New On The Block
- Swiss life sciences giant Lonza Group is shopping its capsules and health ingredients division, and the shortlist is full of private equity heavy-hitters. In the running: Altaris, Lone Star Funds, and One Rock Capital. Expected sale price: At least €2.5 billion (US$2.8 billion). Think of it as a supplement aisle showdown—except the vitamins cost more than most small countries.
- Reuters reports that Unilever (NYSE:UL) is considering an auction for its British brands (i.e., Marmite and Colman’s).
Updates From The Block
- Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is making a mega move into cancer diagnostics, agreeing to acquire Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS). The price tag? A whopping $21 billion in cash. That’s $105 per share, and a 22% premium. Cologuard, the at-home colorectal cancer screening test used 20 million times since 2014, is the main attraction here. Abbott wants to gain entry into the booming oncology diagnostics world, plus Exact's powerhouse primary care salesforce and deep product pipeline.
- Global asset manager TPG is placing a $1 billion bet on Tata Consultancy in India. The focus is on AI-powered data centers, a sector that is sucking up the most private equity — especially in the U.S. Andrew Ross Sorkin recently told the New Yorker that if we were to “eliminate all of the spending on data centers… the United States would have a growth rate of about 0.1%.”
- Three bids were made for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) on Thursday, with no clear choice for the board, Axios reported. Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) has a regulatory advantage (President Trump and the Ellison family are cronies). Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) wants only the trove of Warner Bros. assets for streaming (i.e., properties like “Superman” and “Harry Potter”). And then there’s Comcast's (NASDAQ:CMCSA) bid, which is under pressure due to Trump's dislike of CEO Brian Roberts.
Bankruptcy Block
- M&M Custard LLC, a major franchise operator for Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, which operates over 30 locations across six states, cited soaring food and labor costs as the primary reasons behind its financial troubles. Despite having $5.52 million in assets and $27.7 million in liabilities, M&M Custard has stated it has no plans to close any additional stores, according to the Independent. The bankruptcy filing follows the closure of some locations in the Chicago market, but 31 franchise locations are still operational, and the company aims to keep all other stores open.
- Shares of New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NFE) plunged 13% after the company warned it may seek bankruptcy protection if its ongoing effort to negotiate an out-of-court restructuring with lenders fails. The New York-based liquefied natural gas supplier, which serves markets in the Caribbean and Latin America, is struggling with debt obligations and dwindling revenue. The company is also considering restructuring its debt through a UK court process if its liquidity issues persist. Over the past year, New Fortress Energy's stock has dropped 84%, wiping out over $3.5 billion in equity, Bloomberg reports.
For the previous edition of Deal Dispatch, click here.
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