🍾 Champagne Floaties

Nothing drowns like a guilty conscience.

A Free Lunch newsletter archive of July 24, 2026

Also available:🇫🇷 Édition française

🌍 All editions
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States

Good morning!

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, steward of roughly $35bn in assets and personal investor in several mental-health and digital-wellness startups, has reached a verdict on introspection: there will be none. Or as little as possible, to be fair to the man. He volunteered this on a podcast, repeated it on X, and was promptly retweeted by Elon Musk, who clarified that self-examination is « a recipe for misery ». Peter Thiel, completing the trinity, spent part of last month in Rome explaining that the Antichrist is probably AI regulation. The gang travels together.

The intellectual scaffolding, when one is offered, is Nietzsche. Specifically the bit about « bad conscience », that paralysing guilt civilisation supposedly installs in the strong to keep them tame. Andreessen put it with characteristic finesse: introspection is a « guilt-based whammy » piped in « from Europe, a lot of it from Vienna ». In other words, Freud and his pals sabotaged Western civilisation by inviting people to consider their own behaviour. Marcus Aurelius, who ran the Roman Empire while keeping a private philosophical journal of remarkable rigour, would have been startled to learn that self-examination was a 20th-century Viennese import. So would Augustine. So would Montaigne. Socrates too, but he was put to death before securing a podcast deal.

Then came the postscript. For the next 72 hours, the man who does not look back tweeted compulsively about every critique the interview had attracted, reply by reply, quote-tweet by quote-tweet. His conclusion, after three days of frantic self-defence: introspection « causes emotional disturbances ». He had the bearing of a man drowning while insisting that water is dry.

The deeper trouble isn’t the philosophy, which is thin enough to read through. It’s that these men now have the resources to build a world in their image, one where the capacity to pause, doubt and correct course is treated as a bug awaiting a patch. Their AI models ingest the sum of human experience without ever ruminating on it. Their platforms optimise engagement without ever asking what they are manufacturing. The men piloting them have decided this counts as a virtue. Somewhere between the Nevada desert and a bottle of champagne shaken over cheering women, something quietly slipped overboard. Nothing major. Only the idea that one could ever, in any meaningful sense, be in the wrong.

🍾 Champagne Floaties

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🗞️ Top Story

  • 🇫🇷 Fine Print. After detaining the Russian oil tanker Deliver for a flag rule breach, France let it sail on once a fine was paid. (Spiegel)
  • 🇩🇪 Cabinet Switcheroo. Nina Warken is poised to lead the chancellery, with Carsten Linnemann likely to inherit the health ministry as the CDU rearranges its top jobs after Spahn’s resignation. (Die Zeit)
  • 🇪🇸 Hot Seat. The Spanish government takes direct control of wildfire response in Madrid and Ávila, mobilizing emergency troops as flames outpace local efforts. (Le Figaro)
  • 🇪🇺 Dose of Reality. The EFSA lowers the TFA safety threshold to 0.014 mg/kg per day, pushing France, Germany, and others to rethink their water limits for this stubborn PFAS pollutant. (Les Echos)
  • 🇪🇺 Dry Run. Meteorologists confirm that climate change is the main driver behind Europe’s record-breaking drought, with soil dryness surpassing even 2022’s crisis. (Les Echos)
  • 🇦🇱 Pink Slip. Thousands of young Albanians join the « flamingo revolution » protests in Tirana, opposing Trump-linked real estate projects and accusing Prime Minister Edi Rama of selling out their future. (Le Monde)
  • 🇺🇸 Hormuz Control. The says its latest round of strikes on Iranian military sites will keep the Strait of Hormuz safe for shipping, but Iran calls it a recipe for wider chaos. (Le Monde)
  • 🇹🇭 Wire Transfer. The Thai military installed a new border fence with Cambodia, debuting a 1.3 km stretch and promising more barriers where « necessary. » (Die Zeit)
  • 🇸🇦 Peaceful Conditions. Trump ties approval of a US-Saudi nuclear deal to Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords with Israel, making atomic energy a diplomatic bargaining chip. (Bbc)
  • 🇾🇪 Red Alert. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have launched attacks on Red Sea shipping and declared a blockade on Saudi oil, opening a new front in the U.S.-Iran standoff. (Wall Street Journal)
  • 🇹🇳 Locked Out. The health of opposition figure Rached Ghannouchi has sharply deteriorated in Tunisian prison, with lawyers warning he is denied both care and family contact. (Le Monde)
  • 🇲🇱 Cease and Desist. Following the execution and torture of surrendered Malian troops, the UN calls for a full inquiry and accountability from armed groups. (Le Monde)
  • 🇺🇳 Secretary’s Cut. The race to replace António Guterres as Secretary-General is underway, with four of six nominees being women and Latin America tipped as the likely region for the next leader. (Die Zeit)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
  • 🇬🇧 Branch Office. Andy Burnham opens No 10 North in Manchester and runs his first National Economic Council meeting there, aiming to decentralize government and boost local influence. (Bbc)
  • 🇬🇧 Viral Cabinet. Burnham’s team invites young creators and TikTok stars to Downing Street, aiming to build political buzz one meme and Q&A at a time. (Bbc)
🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇺🇸 Leak of Faith. A Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance has been suspended and faces a criminal probe for allegedly leaking sensitive information about Vance’s security detail. (Bbc)
  • 🇺🇸 Truth Audit. Senate Democrats accuse IRS chief Frank Bisignano of misleading Congress about staffing shortages while the agency scrambles to hire after deep cuts. His public statements do not match the agency’s hiring push, and now he faces calls for an explanation. (Cnbc)

🏛️ Economy

  • 🇵🇹 Fleet Street. Portugal announces a €3B deal to buy three FREMM frigates from Italy’s Fincantieri, calling it a milestone for European defense and industrial pride. (Le Parisien)
  • 🇱🇺 Great Wall Street. China has quietly used Luxembourg as its financial gateway into the EU, channeling billions to buy strategic tech and real estate assets across Europe. (Le Monde)
  • 🇪🇺 Rate Wait. The European Central Bank holds its deposit rate at 2.25% for now, but signals a likely hike in September as inflation risks persist. (Die Zeit)
  • 🇪🇺 Social Network. The European Commission unveils a new strategy to revive its social rights agenda, aiming to tackle AI disruption and the cost-of-living crisis across the. (Les Echos)
  • 🇺🇸 Duty Calls. Trump’s administration imposes fresh tariffs on major trading partners to replace expired levies, hitting Canada, Mexico, and the EU with new import taxes just in time for more legal battles. (New York Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Yield Sign. The 10-year Treasury yield hit 4.7% for the first time since January 2025, as surging oil prices reignite inflation fears and rattle markets. (Cnbc)
  • 🇻🇪 Shaken Assets. Venezuela’s twin June earthquakes left $19.6B in losses, says the World Bank, as thousands lost homes and vital infrastructure crumbled overnight. (Die Zeit)
  • 🇨🇳 Copy Paste Diplomacy. Beijing’s new soft power move is exporting open A.I. models, hoping to win hearts and markets where Hollywood once ruled. (New York Times)
  • 🇰🇷 Chip Happens. South Korea’s economy cooled to 0.6% growth in Q2, but surging semiconductor exports kept the slowdown from turning into a full stall. (Wall Street Journal)
  • 🇦🇺 Down Underwater. Australia will inject an extra $3.2B into its nuclear submarine program under the Aukus pact, proving defense budgets really do go deep. (Le Figaro)
  • 🇮🇱 Shekel Shock. Israeli banks are threatening to cut off key shekel services to Palestinian banks, risking a financial crisis across the West Bank as talks scramble for a fix. (Le Temps)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
  • 🇬🇧 Mood Swing. The UK’s GfK confidence index posts its sharpest rise in months, as Andy Burnham’s imminent leadership gives shoppers something to smile about. (Wall Street Journal)
  • 🇬🇧 Allowance Denied. Burnham’s offhand remark about the personal allowance freeze has sparked hopes for reform, but expectations may outpace any political appetite for change. (Financial Times)
  • 🇬🇧 Human Error. Centrica 🇬🇧 says most customers prefer AI chatbots as it slashes 1,300 call centre roles, just in time for a profit boost. (The Guardian)
  • 🇬🇧 Tax and the City. A group of 120 millionaires, including Gary Lineker, publicly ask Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce higher taxes on the ultra-rich, saying voluntary donations are not enough. (Bbc)
🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇺🇸 Code Breakers. Trump’s team will allocate $5B to 15 agencies for AI-powered research, promising to solve big science problems without waiting for peer review. (The Guardian)
  • 🇺🇸 Power Play. Westinghouse is back in the spotlight as global demand for nuclear energy surges, with new deals positioning it as the industry’s comeback kid. (New York Times)
  • 🌍 Bubble Trouble. Surging global wealth in 2025 owes much to AI hype lifting equities, leaving investors exposed if reality falls short of expectations. (Wall Street Journal)

🏢 Real Estate

  • 🇬🇧 Rate Expectations. Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveils a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs, and live music venues in England, promising £100M in relief and an average £1,100 saving per pub next year. (The Guardian)
  • 🇩🇪 Home Alone. The Ifo Institute predicts German housing completions will drop to 185,000 in 2026, citing war and bureaucracy as the latest obstacles to building a roof over anyone’s head. (Die Zeit)
  • 🇨🇦 Bridge Over Troubled Borders. Canada opens the Gordie Howe bridge to the US after eight years and full funding, but celebrates alone as tensions with Washington sour the mood. (Le Temps)
  • 🇦🇪 Hormuz Who? Dubai’s DP World will build two new terminals on the UAE’s east coast, giving the country a route that sidesteps the Strait of Hormuz entirely. (Wall Street Journal)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
  • 🇬🇧 Rate Race. UK mortgage rates have climbed back to last month’s highs as Middle East tensions drive up funding costs and dash hopes of imminent interest rate cuts. (Bbc)
  • 🇬🇧 Pub Crawl. Andy Burnham’s new 20% business rates relief gives England’s pubs and clubs a £1,000 break, while gyms and cafes watch from the sidelines. (Bbc)
  • 🇺🇸 Value Disconnect. Wellington Management is passing on data-center debt investments, doubting that current property values support the underlying loans. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇺🇸 Shelter in Placebo. After two years of falling numbers, LA’s homeless count is up again, with more people living outdoors and Mayor Bass on the defensive. (New York Times)

💱 Listed Markets

  • 🇬🇧 Steel Yourself. As the UK nationalizes British Steel to save its last coal blast furnaces, Chinese owner Jingye demands compensation before the new PM even takes office. (Les Echos)
  • 🇬🇧 Jet Lag. EasyJet reported a 70% plunge in profits to £85M as soaring fuel costs from the Iran conflict collided with late passenger bookings and takeover drama. (The Guardian)
  • 🇫🇷 Licence to Stall. The French government blocks Tesla’s supervised autonomous driving feature, insisting the technology is not safe enough for local roads just yet. (Maddyness)
  • 🇪🇺 Fine Print. The hits Google 🇺🇸 with an €890M penalty for unfairly promoting its own services and sidelining rivals in search and app results. (Die Zeit)
  • 🇪🇺 AI Caramba. STMicroelectronics 🇫🇷 raised its data-center sales goal for the second time, but a soft Q3 forecast wiped out any AI euphoria on the stock. (Wall Street Journal)
  • 🇺🇸 Chip Happens. Cerebras stock surged after sealing a deal with AMD to supply its wafer-scale AI chips for Helios systems, aiming for faster answers and faster gains. (Cnbc)
  • 🇺🇸 User Gravity. Gemini’s user base has soared past 950 million, making Google’s AI assistant a heavyweight rival to ChatGPT in the global race for dominance. (TechCrunch)
  • 🇺🇸 Map of Steel. Apple signs a deal with Ford to embed its new MapKit software in upcoming EVs, marking a return to automotive ambitions after ditching its own car project. (Financial Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Cloud Control. Microsoft and Amazon unveil new cloud gaming tactics: Xbox dangles ad-backed streaming, Amazon bundles Luna with Prime Video, hoping to finally win over skeptics. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇺🇸 Fuel’s Errand. American Airlines slashes its profit forecast after jet fuel prices spike, now expecting a Q3 loss of 10 to 70 cents per share. (Wall Street Journal)
  • 🇺🇸 Revved Up. Harley-Davidson 🇺🇸 lifted its sales outlook following strong North American demand, outpacing Wall Street’s earnings predictions even as profits fell from last year. (Wall Street Journal)
  • 🇺🇸 Sweet Returns. Honeywell Technologies 🇺🇸 posted a Q2 profit of $5.68B and rising sales, as its restructuring into three companies pays immediate dividends. (Wall Street Journal)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

  • Sifted 🇬🇧 acquires Onstage 🇬🇧, adding its flagship Demo Day and Deploy events to its portfolio.
  • Dassault Systemes 🇫🇷 acquires ArisGlobal 🇺🇸 for $1.8B cash at closing plus up to $200M linked to AI-related revenue (up to $2B), life‑sciences software.
  • Allianz Group 🇩🇪 acquires HSBC Life Singapore 🇸🇬 for $2.09B, a life and health insurance deal with a 15-year exclusive distribution partnership, expected to close in H1 2027. HSBC Life Singapore posted €80M operating profit in 2025.
  • UniCredit 🇮🇹 could acquire Commerzbank 🇩🇪, having increased its stake to 48% and saying a deal could happen in Q4. CEO Andrea Orcel cited strong earnings and raised guidance.
  • Eni 🇮🇹 acquires Oil Tankstellen 🇩🇪 through its Enilive mobility subsidiary, co-owned with KKR (30% stake).
  • Catawiki 🇳🇱, backed by Permira 🇬🇧 and Accel 🇺🇸, explores a sale.
  • Samos Energy 🇬🇷 acquires Capricorn Energy 🇬🇧 for $360M cash, weeks after it agreed to a near-identical proposal from Genel Energy 🇹🇷.
  • Nestlé 🇨🇭 and Platinum Equity 🇺🇸 create the 50/50 joint venture Peranel 🇫🇷, valued at €4.9B. Nestlé to receive about €3B in cash, covering 30+ bottled-water brands sold in 120 countries.
  • TE Connectivity 🇨🇭 acquires Astrodyne 🇺🇸 from PE firm Tinicum for $1.4B, electronic power management and filtering solutions maker.
  • Prologis 🇺🇸 acquires Segro 🇬🇧 for $18.7B in a cash-and-share offer after securing board support.
  • Penske Corp 🇺🇸 and Mitsui 🇯🇵 offer to take Penske Automotive Group 🇺🇸 private for $14B.
  • Repligen 🇺🇸 acquires BioLife Solutions 🇺🇸 in a $1.5B cash-and-stock deal.
  • BayPine 🇺🇸 and Mavis Tire Express Services 🇺🇸, backed by TSG, acquire Pep Boys 🇺🇸 from Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises 🇺🇸 for $700M cash.
  • KKR Real Estate Finance Trust 🇺🇸, $475M-listed, is considering a merger or sale.
  • Stripe 🇺🇸 in talks to acquire OpenRouter 🇺🇸 for about $10B, a buzzy AI-model marketplace.
  • Brookfield 🇨🇦 acquires Aypa Power 🇺🇸 from Blackstone 🇺🇸 for $7B, including debt, battery storage developer.
  • NovaGold Resources 🇨🇦, John Paulson‑backed, acquires Donlin Gold project 🇺🇸 for $4.2B in an all‑stock deal.
  • Prima Living 🇨🇦 acquires nine retirement communities from Chartwell Retirement Residences 🇨🇦 for $84M.
  • Fluxus Oil, Gas & Energy 🇧🇷 acquires A&B Oil and Gas 🇻🇪, which owns a 49% stake in Venezuela’s Petrolera Roraima JV with PDVSA.
  • Grupo Nutresa 🇨🇴 acquires Tio Rico 🇻🇪 from Mack de Venezuela for $30M, ice cream maker.
  • Japan Hotel REIT Investment Co. 🇯🇵 acquires a Tokyo hotel property from TPG Asia Real Estate 🇺🇸 for $860M.
  • Vertis Infrastructure Trust 🇸🇬, backed by KKR acquires Megha Engineering & Infrastructures 🇮🇳 for $800M, including debt.
  • King Power International Group 🇹🇭 explores a sale of Leicester City FC 🇬🇧, the soccer club it owns.
  • Pepkor Holding 🇿🇦 acquires Shop2Shop 🇿🇦, combining its fintech Flash with the rival in a $95M cash-and-stock deal.
🇺🇸 United States
  • SEMCAP Beauty & Wellness 🇺🇸 makes a minority investment in MERIT 🇺🇸. Vasiliki Petrou leads the deal and will join MERIT’s board (modern cosmetics brand, announced July 23, 2026).
  • Vesterra Capital Partners 🇺🇸 acquires PHFM 🇺🇸, a tech-enabled facilities maintenance platform serving multi-location commercial customers, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and led by CEO Michelle Egan.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

  • 🇬🇧 Portfolio Shuffle. The UK government axes DSIT, splitting science, AI, and digital responsibilities among new departments while promising a more “central” tech strategy. (Sifted)
  • 🇺🇸 Doubters Processed. Etched, dismissed as a long shot for its specialized AI chips, just raised $300M at a $10.3B valuation, leaving early skeptics to recalculate their assumptions. (TechCrunch)
  • 🇺🇸 Copy That. With Moonshot’s Kimi K3 nearly matching frontier AI labs, American officials debate whether innovation or imitation is fueling China’s sudden leap. (Financial Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Green Means Go. Private capital poured $31B into funds promising social or environmental good in 2024, showing that the ESG backlash is not slowing the money down. (Financial Times)
  • 🇺🇸 Make It Rain. In 2026, 60% of global startup funding. About $320B. Has gone to rounds of $1B or more, with venture capitalists writing bigger checks than ever. (Crunchbase)

Fundraising

  • Atoms 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $1.7bn (Andreessen Horowitz, Uber, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan)
  • Meshy 🇺🇸 (AI): $400M
  • Mentari Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $200M
  • Glow 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $180M (Sequoia, Cyberstarts, Greenoaks, Redpoint Ventures)
  • Augustus 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $180M (Tiger Global, Hummingbird, QED, founders of Nubank, Ramp, Circle, Deel)
  • Cathedral 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $160M (a16z, Sequoia)
  • Crystalys Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $130M (Frazier Life Sciences, Wellington Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Soleus Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, Trails Edge Capital Partners, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, KCap Biotechnology Fund, Novo Holdings, SR One, Catalys Pacific, Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds, Lightstone Ventures, AN Venture Partners, abrdn, KB Investments, Pontifax, Longwood Fund, Alexandria Venture Investments, Wedbush Healthcare Partners, Prebys Ventures Fund)
  • Assort Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $120M (Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Felicis, First Round Capital, Tau Venture)
  • Candid Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $120M (Sixth Street Growth, Oak HC/FT, 8VC, Y Combinator)
  • Neo 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $100M (Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Craft Ventures, Merlin Ventures)
  • Flex 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $70M (Halo Fund, Portage Ventures, Wellington, Crosslink Capital, 53 Stations, Titanium Ventures, Spice, Florida Funders, Spice, others)
  • Genius AI 🇺🇸 (Wellness): $44M (Lux Capital)
  • Whale 🇺🇸 (Enterprise AI): $40M (CMB International, SMBC Asia Rising Fund, Krungsri Finnovate, Singtel Innov8, Hyundai Motor Group, Charisma Partners, Bosch Ventures, MTR Lab, MDI Ventures, Gentree Fund, Linear Capital)
  • AegisAI 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $36M (Battery Ventures, Accel, Foundation Capital)
  • Paper 🇺🇸 (Design): $34M (Accel, ICONIQ, Designer Fund, Michael Grinich, Anton Osika, engineers and designers from Anthropic and OpenAI)
  • Azergo 🇫🇷 (Ergonomics): €30M (IXO Private Equity, Société Générale Capital Partenaires, BNP Paribas Développement)
  • Arrakis (Industrial AI): $30M (Blossom Capital)
  • Abstract 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $25M (Cheyenne Ventures, AVP, Olive Hill Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Rally Ventures)
  • Phytokana Ingredients Inc. 🇨🇦 (Agri-processing): $25M (strategic investor, existing shareholders, employees, directors)
  • Transcripta Bio 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $24M (Mayo Clinic, Omnimed, JAZZ Venture Partners, BlueYard Capital, life sciences family offices)
  • Infinity.inc 🇺🇸 (AI infrastructure): $15M (Touring Capital, Principal VC, executives at major chip companies, researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic, other prominent angel investors)
  • Passionfroot 🇺🇸 (Marketing): $15M (Insight Partners, Creandum, Supernode Global, s16vc)
  • 1872 🇺🇸 (Manufacturing): $15M (private funds advised by The O.H.I.O. Fund)
  • telli 🇩🇪 (AI): €13.1M (redalpine, Mutschler, Cherry Ventures, Y Combinator, key angels)
  • Neon Commerce 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $13M (a16z, Renegade Partners)
  • Yope (Social): $12.3M (Northzone)
  • Chimirec 🇫🇷 (Waste management): €12M (Otoktone, Banque Populaire Grand Ouest)
  • Cheiron 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $8M (Menlo Ventures, Robert Langer, Freda Lewis-Hall, Josh Meier, Laxman Narasimhan, John Giannandrea)
  • Petra Labs 🇺🇸 (AI): $5.2M (Work-Bench, Afore, Pathlight, strategic angels)
  • N-Zyme Biomedical 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $4.6M (healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, a venture capital group, strategic investors)
  • Imagi 🇭🇺 (Edtech): $4.5M (Brighteye Ventures, Day One Capital, Will.i.am)
  • Cast Insights 🇺🇸 (AI): $4.5M (Abstract Ventures, HF0, Village Global, Max Ventures, Embassy Ventures, Stratus Ventures)
  • StrongestLayer 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $4.1M (Inovia Capital, Sorenson Capital, LaunchPod, Alumni Ventures, Chris Key)
  • Twinsight 🇫🇷 (Medtech): €1.6M (Bpifrance, Caisse d’Épargne Rhône Alpes, Crédit Agricole Sud Rhône Alpes, business angels including surgeons, Grenoble Angels, Luxembourg Business Angel Network, American investors)
  • GO.FARM 🇦🇺 (Agriculture): AUD 330M (La Caisse)

Fund Watch

  • Francisco Partners 🇺🇸: $21B (Francisco Partners VIII & Agility IV, flagship buyout and middle-market funds)
  • TECfusions 🇺🇸: $4B (merger with Apex Treasury)
  • LLCP 🇺🇸: $2.0B (LMM IV, lower middle market fund, oversubscribed, closed at hard cap)
  • Townsend 🇺🇸: $2B (4th real estate secondaries fund)
  • TruArc Partners 🇺🇸: $1.5B (5th mid-market private equity fund)
  • Kensington Capital Acquisition 🇺🇸: $585M (SPAC merger valuing Nth Cycle)
  • Fresenius Ventures 🇩🇪: €200M+ (corporate VC fund for healthcare innovation)
  • Transition VC 🇮🇳: $150M ($150M fund, energy transition investments across India)
  • Blackstone 🇺🇸: new private market funds for retail investors with Vanguard.

🔔IPO

  • McCormick 🇺🇸 (Food): seeking a London secondary listing after a tie-up with Unilever’s foods unit to form a company valued at more than $65B.
  • Scribe 🇺🇸 (Biotech): raised $128.7M in an upsized IPO.
  • Innolight 🇨🇳 (Optics): launched a $7B Hong Kong listing, the city’s biggest in seven years.
  • MSEDCL 🇮🇳 (Power): shortlisted banks for a $500M-$1B India IPO.
  • Manipal Health 🇮🇳 (Healthcare): seeking to raise up to $960M an India IPO.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
  • Repsol 🇪🇸 (Energy): announced a buyback of up to €500M ($570.6M) after adjusted Q2 profit of €1.84B.
🇺🇸 United States
  • Repsol 🇪🇸 (Energy): announced a buyback of up to €500M ($570.6M) after adjusted Q2 profit of €1.84B.

🧳 Debt

  • Portugal 🇵🇹: will use $875M from sale of its Novo Banco stake to Groupe BPCE to pay down public debt.
  • Vitamin Well 🇸🇪: raised $2.2B in a cross-currency loan to fund its acquisition of EMPWR Nutrition Group.
  • Galaxy Digital 🇺🇸: plans to raise $3.5B in a debut junk-bond sale to fund a data center tied to CoreWeave.
  • Blackstone 🇺🇸: finalizing banks to underwrite a $3B loan for an AirTrunk data center in Australia.
  • Meta 🇺🇸: seeking $12B in data-centre bonds at yields above 7%.
  • Malaysia 🇲🇾: raised $1.5B in its first dollar bond (sukuk) sale in five years (850M due Apr 2032, 650M due Jul 2036).
  • TBS Energi Utama 🇮🇩: seeking $100M in private credit for its Singapore-based waste unit Cora Environment.
  • Kuwait 🇰🇼: sold $6B of dollar bonds despite Iran strikes.
  • Dangote 🇳🇬: secured $2.5B to expand its Lagos refinery.
  • Tanzania 🇹🇿: gauging investor appetite for its first international bond sale in over a decade.
🇺🇸 United States
  • Hilco Global 🇺🇸: provided a $65M FILO loan to a national specialty retailer.

❌ Failures

  • Aston Martin 🇬🇧: raised $735M from BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners to bolster liquidity.
  • Galeria 🇩🇪: may close 33 of 83 stores and, despite securing up to €160M in credit, its future remains uncertain.
  • Leslie’s 🇺🇸: pool supplier is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
  • Patreon 🇺🇸: laid off 20% of its workforce (93 people) while restructuring operations.
  • BitMEX 🇸🇨: after 11 years the exchange is closing. Users must withdraw funds by 23 September or face a $50 fee (or 1% p.a.).

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

  • 🇳🇱 Family Business. Jos Leijdekkers, Europe’s most wanted cocaine trafficker, gets 7 years in Belgium then marries into Sierra Leone’s ruling family, expanding his portfolio. (Le Monde)
  • 🇺🇸 Bucket List. Themed popcorn buckets for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” are nearly sold out, helping theaters double their merch revenue to $100M. (New York Times)
  • 🇵🇷 Lost and Sound. The wreck of Pan Am’s Clipper Endeavour, missing since its 1952 crash off Puerto Rico, has finally been found at 610 meters deep, closing a 74-year mystery with sonar and a dash of luck. (Le Parisien)
  • 🇨🇳 Field Day. China celebrates as Hong Wang and Yu Deng both secure Fields Medals in 2026, a first for the country and a signal to the world. (Le Monde)

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