M&A Deal Flow: Mega-Deals and Antitrust Reviews — 2026-09-25
A blockbuster week for dealmaking: Caesars shareholders approved Fertitta's $17.6 billion takeover after a long bidding war, while Paramount's owners offered concessions to 12 Democratic state attorneys general to salvage the $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery bid. In Japan, a Nissan-legacy name made headlines as Kobayashi Pharmaceutical weighs going private after a buyout proposal from NSSK and CVC. Private equity stayed busy with H.I.G.'s $866 million Mistras take-private and Carlyle/CVC's €1 billion BauWatch deal.
M&A Deal Flow: Mega-Deals and Antitrust Reviews — 2026-09-25
Top developments
Caesars shareholders approve Fertitta's $17.6 billion takeover
Caesars Entertainment shareholders approved Fertitta Entertainment's $17.6 billion takeover bid on Tuesday, capping a prolonged bidding war and paving the way for a new gaming giant. The vote clears the last major shareholder hurdle for one of the year's largest casino-sector mega-deals
Paramount offers concessions to save $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery deal
Paramount's owners have made concessions to 12 Democratic state attorneys general to settle a lawsuit that threatened its $111 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. The move marks a potential turning point in the most-watched media antitrust saga of 2026, though federal review remains the key outstanding question
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical weighs take-private after NSSK/CVC bid
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is considering going private after receiving a share buyout proposal via tender offer from Japan's NSSK and UK-based CVC Capital Partners on September 24, with local media reporting a buyout programme on a scale of roughly ¥500 billion. The Stock-based deal sent Kobayashi shares limit-up in morning Japanese trading. The move follows the red-yeast rice (beni-kouji) supplement health-damage scandal, and a delisting would let the company rebuild governance away from public markets
H.I.G. Capital to take Mistras private for $866 million
H.I.G. Capital, which manages $75 billion, agreed on September 18 to acquire Mistras Group (NYSE: MG) for $20.35 per share in cash — an enterprise value of roughly $866 million including debt. The price represents premiums of about 8% and 13% over the 30- and 90-day volume-weighted averages
Carlyle and CVC DIF strike €1 billion BauWatch carve-out
Carlyle and CVC DIF agreed to acquire 90% of European remote-security firm BauWatch from German family investment group Haniel in a deal valuing the company at about €1 billion, citing Reuters-sourced sources. Separately, Platinum Equity completed its $6.6 billion sale of Urbaser to Blackstone Infrastructure and EQT Infrastructure, five years after buying the Madrid-based environmental services business for $4.2 billion
Local view
Japanese business media are following the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical story closely. Sankei News reported on September 24 that the company received a TOB-based buyout proposal from an investment fund and is weighing going private to rebuild governance after the beni-kouji supplement health issue. Nikkei-adjacent commentary and isotop.jp reporting named the bidders as domestic fund NSSK and UK's CVC Capital Partners, with a buyout package in the ¥500 billion range planned via tender offer. Japanese-language markets coverage also flagged Oracle Japan and Aichi Financial Group among names moving on M&A-related news this week.
Context & numbers
- The Fertitta-Caesars deal is valued at $17.6 billion
- The Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery transaction is valued at $111 billion
- H.I.G.'s Mistras buyout values the company at ~$866 million enterprise value; Carlyle/CVC DIF's BauWatch deal values the target at ~€1 billion
- Platinum Equity's Urbaser exit to Blackstone and EQT concluded at $6.6 billion, versus its $4.2 billion purchase price in 2021
- Q1 2026 global M&A volume was $861.1 billion, the strongest start to a year since 2021 and up 9.7% year over year
On the radar
- BlackRock-backed consortium: rallies.ai's "Deals of the Day" roundup references a consortium backed by BlackRock with involvement in a deal of up to $25 billion — worth tracking for formal confirmation
- Schneider Electric: the European energy and automation giant announced a voluntary tender offer for Shelly Group, valuing the Bulgarian smart-home firm at €70 per share
- Capricorn Energy / DNO: Capricorn agreed revised terms of a $396 million takeover offer from DNO
- Tessenderlo completed a $403 million investment for a 20% stake in FMC
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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