By Benjamin Horney

Law360 (April 16, 2020, 5:43 PM EDT) -- The deals rumor mill is often overflowing with transactions that are reportedly close to being inked, but with so many rumors it can be hard to know which ones to stay on top of every week.

Here, Law360 breaks down the deal rumors from the past week that you need to be aware of.

General Atlantic Teams With Former Blackstone Executive for $5B Fund

Growth equity firm General Atlantic is partnering with Iron Park Capital Partners LP to form a planned $5 billion fund that will provide financing for companies struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Tuesday report from the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, the fund is being set up through a joint venture between General Atlantic and Iron Park — the latter of which was formed by Tripp Smith, who previously co-founded Blackstone Group's GSO Capital — and will be called Atlantic Park. Tripp left Blackstone to form Park Capital in 2018. The new fund will provide structured equity and debt financing, and the companies are aiming to raise and deploy $5 billion or more over the next two years. Targets will include private equity-backed companies in areas including health care, financial services and technology, the report noted. The report pointed to the $1 billion in financing recently pledged to Airbnb by Silver Lake Partners and Sixth Street Partners as an example of the type of deal the new fund will focus on.

Naspers Readies $8B War Chest for Investments During COVID-19 Pandemic

Global technology investor Naspers Ltd. is actively seeking for companies to buy, and the business has $8 billion in a mixture of cash and debt to spend, according to a Tuesday report from the Financial Times. The report cited an interview with Bob van Dijk, chief executive of Naspers. According to the report, Naspers believes the coronavirus pandemic will result in investment opportunities. The firm intends to focus on areas where it has operational expertise, which includes many tech-related sectors, the report said.

China Mulls Merger of Brokerage Firms to Form $67B Investment Bank

China may merge its two largest brokerage firms in an attempt to better compete with global investment banks, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Citic Securities and CSC Financial — owned by government entities Citic Group and Central Huijin Investment, respectively — are in the due diligence process. A merger of the firms stands to create a single investment bank valued at $67 billion, the report said.

SAP Eyes Several-Hundred-Million-Dollar Sale of Digital Routing Biz

Germany-based business software developer SAP SE is considering divesting SAP Digital Interconnect, which provides call and text message routing services for telecommunications operators, according to a Tuesday report from Bloomberg. According to the report, SAP is working with an adviser, the identity of which was not disclosed, and has spoken with potential buyers. SAP Digital Interconnect generates as much as $50 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and about $250 million in revenue, the report said, and the business could be worth "several hundred million dollars" in a sale.

J.C. Penney Considers Bankruptcy as Coronavirus Causes Difficulties

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is weighing whether to file for bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported on Tuesday, noting that the retailer has been hit hard by the coronavirus, which caused the company to temporarily shutter its 850 department stores. According to the report, the company has not yet made any firm decisions, and it has enough cash to survive for at least a few months. But unless J.C. Penney stores can open sooner than expected given the pandemic, the company will not be able to sustain itself for very long, the report said. The report comes only a few days after J.C. Penney reported that it would not make a scheduled $12 million interest payment on certain secured notes, a move that was seen as a potential harbinger for bankruptcy in the future.

Cancer Drug Developer Targets $100M Funding Ahead of IPO

Biotechnology startup Antengene Corp. is aiming to bring in roughly $100 million in a new round of funding ahead of a planned initial public offering, according to a Monday report from The Business Times. According to the report, the company is holding discussions with potential investors. The IPO, which could still happen this year despite the coronavirus, is expected to take place in Hong Kong, the report noted. Formed in 2017, Antengene develops drugs to treat cancer. It is backed by the likes of Boyu Capital and FountainVest Partners.

--Additional reporting by Elise Hansen and Rose Krebs. Editing by Alanna Weissman.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.