(Adds: Chuck E. Cheese, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Spoda Oy, DocuSign, Oil Gas Bankers-Moelis & Co, Citigroup, Signature Bridge Bank and Eni)
The following deals, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures were reported at 2200 GMT, Friday:
** Chuck E. Cheese, the U.S. restaurant chain that emerged from bankruptcy three years ago, is exploring the possibility of a sale amid interest in an acquisition, according to people familiar with the matter.
** German medical technology company Carl Zeiss Meditec AFXG.DE said on Friday it had bought the Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center, a developer of devices for eye surgery, for almost 1 billion euros (1.09 billion dollars).
**Finnish property management company Sponda Oy said on Friday it had reached an agreement with its creditors to extend a 300 million euro ($327.09 million) loan it had defaulted on paid at the beginning of the year.
** DocuSign DOCU.O is working with advisers to explore a sale, which could be one of the largest leveraged buyouts in recent times, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
** U.S. oil and gas industry firms, which missed out on a wave of mega deals in the oil sector after leaving M&A giant Citigroup CN last year to join smaller firm Guggenheim Securities, are in decamping to Moelis & Co MC.N, according to people familiar with the matter.
** Citigroup CN will spin off its Mexican retail unit, known as Banamex, from its merchant and investment banking operations in the country by the second half of 2024, Manuel Romo, the head said on Thursday of the bank for Mexico.
** Signature Bridge Bank, run by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said Thursday it sold 20 percent of its stake in a company that holds a $16.8 billion portfolio of home loans it had retained as part of the receivership of the bankrupt bank.
**Swedish private equity firm EQT AB
EQTAB.ST has made the strongest bid in the bidding process for a stake in the German Football League (DFL), a soon-to-be-formed media rights company, two sources told Reuters on Friday familiar with the subject.
** Eni ENI.MI is in discussions with funds interested in buying a minority stake in the Italian energy group’s Novamont unit in a deal that could value the bioplastic maker at around $1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), said a source close to the matter.
**Swedish mining equipment manufacturer Epiroc
EPIRa.ST said it had agreed to buy STANLEY Infrastructure from Stanley Black & Decker SWK.N for $760 million.
** Shell said it had agreed to sell its 37.5% stake in the PCK Schwedt oil refinery, which supplies most of Berlin’s fuel, to Britain’s Prax Group, attempting to end its co-ownership of an asset majority owned by the Russian group Rosneft.
** Payment technology company Global Payments
GPN.N said on Thursday it had no plans to acquire peer Shift4 Payments FOUR.N , denying a media report of potential merger talks between the two companies.
** Airbus Group AIR.PA , the world’s largest plane maker, is in talks with French IT consultancy Atos ATOS.PA to buy its BDS cybersecurity unit, a person familiar with the matter said , confirming an earlier report from the newspaper Le Figaro.
** European broadcaster RTL Group RRTL.DE said it would sell its Dutch subsidiary RTL Nederland to Belgian company DPG Media in a deal worth 1.1 billion euros (1.21 billion dollars). The two companies will also enter into a strategic partnership.
** British private equity firm Providence plans to sell Globeducate, a Spain-based education company valued at around 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion), the Cinco Dias newspaper reported, citing financial sources not identified.
** Hong Kong’s Vinda International 3331.HK said Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), owned by Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanot, has made an offer to acquire the diaper and tissue maker for 26.13 billion of HK dollars ($3.35 billion).
** Czech defense and industrial company Czechoslovak Group has agreed to acquire an 80% stake in Italian premium hunting and sporting rifle manufacturer Armi Perazzi, CSG said.
** India’s Adani Ports APSE.NS said it would sell a 49% stake in its Ennore container terminal in the southern city of Chennai to a unit of global shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company for around $2 .47 billion rupees ($29.65 million).
** Australia’s competition regulator has rejected rival Australian Clinical Labs ACL.AX’s $1 billion takeover of Healius HLS.AX, its fourth decision to block a merger large-scale over the past year.
** Livent Corp LTHM.N has acquired a minority stake in the parent company of direct lithium extraction technology company ILiAD Technologies, the two companies announced Thursday.
**Brazilian energy company Ambar Energia is set to buy power company Copel’s 81.2% stake in natural gas-fired power plant UTE Araucaria for 320.7 million reais (65.24 million dollars), the companies said Thursday.