Hot M&A Deals
Eli Lilly to Buy Ventyx Biosciences for $1.2B
January 7, 2026
Eli Lilly and Company announced it will acquire Ventyx Biosciences in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.2 billion, or $14.00 per share, representing a 62% premium to Ventyx’s recent trading price. Ventyx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral therapies for autoimmune, inflammatory, cardiometabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases, with a pipeline that includes NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors and other targeted small-molecule drugs. The acquisition strengthens Eli Lilly’s portfolio in inflammation, neurodegeneration, and cardiometabolic health while supporting its long-term growth strategy and efforts to offset future patent expirations.
Softbank Group Buys DigitalBridge for $4B
December 29, 2025
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced the acquisition of Amicus Therapeutics for $4.8 billion in an all-cash transaction on December 19, 2025. The deal integrates Amicus’s Fabry and Pompe disease therapies into BioMarin’s rare-disease portfolio, adding about $599 million in trailing twelve-month revenue and strengthening BioMarin’s leadership in lysosomal storage disorders. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Non-GAAP EPS within 12 months, substantially accretive by 2027, and financed through cash on hand plus roughly $3.7 billion in new debt. BioMarin will pay $14.50 per share, representing a significant premium to Amicus’s recent trading prices.
BioMarin to Buy Amicus Therapeutics for $4.8B
Decemeber 19, 2025
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced the acquisition of Amicus Therapeutics for $4.8 billion in an all-cash transaction on December 19, 2025. The deal integrates Amicus’s Fabry and Pompe disease therapies into BioMarin’s rare-disease portfolio, adding about $599 million in trailing twelve-month revenue and strengthening BioMarin’s leadership in lysosomal storage disorders. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Non-GAAP EPS within 12 months, substantially accretive by 2027, and financed through cash on hand plus roughly $3.7 billion in new debt. BioMarin will pay $14.50 per share, representing a significant premium to Amicus’s recent trading prices.
IBM to Buy Confluent for $11B
Decemeber 8, 2025
IBM announced on December 8, 2025 that it will acquire Confluent for $11 billion in an all-cash transaction, valuing the deal at $31 per share and a 34% premium. Confluent is a leading real-time data streaming platform with $1.1 billion in LTM revenue, while IBM brings scale across hybrid cloud, AI, and enterprise infrastructure . The acquisition aims to create an end-to-end smart data platform by combining Confluent’s streaming capabilities with IBM’s AI and automation offerings to better support generative and agentic AI use cases. The deal is expected to be accretive to IBM’s adjusted EBITDA within the first year and to free cash flow by the second year post-close.
Netflix to Buy Warner Brothers Discovery
Decemeber 5, 2025
Netflix announced a $72 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, aiming to combine complementary film, television, and streaming assets into a global entertainment powerhouse. The deal values WBD at $27.75 per share and is expected to generate $2–3 billion in annual cost savings by year three while becoming accretive to Netflix’s GAAP EPS by year two. Pending regulatory and shareholder approvals and WBD’s network separation, the transaction is projected to close within 12–18 months.
Abbott to Buy Exact Sciences for $21B
November 20, 2025
Abbott announced a $21 billion all-cash acquisition of Exact Sciences to expand its position in fast-growing cancer diagnostics. Exact Sciences brings leading products such as Cologuard, Oncotype DX, and new multi-cancer detection technologies, supporting Abbott’s strategy to accelerate innovation and broaden access to early cancer screening. Although Exact Sciences is not yet profitable, its strong revenue growth, declining losses, and projected $3 billion in 2025 revenue make it an attractive target. Under the deal, Abbott will acquire all shares for $105 each, bringing the total enterprise value to $23 billion including debt.
Kimberly-Clark to Buy Kenvue
November 3, 2025
Kimberly-Clark announced a $48.7 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of Kenvue, marking what is expected to be the largest buyout in the U.S. consumer goods sector. The deal will unite a broad portfolio of household and personal-care brands—spanning Huggies, Kleenex, and Cottonelle at Kimberly-Clark to Tylenol, Neutrogena, Aveeno, and Listerine at Kenvue—creating a combined company with roughly $32 billion in annual revenue and an estimated $2.1 billion in cost synergies. Kenvue shareholders will receive $3.50 in cash plus 0.14625 Kimberly-Clark shares per Kenvue share, representing a 46.2% premium and resulting in post-close ownership of approximately 46% of the merged entity. The transaction, slated to close in the second half of 2026, comes as Kenvue faces ongoing litigation risks and follows its 2023 spinout from Johnson & Johnson.
Thermo Fisher to Buy Clario for $8.9B
October 29, 2025
On October 29, 2025, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced a definitive agreement to acquire Clario Holdings, Inc. — a clinical-trial endpoint data solutions provider — for approximately US $8.875 billion in cash at closing, plus an additional US $125 million in January 2027 and up to US $400 million of performance-based earn-out payments tied to Clario’s 2026-27 results. The deal, expected to close by mid-2026 subject to regulatory approvals, will integrate Clario into Thermo Fisher’s Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services segment, immediately enhance adjusted earnings per share by about US $0.45 in year one, and deliver meaningful margin and growth synergies as Thermo scales its digital-data capabilities for pharma and biotech customers
American Water and Essential Utilities to Combine
December 29, 2025
SoftBank Group announced the $4.0 billion all-cash acquisition of DigitalBridge Group on December 29, 2025, valuing the company at $16.00 per share and representing a 15% premium to its recent closing price. DigitalBridge is a global alternative asset manager focused on digital infrastructure, including data centers, cell towers, fiber, and edge assets, managing approximately $108 billion in assets. The acquisition supports SoftBank’s strategy to expand global data center and connectivity infrastructure to power next-generation AI and Artificial Super Intelligence development. Following the transaction, DigitalBridge will continue operating as a separately managed platform under CEO Marc Ganzi.
Rayonier & PotlatchDeltic to Combine
October 14, 2025
Rayonier Inc. and PotlatchDeltic Corporation announced an $8.2 billion all-stock merger that will create one of the largest timberland owners in the United States, managing 4.2 million acres across 11 states. The combined company will benefit from expanded scale, seven wood-products manufacturing facilities, and strengthened positioning amid newly enforced U.S. timber tariffs and ongoing pressures in the housing and construction sectors. PotlatchDeltic shareholders will receive 1.7339 Rayonier shares per share—an 8.25% premium—with Rayonier investors owning 54% of the merged entity and PotlatchDeltic shareholders owning 46%. The transaction, expected to close by mid-2026, will establish a newly named company headquartered in Atlanta and led by current Rayonier CEO Mark McHugh.
Heineken Acquires Assets From Florida Ice and Farm Company
September 22, 2025
Heineken announced a $3.2 billion cash acquisition of key food, beverage, and retail assets from Florida Ice and Farm Company (FIFCO), significantly expanding its footprint across Central America. The deal delivers iconic regional brands—including Costa Rica’s Imperial beer—along with major soft-drink operations, PepsiCo bottling rights, and more than 300 retail outlets, positioning Heineken as the country’s second-largest soft-drinks player. Heineken expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to operating margin and EPS, supported by $50 million in anticipated cost synergies and modest leverage impact. The acquisition, aligned with Heineken’s EverGreen strategy, accelerates premiumization and growth in high-potential markets while integrating FIFCO’s strong sustainability programs and decades-long regional expertise.
