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AMERICAS

Argano completes the acquisition of Denovo Ventures.

Argano, a global digital services consultancy firm, completed the acquisition of Denovo Ventures, a provider of ERP cloud hosting, consulting, and managed services, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Argano was advised by Ernst & Young, Kirkland & Ellis, and Edelman (led by Jessica Resnick-Ault). Denovo Ventures was advised by Alantra and Choate Hall & Stewart, according to press releases.

ACA Group completes the acquisition of FX Transparency.

ACA Group, a governance, risk, and compliance advisor in financial services, completed the acquisition of FX Transparency, a provider of foreign exchange transaction cost analysis and best execution analytics, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

ACA Group was advised by Gregory FCA, according to press releases.

Ondas to merge with Mistral.

Ondas, a provider of autonomous systems and private wireless solutions, offering aerial intelligence, defense platforms, and software-defined wireless broadband, agreed to merge with Mistral, a supplier of advanced systems, technologies, and products for military and public safety customers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ondas is advised by Escalate PR, according to press releases.

Distribution Solutions Group completes the acquisition of Eastern Valve & Control Specialties.

Distribution Solutions Group, a distribution company providing distribution solutions to the maintenance, repair & operations market, completed the acquisition of Eastern Valve & Control Specialties, a Canadian provider of industrial valves, instrumentation, and flow control solutions, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Distribution Solutions Group was advised by Three Part Advisors (led by Steven Hooser and Sandy Martin), according to press releases.

Tico Capital Partners completes the acquisition of AME Automotive.

Tico Capital Partners, a private equity firm, completed the acquisition of AME Automotive, a provider of turnkey facility design, equipment solutions, and installation for dealerships, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

AME Automotive was advised by Cherry Tree & Associates, according to press releases.

Lightspeed Venture Partners led a $500m Series B round in Nexthop AI.

Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm, led a $500m Series B round in Nexthop AI, a company that develops networking hardware and software for AI infrastructure and partners with large cloud operators to co-develop customized networking solutions optimized for AI workloads, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Altimeter, according to press releases.

Thompson Street Capital-backed ATIS completes the acquisition of Soberman Engineering.

Thompson Street Capital-backed ATIS, a North America’s provider of vertical transportation inspections, consulting, and managed services, completed the acquisition of Soberman Engineering, a Toronto-based consulting firm specializing in elevators and escalators, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

OpenAI to acquire Promptfoo.

OpenAI, an American artificial intelligence research laboratory, agreed to acquire Promptfoo, a developer of cybersecurity tools for LLM evaluation, according to press releases. Financial terms are not disclosed.

Medtronic to acquire Scientia Vascular for $550m.

Medtronic, a developer and manufacturer of healthcare technologies and therapies, agreed to acquire Scientia Vascular, a developer of medical access products for physicians treating complex neurovascular conditions, for $550m, according to press releases.

Align Capital Partners-backed ISPN completes the acquisition of ZCorum.

Align Capital Partners-backed ISPN, a managed IT services provider, completed the acquisition of ZCorum, a technology company providing diagnostics, managed services, and support to broadband service providers, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ultrapar’s Lutz, Perfin in talks for 30% stake in Rumo. (Bloomberg)

Ultrapar chairman Marcos Lutz and infrastructure fund Perfin are in talks to acquire about a 30% stake in Brazilian railway operator Rumo.

Discussions are ongoing, and key terms remain under negotiation. The structure and size of the investment could still change.

Trilliant explores sale with Jefferies as adviser. (Bloomberg)

Smart-grid technology company Trilliant is exploring a potential sale after receiving inquiries from prospective buyers.

Founder Steve Muzzo and investor Third Eye Capital have hired Jefferies to speak with potential bidders as part of the process.

Madison Air files for $2bn IPO. (Bloomberg)

Madison Air Solutions has filed for an initial public offering and is seeking to raise at least $2bn from the share sale.

Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Jefferies and Wells Fargo are leading the offering. The shares are expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MAIR.

BRK mulls delaying Brazil IPO amid market uncertainty. (Bloomberg)

BRK Ambiental is considering delaying its planned initial public offering as market conditions become more challenging.

The sanitation company had been targeting about BRL4bn ($768m) in the offering. BRK is controlled by Brookfield Asset Management and FI-FGTS.

Ackman files for IPOs of Pershing Square and new fund. (Reuters)

Bill Ackman filed for US initial public offerings of Pershing Square and a new investment fund, aiming to join a small group of publicly traded alternative asset managers.

The move marks a milestone for the activist investor, known for campaigns at companies including Chipotle Mexican Grill and Canadian Pacific.

EMEA

Air T-backed Crestone Air Partners to acquire Arena Aviation Capital.

Air T-backed Crestone Air Partners, a global aviation asset management platform, agreed to acquire Arena Aviation Capital, an aviation asset manager with a diversified portfolio and deep airline relationships, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Arena Aviation Capital is advised by Stek Advocaten, Vedder Price and BDO. Crestone Air Partners is advised by Kroll, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and PricewaterhouseCoopers, according to press releases.

Aedifica completes the merger with Cofinimmo in a €6.3bn deal.

Aedifica, a Belgian listed company that is specialised in offering innovative and sustainable real estate concepts, completed the merger with Cofinimmo, a Belgian real estate company specialising in rental property, in a €6.3bn ($7.1bn) deal, according to press releases.

Cofinimmo was advised by A&O Shearman (led by Dirk Meeus). Aedifica was advised by JP Morgan (led by Ashish Agrawal) and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (led by Laurent Legein), according to press releases and MergerLinks data.

Grafton Group to acquire Cygnum.

Grafton Group, an international builders merchanting and DIY group, agreed to acquire Cygnum, a designer and manufacturer of prefabricated timber-frame building systems and complete homes for builders and private homebuyers, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Grafton Group is advised by Burson Buchanan (led by Helen Tarbet) and Murray Consultants (led by Pat Walsh), according to press releases.

Bertram Capital-backed Cogency Global completes the acquisition of Elemental CoSec.

Bertram Capital-backed Cogency Global, a provider of regulatory corporate compliance, statutory representation, secured transactions, and lending due diligence solutions, completed the acquisition of Elemental CoSec, a professional services firm providing secretarial, governance, accounting, and tax advisory services, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Advent explores $4bn sale of Ultra Maritime. (Bloomberg)

Advent is exploring a sale of its Ultra Maritime naval defense business that could value the company at more than £3bn ($4bn).

The buyout firm has been speaking with banks about a potential sale process that could attract interest from strategic buyers and private equity firms.

Raiffeisen nears €550m deal for BBVA Romania unit. (Bloomberg)

Raiffeisen Bank International is nearing a deal to acquire BBVA’s Romanian Garanti unit for about €550m ($640m).

The Austrian lender has offered roughly 1.2 times book value for the business. Discussions are advanced but could still face delays or collapse.

ElevenLabs aims to be IPO-ready within three years. (Bloomberg)

AI voice startup ElevenLabs plans to prepare for an initial public offering within two to three years, according to CEO Mati Staniszewski.

The company recently raised $500m in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Iconiq, valuing the business at about $11bn.

QPlay to list shares on UK private stock market platform. (Reuters)

Board games developer QPlay plans to list its shares on a UK private stock market platform operated by JP Jenkins, becoming the first company to trade on the venue.

Trading is expected to begin on March 18. The company develops hybrid physical and digital board games.

MPS scraps investor meetings after board moves to oust CEO. (Reuters)

Monte dei Paschi di Siena canceled investor meetings on the strategy for the combined MPS-Mediobanca banking group after the board voted to remove CEO Luigi Lovaglio.

The meetings were intended to present the group’s strategy unveiled in late February. The decision follows internal tensions around leadership and the bank’s strategic direction.

APAC

Oman Investment Authority led a $130m investment in Uzum.

Oman Investment Authority, an investment arm of the Sultanate of Oman, led a $130m investment in Uzum, an integrated digital ecosystem centered on an online marketplace combined with proprietary fintech and digital banking, with participation from VR Capital, Tencent, and FinSight Ventures, according to press releases.

Uzum was advised by DLA Piper. The investors were advised by Greenberg Traurig, according to press releases and MergerLinks data.

Invisible Technologies to acquire WeCP.

Invisible Technologies, a developer of a process orchestration platform designed to automate daily office tasks, agreed to acquire WeCP, an AI-native technical assessment platform that designs evaluation frameworks to measure expertise across engineering, data science, machine learning, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, finance, and advanced STEM roles, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Invisible Technologies is advised by Edelman.

Lynas revamps rare earth supply deal with Japan. (Reuters)

Lynas Rare Earths revised its supply agreement with Japan Australia Rare Earths, securing an annual commitment for 5k tonnes of neodymium-praseodymium.

The company will allocate 75% of its heavy rare earth oxide output to Japanese industry, with Japan Australia Rare Earths agreeing to purchase half of Lynas’ total heavy rare earth production.

Citi prepares for rise in financial sponsor deals in Asia. (Bloomberg)

Citigroup is strengthening its investment banking coverage for financial sponsors as deal activity increases across Asia.

Private equity-led M&A is rebounding in Japan, while India and Australia are also seeing stronger deal flow. The bank said alternative asset managers are becoming more active in large transactions.

Quest Global invites banks to pitch for $1bn IPO. (Bloomberg)

Carlyle-backed Quest Global Services has invited banks to pitch for a potential IPO in Mumbai that could raise about $1bn.

The Singapore-based engineering services firm is expected to appoint advisers soon. The offering may include a mix of primary shares and secondary sales by existing investors.

Banks drop Semi-Tech’s Hong Kong IPO roles amid staffing crunch. (Bloomberg)

Citic Securities and China Securities International have withdrawn as overall coordinators for Semi-Tech’s Hong Kong IPO due to staffing constraints.

The move highlights pressure on investment banks as a surge in share offerings strains reduced deal teams. Hong Kong has seen a rebound in IPO activity.

Bain Capital raises $10.5bn for Asia buyout fund. (Bloomberg)

Bain Capital raised $10.5bn for its sixth Asia buyout fund after strong investor demand pushed the vehicle above its initial $7bn target.

The firm reached its hard cap and returned excess commitments to investors. Senior management committed more than $1bn of their own capital to the fund.

AirTrunk secures $1.2bn loan to fund Japan expansion. (Bloomberg)

Blackstone-owned data center operator AirTrunk secured a JPY191.6bn ($1.2bn) green loan to refinance debt and expand a Tokyo data center.

The financing was led by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Credit Agricole CIB and Societe Generale as global coordinators.

Carmignac backs Palliser campaign at LG Chem AGM. (Bloomberg)

Carmignac Gestion is supporting activist fund Palliser Capital’s campaign to improve governance and shareholder value at LG Chem.

Palliser has filed resolutions for the company’s March 31 annual meeting, including calls for a clearer strategy to monetize LG Chem’s 79% stake in LG Energy Solution.

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