🦆 Duck Season

Everyone showed up after the pond was drained.

A Free Lunch newsletter archive of July 9, 2026

🌍 All editions
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇺🇸 United States

Good morning!

A memecoin is, by the frank admission of its own legal small print, worth precisely nothing. The $TRUMP site tells buyers in black and white that the token is not an investment, carries no expectation of return, and functions merely as an expression of enthusiasm for a piece of clip art. Somewhere between that disclaimer and Truth Social, the message got garbled. The blockchain, which everyone forgot was public, now records nearly 989,000 wallets, roughly two out of every three buyers, sitting on a combined $3.81B hole. The coin trades at $1.76, down 97% from a peak of $75.35 it touched for approximately the length of a news cycle in January 2025.

The genius of the structure deserves a certain cold admiration. The founder earns a cut on every trade, up or down, in or out, so the only losing move at the table is his followers’. He pocketed $636M from the memecoin alone, part of a $1.4B crypto haul and a broader $2.2B year, while the faithful were encouraged, in all caps, to GET THEIR $TRUMP NOW. Nicholas Pinto, a 2024 voter who put in half a million and watched half of it evaporate, described it in a moment of clarity as « almost a legal scam. » The word doing the heavy lifting there is « almost. » The Securities and Exchange Commission announced in February 2025 that it would no longer scrutinise memecoin deals, which removes the load-bearing adverb entirely.

It would be too easy to file this under grubby self-dealing and move on. The uncomfortable part is that it is not, technically, a fraud. Fraud requires deception, and there was none. The prospectus said the thing was worthless. The seller said WINNING. The buyers, adults with wallets and free will, chose to believe the second sentence over the first, as buyers of tulips and Beanie Babies and Enron have chosen before them. Nearly 500,000 wallets did in fact walk away with $4B in profits, almost all of it captured by automated traders who bought in the first chaotic hours and dumped on the crowd arriving late, breathless and loyal. That is not a bug in the memecoin. That is the memecoin.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has since proposed barring elected officials and their spouses from issuing tokens, a bill with all the timing of a smoke alarm installed after the house has burned down. The likelier epilogue is a class action, filed patiently, sometime after the current occupant leaves office and regulators rediscover their appetite. Until then the arithmetic stands. Roughly a million people transferred $3.81B to a man who told them, in writing, that they would get nothing, and then thanked them for their support. The scam, legal or otherwise, was never the coin. It was believing that the sign on the casino door, the one reading « for entertainment purposes only, » was addressed to someone else.

🦆 Duck Season

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🗞️ Top Story

🇩🇰 Frozen Assets. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declared Greenland « not for sale » after Donald Trump again demanded US control over the territory at the NATO summit. (The Globe and Mail)
🇭🇺 Fade to Black. Péter Magyar’s government pulled the plug on Hungary’s public broadcasters, replacing news with a blunt confession: « We lied for years. Sorry about that. » (El Pais)
🇪🇺 Summit Like It Hot. Despite Trump’s public jabs at European allies, NATO leaders wrapped up their summit with a united front and a fresh $80B pledge for Ukraine. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Oyster Cult. Graham Platner, a Maine oyster farmer and Marine veteran, was plucked from obscurity by progressive operatives and transformed into a Senate hopeful, only for his campaign to unravel spectacularly as internal chaos and personal struggles surfaced. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Patriot Games. Donald Trump says he would let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot missiles, signaling a new phase in support for Kyiv’s defense ambitions. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Sanction Release. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces the will drop Syria from its terror sponsor list, giving Ahmed Al-Charaa’s regime a path to global markets. (Le Monde)
🇺🇸 Strike Two. The military has launched airstrikes on Iran for a second consecutive day, raising tensions and putting a fragile ceasefire at risk. (Bloomberg)
🇨🇳 Party Tricks. As the Communist Party of China turns 105, Beijing showcases AI-powered toys and tech marvels that recite party slogans with algorithmic precision. (El Pais)
🇦🇺 Mate Diplomacy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a two-day visit to Australia, joining Anthony Albanese in pledging closer economic and defense ties with new agreements on the table. (Bloomberg)
🇸🇩 Case Closed? The International Criminal Court claims a breakthrough with concrete evidence linking RSF leaders to Darfur war crimes, raising the stakes for Sudan’s paramilitary brass. (Bbc)
🇳🇪 Junta Clause. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visited Niger to promise continued military support for the Sahel’s ruling juntas, cementing Moscow’s partnership with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger as they distance themselves from France. (Le Monde)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇬🇧 Keep Calm and Call. Starmer insists he will maintain contact with President Trump even after stepping down, as the UK-US hotline never really cools. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Bye Byelection. Reform UK wants Clacton’s byelection set for 6 August after Nigel Farage resigns, triggering a vote most major parties plan to boycott. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Sting Operation. MI5 agents arrested Alfie Coleman, a 22-year-old neo-Nazi, after luring him to collect a gun and ammunition for a planned attack, resulting in a 13.5-year prison sentence. (Bbc)

🇺🇸 United States

🇳🇱 Order in the Court. I.C.C. chief prosecutor Karim Khan is suspended following an internal probe that found he engaged in sexual harassment and tried to silence his accuser. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Court Ordered. Donald Trump says he will ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its rejection of his birthright citizenship order, despite almost no chance of success. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Fraud and Order. Vice President JD Vance visited Wisconsin to accuse Democrats of ignoring fraud, turning a policy investigation into a campaign weapon as midterms approach. (New York Times)

🏛️ Economy

🇬🇧 Growth Pains. The IMF has raised its UK growth forecast to 1% for 2026, as fears over Iran war fallout ease and other G7 nations lag behind. (The Guardian)
🇷🇺 Fuel Stop. Russia halts all diesel exports after Ukrainian attacks on its refineries, threatening to squeeze global supplies just as prices climb. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Crude Awakening. Goldman Sachs warns that tensions in the Strait of Hormuz could stall the rebound in global oil supplies, keeping markets on edge for longer. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Trust Issues. A judge approved Elon Musk’s $1.5M SEC settlement over his Twitter stake disclosure, voicing “significant misgivings” but accepting the deal anyway. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Rate Debate. A few Federal Reserve officials considered hiking interest rates in June but ultimately stuck with the status quo under new chair Kevin Warsh. (Le Figaro)
🇧🇷 Banking on Faith. Alleged fraud at a Brazilian bank casts a shadow over Edir Macedo’s evangelical empire, raising questions about the billionaire bishop’s financial foundations. (Bloomberg)
🌎 Deal or No Deal. Global M&A volume soared past $3T in the first half of 2026, driven by giant AI transactions even as the number of deals dropped. (Wall Street Journal)
🇯🇵 Swipe Out. Japanese banks and restaurants are scrambling after a payment processor meltdown halted digital transactions, forcing a return to cash and confusion. (Bloomberg)
🇰🇷 Watt’s Up, Bot? A KAIST study finds AI agents consume up to 136 times more energy per query than traditional chatbots, raising alarms about their environmental impact and the future strain on global power grids. (Italian)
🇭🇰 Club Dread. Hong Kong’s wealthiest are fuming as New World Development revamps its exclusive private club, proving even luxury upgrades can spark outrage. (Bloomberg)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇬🇧 Degree Market. New research shows nearly a quarter of UK market traders now hold advanced degrees, as Britain’s stalls fill with highly educated entrepreneurs. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Inside Job. The FCA accuses Richard Bloomfield, formerly of Goodwin Procter, of using privileged M&A intel to trade Seraphine shares ahead of its private equity buyout. (Financial Times)
🇬🇧 Bond, War Bond. UK defense leaders urge Chancellor Burnham to consider issuing war bonds to help fund military spending as global tensions rise. (Bloomberg)

🇺🇸 United States

🇺🇸 Broker Alert. Senator Elizabeth Warren is investigating Cantor Fitzgerald’s involvement in a $1.6B deal, putting the firm’s practices under a bright congressional spotlight. (Bloomberg)

🏢 Real Estate

🇦🇹 Rent Control. Vienna stands out in Europe with 220,000 municipal homes and rents as low as €486 for 65 square meters, making affordable housing a local tradition. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Floor Play. The owner of a damaged Manhattan tower will rebuild 15 floors after a full evacuation, proving that in New York, the only way out is up. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Suite Success. Manhattan office leasing hit 11M sq ft in Q2, marking the strongest demand in over 20 years and leaving vacancy worries on hold. (Cnbc)
🇨🇦 Meta Morphosis. Meta 🇺🇸 will spend $9B to build its largest data center outside the US in Alberta, hoping a cowboy hat will distract from the power bill. (Le Figaro)
🇨🇳 Bloc Party. Chinese homebuyers are snapping up old Soviet-style apartments, revealing just how far the property revival has to go. (Bloomberg)
🇪🇬 Pyramid Scheme. Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris is increasing his investment in the Giza pyramids’ renovation, giving ancient wonders a modern cash injection. (Bloomberg)

🔗 On-chain

🇺🇸 Back to the Drawing Board. Cantor Equity Partners I Inc. and BSTR Holdings 🇺🇸 have tossed out last year’s merger terms and will renegotiate a Bitcoin SPAC deal that actually fits today’s market. (Bloomberg)

💱 Listed Markets

🇬🇧 Flight Risk. EasyJet pilots voice concern over job security and management changes as Castlelake takes a controlling stake in the airline, turbulence ahead for the crew. (Bloomberg)
🇫🇷 Hostile Reception. A Paris court ruling dashed Vincent Bolloré’s hopes for a full Vivendi takeover, sending Vivendi 🇫🇷 shares down 11.5% in a single day. (Wall Street Journal)
🇪🇺 Gatekeeper’s Keep. Apple 🇺🇸 loses its court challenge as judges uphold the Commission’s decision to label its App Store and iOS as digital « gatekeepers » under the Digital Markets Act, unlocking new regulatory obligations for the tech giant. (Die Zeit)
🇺🇸 Falling Star. SpaceX stock closed at $148, slipping below its $150 debut for a second day after its rapid Nasdaq-100 inclusion and $85.7B IPO fanfare. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 Debt Star. David Ellison’s $81B bid for Warner Bros. Discovery comes with a towering debt load, so Hollywood’s next act may be financial suspense. (Wall Street Journal)
🇨🇦 Lost in Translation. After repeated criticism for its former CEO’s lack of French, Air Canada hires Anko van der Werff, who is fluent in the language, to lead the airline. (New York Times)
🇮🇳 Capital Letters. Alphabet’s $10B commitment sent India’s foreign investment soaring 44%, says the UN, proving that big tech still spells growth. (Bloomberg)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇬🇧 Call Waiting. Virgin Media 🇬🇧 faces a £28M penalty after Ofcom found it used dropped calls and endless holds to block contract cancellations, turning customer service into a hostage situation. (The Guardian)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

Tesco 🇬🇧 explores sale of its Eastern European business 🇪🇺
HSBC 🇬🇧 is exploring a sale of HSBC Türkiye retail and corporate unit 🇹🇷
Epiris 🇬🇧 is among bidders (alongside Octopus Investments 🇬🇧 and Telecel Group 🇿🇼) to acquire PlatformX Communications 🇬🇧, TalkTalk’s wholesale telecoms business.
Circeus 🇬🇧 acquires Encodian 🇬🇧 (AI-powered document automation (Flowr) serving 3,000+ paying customers in 80 geographies.
KAPIA-RGI 🇫🇷 acquires Cegid Assurex 🇫🇷, a suite for insurance benefit management, pensions, retirement liquidation and benefit taxation. Integrates 20+ clients and Cegid Assurex teams.
InfraVia 🇫🇷 acquiert D-Marin 🇹🇷 de CVC 🇱🇺 pour €1B+, un LBO secondaire sur l’opérateur de marinas (CVC l’avait acheté il y a six ans pour €280M).
Ipsen 🇫🇷 acquires Memo Therapeutics AG 🇨🇭 for an initial €200M.
UniCredit 🇮🇹 acquires Commerzbank 🇩🇪 via a €40B exchange offer. Shareholders representing 17.60% accepted, bringing UniCredit to 47.59% of shares and 49.65% of voting rights (26.77% direct stake + 3.22% via deliverable instruments). Offer launched Sept 2024 and extended to 3 July, German government still holds 12%.
BlackFin 🇮🇹 acquires Arendt Investor Services 🇩🇪 after securing 17.6% via its takeover offer, not yet able to effect a full merger.
Mutua Madrileña 🇪🇸 takes a 10% stake in Muppy 🇪🇸 via Mutua Ventures, proptech platform for residential asset investment and management.
Hiberus 🇪🇸 acquires VASS Corporate SAP unit 🇪🇸, in the SAP consultancy, implementation and digital transformation sector, accelerating its growth.
Quality & Reliability (QnR) 🇬🇷 acquires E-XIM IT S.A. 🇵🇱 for €6.9M, taking a 51% stake and entering the ServiceNow ecosystem (digital transformation / Enterprise AI & workflow automation).
EQT 🇸🇪 will acquire specialty medical patch maker Corza Biosurgery 🇺🇸 from GTCR’s Corza Medical business.
IQM Quantum Computers 🇫🇮 acquires selected assets of Quantistry 🇩🇪, adding application software, algorithm simulation libraries, a machine learning layer and core technical teams for quantum simulation.
Druid Software 🇮🇪 acquires Node-H 🇩🇪, a Munich-based RAN software and user equipment provider. Druid raised $20m last year to expand into defence, shipping and utilities.
Viatel Technology Group 🇮🇪 acquires FullProxy 🇬🇧, a Glasgow-headquartered cybersecurity consultancy. Deal backed by Macquarie Capital.
BDO Ireland 🇮🇪 merges with BDO UK 🇬🇧 to form BDO LLP with €1.26bn revenues, ~8,500 employees and ~500 partners.
Thelema S.à r.l. 🇱🇺 acquires B Medical Systems 🇱🇺 for $63M in cash, including a $35M short-term secured vendor loan.
Telenor 🇳🇴 acquires Bahnhof 🇸🇪 in a $629M deal valuing the company at 6.1 billion SEK, including debt.
NBIM 🇳🇴 acquires a 49% stake in Asana Partners 🇺🇸 for $500M, a luxury retail real estate private equity firm.
Blue Owl 🇺🇸 acquires UK private hospital portfolio 🇬🇧 for £1.3B, private healthcare assets.
Rocket Lab 🇺🇸 acquires Iridium Communications 🇺🇸 for $8B ( $54 per share), cash-and-stock transaction.
Nvidia 🇺🇸 invests nearly $30M in Gradium 🇫🇷, a French AI voice startup. Gradium has crossed $100M of total funding less than a year after launch.
Solstice 🇺🇸 acquires Element Solutions 🇺🇸 for $14.5B, deal touches semiconductor materials and AI data-center cooling.
Axos Financial 🇺🇸 acquires Arc Technologies 🇺🇸, an AI-native fintech, bolting its software onto a chartered bank. Axos has $29B in assets.
Vertex 🇺🇸 acquires Crinetics Pharmaceuticals 🇺🇸 for $10B, pharmaceutical mega-deal. Therapies could reach >$5B peak annual sales.
Dream Finders Homes 🇺🇸 boosts bid for Beazer 🇺🇸 to $875M.
Ken Griffin 🇺🇸 acquires 138 Miami condos 🇺🇸, a bulk purchase of residential units in Miami.
MasTec 🇺🇸 acquires Superior Group 🇺🇸 in a $1.65B cash-and-stock deal, engineering and construction firm buying an electrical contractor.
JPMorgan 🇺🇸, Bank of America 🇺🇸 and Wells Fargo 🇺🇸 are in talks to acquire a payment infrastructure business owned by Fiserv 🇺🇸.
Shore Capital 🇺🇸 acquires ThrivePass 🇺🇸, a Denver-based benefits technology platform, in a private equity partnership.
River Associates 🇺🇸 acquires Horsepower Automotive Group 🇺🇸 (closed June 11, 2026. Aftermarket automotive brands (Flatline Van Co., DV8, ADD, C4, Rago). Funded by River VIII with financing from Abacus Finance Group and GMB Capital Partners).
Equifax 🇺🇸 acquires Círculo de Crédito 🇲🇽 for $750M. Fastest-growing Mexican credit bureau, $134M revenue (LTM), $62M adjusted EBITDA.
Bain Capital 🇺🇸 acquires York Holdings 🇯🇵 for $5.37B. Bain holds 60% while Seven & I and the Ito family retain the remainder.
Sapporo Breweries 🇯🇵 acquires 25% stake in joint venture with Carlsberg Breweries 🇩🇰 for $643M, forming a Singapore-based JV and expanding cooperation to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank 🇯🇵 to buy a 15% stake in Morrison 🇳🇿, makes an initial $500M commitment to two Morrison strategies and aims to jointly manage $1.5B of client assets.
Private Department of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan 🇦🇪 invests $1.13B in EIG-backed MidOcean 🇺🇸 for energy and infrastructure projects in the UAE.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

🇬🇧 Credit Crunch. HSBC 🇬🇧 is pulling back from private credit by refusing to renew some debt funds’ credit lines, citing risk levels that no longer justify the returns. (Les Echos)
🇫🇷 RoboCopilot. French AI startup Mistral unveils Robostral Navigate, its first model designed specifically for robots to autonomously navigate offices and complex environments, hinting at bigger ambitions in robotics. (Le Figaro)
🇩🇪 Current Affairs. Munich-based Proxima Fusion secures a record €411M investment round, making it Europe’s best-funded fusion startup and raising its valuation to €2.4B. (Eu-startups)
🇺🇸 Flight Club. Manna Aero 🇮🇪 is launching a major expansion with a Tulsa factory and plans to compete head-to-head with Zipline, Amazon, and Wing. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Silicon Ambition. SambaNova 🇺🇸 secures $1B in new funding, declaring itself a contender against Nvidia in the $4.8T AI chip race. (Maddyness)
🇺🇸 Access Granted. OpenAI unlocks GPT-5.6 for global users this week, following a limited rollout and official approval from the Trump administration. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Brand New Space. Elon Musk has rebranded his AI venture xAI as SpaceXAI, folding it into SpaceX and ending its run as a standalone company. (Webrazzi)
🇺🇸 Gift Horse. Sam Altman proposes giving the government a 5% stake in OpenAI 🇺🇸, promising Americans a $42.6B share in AI’s future riches. (Bloomberg)

Fundraising

Blue Origin 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): $10B (Coatue Management, Jeff Bezos)
Joulent 🇺🇸 (Energy): $1.75B (National Grid)
Beeline Medicines 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $426.3M (Bain Capital, CPP Investments, Bristol Myers Squibb)
Proxima Fusion 🇩🇪 (Fusion): €411M (XTX Ventures, East X Ventures, RWE, Google, KfW Capital, SPRIND, Burda Principal Investments, Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton, Cherry Ventures, DST Global Partners, Brevan Howard Macro Venture, Lightspeed, DTCF, redalpine, Leitmotif, Elaia, CDP Venture Capital, Bayern Kapital, European Investment Council)
Oratomic (Quantum computing): $300M (ARCH Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Khosla Ventures)
Skello 🇫🇷 (HR): €200M (Bridgepoint Development Capital V, Partech, XAnge)
LeapXpert 🇺🇸 (Communications): $180M (Riverwood Capital)
Even Realities 🇨🇳 (AR hardware): $150M (Meituan, Tencent, Hillhouse Investment, Sequoia Capital China, Northern Light Venture Capital)
Robotera 🇨🇳 (Robotics): $148M (Chengtong Fund, Capital Operation Holding Group, Guoyuan Equity, Yufu Zhongxin Fund, Hangzhou Capital, CICC Renault, Jiukun Venture Capital, Hony Capital, Juntai Capital, Shenghe Capital, Houxue Capital, Tsingkong Tiancheng, Qianshan Capital)
8090 🇺🇸 (AI): $135M (Salesforce, WNDR, Craft Ventures, TPB, LAUNCH, Nikesh Arora, Cliff Robbins, Adam D’Angelo, Shyam Ravindran, Thomas Laffont, Abhi Arun)
Quaise Energy 🇺🇸 (Geothermal): $134M (Prelude Ventures)
Prime Intellect 🇺🇸 (AI): $130M (Radical Ventures, Nvidia Ventures, Intel Capital, Dell Technologies Capital, Iconiq, Aravind Srinivas, Aaron Levie, Winston Weinberg, Jeff Wang, Brendan Foody)
Nomos AI 🇺🇸 (Legal): $120M (Khosla Ventures)
Premier Lacrosse League 🇺🇸 (Sports): $100M (Ares, Joe Tsai, ESPN, Glen Powell, Rob Mac, Warren Zeiders, Tony Cavalero, Creator Sports Capital, Next 3, FirstTracks Sports Ventures, Jed Hart, West End Investment Management, James Young, Bolt Ventures, Chris Shumway, and others)
Gradium 🇫🇷 (Voice AI): $100M (Firstmark, Eurazeo, Nvidia)
Venus Aerospace 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): $91M (Mercury Fund, Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, Green Sands Equity)
EDX Markets 🇺🇸 (Digital assets): $76M (SBI Holdings)
EigenLayer 🇺🇸 (Blockchain): $70M (a16z)
Super.com 🇨🇦 (Fintech): $65M (TPG, Stephen Curry, Harley Finkelstein, Inovia Capital, Lion Capital LLP)
Leo Cancer Care 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $65M (Yu Galaxy, Eventide Asset Management)
Arca 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $64M (General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Venrock)
Bizay 🇵🇹 (E-commerce): $55M (Indico Capital Partners, Lince Capital, Cedrus, BPF)
Poetic 🇺🇸 (AI): $50M (Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, First Harmonic, OpenAI)
Vendelux 🇺🇸 (Events): $50M (Tribeca Venture Partners, S3, Pelion Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, FirstMark, Cervin Ventures)
Monogram 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (DST Global, Lux Capital, Conviction, SOMA Capital, Gradient Ventures, e2vc, Maxitech, Arthur Mensch, Logan Green, Karim Atiyeh, Garry Tan, Pete Flint, Mario Schlosser, Othman Laraki, Lenny Rachitsky, Charlie Songhurst)
Bespoke Labs 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (8VC, Jeff Dean, Spiros Xanthos, Dheeraj Pandey, Wing VC, Mayfield, The House Fund, Tristan Handy, Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta)
Arkenstone Defense 🇺🇸 (Defense): $35M (J2 Ventures, Susa Ventures, Granite Hill Capital Partners, Artis Ventures)
Sage 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $35M (Stifel Bank)
Cyllene Therapeutics 🇫🇷 (Biotech): €33M (GordonMD Global Investments, M Ventures)
Andercore 🇩🇪 (Procurement): €30M (UniCredit, KfW)
Pediatrica Health Group 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $28M (Valspring Capital, M33 Growth)
Fleek 🇬🇧 (Fashion): $25M (Burda Principal Investments, eBay, FJ Labs, H14, Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital, Y Combinator)
Alta 🇮🇱 (AI): $25M (IN Venture, Mindset Ventures, Skywell Capital, LeumiTech77, Entrée Capital, Target Global, Verissimo Ventures)
Axle Energy 🇬🇧 (Energy): $25M
Earlytrade 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $25M (S3 Ventures, Brick & Mortar Ventures)
StirlingX 🇬🇧 (Defense): $20M (Ventura Capital, RCM Private Markets Master Fund (Rokos Capital Management))
Tangos AI 🇮🇱 (Regtech): $20M (Red Dot Capital Partners, Leaders Fund, Clarim Ventures, VentureIsrael, Signal Fire, Clutch Capital, Selah Ventures, Bright Data)
Handspring 🇺🇸 (Mental health): $19M (RPS Ventures, Angelini Ventures, Cobalt Ventures, NextView Ventures, nvp capital, Hyde Park Angels, Cornucopian Capital)
Handspring Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $19M (RPS Ventures)
Stenon 🇩🇪 (Agtech): €18M (Pymwymic, DeepTech & Climate Fund, Atlantic, Oyster Bay, Founders Fund, TIME Ventures, Bernd Hoffmann)
HIVE 🇬🇧 (Industrial AI): $15M (SuperSeed, Veriten, Skyfall, Nysnø, Børge Hald, Jørn Lyseggen)
Netris 🇺🇸 (Networking): $15M (Andreessen Horowitz)
Dogtooth Technologies 🇬🇧 (Agtech): £14M (24Haymarket, EMV Capital, ACF Investors, Innovate UK, Kineo Finance)
EdVisorly 🇺🇸 (EdTech): $13.3M (Breachway Capital, U.S. News & World Report, Lumina Foundation, Strada Education Foundation, Motley Fool Ventures, Juvo Ventures, Zeal Capital Partners, others)
geoSurge 🇬🇧 (AI): $12M (AlbionVC, Play Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Celero Ventures, Boost Capital, Passion Capital, Tuesday Capital, angel investors from Google DeepMind, Microsoft AI, Signal AI)
Hostie 🇺🇸 (Hospitality): $12M (Obvious Ventures, Gradient, Scribble Ventures, Burst Capital, Behind Genius Ventures, Tim Stannard, Stuart Brioza, Nicole Krasinski, Elizabeth DePalmer)
Polysense 🇧🇪 (Foodtech): $10.7M (Felix Capital, Fortino Ventures, Syndicate One, 100IN, other angel investors)
Pilot Photonics 🇮🇪 (Photonics): €10.4M (Horizon Europe EIC Accelerator)
Bohr Energie 🇫🇷 (Energy): €10M (Suma Capital, SC Net Zero Ventures)
Fuchs & Eule 🇩🇪 (Proptech): €10M (GET Fund, PI Impact, WaVe-X, SET Ventures, Picus Capital, Realyze Ventures)
Luffy AI 🇬🇧 (AI): €9.4M (BGF, MIG Capital AG, Bow Capital, Chrysalix, Momenta, UKI2S)
Alqem 🇩🇪 (Materials): €8M (UVC Partners, Union Square Ventures)
alqem 🇩🇪 (Materials): €8M (UVC Partners, Union Square Ventures)

Fund Watch

Arctos Partners 🇺🇸: $6.2B (Arctos Keystone Partners Fund I, debut GP-solutions fund, KKR-backed)
BGF 🇬🇧: €5.8B (growth capital provider; €5.8B deployed across 650 UK & Irish startups, minority equity)
Hamilton Lane 🇺🇸: $3.8B (6th flagship private equity fund)
SkyKnight Capital 🇺🇸: $2B (Fund V, 5th PE fund, $2B hard cap)
Expeditions 🇵🇱: €197M (Fund II, defence-tech & infrastructure resilience VC)
Isogon Ventures 🇺🇸: $150M (debut fund)
Tapestry VC 🇬🇧: €70M (3rd fund, pre-seed/seed for repeat founders. British Business Bank €35M investor)
Climentum Capital 🇩🇰: €60M (Fund II, climate‑tech/hard‑tech fund. First close; €100M target)
Bpifrance / Banque des Territoires / Icade 🇫🇷: €45M (Urban Ventures, VC for the built environment)
Ashley Smith 🇺🇸: $25M (Vermilion Cliffs Fund II, 2nd early-stage VC for AI infra, security, dev tools)
CODE Capital 🇩🇪: €10M (first-check early-stage fund for CODE University founders, target €10M; €50–100k initial checks)
Simon Squibb 🇬🇧: Pledge (10% of Dream Group profits, DreamFund. Perpetual public-access grant fund. No equity or repayment)

🔔IPO

Standard Nuclear 🇺🇸 (Nuclear): seeking to raise $383M at a $3.55B valuation in its IPO.
Syntiant 🇺🇸 (AI chips): filed for a IPO after backing from Intel.
DuPont Registry Group 🇺🇸 (Autos): to pick banks for a IPO. Amount not disclosed.
Axia Real Assets 🇨🇦 (Private equity): launched the $560M hostile bid on Plaza Retail RETI after two years of failed friendly talks and with support from Morguard’s 15.3% stake.
Luxshare 🇨🇳 (Electronics): priced a $3.1B Hong Kong listing at the top.
SK Hynix 🇰🇷 (Semiconductors): US offering was over seven times oversubscribed. Offer size not disclosed.
K Raheja 🇮🇳 (Real estate): delayed plans for a $700M India IPO.
InsuranceDekho 🇮🇳 (Insurtech): picked banks for a $400M India IPO.
Cult.Fit 🇮🇳 (Fitness): filed for a $100M India IPO backed by Temasek.
Unitel 🇦🇴 (Telecoms): preparing a record IPO to raise $320M.

🧳 Debt

Nscale 🇬🇧: closed a $900M revolving credit facility to fund its data-centre build-out.
France 🇫🇷: 10-year yield climbed to 3.89%, its highest level since 2009.
Autodoc 🇩🇪: is raising over $600M in debt to buy back a 15% stake from Apollo.
Italy 🇮🇹: raised $6B in its first dollar bond sale since 2021.
QTS Markets 🇺🇸: secured a data center-backed loan (amount undisclosed).
Sterling Infrastructure 🇺🇸: amended its credit agreement to expand revolving borrowings to $1.5B and extend maturity to July 2031.
China 🇨🇳: 10-year bond sale saw demand gauge at a record high.
Japan 🇯🇵: bank lending rose at its fastest pace since COVID, supporting the BOJ’s policy path.
Thailand 🇹🇭: borrowing THB4.55B from the World Bank plus a THB129.3M grant (total THB4.6793B) for Koh Lanta and Songkhla bridges.
Bangladesh 🇧🇩: exploring a debut sovereign bond sale overseas.

❌ Failures

Airband 🇬🇧: after heavy losses the Aberdeen-backed broadband provider is seeking a new owner in restructuring, putting $267M of investor money at risk.
Aston Martin 🇬🇧: noteholders signed a cooperation pact as the automaker faces a debt rout threatening its refinancing and liquidity.
Allianz 🇩🇪: will cut up to 1,800 jobs in its travel insurance division due to increasing AI use.
Atlas 🇩🇪: after filing for insolvency, a takeover by Buhler Versatile will cost 180 jobs.
Rheinmetall 🇩🇪: freezes 900 planned Naval Systems jobs after the F126 deal collapsed (over €2B sunk; €18B offer proposed).
Getty Images 🇺🇸: lenders began organizing after the firm scrapped a planned merger with Shutterstock.
Rogers Sports and Media 🇨🇦: closing six radio stations and cutting 80 jobs (part of 230 total layoffs).
Zentoshin 🇯🇵: received court approval to begin voluntary bankruptcy proceedings with liabilities of about ¥125,929 million.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

🇺🇦 Drone Alone. Ukrainian police raided drone maker Vyriy and the home of its owner, who also co-owns critical news outlet Babel, sparking fears of media intimidation disguised as a corruption probe. (New York Times)
🇺🇦 Born Under Fire. In Kherson, newborns take their first breaths in a fortified underground maternity ward while Russian drones claim lives in the streets above, making survival the city’s daily lottery. (El Pais)
🇺🇸 Red Rover, White Moon. NASA plans to send a test Mars rover to the Moon first, giving the lunar surface a preview of Martian ambitions before heading farther afield. (Bloomberg)
🇨🇦 Ice Breakers. Canada, long overshadowed as the “forgotten host,” made its deepest-ever World Cup run and captured national attention with record-breaking viewership and a historic knockout-stage win. (Bbc)
🇦🇷 Hate Trick. As Argentina advances to another World Cup quarter-final, conspiracy theories and accusations of favoritism, vice, and racism swirl louder than ever around Messi’s squad. (Le Parisien)
🇸🇦 Level Up. The Esports World Cup kicks off in Saudi Arabia, drawing gamers and superfans who treat Counter-Strike and Fortnite like Olympic events. (Ouest-France)
🇵🇸 Broken Bearings. The World Health Organization reports Gaza leads the world in child amputees per capita as young survivors struggle to adapt amid constant upheaval. (Le Monde)

Good morning!

🦆 Duck Season

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🗞️ Top Story

🇬🇧 Keep Calm and Call. Starmer insists he will maintain contact with President Trump even after stepping down, as the UK-US hotline never really cools. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Bye Byelection. Reform UK wants Clacton’s byelection set for 6 August after Nigel Farage resigns, triggering a vote most major parties plan to boycott. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Sting Operation. MI5 agents arrested Alfie Coleman, a 22-year-old neo-Nazi, after luring him to collect a gun and ammunition for a planned attack, resulting in a 13.5-year prison sentence. (Bbc)
🇩🇰 Frozen Assets. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declared Greenland « not for sale » after Donald Trump again demanded US control over the territory at the NATO summit. (The Globe and Mail)
🇭🇺 Fade to Black. Péter Magyar’s government pulled the plug on Hungary’s public broadcasters, replacing news with a blunt confession: « We lied for years. Sorry about that. » (El Pais)
🇪🇺 Summit Like It Hot. Despite Trump’s public jabs at European allies, NATO leaders wrapped up their summit with a united front and a fresh $80B pledge for Ukraine. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Oyster Cult. Graham Platner, a Maine oyster farmer and Marine veteran, was plucked from obscurity by progressive operatives and transformed into a Senate hopeful, only for his campaign to unravel spectacularly as internal chaos and personal struggles surfaced. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Patriot Games. Donald Trump says he would let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot missiles, signaling a new phase in support for Kyiv’s defense ambitions. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Sanction Release. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces the will drop Syria from its terror sponsor list, giving Ahmed Al-Charaa’s regime a path to global markets. (Le Monde)
🇺🇸 Strike Two. The military has launched airstrikes on Iran for a second consecutive day, raising tensions and putting a fragile ceasefire at risk. (Bloomberg)
🇨🇳 Party Tricks. As the Communist Party of China turns 105, Beijing showcases AI-powered toys and tech marvels that recite party slogans with algorithmic precision. (El Pais)
🇦🇺 Mate Diplomacy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a two-day visit to Australia, joining Anthony Albanese in pledging closer economic and defense ties with new agreements on the table. (Bloomberg)
🇸🇩 Case Closed? The International Criminal Court claims a breakthrough with concrete evidence linking RSF leaders to Darfur war crimes, raising the stakes for Sudan’s paramilitary brass. (Bbc)
🇳🇪 Junta Clause. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visited Niger to promise continued military support for the Sahel’s ruling juntas, cementing Moscow’s partnership with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger as they distance themselves from France. (Le Monde)

🏛️ Economy

🇬🇧 Degree Market. New research shows nearly a quarter of UK market traders now hold advanced degrees, as Britain’s stalls fill with highly educated entrepreneurs. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Growth Pains. The IMF has raised its UK growth forecast to 1% for 2026, as fears over Iran war fallout ease and other G7 nations lag behind. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Inside Job. The FCA accuses Richard Bloomfield, formerly of Goodwin Procter, of using privileged M&A intel to trade Seraphine shares ahead of its private equity buyout. (Financial Times)
🇬🇧 Bond, War Bond. UK defense leaders urge Chancellor Burnham to consider issuing war bonds to help fund military spending as global tensions rise. (Bloomberg)
🇷🇺 Fuel Stop. Russia halts all diesel exports after Ukrainian attacks on its refineries, threatening to squeeze global supplies just as prices climb. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Crude Awakening. Goldman Sachs warns that tensions in the Strait of Hormuz could stall the rebound in global oil supplies, keeping markets on edge for longer. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Trust Issues. A judge approved Elon Musk’s $1.5M SEC settlement over his Twitter stake disclosure, voicing “significant misgivings” but accepting the deal anyway. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Rate Debate. A few Federal Reserve officials considered hiking interest rates in June but ultimately stuck with the status quo under new chair Kevin Warsh. (Le Figaro)
🇧🇷 Banking on Faith. Alleged fraud at a Brazilian bank casts a shadow over Edir Macedo’s evangelical empire, raising questions about the billionaire bishop’s financial foundations. (Bloomberg)
🌎 Deal or No Deal. Global M&A volume soared past $3T in the first half of 2026, driven by giant AI transactions even as the number of deals dropped. (Wall Street Journal)
🇯🇵 Swipe Out. Japanese banks and restaurants are scrambling after a payment processor meltdown halted digital transactions, forcing a return to cash and confusion. (Bloomberg)
🇰🇷 Watt’s Up, Bot? A KAIST study finds AI agents consume up to 136 times more energy per query than traditional chatbots, raising alarms about their environmental impact and the future strain on global power grids. (Italian)
🇭🇰 Club Dread. Hong Kong’s wealthiest are fuming as New World Development revamps its exclusive private club, proving even luxury upgrades can spark outrage. (Bloomberg)

🏢 Real Estate

🇦🇹 Rent Control. Vienna stands out in Europe with 220,000 municipal homes and rents as low as €486 for 65 square meters, making affordable housing a local tradition. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Floor Play. The owner of a damaged Manhattan tower will rebuild 15 floors after a full evacuation, proving that in New York, the only way out is up. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Suite Success. Manhattan office leasing hit 11M sq ft in Q2, marking the strongest demand in over 20 years and leaving vacancy worries on hold. (Cnbc)
🇨🇦 Meta Morphosis. Meta 🇺🇸 will spend $9B to build its largest data center outside the US in Alberta, hoping a cowboy hat will distract from the power bill. (Le Figaro)
🇨🇳 Bloc Party. Chinese homebuyers are snapping up old Soviet-style apartments, revealing just how far the property revival has to go. (Bloomberg)
🇪🇬 Pyramid Scheme. Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris is increasing his investment in the Giza pyramids’ renovation, giving ancient wonders a modern cash injection. (Bloomberg)

🔗 On-chain

🇺🇸 Back to the Drawing Board. Cantor Equity Partners I Inc. and BSTR Holdings 🇺🇸 have tossed out last year’s merger terms and will renegotiate a Bitcoin SPAC deal that actually fits today’s market. (Bloomberg)

💱 Listed Markets

🇬🇧 Call Waiting. Virgin Media 🇬🇧 faces a £28M penalty after Ofcom found it used dropped calls and endless holds to block contract cancellations, turning customer service into a hostage situation. (The Guardian)
🇬🇧 Flight Risk. EasyJet pilots voice concern over job security and management changes as Castlelake takes a controlling stake in the airline, turbulence ahead for the crew. (Bloomberg)
🇫🇷 Hostile Reception. A Paris court ruling dashed Vincent Bolloré’s hopes for a full Vivendi takeover, sending Vivendi 🇫🇷 shares down 11.5% in a single day. (Wall Street Journal)
🇪🇺 Gatekeeper’s Keep. Apple 🇺🇸 loses its court challenge as judges uphold the Commission’s decision to label its App Store and iOS as digital « gatekeepers » under the Digital Markets Act, unlocking new regulatory obligations for the tech giant. (Die Zeit)
🇺🇸 Falling Star. SpaceX stock closed at $148, slipping below its $150 debut for a second day after its rapid Nasdaq-100 inclusion and $85.7B IPO fanfare. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 Debt Star. David Ellison’s $81B bid for Warner Bros. Discovery comes with a towering debt load, so Hollywood’s next act may be financial suspense. (Wall Street Journal)
🇨🇦 Lost in Translation. After repeated criticism for its former CEO’s lack of French, Air Canada hires Anko van der Werff, who is fluent in the language, to lead the airline. (New York Times)
🇮🇳 Capital Letters. Alphabet’s $10B commitment sent India’s foreign investment soaring 44%, says the UN, proving that big tech still spells growth. (Bloomberg)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

Tesco 🇬🇧 explores sale of its Eastern European business 🇪🇺
HSBC 🇬🇧 is exploring a sale of HSBC Türkiye retail and corporate unit 🇹🇷
Epiris 🇬🇧 is among bidders (alongside Octopus Investments 🇬🇧 and Telecel Group 🇿🇼) to acquire PlatformX Communications 🇬🇧, TalkTalk’s wholesale telecoms business.
Circeus 🇬🇧 acquires Encodian 🇬🇧 (AI-powered document automation (Flowr) serving 3,000+ paying customers in 80 geographies.
KAPIA-RGI 🇫🇷 acquires Cegid Assurex 🇫🇷, a suite for insurance benefit management, pensions, retirement liquidation and benefit taxation. Integrates 20+ clients and Cegid Assurex teams.
InfraVia 🇫🇷 acquiert D-Marin 🇹🇷 de CVC 🇱🇺 pour €1B+, un LBO secondaire sur l’opérateur de marinas (CVC l’avait acheté il y a six ans pour €280M).
Ipsen 🇫🇷 acquires Memo Therapeutics AG 🇨🇭 for an initial €200M.
UniCredit 🇮🇹 acquires Commerzbank 🇩🇪 via a €40B exchange offer. Shareholders representing 17.60% accepted, bringing UniCredit to 47.59% of shares and 49.65% of voting rights (26.77% direct stake + 3.22% via deliverable instruments). Offer launched Sept 2024 and extended to 3 July, German government still holds 12%.
BlackFin 🇮🇹 acquires Arendt Investor Services 🇩🇪 after securing 17.6% via its takeover offer, not yet able to effect a full merger.
Mutua Madrileña 🇪🇸 takes a 10% stake in Muppy 🇪🇸 via Mutua Ventures, proptech platform for residential asset investment and management.
Hiberus 🇪🇸 acquires VASS Corporate SAP unit 🇪🇸, in the SAP consultancy, implementation and digital transformation sector, accelerating its growth.
Quality & Reliability (QnR) 🇬🇷 acquires E-XIM IT S.A. 🇵🇱 for €6.9M, taking a 51% stake and entering the ServiceNow ecosystem (digital transformation / Enterprise AI & workflow automation).
EQT 🇸🇪 will acquire specialty medical patch maker Corza Biosurgery 🇺🇸 from GTCR’s Corza Medical business.
IQM Quantum Computers 🇫🇮 acquires selected assets of Quantistry 🇩🇪, adding application software, algorithm simulation libraries, a machine learning layer and core technical teams for quantum simulation.
Druid Software 🇮🇪 acquires Node-H 🇩🇪, a Munich-based RAN software and user equipment provider. Druid raised $20m last year to expand into defence, shipping and utilities.
Viatel Technology Group 🇮🇪 acquires FullProxy 🇬🇧, a Glasgow-headquartered cybersecurity consultancy. Deal backed by Macquarie Capital.
BDO Ireland 🇮🇪 merges with BDO UK 🇬🇧 to form BDO LLP with €1.26bn revenues, ~8,500 employees and ~500 partners.
Thelema S.à r.l. 🇱🇺 acquires B Medical Systems 🇱🇺 for $63M in cash, including a $35M short-term secured vendor loan.
Telenor 🇳🇴 acquires Bahnhof 🇸🇪 in a $629M deal valuing the company at 6.1 billion SEK, including debt.
NBIM 🇳🇴 acquires a 49% stake in Asana Partners 🇺🇸 for $500M, a luxury retail real estate private equity firm.
Blue Owl 🇺🇸 acquires UK private hospital portfolio 🇬🇧 for £1.3B, private healthcare assets.
Rocket Lab 🇺🇸 acquires Iridium Communications 🇺🇸 for $8B ( $54 per share), cash-and-stock transaction.
Nvidia 🇺🇸 invests nearly $30M in Gradium 🇫🇷, a French AI voice startup. Gradium has crossed $100M of total funding less than a year after launch.
Solstice 🇺🇸 acquires Element Solutions 🇺🇸 for $14.5B, deal touches semiconductor materials and AI data-center cooling.
Axos Financial 🇺🇸 acquires Arc Technologies 🇺🇸, an AI-native fintech, bolting its software onto a chartered bank. Axos has $29B in assets.
Vertex 🇺🇸 acquires Crinetics Pharmaceuticals 🇺🇸 for $10B, pharmaceutical mega-deal. Therapies could reach >$5B peak annual sales.
Dream Finders Homes 🇺🇸 boosts bid for Beazer 🇺🇸 to $875M.
Ken Griffin 🇺🇸 acquires 138 Miami condos 🇺🇸, a bulk purchase of residential units in Miami.
MasTec 🇺🇸 acquires Superior Group 🇺🇸 in a $1.65B cash-and-stock deal, engineering and construction firm buying an electrical contractor.
JPMorgan 🇺🇸, Bank of America 🇺🇸 and Wells Fargo 🇺🇸 are in talks to acquire a payment infrastructure business owned by Fiserv 🇺🇸.
Shore Capital 🇺🇸 acquires ThrivePass 🇺🇸, a Denver-based benefits technology platform, in a private equity partnership.
River Associates 🇺🇸 acquires Horsepower Automotive Group 🇺🇸 (closed June 11, 2026. Aftermarket automotive brands (Flatline Van Co., DV8, ADD, C4, Rago). Funded by River VIII with financing from Abacus Finance Group and GMB Capital Partners).
Equifax 🇺🇸 acquires Círculo de Crédito 🇲🇽 for $750M. Fastest-growing Mexican credit bureau, $134M revenue (LTM), $62M adjusted EBITDA.
Bain Capital 🇺🇸 acquires York Holdings 🇯🇵 for $5.37B. Bain holds 60% while Seven & I and the Ito family retain the remainder.
Sapporo Breweries 🇯🇵 acquires 25% stake in joint venture with Carlsberg Breweries 🇩🇰 for $643M, forming a Singapore-based JV and expanding cooperation to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank 🇯🇵 to buy a 15% stake in Morrison 🇳🇿, makes an initial $500M commitment to two Morrison strategies and aims to jointly manage $1.5B of client assets.
Private Department of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan 🇦🇪 invests $1.13B in EIG-backed MidOcean 🇺🇸 for energy and infrastructure projects in the UAE.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

🇬🇧 Credit Crunch. HSBC 🇬🇧 is pulling back from private credit by refusing to renew some debt funds’ credit lines, citing risk levels that no longer justify the returns. (Les Echos)
🇫🇷 RoboCopilot. French AI startup Mistral unveils Robostral Navigate, its first model designed specifically for robots to autonomously navigate offices and complex environments, hinting at bigger ambitions in robotics. (Le Figaro)
🇩🇪 Current Affairs. Munich-based Proxima Fusion secures a record €411M investment round, making it Europe’s best-funded fusion startup and raising its valuation to €2.4B. (Eu-startups)
🇺🇸 Flight Club. Manna Aero 🇮🇪 is launching a major expansion with a Tulsa factory and plans to compete head-to-head with Zipline, Amazon, and Wing. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Silicon Ambition. SambaNova 🇺🇸 secures $1B in new funding, declaring itself a contender against Nvidia in the $4.8T AI chip race. (Maddyness)
🇺🇸 Access Granted. OpenAI unlocks GPT-5.6 for global users this week, following a limited rollout and official approval from the Trump administration. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Brand New Space. Elon Musk has rebranded his AI venture xAI as SpaceXAI, folding it into SpaceX and ending its run as a standalone company. (Webrazzi)
🇺🇸 Gift Horse. Sam Altman proposes giving the government a 5% stake in OpenAI 🇺🇸, promising Americans a $42.6B share in AI’s future riches. (Bloomberg)

Fundraising

Blue Origin 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): $10B (Coatue Management, Jeff Bezos)
Joulent 🇺🇸 (Energy): $1.75B (National Grid)
Beeline Medicines 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $426.3M (Bain Capital, CPP Investments, Bristol Myers Squibb)
Proxima Fusion 🇩🇪 (Fusion): €411M (XTX Ventures, East X Ventures, RWE, Google, KfW Capital, SPRIND, Burda Principal Investments, Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton, Cherry Ventures, DST Global Partners, Brevan Howard Macro Venture, Lightspeed, DTCF, redalpine, Leitmotif, Elaia, CDP Venture Capital, Bayern Kapital, European Investment Council)
Oratomic (Quantum computing): $300M (ARCH Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Khosla Ventures)
Skello 🇫🇷 (HR): €200M (Bridgepoint Development Capital V, Partech, XAnge)
LeapXpert 🇺🇸 (Communications): $180M (Riverwood Capital)
Even Realities 🇨🇳 (AR hardware): $150M (Meituan, Tencent, Hillhouse Investment, Sequoia Capital China, Northern Light Venture Capital)
Robotera 🇨🇳 (Robotics): $148M (Chengtong Fund, Capital Operation Holding Group, Guoyuan Equity, Yufu Zhongxin Fund, Hangzhou Capital, CICC Renault, Jiukun Venture Capital, Hony Capital, Juntai Capital, Shenghe Capital, Houxue Capital, Tsingkong Tiancheng, Qianshan Capital)
8090 🇺🇸 (AI): $135M (Salesforce, WNDR, Craft Ventures, TPB, LAUNCH, Nikesh Arora, Cliff Robbins, Adam D’Angelo, Shyam Ravindran, Thomas Laffont, Abhi Arun)
Quaise Energy 🇺🇸 (Geothermal): $134M (Prelude Ventures)
Prime Intellect 🇺🇸 (AI): $130M (Radical Ventures, Nvidia Ventures, Intel Capital, Dell Technologies Capital, Iconiq, Aravind Srinivas, Aaron Levie, Winston Weinberg, Jeff Wang, Brendan Foody)
Nomos AI 🇺🇸 (Legal): $120M (Khosla Ventures)
Premier Lacrosse League 🇺🇸 (Sports): $100M (Ares, Joe Tsai, ESPN, Glen Powell, Rob Mac, Warren Zeiders, Tony Cavalero, Creator Sports Capital, Next 3, FirstTracks Sports Ventures, Jed Hart, West End Investment Management, James Young, Bolt Ventures, Chris Shumway, and others)
Gradium 🇫🇷 (Voice AI): $100M (Firstmark, Eurazeo, Nvidia)
Venus Aerospace 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): $91M (Mercury Fund, Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, Green Sands Equity)
EDX Markets 🇺🇸 (Digital assets): $76M (SBI Holdings)
EigenLayer 🇺🇸 (Blockchain): $70M (a16z)
Super.com 🇨🇦 (Fintech): $65M (TPG, Stephen Curry, Harley Finkelstein, Inovia Capital, Lion Capital LLP)
Leo Cancer Care 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $65M (Yu Galaxy, Eventide Asset Management)
Arca 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $64M (General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Venrock)
Bizay 🇵🇹 (E-commerce): $55M (Indico Capital Partners, Lince Capital, Cedrus, BPF)
Poetic 🇺🇸 (AI): $50M (Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, First Harmonic, OpenAI)
Vendelux 🇺🇸 (Events): $50M (Tribeca Venture Partners, S3, Pelion Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, FirstMark, Cervin Ventures)
Monogram 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (DST Global, Lux Capital, Conviction, SOMA Capital, Gradient Ventures, e2vc, Maxitech, Arthur Mensch, Logan Green, Karim Atiyeh, Garry Tan, Pete Flint, Mario Schlosser, Othman Laraki, Lenny Rachitsky, Charlie Songhurst)
Bespoke Labs 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (8VC, Jeff Dean, Spiros Xanthos, Dheeraj Pandey, Wing VC, Mayfield, The House Fund, Tristan Handy, Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta)
Arkenstone Defense 🇺🇸 (Defense): $35M (J2 Ventures, Susa Ventures, Granite Hill Capital Partners, Artis Ventures)
Sage 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $35M (Stifel Bank)
Cyllene Therapeutics 🇫🇷 (Biotech): €33M (GordonMD Global Investments, M Ventures)
Andercore 🇩🇪 (Procurement): €30M (UniCredit, KfW)
Pediatrica Health Group 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $28M (Valspring Capital, M33 Growth)
Fleek 🇬🇧 (Fashion): $25M (Burda Principal Investments, eBay, FJ Labs, H14, Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital, Y Combinator)
Alta 🇮🇱 (AI): $25M (IN Venture, Mindset Ventures, Skywell Capital, LeumiTech77, Entrée Capital, Target Global, Verissimo Ventures)
Axle Energy 🇬🇧 (Energy): $25M
Earlytrade 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $25M (S3 Ventures, Brick & Mortar Ventures)
StirlingX 🇬🇧 (Defense): $20M (Ventura Capital, RCM Private Markets Master Fund (Rokos Capital Management))
Tangos AI 🇮🇱 (Regtech): $20M (Red Dot Capital Partners, Leaders Fund, Clarim Ventures, VentureIsrael, Signal Fire, Clutch Capital, Selah Ventures, Bright Data)
Handspring 🇺🇸 (Mental health): $19M (RPS Ventures, Angelini Ventures, Cobalt Ventures, NextView Ventures, nvp capital, Hyde Park Angels, Cornucopian Capital)
Handspring Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $19M (RPS Ventures)
Stenon 🇩🇪 (Agtech): €18M (Pymwymic, DeepTech & Climate Fund, Atlantic, Oyster Bay, Founders Fund, TIME Ventures, Bernd Hoffmann)
HIVE 🇬🇧 (Industrial AI): $15M (SuperSeed, Veriten, Skyfall, Nysnø, Børge Hald, Jørn Lyseggen)
Netris 🇺🇸 (Networking): $15M (Andreessen Horowitz)
Dogtooth Technologies 🇬🇧 (Agtech): £14M (24Haymarket, EMV Capital, ACF Investors, Innovate UK, Kineo Finance)
EdVisorly 🇺🇸 (EdTech): $13.3M (Breachway Capital, U.S. News & World Report, Lumina Foundation, Strada Education Foundation, Motley Fool Ventures, Juvo Ventures, Zeal Capital Partners, others)
geoSurge 🇬🇧 (AI): $12M (AlbionVC, Play Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Celero Ventures, Boost Capital, Passion Capital, Tuesday Capital, angel investors from Google DeepMind, Microsoft AI, Signal AI)
Hostie 🇺🇸 (Hospitality): $12M (Obvious Ventures, Gradient, Scribble Ventures, Burst Capital, Behind Genius Ventures, Tim Stannard, Stuart Brioza, Nicole Krasinski, Elizabeth DePalmer)
Polysense 🇧🇪 (Foodtech): $10.7M (Felix Capital, Fortino Ventures, Syndicate One, 100IN, other angel investors)
Pilot Photonics 🇮🇪 (Photonics): €10.4M (Horizon Europe EIC Accelerator)
Bohr Energie 🇫🇷 (Energy): €10M (Suma Capital, SC Net Zero Ventures)
Fuchs & Eule 🇩🇪 (Proptech): €10M (GET Fund, PI Impact, WaVe-X, SET Ventures, Picus Capital, Realyze Ventures)
Luffy AI 🇬🇧 (AI): €9.4M (BGF, MIG Capital AG, Bow Capital, Chrysalix, Momenta, UKI2S)
Alqem 🇩🇪 (Materials): €8M (UVC Partners, Union Square Ventures)
alqem 🇩🇪 (Materials): €8M (UVC Partners, Union Square Ventures)

Fund Watch

Arctos Partners 🇺🇸: $6.2B (Arctos Keystone Partners Fund I, debut GP-solutions fund, KKR-backed)
BGF 🇬🇧: €5.8B (growth capital provider; €5.8B deployed across 650 UK & Irish startups, minority equity)
Hamilton Lane 🇺🇸: $3.8B (6th flagship private equity fund)
SkyKnight Capital 🇺🇸: $2B (Fund V, 5th PE fund, $2B hard cap)
Expeditions 🇵🇱: €197M (Fund II, defence-tech & infrastructure resilience VC)
Isogon Ventures 🇺🇸: $150M (debut fund)
Tapestry VC 🇬🇧: €70M (3rd fund, pre-seed/seed for repeat founders. British Business Bank €35M investor)
Climentum Capital 🇩🇰: €60M (Fund II, climate‑tech/hard‑tech fund. First close; €100M target)
Bpifrance / Banque des Territoires / Icade 🇫🇷: €45M (Urban Ventures, VC for the built environment)
Ashley Smith 🇺🇸: $25M (Vermilion Cliffs Fund II, 2nd early-stage VC for AI infra, security, dev tools)
CODE Capital 🇩🇪: €10M (first-check early-stage fund for CODE University founders, target €10M; €50–100k initial checks)
Simon Squibb 🇬🇧: Pledge (10% of Dream Group profits, DreamFund. Perpetual public-access grant fund. No equity or repayment)

🔔IPO

Standard Nuclear 🇺🇸 (Nuclear): seeking to raise $383M at a $3.55B valuation in its IPO.
Syntiant 🇺🇸 (AI chips): filed for a IPO after backing from Intel.
DuPont Registry Group 🇺🇸 (Autos): to pick banks for a IPO. Amount not disclosed.
Axia Real Assets 🇨🇦 (Private equity): launched the $560M hostile bid on Plaza Retail RETI after two years of failed friendly talks and with support from Morguard’s 15.3% stake.
Luxshare 🇨🇳 (Electronics): priced a $3.1B Hong Kong listing at the top.
SK Hynix 🇰🇷 (Semiconductors): US offering was over seven times oversubscribed. Offer size not disclosed.
K Raheja 🇮🇳 (Real estate): delayed plans for a $700M India IPO.
InsuranceDekho 🇮🇳 (Insurtech): picked banks for a $400M India IPO.
Cult.Fit 🇮🇳 (Fitness): filed for a $100M India IPO backed by Temasek.
Unitel 🇦🇴 (Telecoms): preparing a record IPO to raise $320M.

🧳 Debt

Nscale 🇬🇧: closed a $900M revolving credit facility to fund its data-centre build-out.
France 🇫🇷: 10-year yield climbed to 3.89%, its highest level since 2009.
Autodoc 🇩🇪: is raising over $600M in debt to buy back a 15% stake from Apollo.
Italy 🇮🇹: raised $6B in its first dollar bond sale since 2021.
QTS Markets 🇺🇸: secured a data center-backed loan (amount undisclosed).
Sterling Infrastructure 🇺🇸: amended its credit agreement to expand revolving borrowings to $1.5B and extend maturity to July 2031.
China 🇨🇳: 10-year bond sale saw demand gauge at a record high.
Japan 🇯🇵: bank lending rose at its fastest pace since COVID, supporting the BOJ’s policy path.
Thailand 🇹🇭: borrowing THB4.55B from the World Bank plus a THB129.3M grant (total THB4.6793B) for Koh Lanta and Songkhla bridges.
Bangladesh 🇧🇩: exploring a debut sovereign bond sale overseas.

❌ Failures

Airband 🇬🇧: after heavy losses the Aberdeen-backed broadband provider is seeking a new owner in restructuring, putting $267M of investor money at risk.
Aston Martin 🇬🇧: noteholders signed a cooperation pact as the automaker faces a debt rout threatening its refinancing and liquidity.
Allianz 🇩🇪: will cut up to 1,800 jobs in its travel insurance division due to increasing AI use.
Atlas 🇩🇪: after filing for insolvency, a takeover by Buhler Versatile will cost 180 jobs.
Rheinmetall 🇩🇪: freezes 900 planned Naval Systems jobs after the F126 deal collapsed (over €2B sunk; €18B offer proposed).
Getty Images 🇺🇸: lenders began organizing after the firm scrapped a planned merger with Shutterstock.
Rogers Sports and Media 🇨🇦: closing six radio stations and cutting 80 jobs (part of 230 total layoffs).
Zentoshin 🇯🇵: received court approval to begin voluntary bankruptcy proceedings with liabilities of about ¥125,929 million.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

🇺🇦 Drone Alone. Ukrainian police raided drone maker Vyriy and the home of its owner, who also co-owns critical news outlet Babel, sparking fears of media intimidation disguised as a corruption probe. (New York Times)
🇺🇦 Born Under Fire. In Kherson, newborns take their first breaths in a fortified underground maternity ward while Russian drones claim lives in the streets above, making survival the city’s daily lottery. (El Pais)
🇺🇸 Red Rover, White Moon. NASA plans to send a test Mars rover to the Moon first, giving the lunar surface a preview of Martian ambitions before heading farther afield. (Bloomberg)
🇨🇦 Ice Breakers. Canada, long overshadowed as the “forgotten host,” made its deepest-ever World Cup run and captured national attention with record-breaking viewership and a historic knockout-stage win. (Bbc)
🇦🇷 Hate Trick. As Argentina advances to another World Cup quarter-final, conspiracy theories and accusations of favoritism, vice, and racism swirl louder than ever around Messi’s squad. (Le Parisien)
🇸🇦 Level Up. The Esports World Cup kicks off in Saudi Arabia, drawing gamers and superfans who treat Counter-Strike and Fortnite like Olympic events. (Ouest-France)
🇵🇸 Broken Bearings. The World Health Organization reports Gaza leads the world in child amputees per capita as young survivors struggle to adapt amid constant upheaval. (Le Monde)

Good morning!

🦆 Duck Season

A Free Lunch is looking for a business partner or advertising agency to monetize its ads. Contact us!

🗞️ Top Story

🇺🇸 Oyster Cult. Graham Platner, a Maine oyster farmer and Marine veteran, was plucked from obscurity by progressive operatives and transformed into a Senate hopeful, only for his campaign to unravel spectacularly as internal chaos and personal struggles surfaced. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Patriot Games. Donald Trump says he would let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot missiles, signaling a new phase in support for Kyiv’s defense ambitions. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Court Ordered. Donald Trump says he will ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its rejection of his birthright citizenship order, despite almost no chance of success. (New York Times)
🇺🇸 Sanction Release. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces the will drop Syria from its terror sponsor list, giving Ahmed Al-Charaa’s regime a path to global markets. (Le Monde)
🇺🇸 Strike Two. The military has launched airstrikes on Iran for a second consecutive day, raising tensions and putting a fragile ceasefire at risk. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Fraud and Order. Vice President JD Vance visited Wisconsin to accuse Democrats of ignoring fraud, turning a policy investigation into a campaign weapon as midterms approach. (New York Times)
🇳🇱 Order in the Court. I.C.C. chief prosecutor Karim Khan is suspended following an internal probe that found he engaged in sexual harassment and tried to silence his accuser. (New York Times)
🇩🇰 Frozen Assets. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declared Greenland « not for sale » after Donald Trump again demanded US control over the territory at the NATO summit. (The Globe and Mail)
🇭🇺 Fade to Black. Péter Magyar’s government pulled the plug on Hungary’s public broadcasters, replacing news with a blunt confession: « We lied for years. Sorry about that. » (El Pais)
🇪🇺 Summit Like It Hot. Despite Trump’s public jabs at European allies, NATO leaders wrapped up their summit with a united front and a fresh $80B pledge for Ukraine. (New York Times)
🇨🇳 Party Tricks. As the Communist Party of China turns 105, Beijing showcases AI-powered toys and tech marvels that recite party slogans with algorithmic precision. (El Pais)
🇦🇺 Mate Diplomacy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a two-day visit to Australia, joining Anthony Albanese in pledging closer economic and defense ties with new agreements on the table. (Bloomberg)
🇸🇩 Case Closed? The International Criminal Court claims a breakthrough with concrete evidence linking RSF leaders to Darfur war crimes, raising the stakes for Sudan’s paramilitary brass. (Bbc)
🇳🇪 Junta Clause. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visited Niger to promise continued military support for the Sahel’s ruling juntas, cementing Moscow’s partnership with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger as they distance themselves from France. (Le Monde)

🏛️ Economy

🇺🇸 Crude Awakening. Goldman Sachs warns that tensions in the Strait of Hormuz could stall the rebound in global oil supplies, keeping markets on edge for longer. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Trust Issues. A judge approved Elon Musk’s $1.5M SEC settlement over his Twitter stake disclosure, voicing “significant misgivings” but accepting the deal anyway. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Rate Debate. A few Federal Reserve officials considered hiking interest rates in June but ultimately stuck with the status quo under new chair Kevin Warsh. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Broker Alert. Senator Elizabeth Warren is investigating Cantor Fitzgerald’s involvement in a $1.6B deal, putting the firm’s practices under a bright congressional spotlight. (Bloomberg)
🇧🇷 Banking on Faith. Alleged fraud at a Brazilian bank casts a shadow over Edir Macedo’s evangelical empire, raising questions about the billionaire bishop’s financial foundations. (Bloomberg)
🌎 Deal or No Deal. Global M&A volume soared past $3T in the first half of 2026, driven by giant AI transactions even as the number of deals dropped. (Wall Street Journal)
🇬🇧 Growth Pains. The IMF has raised its UK growth forecast to 1% for 2026, as fears over Iran war fallout ease and other G7 nations lag behind. (The Guardian)
🇷🇺 Fuel Stop. Russia halts all diesel exports after Ukrainian attacks on its refineries, threatening to squeeze global supplies just as prices climb. (Bloomberg)
🇯🇵 Swipe Out. Japanese banks and restaurants are scrambling after a payment processor meltdown halted digital transactions, forcing a return to cash and confusion. (Bloomberg)
🇰🇷 Watt’s Up, Bot? A KAIST study finds AI agents consume up to 136 times more energy per query than traditional chatbots, raising alarms about their environmental impact and the future strain on global power grids. (Italian)
🇭🇰 Club Dread. Hong Kong’s wealthiest are fuming as New World Development revamps its exclusive private club, proving even luxury upgrades can spark outrage. (Bloomberg)

🏢 Real Estate

🇺🇸 Floor Play. The owner of a damaged Manhattan tower will rebuild 15 floors after a full evacuation, proving that in New York, the only way out is up. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 Suite Success. Manhattan office leasing hit 11M sq ft in Q2, marking the strongest demand in over 20 years and leaving vacancy worries on hold. (Cnbc)
🇨🇦 Meta Morphosis. Meta 🇺🇸 will spend $9B to build its largest data center outside the US in Alberta, hoping a cowboy hat will distract from the power bill. (Le Figaro)
🇦🇹 Rent Control. Vienna stands out in Europe with 220,000 municipal homes and rents as low as €486 for 65 square meters, making affordable housing a local tradition. (Le Figaro)
🇨🇳 Bloc Party. Chinese homebuyers are snapping up old Soviet-style apartments, revealing just how far the property revival has to go. (Bloomberg)
🇪🇬 Pyramid Scheme. Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris is increasing his investment in the Giza pyramids’ renovation, giving ancient wonders a modern cash injection. (Bloomberg)

🔗 On-chain

🇺🇸 Back to the Drawing Board. Cantor Equity Partners I Inc. and BSTR Holdings 🇺🇸 have tossed out last year’s merger terms and will renegotiate a Bitcoin SPAC deal that actually fits today’s market. (Bloomberg)

💱 Listed Markets

🇺🇸 Falling Star. SpaceX stock closed at $148, slipping below its $150 debut for a second day after its rapid Nasdaq-100 inclusion and $85.7B IPO fanfare. (Cnbc)
🇺🇸 Debt Star. David Ellison’s $81B bid for Warner Bros. Discovery comes with a towering debt load, so Hollywood’s next act may be financial suspense. (Wall Street Journal)
🇨🇦 Lost in Translation. After repeated criticism for its former CEO’s lack of French, Air Canada hires Anko van der Werff, who is fluent in the language, to lead the airline. (New York Times)
🇫🇷 Hostile Reception. A Paris court ruling dashed Vincent Bolloré’s hopes for a full Vivendi takeover, sending Vivendi 🇫🇷 shares down 11.5% in a single day. (Wall Street Journal)
🇪🇺 Gatekeeper’s Keep. Apple 🇺🇸 loses its court challenge as judges uphold the Commission’s decision to label its App Store and iOS as digital « gatekeepers » under the Digital Markets Act, unlocking new regulatory obligations for the tech giant. (Die Zeit)
🇬🇧 Flight Risk. EasyJet pilots voice concern over job security and management changes as Castlelake takes a controlling stake in the airline, turbulence ahead for the crew. (Bloomberg)
🇮🇳 Capital Letters. Alphabet’s $10B commitment sent India’s foreign investment soaring 44%, says the UN, proving that big tech still spells growth. (Bloomberg)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

Blue Owl 🇺🇸 acquires UK private hospital portfolio 🇬🇧 for £1.3B, private healthcare assets.
Rocket Lab 🇺🇸 acquires Iridium Communications 🇺🇸 for $8B ( $54 per share), cash-and-stock transaction.
Nvidia 🇺🇸 invests nearly $30M in Gradium 🇫🇷, a French AI voice startup. Gradium has crossed $100M of total funding less than a year after launch.
Solstice 🇺🇸 acquires Element Solutions 🇺🇸 for $14.5B, deal touches semiconductor materials and AI data-center cooling.
Axos Financial 🇺🇸 acquires Arc Technologies 🇺🇸, an AI-native fintech, bolting its software onto a chartered bank. Axos has $29B in assets.
Vertex 🇺🇸 acquires Crinetics Pharmaceuticals 🇺🇸 for $10B, pharmaceutical mega-deal. Therapies could reach >$5B peak annual sales.
Dream Finders Homes 🇺🇸 boosts bid for Beazer 🇺🇸 to $875M.
Ken Griffin 🇺🇸 acquires 138 Miami condos 🇺🇸, a bulk purchase of residential units in Miami.
MasTec 🇺🇸 acquires Superior Group 🇺🇸 in a $1.65B cash-and-stock deal, engineering and construction firm buying an electrical contractor.
JPMorgan 🇺🇸, Bank of America 🇺🇸 and Wells Fargo 🇺🇸 are in talks to acquire a payment infrastructure business owned by Fiserv 🇺🇸.
Shore Capital 🇺🇸 acquires ThrivePass 🇺🇸, a Denver-based benefits technology platform, in a private equity partnership.
River Associates 🇺🇸 acquires Horsepower Automotive Group 🇺🇸 (closed June 11, 2026. Aftermarket automotive brands (Flatline Van Co., DV8, ADD, C4, Rago). Funded by River VIII with financing from Abacus Finance Group and GMB Capital Partners).
Equifax 🇺🇸 acquires Círculo de Crédito 🇲🇽 for $750M. Fastest-growing Mexican credit bureau, $134M revenue (LTM), $62M adjusted EBITDA.
Bain Capital 🇺🇸 acquires York Holdings 🇯🇵 for $5.37B. Bain holds 60% while Seven & I and the Ito family retain the remainder.
KAPIA-RGI 🇫🇷 acquires Cegid Assurex 🇫🇷, a suite for insurance benefit management, pensions, retirement liquidation and benefit taxation. Integrates 20+ clients and Cegid Assurex teams.
InfraVia 🇫🇷 acquiert D-Marin 🇹🇷 de CVC 🇱🇺 pour €1B+, un LBO secondaire sur l’opérateur de marinas (CVC l’avait acheté il y a six ans pour €280M).
Ipsen 🇫🇷 acquires Memo Therapeutics AG 🇨🇭 for an initial €200M.
UniCredit 🇮🇹 acquires Commerzbank 🇩🇪 via a €40B exchange offer. Shareholders representing 17.60% accepted, bringing UniCredit to 47.59% of shares and 49.65% of voting rights (26.77% direct stake + 3.22% via deliverable instruments). Offer launched Sept 2024 and extended to 3 July, German government still holds 12%.
BlackFin 🇮🇹 acquires Arendt Investor Services 🇩🇪 after securing 17.6% via its takeover offer, not yet able to effect a full merger.
Mutua Madrileña 🇪🇸 takes a 10% stake in Muppy 🇪🇸 via Mutua Ventures, proptech platform for residential asset investment and management.
Hiberus 🇪🇸 acquires VASS Corporate SAP unit 🇪🇸, in the SAP consultancy, implementation and digital transformation sector, accelerating its growth.
Quality & Reliability (QnR) 🇬🇷 acquires E-XIM IT S.A. 🇵🇱 for €6.9M, taking a 51% stake and entering the ServiceNow ecosystem (digital transformation / Enterprise AI & workflow automation).
EQT 🇸🇪 will acquire specialty medical patch maker Corza Biosurgery 🇺🇸 from GTCR’s Corza Medical business.
IQM Quantum Computers 🇫🇮 acquires selected assets of Quantistry 🇩🇪, adding application software, algorithm simulation libraries, a machine learning layer and core technical teams for quantum simulation.
Druid Software 🇮🇪 acquires Node-H 🇩🇪, a Munich-based RAN software and user equipment provider. Druid raised $20m last year to expand into defence, shipping and utilities.
Viatel Technology Group 🇮🇪 acquires FullProxy 🇬🇧, a Glasgow-headquartered cybersecurity consultancy. Deal backed by Macquarie Capital.
BDO Ireland 🇮🇪 merges with BDO UK 🇬🇧 to form BDO LLP with €1.26bn revenues, ~8,500 employees and ~500 partners.
Thelema S.à r.l. 🇱🇺 acquires B Medical Systems 🇱🇺 for $63M in cash, including a $35M short-term secured vendor loan.
Tesco 🇬🇧 explores sale of its Eastern European business 🇪🇺
HSBC 🇬🇧 is exploring a sale of HSBC Türkiye retail and corporate unit 🇹🇷
Epiris 🇬🇧 is among bidders (alongside Octopus Investments 🇬🇧 and Telecel Group 🇿🇼) to acquire PlatformX Communications 🇬🇧, TalkTalk’s wholesale telecoms business.
Circeus 🇬🇧 acquires Encodian 🇬🇧 (AI-powered document automation (Flowr) serving 3,000+ paying customers in 80 geographies.
Telenor 🇳🇴 acquires Bahnhof 🇸🇪 in a $629M deal valuing the company at 6.1 billion SEK, including debt.
NBIM 🇳🇴 acquires a 49% stake in Asana Partners 🇺🇸 for $500M, a luxury retail real estate private equity firm.
Sapporo Breweries 🇯🇵 acquires 25% stake in joint venture with Carlsberg Breweries 🇩🇰 for $643M, forming a Singapore-based JV and expanding cooperation to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank 🇯🇵 to buy a 15% stake in Morrison 🇳🇿, makes an initial $500M commitment to two Morrison strategies and aims to jointly manage $1.5B of client assets.
Private Department of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan 🇦🇪 invests $1.13B in EIG-backed MidOcean 🇺🇸 for energy and infrastructure projects in the UAE.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

🇺🇸 Flight Club. Manna Aero 🇮🇪 is launching a major expansion with a Tulsa factory and plans to compete head-to-head with Zipline, Amazon, and Wing. (TechCrunch)
🇺🇸 Silicon Ambition. SambaNova 🇺🇸 secures $1B in new funding, declaring itself a contender against Nvidia in the $4.8T AI chip race. (Maddyness)
🇺🇸 Access Granted. OpenAI unlocks GPT-5.6 for global users this week, following a limited rollout and official approval from the Trump administration. (Le Figaro)
🇺🇸 Brand New Space. Elon Musk has rebranded his AI venture xAI as SpaceXAI, folding it into SpaceX and ending its run as a standalone company. (Webrazzi)
🇺🇸 Gift Horse. Sam Altman proposes giving the government a 5% stake in OpenAI 🇺🇸, promising Americans a $42.6B share in AI’s future riches. (Bloomberg)
🇫🇷 RoboCopilot. French AI startup Mistral unveils Robostral Navigate, its first model designed specifically for robots to autonomously navigate offices and complex environments, hinting at bigger ambitions in robotics. (Le Figaro)
🇩🇪 Current Affairs. Munich-based Proxima Fusion secures a record €411M investment round, making it Europe’s best-funded fusion startup and raising its valuation to €2.4B. (Eu-startups)
🇬🇧 Credit Crunch. HSBC 🇬🇧 is pulling back from private credit by refusing to renew some debt funds’ credit lines, citing risk levels that no longer justify the returns. (Les Echos)

Fundraising

Blue Origin 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): $10B (Coatue Management, Jeff Bezos)
Joulent 🇺🇸 (Energy): $1.75B (National Grid)
Beeline Medicines 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $426.3M (Bain Capital, CPP Investments, Bristol Myers Squibb)
Proxima Fusion 🇩🇪 (Fusion): €411M (XTX Ventures, East X Ventures, RWE, Google, KfW Capital, SPRIND, Burda Principal Investments, Plural, UVC Partners, Balderton, Cherry Ventures, DST Global Partners, Brevan Howard Macro Venture, Lightspeed, DTCF, redalpine, Leitmotif, Elaia, CDP Venture Capital, Bayern Kapital, European Investment Council)
Oratomic (Quantum computing): $300M (ARCH Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Khosla Ventures)
Skello 🇫🇷 (HR): €200M (Bridgepoint Development Capital V, Partech, XAnge)
LeapXpert 🇺🇸 (Communications): $180M (Riverwood Capital)
Even Realities 🇨🇳 (AR hardware): $150M (Meituan, Tencent, Hillhouse Investment, Sequoia Capital China, Northern Light Venture Capital)
Robotera 🇨🇳 (Robotics): $148M (Chengtong Fund, Capital Operation Holding Group, Guoyuan Equity, Yufu Zhongxin Fund, Hangzhou Capital, CICC Renault, Jiukun Venture Capital, Hony Capital, Juntai Capital, Shenghe Capital, Houxue Capital, Tsingkong Tiancheng, Qianshan Capital)
8090 🇺🇸 (AI): $135M (Salesforce, WNDR, Craft Ventures, TPB, LAUNCH, Nikesh Arora, Cliff Robbins, Adam D’Angelo, Shyam Ravindran, Thomas Laffont, Abhi Arun)
Quaise Energy 🇺🇸 (Geothermal): $134M (Prelude Ventures)
Prime Intellect 🇺🇸 (AI): $130M (Radical Ventures, Nvidia Ventures, Intel Capital, Dell Technologies Capital, Iconiq, Aravind Srinivas, Aaron Levie, Winston Weinberg, Jeff Wang, Brendan Foody)
Nomos AI 🇺🇸 (Legal): $120M (Khosla Ventures)
Premier Lacrosse League 🇺🇸 (Sports): $100M (Ares, Joe Tsai, ESPN, Glen Powell, Rob Mac, Warren Zeiders, Tony Cavalero, Creator Sports Capital, Next 3, FirstTracks Sports Ventures, Jed Hart, West End Investment Management, James Young, Bolt Ventures, Chris Shumway, and others)
Gradium 🇫🇷 (Voice AI): $100M (Firstmark, Eurazeo, Nvidia)
Venus Aerospace 🇺🇸 (Aerospace): $91M (Mercury Fund, Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, Green Sands Equity)
EDX Markets 🇺🇸 (Digital assets): $76M (SBI Holdings)
EigenLayer 🇺🇸 (Blockchain): $70M (a16z)
Super.com 🇨🇦 (Fintech): $65M (TPG, Stephen Curry, Harley Finkelstein, Inovia Capital, Lion Capital LLP)
Leo Cancer Care 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $65M (Yu Galaxy, Eventide Asset Management)
Arca 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $64M (General Catalyst, Index Ventures, Venrock)
Bizay 🇵🇹 (E-commerce): $55M (Indico Capital Partners, Lince Capital, Cedrus, BPF)
Poetic 🇺🇸 (AI): $50M (Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, First Harmonic, OpenAI)
Vendelux 🇺🇸 (Events): $50M (Tribeca Venture Partners, S3, Pelion Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, FirstMark, Cervin Ventures)
Monogram 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (DST Global, Lux Capital, Conviction, SOMA Capital, Gradient Ventures, e2vc, Maxitech, Arthur Mensch, Logan Green, Karim Atiyeh, Garry Tan, Pete Flint, Mario Schlosser, Othman Laraki, Lenny Rachitsky, Charlie Songhurst)
Bespoke Labs 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (8VC, Jeff Dean, Spiros Xanthos, Dheeraj Pandey, Wing VC, Mayfield, The House Fund, Tristan Handy, Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta)
Arkenstone Defense 🇺🇸 (Defense): $35M (J2 Ventures, Susa Ventures, Granite Hill Capital Partners, Artis Ventures)
Sage 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $35M (Stifel Bank)
Cyllene Therapeutics 🇫🇷 (Biotech): €33M (GordonMD Global Investments, M Ventures)
Andercore 🇩🇪 (Procurement): €30M (UniCredit, KfW)
Pediatrica Health Group 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $28M (Valspring Capital, M33 Growth)
Fleek 🇬🇧 (Fashion): $25M (Burda Principal Investments, eBay, FJ Labs, H14, Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital, Y Combinator)
Alta 🇮🇱 (AI): $25M (IN Venture, Mindset Ventures, Skywell Capital, LeumiTech77, Entrée Capital, Target Global, Verissimo Ventures)
Axle Energy 🇬🇧 (Energy): $25M
Earlytrade 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $25M (S3 Ventures, Brick & Mortar Ventures)
StirlingX 🇬🇧 (Defense): $20M (Ventura Capital, RCM Private Markets Master Fund (Rokos Capital Management))
Tangos AI 🇮🇱 (Regtech): $20M (Red Dot Capital Partners, Leaders Fund, Clarim Ventures, VentureIsrael, Signal Fire, Clutch Capital, Selah Ventures, Bright Data)
Handspring 🇺🇸 (Mental health): $19M (RPS Ventures, Angelini Ventures, Cobalt Ventures, NextView Ventures, nvp capital, Hyde Park Angels, Cornucopian Capital)
Handspring Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $19M (RPS Ventures)
Stenon 🇩🇪 (Agtech): €18M (Pymwymic, DeepTech & Climate Fund, Atlantic, Oyster Bay, Founders Fund, TIME Ventures, Bernd Hoffmann)
HIVE 🇬🇧 (Industrial AI): $15M (SuperSeed, Veriten, Skyfall, Nysnø, Børge Hald, Jørn Lyseggen)
Netris 🇺🇸 (Networking): $15M (Andreessen Horowitz)
Dogtooth Technologies 🇬🇧 (Agtech): £14M (24Haymarket, EMV Capital, ACF Investors, Innovate UK, Kineo Finance)
EdVisorly 🇺🇸 (EdTech): $13.3M (Breachway Capital, U.S. News & World Report, Lumina Foundation, Strada Education Foundation, Motley Fool Ventures, Juvo Ventures, Zeal Capital Partners, others)
geoSurge 🇬🇧 (AI): $12M (AlbionVC, Play Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Celero Ventures, Boost Capital, Passion Capital, Tuesday Capital, angel investors from Google DeepMind, Microsoft AI, Signal AI)
Hostie 🇺🇸 (Hospitality): $12M (Obvious Ventures, Gradient, Scribble Ventures, Burst Capital, Behind Genius Ventures, Tim Stannard, Stuart Brioza, Nicole Krasinski, Elizabeth DePalmer)
Polysense 🇧🇪 (Foodtech): $10.7M (Felix Capital, Fortino Ventures, Syndicate One, 100IN, other angel investors)
Pilot Photonics 🇮🇪 (Photonics): €10.4M (Horizon Europe EIC Accelerator)
Bohr Energie 🇫🇷 (Energy): €10M (Suma Capital, SC Net Zero Ventures)
Fuchs & Eule 🇩🇪 (Proptech): €10M (GET Fund, PI Impact, WaVe-X, SET Ventures, Picus Capital, Realyze Ventures)
Luffy AI 🇬🇧 (AI): €9.4M (BGF, MIG Capital AG, Bow Capital, Chrysalix, Momenta, UKI2S)
Alqem 🇩🇪 (Materials): €8M (UVC Partners, Union Square Ventures)
alqem 🇩🇪 (Materials): €8M (UVC Partners, Union Square Ventures)

Fund Watch

Arctos Partners 🇺🇸: $6.2B (Arctos Keystone Partners Fund I, debut GP-solutions fund, KKR-backed)
BGF 🇬🇧: €5.8B (growth capital provider; €5.8B deployed across 650 UK & Irish startups, minority equity)
Hamilton Lane 🇺🇸: $3.8B (6th flagship private equity fund)
SkyKnight Capital 🇺🇸: $2B (Fund V, 5th PE fund, $2B hard cap)
Expeditions 🇵🇱: €197M (Fund II, defence-tech & infrastructure resilience VC)
Isogon Ventures 🇺🇸: $150M (debut fund)
Tapestry VC 🇬🇧: €70M (3rd fund, pre-seed/seed for repeat founders. British Business Bank €35M investor)
Climentum Capital 🇩🇰: €60M (Fund II, climate‑tech/hard‑tech fund. First close; €100M target)
Bpifrance / Banque des Territoires / Icade 🇫🇷: €45M (Urban Ventures, VC for the built environment)
Ashley Smith 🇺🇸: $25M (Vermilion Cliffs Fund II, 2nd early-stage VC for AI infra, security, dev tools)
CODE Capital 🇩🇪: €10M (first-check early-stage fund for CODE University founders, target €10M; €50–100k initial checks)
Simon Squibb 🇬🇧: Pledge (10% of Dream Group profits, DreamFund. Perpetual public-access grant fund. No equity or repayment)

🔔IPO

Standard Nuclear 🇺🇸 (Nuclear): seeking to raise $383M at a $3.55B valuation in its IPO.
Syntiant 🇺🇸 (AI chips): filed for a IPO after backing from Intel.
DuPont Registry Group 🇺🇸 (Autos): to pick banks for a IPO. Amount not disclosed.
Axia Real Assets 🇨🇦 (Private equity): launched the $560M hostile bid on Plaza Retail RETI after two years of failed friendly talks and with support from Morguard’s 15.3% stake.
Luxshare 🇨🇳 (Electronics): priced a $3.1B Hong Kong listing at the top.
SK Hynix 🇰🇷 (Semiconductors): US offering was over seven times oversubscribed. Offer size not disclosed.
K Raheja 🇮🇳 (Real estate): delayed plans for a $700M India IPO.
InsuranceDekho 🇮🇳 (Insurtech): picked banks for a $400M India IPO.
Cult.Fit 🇮🇳 (Fitness): filed for a $100M India IPO backed by Temasek.
Unitel 🇦🇴 (Telecoms): preparing a record IPO to raise $320M.

🧳 Debt

QTS Markets 🇺🇸: secured a data center-backed loan (amount undisclosed).
Sterling Infrastructure 🇺🇸: amended its credit agreement to expand revolving borrowings to $1.5B and extend maturity to July 2031.
France 🇫🇷: 10-year yield climbed to 3.89%, its highest level since 2009.
Autodoc 🇩🇪: is raising over $600M in debt to buy back a 15% stake from Apollo.
Italy 🇮🇹: raised $6B in its first dollar bond sale since 2021.
Nscale 🇬🇧: closed a $900M revolving credit facility to fund its data-centre build-out.
China 🇨🇳: 10-year bond sale saw demand gauge at a record high.
Japan 🇯🇵: bank lending rose at its fastest pace since COVID, supporting the BOJ’s policy path.
Thailand 🇹🇭: borrowing THB4.55B from the World Bank plus a THB129.3M grant (total THB4.6793B) for Koh Lanta and Songkhla bridges.
Bangladesh 🇧🇩: exploring a debut sovereign bond sale overseas.

❌ Failures

Getty Images 🇺🇸: lenders began organizing after the firm scrapped a planned merger with Shutterstock.
Rogers Sports and Media 🇨🇦: closing six radio stations and cutting 80 jobs (part of 230 total layoffs).
Allianz 🇩🇪: will cut up to 1,800 jobs in its travel insurance division due to increasing AI use.
Atlas 🇩🇪: after filing for insolvency, a takeover by Buhler Versatile will cost 180 jobs.
Rheinmetall 🇩🇪: freezes 900 planned Naval Systems jobs after the F126 deal collapsed (over €2B sunk; €18B offer proposed).
Airband 🇬🇧: after heavy losses the Aberdeen-backed broadband provider is seeking a new owner in restructuring, putting $267M of investor money at risk.
Aston Martin 🇬🇧: noteholders signed a cooperation pact as the automaker faces a debt rout threatening its refinancing and liquidity.
Zentoshin 🇯🇵: received court approval to begin voluntary bankruptcy proceedings with liabilities of about ¥125,929 million.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

🇺🇸 Red Rover, White Moon. NASA plans to send a test Mars rover to the Moon first, giving the lunar surface a preview of Martian ambitions before heading farther afield. (Bloomberg)
🇨🇦 Ice Breakers. Canada, long overshadowed as the “forgotten host,” made its deepest-ever World Cup run and captured national attention with record-breaking viewership and a historic knockout-stage win. (Bbc)
🇦🇷 Hate Trick. As Argentina advances to another World Cup quarter-final, conspiracy theories and accusations of favoritism, vice, and racism swirl louder than ever around Messi’s squad. (Le Parisien)
🇺🇦 Drone Alone. Ukrainian police raided drone maker Vyriy and the home of its owner, who also co-owns critical news outlet Babel, sparking fears of media intimidation disguised as a corruption probe. (New York Times)
🇺🇦 Born Under Fire. In Kherson, newborns take their first breaths in a fortified underground maternity ward while Russian drones claim lives in the streets above, making survival the city’s daily lottery. (El Pais)
🇸🇦 Level Up. The Esports World Cup kicks off in Saudi Arabia, drawing gamers and superfans who treat Counter-Strike and Fortnite like Olympic events. (Ouest-France)
🇵🇸 Broken Bearings. The World Health Organization reports Gaza leads the world in child amputees per capita as young survivors struggle to adapt amid constant upheaval. (Le Monde)

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