New On The Block

• Abry Partners hired JPMorgan Chase to find a buyer for physician social network Sermo, Axios reports. Bids are expected to be between $600 million and $800 million. Boston-based Abry first invested in Sermo in 2019.

• Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT), a provider of call center software, is working with an adviser on a potential sale. Thoma Bravo is interested, per Bloomberg. Despite a 28% stock drop this year, Verint recently beat revenue estimates. The company spun off its analytics arm, Cognyte, in 2021.

Updates From The Block

• Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)(NASDAQ:PARAA) agreed to pay $16 million to President Donald Trump's future library as a way to settle a lawsuit over a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris.
  
  Trump had sued for $20 billion, claiming CBS deceptively edited the segment. CBS denies wrongdoing.
  
  The settlement may help clear regulatory hurdles for Paramount's pending $28 billion merger with Skydance Media. Private equity firms RedBird Capital and KKR back the deal.
  
  The FCC launched a probe into CBS's New York station after Trump took office, and “60 Minutes” producer Bill Owens resigned in April, citing editorial interference. Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather called it “a sad day for journalism” and “a sad day for '60 Minutes' and CBS News.” In an interview with Variety, the renowned journalist put it plainly: “It was distortion by the president and a kneeling down and saying, ';yes, sir,' by billionaire corporate owners."

• Euronext is in talks to acquire the Athens Stock Exchange operator (ATHEX). The proposed share exchange deal would value ATHEX at 6.90 euros per share, or 399 million euros fully diluted. Euronext says the move reflects its confidence in Greece's economic potential. Talks are still in early stages. If successful, it would mark Euronext's latest expansion, adding to its portfolio of exchanges across seven European countries.

• Spectris has agreed to a 4.1 billion pounds ($5.64 billion) buyout by private equity firm KKR, scrapping a prior deal with Advent International. The new offer gives shareholders 39.72 pounds per share and beats Advent's 37.63-pounds-per-share offer. Separately, KKR is also acquiring Australian poultry producer ProTen from Aware Super for A$1.3 billion.

• Athora, a savings and retirement services group backed by Apollo Global Management, is “days away” from inking a near-6 billion pound purchase of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), according to Sky News.

Off The Block

• Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) completed its $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR), following a U.S. antitrust settlement.

• Open Cosmos has acquired Connected, a Portugal-based space-tech company specializing in IoT connectivity from space. The deal strengthens Open Cosmos's capabilities in narrowband IoT and expands its footprint in Portugal, which it says is a growing hub for space innovation. The acquisition is described as one of the fastest successful exits in European space-tech and aligns with the EU's long-term vision for sovereign and scalable space infrastructure.

Bankruptcy Block

• Canned-food giant Del Monte Foods has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, launching a court-supervised sale process in a bid to accelerate its turnaround. The company, known for canned fruits, College Inn broths and Joyba teas, said it secured $912.5 million in financing from existing lenders to continue operations during the proceedings. CEO Greg Longstreet called the move a "strategic step forward" aimed at building a stronger, long-term business. Del Monte, founded nearly 140 years ago, will remain open during the bankruptcy process.

Notes From The Block

M&A volumes globally continue to decline, according to PwC’s Brian Levy.

“They dropped by 9% in the first half of 2025 compared with the first half of 2024, while deal values are up 15%. We continue to see transactions in companies with a local focus within national borders, as well as in service companies or others less susceptible to tariffs,” Levy wrote in a June 24 blog post.

Strong cash flow and “healthy prospects” are key. A May 2025 PwC survey found that 30% of U.S. companies paused or reconsidered deals due to tariff uncertainty, signaling ongoing disruption for dealmakers in the months ahead.

“We expect dealmakers to feel the continued fallout over the coming months,” Levy adds.

Separately, the mixed job market -- like the one we’re currently in -- provides a clue as to how the second half of 2025 will unfold. If rate cuts follow, expect a rebound in M&A activity.

Buyers typically see value in sectors under labor pressure, and sellers feel more urgency if hiring slows or margins compress.

Bain & Co. says it’s “already seeing evidence that some companies are not allowing tariffs (and the changed economic world order they represent) to derail M&A activity.”

While deal activity dipped in April, deal value rebounded in May, the firm wrote in its mid-year report. This may partly reflect late-stage deals, as well as the fortitude of executives and the muted impact of U.S. tariff announcements.

For last week’s edition of the Deal Dispatch, click here.

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