🚪 Door Charge

🗞️ Top Story

• 🇬🇧 Labour Pains. Wes Streeting, fresh off his resignation as health minister, announces he will challenge Keir Starmer for the UK premiership after disastrous local election results. (Spiegel)
• 🇫🇷 Paris Match. French prosecutors open a crimes against humanity investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, targeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after rights groups filed complaints. (El Pais)
• 🇮🇹 Road to Recovery. Meloni and President Mattarella are heading to Modena instead of Cyprus, following a car attack that left victims with life-altering injuries. (Boursier)
• 🇱🇻 Kulberg’s Gambit. Latvia’s president has nominated Uldis Kulbergs to form a new government, putting coalition talks and political strategy back in the spotlight. (Bloomberg)
• 🇪🇺 Council Unchained. Hungary’s political shift immediately unlocks blocked sanctions and Ukraine funding, breaking a pattern of Orbán-era obstruction. For the first time in years, Brussels can act without tiptoeing around Budapest. (El Pais)
• 🇨🇭 Court Order. Switzerland formally joins 36 countries and the EU backing a special tribunal to prosecute Russian aggression against Ukraine, despite Ukraine stealing the announcement thunder. (Le Temps)
• 🇷🇺 Drone Alone. Ukrainian drones struck Moscow and its suburbs overnight, killing three and injuring at least a dozen, in Kyiv’s deadliest attack on the Russian capital since the war began. (Washington Post)
• 🇻🇪 Saab Story. Venezuela has extradited Alex Saab, ex-President Maduro’s trusted aide, to the US. Washington hopes Saab will help build its case against Maduro. (Die Zeit)
• 🇧🇴 Peak Demand. Protesters in Bolivia escalate roadblocks and clashes with police near La Paz as calls intensify for President Rodrigo Paz to resign amid economic turmoil. (Le Monde)
• 🇨🇳 Summit Else. Trump visits China for flashy ceremonies and self-congratulation, while core issues like tariffs and Taiwan barely budge an inch. (Bloomberg)
• 🇹🇼 Independence Day. Taiwan’s government insists it is a sovereign nation after Donald Trump warns against any formal move toward independence following talks with Xi Jinping. (Le Temps)
• 🇮🇱 Extension Cords. The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire gets 45 more days thanks to US mediation, offering a little more time but not much clarity. (Spiegel)
• 🇸🇩 Hunger Games. Nearly 20M Sudanese now suffer from critical food shortages according to the UN, with conflict and blocked aid turning the country into a tragic real-life contest for survival.
• 🇳🇬 Vice Out. Abou Bilal al Minuki, the number two of Islamic State, was eliminated by a joint Nigerian and US operation in Borno State. The announcement was immediate and emphatic. (Boursier)
• 🌍 Ebola Alert. WHO has issued a global health emergency for the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo as the virus spreads to Uganda and threatens neighboring countries. (BBC)

• 🇬🇧 Ring Fenced. Sadiq Khan warns that excluding London from a potential northern UK Olympic bid wastes the city’s ready-made infrastructure and Olympic legacy. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Blame Game. In Havering, voters vent their anger at Prime Minister Keir Starmer for everything wrong in Britain and turn instead to Farage’s Reform UK, handing the populist party 39 of 55 council seats for the first time ever. (El Pais)
• 🇬🇧 Hate Parade. Tommy Robinson drew tens of thousands to London, calling for a “battle of Britain” as Islamophobic and ethnonationalist flyers filled the crowd. (The Guardian)

• 🇺🇸 Current Events. PG&E has cut electricity to thousands of California customers due to wildfire risks, leaving many literally powerless as temperatures climb. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Pardon My Fraud. Colorado Governor Jared Polis commutes the sentence of Tina Peters, convicted for tampering with election machines to aid Trump, sparking a fresh political uproar. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Party of One. Trump-backed challengers keep toppling Republicans who cross him, with Senator Bill Cassidy the latest casualty in Louisiana’s primary sweep. (New York Times)

🏛️ Economy

• 🇬🇧 Exit Regret. Labour’s Wes Streeting says Britain should rejoin the EU after calling Brexit a disaster, with Andy Burnham also warming to a reunion. Eventually. (The Guardian)
• 🇪🇺 51st State of Mind. As the and Canada celebrate half a century together, Trump’s erratic US policy pushes both toward a closer « transatlantic honeymoon. » (El Pais)
• 🇪🇺 Patch Notes. Anthropic will brief the Financial Stability Board on cyber flaws its Mythos AI model uncovered in global banking systems, prompting fresh panic among regulators who lack the software and the sleep. (Financial Times)
• 🇨🇭 Swiss Masquerade. Newly revealed documents show Credit Suisse was warned by regulators in April 2022 but kept up appearances for a year before its collapse. (Le Temps)
• 🇺🇸 Pump Fiction. American households have spent $45B more on fuel since the Iran war began, hitting lower earners hardest and deepening economic divides. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Future Shock. New York’s $12B budget shortfall is plugged for now, as Zohran Mamdani leans on state generosity and delays payments to city pension funds, leaving tomorrow’s taxpayers with the tab. (Le Figaro)
• 🇨🇺 Current Affairs. Cuba restores power after a massive blackout left nearly half the island in the dark, while fuel shortages and rolling blackouts remain the daily special. (Le Monde)
• 🇨🇳 Soy to the World. After the latest summit, China pledged to buy more US farm goods, sending a clear signal that trade diplomacy can still yield actual crops. (Bloomberg)
• 🇹🇼 Strait Talk. Taiwan’s President Lai urges the US not to treat weapons sales as a bargaining chip with China, calling American arms « indispensable » for regional stability. (New York Times)
• 🇹🇭 Rule Breakers. Thailand says it will scrap 7,000 business rules to attract foreign investment, betting fewer obstacles will mean more money coming in. (Bloomberg)
• 🇮🇶 Crude Awakening. With oil exports halted by conflict, Iraq turns to the IMF for aid, hoping money can flow where oil no longer does. (Boursier)

• 🇬🇧 Pound for Pound. Sterling faces mounting pressure with hedge funds going short, citing Andy Burnham’s growing influence as a fresh risk factor. (Bloomberg)
• 🇬🇧 Class Action. A new survey finds that over a third of Britons say they have changed social class, with 6M now describing themselves as “polyclass”. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Liquid Assets. Investors in Thames Water warn the Labour government that temporary nationalisation would delay the utility’s recovery, despite Andy Burnham’s push for public control. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Watt’s Up. AI-fueled datacentres consume 6% of UK and US power, sending bills. And tempers. Rising as communities brace for more. (The Guardian)

• 🇺🇸 Déjà Voodoo. After sinking $970M into Haiti for worse results, the is backing a new security push, apparently hoping for different magic this time. (Washington Post)
• 🇺🇸 Price Check. Inflation under President Trump is outpacing wages and pushing consumer confidence to record lows, while Trump shrugs off economic pain and voter frustration. (New York Times)

🏢 Real Estate

• 🇦🇺 House Rules. The Australian government unveils tax reforms to address its broken housing market, aiming to make homes more affordable for first-time buyers. (Bloomberg)

• 🇬🇧 Crowd Control. UK renters are turning to GoFundMe in record numbers as donations for rent and bills jump 60% since 2022, with over 100,000 donors chipping in each month. (The Guardian)

• 🇺🇸 Beach, Please. The California Coastal Commission slapped John Levy Jr. with a $2.5M penalty for locking out the public, but Levy insists the gate is not his problem. (Wall Street Journal)

🔗 On-chain

• 🇺🇸 Pole Position. Crypto exchange OKX is rethinking its sponsorship of the Consensus Miami conference after an official after-party featured pole and lap dancing, sparking industry criticism about professionalism. (Financial Times)

💱 Listed Markets

• 🇫🇷 Cinema Paradisgone. Maxime Saada declares Canal+ will no longer work with anyone who opposed Vincent Bolloré, turning the festival’s red carpet into a blacklist. (Le Monde)
• 🇺🇸 Spac to the Future. Yorkville Advisors, a firm with deep Trump family ties, plans a $200M Spac targeting Venezuelan businesses amid the country’s economic opening. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Star Market. SpaceX plans a June 12 IPO, with Elon Musk seeking over $80B as investors prepare for a financial orbit unlike any before. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Mark to Myth. BlackRock faces a federal probe into whether its TCP Capital fund inflated private loan values to generate fees, triggering a sharp drop and legal action. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Wheel Deal. Lime’s $2B IPO is no lemon, as strong fleet growth and smart partnerships put the bike-sharing app ahead of flatter-footed competitors. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Cloud Nine. SpaceX and Google are in talks to put data centers in orbit, aiming to launch servers straight into space instead of keeping them on Earth. (Ain)
• 🇰🇷 Silicon Ceiling. With Samsung Electronics workers threatening to strike over bonuses, South Korea weighs suspending industrial action to protect its $668B chip sector. (Boursier)

• 🇬🇧 Tank You Very Much. Jaguar Land Rover and General Motors want a piece of the UK’s £900M military truck deal as NATO defense budgets balloon. (The Guardian)
• 🇪🇺 Chemical Brothers. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos 🇬🇧 is backing the entire European chemicals sector with a €200M wager on competitors’ stocks, hoping misery loves company (and profit).

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

• Publicis 🇫🇷 acquires Liveramp 🇺🇸 for $2.2B.
• Exail Technologies 🇫🇷 divests its Automation 🇫🇷 business, which generated €13M in revenue in 2025.
• Main Capital Partners 🇳🇱 acquires a majority stake in Agenium 🇺🇸, expanding in the North American insurance software market.
• MovitOn 🇧🇪 acquires Glocalzone 🇩🇪 to expand its decentralized logistics network.
• Magnum Ice Cream 🇪🇺 is exploring a potential acquisition by private equity firms Blackstone 🇺🇸 and CD&R 🇺🇸 after its recent spin-off from Unilever.
• H.I.G. Capital 🇺🇸 acquires International Aerospace Coatings 🇺🇸, a provider of aircraft painting solutions.
• NextEra Energy 🇺🇸 is in advanced talks to acquire Dominion Energy 🇺🇸, potentially creating a utility giant.
• Elliott Investment Management 🇺🇸 builds a sizable stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories 🇺🇸, a supplier of life-science tools and diagnostics products.
• National Australia Bank 🇦🇺 acquires Banked 🇬🇧, an account-to-account payments platform.
• Insider One 🇹🇷 acquires Bluecore 🇺🇸, an AI marketing technology unicorn based in Silicon Valley.
• No relevant acquisition information provided.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

• 🇬🇧 Watch Out. Swatch closed stores in Manchester and Liverpool for a second day after crowds seeking its new £335 “Royal Pop” watch sparked safety concerns and police intervention. (BBC)
• 🇫🇷 API of the Tiger. French startup Agorapulse wins a key legal battle against Elon Musk’s X over API access, potentially rewriting the rules for every digital platform in France. (FrenchWeb)
• 🇷🇺 Frozen Assets, Hot Verdict. A Moscow court has ordered Belgian firm Euroclear 🇧🇪 to pay $215B in damages for freezing Russian state assets, a ruling Moscow may never collect. (Spiegel)
• 🇺🇸 Trust Issues. At the Elon Musk vs. OpenAI trial, the core question is whether Sam Altman is trustworthy, with both sides trading accusations of misleading statements. (TechCrunch)
• 🇺🇸 Agentic Panic. Stripe co-founder John Collison claims « agentic commerce » will overhaul how we shop online, making algorithms the new shopkeepers. (Bloomberg)
• 🇺🇸 Power Play. Rick Perry and billionaire Toby Neugebauer are pushing a nuclear-powered data center in Texas, with a deal possibly landing as soon as Monday. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Peak Grok. After a burst of controversy-fueled fame, Grok’s downloads dropped from 20.4M to 8.3M in four months: viral moments do not guarantee staying power. (Le Figaro)
• 🇯🇵 Tokyo Drift. Soaring Japanese government bond yields are fueling speculation that $1T in overseas Japanese capital could start flowing back from US markets. (Financial Times)

Fundraising

• DayOne Data Centers 🇺🇸 (Data Centers): $4B
• Brookfield 🇨🇦 (Investment): $2B
• Mind Robotics 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $400M (Kleiner Perkins, Meritech Capital, Redpoint Ventures, SV Angel, Incharge Capital Partners GmbH, A-Star Capital, Garuda Ventures, Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Eclipse, Prysm Capital LP, Bain Capital Ventures LP, Greenoaks)
• Rapido 🇮🇳 (Mobility): $240M (Prosus, WestBridge Capital, Accel)
• Fractile 🇬🇧 (AI): $220M (Accel, Factorial Funds, Founders Fund, Conviction, Gigascale, O1A, Felicis, Buckley Ventures, 8VC)
• Photonic 🇺🇸 (Quantum Computing): $200M
• Quantexa 🇬🇧 (AI): £175M
• Exaforce 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $125M (HarbourVest, Peak XV, Mayfield, Khosla Ventures, Seligman Ventures)
• Shopify 🇨🇦 (E-commerce): $100M
• Elliptic 🇬🇧 (Blockchain): £88.8M
• Multiverse 🇬🇧 (Edtech): £70M (Schroders Capital, General Catalyst, Lightspeed, D1 Capital Partners, Index Ventures, Bond, StepStone group)
• GridCARE 🇺🇸 (Energy): $64M (Sutter Hill Ventures, John Doerr, National Grid Partners, Future Energy Ventures, Emerson Collective, Stanford University, Xora, Aina Ventures, Overture, Acclimate Ventures, Clearvision Ventures)
• Fasset 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $51M (SBI Group, Arz Portföy, Investcorp)
• CyberSwarm 🇷🇴 (AI): $50M
• equipifi 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $34M (Left Lane Capital, Curql, PHX Ventures)
• Nectar Social 🇺🇸 (Marketing): $30M (Menlo Ventures, Anthology Fund, Kinship Ventures, GV, True Ventures)
• Iceotope 🇬🇧 (Cooling): $26M (Barclays Climate Ventures, Two Seas Capital, ABC Impact, Northern Gritstone, Edinv, British Patient Capital)
• CREW Carbon 🇺🇸 (Water Technology): $25M (Burnt Island Ventures, AP Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Builders Vision, Kibo Invest, Idemitsu Ventures, New York Ventures, Counteract, ANIMO Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Ponderosa Ventures, Echo River Capital)
• GovWell 🇺🇸 (GovTech): $25M (Insight Partners, Work-Bench, Bienville Capital)
• Stitch 🇹🇷 (Fintech): $25M (Andreessen Horowitz, Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures, SVC)
• Rowden Technologies 🇬🇧 (Defence): £25M
• Wirestock 🇺🇸 (Data): $23M (Nava Ventures, SBVP, Formula VC, I2BF Global Ventures)
• Butterfly Medical 🇮🇱 (Healthcare): $21M (European Innovation Council, Junson Capital, MedVenture, New Rhein Healthcare Investors)
• Novella 🇺🇸 (Insurtech): $21M (Brewer Lane Ventures, Box Group, Crystal Venture Partners, SV Angel, Avid Ventures, Verissimo Ventures, Blank Ventures, Arch)
• Arkeus 🇺🇸 (Defense): $18M (QIC Ventures, R+VC, Folklore Ventures, DYNE Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, Salus Ventures, Beaten Zone)
• Adfin 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $18M (Index Ventures, Visionaires Club)
• Optura 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $17.5M (Salesforce Ventures, Echo Health Ventures, Susa Ventures, Matrix Partners, HC9 Ventures)
• Anomaly Insights 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $17M (Sound Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Link Ventures, Redesign Health, RRE Ventures)
• Urologic Health 🇮🇱 (Healthcare): $11M (Edge Medical Ventures, SHD Partners, Longevity Venture Partners)
• Happl 🇬🇧 (HR Tech): $11M
• Twin Prime 🇺🇸 (AI): $10M (Expeditions, Theon)
• Synthetic 🇺🇸 (AI): $10M
• Twin Prime 🇺🇸 (AI): $10M
• Sprouts.ai 🇺🇸 (AI): $9M (True Global Ventures, Accel)
• Ouinex 🇫🇷 (Crypto): $9M
• Graphon AI 🇺🇸 (AI): $8.3M
• Flick 🇺🇸 (Filmmaking): $6M (True Ventures, GV, Y Combinator, Lightspeed, Formosa Capital, Pioneer Fund, Olive Tree Capital, N1)
• DesignVerse 🇩🇪 (Software): $5.5M (Begin Capital, Gapminder VC, Underline Ventures)
• Avant Genomics 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $3M (TitletownTech, Halyard Ventures, Virginia Venture Partners, CAV Angels, Global Impact Fund)
• Zerops 🇸🇮 (Cloud): $2M (Gi21 Capital)
• Regulate 🇩🇪 (Healthtech): €1.4M (4impact capital, CDTM Venture Fund)
• DDD Invoices 🇸🇮 (Fintech): €1.31M (Fil Rouge Capital, 500 Global)
• SIP Next Generation Drinks 🇵🇱 (Beverages): 3M PLN
• Zevio 🇵🇱 (Fintech): Unknown (Grzegorz Błażewicz)

Fund Watch

• L’imad Holding 🇦🇪: $30B (infrastructure investing JV with BlackRock, Temasek, ADNOC)
• Bain Capital 🇺🇸: $10.5B (largest Asia-focused private equity fund, closed)
• BCI 🇨🇦: $3B
• Core Spaces 🇺🇸: $1.64B (4th flagship fund, university housing)
• Perbak Capital Partners 🇬🇧: $1.1B (short-focused hedge fund, winding down)
• Eighteen48 Partners 🇬🇧: $200M (debut European MM PE fund, $410M target)
• Lansdowne Partners 🇬🇧: $150M (VC fund, targeting UK startups, $200M goal)
• Meridian Ventures 🇺🇸: $35M (new fund for MBA-deferred founders, pre-seed and seed-stage)

🔔IPO

• Erock 🇺🇸 (Power Systems): filed for a IPO to support its data center operations.
• SpaceX 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): aiming to raise $80B in what could be the largest IPO ever on June 12.
• OpenAI 🇺🇸 (AI): a $1tn IPO hinges on a jury’s verdict in a legal battle with Elon Musk, who seeks $134bn in damages.
• Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust 🇺🇸 (Infrastructure): raised $1.75B in an IPO to acquire data centers.
• EagleRock Land 🇺🇸 (Land): surged 24% in its trading debut after raising $320M for a $3B market cap.
• Gemini 🇺🇸 (Finance): Winklevoss twins invested $100M into their crypto exchange.
• Vesta 🇲🇽 (Real Estate): raised $240M in a follow-on share sale in Mexico and the US.
• CXMT 🇨🇳 (Semiconductors): reports an eightfold jump in sales as it moves towards its IPO.
• Adtek Technology 🇨🇳 (Data Center): considering raising $500M in a Hong Kong IPO with a valuation of $3B-$4B.
• STT Global Data Centres 🇮🇳 (Data Centers): preparing a Mumbai IPO that could raise up to $500M.
• Manipal Health 🇮🇳 (Healthcare): beginning its India IPO marketing to raise $1B at a $12B valuation.
• Bagmane Prime Office REIT 🇮🇳 (Real Estate): raised $360M for a $3.7B market cap its India IPO.
• Oman India Fertiliser 🇴🇲 (Fertilizers): seeking an IPO in Oman with a target valuation of $2.5B.

🧳 Debt

• Fibank 🇧🇬: raised €310M through two international bond issuances.
• Morgan Stanley 🇺🇸: part of a $5B financing package backing Tilman Fertitta’s $30B LBO of Caesars Entertainment.
• IREN 🇺🇸: sold $2.6B of 1% convertible senior notes after an investment from Nvidia.
• Brookfield 🇺🇸: close to securing a $935M loan for its $1.2B LBO of World Freight Co.
• NTT Finance 🇯🇵: has postponed its planned yen bond issuance to early June or later.

❌ Failures

• Casino 🇫🇷: the group is seeking conciliation procedures for several subsidiaries amid ongoing financial discussions with creditors.
• Franz Carl Weber 🇨🇭: le magasin de jouets historique ferme, entraînant la perte de 12 emplois après une longue histoire depuis 1881.
• Archroma 🇨🇭: the Swiss specialty chemicals firm secured a debt extension for $1B of junk loans.
• Starbucks 🇺🇸: the coffee chain is laying off 300 employees and expects $400M in restructuring charges as part of its turnaround strategy.
• Waymo 🇺🇸: recalled nearly 3,800 robotaxis due to a software glitch, after raising $16B in funding.
• Affordable Care 🇺🇸: Blackstone and KKR will restructure the dental business, reducing debt by 70%, including a $1.7B private credit loan.
• Omnicare 🇺🇸: the bankrupt pharmacy services provider sold its business to GenieRx for $250M cash.
• Venezuela 🇻🇪: the country will start restructuring its $170B of debt.
• Evergrande 🇨🇳: liquidators are seeking $8.4B from PwC in Hong Kong court amid ongoing financial struggles.
• Takeda 🇯🇵: the pharmaceutical company will lay off 4,500 employees globally as part of a restructuring plan.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

• 🇫🇷 Human After All. France’s main film fund will soon require that only projects with human creators qualify for state support, leaving AI-driven productions out in the cold. (France Info)
• 🇺🇸 Magic Kingdoms. Abby Disney, granddaughter of a Disney founder, denounces America’s wealth gap while distancing herself from her family’s corporate throne. (Le Monde)
• 🇺🇸 Search and Destroy. Terakeet, hired to polish Goldman Sachs general counsel Kathryn Ruemmler’s online image, failed to bury headlines linking her to Jeffrey Epstein. Google’s memory proved harder to scrub than expected. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Candy Crush. Michail Chkhikvishvili, known as Commander Butcher, receives a 15-year sentence for planning to poison children via tainted holiday treats in New York. (New York Times)
• 🇨🇳 Say Cheese, Please. A stilted selfie between Elon Musk and rival Lei Jun lights up Chinese social media, with critics dissecting every forced smile and sidelong glance. (New York Times)
• 🇹🇭 Jurassic Plark. Thai scientists unveil Nagatitan, a 27-meter, 27-ton sauropod that dethrones the diplodocus as Southeast Asia’s biggest dinosaur. The bones are now on show in Bangkok, for anyone needing perspective. (Le Temps)

• 🇬🇧 Sloth Idol. Edinburgh Zoo’s newborn sloth, Atty, gets his name from Sir David Attenborough, proving celebrity status is now genetic, at least in the animal kingdom. (BBC)