m.
Incyte, an American multinational pharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire Escient Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company, for $750m.
“As a company dedicated to innovation and the discovery of transformative medicines, we are excited to add EP262 and EP547 to our portfolio. This acquisition builds on our strategy to develop differentiated and first-in-class medicines with high potential. EP262 and EP547 are complementary additions to our portfolio, providing an opportunity to leverage our expertise, address the needs of patients with inflammatory diseases and additional potential launch opportunities starting in 2029,” Hervé Hoppenot, Incyte CEO.
Incyte is advised by Covington & Burling. Escient Pharmaceuticals is advised by Centerview Partners, Goldman Sachs and Fenwick & West (led by Effie Toshav and David Michaels).
Christopher Todd Capital completed the acquisition of Arizona BTR Community for $57m.
Christopher Todd Capital, a privately held family office and a sister company of Christopher Todd Communities, completed the acquisition of Arizona BTR Community, a newly-completed Build-to-Rent community, for $57m.
“Christopher Todd has been patiently watching the market for deals that make sense. In the past we have developed our own communities and collaborated with a national builder partner to help enter new markets. In 2024 and 2025 our strategy is to secure sites for our own development and building opportunities, as well as purchase completed communities that match our communities’ lifestyle and our financial criteria,” Todd Wood, Christopher Todd CEO.
Hipgnosis' bidding war intensifies as Concord hikes offer for Shakira music owner. (FS)
Shares of Hipgnosis Songs Fund climbed on April 25 after Apollo-backed Concord outbid a proposal by private equity giant Blackstone, launching a bidding war for the owner of music rights of artists, including Shakira and Blondie.
Concord, a Nashville-based independent music company, sweetened its bid late on April 24 for Hipgnosis to $1.25 per share, or about $1.51bn, slightly higher than Blackstone's proposal of $1.24 apiece, Reuters reported.
Private equity owner of Sauer Brands explores the sale of condiments maker. (FS)
The private equity owner of Sauer Brands is exploring a sale of the 137-year-old maker of condiments and spices that could value it at more than $1bn, including debt, Reuters reported.
Richmond, Virginia-based Sauer, which was founded in 1887 and is known for its Duke's Mayonnaise brand, is working with investment banks Morgan Stanley and William Blair to gauge interest from potential buyers.
Decarbonization Partners hits final close of debut fund at $1.4bn, surpasses target. (FS)
Decarbonization Partners, a joint venture between Temasek and BlackRock, announced the final close of its inaugural late-stage venture capital and growth private equity investment fund at $1.4bn, exceeding its target of $1bn, DealStreetAsia reported.
The vehicle is focused on investing in next-generation private companies that support the acceleration of decarbonization and the transition to a net–zero economies. Apart from BlackRock and Temasek, the fund vehicle received commitments from over 30 institutional investors including public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, corporates, and family offices.
ACORE Capital closes debt fund at $1.4bn. (FS)
San Francisco-based real estate credit manager ACORE Capital has closed a new commingled credit fund with approximately $1.4bn in capital commitments from investors.
US-focused ACORE Credit Partners II, which was oversubscribed, having originally targeted $1bn when launched in early 2022, is the largest private real estate debt fund closed so far this year, and the joint fourth-largest private real estate fund overall. The predecessor fund ACORE Credit Partners I, which was the firm's first discretionary commingled fund and originates value-add financing to institutional borrowers, closed with $556m in 2019, while the firm also raised $254m for another fund the ACORE Opportunistic Credit I.
