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August 01
Dakota Transactions is a daily newsletter delivering a comprehensive summary of the top stories and transactions in sponsor-backed M&A, growth and venture investments, portfolio company debt and deal financing, and more across the Tech & Telecom; Sports, Media & Entertainment; Healthcare; Financials; Professional Services; Consumer & Retail; Infrastructure; Energy; Industrials & Materials; and Real Estate sectors.
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Verisk will acquire AccuLynx for $2.35B in cash, strengthening its insurance-to-contractor SaaS capabilities. Salesforce and ServiceNow are in late-stage talks to each invest $750M in Genesys at a $15B valuation. M&A activity also included FBR Solutions’ acquisition of Johnson Communications to expand rural fiber deployment, and Office Timeline’s purchase of Timeneye. Venture funding remained robust: Insight Partners led a $150M Series C for Anaconda, Evolution Equity Partners backed $100M for Noma Security, SAFE raised $70M for AI risk modeling, and Wallarm secured $55M for API security. Figma debuted publicly, raising $1.2B at a $16B valuation—short of its scrapped $20B Adobe deal.
Fox Corporation acquired one-third of Penske Entertainment, securing media rights for IndyCar and deepening its motorsports portfolio. Betsperts expanded into golf analytics with its purchase of Fantasy National Golf Club. In venture news, generative media platform Fal raised $125M with Salesforce and Shopify participation, while Good Job Games secured $60M to scale its mobile gaming titles. Grass League, a par-3 golf concept, raised $2.75M to expand live-streamed competition. DLP Capital committed $63M to Pine Royale, a golf-focused resort with entertainment amenities. Strategic focus across the sector is on combining sports rights, gaming IP, and experiential entertainment to capture high-value fan engagement.
AbbVie will acquire Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals in a ~$1B deal to expand into fast-acting psychedelics for depression. ARCHIMED-backed Instem acquired Xybion Digital, while Arkstone, a clinical AI decision support provider, was also acquired by ARCHIMED. LucyRx agreed to buy CerpassRx to expand pharmacy benefit services. In biotech funding, VelaVigo raised $60M for drug discovery, Ultromics secured $55M for AI cardiology tools, and Unmind raised $35M for enterprise mental health. Sava Technologies obtained $19M for molecular health monitoring. Notably, Canada–UK collaboration launched a £1.2M melanoma immunotherapy program. The pipeline shows strong investor appetite for precision medicine, digital health integration, and scalable AI-driven diagnostics.
Brookfield Wealth Solutions agreed to acquire UK life insurer Just Group for $3.2B, integrating it into its Blumont platform. TelstraSuper and Aware Super are exploring a $228B merger, creating one of Australia’s largest pension funds. Hanwha Life took a 75% stake in Velocity Clearing—first such US securities acquisition by a Korean insurer. Other deals included Payroc’s purchase of BlueSnap, J.C. Flowers acquiring Italian brokerage Caleas, and Great American Insurance buying Radion Health. Venture flows saw Brinley Partners secure $4B for CLO vehicles, QI Tech raise $63M for Brazilian fintech growth, and Stable gain $28M to advance blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure.
Wipfli, a top US accounting and consulting firm, is in advanced talks to sell 40% to New Mountain Capital, valuing it above $1B. The transaction would fund acquisitions and accelerate Wipfli’s push toward $1B in annual revenue within three years. In growth capital, GFT Ventures and Sound Ventures co-led a $16.1M Series A in Knit, an AI-powered consumer research platform, with proceeds earmarked for product acceleration. Lightspeed led a $3.5M seed round for Rocksalt, a marketing intelligence platform targeting SMB buyer influence. Strategic investor interest remains high in scalable, tech-enabled professional services poised to disrupt traditional consulting and research workflows.
JD.com confirmed its €2.2B ($2.5B) offer for German electronics retailer Ceconomy, with shareholder support for nearly a third of shares. Other M&A: Everli Global’s SPAC merger at a $180M pre-money valuation, LaSalle Capital’s sale of Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta to Turri’s Italian Foods, and Ancestry’s acquisition of iMemories. Lyft completed its $200M acquisition of Freenow, expanding into nine European markets. Venture rounds included Quince raising $200M at a $4.5B valuation, The Sleep Company securing $12M, and P-TAL raising $2.6M. A Hong Kong IPO is reportedly planned for Kaluga Queen, the world’s largest caviar producer, signaling demand for niche luxury goods plays.
Energy Capital Partners and KKR, in partnership with CyrusOne, will develop a $4B, 190 MW hyperscale data center campus in Texas, powered by Calpine Corp.’s adjacent energy facility. The project marks the first deployment of the ECP-KKR $50B AI infrastructure partnership. Activist investor Ancora Holdings is pressuring $65.8B rail operator CSX to seek a merger or overhaul leadership, mirroring its campaign at Norfolk Southern. The Norfolk Southern–Union Pacific $85B merger sets a high bar for consolidation. Infrastructure capital is increasingly flowing to AI-focused data centers and transportation platforms, with investor activism influencing strategic direction in publicly traded operators.
GoodFinch Management affiliates will acquire most of Sunnova Energy’s assets through a credit bid and $25M cash consideration, with SunStrong assuming solar system servicing. Mergence Investment Managers committed $3.3M to Solarise Africa to expand C&I solar projects in South Africa. Eagle Energy Metals will go public via a SPAC merger with a $312M equity value, supported by a $30M preferred stock investment. Avalanche Energy secured a $10M grant for fusion technology development in Washington State. Energy transactions remain a mix of distressed asset resolutions, mid-market project financing, and early-stage alternative energy innovation funding, particularly in nuclear and fusion.
Graco acquired Italy’s Color Service for $72M to expand powder handling capabilities. Hiab sold its MacGregor unit to Triton, while Atlas Holdings formed Orion Steel after acquiring EVRAZ North America. LFM Capital invested in Bergari Solutions (emissions systems), and Theon International expanded with a Belgium subsidiary and stake in Andres Industries. FuriosaAI raised $125M to advance AI chip production; Yarbo secured funding for global expansion of its autonomous yard robot; VINCI Energies acquired Zimmer & Hälbig in HVAC solutions. Industrial M&A reflects strategic consolidation in engineered products, with venture activity focused on robotics, semiconductors, and energy-efficient systems.
QuadReal acquired eight UK student housing assets with 3,460 beds, targeting Russell Group university markets. 1754 Properties purchased the Marriott Winston-Salem, planning $5M in upgrades, while Ashkenazy Acquisition bought The Shops at Atlas Park in NYC with competitive financing. CPP Investments will sell its 50% stakes in Birmingham’s Bullring and Grand Central to Hammerson for $422M. Other transactions include Loci Capital’s Florida industrial portfolio purchase, Lucky Strike’s acquisition of multiple water parks and family entertainment centers, and Terravet’s veterinary clinic expansion in Mississippi. Investor focus spans student housing, hospitality repositioning, retail center recapitalization, and specialized niche real estate.
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