Deal Dispatch: TV Stations For Sale, This Buyer Wants Seconds On Pasta

New On The Block

Byron Allen's Allen Media Group has hired Moelis & Company to explore a sale of its TV stations across 21 markets. The company spent over $1 billion acquiring Big Four network affiliates (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) over the past six years.

It is now looking to cash out and reduce debt. Deadline reported that the TV stations have received multiple offers.

Also for sale:

• Jefferies is shopping around PatientPoint, a health marketing and ad agency, according to Axios. L Catterton, Littlejohn & Co. and Transformation Capital are on the sell side.
• Just three years ago, private equity firm One Equity Partners completed a strategic investment in infusion provider InfuCare. Today? It’s looking to get rid of it. According to Axios, JPMorgan is looking for a buyer.
• Swiss biotech MoonLake Immunotherapeutics MLTX received a bid exceeding $3 billion from Merck & Co Inc MRK. MoonLake turned down the initial offer, but talks are reportedly revived. The potential purchase signals renewed dealmaking activity as investor pressure has mounted on Merck to secure new assets, especially as its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda faces patent expiration as early as 2028.

Updates From The Block

• Post Holdings POST is forking over $880 million—including assumed debt—to buy 8th Avenue Food & Provisions. That means brands like Ronzoni pasta will go back into Post’s pantry. Per The Wall Street Journal, the private-label brands originally got spun off into 8th Avenue in 2018 with help from private equity firm THL. Post plans to wipe out 8th Avenue's net debt and pick up the tab for all equity interests, including $111 million in finance leases. All in, the transaction is expected to cook up $15 million in annual synergies by the end of fiscal 2026. If Post closes by July 1, it expects 2026 to be more profitable (on an adjusted basis) than initially expected.

• Rosebank Industries ROSE is once again in talks to buy Electrical Components International (ECI), a wire harnesses manufacturer, for about $1.9 billion, Reuters reported. Rosebank was in talks to buy ECI in February but dropped the plans in March.

• Sanofi SA SNY agreed to acquire Blueprint Medicines Corporation BPMC. The acquisition includes a rare immunology disease medicine, Ayvakit/Ayvakyt (avapritinib), approved in the U.S. and the EU. The acquisition will also include elenestinib, a next-generation medicine for SM, and BLU-808, a highly selective and potent oral wild-type KIT inhibitor with the potential for immunology diseases. Sanofi will pay $129 per share in cash, representing an equity value of roughly $9.1 billion.

• Suzano S.A. SUZ is acquiring a 51% stake in a new $3.4 billion tissue products joint venture with Kimberly-Clark KMB, paying $1.734 billion in cash. Kimberly-Clark will retain a 49% stake. The Netherlands-based venture will produce and distribute toilet paper and facial tissues in 70 countries, with 22 factories across 14 countries, employing about 9,000 people. The facilities have an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes and generated $3.3 billion in net sales in 2024.

Off The Block

• Robinhood HOOD completed its $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp, a crypto exchange that had raised around $40 million from firms like Pantera Capital and Ripple.

• Cactus Inc. WHD formed a joint venture with Baker Hughes Co. BKR, taking a 65% stake and operational control of Baker Hughes’ Surface Pressure Control (SPC) business. Baker Hughes will retain a 35% stake. The new venture, separate from Cactus' current pressure control unit, will focus on international wellhead and production tree systems.

• Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. GRDN is entering the Pacific Northwest market via acquisition. Mercury Pharmacy Services, a provider of long-term care pharmacy solutions, agreed to a price, but the amount remains undisclosed.

Bankruptcy Block

• AI startup Builder.ai has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Delaware after creditors seized most of its cash, citing overstated 2024 sales projections—by a staggering 300%. Once valued at $1.5 billion, Builder.ai is now the biggest AI collapse since the ChatGPT-driven investment boom began. According to Bloomberg, the fallout was fueled by revelations that Builder.ai allegedly faked business with Indian social media firm VerSe Innovation to inflate revenues. VerSe co-founder Umang Bedi denies any wrongdoing, calling the claims "baseless and false."

• Hooters closed some 30 corporate-owned restaurants and explained that it has no plans to shut down any other locations. The Atlanta, Georgia-based restaurant chain went bankrupt earlier this year.

• Alex Jones may see his personal assets — including guns, cars, and homes — sold by the end of the year, according to the Houston Chronicle, citing a bankruptcy trustee. The potential sale would mark the nearing end of his two-and-a-half-year bankruptcy process. Jones, who created the far-right conspiracy theory website Infowars, filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after being ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to families of Sandy Hook shooting victims for defamation.

Notes From The Block

A studio's IP portfolio and game development pipeline are critical for video game investors. A major acquirer in the sector is GDEV Inc GDEV. The Cyprus-based company has made three M&A deals and spent $100 million on studio acquisitions since 2022.

This week, Andrey Fadeev drafted a listicle of key metrics GDEV uses for M&A evaluation.

1. LTV/CAC Ratio – Measures how efficiently a studio converts user acquisition spend into revenue. A ratio above 1.0 indicates profitable user growth.
2. Retention Rates (D1, D7, D30) – Track user engagement over time. High retention signals strong gameplay and monetization potential. Benchmarks vary by genre.
3. ARPU/ARPPU – Indicate monetization efficiency. ARPU includes all users; ARPPU focuses on paying users. Higher ARPU justifies higher CAC.
4. DAU/MAU Ratio – Shows user engagement depth. A ratio above 20% is considered strong.
5. EBITDA – Reflects core operational profitability and financial health. High EBITDA margins show sustainable growth and efficiency.

In 2024, video game M&A activity reached $27.3 billion, underscoring the sector's immense growth and investment appeal. C-suite executives would be wise to consider these metrics when searching for their next target.

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

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