Weekly Highlights: Deals

LVMH and L’Oréal are among the luxury consumer companies considering offers for a stake in high-end cosmetics brand Aesop, which may be valued at $2 billion or more.

Audi, a premium brand of Volkswagen, has acquired a minority stake in the Formula 1 team Sauber as part of its bid to join the racing circuit in 2026.

Brookfield is in talks to take over the private equity secondaries business of Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm, DWS, as the bank seeks to pull back from areas where it lacks scale.

Meanwhile, the recent selloff in billionaire Gautam Adani’s corporate empire, which has erased $70 billion, has forced Wall Street to reconsider its confidence in India’s expansion and its pro-business government. Adani’s 413-page attempt to restore confidence in his business after fraud allegations by short seller Hindenburg Research has failed to convince investors. Still Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has pulled off a $2.5 billion equity sale for his flagship company. A group of Indira IVF’s largest shareholders are considering selling their holdings.

Germany’s professional football body, DFL, is restarting talks with private equity firms about the sale of a package of media rights.

Greek government-owned Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund has selected banks for an IPO of its 30% stake in Athens International Airport, which could be the largest in Greece since 2000.

Citi is hiring a top healthcare banker from JPMorgan to lead coverage of the sector in EMEA for its investment bank.

Unilever has named Royal FrieslandCampina boss Hein Schumacher as its next CEO, succeeding Alan Jope.

Consumer health business Halcon, spun out from GSK, is in the early stages of studying potential deals to bulk up its brand portfolio.

Cnooc has paused its planned sale of its UK North Sea portfolio as initial offers did not meet expectations.

Ariana Grande has reached a deal to buy assets tied to her r.e.m. beauty brand. Serie A has begun attracting major international lenders and private equity giants to finance its media business.

Lotus, the British sports-car maker, agreed to merge with a SPAC tied to billionaire Bernard Arnault with a value of $5.4 billion.

Elliott, the activist investor, has disclosed a stake in Germany’s Vantage Towers. A large investor in Ritchie Bros is supporting the company’s proposed takeover of IAA, which has been opposed by other shareholders.

Meta has won court approval to buy virtual reality startup Within Unlimited, defeating an effort by the US Federal Trade Commission to block the deal.

Advent International-backed UK defense firm Cobham is weighing an acquisition of Mercury Systems.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this deals summary article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. The deals and investments discussed in this article are subject to change and may not be representative of the overall market. The deals data is based on publicly available information and should not be taken as a guarantee of future performance. The information provided in this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice and readers should always conduct their own research and due diligence before making any investment decisions.