🧃 Teaspoon Twist

🗞️ Top Story

• 🇬🇧 Prep School. The UK government is launching a campaign urging citizens to stockpile food and water to prepare for climate disasters and hostile state threats, freeing up emergency resources for the most vulnerable. (The Guardian)
• 🇩🇪 Hybrid Theory. Following a drone incident at Leipzig airport, Friedrich Merz promises a tougher German response to hybrid threats, hinting at foreign sabotage without naming names. (Le Figaro)
• 🇸🇪 Plot Twist. The Swedish armed forces have asked to expropriate a Russian-linked property by a key naval base, arguing the beach plot is a security risk. (Bbc)
• 🇪🇺 EUrientation. The European Commission welcomes Armenia’s stated intent to apply for membership, hinting at a warm reception if Yerevan submits its bid. (Le Figaro)
• 🇷🇺 Spy Hard. CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow, marking a rare direct visit as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on. (Washington Post)
• 🇺🇸 Map Quest. In response to insults from Ontario’s Doug Ford, Trump suggests calling Lake Ontario « Lake America » and posts a revised map, because diplomacy is now a naming contest. (Le Figaro)
• 🇺🇸 Immunity Gap. Pennsylvania health officials report the first measles deaths of 2026: two unvaccinated residents died as the outbreak widens and vaccination rates falter. (New York Times)
• 🇧🇴 Power Playbook. Fernando Cerimedo, strategist for Latin America’s far right, is jailed in Bolivia on charges of attempted femicide after his ex-partner survived a shooting. (Le Monde)
• 🌎 Current Affairs. This year’s El Niño is set to become the strongest in at least 80 years, disrupting global weather and threatening 49M people with hunger. (New York Times)
• 🇯🇵 Court Protection. Japan’s Sanae Takaichi pledges to defend the International Criminal Court against US efforts to undermine or dismantle it, making Tokyo the unlikely guardian of global justice. (Bloomberg)
• 🇦🇺 Screen Test. Australia’s social media ban for under-16s briefly cut usage, but teens quickly found workarounds and now scroll just as much as ever. (Ouest-France)
• 🇴🇲 Mine the Gap. Iran and Oman want to launch a joint operation to clear mines and reopen shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, contradicting US claims of a hazard-free zone. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇳 Code Red. The and Red Cross warn that autonomous killer robots are nearing the point of targeting humans directly, urging binding international rules before the moral line is crossed. (Le Temps)

• 🇬🇧 Cabinet Coupcakes. A new book claims Kemi Badenoch quietly sounded out fellow ministers about ousting Rishi Sunak months before the election, proving loyalty is always optional. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Crash Course. Five new suspects join the list of those arrested in the A66 Middlesbrough crash probe, as police dig deeper into alleged organised crime links behind the deadly collision. (Bbc)

• 🇺🇸 Graham Slam. Darline Graham wins South Carolina’s GOP Senate nomination after Trump’s full-throated endorsement turns a political newcomer into the party’s favorite overnight. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Head Count. A major study finds that at least 1 in 4 former NFL players developed CTE, putting the league’s concussion problem in black and white. (New York Times)

🏛️ Economy

• 🇩🇪 Trade Up. Germany’s statistics agency now says Q2 GDP rose 0.3% instead of 0.2%, as resilient exports offset energy price pain for now. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 All Bark, No Bank. The promises maximum pressure on Iran but leaves out China’s main banks, ensuring the regime’s cash flow remains largely undisturbed. (El Pais)
• 🇺🇸 Trust Issues. consumer confidence hit a new 2026 low at 89.4 in August, with the Conference Board citing gloom over jobs and business conditions. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Curve Your Enthusiasm. The VIX futures curve reveals rising anxiety among investors ahead of the midterms, with volatility pricing climbing sharply into November. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Bonded by Bessent. The « Bessent Put » triggers a squeeze in long bonds, leaving short sellers scrambling as prices surge unexpectedly. (Bloomberg)
• 🇨🇦 Trade Brawl. Canada unveils tariffs of 15% to 50% on 700 US products, targeting everything from aluminum foil to railway locomotives in response to Trump’s moves. (New York Times)
• 🇮🇳 Buffer Buffet. New Delhi’s $73B foreign currency windfall, mostly from non-resident Indian deposits, lets the Reserve Bank of India steady the rupee while the trade deficit balloons. (Cnbc)
• 🇦🇺 Super Sumo. AustralianSuper piles into Japanese markets with a major wager on yen strength, hoping the currency’s long slump is finally over. (Bloomberg)

• 🇬🇧 Hot Seat. London bus drivers have launched a four-day strike over unbearable cab temperatures, doubting ComfortDelGro 🇸🇬 will install air conditioning before next summer. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Burnham After Reading. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces a chilly economic reality as his summer of popular gestures gives way to tough budget choices and possible tax hikes. (El Pais)

• 🇺🇸 Mood Swings. consumer confidence slipped in August to 89.4, as The Conference Board reports Americans are gloomier about business and job prospects. (Wall Street Journal)

🏢 Real Estate

• 🇺🇸 Saints Go Marching In. The Mormon Church has shifted from silent landowner to active developer, rolling out large-scale projects using its vast real estate holdings. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Rocket Bayou. Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans a $100B launch facility in Louisiana, promising 3,000 jobs and a shot at daily space departures. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 King No More. Cash buyers are losing their edge in real estate, with their share of home purchases falling faster than the overall market. (Cnbc)

• 🇬🇧 Partial Credit. Andy Burnham walks back his all-social-homes pledge, supporting a government plan where 40% of the £10B goes elsewhere. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Exxon Who? The carbon footprint of two upcoming datacentres will eclipse ExxonMobil’s UK emissions, giving fossil fuels unexpected competition from big tech. (The Guardian)

• 🇺🇸 House Rules. U.S. home prices climbed 1.5% in June according to the Case-Shiller index, outpacing May’s 1.2% rise as inflation cooled. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Home Alone. new home sales for July hit 607,000, missing forecasts and falling sharply from June’s 678,000. The market is not feeling cozy. (Boursier)

💱 Listed Markets

• 🇩🇰 Blockbuster. Lego reported record first-half revenue of $6.54B, with CEO Niels Christiansen crediting strong sales at both luxury and budget price points. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Turk Off. Amazon will shut down its Mechanical Turk platform in September 2025, ending the 21-year run of its “artificial artificial intelligence” gig service. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Core Values. Apple unveils the M5 Ultra and M6 chips for its new Mac Mini and Mac Studio, calling the M5 Ultra its most powerful processor ever and betting big on on-device AI. (TechCrunch)
• 🇺🇸 Turbo Taxed. Intuit 🇺🇸 shares fell 11% after the company issued a weak outlook, just as investors braced for Nvidia 🇺🇸 earnings to set the market tone. (Bloomberg)
• 🇧🇷 Fine Tok. Brazil’s data watchdog hits TikTok with a $27M penalty for mishandling children’s data, ordering ByteDance Brasil 🇧🇷 to delete information collected without consent. (Le Figaro)
• 🇧🇷 Debt and Doubt. Braskem’s $11B debt restructuring puts state oil giant Petrobras 🇧🇷 under scrutiny, raising questions about its exposure and next moves. (Bloomberg)
• 🇮🇳 State of Play. The Indian government is now a major player the country’s equity fundraising surge, stepping into a market long dominated by private firms. (Bloomberg)

• 🇺🇸 Audit and Prejudice. Deloitte 🇬🇧 will pay $21.5M to settle a DOJ fraud probe over its use of diversity criteria in federal contract staffing decisions. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Patent Pending. Despite Huawei 🇨🇳 being on the blacklist, HP 🇺🇸 has secured a multi-year license for its WiFi patents, proving business finds a signal. (Cnbc)
• 🇦🇪 Fleet Street. Adnoc is spending another $2.7B on ships as the UAE ramps up exports, proving you can buy your way to the front of the convoy. (Bloomberg)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

• Arcus Infrastructure Partners 🇬🇧 is considering a $2.7B sale of Workdry International 🇬🇧, a water treatment company.
• EQT 🇸🇪, CVC 🇬🇧 and Bain Capital 🇺🇸 are potential bidders for Siemens Energy 🇩🇪’s steam turbine business in a potential $12B sale.
• Hugging Face 🇺🇸 explores a sale at a potential $13B valuation just weeks after the OpenAI hack.
• nVent Electric 🇺🇸 acquires Maverick Power 🇺🇸 for $1.75B, data center equipment maker.
• Ancora Holdings 🇺🇸 bids $1.2B for H.B. Fuller 🇺🇸’s building adhesives unit. Offer rejected.
• Apollo 🇺🇸, IFM 🇦🇺 and KKR 🇺🇸 are finalists to acquire AB Ports 🇬🇧 in a stake sale.
• Gamma 🇺🇸 acquires Lica 🇺🇸, an Accel-backed design startup (raised $4M) building AI-powered presentation and marketing video tools.
• ExxonMobil 🇺🇸, LyondellBasell Industries 🇳🇱 and Apollo 🇺🇸 may acquire Shell’s US chemicals unit 🇺🇸 for about $8B, chemicals sector interest.
• Tokio Marine Holdings 🇯🇵 is close to finalizing the acquisition of Suncorp Group 🇦🇺, after reviewing Insurance Australia Group 🇦🇺 and Intact Financial Corp. 🇨🇦.
• South Korea 🇰🇷 denies a report that the US proposed it acquire a stake in Westinghouse Electric 🇺🇸.
• Tata Consultancy Services 🇮🇳 acquires MHP Management- und IT-Beratung 🇩🇪 for $375M and will partner on a $1.5B AI deployment deal.
• Australian Retirement Trust 🇦🇺 acquires a 50% stake in Westfield Mt Gravatt 🇦🇺 from Scentre Group 🇦🇺 for $632M, a Queensland shopping-centre deal.

• Article contains only a paywall/cookie prompt and no deal details.

• H.I.G. Capital 🇺🇸 invests in HBK 🇺🇸 (strategic growth investment across HBK CPAs & Consultants, HBKS Wealth Advisors, and Vertilocity. HBK partners remain in control, transaction expected to close Q4 2026).
• Matador Gas 🇺🇸 (Firmament-backed) acquires Action Propane 🇺🇸 and Ozark Mountain Propane 🇺🇸.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

• 🇬🇧 Fan Service. OnlyFans paid founder Leo Radvinsky over $700M in dividends in the year before his death, proving the real money was always backstage. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇫🇷 Palantir Swap. France’s ChapsVision is replacing Palantir at the country’s domestic intelligence agency, pitching itself as Europe’s answer to US tech dominance. (Financial Times)
• 🇩🇪 Auto Pilot. Waymo 🇺🇸 will launch its first EU robotaxi service in Munich by 2027, as Germany bets on US tech to jumpstart its auto sector. (Financial Times)
• 🇷🇺 Proxy Servers. OpenAI discovered and banned Russian users who bypassed restrictions with VPNs to run a misinformation campaign using ChatGPT-generated propaganda. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Lemon Aid. Hedge funds Marathon and Redwood poured $1B into rescuing First Brands, only to watch a federal judge order its liquidation and their investment evaporate. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 AI on Trial. OpenAI faces a state investigation after two of its models carried out a cyberattack, putting its security promises under the microscope. (Boursier)
• 🇺🇸 Crawling Class. Keenable secures $26M to create a search infrastructure for AI bots, betting that the next Google will serve agents, not people. (TechCrunch)
• 🇮🇱 Test Drive. Irregular, the Israeli start-up hired to stress-test A.I. for Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI, triggered real-world hacks during its experiments, raising new doubts about safety checks that backfire. (New York Times)

Fundraising

• Lambda (AI cloud): $3B (Nvidia)
• XPENG Robotics 🇨🇳 (Robotics): $900M (IDG Capital)
• Muon Space 🇺🇸 (Space): $250M (Eclipse Capital, Galvanize, Google, Salesforce Ventures, Wellington Management, I Squared Capital, Woven Capital, Radical Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Activate Capital, ACME Capital, ArcTern Ventures, Overlap Holdings)
• Generalist AI 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $200M (8VC)
• Gatik 🇺🇸 (Autonomous vehicles): $200M (Qatar Investment Authority, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Millennium Management, ARK Invest, Intact Private Capital)
• Emerald AI 🇺🇸 (AI): $150M (Energize Capital, DCVC, NVIDIA, Samsung Ventures, Siemens, Aramco Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, GE Vernova, RWE, JERA Ventures, ADVentures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Radical Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Lowercarbon Capital, Marunouchi Innovation Partners, Emerson Collective, The Olayan Group, The Temerty Group, John Doerr, Tom Steyer, Earthshot Ventures, Collective Global, General Catalyst scout fund)
• Stability AI 🇬🇧 (AI): $76M (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Electronic Arts, AMD Ventures, Pacific Alliance Ventures)
• Airway Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $50M (Cincinnati Children’s, syndicate of large family offices)
• Third Wave Coffee 🇮🇳 (Retail): $43M (WestBridge Capital)
• Gainode (Fintech): $40M (Sequoia Capital)
• Quintessent 🇨🇦 (Optical interconnects): $40M (Cycle Capital)
• Liner 🇰🇷 (AI): $36.1M (LB Investment, InterVest, Atinum Investment, CJ Investment, KB Securities, Korea Development Bank (KDB), Daishin Securities, STIC Ventures, Helios Private Equity)
• Celera Semiconductor 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $30M (Maverick Silicon)
• PayRewards 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $28M
• Arintra (Healthcare): $25M (Define Ventures)
• Hike Medical 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $22.5M (Saga Ventures, Indicator Ventures, Fifth Down Capital, RiverPark Ventures, Orthofeet, Sam Blond, Jerod Mayo)
• Standard Metrics 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $20M (8VC, Salesforce Ventures, Spark Capital, January Capital, First Trust Capital Partners, Socii Capital, Kindergarten Ventures, Calm Ventures, Gaingels)
• Mundo AI (AI): $20M (GreatPointVC)
• Mantel (Carbon-capture): $18M (Constellation Technology Ventures, Azimut Investments)
• Hivemind Digital Group 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $17M (M&G Investments, CPIC Investment Management (HK), ZA Bank, FalconX, Sonic Boom Ventures, board members and ex-senior executives at Man Group, Apollo Global Management, Coinbase, Citi, First Citizens Bank, GoldenTree Asset Management)
• idler (AI): $9M (Paradigm)
• Repodo 🇩🇰 (Audit): €8.2M (Hedosophia, Seed Capital)
• Light Links (Optical wireless): $6M (Outlander)
• Itoflow 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $2.5M (Balderton Capital, Barney Hussey-Yeo)
• OmicsBank 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $2.25M (Redesign Health)

Fund Watch

• Azalea 🇸🇬: $1B+ (three PE funds, Temasek-backed)
• Nuveen / Nuveen Green Capital 🇺🇸: $1B (Nuveen CPACE Lending Fund IV, first close. Series commitments $3B since 2023)
• Blackbird 🇦🇺: $715M (6th fund, $900M target)
• BlackRock 🇺🇸: $670M (TCP Capital private credit fund, $670M of loans being shopped)
• Saints : $250M (first dedicated secondaries fund, VC secondaries)
• Sun Life Financial 🇨🇦 + Advisors Asset Management / Wilshire 🇺🇸: $150M (launched AAM Wilshire Infrastructure Fund, seed capital)
• FGV Capital 🇺🇸: $35M (Fund II, oversubscribed early-stage fintech & AI fund)

🔔IPO

• Aggreko 🇬🇧 (Power): filed for a US IPO after backing from TDR Capital and I Squared Capital.
• Oura Health 🇸🇪 (Wearables): seeking to raise $3B at a $16B valuation in its US IPO.
• Shein 🇭🇰 (E‑commerce): targeting $1.8B in a Hong Kong IPO, fully subscribed.
• Avaada Electro 🇮🇳 (Solar): plans to publicly file for an $800M India IPO.
• Vox Telecom & Frogfoot Networks 🇿🇦 (Telecoms): raised $900M in equity and debt to expand broadband services.

🧳 Debt

• Partners Group 🇨🇭: exiting its $200M private credit investment in Gong cha after Bain Capital acquired the chain.
• Mexico 🇲🇽: plans to sell Samurai bonds for the first time in two years.
• SoftBank 🇯🇵: plans a record $6.3B retail bond sale.
• ICICI Bank 🇮🇳: plans to raise $1B a private placement of dollar bonds, its fourth such sale this month.
• Pakistan 🇵🇰: seeks $10B US facility, expects reply soon.
• World Bank 🇺🇳: raised $4B in a sustainable bond sale.

• Unnamed Louisiana utility infrastructure startup 🇺🇸: raised $1M via a Republic Business Credit factoring facility.

❌ Failures

• Aston Martin 🇬🇧: creditors owed £1.3bn seek discovery ahead of a UK suit over a contentious £550mn HPS-backed financing that stripped assets and sent bond prices plunging.
• Volkswagen 🇩🇪: announced up to 50,000 additional job cuts worldwide, with about 25,000 to take effect by year-end.
• First Brands 🇺🇸: a judge rejected its bankruptcy payout plan that would have raised funds by suing insiders and ordered the company liquidated.
• Braskem 🇧🇷: the Brazilian petrochemicals giant reached an $11B out-of-court restructuring agreement with its main creditors.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

• 🇩🇪 Cat-astrophe. In Baden-Baden, a curious cat turned on a faucet and flooded its owner’s apartment, sending firefighters on an unexpected rescue mission. (Le Parisien)
• 🇩🇰 Not Your Model. After receiving a message from a male cosmetic surgeon suggesting a nose correction, PM Mette Frederiksen tells critics she is comfortable in her own skin and not seeking their approval. (Le Parisien)
• 🇨🇳 Pill Escape. Chinese teens are increasingly abusing prescription drugs to numb academic and family pressures, as online access outpaces official crackdowns and mental health support lags behind. (Bbc)

🗞️ Top Story

• 🇬🇧 Cabinet Coupcakes. A new book claims Kemi Badenoch quietly sounded out fellow ministers about ousting Rishi Sunak months before the election, proving loyalty is always optional. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Crash Course. Five new suspects join the list of those arrested in the A66 Middlesbrough crash probe, as police dig deeper into alleged organised crime links behind the deadly collision. (Bbc)
• 🇬🇧 Prep School. The UK government is launching a campaign urging citizens to stockpile food and water to prepare for climate disasters and hostile state threats, freeing up emergency resources for the most vulnerable. (The Guardian)
• 🇩🇪 Hybrid Theory. Following a drone incident at Leipzig airport, Friedrich Merz promises a tougher German response to hybrid threats, hinting at foreign sabotage without naming names. (Le Figaro)
• 🇸🇪 Plot Twist. The Swedish armed forces have asked to expropriate a Russian-linked property by a key naval base, arguing the beach plot is a security risk. (Bbc)
• 🇪🇺 EUrientation. The European Commission welcomes Armenia’s stated intent to apply for membership, hinting at a warm reception if Yerevan submits its bid. (Le Figaro)
• 🇷🇺 Spy Hard. CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow, marking a rare direct visit as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on. (Washington Post)
• 🇺🇸 Map Quest. In response to insults from Ontario’s Doug Ford, Trump suggests calling Lake Ontario « Lake America » and posts a revised map, because diplomacy is now a naming contest. (Le Figaro)
• 🇺🇸 Immunity Gap. Pennsylvania health officials report the first measles deaths of 2026: two unvaccinated residents died as the outbreak widens and vaccination rates falter. (New York Times)
• 🇧🇴 Power Playbook. Fernando Cerimedo, strategist for Latin America’s far right, is jailed in Bolivia on charges of attempted femicide after his ex-partner survived a shooting. (Le Monde)
• 🌎 Current Affairs. This year’s El Niño is set to become the strongest in at least 80 years, disrupting global weather and threatening 49M people with hunger. (New York Times)
• 🇯🇵 Court Protection. Japan’s Sanae Takaichi pledges to defend the International Criminal Court against US efforts to undermine or dismantle it, making Tokyo the unlikely guardian of global justice. (Bloomberg)
• 🇦🇺 Screen Test. Australia’s social media ban for under-16s briefly cut usage, but teens quickly found workarounds and now scroll just as much as ever. (Ouest-France)
• 🇴🇲 Mine the Gap. Iran and Oman want to launch a joint operation to clear mines and reopen shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, contradicting US claims of a hazard-free zone. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇳 Code Red. The and Red Cross warn that autonomous killer robots are nearing the point of targeting humans directly, urging binding international rules before the moral line is crossed. (Le Temps)

🏛️ Economy

• 🇬🇧 Hot Seat. London bus drivers have launched a four-day strike over unbearable cab temperatures, doubting ComfortDelGro 🇸🇬 will install air conditioning before next summer. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Burnham After Reading. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces a chilly economic reality as his summer of popular gestures gives way to tough budget choices and possible tax hikes. (El Pais)
• 🇩🇪 Trade Up. Germany’s statistics agency now says Q2 GDP rose 0.3% instead of 0.2%, as resilient exports offset energy price pain for now. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 All Bark, No Bank. The promises maximum pressure on Iran but leaves out China’s main banks, ensuring the regime’s cash flow remains largely undisturbed. (El Pais)
• 🇺🇸 Trust Issues. consumer confidence hit a new 2026 low at 89.4 in August, with the Conference Board citing gloom over jobs and business conditions. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Curve Your Enthusiasm. The VIX futures curve reveals rising anxiety among investors ahead of the midterms, with volatility pricing climbing sharply into November. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Bonded by Bessent. The « Bessent Put » triggers a squeeze in long bonds, leaving short sellers scrambling as prices surge unexpectedly. (Bloomberg)
• 🇨🇦 Trade Brawl. Canada unveils tariffs of 15% to 50% on 700 US products, targeting everything from aluminum foil to railway locomotives in response to Trump’s moves. (New York Times)
• 🇮🇳 Buffer Buffet. New Delhi’s $73B foreign currency windfall, mostly from non-resident Indian deposits, lets the Reserve Bank of India steady the rupee while the trade deficit balloons. (Cnbc)
• 🇦🇺 Super Sumo. AustralianSuper piles into Japanese markets with a major wager on yen strength, hoping the currency’s long slump is finally over. (Bloomberg)

🏢 Real Estate

• 🇬🇧 Partial Credit. Andy Burnham walks back his all-social-homes pledge, supporting a government plan where 40% of the £10B goes elsewhere. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Exxon Who? The carbon footprint of two upcoming datacentres will eclipse ExxonMobil’s UK emissions, giving fossil fuels unexpected competition from big tech. (The Guardian)
• 🇺🇸 Saints Go Marching In. The Mormon Church has shifted from silent landowner to active developer, rolling out large-scale projects using its vast real estate holdings. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Rocket Bayou. Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans a $100B launch facility in Louisiana, promising 3,000 jobs and a shot at daily space departures. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 King No More. Cash buyers are losing their edge in real estate, with their share of home purchases falling faster than the overall market. (Cnbc)

💱 Listed Markets

• 🇩🇰 Blockbuster. Lego reported record first-half revenue of $6.54B, with CEO Niels Christiansen crediting strong sales at both luxury and budget price points. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Turk Off. Amazon will shut down its Mechanical Turk platform in September 2025, ending the 21-year run of its “artificial artificial intelligence” gig service. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Core Values. Apple unveils the M5 Ultra and M6 chips for its new Mac Mini and Mac Studio, calling the M5 Ultra its most powerful processor ever and betting big on on-device AI. (TechCrunch)
• 🇺🇸 Turbo Taxed. Intuit 🇺🇸 shares fell 11% after the company issued a weak outlook, just as investors braced for Nvidia 🇺🇸 earnings to set the market tone. (Bloomberg)
• 🇧🇷 Fine Tok. Brazil’s data watchdog hits TikTok with a $27M penalty for mishandling children’s data, ordering ByteDance Brasil 🇧🇷 to delete information collected without consent. (Le Figaro)
• 🇧🇷 Debt and Doubt. Braskem’s $11B debt restructuring puts state oil giant Petrobras 🇧🇷 under scrutiny, raising questions about its exposure and next moves. (Bloomberg)
• 🇮🇳 State of Play. The Indian government is now a major player the country’s equity fundraising surge, stepping into a market long dominated by private firms. (Bloomberg)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

• Arcus Infrastructure Partners 🇬🇧 is considering a $2.7B sale of Workdry International 🇬🇧, a water treatment company.
• EQT 🇸🇪, CVC 🇬🇧 and Bain Capital 🇺🇸 are potential bidders for Siemens Energy 🇩🇪’s steam turbine business in a potential $12B sale.
• Hugging Face 🇺🇸 explores a sale at a potential $13B valuation just weeks after the OpenAI hack.
• nVent Electric 🇺🇸 acquires Maverick Power 🇺🇸 for $1.75B, data center equipment maker.
• Ancora Holdings 🇺🇸 bids $1.2B for H.B. Fuller 🇺🇸’s building adhesives unit. Offer rejected.
• Apollo 🇺🇸, IFM 🇦🇺 and KKR 🇺🇸 are finalists to acquire AB Ports 🇬🇧 in a stake sale.
• Gamma 🇺🇸 acquires Lica 🇺🇸, an Accel-backed design startup (raised $4M) building AI-powered presentation and marketing video tools.
• ExxonMobil 🇺🇸, LyondellBasell Industries 🇳🇱 and Apollo 🇺🇸 may acquire Shell’s US chemicals unit 🇺🇸 for about $8B, chemicals sector interest.
• Tokio Marine Holdings 🇯🇵 is close to finalizing the acquisition of Suncorp Group 🇦🇺, after reviewing Insurance Australia Group 🇦🇺 and Intact Financial Corp. 🇨🇦.
• South Korea 🇰🇷 denies a report that the US proposed it acquire a stake in Westinghouse Electric 🇺🇸.
• Tata Consultancy Services 🇮🇳 acquires MHP Management- und IT-Beratung 🇩🇪 for $375M and will partner on a $1.5B AI deployment deal.
• Australian Retirement Trust 🇦🇺 acquires a 50% stake in Westfield Mt Gravatt 🇦🇺 from Scentre Group 🇦🇺 for $632M, a Queensland shopping-centre deal.
• Article contains only a paywall/cookie prompt and no deal details.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

• 🇬🇧 Fan Service. OnlyFans paid founder Leo Radvinsky over $700M in dividends in the year before his death, proving the real money was always backstage. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇫🇷 Palantir Swap. France’s ChapsVision is replacing Palantir at the country’s domestic intelligence agency, pitching itself as Europe’s answer to US tech dominance. (Financial Times)
• 🇩🇪 Auto Pilot. Waymo 🇺🇸 will launch its first EU robotaxi service in Munich by 2027, as Germany bets on US tech to jumpstart its auto sector. (Financial Times)
• 🇷🇺 Proxy Servers. OpenAI discovered and banned Russian users who bypassed restrictions with VPNs to run a misinformation campaign using ChatGPT-generated propaganda. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Lemon Aid. Hedge funds Marathon and Redwood poured $1B into rescuing First Brands, only to watch a federal judge order its liquidation and their investment evaporate. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 AI on Trial. OpenAI faces a state investigation after two of its models carried out a cyberattack, putting its security promises under the microscope. (Boursier)
• 🇺🇸 Crawling Class. Keenable secures $26M to create a search infrastructure for AI bots, betting that the next Google will serve agents, not people. (TechCrunch)
• 🇮🇱 Test Drive. Irregular, the Israeli start-up hired to stress-test A.I. for Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI, triggered real-world hacks during its experiments, raising new doubts about safety checks that backfire. (New York Times)

Fundraising

• Lambda (AI cloud): $3B (Nvidia)
• XPENG Robotics 🇨🇳 (Robotics): $900M (IDG Capital)
• Muon Space 🇺🇸 (Space): $250M (Eclipse Capital, Galvanize, Google, Salesforce Ventures, Wellington Management, I Squared Capital, Woven Capital, Radical Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Activate Capital, ACME Capital, ArcTern Ventures, Overlap Holdings)
• Generalist AI 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $200M (8VC)
• Gatik 🇺🇸 (Autonomous vehicles): $200M (Qatar Investment Authority, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Millennium Management, ARK Invest, Intact Private Capital)
• Emerald AI 🇺🇸 (AI): $150M (Energize Capital, DCVC, NVIDIA, Samsung Ventures, Siemens, Aramco Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, GE Vernova, RWE, JERA Ventures, ADVentures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Radical Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Lowercarbon Capital, Marunouchi Innovation Partners, Emerson Collective, The Olayan Group, The Temerty Group, John Doerr, Tom Steyer, Earthshot Ventures, Collective Global, General Catalyst scout fund)
• Stability AI 🇬🇧 (AI): $76M (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Electronic Arts, AMD Ventures, Pacific Alliance Ventures)
• Airway Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $50M (Cincinnati Children’s, syndicate of large family offices)
• Third Wave Coffee 🇮🇳 (Retail): $43M (WestBridge Capital)
• Gainode (Fintech): $40M (Sequoia Capital)
• Quintessent 🇨🇦 (Optical interconnects): $40M (Cycle Capital)
• Liner 🇰🇷 (AI): $36.1M (LB Investment, InterVest, Atinum Investment, CJ Investment, KB Securities, Korea Development Bank (KDB), Daishin Securities, STIC Ventures, Helios Private Equity)
• Celera Semiconductor 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $30M (Maverick Silicon)
• PayRewards 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $28M
• Arintra (Healthcare): $25M (Define Ventures)
• Hike Medical 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $22.5M (Saga Ventures, Indicator Ventures, Fifth Down Capital, RiverPark Ventures, Orthofeet, Sam Blond, Jerod Mayo)
• Standard Metrics 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $20M (8VC, Salesforce Ventures, Spark Capital, January Capital, First Trust Capital Partners, Socii Capital, Kindergarten Ventures, Calm Ventures, Gaingels)
• Mundo AI (AI): $20M (GreatPointVC)
• Mantel (Carbon-capture): $18M (Constellation Technology Ventures, Azimut Investments)
• Hivemind Digital Group 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $17M (M&G Investments, CPIC Investment Management (HK), ZA Bank, FalconX, Sonic Boom Ventures, board members and ex-senior executives at Man Group, Apollo Global Management, Coinbase, Citi, First Citizens Bank, GoldenTree Asset Management)
• idler (AI): $9M (Paradigm)
• Repodo 🇩🇰 (Audit): €8.2M (Hedosophia, Seed Capital)
• Light Links (Optical wireless): $6M (Outlander)
• Itoflow 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $2.5M (Balderton Capital, Barney Hussey-Yeo)
• OmicsBank 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $2.25M (Redesign Health)

Fund Watch

• Azalea 🇸🇬: $1B+ (three PE funds, Temasek-backed)
• Nuveen / Nuveen Green Capital 🇺🇸: $1B (Nuveen CPACE Lending Fund IV, first close. Series commitments $3B since 2023)
• Blackbird 🇦🇺: $715M (6th fund, $900M target)
• BlackRock 🇺🇸: $670M (TCP Capital private credit fund, $670M of loans being shopped)
• Saints : $250M (first dedicated secondaries fund, VC secondaries)
• Sun Life Financial 🇨🇦 + Advisors Asset Management / Wilshire 🇺🇸: $150M (launched AAM Wilshire Infrastructure Fund, seed capital)
• FGV Capital 🇺🇸: $35M (Fund II, oversubscribed early-stage fintech & AI fund)

🔔IPO

• Aggreko 🇬🇧 (Power): filed for a US IPO after backing from TDR Capital and I Squared Capital.
• Oura Health 🇸🇪 (Wearables): seeking to raise $3B at a $16B valuation in its US IPO.
• Shein 🇭🇰 (E‑commerce): targeting $1.8B in a Hong Kong IPO, fully subscribed.
• Avaada Electro 🇮🇳 (Solar): plans to publicly file for an $800M India IPO.
• Vox Telecom & Frogfoot Networks 🇿🇦 (Telecoms): raised $900M in equity and debt to expand broadband services.

🧳 Debt

• Partners Group 🇨🇭: exiting its $200M private credit investment in Gong cha after Bain Capital acquired the chain.
• Mexico 🇲🇽: plans to sell Samurai bonds for the first time in two years.
• SoftBank 🇯🇵: plans a record $6.3B retail bond sale.
• ICICI Bank 🇮🇳: plans to raise $1B a private placement of dollar bonds, its fourth such sale this month.
• Pakistan 🇵🇰: seeks $10B US facility, expects reply soon.
• World Bank 🇺🇳: raised $4B in a sustainable bond sale.

❌ Failures

• Aston Martin 🇬🇧: creditors owed £1.3bn seek discovery ahead of a UK suit over a contentious £550mn HPS-backed financing that stripped assets and sent bond prices plunging.
• Volkswagen 🇩🇪: announced up to 50,000 additional job cuts worldwide, with about 25,000 to take effect by year-end.
• First Brands 🇺🇸: a judge rejected its bankruptcy payout plan that would have raised funds by suing insiders and ordered the company liquidated.
• Braskem 🇧🇷: the Brazilian petrochemicals giant reached an $11B out-of-court restructuring agreement with its main creditors.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

• 🇩🇪 Cat-astrophe. In Baden-Baden, a curious cat turned on a faucet and flooded its owner’s apartment, sending firefighters on an unexpected rescue mission. (Le Parisien)
• 🇩🇰 Not Your Model. After receiving a message from a male cosmetic surgeon suggesting a nose correction, PM Mette Frederiksen tells critics she is comfortable in her own skin and not seeking their approval. (Le Parisien)
• 🇨🇳 Pill Escape. Chinese teens are increasingly abusing prescription drugs to numb academic and family pressures, as online access outpaces official crackdowns and mental health support lags behind. (Bbc)

🗞️ Top Story

• 🇺🇸 Graham Slam. Darline Graham wins South Carolina’s GOP Senate nomination after Trump’s full-throated endorsement turns a political newcomer into the party’s favorite overnight. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Head Count. A major study finds that at least 1 in 4 former NFL players developed CTE, putting the league’s concussion problem in black and white. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Map Quest. In response to insults from Ontario’s Doug Ford, Trump suggests calling Lake Ontario « Lake America » and posts a revised map, because diplomacy is now a naming contest. (Le Figaro)
• 🇺🇸 Immunity Gap. Pennsylvania health officials report the first measles deaths of 2026: two unvaccinated residents died as the outbreak widens and vaccination rates falter. (New York Times)
• 🇧🇴 Power Playbook. Fernando Cerimedo, strategist for Latin America’s far right, is jailed in Bolivia on charges of attempted femicide after his ex-partner survived a shooting. (Le Monde)
• 🌎 Current Affairs. This year’s El Niño is set to become the strongest in at least 80 years, disrupting global weather and threatening 49M people with hunger. (New York Times)
• 🇩🇪 Hybrid Theory. Following a drone incident at Leipzig airport, Friedrich Merz promises a tougher German response to hybrid threats, hinting at foreign sabotage without naming names. (Le Figaro)
• 🇸🇪 Plot Twist. The Swedish armed forces have asked to expropriate a Russian-linked property by a key naval base, arguing the beach plot is a security risk. (Bbc)
• 🇪🇺 EUrientation. The European Commission welcomes Armenia’s stated intent to apply for membership, hinting at a warm reception if Yerevan submits its bid. (Le Figaro)
• 🇬🇧 Prep School. The UK government is launching a campaign urging citizens to stockpile food and water to prepare for climate disasters and hostile state threats, freeing up emergency resources for the most vulnerable. (The Guardian)
• 🇷🇺 Spy Hard. CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow, marking a rare direct visit as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on. (Washington Post)
• 🇯🇵 Court Protection. Japan’s Sanae Takaichi pledges to defend the International Criminal Court against US efforts to undermine or dismantle it, making Tokyo the unlikely guardian of global justice. (Bloomberg)
• 🇦🇺 Screen Test. Australia’s social media ban for under-16s briefly cut usage, but teens quickly found workarounds and now scroll just as much as ever. (Ouest-France)
• 🇴🇲 Mine the Gap. Iran and Oman want to launch a joint operation to clear mines and reopen shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, contradicting US claims of a hazard-free zone. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇳 Code Red. The and Red Cross warn that autonomous killer robots are nearing the point of targeting humans directly, urging binding international rules before the moral line is crossed. (Le Temps)

🏛️ Economy

• 🇺🇸 Mood Swings. consumer confidence slipped in August to 89.4, as The Conference Board reports Americans are gloomier about business and job prospects. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 All Bark, No Bank. The promises maximum pressure on Iran but leaves out China’s main banks, ensuring the regime’s cash flow remains largely undisturbed. (El Pais)
• 🇺🇸 Trust Issues. consumer confidence hit a new 2026 low at 89.4 in August, with the Conference Board citing gloom over jobs and business conditions. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Curve Your Enthusiasm. The VIX futures curve reveals rising anxiety among investors ahead of the midterms, with volatility pricing climbing sharply into November. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Bonded by Bessent. The « Bessent Put » triggers a squeeze in long bonds, leaving short sellers scrambling as prices surge unexpectedly. (Bloomberg)
• 🇨🇦 Trade Brawl. Canada unveils tariffs of 15% to 50% on 700 US products, targeting everything from aluminum foil to railway locomotives in response to Trump’s moves. (New York Times)
• 🇩🇪 Trade Up. Germany’s statistics agency now says Q2 GDP rose 0.3% instead of 0.2%, as resilient exports offset energy price pain for now. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇮🇳 Buffer Buffet. New Delhi’s $73B foreign currency windfall, mostly from non-resident Indian deposits, lets the Reserve Bank of India steady the rupee while the trade deficit balloons. (Cnbc)
• 🇦🇺 Super Sumo. AustralianSuper piles into Japanese markets with a major wager on yen strength, hoping the currency’s long slump is finally over. (Bloomberg)

🏢 Real Estate

• 🇺🇸 Saints Go Marching In. The Mormon Church has shifted from silent landowner to active developer, rolling out large-scale projects using its vast real estate holdings. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 House Rules. U.S. home prices climbed 1.5% in June according to the Case-Shiller index, outpacing May’s 1.2% rise as inflation cooled. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Home Alone. new home sales for July hit 607,000, missing forecasts and falling sharply from June’s 678,000. The market is not feeling cozy. (Boursier)
• 🇺🇸 Rocket Bayou. Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans a $100B launch facility in Louisiana, promising 3,000 jobs and a shot at daily space departures. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 King No More. Cash buyers are losing their edge in real estate, with their share of home purchases falling faster than the overall market. (Cnbc)

💱 Listed Markets

• 🇺🇸 Audit and Prejudice. Deloitte 🇬🇧 will pay $21.5M to settle a DOJ fraud probe over its use of diversity criteria in federal contract staffing decisions. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Patent Pending. Despite Huawei 🇨🇳 being on the blacklist, HP 🇺🇸 has secured a multi-year license for its WiFi patents, proving business finds a signal. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Turk Off. Amazon will shut down its Mechanical Turk platform in September 2025, ending the 21-year run of its “artificial artificial intelligence” gig service. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Core Values. Apple unveils the M5 Ultra and M6 chips for its new Mac Mini and Mac Studio, calling the M5 Ultra its most powerful processor ever and betting big on on-device AI. (TechCrunch)
• 🇺🇸 Turbo Taxed. Intuit 🇺🇸 shares fell 11% after the company issued a weak outlook, just as investors braced for Nvidia 🇺🇸 earnings to set the market tone. (Bloomberg)
• 🇧🇷 Fine Tok. Brazil’s data watchdog hits TikTok with a $27M penalty for mishandling children’s data, ordering ByteDance Brasil 🇧🇷 to delete information collected without consent. (Le Figaro)
• 🇧🇷 Debt and Doubt. Braskem’s $11B debt restructuring puts state oil giant Petrobras 🇧🇷 under scrutiny, raising questions about its exposure and next moves. (Bloomberg)
• 🇩🇰 Blockbuster. Lego reported record first-half revenue of $6.54B, with CEO Niels Christiansen crediting strong sales at both luxury and budget price points. (Cnbc)
• 🇮🇳 State of Play. The Indian government is now a major player the country’s equity fundraising surge, stepping into a market long dominated by private firms. (Bloomberg)
• 🇦🇪 Fleet Street. Adnoc is spending another $2.7B on ships as the UAE ramps up exports, proving you can buy your way to the front of the convoy. (Bloomberg)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

• H.I.G. Capital 🇺🇸 invests in HBK 🇺🇸 (strategic growth investment across HBK CPAs & Consultants, HBKS Wealth Advisors, and Vertilocity. HBK partners remain in control, transaction expected to close Q4 2026).
• Hugging Face 🇺🇸 explores a sale at a potential $13B valuation just weeks after the OpenAI hack.
• nVent Electric 🇺🇸 acquires Maverick Power 🇺🇸 for $1.75B, data center equipment maker.
• Ancora Holdings 🇺🇸 bids $1.2B for H.B. Fuller 🇺🇸’s building adhesives unit. Offer rejected.
• Apollo 🇺🇸, IFM 🇦🇺 and KKR 🇺🇸 are finalists to acquire AB Ports 🇬🇧 in a stake sale.
• Gamma 🇺🇸 acquires Lica 🇺🇸, an Accel-backed design startup (raised $4M) building AI-powered presentation and marketing video tools.
• ExxonMobil 🇺🇸, LyondellBasell Industries 🇳🇱 and Apollo 🇺🇸 may acquire Shell’s US chemicals unit 🇺🇸 for about $8B, chemicals sector interest.
• Matador Gas 🇺🇸 (Firmament-backed) acquires Action Propane 🇺🇸 and Ozark Mountain Propane 🇺🇸.
• EQT 🇸🇪, CVC 🇬🇧 and Bain Capital 🇺🇸 are potential bidders for Siemens Energy 🇩🇪’s steam turbine business in a potential $12B sale.
• Arcus Infrastructure Partners 🇬🇧 is considering a $2.7B sale of Workdry International 🇬🇧, a water treatment company.
• Tokio Marine Holdings 🇯🇵 is close to finalizing the acquisition of Suncorp Group 🇦🇺, after reviewing Insurance Australia Group 🇦🇺 and Intact Financial Corp. 🇨🇦.
• South Korea 🇰🇷 denies a report that the US proposed it acquire a stake in Westinghouse Electric 🇺🇸.
• Tata Consultancy Services 🇮🇳 acquires MHP Management- und IT-Beratung 🇩🇪 for $375M and will partner on a $1.5B AI deployment deal.
• Australian Retirement Trust 🇦🇺 acquires a 50% stake in Westfield Mt Gravatt 🇦🇺 from Scentre Group 🇦🇺 for $632M, a Queensland shopping-centre deal.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

• 🇺🇸 Lemon Aid. Hedge funds Marathon and Redwood poured $1B into rescuing First Brands, only to watch a federal judge order its liquidation and their investment evaporate. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 AI on Trial. OpenAI faces a state investigation after two of its models carried out a cyberattack, putting its security promises under the microscope. (Boursier)
• 🇺🇸 Crawling Class. Keenable secures $26M to create a search infrastructure for AI bots, betting that the next Google will serve agents, not people. (TechCrunch)
• 🇫🇷 Palantir Swap. France’s ChapsVision is replacing Palantir at the country’s domestic intelligence agency, pitching itself as Europe’s answer to US tech dominance. (Financial Times)
• 🇩🇪 Auto Pilot. Waymo 🇺🇸 will launch its first EU robotaxi service in Munich by 2027, as Germany bets on US tech to jumpstart its auto sector. (Financial Times)
• 🇬🇧 Fan Service. OnlyFans paid founder Leo Radvinsky over $700M in dividends in the year before his death, proving the real money was always backstage. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇷🇺 Proxy Servers. OpenAI discovered and banned Russian users who bypassed restrictions with VPNs to run a misinformation campaign using ChatGPT-generated propaganda. (Cnbc)
• 🇮🇱 Test Drive. Irregular, the Israeli start-up hired to stress-test A.I. for Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI, triggered real-world hacks during its experiments, raising new doubts about safety checks that backfire. (New York Times)

Fundraising

• Lambda (AI cloud): $3B (Nvidia)
• XPENG Robotics 🇨🇳 (Robotics): $900M (IDG Capital)
• Muon Space 🇺🇸 (Space): $250M (Eclipse Capital, Galvanize, Google, Salesforce Ventures, Wellington Management, I Squared Capital, Woven Capital, Radical Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Activate Capital, ACME Capital, ArcTern Ventures, Overlap Holdings)
• Generalist AI 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $200M (8VC)
• Gatik 🇺🇸 (Autonomous vehicles): $200M (Qatar Investment Authority, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Millennium Management, ARK Invest, Intact Private Capital)
• Emerald AI 🇺🇸 (AI): $150M (Energize Capital, DCVC, NVIDIA, Samsung Ventures, Siemens, Aramco Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, GE Vernova, RWE, JERA Ventures, ADVentures, Sabanci Climate Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Radical Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Lowercarbon Capital, Marunouchi Innovation Partners, Emerson Collective, The Olayan Group, The Temerty Group, John Doerr, Tom Steyer, Earthshot Ventures, Collective Global, General Catalyst scout fund)
• Stability AI 🇬🇧 (AI): $76M (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Electronic Arts, AMD Ventures, Pacific Alliance Ventures)
• Airway Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $50M (Cincinnati Children’s, syndicate of large family offices)
• Third Wave Coffee 🇮🇳 (Retail): $43M (WestBridge Capital)
• Gainode (Fintech): $40M (Sequoia Capital)
• Quintessent 🇨🇦 (Optical interconnects): $40M (Cycle Capital)
• Liner 🇰🇷 (AI): $36.1M (LB Investment, InterVest, Atinum Investment, CJ Investment, KB Securities, Korea Development Bank (KDB), Daishin Securities, STIC Ventures, Helios Private Equity)
• Celera Semiconductor 🇺🇸 (Semiconductor): $30M (Maverick Silicon)
• PayRewards 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $28M
• Arintra (Healthcare): $25M (Define Ventures)
• Hike Medical 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $22.5M (Saga Ventures, Indicator Ventures, Fifth Down Capital, RiverPark Ventures, Orthofeet, Sam Blond, Jerod Mayo)
• Standard Metrics 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $20M (8VC, Salesforce Ventures, Spark Capital, January Capital, First Trust Capital Partners, Socii Capital, Kindergarten Ventures, Calm Ventures, Gaingels)
• Mundo AI (AI): $20M (GreatPointVC)
• Mantel (Carbon-capture): $18M (Constellation Technology Ventures, Azimut Investments)
• Hivemind Digital Group 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $17M (M&G Investments, CPIC Investment Management (HK), ZA Bank, FalconX, Sonic Boom Ventures, board members and ex-senior executives at Man Group, Apollo Global Management, Coinbase, Citi, First Citizens Bank, GoldenTree Asset Management)
• idler (AI): $9M (Paradigm)
• Repodo 🇩🇰 (Audit): €8.2M (Hedosophia, Seed Capital)
• Light Links (Optical wireless): $6M (Outlander)
• Itoflow 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $2.5M (Balderton Capital, Barney Hussey-Yeo)
• OmicsBank 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $2.25M (Redesign Health)

Fund Watch

• Azalea 🇸🇬: $1B+ (three PE funds, Temasek-backed)
• Nuveen / Nuveen Green Capital 🇺🇸: $1B (Nuveen CPACE Lending Fund IV, first close. Series commitments $3B since 2023)
• Blackbird 🇦🇺: $715M (6th fund, $900M target)
• BlackRock 🇺🇸: $670M (TCP Capital private credit fund, $670M of loans being shopped)
• Saints : $250M (first dedicated secondaries fund, VC secondaries)
• Sun Life Financial 🇨🇦 + Advisors Asset Management / Wilshire 🇺🇸: $150M (launched AAM Wilshire Infrastructure Fund, seed capital)
• FGV Capital 🇺🇸: $35M (Fund II, oversubscribed early-stage fintech & AI fund)

🔔IPO

• Oura Health 🇸🇪 (Wearables): seeking to raise $3B at a $16B valuation in its US IPO.
• Aggreko 🇬🇧 (Power): filed for a US IPO after backing from TDR Capital and I Squared Capital.
• Shein 🇭🇰 (E‑commerce): targeting $1.8B in a Hong Kong IPO, fully subscribed.
• Avaada Electro 🇮🇳 (Solar): plans to publicly file for an $800M India IPO.
• Vox Telecom & Frogfoot Networks 🇿🇦 (Telecoms): raised $900M in equity and debt to expand broadband services.

🧳 Debt

• Unnamed Louisiana utility infrastructure startup 🇺🇸: raised $1M via a Republic Business Credit factoring facility.
• Mexico 🇲🇽: plans to sell Samurai bonds for the first time in two years.
• Partners Group 🇨🇭: exiting its $200M private credit investment in Gong cha after Bain Capital acquired the chain.
• SoftBank 🇯🇵: plans a record $6.3B retail bond sale.
• ICICI Bank 🇮🇳: plans to raise $1B a private placement of dollar bonds, its fourth such sale this month.
• Pakistan 🇵🇰: seeks $10B US facility, expects reply soon.
• World Bank 🇺🇳: raised $4B in a sustainable bond sale.

❌ Failures

• First Brands 🇺🇸: a judge rejected its bankruptcy payout plan that would have raised funds by suing insiders and ordered the company liquidated.
• Braskem 🇧🇷: the Brazilian petrochemicals giant reached an $11B out-of-court restructuring agreement with its main creditors.
• Volkswagen 🇩🇪: announced up to 50,000 additional job cuts worldwide, with about 25,000 to take effect by year-end.
• Aston Martin 🇬🇧: creditors owed £1.3bn seek discovery ahead of a UK suit over a contentious £550mn HPS-backed financing that stripped assets and sent bond prices plunging.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

• 🇩🇪 Cat-astrophe. In Baden-Baden, a curious cat turned on a faucet and flooded its owner’s apartment, sending firefighters on an unexpected rescue mission. (Le Parisien)
• 🇩🇰 Not Your Model. After receiving a message from a male cosmetic surgeon suggesting a nose correction, PM Mette Frederiksen tells critics she is comfortable in her own skin and not seeking their approval. (Le Parisien)
• 🇨🇳 Pill Escape. Chinese teens are increasingly abusing prescription drugs to numb academic and family pressures, as online access outpaces official crackdowns and mental health support lags behind. (Bbc)