Diamondback Energy agrees $4.08bn Double Eagle deal

BY Richard Summerfield

Diamondback Energy has agreed to acquire certain units of energy producer Double Eagle in a $4.08bn cash and stock deal.

Expected to close on 1 April 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, the transaciton will help Diamondback Energy gain access to 40,000 net acres in the core of the Midland Basin, which is the eastern sub-basin of the Permian Basin.

As part of the agreement, Diamondback and Double Eagle have also agreed to accelerate development on a portion of Diamondback’s non-core southern Midland Basin acreage. This move is expected to bring forward net asset value to Diamondback by developing lower quality acreage at a faster pace than current expectations. As a result, Diamondback expects significant free cash flow growth in 2026 and beyond, with minimal capital deployment through this accelerated development plan. Diamondback Energy expects $200m of capital expenditures in 2025 and anticipates a run-rate production of about 27,000 barrels of oil per day from the Midland assets.

According to a statement announcing the deal, the transaction will be conducted in exchange for approximately 6.9 million shares of Diamondback common stock and $3bn of cash. Based on Friday 14 February’s closing price of $156.99 apiece, the total value of the deal is approximately $4.08bn.

The cash portion of the transaction will likely be funded through a combination of cash on hand, borrowings under the company’s credit facility, and proceeds from term loans and senior notes offerings. The company has also committed to sell at least $1.5bn of non-core assets to accelerate debt reduction. Diamondback expects to reduce net debt to $10bn and maintain leverage of $6bn to $8bn over the long term.

“Double Eagle is the most attractive asset remaining in the Midland Basin,” said Travis Stice, chairman and chief executive of Diamondback. “With 407 locations adjacent to our core position, this largely undeveloped asset adds high-quality inventory that immediately competes for capital. Additionally, we see value uplift to our existing inventory as acreage overlap allows for meaningful lateral length extensions and infrastructure synergies. We look forward to seamlessly implementing our industry leading cost and operational structure on this differentiated asset. The Permian Basin continues to consolidate rapidly.

“We have worked tirelessly over the last thirteen years to position Diamondback to have the longest duration of high quality, low-breakeven inventory; a position we are solidifying with today’s announcement,” he continued. “While we are adding a small amount of leverage to complete this trade, we are confident that we can quickly reduce debt both naturally through our consistent and growing Free Cash Flow and through our commitment to sell at least $1.5 billion of non-core assets.”

“We are excited to announce our agreement with Diamondback,” said Cody Campbell and John Sellers, co-chief executives of Double Eagle. “We believe our team has built a truly standout asset that further increases Diamondback’s high-quality inventory. It was important to us that we maintain the stewardship of this asset going forward not only with a world-class Midland operator but also a group that shares our core values and understands the importance of community impact in West Texas.”

News: Diamondback Energy to expand in Permian basin with $4.08 billion deal

Business confidence among UK CEO’s growing, claims new report

BY Fraser Tennant

Business confidence is growing among UK chief executives, despite ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, according to a new survey report by EY-Parthenon.

The report, which evaluates chief executives’ capital allocation, investment and transformation strategies, found that 82 percent felt very or somewhat optimistic about the business landscape over the next 12 months, an increase from 67 percent in September 2024.

There is also strong confidence in their companies' performance, notes the report, with 78 percent of chief executives feeling optimistic about revenue growth, 80 percent about profitability and 77 percent about maintaining a competitive position in the next 12 months.

However, despite this optimism, chief executives are cognisant of challenges on the horizon, with 71 percent of survey respondents stating that rapid technological advancements, evolving sustainability agendas and geopolitical tensions will see a shift in compliance being a key strategic factor.

“Our latest ‘CEO Outlook’ reflects a resilient and forward-thinking mindset,” said Silvia Rindone, UK&I managing partner for strategy and transactions at EY. “However, with nearly a quarter citing cost and return on investment as key factors in shaping their digital transformation strategies, it is clear that businesses are seeking a balance between innovation and sustainable growth.”

The EY-Parthenon report also found that UK chief executives plan to undertake transformation initiatives in the next 12 months, prioritising improving customer engagement and retention (45 percent), achieving sustainability targets (43 percent), and optimising operations through digitisation and productivity enhancements (43 percent). “The coming year will be crucial for organisations to refine their transformation approach and unlock long-term value," added Ms Rindone.

Additional findings reveal that the UK remains the top destination for capital investment, with 52 percent of UK chief executives planning to invest domestically over the next year. The US, France, Germany, Canada and Switzerland were all identified as other key investment locations.

Ms Rindone concluded: “With M&A activity set to rebound in 2025, driven by strategic imperatives, digital innovation and a more favourable regulatory climate, business leaders must prioritise diligent, data-driven investment decisions to capitalise on emerging opportunities.”

Report: January 2025 EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey

Bain Capital to acquire MTPC in $3.3bn deal

BY Fraser Tennant

In a carve-out transaction from Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation, global private investment firm Bain Capital is to acquire Japanese drugmaker Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (MTPC) for $3.3bn.

Founded in 1678 and headquartered in Osaka, MTPC focuses on several priority therapeutic areas, including immunology and inflammation, vaccines, central nervous system, diabetes and metabolic disease. The company employs over 5000 people globally.

“With the advancement of therapeutic drugs and diversification of modalities, the disease areas with unmet needs are gradually shrinking,” said Mitsubishi Chemical. “Moreover, given that possibility of success of drug discovery is not high, continuous additional investments are essential for enhancing MTPC’s research and development capabilities and achieving further growth.”

As an independent company, MTPC will continue to build on its legacy of medical innovation while developing new opportunities for growth through business development, licensing activities, enhanced research and development productivity, commercialisation and strategic acquisitions.

“MTPC has been delivering innovative medicines to Japanese patients for centuries, and we are proud to partner with the company and support its next phase of growth and evolution,” said Masa Suekane, a partner at Bain Capital Private Equity. “As a standalone, independent company, MTPC will benefit from the full support of Bain Capital’s global resources and our healthcare team’s extensive experience driving value creation across the healthcare value chain.”

Bain Capital’s global healthcare platform has deep experience supporting the growth and innovation of global pharmaceutical companies. The firm is also a leading investor and partner to businesses across Japan, with more than 70 investment professionals who have made over 37 investments since establishing its Tokyo office in 2006. 

The acquisition of MTPC is being led by Bain Capital’s private equity teams in Asia and North America, together with the firm’s life sciences team.  

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 and is subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory clearance and shareholder approvals.

Ricky Sun, a partner at Bain Capital Life Sciences, concluded: “This is an exciting opportunity to leverage our team’s clinical insights and company creation support to build out a scale platform focused on long-term fundamental drug development in areas of significant unmet need to ultimately bring transformative medicines to patients in Japan and globally.”

News: Bain to buy Japan's Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma for $3.4 billion

Turn/River Capital agrees SolarWinds deal

BY Richard Summerfield

Turn/River Capital has agreed to acquire SolarWinds – a provider of IT management and observability software – in a deal worth approximately $4.4bn.

Under the terms of the agreement, Turn/River will acquire SolarWinds for $18.50 per share, a price which represents a 35 percent premium over the company’s volume-weighted average closing stock price for the 90 trading days prior to the announcement of the deal.

Upon completion of the transaction, SolarWinds will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and will transition to private ownership. The company will continue operating under its existing name and remain headquartered in Austin, Texas. The deal has received unanimous approval from SolarWinds’ board of directors and is expected to close in Q2 2025, pending regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. Thoma Bravo and Silver Lake, which collectively hold approximately 65 percent of SolarWinds’ voting securities, have provided written consent for the acquisition, eliminating the need for additional shareholder approval.

“We have built a great track record of helping customers accelerate business transformations through simple, powerful, secure solutions designed for hybrid and multi-cloud environments,” said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, president and chief executive of SolarWinds. “We now look forward to partnering with Turn/River to deliver operational resilience solutions for our customers on our SolarWinds Platform, leveraging our premier observability, monitoring, and service desk solutions.”

“SolarWinds is a global leader in software that helps a wide range of businesses securely manage and optimize their systems, networks, and IT infrastructure,” said Dominic Ang, founder and managing partner of Turn/River Capital. “Their deep commitment to understanding and solving customer needs has led to decades of innovation, impact, and consistent growth. We are incredibly excited to partner with SolarWinds. By pairing our team of software operators and investors with their relentless focus on customer success, together we aim to accelerate growth and further innovation.”

The deal for SolarWinds is the latest in a series of ownership transitions the company has experienced over the last decade. Thoma Bravo and Silver Lake initially took the company private in 2016 before relisting it on the public market nearly three years later.

The acquisition comes more than four years after a notable cyber security breach linked to Russian state actors. The 2020 attack impacted US government agencies, including the State Department, the FBI and branches of the US military, as well as private sector organisations.

News: Turn/River Capital to acquire US-based SolarWinds for $4.4bn

Liberated Brands files for Chapter 11 protection

BY Richard Summerfield

Liberated Brands, the former operator of licences for Quiksilver, Volcom and Billabong, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court. According to the company’s filing, it intends to wind down its North American operations.

Set up to manage Authentic Brands Group’s collection of action sports lifestyle brands, Liberated was founded by ex-Volcom executives in 2019. It underwent a massive expansion after the COVID-19 retail boom, going from operating 67 stores to 140 in short order. The expansion also saw the company nearly triple its staff and take over the retail and e-commerce operations for Billabong, Quiksilver, RVCA and more. However, it struggled since this expansion, and in December 2024, Authentic decided to pull all the licences from Liberated globally, believing it did not have the resources to adequately invest in them.

According to Liberated’s Chapter 11 filing, its estimated assets and liabilities ranged from $100m to $500m. The company has $3.3m in cash on hand and $226m in debt. The list of Liberated’s largest unsecured creditors included a range of overseas clothing manufacturers. Liberated owes its single biggest unsecured creditor, Ningbo Jehson Textiles in China, $3.2m. Additional large unsecured creditors include other companies that license former Boardriders brands, including the 05 Group, which Liberated owes about $1m, and Centric Brands, which has the licence to make children’s apparel for several former Boardriders brands. Liberated owes Centric approximately $750,000.

Liberated has received interim approval to access $25m of its $35m debtor-in-possession financing from its secured lender JPMorgan Chase Bank NA. The move is seen as interim measure to get the company to its next hearing on 4 March 2025.

“The Liberated team has worked tirelessly over the last year to propel these iconic brands forward, but a volatile global economy, consumer spending changes amid a rising cost of living, and inflationary pressures have all taken a heavy toll,” said Liberated Brands in a statement. “Despite this difficult change, we are encouraged that many of our talented associates have found new opportunities with other license holders that will carry these great brands into the future.”

The brands which Liberated licensed from Authentic will not be impacted by the Chapter 11 filing. According to a statement, the brands have already transitioned to new, well-capitalised partners. The company currently has more than 100 locations in the US, all of which will close once a liquidation sale process has been completed. The fate of the company’s nine stores in Hawaii has not yet been determined. The company said it is looking for a buyer of its Australian, European, Japanese and Canadian business units, which are also unaffected by the filing.

News: Liberated Brands Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy