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Law360 (February 25, 2021, 3:32 PM EST) -- 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.
Restaurant Management Platform Seeks $20B Valuation in Planned IPO
Restaurant management platform Toast Inc. is gearing up for an initial public offering that could value the business at roughly $20 billion, according to a Sunday report from the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, Toast has tapped Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to underwrite the offering, which could take place later this year. Toast is also mulling a special purpose acquisition company merger instead, and there are no guarantees that any deal will wind up going down, the report added. The company was valued at about $4.9 billion after a $400 million investment round from last year that featured participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and TPG Capital, among others, the report said.
Sports Data Biz Eyes $10B Valuation in Potential SPAC Deal
Swiss sports data analyst Sportradar AG may go public at a valuation or $10 billion or more by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, Sportico reported on Monday. According to the report, Sportradar is holding discussions with multiple SPACs as it weighs whether to jump on the trend of blank-check mergers. Any SPAC deal would likely include a roughly $2 billion private investment in public equity, or PIPE, offering, the report noted. The company could also choose to go public via an initial public offering. Sportradar is backed by investors including Mark Cuban and Michael Jordan, the report noted.
L Brands Looks to Offload Victoria's Secret After 2020 Deal Fell Apart
L Brands Inc. is trying to sell Victoria's Secret for the second time in a year, with the New York Times reporting on Tuesday that the company intends to try to convince a private equity buyer to make a deal for the lingerie company. According to the report, L Brands has enlisted Goldman Sachs to reach out to potential private equity buyers, and the company is hoping to reach an agreement sooner than later. Last February, PE firm Sycamore Partners agreed to buy Victoria's Secret at a $1.1 billion valuation, but the deal ended up getting terminated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to close their stores.
Italy's Stevanato Aims for $5B Valuation in Planned IPO
Stevanato Group, an Italian company that makes glass vials for COVID-19 vaccines and other health care products, is planning to go public this year, Reuters reported on Thursday. According to the report, the IPO is expected to value Stevanato at between $4 billion and $5 billion. The company is still determining whether to list in New York or Milan, and Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are among the banks working on plans for the listing, the report said. The IPO could raise about $500 million, the report added.
Carlyle Leading the Pack in Battle for $3B Indian IT Firm
The Carlyle Group is viewed as the front-runner to buy India-based information technology services firm Mphasis from fellow private equity firm Blackstone Group, according to a Tuesday report from the Economic Times. According to the report, a deal could be worth around $3 billion and represent the "largest buyout in the Indian IT space." Carlyle is currently trying to land financing for the deal from a number of entities, including Deutsche Bank AG, Barclays PLC and Standard Chartered Bank, the report said. In January, the Economic Times reported that, in addition to Carlyle, potential suitors included Brookfield Asset Management, Bain & Co. and Permira. They may still be in the running, Tuesday's report said, and Blackstone might want Carlyle to team up with one of the other bidders rather than acquire Mphasis by itself, the report noted.
--Editing by Alanna Weissman.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
