Felix Capital raises $600M for fund; FirstGroup rebuffs £1.2B bid from I Squared

TOP NEWS IN PRIVATE EQUITY

* Felix Capital Partners LLP has raised $600 million for its fourth fund, TechCrunch reported. The London-based venture investor will back 20 to 25 companies across Europe and North America, focusing largely on commerce-driven startups and those developing technologies around cryptocurrencies and blockchains.

* FirstGroup PLC turned down a takeover offer from I Squared Capital Advisors (UK) LLP that could have valued the U.K. bus and train operator at roughly £1.2 billion, Bloomberg News reported. The private equity firm had offered 118 pence per share in cash, plus a potential 45.6 pence a share contingent on proceeds from previously agreed upon FirstGroup disposals.

➤ Outlook for private equity dealmaking sours as inflation, interest rates rise

One result of the current macro environment could be more deals smaller in size, up to $100 million, with less leverage and less risk than in recent years, industry sources said.

➤ Global private equity deal value sinks to 12-month low in May

Tallies for global private equity and venture capital entries were lower in both volume and value, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

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

DEALS

* A consortium consisting of Apollo Global Management Inc. and Reliance Industries Ltd. made a binding offer for Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.'s international chemist and drugstore units, known as Boots Retail USA Inc., Bloomberg News reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The proposal values Boots at over £5 billion, one of the sources told Bloomberg.

* Ardian committed €180 million in the form of unitranche funding to Paris-based veterinary clinics operator Sevetys. The capital infusion will be used to acquire 100 additional veterinary clinics in France.

* GTCR LLC-backed Corza Medical GmbH acquired Barron Precision Instruments LLC, a manufacturer of ophthalmic surgery products.

* Marubeni Corp. agreed to divest agriculture and ground care product distributor Spaldings Ltd. via a sale to London-based Inspirit Capital.

* Investment vehicle Oakley Capital IV, which is backed by Oakley Capital Investments Ltd. and Oakley Capital Management Ltd., will sell its stake in Contabo Gmbh to KKR & Co. Inc. As part of the deal, Oakley Capital Fund V will acquire a minority stake in the cloud hosting platform.

FUNDRAISING

* StepStone Group Inc., Lightspeed Ventures LLC and General Catalyst Group Management LLC co-led a $220 million series D funding round for Multiverse Group Ltd., a hiring and corporate training platform. Audacious Ventures LP, Bond Capital Management LP, D1 Capital Partners LP, Founders Circle Capital LLC, Index Ventures and GV Management Co. LLC participated in the fundraising.

VENTURE CAPITAL

* Drug discovery platform Anagenex Inc. secured $30 million in a series A financing round led by Catalio Capital Management LP. Other investors included Air Street Capital LLP and Khosla Ventures LLC.

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