🧳 The Guest List

If the party moves, someone’s left waiting at the door.

A Free Lunch newsletter archive of June 3, 2026

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🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States

Good morning!

On a recent French television panel, a clutch of seasoned journalists, the kind who read three papers before breakfast and hold firm views on Sahelian politics, were asked to name 3 living Chinese people. The pause that followed could have been measured with a sundial. Someone eventually produced Xi Jinping, the geopolitical equivalent of answering « Ronaldo » when asked about football. After that, nothing. The same people would name three Americans without pausing, and the blank would be no shorter in a London or New York studio. A roomful of professionally curious minds, defeated by a country of 1.4B that carries half of what matters in economics and geopolitics. The map they read from was last redrawn around the year 2000, when everyone who counted lived in Washington or Berlin, and the rest of the planet was politely marked « here be dragons. »

The names were not hidden. Liang Wenfeng, a former hedge-fund quant, built an AI model called DeepSeek that in January 2025 wiped $589B off Nvidia in a single session, the largest one-day loss in Wall Street history, on a reported training budget smaller than a Premier League transfer fee. Wang Chuanfu turned a battery workshop into BYD, the firm that overtook Tesla to become the world’s biggest seller of electric cars, many now in European driveways. Zhang Yiming built ByteDance, whose app rewired the attention span of every Western teen while their parents assumed it was Californian. Three names, none of them obscure, all already lodged in the daily lives of those who could not name one.

The same blindness runs in reverse, closer to home, and is funnier for it. Millions of Europeans send files through WeTransfer convinced it sprang from California, when it was built in Amsterdam. They stream music on a Swedish app they file under American. A Milan software house called Bending Spoons has spent three years buying apps still taken for American, Evernote, Vimeo, WeTransfer, even the embalmed remains of AOL, and now eyes a $20B New York listing. A continent that cannot name three living Chinese cannot name three of its own champions either, a blind spot reliable enough to keep a weekly in business: Hystérésis runs the European names the rest of the press forgets.

That a busy professional fails to summon a Chinese novelist or a Milanese chief executive is forgivable. Memory is finite and the working day is short. The harder thing to forgive is the conviction beneath it, that the world worth knowing fits on a guest list of four or five familiar capitals while everyone else mans the cloakroom. Strategy is mostly knowing who is in the room. A class that keeps drafting the wrong list keeps being ambushed by who walks in, and in geopolitics there is no costlier habit than being caught surprised.

🧳 The Guest List

🗞️ Top Story

  • 🇬🇧 Arresting Judgement. Outrage grows in the UK after police bodycam footage shows officers handcuffing dying student Henry Nowak, who was falsely accused by his killer. (France Info)
  • 🇮🇹 Shake Off. A 6.1 to 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck off Calabria’s coast, rattling southern Italy but leaving no damage or emergency calls behind. (Le Figaro)
  • 🇩🇰 Welfare Reloaded. Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen wins a third mandate, pledging expanded social benefits and ambitious climate policies while keeping her hard line on immigration. (El Pais)
  • 🇦🇱 Ivanka’s Island. Thousands protest in Tirana against a $1.5B luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner, demanding transparency and chanting that Albania is not for sale. (Le Monde)
  • 🇺🇸 Audit Immunity. Donald Trump, his family, and their businesses remain shielded from IRS audits while he is president, keeping his finances out of public view for now. (Bloomberg)
  • 🇦🇷 Cut Above. President Javier Milei’s deep spending cuts have tamed runaway inflation in Argentina, but the price of food and daily life keeps climbing for most citizens. (Le Figaro)
  • 🌎 Hot Ticket. The World Meteorological Organization projects an 80% likelihood of El Niño returning this summer, meaning the planet should brace for more heat and wild weather. (Le Figaro)
  • 🇮🇷 Alive and Kicking. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and increasingly active as Iran’s Supreme Leader, despite his total absence from public view. (Ouest-France)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
  • 🇬🇧 Rage Against the Machine. Keir Starmer urges restraint after Nigel Farage calls for “pure, cold rage” over Henry Nowak’s murder, echoing the victim’s family plea not to inflame tensions. (The Guardian)
  • 🇬🇧 Now You See Me. Downing Street confirms Keir Starmer’s WhatsApp messages auto-delete in line with guidance, raising questions about transparency in the Mandelson appointment saga. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇺🇸 Primary Colors. Josh Turek and Zach Wahls made their final pitches in Iowa’s Democratic Senate primary, with Turek leading in the last polls as both candidates hope to end the party’s losing streak. (New York Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Blocked and Loaded. The DOJ abandons its $1.8B Trump fund proposal amid political uproar, but the IRS remains barred from investigating Trump’s past tax issues. (New York Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Textual Healing. Graham Platner, Maine’s Democratic Senate hopeful, met with wary Senate Democrats after a texting scandal surfaced, drawing a notably sparse and tense crowd. (New York Times)
  • 🇺🇸 No Place Like Dome. Bill Pulte, America’s mortgage regulator, is named acting intelligence chief by Trump after Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation. Housing expertise, now classified. (Cnbc)
  • 🇺🇸 PAC to the Future. Super PAC American Priorities pledges $2M to back progressive challengers against AIPAC-supported Democrats in key New York House races, promising a primary season with extra fireworks. (New York Times)

🏛️ Economy

  • 🇪🇸 Current Affairs. Spain ends its energy tax breaks as renewables cushion the blow from the global crisis, allowing Madrid to dial back its €5B support plan. (Les Echos)
  • 🇸🇪 Best in Class Action. Sweden’s thriving capital markets face new pressure as EU policymakers try to standardize rules, risking the very model they admire. (Financial Times)
  • 🇪🇺 Silicon Curtain. Brussels launches a push for tech independence, hoping to shield European firms from American and Chinese dominance in the digital race. (Bloomberg)
  • 🇪🇺 Rate Race. Inflation in the eurozone hit 3.2% in May, its highest level in three years, putting fresh pressure on the ECB to consider a rate hike. (Les Echos)
  • 🇪🇺 Gold Standard. The ECB reports that gold has overtaken US Treasuries as the world’s top central bank reserve asset, with bullion now accounting for 27% of global reserves. (Financial Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Bot to Trot. cybersecurity stocks have surged by $280B on AI optimism, but upcoming earnings may reveal if the rally is more hype than hardware. (Bloomberg)
  • 🇦🇪 Exit Strategy. With the Strait of Hormuz under threat, Adnoc proposes a pipeline detour so UAE exports do not get stranded by regional tensions. (Financial Times)
  • 🌍 Demand and Denial. Despite optimistic talk of a quick Iran deal, oil markets ignored the risk until inventories hit record lows and prices threatened to soar. (Financial Times)
🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇺🇸 Help Wanted. U.S. job openings hit a two-year high at 7.6M in April, but actual hiring fell, leaving employers searching and workers waiting. (Wall Street Journal)
  • 🇺🇸 Cashifornia Dreamin’. Billionaires and Silicon Valley titans have poured over $400M into California’s 2026 races, but money alone may not buy a ticket to November. (New York Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Growth Pains. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani faces mounting pressure as job growth slows and unemployment lingers above pre-pandemic levels, with critics demanding a real jobs plan. (New York Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Trade Offense. Trump targets Brazil with a 25% tariff, citing intellectual property lapses, corruption, and barriers to ethanol as justification. (New York Times)

🏢 Real Estate

  • 🇰🇪 Home Invasion. Kenya’s government push for mass housing has triggered fierce backlash from residents and critics, turning a construction plan into a political battleground. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇺🇸 Home Run. Berkshire Hathaway bets $6.8B on acquiring Taylor Morrison Home 🇺🇸, signaling its faith that the housing market will rebound from its slump. (Wall Street Journal)

🔗 On-chain

  • 🇪🇺 Tax to the Future. The European Commission is pitching new EU-wide taxes on digital services, online gambling, and crypto to plug an €11B budget gap, just in time for the next round of budget battles. (Les Echos)
  • 🇺🇸 Stable Condition. MoneyGram 🇺🇸 is launching MGUSD, a dollar stablecoin on Stellar, aiming to offer 60M customers instant, dollar-backed transfers through its app. (FinExtra)
  • 🇺🇸 Block Party. Polymarket 🇺🇸 has completed its first institutional block trade on an AI compute contract, signaling prediction markets’ push for Wall Street credibility and bigger deals. (Cnbc)
  • 🇺🇸 Hedge Fund. Bitcoin’s reputation as an inflation hedge takes a hit after a 36% plunge, leaving investors with less protection and more questions. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇺🇸 Betting Man. Former congressman George Santos is under federal investigation for allegedly wagering against his own State of the Union attendance on Kalshi, raising new questions about insider trading in prediction markets. (New York Times)

💱 Listed Markets

  • 🇫🇷 American Idle. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa pledges €1B investment in France but spends barely half a day there before jetting off toward Detroit dreams. (Le Monde)
  • 🇺🇸 Scout’s Honor. Microsoft unveils Scout, an always-on AI assistant inspired by OpenClaw, promising users a customizable digital aide that learns their quirks and automates their work life. (TechCrunch)
  • 🇺🇸 Windfall. Seven Democratic-led states are suing to block a $1B deal that pays TotalEnergies 🇫🇷 to drop offshore wind projects and invest in oil and gas instead, calling it a taxpayer-funded climate reversal. (Le Parisien)
  • 🇺🇸 Cash Denied. Palo Alto Networks 🇺🇸 CEO Nikesh Arora’s $100M compensation package was rejected by investors, making it the most opposed pay deal in the this year. (Bloomberg)
  • 🇺🇸 Alphabet Soup. Alphabet 🇺🇸 stirs the pot with an $80B equity offering, leaving investors to swallow a sudden dip in share value. (Bloomberg)
  • 🇺🇸 Artificial Insecurity. Instagram’s AI assistant handed over control of user accounts to hackers faking their location, forcing Meta to patch the glaring vulnerability after public outcry. (BBC)
  • 🇨🇱 Bank Job. A Santander 🇪🇸 employee has been arrested in Chile over a $85M crime sting, proving some inside jobs are not just a figure of speech. (Bloomberg)
  • 🇯🇵 Memory Lane. Kioxia’s market cap briefly overtakes Toyota as AI mania sends the chipmaker’s shares soaring to ¥45T, shaking up Japan’s corporate hierarchy. (Bloomberg)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

  • RSK Group 🇬🇧 acquires Celigeo 🇫🇷; geotechnical engineering firm based in Lorette, founded 2016, grew from 5 to 11 employees and €1M–€2M revenue, invested €600k in a 500 m² PassivHaus-certified building.
  • Triton 🇬🇧 nears €3B deal for Flender 🇩🇪, currently owned by Carlyle 🇺🇸.
  • Vertice 🇬🇧 acquires Vendr 🇺🇸, uniting AI procurement and software-pricing platforms and integrating datasets covering $75B+ in spend and 250,000 negotiated contracts.
  • CVC 🇬🇧, Cinven 🇬🇧 and PAI Partners 🇫🇷 are among initial bidders to acquire Advent-owned IRCA 🇮🇹 for $2.7B–$3.2B.
  • Proman 🇫🇷 acquires a majority stake in Protech 🇦🇺, the tenth-largest Australian temporary staffing and recruitment firm with €427M revenue (AU$650M) and 26+ agencies.
  • EPC Groupe 🇫🇷 met fin aux négociations exclusives avec Société Suisse des Explosifs Holding 🇨🇭, le rapprochement envisagé étant abandonné après l’évolution des demandes de SSE Group.
  • Colas 🇫🇷 finalises acquisition of Frauenrath 🇩🇪’s road construction and recycling activities on 29 May 2026; ~420 employees, ~€150M revenue (2025), sites in Heinsberg and Großröhrsdorf.
  • Lactalis 🇫🇷 acquires Protein Works 🇬🇧, a protein-focused food brand.
  • Henkell 🇩🇪 is in exclusive talks to take a majority stake in Maison Pommery & Associés 🇫🇷 (two-month exclusivity), the third négociant de Champagne, very indebted, group valued at €85M; Henkell also owns Freixenet, Mionetto and Alfred Gratien.
  • UniCredit 🇮🇹 increases its stake in Commerzbank 🇩🇪 to 34.35% after investors tendered 7.6% of Commerzbank’s capital; offer runs until June 16.
  • HolaCamp 🇪🇸 in talks with Indotek 🇭🇺 to form a ~€100M joint venture investing in Spanish campsites; HolaCamp expects €40M revenue this year.
  • Salto Systems 🇪🇸 to buy ~20% stake in Lukas Asset Management 🇩🇪, bid values group at €1.5B+.
  • Clustag 🇪🇸 completes acquisition of Labelmasters 🇪🇸 (Valencia-based RFID and intralogistics company (participated by Nazca Capital) acquires Sabadell-based specialist in automated labeling systems for high-demand logistics environments).
  • Amper 🇪🇸 acquires Zeleros 🇪🇸 for €1M, including 18 employees and technology assets in advanced electrification, energy storage and high‑power electromagnetic systems, and 100% of Teltronic 🇪🇸 in a binding agreement for up to €225M including debt.
  • Waterland Private Equity 🇳🇱 acquires Minsait Business Consulting 🇪🇸 from Indra 🇪🇸 for €125M-€150M, with additional earn-outs; 1,700 employees; ~€200M revenue and ~€20M ebitda; Forvis Mazars and White & Case advised Waterland, Cuatrecasas advised Indra.
  • Aizy 🇳🇱 acquires Uptmz 🇳🇱 after a €2M raise and €22M valuation, AI performance-marketing software deal.
  • TrueLayer 🇳🇱 acquires In3 🇳🇱 to offer credit at checkout
  • EDP 🇵🇹 launches $233M sale of its 49% minority stake in Iberian distributed-generation assets 🇵🇹
  • MedTech Solutions 🇵🇱 acquires Good For You Medical 🇵🇱 (100% stake; access to 120+ hospitals; ~83% of consideration paid in shares with a 24‑month lock‑up; plans debut on the main GPW market).
  • Entravel Group 🇩🇰 acquires Moca Traveltech Group 🇪🇸, a Barcelona-based B2B travel startup launched Jan 2025 that has built 100+ API integrations; Moca to rebrand as MocatravelX and continue led by CEO Alex Pedret.
  • Hiab 🇫🇮 acquires Labrie Environmental 🇨🇦, a refuse collection vehicle manufacturer, for $1.04B cash including debt.
  • Fonoa 🇭🇷 acquires IndirectTax Edge (PwC) 🇬🇧, raises $110M; cloud tax‑compliance/indirect‑tax software, founded by ex‑Uber employees, total capital now >$200M.
  • CIVC Partners 🇺🇸 invests in Nationwide Legal 🇺🇸, announced June 1, 2026; litigation support services provider (service of process, court filing, subpoena services, court reporting).
  • Garth Brooks 🇺🇸 considers sale of music catalog 🇺🇸 for $2B.
  • Hellman & Friedman 🇺🇸 acquires Hyve 🇬🇧 for $1.8B, a London-based events group sold by Providence and Searchlight (events sector).
  • Hidden River Strategic Capital 🇺🇸 invests in Northstar Senior Living 🇺🇸 as it merges with Alta Senior Living 🇺🇸, providing debt and convertible preferred equity to support the combined senior living management platform.
  • People Inc 🇺🇸 offers to acquire the remaining stake in MGM Resorts International 🇺🇸 for $19B including debt, at a 10% premium.
  • Toms Capital 🇺🇸 urges Voya Financial 🇺🇸 to explore a sale; $7.4B-listed insurance and investment firm.
  • New Mountain Capital 🇺🇸 acquires Asset Living 🇺🇸 from Roark Capital 🇺🇸 for $2B+.
  • Motorola Solutions 🇺🇸 acquires D-Fend Solutions 🇮🇱 for $1.5B, a counter-drone defense tech startup.
  • Neuberger 🇺🇸 and Ryan 🇮🇪 (Onex-backed) acquire Svalner Atlas Advisors 🇳🇴 for over $400M, including debt, in the tax advisory sector.
  • US DOD 🇺🇸 takes a $36M stake in Trilogy Metals 🇨🇦, a critical minerals miner.
  • SEALSQ Corp 🇺🇸 acquires Wecan Group 🇨🇭 and invests €5.4M to scale post-quantum financial security solutions
  • Salesforce 🇺🇸 acquires Contentful 🇩🇪 for $1–$1.5B, a Berlin-founded headless content management platform used by ~5,000 brands.
  • Ithaca Energy 🇮🇱 held talks to acquire BP’s UK North Sea assets 🇬🇧 for near-£2bn, upstream oil and gas.
  • Aluminium Bahrain 🇧🇭 acquires Aluminium Dunkerque 🇫🇷 for $2.2B, Bpifrance takes a 6% stake for €100M with a board seat, 750 employees to be retained, plant produces ~300,000 tonnes/year, EU merger clearance obtained, deal subject to French foreign‑investment and foreign‑subsidies approvals, expected close by end‑2026.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

  • 🇬🇧 Booked Solid. Fresha secures $80M from KKR, sending its valuation over $1B and making it the latest beauty-tech unicorn in Europe. (Startuponline)
  • 🇩🇪 Robofunding. Agile Robots is reportedly seeking $800M in fresh capital, with SoftBank eyeing a $300M stake, as AI-driven robotics becomes the hottest ticket in European tech. (Sifted)
  • 🇪🇺 Crown EQT. Swedish investment giant EQT has just been named the new kingmaker of European tech, winning the continent’s most-watched VC contest. (Sifted)
  • 🇺🇸 ARR You Serious. Cyera is set to close a $300M round at a $12B valuation, putting an 80x multiple on $150M ARR while operating in the red. (TechCrunch)
  • 🇺🇸 Redemption Song. Cliffwater’s flagship fund for retail clients limited Q2 redemptions to $1.6B as requests surged past $5B, reflecting growing doubts about private credit’s staying power. (Financial Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Fee Space. SpaceX is pushing Wall Street banks to accept sharply reduced fees for its IPO, though bankers still expect a $500M payday from the historic listing. (Bloomberg)
  • 🇺🇸 Vault and Battery. Hackers brute-forced Dashlane’s 🇺🇸 two-factor authentication, stealing encrypted password vaults from about 20 customers in a weekend breach. Master passwords are now the last line of defense. (TechCrunch)
  • 🇺🇸 Blast from the Past. Blue Origin vows to relaunch its New Glenn rocket by year-end after a major explosion at Cape Canaveral, aiming to match SpaceX’s comeback speed. (TechCrunch)

Fundraising

  • Impulse Space 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): $500M (137 Ventures, BANNER VC, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Linse Capital)
  • DriveNets 🇮🇱 (Networking): $410M (Bessemer Venture Partners, Atreides Management, Pitango, D1 Capital Partners, AMD, Red Dot Capital)
  • Oxford Quantum Circuits 🇬🇧 (Quantum): $350M (Bullhound Capital, British Business Bank, Fynveur, Cofides, Fulcrum Asset Management, Pentland Ventures, Magdalen College Oxford, Oxford Capital, Firgun, Alpha Edison, 18 West, Adaptive Capital Partners)
  • Mach Industries 🇺🇸 (Defense): $300M (Infinite Capital, Ribbit Capital, Bedrock Capital, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures)
  • Focused Energy 🇩🇪 (Fusion): $240M (RWE, SPRIND, Prime Movers Lab, European Innovation Council Fund)
  • Capchase 🇪🇸 (Fintech): €200M+
  • Fonoa 🇮🇪 (Fintech): $110M (Headline, Eurazeo, Forestay Capital, Index Ventures, OMERS, Coatue, Dawn Capital)
  • ZutaCore 🇺🇸 (Data center): $100M+ (Mitsubishi Electric, Carrier Ventures, Samsung Electronics (Samsung Ventures), additional investors)
  • Multiverse 🇪🇸 (Quantum software): €100M (SETT (Sepi Digital))
  • Contraline 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $92.5M (BVF Partners L.P., RA Capital Management, GV, Lumira Ventures, Invus, other new and existing investors)
  • Highland Electric Fleets 🇺🇸 (Mobility): $75M
  • BibliU 🇺🇸 (Edtech): $55M (BlackRock, Stonehage Fleming)
  • Inherent 🇬🇧 (AI): $50M (Index Ventures, Radical Ventures)
  • Orbital Industries 🇬🇧 (DeepTech): $50M (Plural, NVentures (NVIDIA), Radical Ventures, Compound, Fly Ventures)
  • Layup Parts 🇺🇸 (Manufacturing): $42M (Marlinspike, Cerberus Ventures, Pinegrove Venture Partners, Founders Fund, Lux Capital)
  • Substrate AI 🇪🇸 (AI infrastructure): €40M
  • Gray Swan 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $40M (Wing Venture Capital, Madrona)
  • IMU Biosciences 🇬🇧 (Biotech): £40M (IQ Capital, Molten Ventures)
  • PLD Space 🇪🇸 (Aerospace): €35M
  • Mecka AI (Robotics): $35M
  • Subtle Medical 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $33M (Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, Shinhan Venture Investment, Fusion Fund, EnvisionX, BRV, Samsung Ventures)
  • Advanced NanoTherapies 🇺🇸 (Medtech): $31M (S3 Ventures, T45 Fund)
  • Geordie AI 🇬🇧 (Cybersecurity): $30M
  • Omniscient Neurotechnology 🇦🇺 (Neurotech): $27M (OIF Ventures, Australian National Reconstruction Fund Corporation)
  • Gigaton 🇬🇧 (Industrial AI): $26M
  • encosa 🇩🇪 (EnergyTech): €25M (Bayern Kapital, Realyze Ventures, Verve Ventures, Kopa Ventures, Blum Ventures, existing investors, business angels)
  • Unastella 🇰🇷 (Aerospace): $24M
  • Board 🇺🇸 (Gaming): $20M (Union Square Ventures, Adjacent, BoxGroup, Coalition Operators, First Round Capital, Josh Duyan, Kevin Twohy, Lerer Hippeau, IRL Ventures, Metrodora Ventures, Nabeel Hyatt, Patron, SV Angel, Twelve Below, Biz Stone, Elan Lee, Evan Sharp, Jesse Dorogusker, Kayvon Beykpour, Scott Belsky, Tim Ferriss, Haystack)
  • Sekai (No-code): $20M (Khosla Ventures, a16z, Mayfield, A*)
  • Invisix 🇳🇱 (Semiconductor metrology): €20M (Hitachi Ventures, Transition Ventures, imec.xpand, Doosan Investment Co., a tier-1 semiconductor manufacturer)
  • Novellia 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $18M (Spark Capital, Khosla Ventures, Acrew Capital, Bling Capital, TMV)
  • Tavo Biotherapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $17M (Pureos Bioventures, Polaris Partners, Tau Capital)
  • Ilant Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $15M (Cornucopian Capital, naturalX, Peakbridge, Semcap AI, Evidenced, Operator Partners, Celtic, LifeX, AlphaLab)
  • MokN 🇫🇷 (Cybersecurity): $15M (GV, Datadog, Moonfire, OVNI Capital, angel investors)
  • Gradient Labs 🇬🇧 (AI): $13M (Octopus Ventures, CommerzVentures, Redpoint Ventures, Exceptional Capital)
  • Westmag 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $11M (Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, NFDG, Menlo Ventures)
  • Plot 🇺🇸 (Martech): $10M (XYZ Venture Capital, Mischief Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Acme Capital)
  • Archestra.AI 🇬🇧 (AI): $10M (20VC, Visible Ventures, Tenacity Capital, Olivier Pomel, Kieran Flanagan)
  • ZeroDrift 🇺🇸 (AI compliance): $10M (a16z Speedrun, Reign Ventures, PitchDrive Ventures, U&I Ventures)
  • DEScycle 🇬🇧 (Recycling): €10M+
  • Perceptic 🇬🇧 (Biotech): £9m (Accel, Air Street Capital, Elder Gull)
  • Elonroad 🇸🇪 (Mobility): €8.3M
  • Bayshore 🇩🇪 (Regtech): $8M (Earlybird Venture Capital, Lucid Capital, Booom, Heliad, strategic angel investors)
  • Alitheon 🇺🇸 (Supply chain): $8M (Emerald Technology Ventures, eBay Ventures)
  • Eddy Grid 🇳🇱 (EnergyTech): €7.5M (Graduate Ventures, Volve Capital)
  • SpeedLabs (Sports): $6.5M
  • Didit 🇪🇸 (Identity): €6.4M (Y Combinator, Pioneer Fund, Orange Collective, SaaSholic, Founders Future, Phosphor Capital, Rebel Fund, Lobster Capital, Tomer London, Taro Fukuyama)
  • NP Company 🇫🇷 (AI): €6M (Partech, Peugeot family office, Guillaume Lample, Cédric O, Florian Douetteau, Vincent Luciani)
  • Nomo 🇺🇸 (Wellness): $5.85M (angel investors, UChicago-linked funds, others)
  • Kosmos 🇺🇸 (Operational Intelligence): $5M
  • Oplane 🇸🇪 (Cybersecurity): €4.5M (Seed Capital, Emil Eifrem, Robert Lagerström, Joakim Nydrén, Icebreaker.vc)
  • Phosio 🇺🇸 (AR/AI): $4M (MESH, Sierra Ventures, TEL Venture Capital, Silicon Catalyst Venture, Willamette Valley Capital, Silicon Catalyst Angels)
  • Return Helper 🇭🇰 (Logistics): $4M (Cathay Venture, MLC Ventures, Jun Yue Investment Co. Ltd, Colopl Next)
  • Mykor 🇬🇧 (Biotech): £4M (Clean Growth Fund, British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund via The FSE)
  • Stellar Alpina 🇨🇭 (SpaceTech): €3.8M (Founderful, LP&E, selected strategic investors)
  • StratusGrid 🇺🇸 (Cloud): $3M (Dogwood Ventures, Market Square Ventures, LaunchTN, VentureSouth, Service Provider Capital, strategic angel investors)
  • Radley Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $3M (Aurora Forge, Jackson Healthcare, Peg’s Foundation, CareSource, several family offices)
  • Circular11 🇬🇧 (Recycling): €2.7M
  • Zazume 🇪🇸 (Proptech): €2.5M (Nordstar, GTV Capital, Sabadell Venture Capital, several family offices)
  • Converge Bio 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $2.5M
  • Laverock Therapeutics 🇬🇧 (Biotech): £2.2M
  • Poindexter Labs 🇬🇧 (AI): £2M (Episode 1, Evertrue Capital, First Cheque Fund)
  • Kopa.ai 🇱🇹 (AI): €2M (XTX Ventures, Practica Capital, Inovia Capital, Etan Ilfeld)
  • Mafer AI 🇪🇸 (AI): €2M (Kfund, 4Founders Capital, Masia, Lavanda Ventures, Adrián Mato)
  • Lune & Wild 🇬🇧 (Food): £2M (Guinness Ventures, Dr. Rupy Aujla, Doug Struthers)
  • Gnosis Health 🇬🇧 (Healthcare): £1.1M

Fund Watch

  • Eurazeo 🇫🇷: €3.9B (Eurazeo Private Debt VII, private debt fund. Final close)
  • OpenPayd 🇬🇧: $1.1B (merging with Titan Acquisition Corp., UK payments infrastructure)
  • SMBC Nikko Securities 🇯🇵: $630M (Japan mezzanine fund, considering launch)
  • Mouro Capital 🇬🇧: $400M (3rd fund, financial services + tech, backed by Santander)
  • Gigascale Capital 🇺🇸: $250M (new fund, climate-focused VC backing the physical economy)
  • Wingman Growth Partners 🇺🇸: $215M (Wingman I, inaugural growth-stage software fund, oversubscribed)
  • byFounders 🇩🇰: €130M+ (Fund III, VC for New Nordics founders)
  • Transition Ventures 🇬🇧: €128M (Fund II, early-stage AI + physical world)

🔔IPO

  • Nanobiotix 🇫🇷 (Biotech): joined the Euronext Tech Leaders segment to boost visibility and attract international investors.
  • Installux 🇫🇷 (Manufacturing): Canty family to launch a takeover after buying 6.3% from Amiral, now holding 87.4% and aiming to pass 90%.
  • Prosus 🇳🇱 (Investments): seeking to raise its stake in Germany’s Delivery Hero to thwart Uber’s $14B takeover bid.
  • CEZ 🇨🇿 (Energy): shareholders approved splitting non-production customer assets at the $30B-listed utility as a step toward the state’s plan to buy out minority investors.
  • GameStop 🇺🇸 (Retail): approved a $2B stock buyback after reporting a $389.6M Q1 profit.
  • Forbright 🇺🇸 (Digital banking): seeking to raise $158M in a IPO.
  • Google 🇺🇸 (Tech): raising $80B in equity offerings, including a $10B investment from Berkshire Hathaway for AI infrastructure.
  • SpaceX 🇺🇸 (Space): reserved 5% of IPO shares for staff and friends with no lock-up period.
  • FedEx Freight 🇺🇸 (Logistics): shares fell 12% after spinning off at a $25B valuation.
  • Quantinuum 🇺🇸 (Quantum): boosting its IPO from $1B to seek $1.5B at a $14.3B valuation.
  • ERock 🇺🇸 (Power): seeking to raise $642M in an IPO.
  • Applied Aerospace & Defense Inc. 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): raised $650M in a IPO, selling 32.5M shares at $20 each.
  • Barrick Mining 🇨🇦 (Gold): weighing a London listing for its African business in a potential $30B all-share merger with UK-listed Endeavour Mining.
  • Apotex 🇨🇦 (Pharma): seeking to raise $830M at a $4B valuation in Canada’s biggest IPO since 2021.
  • PaXini Tech 🇭🇰 (Robotics): backed by BYD and JD.com, exploring a Hong Kong IPO and may file in the coming months.

🧳 Debt

  • Jaguar Land Rover 🇬🇧: raising a $2B loan to refinance debt.
  • Unite 🇫🇷: raised €13M in bank loans to develop three agrivoltaic plants (~14 MWc) in western France.
  • Renault Group 🇫🇷: raised €750M via bonds maturing 9 June 2031 with a 4.125% coupon.
  • Polar 🇳🇴: raised €800M via a Nordic bond, a market record.
  • Lincoln Property Company 🇺🇸: received an $870M construction loan for Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin.
  • FS KKR 🇺🇸: sold $900M in bonds in a rare junk-rated BDC deal.
  • Citadel Securities 🇺🇸: seeking to extend and upsize a $4B loan to $4.3B.
  • Wells Fargo 🇺🇸: kicked off a $3B leveraged loan sale as part of financing QXO’s $17B purchase of TopBuild.
  • Elk Grove Village Property 🇺🇸: seeking to sell $850M of junk bonds.
  • KKR 🇺🇸: is looking to sell $400M of junk bonds.
  • Optimum Communications 🇺🇸: raised $300M in pref equity through an unrestricted unit beyond lenders’ reach to pursue a debt-overhaul agreement with creditors.
  • Blue Owl Tech Private Credit Fund 🇺🇸: selling $300M in bonds.
  • Jardine Matheson 🇭🇰: seeking about $1.1B loan to fund takeover of Australia’s I-MED Radiology.
  • Zambia 🇿🇲: challenging a $1.36B bond buyback.

❌ Failures

  • Caresyntax 🇩🇪: the surgical-tech startup founded by a Siemens heir filed for insolvency.
  • SolarProfit 🇪🇸: filed a second restructuring for parent Profithol proposing an ~87.2% haircut on €2.7M of debt (including €1.5M tied to a Banco Santander guarantee).
  • GitLab 🇺🇸: is cutting 350 employees (about 14% of its workforce) in a restructuring tied to an AI pivot.
  • Brightline Fields 🇺🇸: filed for bankruptcy and sought loan bids while courting potential buyers.
  • Raízen 🇧🇷: the sugar and ethanol producer will present creditors with a plan to overhaul $13B of debt.
  • Venezuela 🇻🇪: hired Hogan Lovells as counsel to advise on its debt rework.
  • IFFCO Group 🇦🇪: facing insolvency petitions in the Isle of Man and Singapore and eyed for acquisition for several billions of dollars.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

  • 🇩🇪 Euro Miro. Joan Miró’s 1936 masterpiece « Peinture » will headline Karl & Faber’s Munich auction, with bids expected between €2M and €2.5M for the Monaco-sourced work. (Die Zeit)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
  • 🇬🇧 Creature Feature. Puffins, bumblebees, and hedgehogs may soon replace Churchill and Austen on UK banknotes, as the Bank of England launches a public wildlife vote for the next series. (BBC)

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