Ben Dummett

Swiss skincare retailer Galderma Group plans to raise about $2.3 billion in what would be this year's largest initial public offering so far, and another key test of public investors' appetite for private equity-backed companies. Galderma, which is backed by European buyout firm EQT among other investors, launched the IPO Wednesday and aims to list on the SIX Swiss Exchange. It didn’t disclose the expected timing of the listing, but institutional investors said they anticipate it happening by the end of the month.

The buyout giant is making a second attempt to go public in less than six months By Ben Dummett, The Wall Street Journal

Anglo American rejected BHP’s $39 billion takeover proposal but investors appear to be betting on a deal eventually getting done. + Anglo American shares recently traded above that level in London, at more than £25. There are several possible reasons for that: + Anglo's investors could be betting on a higher bid emerging, either from BHP or an interloper.

The deal Intel is in advanced talks for a transaction in which Apollo Global Management would supply more than $11 billion to help the chip giant build a plant in Ireland.

Activist hedge-fund manager Elliott Investment Management is making a play at global tech investor SoftBank Group—again. Elliott, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, has amassed a roughly $2 billion stake in Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank in a play to prod the company to spend its cash on a major stock buyback, according to a person familiar with the matter. Four years ago, Elliott built a $2.5 billion stake in the Tokyo company, and urged Son to sell many of its tech holdings and undertake a buyback.

Scor, whose motto is "The Art & Science of Risk," has just given investors a crash course in that concept. On Tuesday, the Paris-based reinsurer issued a profit warning, triggering a 25%-plus selloff in its stock.The comapny warned it would take a quarterly loss of around €400 million, or some $4

Stock in EQT AB, one of Europe’s biggest buyout firms, slipped after continued headwinds selling businesses undercut profit growth. The Stockholm-based firm said earnings generated from gains on selling businesses fell in the latest period, despite some big wins such as the March listing of Switzerland's Galderma. EQT’s results shows that selling businesses remains challenging— even as the industry remains under pressure to deploy its war chest of cash and lenders are increasingly willing to finance new deals.

The world’s second most-valuable fintech startup is nearing a deal to sell about $500 million worth of employee-owned shares.

Mars and Kellanova aim to complete their nearly $30 billion tieup in a year's time, but have given themselves another six months' wiggle room—recognition of the challenging environment companies face closing high-profile deals. Privately held Mars and Kellanova, whose brands include Pringles, Cheez-It and Pop-Tarts, can each scrap the snack-food megamerger if isn't completed by Aug. 13, 2025, a filing shows.

Global Auto Holdings is nearing a deal to buy Denmark's K.W. Bruun Import for about $1.2 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said, as the auto dealer pushes deeper into Europe. The detailsA deal, if completed, could be announced as soon as later Friday, the people said.C