Astorg to acquire CordenPharma; Stonepeak to invest €1B in Inspired

TOP NEWS IN PRIVATE EQUITY

* Astorg Partners agreed to buy pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization Corden Pharma GmbH from International Chemical Investors Group. The deal was valued at more than €2.5 billion, Bloomberg News reported May 2, citing people familiar with the matter.

* Stonepeak Partners LP is set to make a €1.0 billion minority equity investment in private school group Inspired. The target company operates more than 70 schools in 20 countries.

➤ Asia-Pacific finance M&A hit by geopolitics, supply chain disruptions in Q1

The number of finance-sector M&A deals in the Asia-Pacific region dropped to 123 in the first three months of 2022, from 165 in the same period last year, S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows.

➤ Pension funds sell on secondaries market for liquidity, portfolio rebalancing

A strong motivation for limited partners selling secondaries is access to coinvestment opportunities with key managers.

READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our new Issue in Focus.

DEALS

* Advent International Corp. agreed to purchase a significant stake in food service packaging and janitorial supplies distributor Imperial Dade from Bain Capital Private Equity LP. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

* SK Capital Partners-advised funds acquired plant-based ingredients manufacturer and supplier Florachem Corp. from an affiliate of Carmelina Capital Advisory LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

FUNDRAISING

* Patient Square Capital LP formed a new portfolio company called Enavate Sciences that will invest in companies focused on developing novel therapies. Patient Square has invested an initial capital commitment of $300 million in Enavate.

* India-based grocery delivery app Zepto raised $200 million in a funding round led by Y Combinator, Reuters reported.

VENTURE CAPITAL

* Digital therapeutics company Hello Heart Inc. raised $70 million in a series D funding round led by Stripes Group LLC.

* Brazilian agriculture technology company Solinftec Participacoes Ltda. raised $60 million in a financing round, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Private equity firm Lightsmith Group led the investment round and invested $23 million in the company.

* Engineering efficiency platform LinearB Inc. raised $50 million in a series B funding round led by Tribe Capital Management LLC.

* Mighty Capital and Fusion Fund led the $20 million series B funding round of Accern Corp.

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