💼 Passing the Hat
The CAC 40 loves a whip-round—with your money.
Also available:🇫🇷 Édition française
Good morning!
The best financial product in Europe has no prospectus, no entry fee and no regulator worth the name: the invoice nobody pays on time. Close to half of all business-to-business invoices in Western Europe are now settled late, on terms that routinely run past 60 days and stretch to 120 in the worst-behaved sectors. For the buyer this is an interest-free overdraft underwritten by its own suppliers; for the supplier it is the same sum borrowed back from a bank at 8%, assuming the bank still answers. The stretching is rarely an accident. A finance department that pushes its payables out by a fortnight books the gain as improved working capital, a number the market rewards, while the cost lands on a supplier with no leverage to refuse. The bigger the customer, the cheaper its money and the dearer everyone else’s.
A remedy has existed for years. Every creditor is owed automatic interest at the ECB rate plus 8 points, due the moment a payment is late, no demand required. Almost nobody issues one, and almost nobody is made to pay it. Even governments are repeat offenders: Brussels has dragged Belgium, Greece and Italy before the Court of Justice for breaching its own directive. Rather than fix the problem, the market has monetised it: factoring, reverse factoring and supply-chain finance are now whole industries devoted to lending suppliers their own money back, at a price. The Commission’s 2023 plan to cap terms at 30 days, the centrepiece of its small-business relief package, died quietly in Council last year, opposed by member states, banks and a fair number of the very suppliers it was meant to rescue. The rules are sound; the appetite to apply them is missing.
France offers the sharpest illustration. Its Senate voted on 19 February to raise the cap on late-payment fines from €2M to 1% of a group’s global turnover, €500M for a €50B company, enough to move the subject from a compliance footnote to the board agenda. A record 68,500 corporate failures in 2025, €17B of working capital drained from suppliers in a single year, 73% of directors filing the delay under normal cost of business, even as paying late lifts a creditor’s odds of failure by 25%. The deterrent is a rounding error: France’s watchdog issued €47M in fines across six months, Thales Avionics among them, the going rate for paying late rather than a reason to stop. Resignation has replaced the reminder, and from Milan to Manchester, when the invoice finally falls due, nobody picks up the phone.
🗞️ Top Story
- 🇬🇧 Crown Ambitions. Andy Burnham, famed for standing up to Westminster, now sets his sights on replacing Keir Starmer as Labour’s potential new leader. (Le Temps)
- 🇫🇷 Palace Coup. The G7 wraps with Macron applauding Trump’s diplomatic change of heart, crediting Versailles for setting the stage for rare agreement. (Le Figaro)
- 🇮🇹 Scroll and Toll. Meta 🇺🇸 and TikTok 🇨🇳 face Italy’s first class action from parents who allege their algorithms drove a young girl toward self-harm and suicide. (Boursier)
- 🇫🇮 Cold War(m) Welcome. Finland scraps its decades-old ban on nuclear weapons, opening the door for NATO nukes on its soil as Russia fumes next door. (New York Times)
- 🇪🇺 Immunity Idol. The European Parliament voted to strip Italian MEP Fulvio Martusciello of his immunity, allowing Belgian prosecutors to investigate alleged Huawei bribery ties. (Thenextweb)
- 🇺🇸 Family Business. Jack Schlossberg, son of Caroline Kennedy and JFK’s only grandson, tries to revive the dynasty by running for Congress in a crowded Manhattan primary. (Le Parisien)
- 🇺🇸 Red Rift. Trump’s Iran deal exposes deep divisions inside the GOP as lawmakers and party elders openly doubt the concessions secured after a costly conflict. (New York Times)
- 🇮🇳 Fauda Diplomacy. Modi and Netanyahu’s unlikely friendship has transformed India into one of Israel’s staunchest allies, even as global outrage isolates Netanyahu elsewhere. (Financial Times)
- 🇮🇷 Passage Pending. The US and Iran have agreed to immediately reopen key shipping lanes and end the blockade, though Iran hints transit fees may follow after 60 days. (Spiegel)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Reform and Storm. With Reform Party gains and Farage’s incendiary language, Britain’s far right is no longer fringe: it is steering the national conversation. (New York Times)
- 🇬🇧 Burn Notice. Keir Starmer says the conviction of two Russian-linked arsonists targeting his property proves the UK faces active attempts to exploit division and undermine its democracy. (The Guardian)
- 🇬🇧 Fleet Street. The UK expects Moscow to strike back after British forces intercepted the Smyrtos tanker carrying $40M in Russian oil, prompting the shipping industry to watch its back. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Map Quest. Georgia Republicans abruptly shelved plans to redraw congressional districts for 2028 after major protests by Black leaders and civil rights activists in Atlanta. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Count Suspicious. As LA’s mayoral votes trickled in over days, Spencer Pratt’s initial second-place standing dissolved, prompting cries of foul play from Trump allies. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Flight Risk. Congress threatens to clip Defense Secretary Hegseth’s wings, withholding travel cash until the Pentagon clarifies the Iran school and boat strikes. (Washington Post)
🏛️ Economy
- 🇫🇷 Short Supply. At VivaTech, Jeff Bezos predicted that AI will drive up demand for workers by revealing new challenges, defying automation doomsayers. (Boursier)
- 🇩🇪 Work in Progress. The number of industrial workers in Germany has dropped to a 10-year low of 6.6M as companies hesitate to fill open positions. (Die Zeit)
- 🇪🇺 Current Affairs. Europe faces record energy costs and supply shocks but leaders double down on the transition away from oil and gas, not the other way around. The message: fossil reliance is the real vulnerability. (Les Echos)
- 🇪🇺 Artificial Unintelligence. ECB President Christine Lagarde warns that AI could trigger major financial crises, urging banks to brace for instability before the algorithms do it for them. (Boursier)
- 🇺🇸 Deal or No Deal. As the G7 summit ends, Donald Trump delivers another round of contradictory trade signals to Canada, leaving Ottawa guessing on policy and partnership. (Bloomberg)
- 🇺🇸 AI Command. At the G7, Anthropic and Google DeepMind pushed for a U.S.-centric coalition to oversee artificial intelligence standards, putting America in the driver’s seat for global AI governance. (Cnbc)
- 🇺🇸 Basel Instinct. Wall Street banks are urging regulators to further relax Basel capital rules, warning that current proposals could threaten liquidity in the $29T Treasury market. (Financial Times)
- 🇺🇸 Gone with the Wind. Invenergy 🇺🇸 gets a $765M payout from the Trump administration to walk away from offshore wind leases and pivot toward gas and geothermal.
- 🇦🇷 Artificial Persons. Javier Milei wants Congress to approve companies managed by AI, offering low taxes and few rules to make Argentina an AI haven. (Le Monde)
- 🇨🇺 Red Market. Cuba’s Communist Party has approved a package of pro-market reforms to allow more private investment and shrink the state, with Raul Castro’s backing. (Le Temps)
- 🇨🇳 Heavy Metal. China is accelerating its electric truck push with new policies and surging domestic sales, threatening to upend Europe’s diesel-dominated road freight industry much faster than expected. (Financial Times)
- 🇭🇰 Tongue and Cheek. In Hong Kong, Cantonese remains the language of daily life and connection, while Mandarin is increasingly reserved for business and official deals. (Bloomberg)
- 🌍 Scam of Thrones. Global financial fraud hit $442B in 2025, outpacing Denmark’s entire GDP as AI-powered scams turn crime into big business. (Thenextweb)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Rate Expectations. The Bank of England is set to keep interest rates at 3.75% for a fourth straight meeting, as inflation remains stubborn but manageable. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Flat Out. Inflation in the UK refused to budge in May, staying at 2.8% and catching forecasters off guard just before the Bank of England’s decision. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇬🇧 Union Jacked. New research shows UK exports to the EU have dropped 12% since Brexit, and rejoining the customs union would barely move the needle. (The Guardian)
🏢 Real Estate
- 🇺🇸 Home Truths. Nearly everyone now agrees the faces a severe housing shortage, but fixing it means some will lose while others finally catch a break. (Wall Street Journal)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Home Run. pending home sales jumped 3.8% in May 2026, easily beating forecasts and suggesting the housing market still has some legs left. (Boursier)
🔗 On-chain
- 🇪🇺 MiCA-nic Trouble. Binance claims full compliance with crypto rules, but sources say its bid for a MiCA license is heading for a hard stop. (Startupcafe)
- 🇺🇸 Prize Fight Club. UFC winners at the White House get a $1M bonus in CRO, the Trump-linked crypto that has lost 82% of its value and is nearly impossible to cash out. (Financial Times)
- 🇺🇸 Permanent Record. Polymarket 🇺🇸 traders have $345M frozen as no one can agree if the US-Iran peace deal counts as « permanent » or just wishful thinking. (Thenextweb)
💱 Listed Markets
- 🇸🇪 Track Changes. Spotify 🇸🇪 shifts focus to product upgrades and AI features to drive profits, hoping to keep subscription fees from hitting a higher note. (Le Figaro)
- 🇳🇴 Boardroom for One. Norges Bank Investment Management controls 1.5% of the world’s public companies, but its voting crew would struggle to staff a dinner shift. (Siliconcanals)
- 🇺🇸 Crude Awakening. Trump’s Hormuz deal pushes oil prices down as traders suddenly see fewer reasons to panic about global supply. (Bloomberg)
- 🇺🇸 Spec Shock. Snap unveiled its long-awaited AR glasses at nearly $2,200, sending its stock down more than 5% as investors blinked at the price. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Rate Race. The 2-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.216% after Fed officials hinted at a possible rate hike this year, leaving markets bracing for more tightening. (Cnbc)
- 🇺🇸 Permit Denied. The Justice Department is siding with Elon Musk’s xAI, seeking to block an NAACP lawsuit over alleged illegal air pollution at its Mississippi data center. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇭🇰 License to Chill. JPMorgan Chase joins Goldman Sachs in cutting Anthropic’s AI access for Hong Kong employees, blaming restrictive usage terms and regulatory caution. (Financial Times)
🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)
- Phenna Group 🇬🇧 acquires Begalvi 🇪🇸, a compliance and certification platform for property managers backed by Oakley Capital.
- Access PaySuite 🇬🇧 acquires Ordo 🇬🇧’s open banking infrastructure. Ordo was shut down by Neonomics eight months after its acquisition, and the deal brings native Open Banking and VRP capabilities to Access PaySuite.
- Gareth Penny-led consortium 🇬🇧 acquires De Beers 🇿🇦 (leading the race to buy the diamond giant from Anglo American).
- Air France-KLM 🇫🇷 acquires TAP Air Portugal 🇵🇹 (minority stake). Portugal estimates sale will close in summer 2027, final approval may take another year.
- DeepL 🇩🇪 acquires Mixhalo 🇺🇸. Opens an office in San Francisco to expand its U.S. business.
- Jochen Schweizer 🇩🇪 considers buying back Jochen Schweizer (adventure-experience business) 🇩🇪 from ProSiebenSat.1 🇩🇪.
- Ravensburger 🇩🇪 acquires Steiff 🇩🇪 (heirs of Margarete Steiff sell their majority in the maker of the « button-in-ear » teddy bear. Buyer is the puzzle company).
- Thyssenkrupp 🇩🇪 approves split of its materials division 🇩🇪.
- Portobello Capital 🇪🇸 delays sale of Legálitas 🇪🇸.
- Norwegian Air 🇳🇴 acquires Nordic Leisure Travel Group 🇸🇪 for $843M in cash and stock, a deal in the package-holiday sector.
- SailPoint 🇺🇸 acquires Entro 🇮🇱. Plans to buy the Tel Aviv startup that finds and protects credentials, keys and machine accounts across cloud environments.
- OpenAI 🇺🇸 acquires Ona 🇩🇪. Team to join Codex, focused on cloud-based enterprise AI agents and secure agent infrastructure. Closing subject to regulatory approvals.
- Arcline Investment Management 🇺🇸 to take AstroNova 🇺🇸 private in a $272M deal. Arcline’s second take-private announced in recent weeks.
- Blackstone-led consortium 🇺🇸 acquires Medallia 🇺🇸 after Thoma Bravo hands the troubled software company to lenders.
- Toms Capital Investment Management 🇺🇸 targets Devon Energy 🇺🇸 after its $50bn merger with Coterra.
- Olin 🇺🇸 acquires Huntsman 🇺🇸 in a $2.4B all-stock deal, chemicals firm.
- Consortium including Apollo 🇺🇸 and Blackstone 🇺🇸 explores a sale of Crystal Palace 🇬🇧.
- Tim Leiweke 🇺🇸 blocked from acquiring Benfica 🇵🇹’s 16.4% stake because of his holdings in other European teams.
- Raymond James 🇺🇸 takes a 50% stake in Berenson & Co. 🇺🇸. Tech bankers Brendan Ryan and Jon Steele join as executives.
- Databricks 🇺🇸 acquires Panther Labs 🇺🇸 in a cybersecurity deal.
- LongRange Capital 🇺🇸 acquires Pizza Hut 🇺🇸 for $1.5B, excluding its China unit.
- Brookfield 🇨🇦 sells Multiplex 🇦🇺 for $650M.
- 1Password 🇨🇦 acquires Apono 🇮🇱 to govern in real time what humans, machines and AI agents can access inside company systems.
- Nuvei 🇨🇦 acquires Payoneer Global 🇺🇸 for $2.75B, $7.40 per share in cash. Deal expected to close mid-2027.
- Huaxin Cement 🇨🇳 bids for CSN’s cement unit 🇧🇷. The bid faces resistance from key shareholder Holcim 🇨🇭.
🧳 Private Markets & VC
- 🇬🇧 Fans Without Benefits. Amber Haque exposes how OnlyFans models are routinely exploited by managers who profit from their work while offering little protection. (Co)
- 🇩🇪 Access Denied. After Vantor’s Ukraine data freeze exposed Europe’s reliance on US tech, Rheinmetall and Vantor now promise Germany “sovereign” satellite intelligence in their new joint venture. (Financial Times)
- 🇺🇸 Gemini Man. Noam Shazeer, co-lead of Google’s Gemini AI project, exits to join OpenAI, proving the real AI race is for talent, not just models. (Cnbc)
- 🇺🇸 Maxed Out. Anthropic faces a lawsuit in California from Karl Kahn, who claims its $200 Claude Max AI plans offer less usage than promised. (Thenextweb)
- 🇨🇳 Bond Voyage. China’s central bank introduces a revamped rate system to inject liquidity and lift the bond market, hoping investors come along for the ride. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Cab It Yourself. Mobileye 🇮🇱 will launch its own robotaxi service in a major city in 2027, starting with 100 autonomous vehicles and aiming for 17,000 within five years. (Cnbc)
Fundraising
- Flutterwave 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $3.2B
- Btp Italia Sì 🇮🇹 (Sovereign bonds): €340M
- Cellares 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $327M (Prime Radiant Partners, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Eclipse, T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Duquesne Family Office, Baillie Gifford, Intuitive Ventures, EDBI, Gates Frontier, DC Global Ventures, DFJ Growth, Willett Advisors)
- Odyssey 🇺🇸 (AI): $310M (Natural Capital, Amazon, AMD Ventures, GV, EQT, IQT)
- Atom Computing 🇺🇸 (Quantum): $300M (Third Point Ventures, DCVC, Cisco Investments, U.S. Department of Commerce)
- Principal Mineral 🇺🇸 (Materials): $280M (Overmatch Ventures, The New Industrial Corporation, J2 Ventures, Ensemble VC, Lane42 Investment Partners)
- Sarvam 🇮🇳 (AI): $234M
- Karta 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $140M (Galaxy Ventures, Community Investment Management (CIM), Illuminate, Canary, Clocktower Ventures)
- Hydra Host 🇺🇸 (AI infrastructure): $100M
- Genspark.ai 🇺🇸 (AI): $100M (Sozo Ventures, Korea Mirae Asset, UpHonest Capital, other existing investors)
- Ent (Security): $100M
- Everlab 🇦🇺 (Healthcare): AU$65M
- Triveni Bio 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $65M
- CNTXT AI 🇦🇪 (AI): $60M (AI71, BlueFive Capital)
- Bland 🇺🇸 (Voice AI): $50M (Dell Technologies Capital, HubSpot Ventures, Archerman Capital, Tribeca Venture Partners, Emergence Capital, Upfront Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Y Combinator, Max Levchin, Piotr DÄ bkowski, Jeff Lawson)
- Vedana Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $46M (Westlake BioPartners, Canaan Partners, Dawn Biopharma, Alexandria Venture Investments)
- Conduct 🇬🇧 (AI): £45M
- Convey 🇺🇸 (AI): $38M (Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Pear VC)
- Comand AI 🇫🇷 (Defense): €32M (Blossom Capital, Saab)
- Trace Finance 🇧🇷 (Fintech): $32M (CoinFund, Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Crypto, Valor Capital, Paxos, HOF Capital, Sean Neville, Anatoly Yakovenko, Bam Azizi, Ricardo Villela Marino)
- Undo 🇬🇧 (AI): £27.6m
- Pramaana Labs 🇺🇸 (AI): $27M
- Rejoni, Inc. 🇺🇸 (Medtech): $25M (ClavystBio, Amed Ventures, Ascension Ventures, Catalyst Health Ventures, Delos Capital, FemHealth Ventures, Iyengar Capital, Sparta Group)
- Foundation Alloy 🇺🇸 (Materials): $22M (Voyager Ventures, Trust Ventures, Yamaha Motor Ventures, America’s Frontier Fund, Overlap Holdings, Material Impact, Engine Ventures, El Cap, Kanematsu Corporation)
- NeuralTrust 🇪🇸 (Cybersecurity): $20M (Alstin Capital, VentureFriends, Seaya, Kibo Ventures, Banc Sabadell, EA Ventures Plug and Play Fund, Finaves)
- Limitless Labs 🇺🇸 (Manufacturing): $20M (Dell Technologies Capital, Square Peg)
- Aston Power 🇺🇸 (Energy): $20M (TDK Ventures, Building Ventures)
- Orbio 🇪🇸 (AI): €18.09M (Dawn Capital, Visionaries)
- Monument Technology 🇬🇧 (Fintech): £18M
- Flagright 🇮🇳 (Regtech): $12.5M (Infinity Ventures, Sella Bank)
- Katalyst Space 🇺🇸 (Space): $12M
- Clair Health 🇺🇸 (Femtech): $11.6M (Khosla Ventures, a16z speedrun, Brydge Club, Treehub, Cartan Capital, AGI House, Insiders VC, Anne Wojcicki, Stephanie Coleman)
- Rainbow Crops 🇧🇪 (Agritech): €9.7M (LIFTT, LIFTT EuroInvest, Agri Investment Fund (AIF), PINC, VIB, Corteva (Corteva Catalyst), Maia Ventures)
- Probably 🇺🇸 (AI): $9M (a16z)
- LIGHTBRINGER 🇫🇷 (Legaltech): €8.6M
- Green-Got 🇫🇷 (Fintech): €8M
- Icarus Medical (Healthcare): $7.2M
- Gate2Brain 🇪🇸 (Biotech): €7M
- HighGround 🇺🇸 (Defense): $6.5M (Next Frontier Capital, Tandem Ventures, Fulcrum Capital, Context Ventures)
- Kimba 🇺🇸 (Sleep): $6.5M
- HeyMilo AI 🇺🇸 (Recruiting): $6M (Category Ventures, Canaan Partners, Alumni Ventures, ERA)
- Clario 🇺🇸 (Data management): $6M (Preface Ventures, Foster Ventures, Golden Sparrow, High Sage Ventures, Moment Ventures, Mentors Fund, Page One Ventures, Rain Capital, Ridge Ventures, Transform VC, Michael Callahan, Baris Aksoy)
- CollimateHealth 🇩🇪 (Medtech): €6M (VP Venture Partners, Positron, XISTA Science Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), caesar)
- Tenet Security 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $6M (The Westly Group, MizMaa Ventures)
- Sloneek 🇨🇿 (HR): $6M (€5.18M) (Orbit Capital, Venture to Future Fund)
- eMabler 🇳🇴 (Mobility): €5.5M
- ETKLIPY 🇺🇸 (AI media): $3.8M
- TRAK 🇪🇸 (Healthtech): €3.7M (CRB Health Tech, Angels, Decelera)
- Qorelo 🇩🇪 (AI): $3.5M (HPI Ventures, Caesar Ventures, 10x Founders, Antler, Adesso Ventures, several Angel-Investors)
- CardNexus 🇫🇷 (Collectibles): €3.5M (Piton Capital, Motier Ventures, Financière St James, OPRTRS, Kima Ventures, Aquiti Gestion, F4, a group of business angels and TCG content creators)
- Intellectible 🇺🇸 (Enterprise software): $3M (Bread & Butter Ventures, Victorum Capital, Gray Ventures, Circadian Ventures, Allied VC, High Street Equity Partners, Adam Burgoon)
- Soource 🇮🇹 (Procurement): €3M
- Tonada 🇸🇪 (AI audio): €2.6M (Antler, Spintop Ventures, RTP Global, Triple A VC, Karaoke Club)
- OffPlan 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $2.5M
- NexDash 🇩🇪 (Logistics): €2.5M
- OurMind 🇳🇱 (Healthcare): €2.1M (4impact Capital, Invest-NL, European Union, general practitioners, specialists)
- PDKINEMATICS 🇱🇹 (Defense): €2M (Coinvest Capital, Iron Wolf Capital)
Fund Watch
- D.E. Shaw 🇺🇸: $5B (Lithic, hedge fund. Closed to new cash after $5B AUM)
- Frontier (Stripe-led) 🇺🇸: $915M
- Stone Point Capital 🇺🇸: $610M
- Ardian 🇫🇷: Undisclosed (BuyOut VIII. Buyout fund for companies valued €400M–€2B. First closing)
- Kos Biotechnology Partners 🇬🇷: $123M (first global fund, life sciences VC)
- Weinberg Capital 🇫🇷: €120M (WCP Eiréné Développement, LBO small-cap et capital‑développement pour la base industrielle et technologique de défense)
- Catalyst România 🇷🇴: €100M (new PNRR-backed VC fund, early-growth/expansion. Up to €8M/company)
- Anterra Capital 🇳🇱: $100M (3rd fund, sustainable VC for food & agriculture)
- Thena Capital 🇬🇧: $60.4M (first fund, UK early-stage medtech. First all-female GP team)
- Andalusian Government 🇪🇸: €10M (co-investment fund for tech startups. Launching Tandem scaleup hub in Seville)
- Varangians 🇸🇪: €10M (Varangians, Ukraine-focused DefenceTech fund)
- Wave Ventures 🇪🇪: €10M (3rd fund, early-stage Nordics & Baltics, equity-free grants)
- EXANTE 🇲🇹: €1M (Gecko Fund, grant programme for critical open-source trading and data infrastructure)
- Andreas Flodström 🇸🇪: 100M SEK (Varangian fund, closed at >100M SEK)
- RockawayQ 🇨🇿: CZK500M (new industrial‑tech fund. Initial CZK500M from Havrlant & Otava, targeting CZK2B+)
- Serengeti Asset Management 🇺🇸: first close (Big Cat Private Stock Finance Fund, private stock-finance fund lending against shares of late-stage growth companies. Amount not disclosed)
- Blackstone 🇺🇸: TBD (SablePointe Credit Strategies, new ABF credit platform)
🔔IPO
- Kriptown 🇸🇪 (Market infrastructure): launches a friendly takeover bid for Spotlight Group, operator of Spotlight Stock Market, to create a pan‑European, tokenised market operator.
- Kardigan 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $400M in an upsized IPO.
- MMG 🇭🇰 (Mining): seeking to raise $1.6B via a share placement and convertible bond sale.
- Merdeka Gold Resources 🇮🇩 (Gold mining): planning a Hong Kong listing to raise about $300M with backing from Glencore, Mercuria and Trafigura.
- Mynt (Globe Fintech) 🇵🇭 (Fintech): board and shareholders approved a potential jumbo IPO that could be the Philippines’ largest, size undisclosed.
- NSE 🇮🇳 (Exchange): preparing an IPO that could become India’s largest ever, boosting a cooling market and paving the way for other mega listings.
- Manipal Hospitals 🇮🇳 (Healthcare): planning a $1B India IPO as soon as July.
- UzNIF 🇺🇿 (Sovereign wealth): preparing to IPO Uzbekistan Airways, amount not disclosed.
🧳 Debt
- Air France-KLM 🇫🇷: signed a €1B multi-purpose credit facility with 12 banks, maturing June 2028 (1‑yr extension option).
- Openchip 🇪🇸: received a €10M loan from Catalonia’s government to advance its microprocessor R&D.
- Solar Foods 🇫🇮: secured €77.8M in grant and loan financing for its Factory 02 expansion.
- STMicroelectronics 🇨🇭: seeking to raise $1.5B in a bond sale.
- Long Lake Management 🇺🇸: marketing $2.5B debt package to back its $6.3B acquisition of Amex GBT.
- Phoenix Tailings 🇺🇸: received a $500M loan from the.
- Vanderbilt University 🇺🇸: plans to sell $430M of munis.
- REM 🇨🇦: raised $1.3B in a bond sale.
- Argentine 🇦🇷: a obtenu la garantie de la Banque mondiale pour emprunter 2B$.
- Philippines 🇵🇭: raised $2.5B in its second international bond sale of 2026.
- JSW Realty 🇮🇳: advanced talks to raise a $170M loan from shadow lender Tata Capital.
❌ Failures
- Thames Water 🇬🇧: struggling utility moved closer to temporary nationalization after creditors’ rescue deal was deemed « insufficient. »
- Duralex 🇫🇷: placed in redressement judiciaire and facing a cession plan after a 9.3M€ rescue (including real estate) failed to restore its viability.
- Ubisoft Barcelona 🇫🇷: announced a restructuring cutting 51 jobs (~28% of its staff).
- PayPal 🇺🇸: is reportedly shutting down its corporate venture arm, which had invested $850M into more than 80 companies.
- Brightline 🇺🇸: struck a deal with creditors holding $985M of municipal bonds to extend a debt payment due Monday.
- Ares 🇺🇸: Ares and businesswoman Michele Kang are close to a deal to take control of French club Olympique Lyonnais from John Textor’s Eagle Football.
- Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance 🇺🇸: will liquidate assets, dissolve the company, and return capital to investors after selling its CRE loan portfolio in April.
- Pudgy Party 🇺🇸: fermé moins d’un an après son lancement, le jeu NFT a mis la clé sous la porte faute de joueurs.
🎯 For a Few More Minutes…
- 🇪🇸 Flight Risk. Former Spanish PM José Luis Zapatero is questioned by a judge over alleged irregularities in a €53M airline bailout, with the investigation tracing back to insider trading flagged in France. (Le Monde)
- 🇳🇱 Fur Real? A Dutch study reveals that cuddling your cat may lift daily spirits, but it does not calm you down in a crisis. (Der Standard)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Proto-Henge. A newly discovered 5,000-year-old wooden post structure near Stonehenge suggests prehistoric Britons were already sun-watching long before the stones arrived. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Leaf Me Alone. Experts confirm the Major Oak of Sherwood Forest, famed as Robin Hood’s legendary hideout, has died after 1,200 years of standing watch. (BBC)
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