PE-backed Marelli files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

BY Richard Summerfield

Automotive parts maker Marelli, owned by private equity firm KKR, has filed for Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

According to a statement released by Marelli, the company filed for bankruptcy in order to comprehensively restructure its long-term debt obligations. Approximately 80 percent of the company’s lenders have signed an agreement to support the restructuring, which will deleverage Marelli’s balance sheet and strengthen its liquidity position.

Throughout the Chapter 11 process and moving forward, Marelli does not expect to experience any operational impact from the bankruptcy and will continue to work closely with its customers, suppliers and partners to innovate and invest in its portfolio of advanced technologies that will differentiate the vehicles of the future and transform mobility.

Marelli is a key supplier to both Nissan and Stellantis, providing everything from lighting and interior components to propulsion, exhaust and chassis parts.

To support the company during the Chapter 11 process, Marelli has received a significant commitment for $1.1bn in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from its lenders. This additional capital underscores lenders’ continued support and confidence in the company’s underlying business and its long-term potential. Upon court approval, the DIP financing, coupled with cash generated from the company’s ongoing operations, is expected to provide sufficient liquidity to support the company through the Chapter 11 process. In addition to the DIP financing, the restructuring agreement provides for a comprehensive deleveraging transaction through which the DIP lenders will take ownership of the business upon emergence from Chapter 11, subject to a 45-day overbid process.

“At Marelli, we have been proactive in making necessary adjustments to stabilize our financial position so that we can continue to deliver long-term benefits for our valued customers, partners and employees,” said David Slump, president and chief executive of Marelli. “While we are pleased with our recent progress and profitability, industry-wide market pressures have created a gap in working capital that must be addressed. After careful review of the Company’s strategic alternatives, we have determined that entering the chapter 11 process is the best path to strengthen Marelli’s balance sheet by converting debt to equity, while ensuring we continue operating as usual. Taking this action now provides access to new liquidity to fund our long-term growth and innovation pipeline, and ensures our customers and partners all over the world can continue to rely on Marelli for on-time delivery of advanced technologies that shape the vehicles of the future.

“Marelli’s focus on innovation, digitalization and technology has never been stronger,” he continued. “As we move through this process, we will continue to serve our customers and work with our suppliers and partners as they have come to expect. We are also grateful for the hard work and dedication of our employees who remain focused on delivering the best service possible.”

News: Nissan supplier Marelli files for Chapter 11, secures $1.1 billion in new financing

Solar Mosaic files for Chapter 11 to restructure and recapitalise

BY Fraser Tennant

Amid rising interest rates, legislative uncertainty and a fragmented capital market, Solar Mosaic, a FinTech platform for sustainable home improvements, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

The filing will allow Mosaic to complete a restructuring and recapitalisation supported by a number of its existing lenders, while simultaneously conducting a comprehensive marketing process of its platform and other assets.

With macroeconomic challenges facing the entire residential solar industry, Mosaic determined – in consultation with its board of directors and advisers – that a court-supervised process was the best way to maintain its loan servicing platform, effectuate a full sale and marketing process for its assets, and maximise value for its stakeholders.

“This marks a significant step for Mosaic to address our financial position amid the macroeconomic challenges facing the residential solar industry, as well as the recent legislation passed by the House of Representatives that rolls back residential solar tax credits,” said Patrick Moore, chief executive of Solar Mosaic.

Throughout the process, Mosaic expects to remain fully operational without disruption, committed to working with its network of installers, investors and capital markets partners, and customers. It also plans to maintain its loan servicing operation, ensuring customers can continue to pay their loans as planned and collections are remitted to loan owners.

To that end, Mosaic will receive $45m in debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lenders, including $15m in new money financing which, following court approval, is expected to fund the company’s ongoing operations and administrative expenses during the Chapter 11 cases.

Mosaic has also filed a number of customary motions with the bankruptcy court to ensure that its operations continue as usual during the Chapter 11 process. This includes motions requesting court authority to pay employee wages and benefits, compensate certain vendors and suppliers on a go-forward basis, and facilitate the completion of partially finished installation projects.

Founded in 2010, Mosaic is a pioneer in clean energy lending, providing innovative solutions for financing solar, battery storage and more. The company has funded $15bn in loans to date, helping more than 500,000 households make their homes more sustainable and efficient.

Mr Moore concluded: “Throughout the Chapter 11 process, we remain focused on maintaining stability for our customers, business partners and employees.”

News: Warburg Pincus-Backed Solar Mosaic Files for Bankruptcy

Sanofi acquires Blueprint Medicines in $9.5bn deal

BY Fraser Tennant

In a deal that expands its portfolio in rare immunological disease and adds to its early-stage pipeline in immunology, French multinational drugmaker Sanofi is to acquire US-based, publicly traded biopharmaceutical company Blueprint Medicines.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Sanofi will pay $129 per share in cash at closing, representing an equity value of approximately $9.1bn. Sanofi plans to finance the transaction with a combination of cash on hand and proceeds from new debt.

In addition, Blueprint’s shareholders will receive one non-tradeable contingent value right (CVR) per Blueprint share with two potential milestone payments. In addition, Blueprint’s shareholders will receive one non-tradeable CVR per Blueprint share with two potential milestone payments for future development and regulatory milestones for Blueprint medicine BLU-808.

“The acquisition of Blueprint Medicines enhances our pipeline and accelerates our transformation into the world’s leading immunology company,” said Paul Hudson, chief executive of Sanofi. “This acquisition is fully aligned with our strategic intent to strengthen our existing therapeutic areas, to bring relevant and differentiated medicines to patients and to secure attractive returns to our shareholders.”

The acquisition also includes a rare immunology disease medicine, Ayvakit, approved in the US and the European Union, and a promising advanced and early-stage immunology pipeline. Ayvakit is the only approved medicine for advanced and indolent systemic mastocytosis – a rare immunology disease characterised by the accumulation and activation of aberrant mast cells in bone marrow, skin, the gastrointestinal tract and other organs.

“Since our founding, Blueprint Medicines has worked at the intersection of scientific innovation and operational excellence,” said Kate Haviland, chief executive of Blueprint Medicines. “We have translated our unique scientific understanding of mast cell biology into a portfolio of important therapies including Ayvakit – the first and only medicine approved to treat the root cause of systemic mastocytosis.”

Blueprint’s established presence among allergists, dermatologists and immunologists is expected to enhance Sanofi’s growing immunology pipeline.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.

“We are excited to welcome Blueprint’s talented people and we look forward to chasing the miracles of science together,” concluded Mt Hudson. “This acquisition makes sense for science, for both companies, for healthcare professionals and – most of all – for patients.”

News: Sanofi to buy US biopharma group Blueprint for up to $9.5 billion

EOG Resources to acquire Encino for $5.6bn

BY Richard Summerfield

Shale producer EOG Resources has agreed to acquire Encino Acquisition Partners (EAP) from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP) and Encino Energy in a deal worth $5.6bn, inclusive of EAP’s net debt.

The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025, and which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and other customary closing conditions, will be funded through $3.5bn of debt and $2.1bn of cash on hand.

The deal will greatly expand EOG’s existing Utica Shale Basin footprint and add a sizeable wedge of oil, gas and liquids-rich production.

EAP was established in 2017 by Encino Energy and CPP to acquire high-quality oil & gas assets with an established base of production in mature basins across the lower 48 states in the US. Since 2017 CPP Investments has held a 98 percent ownership position in the company alongside Encino Energy. Encino Energy will also be exiting from EAP, representing a full sale to EOG Resources.

“This acquisition combines large, premier acreage positions in the Utica, creating a third foundational play for EOG alongside our Delaware Basin and Eagle Ford assets,” said Ezra Y. Yacob, chairman and chief executive of EOG. “Encino’s acreage improves the quality and depth of our Utica position, expanding EOG’s multi-basin portfolio to more than 12 billion barrels of oil equivalent net resource. We are excited to execute on this unique opportunity that is immediately accretive to our per share metrics and meets our strict criteria for acquisitions - high quality acreage with exploration upside, competitive with our current inventory, gained at an attractive price.

“Our ability to execute on the Encino acquisition without diluting our shareholders will be a textbook example of how EOG utilizes its industry leading balance sheet to take advantage of counter cyclical opportunities to enhance the returns of our business and create long-term value for our shareholders,” he added.

“When we established Encino Acquisition Partners with Encino Energy in 2017 we envisioned creating a company that would be a leader in acquiring U.S. oil and gas assets,” said Bill Rogers, head of sustainable energies at CPP Investments. “Since then, it has done just that, and we are pleased with EAP’s success and the strong returns this investment has delivered. The acquisition of Encino’s 675,000 net core acres increases EOG’s Utica position to a combined 1.1 million net acres, representing more than 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent of undeveloped net resources, with pro forma production totalling 275,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).”

EOG said that the acquisition significantly expands its contiguous liquids-rich acreage, adds premium-priced gas exposure and increases working interest. The company averages 65 percent liquids production, with 235,000 net acres for a combined contiguous position of 485,000 net acres.

News: Shale producer EOG boosts Utica footprint with $5.6 billion Encino deal

Salesforce agrees $8bn Informatica deal

BY Richard Summerfield

In a deal designed to bolster its push into artificial intelligence (AI), Salesforce has agreed to acquire cloud data management company Informatica for $8bn.

Under the terms of the deal, which is expected to close early in Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027, subject to the receipt of required regulatory clearances and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, holders of Informatica’s class A and class B-1 common stock will receive $25 in cash per share held.

Salesforce, which specialises in customer relationship management software, said it would look to combine Informatica’s data catalogue, integration, governance, privacy and data management services with its agentic AI solution, dubbed Agentforce. The deal will be funded through a combination of cash on Salesforce’s balance sheet and new debt, the company said.

“Together, Salesforce and Informatica will create the most complete, agent-ready data platform in the industry,” said Marc Benioff, chair and chief executive of Salesforce. “By uniting the power of Data Cloud, MuleSoft, and Tableau with Informatica’s industry-leading, advanced data management capabilities, we will enable autonomous agents to deliver smarter, safer, and more scalable outcomes for every company, and significantly strengthen our position in the $150 billion-plus enterprise data market.”

“Joining forces with Salesforce represents a significant leap forward in our journey to bring ​​data and AI to life by empowering businesses with the transformative power of their most critical asset – their data,” said Amit Walia, chief executive of Informatica. “We have a shared vision for how we can help organizations harness the full value of their data in the AI era.”

Upon close, Salesforce plans to rapidly integrate Informatica’s technology stack, including data integration, quality, governance and unified metadata for Agentforce, and a single data pipeline with MDM on Data Cloud, seamlessly embedding this “system of understanding” into the Salesforce ecosystem.

“Truly autonomous, trustworthy AI agents need the most comprehensive understanding of their data,” said Steve Fisher, president and chief technology officer of Salesforce. “The combination of Informatica’s advanced catalog and metadata capabilities with our Agentforce platform delivers exactly this. Imagine an AI agent that goes beyond simply seeing data points to understanding their full context – origin, transformation, quality, and governance. This clarity, from a unified Salesforce and Informatica solution, will allow all types of businesses to automate more complex processes and make more reliable AI-driven decisions.”

The deal for Informatica is the latest is a series of high-profile acquisitions made by Salesforce in recent years. The company has completed a number of deals aimed at expanding its product portfolio and gaining market share. It bought Slack in 2021 for $27.7bn, Tableau in 2019 for $15.7bn and MuleSoft in 2018 for $6.5bn.

News: Salesforce to buy Informatica for $8 billion to bolster AI data tools