Top Highlights
STERIS, a global provider of infection prevention, procedural, and other healthcare and life sciences products and services, agreed to acquire Xodus Medical, a medical device company, for $2.1bn, according to press releases.
STERIS is advised by Goldman Sachs and Jones Day (led by Brian R. Grady). Xodus Medical is advised by JP Morgan and Morgan Lewis & Bockius , according to press releases and MergerLinks data.
Watsco, the largest HVAC and refrigeration products distributor in North America, completed the acquisition of The Granite Group, a Concord, New Hampshire-based distributor of plumbing and HVAC products, from Brown Brothers Harriman, an American financial services firm, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Granite Group was advised by Houlihan Lokey. Brown Brothers Harriman was advised by Ropes & Gray (led by Martin Ruhaak), according to press releases and MergerLinks data.
IonQ, a quantum computing hardware and software company, agreed to acquire Elisity, a cybersecurity software company, for $1.3bn, according to press releases.
AMERICAS
Amazon is in talks to buy AI startup Decart for around $7bn. ( WSJ)
Nvidia discusses boosting Reflection investment, computing deal. ( FT)
Starbucks says it’s not buying Chipotle, dousing deal rumors. ( Bloomberg)
EMEA
INWIT investors line up financing for possible take-private. ( Reuters)
Irish property group in talks about rescue deal for Poundland. ( Sky News)
Banque du Caire offers 30% stake in Egypt’s second IPO of month. ( Bloomberg)
APAC
DeepSeek backs ex-Tencent AI scientist’s $400m robot lab. ( Bloomberg)
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AMERICAS
Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm, led a $870m Series A round in TypeSafe AI, an artificial intelligence research and development company, with participation from Sequoia Capital and DCVC, according to press releases.
Amazon is in talks to buy AI startup Decart for around $7bn. ( WSJ)
Amazon is in talks to acquire AI startup Decart in a deal valued at around $7bn, with an agreement potentially coming soon if negotiations hold and no rival bidder emerges.
Nvidia discusses boosting Reflection investment, computing deal. ( FT)
Nvidia is in early-stage talks to deepen its relationship with Reflection AI, either by increasing its investment in the startup or by providing additional computing capacity.
Reflection develops open-weight AI models, and closer ties with Nvidia could give it greater access to the infrastructure needed to train and deploy them. No terms have been agreed, and the discussions may not result in a transaction.
Starbucks says it’s not buying Chipotle, dousing deal rumors. ( Bloomberg)
Starbucks has denied that it is pursuing an acquisition of Chipotle Mexican Grill, responding to speculation that it had explored a takeover proposal for the restaurant chain.
The denial follows reports that Starbucks, led by former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol, had worked on a potential deal. A transaction would have ranked among the largest acquisitions in the restaurant sector.
EMEA
EvoNext, a biotechnology company, agreed to merge with Ascend Sport Technology, a Swiss sports technology holding company, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Ascend Sport is advised by Lenz & Staehelin (led by Tino Gaberthuel). EvoNext is advised by Lemongrass Communications (led by Susanne Mühlemann) , according to press releases and MergerLinks data.
Heidelberg Materials, a building materials company, and CRH, a supplier of precast concrete elements, building materials, and infrastructure solutions, agreed to acquire the industry business from NCC, a construction and civil engineering group, for SEK8.2bn ($819m), according to press releases.
CRH is advised by Gorrissen Federspiel (led by Anders Orjan Jensen) , according to MergerLinks data.
Stryker, a global medical technology company, agreed to invest $400m in CMR Surgical, a medical device company developing robotic surgery systems for minimally invasive procedures, according to press releases.
INWIT investors line up financing for possible take-private. ( Reuters)
Ardian and Oak Holdings 1 are arranging financing for a potential take-private of INWIT, Italy’s largest mobile tower operator, as they explore buying out minority shareholders. Ardian owns 32% of INWIT and Oak Holdings, backed by GIP, Vodafone and KKR, controls 39%.
Mubadala is expected to take a stake as part of the transaction, though discussions remain ongoing. The potential deal comes as INWIT is in contractual disputes with key customers TIM and Fastweb, both of which are seeking to renegotiate or terminate existing tower agreements.
Irish property group in talks about rescue deal for Poundland. ( Sky News)
Martin Property Group is in talks to acquire Poundland through a solvent transaction and has emerged as the preferred bidder of the retailer’s management team. The proposal would keep Poundland’s existing store estate and workforce in place while providing fresh capital to support a turnaround.
A deal could involve paying a nominal amount for the equity, repaying existing loans and injecting millions of pounds into the business. Other interested parties include Modella Capital, Fortress Investment Group and Hilco Capital, while a break-up or pre-pack administration remains possible if a solvent sale cannot be agreed.
Banque du Caire offers 30% stake in Egypt’s second IPO of month. ( Bloomberg)
Banque du Caire plans to list a 30% stake on the Egyptian Exchange, advancing the government’s long-running state-asset privatization programme and marking Egypt’s second major IPO in a month.
The offering will consist entirely of 4.575bn existing shares sold by state-owned Banque Misr, making the transaction a secondary share sale rather than a capital raise for Banque du Caire.
APAC
ITOCHU, a Japanese general trading and investment company, completed the acquisition of a 20% stake in Aspirant Group, an investment company, according to press releases. Financial terms were not disclosed.
DeepSeek backs ex-Tencent AI scientist’s $400m robot lab. ( Bloomberg)
DeepSeek has agreed to lead the first funding round for Winverse AI, a newly formed startup developing artificial intelligence for robotics, with the seed round expected to total tens of millions of dollars.
The company was founded by a former senior Tencent scientist and has also attracted commitments from investors including Meituan’s Long-Z Investments. The round is expected to value Winverse at about $400m post-money, with DeepSeek investing from its own $12bn-plus financing pool.
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