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AMERICAS

Turn/River Capital completes the acquisition of minority stake in StarLIMS from Francisco Partners.

Turn/River Capital, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of minority stake in StarLIMS, a global enterprise informatics platform for laboratories, from Francisco Partners, an investment firm that specializes in technology and technology-enabled services businesses, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Turn/River Capital was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (led by Mark Myott and Atif Azher) and Clear Hill Strategies (led by Carlos Roig). StarLIMS and Francisco Partners were advised by Harris Williams & Co and Kirkland & Ellis. Francisco Partners was advised by Prosek Partners, according to press releases and MergerLinks data.

TruArc Partners completes the acquisition of Schill Grounds Management from Argonne Capital Group.

TruArc Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of Schill Grounds Management, a provider of a wide range of commercial landscaping services, from Argonne Capital Group, a private investment firm that makes equity investments in a diverse range of middle market enterprises, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Schill Grounds Managemen was advised by Solomon Partners. TruArc Partners was advised by Citizens M&A, William Blair & Co, Weil Gotshal and Manges (led by Emily Willey) and ASC Advisors (led by Taylor Ingraham), according to press releases and MergerLinks data.

One Rock completed the acquisition of a majority stake in American Furniture Rentals.

One Rock, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in American Furniture Rentals, a furniture rental company, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

One Rock was advised by Latham & Watkins and Profile Advisors (led by Mike Geller). American Furniture Rentals was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg, according to press releases.

Tailwind Capital completes the investment in Valor Fleet Services.

Tailwind Capital, a private equity firm, completed the investment in Valor Fleet Services, a reliable tow and recovery provider, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Tailwind Capital was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell and FGS Global. Valor Fleet Services was advised by Piper Sandler and Stevens & Lee, according to press releases.

CI GAM to acquire Canadian Investment Fund Assets of Invesco for CAD26bn.

CI GAM, a Canadian asset management subsidiary of CI Financial Corp, agreed to acquire Canadian Investment Fund Assets of Invesco, an investment management company, for CAD26bn ($14bn), according to press releases.

CI GAM is advised by Jefferies & Company and Stikeman Elliott. Invesco is advised by Morgan Stanley and Borden Ladner Gervais, according to press releases.

Blackstone Credit & Insurance completes the $475m investment in Ahold Delhaize.

Blackstone Credit & Insurance, a private equity firm, completed the $475m investment in Ahold Delhaize, an international food retail company, according to press releases.

Ahold Delhaiz was advised by JP Morgan and A&O Shearman. Blackstone Credit & Insurance was advised by Milbank, according to press releases and MergerLinks data.

Pamlico Capital completes the investment in CalcFocus.

Pamlico Capital, a private equity firm focused on high-growth technology and services businesses, completed the investment in CalcFocus, a provider of cloud-native policy administration and illustration solutions, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

CalcFocus was advised by Morgan Partners and Fox Rothschild. Pamlico Capita was advised by Alston & Bird, according to press releases.

Firstsource completes the acquisition of TeleMedik.

Firstsource, a global business process management company, completed the acquisition of TeleMedik, a telemedicine company, according to press releases. Financial terms are not disclosed.

Firstsource was advised by Aria Marketing (led by Elizabeth Grich), according to press releases.

Bimini Capital Management to acquire 80% stake in Tom Johnson Investment Management.

Bimini Capital Management, a company that operates as a specialty finance company, agreed to acquire 80% stake in Tom Johnson Investment Management, a company that offers personalized investment management services, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Bimini Capital Management was advised by Westmere Management, according to press releases.

Drive Capital led a $150m Series D round in Alpaca.

Drive Capital, a venture capital firm, led a $150m Series D round in Alpaca, a developer-first API for stock, with participation from Citadel Securities, Opera Tech Ventures, MUFG Innovation Partners, Flat Capital, DRW Venture Capital, Kraken, Altered Capital, Endeavor Catalyst. Portage, Horizons Ventures, Social Leverage, Unbound, Diagram, and Derayah Financial, according to press releases.

Polygon to acquire Coinme and Sequence.

Polygon, a blockchain platform that provides payment solutions, agreed to acquire Coinme, a technology company specializing in crypto-as-a-service solutions, and Sequence, a developer-driven platform that enables developers to build, scale, and earn on-chain applications, according to press releases. Financial terms are not disclosed.

Prime Pensions completes the acquisition of The Raymond Company.

Prime Pensions, an independent provider of retirement plan compliance and administration services, completed the acquisition of The Raymond Company, a provider of material handling solutions, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Federal Reserve signs off on Fifth Third’s bid to buy Comerica. (Bloomberg)

The Federal Reserve has approved Fifth Third Bancorp’s acquisition of Comerica, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for one of the largest US bank deals in 2026.

Fifth Third agreed to buy Comerica for about $10.9bn in stock, a transaction that would create the ninth-largest bank in the US with roughly $288bn in assets.

Venezuela asks US appeals court to vacate Citgo parent sale order. (Reuters)

Representatives of Venezuela have asked a US court of appeals to overturn a ruling approving the sale of shares in the parent of Citgo Petroleum to an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management.

A Delaware judge approved a $5.9bn bid for PDV Holding as part of an auction aimed at paying up to $19bn to creditors over debt defaults and expropriations.

Canadian Natural in talks to buy Tourmaline gas portfolio. (Reuters)

Canadian Natural is in discussions to acquire a natural gas asset portfolio from Tourmaline valued at more than $1bn.

Regulatory filings show Canadian Natural submitted paperwork to Canada’s Competition Bureau in late December related to a transaction with Tourmaline.

Honeywell-backed Quantinuum nears IPO filing. (Bloomberg)

Quantinuum is close to filing for an initial public offering, with plans to confidentially submit registration documents in the near term.

The quantum computing company was valued at $10bn in a funding round in 2025 and is controlled by Honeywell.

Blackstone-backed mobile ad company Liftoff files for US IPO. (Bloomberg)

Liftoff Mobile has filed for a US initial public offering, as the mobile advertising company backed by Blackstone moves toward a stock market listing.

The company reported a net loss of $25.6m on revenue of $491.6m for the nine months to September 30, compared with a $7.4m loss on $377.1m in 2024.

Cerebras in talks to raise funds at $22bn valuation. (Bloomberg)

Cerebras Systems is discussing a funding round of about $1bn that would value the AI chipmaker at $22bn pre-investment, strengthening its push to compete in high-performance computing.

The company is also continuing preparations for an initial public offering alongside the fundraising.

EMEA

Diligent completes the acquisition of 3rdRisk.

Diligent, an AI company working in governance, risk, and compliance SaaS, solutions completed the acquisition of 3rdRisk, an AI-native third-party risk management platform based in the Netherlands, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

3rdRisk was advised by WizeCap and DeBreij. Diligent was advised by District Capital Partners and Goodwin Procter, according to press releases.

Creative Planning completes the acquisition of Baseline Wealth Management.

Creative Planning, an independent wealth management firm and registered investment advisor, completed the acquisition of Baseline Wealth Management, a company that provides investment management services across public and private markets, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Baseline Wealth Management was advised by P2M Advisory (led by Thierry Loth) and Homburger. Creative Planning was advised by Houlihan Lokey (led by Steven Levitt), according to press releases and MergerLinks data.

Diginex completes the acquisition of PlanA.earth.

Diginex, an investment holding company, completed the acquisition of PlanA.earth, a provider of a carbon accounting software, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Diginex was advised by Kirchhoff Consult (led by Anna Höffken) and Lambert & Co, according to press releases.

Goparity completes the acquisition of Bolsa Social.

Goparity, a Lisbon-based impact investment platform, completed the acquisition of Bolsa Social, a Spanich impact crowdfunding platform, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Warburg mulls $1bn sale of London insurance broker McGill. (Bloomberg)

Warburg Pincus is exploring a potential sale of UK insurance broker McGill and Partners, as the private equity firm reviews exit options for the London-based business.

The transaction could value McGill at more than $1bn, with Warburg holding early discussions with potential advisers.

FountainVest secures Italy’s approval to buy major stake in EuroGroup Laminations. (Reuters)

FountainVest has received clearance from the Italian government to acquire a majority stake in electric motor components maker EuroGroup Laminations, advancing plans to take the company private.

The approval was granted under Italy’s golden power rules with conditions attached, and the news pushed shares in EuroGroup Laminations up 7.4%.

Coca-Cola scraps Costa Coffee sale after bids fall short. (FT)

Coca-Cola has dropped plans to sell Costa Coffee after offers from private equity bidders failed to meet expectations, ending an auction process that had been running for several months.

Talks with remaining bidders were halted in December, with firms involved in later stages including TDR Capital and Bain Capital’s special situations fund.

Polish recycler bets millions on Europe’s critical metals push. (Bloomberg)

Elemental Group plans to invest $800m to build a copper smelting and refining facility and a battery metals refinery, positioning itself to benefit from Europe’s push to secure critical raw materials.

The projects, known as Polvolt, have received backing from the EU and the Polish government as the bloc seeks to reduce reliance on China for key metals used in electric vehicles and energy systems.

Bitpanda gears up for Frankfurt IPO in first half of 2026. (Bloomberg)

Bitpanda is preparing for an initial public offering in Frankfurt as early as the first half of 2026, with the cryptocurrency trading platform targeting a valuation of €4bn–€5bn ($4.7bn–$5.9bn).

The Vienna-based company has hired Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank to work on the listing.

Asta Energy weighs Frankfurt IPO launch. (Bloomberg)

Asta Energy Solutions is considering launching an initial public offering in Frankfurt, with a potential valuation of about €500m ($582m), as the copper components maker looks to tap public markets.

The company is working with advisers including Berenberg and Commerzbank on the planned share sale.

APAC

HSBC considers sale of Singapore insurance business. (Bloomberg)

HSBC is reviewing options for its Singapore insurance unit, including a potential sale, as part of broader strategic changes under its chief executive.

The business could be valued at more than $1bn, with insurers and investment firms showing early interest.

Alibaba and JPMorgan said to back Montage’s Hong Kong listing. (Bloomberg)

Chinese chip designer Montage Technology is lining up Alibaba and JPMorgan Asset Management as cornerstone investors for its upcoming Hong Kong IPO, signalling strong demand for AI-related listings.

The share sale is expected to raise about $900m, with potential for a larger offering if underwriters exercise an overallotment option.

Minerva secures $44m for Japan late-stage startup fund. (Reuters)

Minerva Growth Partners has secured about JPY7bn ($44m) at the first close of its second fund, which will focus on investments in late-stage startups in Japan.

The Tokyo-based firm is targeting a total fund size of around JPY20bn ($94m), with backing from investors including state-backed Japan Investment.

Pakistan partners with World Liberty affiliate on dollar-linked stablecoin. (Reuters)

Pakistan has signed an agreement with a firm linked to World Liberty Financial to explore using a dollar-linked stablecoin for cross-border payments.

The deal marks one of the first publicly disclosed partnerships between a sovereign state and World Liberty Financial.

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