July 2025’s 10 Largest Family-Office Deals

Family offices continued to quietly deploy significant capital in July 2025 across diverse sectors. From infrastructure buyouts to venture funding, roughly $2.6+ billion in deals involved family offices as lead or anchor investors. As with June, those relying on quarterly reports likely missed these moves – every transaction below surfaced via Altss’s OSINT feed within hours, often beating traditional outlets by days.

#1 Papa John’s Take-Private Bid — ~$1.7 billion | early Jul 2025

• Family office anchor: Irth Capital (Sheikh Mohamed “Moe” al Thani) alongside Apollo Global Management
• Target: Papa John’s International (U.S. pizza chain)
• Deal: Joint offer to acquire and take the NYSE-listed company private at ~$60/share (valuing it around $1.7B). Irth, the Qatari royal family-backed fund, had quietly built a 4.99% stake and now teamed with Apollo on an all-cash bid.
• Signal: Gulf wealth meets private equity – a first-time family office bidder on a major U.S. restaurant chain, underscoring family offices’ willingness to pursue late-cycle buyouts alongside PE giants. Shares jumped 7.5% on news

#2 Helsing Defense-Tech Funding — €600 million (~$693 million) | mid Jun 2025

• Lead investor: Prima Materia (Daniel Ek’s family office)
• Target: Helsing (German AI defense startup) – software and drone systems for military use
• Sector: Defense tech / artificial intelligence
• Why it matters: This massive Series B, led by Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s FO, vaulted Helsing’s valuation to ~€12 billion – making it one of Europe’s most valuable tech groups. Private family capital is stepping into national security, doubling down on a company at the nexus of AI and defense. (Notably, co-investors included Lightspeed, Accel, and SAAB, but Ek’s FO anchored the round.)

#3 Pontegadea’s PD Ports Stake — undisclosed (est. high-nine figures) | 22 Jul 2025

• Family office: Pontegadea (Amancio Ortega, Zara founder)
• Deal: Acquired a 49% stake in UK port operator PD Ports from Brookfield
• Sector: Infrastructure / logistics
• Context: Europe’s richest retailer continues to diversify beyond real estate. Ortega’s FO expanded into ports that handle 22,000 jobs and £1.4B GDP contribution. Brookfield stays on as majority owner, signaling a long-term partnership. Dynastic capital is becoming a fixture in infrastructure, viewing critical assets (like ports) as stable, strategic holdings for generational wealth.

#4 Le Coq Sportif Turnaround Bid — €60 million | Jul 2025

• Lead investor: Neopar (Poitrinal family office)
• Target: Le Coq Sportif (historic French sportswear brand in restructuring)
• Sector: Consumer brands / retail
• Deal details: A consortium led by Neopar (51% stake) with telecom billionaire Xavier Niel (26.5%) and Iconix Brand Group (22.5%) submitted a €60M offer to acquire and revive the company. All €60M would be injected immediately to relaunch the label.
• Takeaway: Hands-on turnaround capital. Neopar (the Poitrinal family’s “corporate renewal” specialist) exemplifies how family offices can rescue distressed heritage brands with patient capital and operational expertise. The goal: refocus the 140-year-old Le Coq Sportif as an “accessible, popular” French label with global reach – a playbook only a committed, long-horizon investor could execute.

#5 GeologicAI Series B — $44 million | 17 Jul 2025

• Lead investor: Blue Earth Capital (Wyss family’s impact investment arm)
• Target: GeologicAI (Canadian mining-tech startup)
• Sector: Critical minerals / AI & sensors
• Why it stands out: Blue Earth led this $44M round to scale GeologicAI’s AI-driven platform for scanning drill cores and speeding up discovery of lithium, copper, and rare earths. Co-investors included mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto. Climate-focused family offices are moving upstream – here, backing tech to secure the battery metals supply chain. As Blue Earth noted, more critical minerals are “essential for the energy transition,” and GeologicAI can boost output while reducing environmental impact.

#6 Augmodo Series A — $37.5 million | 31 Jul 2025

• Notable FO investor: Jefferson River Capital (Tony James family office)
• Target: Augmodo (Seattle-based spatial AI platform for retail operations)
• Sector: AI / retail tech
• Round highlights: The $37.5M financing (led by TQ Ventures) included Jefferson River as a new investor. Augmodo’s wearables create live 3D store maps to track inventory and tasks in real time.
• Read-through: Family offices of prominent finance executives continue to embrace frontier tech. By joining this Series A, Tony James’ FO (from the former Blackstone president) signals confidence in enterprise AI solutions – and gains an early stake in a company marrying AI with brick-and-mortar retail needs. (Even when not leading, FO capital can tip a round to “oversubscribed” status, as seen here.)

#7 ERA Group Majority Stake — undisclosed (mid-eight figures est.) | late Jun 2025

• Investor: Souter Investments (Sir Brian Souter’s family office)
• Target: Expense Reduction Analysts (UK-based B2B consulting franchise)
• Sector: Business services / consulting
• Deal: Souter’s FO co-invested alongside Horizon Capital to acquire a majority stake in ERA in June. Terms weren’t disclosed, but ERA’s global network of cost-optimization consultants spans 40+ countries (implying a substantial mid-market transaction).
• Insight: “Buy-and-build” family capital. The Stagecoach billionaire’s FO stays active even amid volatile markets, targeting under-the-radar companies that mega-funds overlook. Souter’s team noted they “invest right through the cycle,” focusing on niche private equity deals. For ERA, having patient family money on board supports long-term growth without the pressure of a quick flip.

#8 Shakira’s Isímia Haircare Launch — ~$12 million | 17 Jun 2025

• Family office backer: LMDV Capital (Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio’s FO)
• Deal: Debut funding round (low eight figures) for Isímia, a science-driven haircare startup co-founded by pop star Shakira. Investors included Stelac (U.S. FO), LMDV (Italy, Del Vecchio family), Northstar VC, and WME talent agency.
• Sector: Consumer products / beauty-tech
• Why it matters: Europe’s next-gen wealth is stepping into consumer venture deals – with a cultural twist. Del Vecchio’s FO (from the Luxottica eyewear dynasty) provided capital and credibility to a celebrity brand aiming for global retail scale. The FO’s president said they backed Isímia for “bringing together scientific innovation and respect for individual identity” in an industry ripe for inclusive, tech-enabled disruption. It’s a signal that family offices see value in backing celebrity founders when the product and purpose align.

#9 Family Office Hotel Buyout — undisclosed | late Jun 2025

• Buyer: Verdoso Investments (Balestra) – Ullmann-Hamon family office (France)
• Asset: Ibis Budget Dunkerque Grande-Synthe (a 43-room economy hotel in northern France)
• Sector: Real estate / hospitality
• Deal context: Through their FO vehicle (Verdoso SA), the Ullmann-Hamon family quietly acquired this hotel property from operator B&B Hotels. While financials weren’t disclosed, it’s a strategic add-on to the family’s growing hotel platform (led by Sacha Ullmann) focused on budget accommodations.
• Angle: Hard assets and turnaround expertise. This transaction highlights a trend of family offices buying cash-yielding real assets (like hotels) which they can upgrade or reposition. Verdoso specializes in distressed asset turnarounds – applying a hands-on approach even to small hotels to drive long-term value. In a choppy real estate market, family investors are bargain-hunting: picking up smaller properties that institutional buyers might overlook, then patiently improving them for steady income.

#10 Premium Nappy Startup Seed — £2.1 million (~$2.7 million) | 4 Jul 2025

• Family office investor: Triple B (Bata family office, Netherlands)
• Target: Peachies (London-based direct-to-consumer diaper brand)
• Sector: E-commerce / consumer goods
• Round: An oversubscribed £2.1M seed funding to scale Peachies’ premium subscription-based nappies. Triple B (the Bata shoe dynasty’s FO) joined as a key investor alongside lead ArmaVir Partners.
• Why it still matters: Even micro-cap deals can be strategic when legacy family businesses meet new consumer trends. The Bata family – whose 125-year-old footwear empire spans 70+ countries – is leveraging its venture arm to tap into the parenting products market. Backing Peachies gives them insight (and a foothold) in the booming D2C baby goods space. In an era when brand loyalty and community matter, family offices are betting on next-gen consumer startups that align with their legacy of serving households globally.

What July’s Activity Signals for Allocators

“Family-office capital is behaving like late-cycle private equity: disciplined on price, ruthless on speed, and indifferent to labels.” That observation from June held even truer in July. Rising rates and fickle IPO windows are steering dealmakers toward flexible private capital – and family offices, unconstrained by fund mandates or timelines, are eagerly filling the void. July’s deals show FOs acting as anchor investors in buyouts and growth rounds alike, often outpacing traditional funds in both check size and decisiveness. The implication for GPs and founders seeking capital: relationship depth and real-time intelligence now outrank brand-name prestige. If you’re not networking with family offices and monitoring their moves in real time, you’re already a step behind.

How Altss Keeps You Ahead: Our always-on OSINT platform ensures you catch these signals as they happen – from a FO’s quiet stake in a local port to a billion-dollar bid that flies under the radar. Altss integrates filings, press wires, and even social media leaks into a live feed, with human analysts verifying each lead within 24 hours. The result: a relationship graph updating in real-time and alerts on your dashboard for every family office commitment that matters. Transparent pricing ($15,500/seat/year, all-inclusive) and strict data curation (no bulk dumps, no open API) mean you get quality over quantity – the same edge enjoyed by top subscribers.

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