Deals, Deals, Deals

UK & Ireland 🇬🇧🇮🇪

🎡 Epiris is considering a bid for several Sea Life aquariums owned by Merlin Entertainments, which is co-owned by Blackstone and the Lego family’s investment arm. Merlin was taken private in 2019 for £4.8bn, Sky News reported.

🎪 Blackstone has launched the sale of global events company Clarion Events, which it acquired in 2017 for £600m. The private equity firm is now reportedly seeking a £2bn valuation, according to Reuters.

⚗️ Johnson Matthey, the FTSE 100 specialty chemicals group, has sold its Catalyst Technologies business to Honeywell for a £1.8bn enterprise value. The deal implies a 13.3x EBITDA multiple.

🔥 KLAR Partners has acquired Ventro, a Plymouth-based fire safety services company. The deal, based on an LTM 2025 EBITDA of £12m, was done at a mid-teens EV/EBITDA multiple.

📱 Fenix International, owner of OnlyFans, has entered talks to sell the company to a consortium at a valuation of around $8bn. Revenue in 2023 was $6.6bn, up from $375m in 2020, Reuters reported.

🗞️ RedBird Capital has reached an in-principle agreement to acquire The Telegraph for £500m EV. It marks the largest investment in UK print media in a decade and adds to RedBird’s UK portfolio alongside Liverpool FC, All3Media, Rocket Boy, and a pending stake in Channel 5.

🚴 Ineos is seeking a partner for its Grenadiers cycling team, the FT reported. The conglomerate is also pursuing a sale process for French football club OGC Nice.

🍾 Diageo is preparing larger disposals than previously planned to reduce leverage, CFO Nik Jhangiani said, but separrately denied any intent to sell Guinness or its 34% stake in Moët Hennessy.

🔗 Gravitee, an Agentic API and event management platform, has raised $60m in Series C funding led by Sixth Street Growth.

🎁 Kota, an Ireland-based employee benefits platform, has raised $14.5m in Series A funding from French investor Eurazeo.

📺 BT is nearing a sale of its 50% stake in broadcaster TNT Sports to Warner Bros Discovery, with a valuation expected below the £750m book value recorded in BT’s 2024 accounts.

💄 Revolution Beauty Group PLC has launched a formal sale process after receiving a takeover offer. The group’s revenue fell 26% to £142m in FY25, and its market cap now stands at £24m following a 70% share price drop over the past year following continued poor performance.

✈️ SSP Group, the UK travel catering company, may exit markets including France and Germany if its turnaround fails. H1 2025 operating profit was £15m, down from £58m in H1 2024.

⛏️ Adriatic Metals has entered early takeover talks with Toronto-listed Dundee Precious Metals. A valuation in excess of £700m is expected if the deal progresses.

Central & Northern Europe 🇩🇪🇸🇪🇵🇱🇨🇭🇳🇴🇦🇹

💳 Aufinity Group, the German fintech that offers car dealers and OEMs white-label payments systems, has raised $26m in a Series C round led by BlackFin Capital Partners.

🧪 Shareholders of Swiss Swixx Biopharma are preparing for a potential sale in September. The company reported €1.5bn in revenue for 2024.

🏭 Salzgitter, the German industrial group, is considering the sale of its bottling machine division KHS, which could be valued at up to €1bn, according to Bloomberg.

🏠 EQT is aiming to list Enity, its Swedish challenger mortgage bank, on the Stockholm Stock Exchange by late June. Based on an earnings multiple of 10–12x, the bank could be valued at €230m–€275m.

🏍️ Indian company Bajaj Auto is arranging an €800m debt package to take control of Austrian motorbike manufacturer KTM, currently under administration.

🧠 Brainlab AG, the Germany-based medical tech firm, is preparing for a potential June IPO. It posted €429m in 2023 sales and is targeting a valuation of €2bn–€3bn.

⚖️ German legal AI startup Legora has secured an $80m funding round led by ICONIQ and General Catalyst to scale operations and product development.

🚗 Mercedes-Benz has launched the first round of its retail asset divestment programme, seeking to sell 80 retail locations. Dealerships are valued between €30m–€50m each.

🔥 Swedish state-owned energy company Vattenfall has mandated Danske Bank to advise on the potential €1.5bn sale of its district heating business.

💡 KLAR Partners is preparing to sell Finnish utilities software provider Enerim, which had €28.6m in 2023 revenue but posted a negative EBITDA margin of 5%.

Western & Southern Europe 🇫🇷🇪🇸🇮🇹🇵🇹🇳🇱🇧🇪

📡 InfraVia Capital Partners is preparing to sell its majority stake in Celeste, a French fibre operator that generated €140m revenue and €55m EBITDA in 2024. The deal could fetch around €1bn, based on an 18x–20x multiple.

📶 Altice France, led by Patrick Drahi, is exploring the sale of a majority interest in SFR, potentially valuing the telecom business at up to €30bn, according to Bloomberg.

🅿️ HIG Capital has agreed to sell Eysa, the Spanish car park and mobility group, to Tikehau Capital. The deal is valued at €600m, implying a 12x multiple on 2024 EBITDA of €50m.

🏗️ Seven2 is expected to launch a sale of French construction software firm Graitec in September. The business is projected to generate €50m EBITDA in 2025, up from sub-€15m in 2019 when Seven2 acquired it.

🥣 Sagard has signed an agreement to sell its majority stake in French medical nutrition company Nutrisens to Cinven for €650m, valuing it at 15x EBITDA. Danone reportedly offered €700m but was turned down as a management buyout was preferred.

🛍️ Adevinta has hired Goldman Sachs and LionTree to explore the sale of its Spanish operations. The unit generates c.€130m EBITDA, with a potential sale price of over €2bn based on sector multiples of up to 20x.

🏘️ Brookfield is in exclusive talks with CPPIB for the €1.2bn sale of student housing operator Livensa Living, which operates 22 residences across Spain and Portugal.

👓 Marcolin, the Italian eyewear maker owned by PAI Partners, is close to being acquired by FountainVest. In 2024, Marcolin reported €546m revenue and €85m EBITDA, up 10% YoY.

⚡ Ardian has acquired a majority stake in high voltage equipment maintenance firm MasterGrid from Andera Partners for €220m, valuing the business at 13x its 2025 forecast EBITDA of €17m.

🛒 French startup Veesion, which provides retail theft detection software, has raised €38m in a Series B round led by White Star Capital.

🚛 Italian manufacturer Iveco has received a non-binding offer from Czech conglomerate CSG for its defence division IDV, reportedly higher than the €1.5bn bid submitted by the Leonardo/Rheinmetall consortium.

🏦 CaixaBank is exploring a bid for Portuguese lender Novo Banco, valued at €5.5bn–€7bn. The bank is currently 75% owned by Lone Star, with 25% held by the Portuguese government.

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