Weekly News of 24th of April

Silver Lake adds to Software AG stake amid acquisition bid

Private equity firm Silver Lake had raised its stake in Software, days after announcing a 2.2 billion-euro ($2.42 billion) tender offer for the German business software developer, reports Reuters.

Silver Lake said in a regulatory disclosure that it had acquired a 5% stake in Software AG at or below its acquisition bid of 30 euros per share from existing shareholders.

This adds to its agreement to buy a 25.1% stake in Software AG from a charitable foundation that is the principal shareholder in the company. The consummation of that agreement is not subject to Silver Lake’s offer being accepted by a majority of Software AG’s shareholders, Silver Lake said.

OpenAI closes $300 million funding round at $27 billion-$29 billion valuation

OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot, has closed a more than $300 million share sale at a valuation between $27 billion and $29 billion, reports TechCrunch.

VC firms including Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive and K2 Global picking up new shares, according to documents seen by TechCrunch. A source tells us Founders Fund is also investing. Altogether the VCs have put in just over $300 million at a valuation of $27 billion – $29 billion. This is separate to a big investment from Microsoft announced earlier this year, a person familiar with the development told TechCrunch, which closed in January. The size of Microsoft’s investment is believed to be around $10 billion, a figure we confirmed with our source.

SoftBank’s Arm registers for blockbuster U.S. IPO

SoftBank Group Corp chip maker Arm Ltd has filed with regulators confidentially for a U.S. stock market listing, Arm said on Saturday, setting the stage for this year’s largest initial public offering.

The IPO registration shows that Softbank is pressing ahead with the blockbuster offering despite adverse market conditions.

U.S. IPOs, excluding listings for special purpose acquisition companies, are down about 22% to a total of just $2.35 billion year-to-date, according to Dealogic, as stock market volatility and economic uncertainty put many IPO hopefuls off.

Arm plans to sell its shares on Nasdaq later this year, seeking to raise between $8 billion and $10 billion, people familiar with the matter said. In a statement, which confirmed an earlier Reuters report on the planned IPO, Arm said the size and price range for the offering has not yet been determined.

There are signs that the IPO market is beginning to thaw. Johnson & Johnson is preparing to list its consumer health business Kenvue in New York, hoping to raise about $3.5 billion.

Since then, Arm’s business has fared better than the broader chip industry thanks to its focus on data center servers and personal computers that generate higher royalty payments. The company said sales were up 28% in its most recent quarter.

Arm’s IPO is expected to boost the fortunes of SoftBank, which is battling to turn around its giant Vision Fund, which has been hit by losses due to the declining valuations of many of its holdings in technology startups.

Training software firm iLearningEngines to go public via $1.4 billion SPAC deal

Training software company iLearningEngines Inc agreed to go public through a merger with blank check company Arrowroot Acquisition in a deal that values the combined company at $1.4 billion, reports Reuters.

The deal will provide iLearningEngines with $143 million in gross proceeds, some of which will be used for future acquisitions. Reuters was first to report the deal earlier on Thursday.

Based in Bethesda, Maryland, iLearningEngines supplies companies with personalized training materials using AI-powered automation tools and software. It provides services to companies in various sectors including healthcare, education, energy and transportation.

Arrowroot Acquisition Corp raised $290 million through its initial public offering in 2021, with the aim of merging with companies in the enterprise software sector.

After the deal closes, the combined company will be named iLearningEngines, Inc and will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “AILE”.