Top Headlines This Week

• 🛢️ Shell weighs a blockbuster £58bn takeover bid for BP.

• 🛍️ CVC explores £6bn takeover of Swiss duty-free giant Avolta.

• 🧑‍💻 TA Associates acquires Northern Irish fintech FD Technologies for £570m.

• 💵 Coinbase acquires Dutch crypto exchange Deribit for $2.9bn.

Deals, Deals, Deals

UK & Ireland 🇬🇧🇮🇪

🚂 Vitruvian Partners has acquired Great Rail Journeys (GRJ) in a deal valuing the UK tour operator at over £200m.

🔐 NCC Group has appointed Lazard to sell its software escrow arm Escode, which reports £36m EBITDA and £87m revenue.

📡 Macquarie is acquiring Iberdrola's UK smart meter business for £900m.

💷 Modella Capital has been shortlisted to acquire Poundland, the discount retailer with £2bn 2024 sales, according to Sky News.

⛽ Shell is reported to be exploring a takeover bid for BP, with the latter valued at £58bn versus Shell’s £146bn market cap.

🧴 L’Oreal is in exclusive talks to acquire skincare brand Medik8 from Inflexion at a £800m valuation.

📈 FD Technologies, based in Newry, Northern Ireland, has accepted a £570m buyout bid from TA Associates.

🚗 Top Part, an Irish auto parts distributor with 21 stores, has been acquired by French group Parts Holding Europe.

🛰️ Anduril Industries, a US AI defense firm, has acquired Klas, the Irish tactical communications and edge computing tech company.

🏢 LondonMetric has acquired property investment firm Urban Logistics REIT for c.£700m.

🛠️ Arlington Capital Partners is prepping a sale of Forged Solutions Group (FSG), a UK aerospace parts manufacturer with $50m+ EBITDA. Sale could fetch $600m–$900m.

💳 Visa Ventures has invested in BVNK, a UK-based stablecoin payments infrastructure platform.

🏦 Santander rejected a 2025 bid from NatWest for its UK retail banking arm, per the FT.

⛏️ XY Miners, a UK crypto mining platform, has raised $70m in a Series B.

💊 Vitabiotics, maker of Wellwoman and Wellbaby, is preparing a sale process later this month, with £70m EBITDA.

🧽 Reckitt Benckiser may shelve plans to divest parts of its cleaning brands like Air Wick and Dettol due to lack of buyer interest. Sale was expected to fetch £4–5bn.

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

🛍️ CVC is weighing a £6bn bid for Swiss duty-free retailer Avolta, according to Sky News.

⚙️ Georg Fischer has tapped Lazard to sell its Casting Solutions unit, which posted CHF 840m revenue and CHF 82m EBITDA in 2024.

🚁 German AI drone startup Quantum Systems has raised €160m, led by Balderton Capital.

📏 Dover Corp of the US is acquiring German provider of measuring and control technologies SIKORA for €550m in cash.

🤖 Germany's Parloa, a German AI customer experience startup, has raised $120m Series C, achieving unicorn status.

🚧 Triton Partners has appointed advisors to sell Swedish safety-solutions provider Ramudden Global, which surpassed €1bn revenue in 2024.

🧵 Swiss firm Rieter is acquiring Barmag, a textile machinery unit of OC Oerlikon, for €908m.

🛡️ German cybersecurity firm Hornetsecurity is in talks with US buyers to sell the business for €1.5bn, based on €200m ARR in 2025.

⚓ GTT, a French engineering firm specialised in O&G transportation systems, will acquire Danelec, a Danish provider of technological solutions at sea, for €194m.

💽 3i Group is prepping MAIT, its German digitalisation consultancy with €200m revenue and €20m+ EBITDA, for sale.

💧 Nestlé has appointed Rothschild to advise on the sale of its global water unit, including Perrier and S.Pellegrino, expected to fetch €5bn+.

🏥 Mehiläinen, a Finnish care provider backed by CVC, has acquired home care assets from 9Lives Group.

🐟 OptoScale, a Norwegian aquatech firm, secures strategic investment from Insight Partners.

🛰️ Rheinmetall and Finnish firm ICEYE will jointly manufacture satellites, starting 2026.

🛢️ Triton is reconsidering its sale of tank supplier Renk to KNDS due to Italian regulatory delays.

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

🧪 Astorg has acquired a majority stake in French biotech ingredients provider Solabia from TA Associates, based on €50m EBITDA.

🧠 Ardian-backed Artefact, a Paris-based AI consultancy, is prepping for a sale with an expected €1bn valuation and €60m 2025 EBITDA.

💻 Binding offers are expected in June for Italian wealthtech Objectway, generating €130m revenue and €25m EBITDA.

🍔 Uber is buying a controlling stake in Trendyol GO, Turkey’s food delivery service, for $700m.

🔩 Resonac, the Japanese group, is exploring a sale of Fiamm, its Italian auto components subsidiary, which posted €400m revenue and €25m EBITDA, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.

🚄 CVC is frontrunner to acquire a stake in Spanish infrastructure lessor AirRail, valued at around €300m, according to Spanish publications.

👶 Groupe Rocher has received offers for French kidswear brand Petit Bateau, which sees annual revenue of €250m.

💸 Coinbase will acquire Dutch crypto options exchange Deribit in a $2.9bn deal.

🏦 Novo Banco, the Lisbon-based bank owned by Lone Star, is targeting an IPO in June 2025.

🛬 HiSERV is in exclusive talks to buy Air Rai, the Spanish airport equipment group, for €300m.

🚀 Portuguese defense AI company TEKEVER is now a unicorn after a Ventura Capital-led round.

🏦 Dutch digital bank Finom raised €93m from General Catalyst and others.

🏢 Cofinimmo, the Belgian real estate group, has rejected a €3.1bn takeover bid from peer Aedifica.

🌿 SICIT Group, an Italian bio-stimulants company, will sell 50% to TPG. FY24 results: €140m revenue, €57m EBITDA.

🛡️ CNP Assurances is leading the race to buy Italian insurer Prima Assicurazioni, with a €1.6bn offer, beating AXA and Allianz.

🧠 Smile Invest has acquired a majority stake in iPractice, a Dutch mental health provider serving 12,000 patients per year

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