New On The Block
- OpenAI isn’t for sale. However, a $97.4 billion offer is hard to ignore. That’s the number Elon Musk asked fellow billionaire Mark Zuckerberg to help him reach to buy the parent company of ChatGPT. Neither Zuckerberg nor Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) ultimately signed a letter of intent. Instead, Musk’s bitter rivalry with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over artificial intelligence continues. This week, OpenAI has asked a court to get Meta to produce documents tied to Musk’s unsolicited takeover bid. This raises new questions about the extent of Zuckerberg's involvement in a high-stakes… and ugly, legal battle.
- Vyome (NASDAQ:HIND) is reviewing strategic alternatives for Livechain Inc., a company most of its shareholders probably forgot exists. Options on the table include launching a new business, creating a crypto treasury, merging, or just selling it outright. Vyome bought Livechain in 2021.
- Taiwan's Mercuries Life Insurance is exploring a potential sale. The Taipei-listed company is also considering a stake sale rather than selling the entire company, Bloomberg reports.
Updates From The Block
- Peraso Inc. (NASDAQ:PRSO), maker of mmWave wireless tech, is exploring strategic options—but potential acquirer Mobix Labs is playing hard to get. Instead of signing a standard confidentiality agreement, Mobix wants direct access to the board.
- GTCR's $627 million buyout of Surmodics Inc., a provider of in vitro diagnostic technologies, is under antitrust scrutiny. The firm already owns the #2 player in the market. The FTC isn’t taking the laissez-faire attitude Trump allies expected. Even if the White House changes its mind, private equity isn't getting a free pass if its deals harm competition.
- Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) agreed to purchase Canadian oil sands company MEG Energy (TSX:MEG) for C$7.9 billion, including debt.
- India's Aurobindo Pharma is the leading bidder for Zentiva, a Czech generic pharmaceutical manufacturer being sold by Advent International. The transaction, according to the India Times, could total approximately $5.5 billion.
- MarTech reports that Gatsby, a social automation platform for brands that had received seed funding from 10X Capital and Capital Factory, was sold to Klaviyo (NYSE:KVYO).
- Soho House & Co Inc. (NYSE:SHCO) announced a $2.7 billion deal to go private, offering investors $9.00 per share in cash. The transaction is led by MCR Investors and its chairman and CEO, Tyler Morse, with financing from Apollo and Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Actor Ashton Kutcher joined the board of directors.
- Thoma Bravo is acquiring Dayforce (NYSE:DAY), the Minneapolis-based HR software company, for $12.3 billion, paying $70 per share, a 32% premium over pre-deal prices. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will make a significant minority investment. Dayforce, formerly Ceridian HCM, went public in 2018 after being bought for $5.3 billion over a decade earlier. This marks Thoma Bravo's largest take-private deal, signaling potential momentum for HR tech M&A amid a softening U.S. labor market.
- Guess (NYSE:GES) is also going private. The fashion retailer agreed to go private in a $1.4 billion transaction led by Authentic Brands (NYSE:AUTH).
Off The Block
- Rosebank Industries (LSE: ROSE) finalized its $1.9 billion acquisition of St. Louis-based wire harness manufacturer Electrical Components International from Cerberus Capital Management.
Bankruptcy Block
- Pizza problems persist as Bravo Brio Restaurants, the owner of Bravo! Italian Kitchen and Brio Italian Grille, filed for Chapter 11 on Monday. The Italian restaurant company blamed pressures on weak demand and rising costs. It’s not the only Italian eatery heading to the bankruptcy table. Bertucci's filed earlier this year — its third time since 2018 after closing 7 of its 22 locations, shrinking from 56 restaurants to a mere 15. Newsweek reports that People First Pizza and Red Door Pizza both filed for bankruptcy in March and July, respectively. These filings are just the latest in a broader buffet of dining sector woes, joining bankruptcies at Red Lobster and TGI Fridays—a reminder that even comfort food isn't immune to tough times.
Notes From The Block
Private equity professionals likely tuned in to Fed Chair Jerome Powell‘s speech at Friday’s Jackson Hole symposium,
On one hand, Trump and his allies are clamoring for rate cuts to stimulate growth; on the other, inflation remains stubborn, tariffs threaten consumer wallets and economic growth is losing steam.
Dealmakers are now faced with a test of strategy, timing, and risk appetite. As they salivate over potential rate cuts, the specter of a politically influenced Fed looms large, considering the threats against Powell and the likelihood of his successor cutting interest rates in 2026 to appease Trump.
This raises critical questions about monetary policy independence and its ripple effects on dealmaking that every private equity pro should answer:
- Politically Influenced Fed – How concerned are you that a politically influenced Fed could undermine monetary policy stability? What does it mean for private equity dealmaking?
- Inflation Blind Spot – If the Fed downplays or ignores rising inflation, how would that alter your portfolio company strategies and exit timelines?
- Dollar Exodus Scenario – What would a loss of confidence in the dollar or U.S. debt mean for cross-border deal flows, fundraising, and LP sentiment?
- Debt Financing Costs – With U.S. government debt potentially harder to finance, how do you anticipate knock-on effects on private credit markets and leveraged buyouts?
- Rate Cut Expectations – If the anticipated Fed cuts are delayed or don't materialize, what's your contingency plan for fundraising and deployment?
- Macro Wildcards – Beyond rates, what other macro "shoes to drop" (political instability, trade policy, fiscal deficits) keep you up at night as a PE investor?
Dealmakers are encouraged to submit their thoughts to Benzinga.
For the previous edition of Deal Dispatch, click here.
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