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IPO/ Listing Action

Last week

• Smithfield Foods (SFD) priced its $521.7M IPO at $20 per share. Est. IPO Market Cap of $7.86 billion.

• Infinity Natural Resources (INR) priced its $265 million IPO at $20 per share, giving the company an estimated IPO market cap of $1.18 billion.

• Metsera (MTSR) priced its $275 million IPO at $18 per share, giving the company an estimated IPO market cap of $1.83 billion.

• Cloudastructure (CSAI) completed its direct listing with a reference price of $50 per share, giving the company an estimated listing market cap of $701 million.

• Twin Hospitality Group (TWNP) completed its spinoff from FAT Brands (FAT), debuting at $17.45 per share, giving the company an estimated listing market cap of $875.4 million.

See more: Latest Listings

Upcoming

• Sionna Therapeutics (SION) launched its IPO roadshow and published an IPO investor presentation on Retail Roadshow. SION is looking to raise around $150 million (at the pricing midpoint) by selling 8.8 million shares at $16 - $18 per share. Per the presentation, the IPO is expected to price on Feb 6 and begin trading on Nasdaq on Feb 7. — Retail Roadshow

• Western Digital Corporation (WDC) is spinning off its subsidiary, Sandisk Corporation (SNDK). The ex-distribution when-issued market for WDC will start on a date to be announced, with a record date of February 12, 2025, and a payment date of February 21, 2025. The spin-off ratio is 0.33333 shares of Sandisk for each share of Western Digital held. — Nasdaq

See more: Upcoming Listings

Listing Calendar for This Week

Listing Plans and Rumors

See more: Listing Plans & Rumors

Plans

• Sharon AI signed a business combination agreement with Roth CH Acquisition Co. (OTC: USCTF) and plans to list on Nasdaq as soon as possible following the completion of the merger. Sharon AI offers GPU Compute-as-a-Service in Tier IV data centers and specializes in AI and HPC applications, utilizing NVIDIA and AMD GPU technologies. — PR

Rumors

• HistoSonics, a medical device company backed by Johnson & Johnson, is contemplating a US IPO this year, potentially raising a few hundred million dollars. The company aims for a valuation of several billion dollars. Discussions with investment banks are ongoing, but no final decisions have been reached. — Bloomberg 

• Hyundai Motor Co. has not confirmed any timeline or plans for Boston Dynamics' IPO, according to CFO Lee Seung-jo. Following Hyundai Motor India's IPO, which raised approximately $3.3 billion, there were expectations for Boston Dynamics to be listed in the US. Lee stated that while they are open-minded about Boston Dynamics' IPO, they have not reviewed it and do not plan to do so in the near term. — Korea Herald 

• TJC is exploring options for Silvus Technologies, including a sale or IPO. Morgan Stanley is advising TJC. Valuation could reach $5 billion. Silvus designs wireless radios for military and law enforcement. — Bloomberg

• Unilever Plc is considering listing its ice cream business in New York, which is the biggest market for its ice cream brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Breyers. Amsterdam and London are also among the venues being considered. — Bloomberg

• Becton Dickinson is considering a separation of its life sciences segment, valued at about $30 billion. The company is working with advisers to explore this option to boost its stock price. The potential plan involves separating the biosciences and diagnostic solutions business while retaining specimen management operations. An announcement may come at the time of its Feb. 6 earnings release. Activist investor Starboard Value LP has taken a stake in Becton and is urging the sale of the life sciences division. — Bloomberg

IPO Candidates

See more: IPO Candidates

• TikTok U.S.

  • Perplexity AI has revised its merger proposal with ByteDance for The proposal suggests that the U.S. government could own up to 50% of the new company after an IPO, which is expected to have a valuation of at least $300 billion. ByteDance would sell TikTok U.S. to new investors, granting them equity while retaining TikTok's core recommendation algorithm — Reuters

  • A group of American investors, supported by YouTuber MrBeast, has secured over $20 billion for a TikTok bid, according to Jesse Tinsley, Founder of Employer.com. The group includes tech CEOs David Baszucki of Roblox and Nathan McCauley of Anchorage Digital. Tinsley stated their offer is “significantly higher” than a rival bid of around $20 billion from Frank McCourt and Kevin O’Leary, who estimate a $25 billion price tag for TikTok. Tinsley noted they have not contacted TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance Ltd., which claims TikTok's US business is not for sale. Since an executive order from President Trump delayed a TikTok ban, various buyers have emerged, but it remains uncertain if ByteDance will consider these offers. — Bloomberg

• Morgan Stanley is leading a group of banks looking to sell up to $3 billion of senior secured debt related to Musk's 2022 buyout of X (formerly Twitter). The valuation of X is enhanced by a $6 billion stake in xAI Corp., Musk's AI startup, which has a valuation of approximately $50 billion. Potential buyers are being offered a claim on X's interest in xAI. The banks are seeking to sell the debt at prices between 90 to 95 cents on the dollar, a significant increase from its previous mark of 60 cents in 2022. — Bloomberg

• OpenAI Raise

  • OpenAI is in talks to raise up to $40 billion, potentially valuing the company at $300 billion. SoftBank would lead the round, investing between $15 billion and $25 billion. Previous discussions valued OpenAI at $340 billion. The last valuation was $157 billion in October when it raised $6.6 billion — WSJ 

  • SoftBank is in talks to invest $15 billion to $25 billion in OpenAI. This investment may support OpenAI’s Stargate initiative, a joint venture with SoftBank, Oracle (ORCL), and the UAE investment fund MGX, which plans to invest up to $500 billion in AI data centers over four years. If finalized, SoftBank would become OpenAI’s largest investor, surpassing Microsoft (MSFT), which has invested nearly $14 billion. However, SoftBank would hold a smaller stake in OpenAI’s for-profit division due to Microsoft’s earlier investment. SoftBank's investment in OpenAI is separate from its $15 billion commitment to Stargate. — WSJ 

• SoftBank is negotiating a $500 million investment in Skild AI, a software company focused on robotics, at a $4 billion valuation. Skild AI, which is two years old, previously raised $300 million at a $1.5 billion valuation last July from investors like Jeff Bezos, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Coatue Management. — TechCrunch

• Helion announced a $425 million Series F investment round to scale the commercialization of its fusion technology. New investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and a major university endowment, alongside existing investors like Sam Altman and Nucor. Total investment in Helion exceeds $1 billion, valuing the company at $5.425 billion post-money. — PR 

• SafelyYou raised $43 million in Series C funding led by Touring Capital. Other contributors included Foundation Capital, Omega Healthcare Investors, Founders Fund, Cross Creek, Samsung Next, and Qualcomm Ventures. Total funding now exceeds $100 million. — PR 

• Finout announced a $40 million Series C funding round led by Insight Partners, with participation from Pitango, Team8, Red Dot Capital, and Maor Investments. Total funding now stands at $85 million. The platform supports cloud-agnostic cost allocation and governance. — PR 

• Orbex announced a £20m investment from the UK Government as part of Series D fundraising. Total funding for Series D is now at £23m. Orbex develops small and medium-sized rockets. Initial launches will occur from SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland. — PR 

• UVeye raised $191 million, totaling $380.5 million in funding. The round was led by Woven Capital with $41 million in equity from UMC Capital, MyBerg, W.R. Berkley, Menora Mivtachim, and More Investment House. Trinity Capital structured a $150 million debt facility. The company scans nearly 1 million vehicles monthly. — PR 

• Rad AI announced a $60M Series C financing round, valuing the company at $525M. The round was led by Transformation Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures, World Innovation Lab, UP2398, Kickstart Fund, OCV Partners, Cone Health, and others. This follows a $50M Series B financing seven months prior. Total investment to date exceeds $140M. — PR

Merger Announcements

• Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) will acquire Paragon 28 (FNA) for $13.00 per share (11.40% premium to the closing price prior to announcement), in cash, totaling an equity value of approximately $1.1 billion and an enterprise value of about $1.2 billion. Paragon 28 shareholders will also receive a contingent value right (CVR) worth up to $1.00 per share in cash, contingent on achieving specific revenue milestones between $346 million and $361 million during Zimmer Biomet's fiscal year 2026. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2025. — PR | (Deal Page)

• Portman Ridge Finance Corporation (PTMN) and Logan Ridge Finance Corporation (LRFC) will merge, with PTMN as the surviving entity. LRFC shareholders will receive 1.50 shares of PTMN for each LRFC share, valuing LRFC at $25.02 per share based on PTMN's $16.68 closing price on January 24, 2025. This represents a 4% premium over LRFC's January 24 closing price of $24.00 and a 17% premium over its September 11 closing price of $21.43. The merger is expected to close in Q2 2025 and is an all-stock transaction — PR

• Triumph Group (TGI), a military and commercial aircraft parts maker, announced it will be acquired by Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners in an all-cash deal at $26.00 per share (39% premium to the closing price prior to announcement) for a total enterprise value of approximately. $3 billion. The transaction is expected to close in H2 2025. — PR

See more: Active M&A

Closings

• UMB Financial (UMBF) closed its acquisition of Heartland Financial USA (HTLF). — PR

• ONEOK (OKE) completed its acquisition of EnLink Midstream. — PR

• Thoma Bravo-backed Sophos closed its $859 million acquisition of Secureworks (SCWX). — PR

• Bending Spoons completed its $233 million acquisition of Brightcove (BCOV). — PR

• Avid Bioservices' (CDMO) acquisition by GHO Capital Partners and Ampersand Capital Partners is expected to close prior to market open on Feb 5. — Nasdaq

See more: Closed M&A

Live Deal Coverage and Updates

• The US Justice Department sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks (JNPR), arguing it would harm competition in enterprise wireless equipment. The complaint states the deal would reduce major players from three—HPE, Juniper, and Cisco Systems—to two, controlling 70% of the market. This antitrust suit is the first under President Trump, indicating a continued aggressive stance on corporate consolidation. — Bloomberg

• SilverCrest Metals (SILV) announced COFECE clearance for its arrangement with Coeur Mining. Coeur will acquire all SilverCrest shares, with shareholders receiving 1.6022 shares of Coeur for each SilverCrest share. The arrangement is expected to close on Feb 14, following the shareholder vote on Feb 6 and pending court approval. — PR

Potential M&A News

• Dada Nexus Limited (DADA), a local on-demand retail platform, received a non-binding acquisition proposal from JD.com (JD) to buy all outstanding ordinary shares for US$2.0 per ADS (US$0.5 per Ordinary Share) in cash. This offer represents a 42% premium over the closing price before the proposal. A special committee of three independent directors has been formed to assess the proposal. — PR

• Sage Therapeutics (SAGE) is exploring strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, including a potential sale. The Board rejected Biogen's unsolicited proposal to acquire remaining shares at $7.22 per share. No timetable for the review process has been established, and no decisions on strategic alternatives have been made. — PR

• Allakos (ALLK) announced that its Phase 1 trial of its AK006 showed no therapeutic activity in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and will cease its development. The company will reduce its workforce by 75% and is considering strategic alternatives. — PR

• Brighthouse Financial (BHF) is considering a potential sale and is collaborating with Goldman and Wells Fargo for the process. The company, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, was spun off from MetLife (MET) in 2017. — Reuters

• Bain Capital Private Equity proposed to acquire all outstanding shares of Surgery Partners (SGRY) not already owned for $25.75 per share in an all-cash transaction. Bain Capital currently holds about 39% of Surgery Partners' common stock, as per the Schedule 13D/A filing dated January 28, 2025. A Special Committee of independent directors will review the proposal with independent financial and legal advisors. — PR

• Beacon Roofing (BECN) has implemented a poison pill defense against a hostile takeover from QXO Inc. Beacon's stockholder rights agreement aims to prevent control acquisition without a fair control premium for investors. QXO's cash offer is $124.25 per share, valuing Beacon at approximately $11 billion, including debt. The poison pill will issue one preferred share purchase right for each outstanding common share as of February 7, 2025, allowing Beacon time to evaluate QXO's tender offer. QXO criticized the rights agreement, stating it hinders shareholders from accessing cash quickly, and expressed readiness to finalize the transaction to provide immediate value to Beacon shareholders. — Bloomberg

• Spirit Airlines (SAVEQ) rejected Frontier Group Holdings' acquisition offer valued at approximately $2.2 billion, which included cash and stock, citing the terms as "inadequate and unactionable." Spirit plans to continue its bankruptcy restructuring but is open to a revised proposal. Frontier's offer aims to persuade Spirit's bondholders that it is a better option than bankruptcy, which could lead to a heavily indebted airline. Previous discussions between the two companies date back to January 7, reviving a long-standing interest after Frontier's earlier attempt to acquire Spirit was thwarted by a competing bid from JetBlue Airways, which was later blocked due to antitrust issues — Bloomberg

• Daniel Loeb, head of Third Point, urged SoHo House (SHCO) directors to conduct a fair sales process after the hospitality group received a $9 per share take-private offer last year, which he deemed a "sweetheart" deal. Third Point holds nearly a 10% stake in SoHo House, which is valued at approximately $1.4 billion. — Reuters

• NEC Corp is considering an offer for CSG Systems (CSGS), a customer care and billing solutions provider, with discussions facilitated by Morgan Stanley. The talks are in the early stages, and there is no guarantee of a deal, as NEC may choose not to make a formal bid. CSG has been exploring a sale for the past year, and other potential buyers may also come forward — Reuters

• Teoxane withdrew its proposal to acquire Revance Therapeutics (RVNC). — SF

• Sycamore Partners is in discussions with private credit firms for debt financing related to a potential Walgreens acquisition despite previous reports of stalled takeover talks. — Bloomberg

• South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor (MX) is exploring a sale four years after a US block on a Chinese takeover. The company has engaged a foreign investment bank and is in talks with potential buyers, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, LX Group, Doosan Group, and DB HiTek. — Korea Economic Daily

• Grab (GRAB) is in advanced talks to acquire its smaller Indonesian rival GoTo (GOTO.JK). Negotiations in previous years failed, but talks resumed in December of last year. — Reuters

• Vacasa (VCSA) confirmed an unsolicited proposal from Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP to acquire shares at $5.25 per share. On Dec 30, Vacasa announced it would be acquired by Casago to be acquired at $5.02 per share. — PR

See more: Potential M&A

Activism, Investor Disputes & Shorts

Activism

• US Steel & Ancora Holdings

  • Activist investor Ancora Holdings is engaged in a proxy battle at U.S. Steel (X). Ancora aims to replace U.S. Steel’s CEO and abandon litigation related to a failed merger with Nippon Steel, which had a proposed value exceeding $14 billion. Ancora is not seeking to sell U.S. Steel to another party and instead focuses on a turnaround in public markets. The merger was blocked by President Biden due to national security concerns, a decision both companies are contesting in court. Ancora has nominated nine candidates for U.S. Steel’s 12-person board, including former Stelco CEO Alan Kestenbaum. U.S. Steel remains committed to the Nippon Steel deal and claims Ancora holds less than 1% of its shares, while Ancora is working to acquire a "meaningful" stake to disclose later. — WSJ 

  • Pentwater Capital Management LP, the third-largest US Steel (X) investor, opposes Ancora Holdings Group's efforts to change the board and remove CEO David Burritt. Pentwater supports the current board and management, believing they are making the right strategic choices. Ancora is trying to stop US Steel's $14.1 billion acquisition by Nippon Steel (NPSCY), which is facing challenges from the White House. Ancora has nominated nine board candidates, including Alan Kestenbaum, a former CEO of Stelco Holdings, who aims to lead US Steel. — Bloomberg 

• Barnwell Industries (BRN) announced a limited-duration shareholder rights plan to protect shareholder interests. This plan responds to the Sherwood Group's 30% ownership of Barnwell's common stock and their refusal to extend the Cooperation and Support Agreement with former CEO Alexander Kinzler. — PR 

• D.E. Shaw has acquired a stake in Riot Platforms (RIOT), a cryptocurrency mining company, making it the second activist shareholder after Starboard Value, which also holds an undisclosed position. D.E. Shaw manages $70 billion in assets, but the size of its stake in Riot is unknown. Riot is evaluating the use of its power capacity for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing at its Corsicana, Texas, facility. — Reuters

• Investor HG Vora is initiating a proxy fight at casino operator Penn Entertainment (PENN) to secure three independent board seats. In a recent filing, HG Vora disclosed it had reduced its stake in Penn to below 5% to facilitate this process. The firm has been engaging with gambling regulators across over 20 states to acquire the necessary licenses for board nominations — WSJ

• KKR has acquired a 12% stake in Henry Schein (HSIC) and has the option to purchase an additional 2.9%. Henry Schein has a market cap of $9.5 billion and will provide KKR with two board seats as the PE firm plans to work with the company to improve its operations. Ananym Capital Management has been campaigning for CEO succession planning. — WSJ

• Activist investor Starboard Value has taken a stake in Becton Dickinson (BDX) and is urging the $72B medical technology company to sell its life sciences division. Starboard has met with management and sent a letter to the board advocating for a sale or spin-off of the unit. Citigroup analysts value the division between $33B and $35B. — FT

See more: Activism

Shorts

• Short seller Wolfpack Research published a report targeting Mercury General (MCY) titled "California Wildfire Events a Gamechanger for Mercury (MCY) As We Estimate More Than $2 Billion in Losses Using Zip Code Data". — Wolfpack Research

See more: Short Reports

• Bright Green (OTC: BGXX) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. — PR

• Know Labs (KNW --> KNWN) was delisted by Nasdaq and began trading OTC under the symbol KNWN.

• Hyzon Motors (HYZN) was delisted by Nasdaq following its decision to wind-up and liquidate.

• Procaps (PROC --> PROCF) was delisted by Nasdaq and began trading OTC as PROCF, with its warrants trading as PRCWF.

*Only memes this week. Had to cope somehow!