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Novavax shares soar on license deal with Sanofi at lofty valuation.
Microsoft announces the largest investment to date in France.
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Permira , the global private equity firm, agreed to acquire Squarespace , the design-driven platform helping entrepreneurs build brands and businesses online, for $6.9bn.
"Squarespace has been at the forefront of providing services to businesses looking to establish themselves online for more than two decades. We are excited to continue building on that foundation, and expanding our offerings, for years to come. We are thrilled to be partnering with Permira on this new leg of our journey, alongside our existing long-term investors General Atlantic and Accel, who strongly believe in the future of Squarespace," Anthony Casalena, Squarespace Founder and CEO.
Squarespace is advised by Centerview Partners , J.P. Morgan , Richards, Layton & Finger , Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (led by Christopher Barlow ) and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati . Permira is advised by Goldman Sachs , Latham & Watkins and FGS Global . Debt financing is provided by Ares Capital , Blackstone and Blue Owl Capital . General Atlantic is advised by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (led by Ellen Ching and Matthew Abbott). Accel is advised by Cooley LLP .
BHP Group said on May 13 that Anglo American had rejected a revised buyout offer valuing the company at $42.7bn, Reuters reported.
Anglo American in April rebuffed BHP's $39bn all-share takeover proposal, saying it was opportunistic and significantly undervalued its prospects.
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"BHP is disappointed that the Anglo American Board has chosen not to engage with BHP with respect to the Revised Proposal and the improved terms," it said in a statement.
Anglo American is advised by Centerview Partners (led by James Hartop and Edward Rowe ), Goldman Sachs (led by Mark Sorrell ), Morgan Stanley (led by Simon Smith , Tom Perry and Anthony Zammit ) and Linklaters . BHP is advised by Barclays (led by Bruce Hart ) and UBS (led by David Roberts , Campbell Stewart and Calvin O'Shaughnessy ).
EQT Group , a Swedish global investment organization, agreed to acquire OX2 , a renewable energy platform, for $1.5bn
"We’ll continue geographically and technology-wise what the company has been doing, and we’ll obviously continue with the team, which we strongly support," Christoph Balzer, EQT Partner.
OX2 is advised by Goldman Sachs and Gernandt & Danielsson . EQT Partners is advised by Rothschild & Co .
Novavax shares soar on license deal with Sanofi at lofty valuation.
Novavax on May 10 said it had struck a licensing deal worth at least $1.2bn with Sanofi for its COVID-19 vaccine in exchange for a stake that valued the US biotech firm at double its current market capitalization, Reuters reported.
The Maryland-based drugmaker's stock more than doubled in May 10 trading to $8.97 following the deal as the company also removed a warning notice from February last year that raised doubts about it being in business. At their peak in 2021, shares traded at about $332.
Microsoft announces the largest investment to date in France.
Microsoft announced its largest investment in France in its 41-year history in the country. The company will invest €4bn ($4.3bn) in cloud and AI infrastructure, AI skilling, and French Tech acceleration, aiming to train 1m people and support 2.5k AI startups by 2027.
This broad investment package is designed to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies, increase the country’s competitiveness by fostering digital technology made in France and create long-term benefits for the French economy and job market. With these investments, Microsoft is directly contributing to France’s National Strategy for AI and aligns with the recent recommendations of the French Commission for Artificial Intelligence, to position France as a leader in the development and usage of artificial intelligence.
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