🏦 The $217B Overdraft
When you’re rich enough, even your “for sale” sign gets cold feet.
Also available:🇫🇷 Édition française
Good morning!
A man whose idea of a share sale has historically been 25,000 at a time signed paperwork in June to unload 50M of them. By 12 September the plan was dead, not a share sold, and the explanation ran to zero words. Oracle stock had slid from $175 to about $150 in between, which turns a scheduled disposal into a confession. Larry Ellison is 82, sits on roughly $217B, owns close to 40% of the company he founded in 1977, and still cannot turn $7.5B of it into cash unnoticed.
Ellison family vehicles and RedBird have committed $46.6B of equity to the $110B takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, the father underwriting the son’s shopping a year after buying him Paramount. Oracle dividends bring the patriarch about $2B a year, so funding a commitment on that scale presses on the stock itself, and nearly a third of his stake already sits pledged against personal debt. 12 state attorneys general and Hollywood’s writers’ union then dragged the deal into a Californian courtroom, trial set for March, completion pushed as far out as June 2027, and every quarter of delay past 30 September costs roughly $650M in fees owed to the shareholders being bought out.
Oracle’s free cash flow at minus $23.7B, against minus $394M a year earlier, is the figure that governs the rest. Capital spending rose 162% to nearly $56B, paid for with $43B of fresh debt in a single year and some $40B more queued for this one, all of it building data centres against a $638B backlog that rests largely on a $300B five-year promise from OpenAI, a firm that loses money every time someone says hello to it. Mocking an octogenarian for changing his mind about $7.5B is cheap sport, and slightly unfair: a founder selling at scale is read as prophecy, whatever he intends to do with the proceeds.
One share price sets two things at once. It fixes what the pledged collateral is worth to the lenders already holding it, and what any fresh borrowing against the remaining stake can raise for a closing now pushed towards mid-2027. Reaching a newsroom from there requires no margin call at all. Cost savings of $6B have been promised to investors on the Warner deal, following the $2B promised on Paramount, which removed around 2,000 jobs including some 100 at CBS News. Equity that becomes harder to fund makes those savings more urgent rather than less, and they have to be found inside businesses whose function is to employ reporters. Whatever the court decides in March, the arithmetic reaches the newsroom before it reaches the lender.
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🗞️ Top Story
- 🇪🇸 Garage Sale. Spanish police arrested two suspects in Ceuta for charging undocumented migrants €30 a day to sleep on garage floors, turning desperation into profit. (Le Parisien)
- 🇽🇰 Order in the Court. Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi receives a 25-year prison sentence from The Hague for war crimes during the 1998-1999 conflict, rewriting his legacy in handcuffs. (Boursier)
- 🇺🇸 Entry Denied. The Trump administration again refuses UN debate visas for Mahmoud Abbas and top Palestinian officials, citing ongoing sanctions and alleged failures in the peace process. (Die Zeit)
- 🇧🇷 Poll Position. Brazil’s President Lula plans to use his UN speech to tell Donald Trump to stay out of Brazil’s upcoming presidential election, making interference the main topic before the votes are even cast. (Le Parisien)
- 🇦🇷 Isle Be There. Facing low approval ratings, Javier Milei pivots to the Falklands cause, hoping a patriotic revival and hints of US support will rally the nation. (Le Figaro)
- 🇭🇰 Plan Parenthood. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee launches the city’s first five-year plan, pledging to double innovation spending and boost support for new parents in a bid to reverse falling birth rates. (Bloomberg)
- 🇮🇷 State of Denial. Amnesty International accuses Iran’s top leadership of crimes against humanity for the brutal crackdown on 2022 protests, detailing killings, torture, and sexual violence while officials insist nothing happened. (El Pais)
- 🇸🇩 Gold Standard. A gold mine collapse in Kordofan, Sudan has killed at least 82, leaving rescuers racing to find survivors still missing beneath the debris. (Ouest-France)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Royal Protocol. King Charles convenes top A.I. leaders at Dumfries House to urge caution on runaway technology, as industry giants debate whether progress should slow down for safety’s sake. (New York Times)
- 🇬🇧 Memory Palace. In his new book, Earl Spencer alleges King Charles dismissed Diana’s legacy days after her passing, prompting a sharp rebuttal from the Palace. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Spend It Like Burnham. Critics accuse Andy Burnham’s government of classic tax-and-spend tactics despite his claims of tough choices, while Chancellor Healey scrambles to reassure the markets. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Margin Call. Labour faces a tight race as ThinkLabour data shows the Greens trailing by just four points in urban areas, with 40 seats in play. (The Guardian)
- 🇬🇧 Prime Time. Andy Burnham will make his world stage debut by meeting Donald Trump at the UN general assembly, with Ukraine’s cause high on his agenda. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇬🇧 Prime Time. Andy Burnham will make his world stage debut by meeting Donald Trump at the UN general assembly, with Ukraine’s cause high on his agenda. (The Guardian)
- 🇺🇸 Stage Fright. After a chunk of ceiling falls, the Kennedy Center closes its doors, but Rep. Joyce Beatty’s lawyers say the board is defying a judicial block on closures. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Crash Course. The Los Angeles helicopter crash that killed three highlights the persistent dangers of crowded urban skies for news crews and emergency pilots. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Visa Versa. The Trump administration imposes visa restrictions on certain South Africans, citing alleged anti-white discrimination, escalating tensions with President Ramaphosa’s government. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Blacklisted. Congress votes to hold Leon Black in criminal contempt after he dodges subpoenas tied to the Epstein probe, inviting the Justice Department to test just how untouchable a billionaire can be. (New York Times)
🏛️ Economy
- 🇬🇧 Fuel’s Gold. Motorists face a 23% spike at the pump, driving UK inflation above 3% and leaving households bracing for more expensive commutes. (The Guardian)
- 🇪🇺 Carney Crossing. Ursula von der Leyen pitches associate membership to Canada during her annual speech, giving Mark Carney a front-row seat to the proposal. (Bloomberg)
- 🇪🇺 Soft Landing. Eurozone industrial output dipped just 0.1% in July, outperforming gloomy forecasts and offering a rare moment of statistical optimism. (Boursier)
- 🇪🇺 Ouzo Over Champagne. Greek government borrowing costs are now lower than France’s, as markets reward Athens for fiscal discipline and punish Paris for its deficit drift. (Startupper)
- 🇺🇸 Trading Places. Donald Trump threatens to halt all US-EU trade if Europe moves forward with plans to grant Canada an official associate status, calling the idea « ridiculous » and warning of heavy tariffs. (Le Figaro)
- 🇺🇸 Gap Year. The Trump administration has blocked the IRS from releasing its annual estimate of unpaid taxes, leaving billions unaccounted for and the true tax gap a mystery. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Face Value. California now demands that any ad using AI-created actors must disclose it to viewers, giving consumers a peek behind the digital curtain. (Le Monde)
- 🇺🇸 Fed Up. Chairman Kevin Warsh and the Federal Reserve lifted rates despite Trump’s calls for cuts, putting inflation control above presidential pressure. (Bloomberg)
- 🇺🇸 Mint Condition. The AI surge has minted a fresh crop of billionaires as obscure hardware and industrial suppliers cash in on the gold rush sparked by ChatGPT. (Bloomberg)
- 🇨🇦 Fuel for Thought. Policymakers at the Bank of Canada say persistent high fuel costs could force a rate hike if inflation spreads beyond energy. (Wall Street Journal)
- 🇻🇪 Crude Awakening. Trump confidant Harold Hamm announces Continental Resources 🇺🇸 will start drilling in Venezuela, as US oil giants line up for a piece of Maduro’s reserves. (New York Times)
- 🇯🇵 Franc Exchange. The Swiss franc and Swedish krona are stepping in as the yen’s appeal fades for carry traders seeking cheaper funding currencies. (Japantimes)
- 🌍 Barrel Proof. A wave of drone strikes and pipeline shutdowns in Saudi Arabia has pushed oil above $108 a barrel, fueling inflation and economic jitters worldwide. (BBC)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Rate Expectations. The Bank of England is widely expected to keep interest rates at 3.75% despite rising inflation and pressure from global energy shocks. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Strike It Rich. England’s schools receive a surprise £500M funding boost for teacher pay, just as unions prepare to vote on industrial action. (BBC)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Drawn Out. The Energy Information Administration reports a third straight week of crude stockpile declines, but the 640K barrel draw underwhelms market forecasts. (Wall Street Journal)
🏢 Real Estate
- 🇩🇪 Flat Out. Berlin’s regional election is shaped by a housing crisis and the surge of the far-right AfD, with the left hoping to lead for the first time. (El Pais)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Study in Debt. With rents at private halls topping £1,000 per month, UK students are forced to juggle jobs and studies or risk falling behind. (BBC)
- 🇬🇧 Watt’s the Damage. Scotland mandates that new datacentres above 50MW must pass environmental checks, but resists calls for a total construction freeze amid AI-driven demand. (The Guardian)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 House Arrest. With 30-year mortgage rates nearing 7%, home purchase applications fell 19% from last year, locking many would-be buyers out of the market. (CNBC)
- 🇨🇦 Home Stretch. Canada’s housing starts edged down 0.1% in August to 229,046 units, falling short of market expectations and signaling a cooling property market. (Wall Street Journal)
🔗 On-chain
- 🇩🇪 Key Management. Deutsche Bank 🇩🇪 will launch a digital asset custody service for institutional clients this year, handling wallets and private keys so clients do not have to. (FinExtra)
- 🇺🇸 Bench Money. LeBron James scores a $15M annual deal with Polymarket 🇺🇸, making his NBA paycheck look like pocket change in comparison. (Le Parisien)
- 🇺🇸 Custody Sync. Aave proposes letting institutions borrow stablecoins while keeping their collateral with Anchorage, using Chainlink to bridge traditional finance and DeFi without moving assets on-chain. (Cryptoast)
- 🇨🇳 Whale Watching. Binance 🇨🇳 now lets individuals with $1M in assets join Capital Connect, luring wealthy investors away from Wall Street with a taste of crypto’s portfolio playground. (CNBC)
- 🌍 Coin Overlords. There are now more than 135,000 people worldwide holding at least $1M in crypto, with 23 crypto billionaires at the top of the digital pyramid. (Boursier)
💱 Listed Markets
- 🇫🇮 Fit to Print. Oura is seeking a $16B valuation for its upcoming IPO, but investors may need more than celebrity endorsements to believe the hype. (Financial Times)
- 🇪🇺 Space Invaders. The European Commission signals approval for the mega-merger of Airbus 🇪🇺, Thales 🇫🇷, and Leonardo 🇮🇹, betting that bigger satellites mean global competitiveness. (Les Echos)
- 🇺🇸 Spectacular Vision. Snap 🇺🇸 is teaming up with Nvidia, AWS, and Salesforce to push its AR glasses into the enterprise world, hoping businesses see what consumers never did. (CNBC)
- 🇺🇸 Memory Lane. Intel 🇺🇸 and SK Hynix 🇰🇷 shares jumped after reports they are in talks to manufacture SK Hynix memory chips in the for the first time, sending investors on a nostalgia trip for American chipmaking. (CNBC)
- 🇺🇸 Speech in Motion. Google introduces Gemini 3.8 Live and Extended Thinking, AI agents designed to minimize lag and juggle multiple tasks while holding a seamless voice chat. (Webrazzi)
- 🇺🇸 Eyes Wide Shut. Meta will introduce Luna, camera-free smart glasses designed to look more traditional and sidestep surveillance fears, with shipments expected in October. (Webrazzi)
- 🇺🇸 Code Redmond. Microsoft 🇺🇸 unveils a draft AI code of conduct that insists humans must always be able to shut off its models, no matter how advanced. (Il Sole 24 Ore)
- 🇻🇪 Crude Awakening. ExxonMobil 🇺🇸 is close to a preliminary deal to invest in Venezuela’s oil fields, marking a possible return after nearly 20 years away. (Wall Street Journal)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇬🇧 Desk Resistance. Barclays staff push back against new office mandates, with thousands urging the bank to rethink its three-day minimum and offer a commute subsidy. (Financial Times)
- 🇬🇧 Full Throttle Family. McLaren is spending €583M to build a new UK plant and create its first SUV, aiming to lure luxury buyers who want both speed and space. (Boursier)
- 🇬🇧 Liquid Assets. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering taking Thames Water into state control while also weighing a plan to boost mayoral oversight of the struggling utility. (Bloomberg)
🇺🇸 United States
- 🇺🇸 Watt’s the Deal. Amazon gets the green light to purchase $340M in Generac 🇺🇸 shares as part of a supply pact, instantly electrifying Generac’s stock price. (CNBC)
- 🇺🇸 Prime Numbers. Amazon 🇺🇸 raises its minimum wage for operations workers by $1 to $20 per hour, touting benefits and discounts as part of the package. (TechCrunch)
🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)
- GSK 🇬🇧 acquires a TCE cancer drug from Chimagen Biosciences 🇨🇳 for $750M.
- Air France-KLM 🇫🇷 is considering offering Portugal a stake in the group as part of its bid to acquire up to 49.9% of TAP Air Portugal 🇵🇹, competing with Lufthansa 🇩🇪.
- Société Générale 🇫🇷 acquires Altice’s 50% stake in fiber-optic joint venture OXG Glasfaser Beteiligungs-GmbH 🇩🇪, leaving Vodafone without up to €1.1B in potential payments.
- Infineon Technologies 🇩🇪 sells its NOR Flash and F-RAM memory businesses to Winbond Electronics 🇹🇼 for $1.12B in cash, with closing expected in H2 2027.
- JP Kraemer 🇩🇪 acquires the JP World company site 🇩🇪 for €12M.
- Prada 🇮🇹 is not considering a bid for rival Armani 🇮🇹, whose founder’s estate is preparing to sell a 15% stake.
- Monte dei Paschi di Siena 🇮🇹 makes a takeover offer for Banco BPM 🇮🇹, while Banco BPM ends merger talks with the Italian lender.
- Mevis 🇮🇹 and ZZ Tech 🇨🇳 form a 51/49 joint venture for structural battery-cell components, with production planned in Slovakia from late 2027 or early 2028.
- a3Satel 🇪🇸 acquires Agrisoft 🇪🇸, a provider of payroll and labor-management software.
- Wooclap 🇧🇪 acquires British education technology company Vevox 🇬🇧 following a €25M funding round last year.
- Anheuser-Busch InBev 🇧🇪 upgraded to Buy from Hold by Deutsche Bank.
- EQT 🇸🇪 and NBIM 🇳🇴 launch a joint bid for Acciona Energía 🇪🇸, valued at $13.7B including debt. Ardian 🇫🇷 is also exploring a bid.
- Essity 🇸🇪 is preparing to launch a potential $3B sale of its consumer tissue business after activist investor Cevian Capital 🇸🇪 took a minority stake.
- Glencore 🇨🇭 is among bidders for a minority stake in Eramet’s lithium operation 🇫🇷 in Argentina.
- Swarmer 🇺🇦 acquires UGV maker Ratel Robotics 🇺🇦 in a $225M cash-and-stock deal.
- Clearlake Capital 🇺🇸 acquires the remaining stakes in Chelsea Football Club 🇬🇧 from Mark Walter and Todd Boehly, gaining full control.
- SpaceX 🇺🇸 and Tesla 🇺🇸: Elon Musk teased a potential $3.5T merger.
- Healthcare RCM firm Waystar 🇺🇸 is exploring a sale, with a $5B market capitalization.
- Moody’s 🇺🇸 acquired a minority stake in Philippine Rating Services Corp. 🇵🇭.
- KKR 🇺🇸 is the preferred bidder to acquire Portuguese packaging maker Logoplaste 🇵🇹. Exclusive talks are ongoing.
- Endra 🇺🇸 acquires Swiss AI research company Planlabs 🇨🇭 and launches its Power Studio platform for electrical engineering.
- Hang Ten Systems 🇺🇸 raises an additional $53M in seed funding, bringing its total funding to $85M.
- Starbucks 🇺🇸 is considering selling a majority stake in its Japan business 🇯🇵, potentially valuing the unit at around $3B.
- Brookfield Asset Management 🇨🇦 acquires Reliance Worldwide 🇦🇺 for $2.9B.
- Brookfield 🇨🇦 is nearing a recapitalization of UK holiday park operator Center Parcs 🇬🇧 from Australian Retirement Trust and Mercer Super at a $6B valuation.
- Forthlane Partners 🇨🇦 acquires June 🇨🇦, creating a wealth management platform with more than $2B in assets under management.
- Avenrock Energy 🇨🇦 acquires Alberta oil and gas producer Parallax 🇨🇦 for approximately $1B.
- Birch Hill Equity Partners 🇨🇦’s Harbour Air 🇨🇦 acquires Pacific Coastal Airlines 🇨🇦. The airlines will retain separate brands and operate a combined fleet of 59 aircraft.
- Aby Lijtszain Chernizky’s family vehicle 🇲🇽 plans to launch a tender offer for Grupo Traxion 🇲🇽 at a 20% premium.
- FountainVest 🇨🇳 and HSG 🇨🇳 are considering acquiring Italian sports safety gear maker Alpinestars 🇮🇹, valued at $1.2B.
- SAIC Motor 🇨🇳, General Motors China 🇨🇳 and Guangxi Automobile Group 🇨🇳’s joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling 🇨🇳 unveils the six-seater Darion electric taxi, set to launch in Hong Kong next month.
- Grab 🇸🇬 to acquire Atome Financial 🇸🇬 for $1.49B in cash for an initial 60% stake, followed by the remaining 40% approximately two years later.
- Vodacom 🇿🇦’s $1.9B acquisition of a 15% stake in Safaricom 🇰🇪 is invalidated by Kenya’s High Court.
🇺🇸 United States
- Verlinvest 🇧🇪 invests in home-swapping platform HomeExchange 🇫🇷. Ternel 🇫🇷 reinvests while ISAI 🇫🇷 exits.
- H.I.G. Capital 🇺🇸 combines Action Elevator Company 🇺🇸 and All City Elevator 🇺🇸 to form EverRise Lift Group, an elevator installation, maintenance, repair, and modernization platform.
- Bertram Capital 🇺🇸 invests in STARC Systems 🇺🇸, a manufacturer of reusable temporary containment wall systems.
- RLH Equity Partners 🇺🇸 invests in Climb 🇺🇸, a Databricks-native data and AI consultancy.
- Barndoor AI 🇺🇸 acquires Diaphora 🇺🇸, the startup behind open-source AI workflow engine Frags.
- CGF Holdings 🇺🇸 makes a strategic investment in MediPro Direct 🇺🇸, a mobile diagnostics services provider.
- Emerald Square Ventures 🇺🇸 makes a majority investment in clinical research services provider H Clinical 🇺🇸.
- Niobrara Capital 🇺🇸 acquires managed IT services provider MSP Corp 🇨🇦.
🧳 Private Markets & VC
- 🇬🇧 Phish and Chips. British fintech Revolut 🇬🇧 admits hackers tricked staff into leaking customer data by posing as a government agency, though it insists no client funds were touched. (France Info)
- 🇺🇸 Tabula Rasa. Anthropic merges its Claude chat and Cowork tabs into a single interface, aiming to end user confusion and let the AI handle the routing. (TechCrunch)
- 🇺🇸 Sea Change. Clean tech startup Fluxnium claims it can extract uranium from seawater, unlocking enough nuclear fuel for 50,000 years and raising $7M to prove it. (TechCrunch)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇨🇭 Swiss Rollout. Revolut 🇬🇧 has applied for a full Swiss banking license and pledged a 150M CHF investment, aiming to become a true local bank for its 1.3M Swiss customers. (Startupper)
Fundraising
- Jupiter Power 🇺🇸 (Energy storage): $1.4B (HSBC, SMBC, AB CarVal, Nuveen, Barclays, HSBC Securities, ING Capital, Société Générale, MUFG)
- Temporal 🇺🇸 (AI): $550M (Lightspeed, Wellington Management, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Tiger Global, T. Rowe Price, SV Angel, a16z, Sequoia, Index, GIC, Sapphire Ventures, Amplify)
- barq 🇸🇦 (Fintech): $330M
- Anew Labs 🇨🇳 (Healthcare): $290M (HSG)
- Tabby 🇸🇦 (Fintech): $233M (Blue Pool Capital, HSG, Wellington Management, Arbor Ventures)
- Euclyd 🇳🇱 (Semiconductors): $230M (Samsung Electronics, Somerset Capital Partners, EU’s Scaleup Europe Fund, Innovation Industries)
- Cornelis 🇺🇸 (AI infrastructure): $205M (IAG Capital Partners)
- EnduroSat 🇧🇬 (Space): $205M (Riot Ventures, Atreides Management, European Innovation Council, Google Ventures, Founders Fund, House Capital, Lux Capital, Omnes Capital, Giant Ventures, Emphatic Capital, Endeavor Catalyst)
- Factory 🇺🇸 (AI): $200M (Blackstone, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Evantic Capital, Sound Ventures, NEA, Mantis VC, Clearlake, Nico Rosberg, Brad Gerstner, Marc Benioff)
- Profound 🇺🇸 (AI): $180M (Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Saga Ventures, Evantic, South Park Commons)
- Wonder 🇺🇸 (Foodtech): $125M (DoorDash)
- Sling Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $123M (Forbion, TPG Life Sciences Innovations, Sectoral Asset Management)
- CADDi 🇯🇵 (Manufacturing): $114M (Moore Strategic Ventures, Coreline Ventures)
- Kaiko 🇫🇷 (Blockchain): $110M (Traditional financial investors)
- Thatch 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $108M (The General Partnership, Index Ventures, General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, ADP Ventures, Paychex, Eli Lilly and Company, Scale Venture Partners, QuantumLight, SemperVirens, Quiet Capital, Avid Ventures)
- Circle Pharma 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $92.5M (The Column Group, Nextech Invest, RA Capital Management, Euclidean Capital, Eli Lilly and Company)
- Samson Sky 🇺🇸 (Automotive): $80M (Matin Group)
- Brighteye Ventures 🇬🇧 (Edtech): $72M (Lumina Foundation, Zanichelli, PI Impact, European Investment Fund, Jacobs Foundation, European family offices)
- Hang Ten Systems 🇺🇸 (Technology): $53M (Xora, Mayfield, Aramco Ventures)
- Polaris Electro-Optics 🇺🇸 (Optics): $50M (Walden Catalyst Ventures, Socratic Partners, Cambium Capital, Knollwood, Hudson River Trading, Koch Disruptive Technologies, M Ventures, Rhapsody Venture Partners, Buff Gold Ventures, Blue Sky Capital)
- Apex Intelligence 🇨🇳 (AI): Nearly US$50M (IDG Capital, LinkX Capital, XtalPi, Decent Capital, SEE Fund, Monad Ventures, Winsoul Capital, Zhongguancun Science City Fund, SCGC, Shanghai Engine Fund)
- RegCell 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $44M (Playground Global, Global Brain, Mitsui Chemicals, LG Technology Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Medical Incubator Japan, Fast Track Initiative, UTEC, Osaka University Venture Capital, Kyoto iCAP)
- BackOps 🇺🇸 (AI): $42M (Insight Partners, Theory Ventures, Construct Capital, Gradient Ventures, 10VC)
- Noetive 🇺🇸 (AI): $41M (Eclipse, Craft Ventures, The Westly Group, Swish Ventures, Factory, Incite Ventures, Gigascale Capital, Operator Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, Zach Frenkel, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, Ahmad Al-Dahle, Matt Rogers, Mike Schroepfer, Dean Leitersdorf, Moshe Shalev, Orian Leitersdorf, Yaser Sheikh, Boris Sofman)
- Evvy 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $40M (Catalio Capital Management)
- Jack & Jill (AI): $40M (Air Street Capital)
- AIUC 🇺🇸 (AI): $40M (Ribbit Capital, First Harmonic)
- TeRAM (AI): $37M (Primary Venture Partners, B Capital, Hyperion, SemiAnalysis Capital)
- ReEmerge 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $37M (U.S. Venture Partners, Santé, Oxford Science Enterprises, 415 Capital, IAG Capital Partners, The Vertical Group, Dendrion Ventures)
- Limetax 🇩🇪 (Accounting): €36M (Motive Partners, Activant Capital, Heliad, Ante Spittler, Christian Lindner)
- Implicity 🇫🇷 (Healthcare): €35M (IRIS, Five Arrows)
- Branch Energy 🇺🇸 (Energy): $33M (Piva Capital, Clean Energy Ventures, Active Impact Investments, Whitecap Venture Partners, Prelude Ventures, Zero Infinity Partners, Inovia Capital)
- Planted 🇺🇸 (Energy): $31.8M (Piva Capital, RA Capital Management Planetary Health, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Gigascale Capital, Google, Khosla Ventures)
- Arlequin AI 🇫🇷 (AI): €28M (redalpine, OTB Ventures, Bpifrance’s Defense Innovation Fund)
- iGii 🇬🇧 (Advanced materials): €26.49M (Scottish National Investment Bank, PXN)
- Footprint 🇺🇸 (Compliance): $25M (QED Investors, MUFG, Commerce Ventures, LightBank, Alumni Ventures, Index Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, BoxGroup, Operator Partners, Animal Capital)
- Viabot 🇺🇸 (Robotics): $24M (Walden International)
- Buywander 🇺🇸 (Marketplace): $21M (Madrona Venture Group, Inspired Capital)
- Veridion 🇷🇴 (AI): $20M (Hoxton Ventures, Underline Ventures, OTB Ventures, Gapminder, Day One Capital, LAUNCHub)
- Fin.com 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $20M (Expa, Garrett Camp, Coinbase Ventures, Tenet Fund, Figure founders, Bam Azizi, Second Sight Ventures, sovereign and royal family offices)
- Nomos 🇩🇪 (Energy): €20M (Index Ventures, Markus Villig, Daniel Dines, Tomas Okmanas)
- Hackuity 🇫🇷 (Cybersecurity): $19M (Forgepoint Capital International, Bright Pixel, Seventure Partners, Bpifrance Deeptech Venture)
- Integral 🇩🇪 (Fintech): €18M (Mosaic Ventures, Reid Hoffman, Cherry Ventures, General Catalyst, Puzzle Ventures)
- Treble 🇮🇸 (AI): $18M (Paladin Capital Group, KOMPAS VC, Frumtak Ventures, EIC, Omega ehf)
- Ayble Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $16M (Neon, Unum Ventures, Upfront Ventures, M13, Cleveland Clinic Ventures, DigiTx, Accomplice)
- Liquid Compute 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $15M (FirstMark, Chemistry, K8 Capital, Night Capital, TrueBridge, Brainchild Holdings, UFO Holdings, Dmitry Balyasny)
- Nara Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $14M (Khosla Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, Superior Studios)
- G5 Labs 🇺🇸 (AI): $14M (Pillar VC, Battery Ventures, Omega Venture Partners, Encoded Ventures)
- Tare 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $13.25M (Blockchain Capital, Strobe Ventures, Janus Henderson, Apollo Global Management, The Venture Dept, Neoclassic Capital, Avalanche Foundation)
- ETFBook 🇨🇭 (Fintech): $13M (Expedition Growth Capital, BlackFin Capital Partners)
- 011H Sustainable Construction 🇪🇸 (Construction): Up to €12M (AXIS)
- Complir 🇩🇰 (Compliance): $11M (General Catalyst)
- Zero 🇫🇮 (AI): $10.3M (Primary Venture Partners, Inception Fund, Defiant, Greens, Fabian Hedin, Ilkka Paananen, Peter Sarlin, Langdock founders, Depict founders)
- Velocity 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $10M (Visa Ventures, Circle Ventures, Ripple, Haun Ventures, Translink Capital, Mirana Ventures)
- Finloop 🇭🇰 (Wealthtech): More than $10M (HSBC, People’s Capital)
- Nix Biosensors 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $10M (Shorewind Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, White Road Investments, Anne Wojcicki, Len Blavatnik, owners of the St. Louis Blues, Boston Celtics, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Legacy FC, and Texas Rangers)
- Delos 🇫🇷 (AI): €10M (Bpifrance, C4 Ventures, Founders Future)
- Ferry Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $9M (Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Avid Ventures, Layout Ventures, SV Angel, Box Group, Asymmetric Capital, Jay Desai, founders of Grow Therapy, Hex, and Chapter)
- BATTIA 🇪🇸 (Recycling): €8M
- Rapta 🇺🇸 (Manufacturing): $8M (Voyager Capital, Access Venture Partners, DeepWork Capital, LongKnife, Elevate Capital, Ringbolt Capital, Portland Seed Fund, BVC)
- Gaia Dynamics 🇺🇸 (AI): $7M (Corazon Capital, Lobby Capital, AI Fund, Zenda Capital)
- Enigmata 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $6.5M (Blockchange Ventures)
- Biorsaf 🇮🇹 (RegTech): €5.2M
- Kairon Health 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $5M (Flare Capital Partners, Tau Ventures, Lightbank, General Advance, Pave Health Ventures)
- Ed.ai 🇫🇷 (Edtech): €5M (Bpifrance, La Poste Ventures, 50 Partners)
- IVEX 🇧🇪 (Automotive): €5M (The Faktory, Dedicated.lu, private investors)
- Aristotle 🇺🇸 (Edtech): $5M (True Ventures, Wicklow Capital, angel investors)
- Unknown 🇸🇪 (Energy storage): $4.6M
- Eve Security 🇺🇸 (Cybersecurity): $4.5M (Run Ventures, Dreamit Ventures, Blu Ventures, LiveOak Ventures)
- Opio 🇫🇷 (AI): €4M (Frst, Seedcamp, GFC)
- Decimal AI 🇺🇸 (AI): $4M (Khosla Ventures, Kearny Jackson, Atlassian Ventures, Weekend Fund)
- Fryte Mobility 🇩🇪 (Mobility): €3.5M (4impact capital, Rethink Ventures, Revent, F-LOG, Accilium Ventures, business angels)
- Grubel 🇩🇪 (Legaltech): €3M (Point Nine, Jeff Dean, Chris Ré)
- Quartz 🇬🇧 (Fintech): £2.75M (Daphni, Outward VC, K Fund, Philippe Gelis, Gilles BianRosa)
- Depotcharge 🇩🇪 (Mobility): €2.7M (High-Tech Gründerfonds, xdeck Ventures, Kopa Ventures, Prequel Ventures, business angels)
- Orbits 🇨🇦 (AI): $2.6M (Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun, N49P, Garage Capital, angel investors)
- Bynario 🇮🇹 (Cybersecurity): €2.1M (360 Capital Partners, PranaVentures)
- EnforceShield 🇱🇹 (Legal tech): €1.7M (Vendep Capital, FIRSTPICK VC)
- AcademyAI 🇬🇧 (AI): £1.65M (Nexus Family Office, Panthera Family Office)
- AcouBatt 🇬🇧 (Battery technology): £1.1M (Creator Fund, Ada Ventures)
- OriginalVoices 🇬🇧 (AI): £1M (Iona Star)
Fund Watch
- Goldman Sachs 🇺🇸: $11.7B (LBO flagship fund, Asia and co-investment vehicles)
- PSG Equity 🇺🇸: €4.4B (third European growth equity fund, hard cap reached)
- Bain Capital Ventures 🇺🇸: $1.6B (Fund XI, early-stage venture fund focused on AI infrastructure, physical AI, security and services)
- Hines and Rialto Capital 🇺🇸: $1.1B (office credit fund)
- Radical Ventures 🇨🇦: $1B (Breakouts Fund, AI growth-stage fund, $4B target)
- Portage 🇨🇦: $600M (4th fintech venture fund)
- Crane Venture Partners 🇬🇧: $484M (four venture funds: Crane III, APAC I, US I and Opportunity Fund I)
- Matter Venture Partners 🇺🇸: $450M (Fund II, early-stage HardTech venture fund)
- Adagia Partners 🇫🇷: €425M (2nd LBO fund, €850M target, first closing)
- Lincoln Avenue Communities 🇺🇸: ~$260M (Wilshire Core Plus Housing Impact Fund, affordable housing fund)
- Artemis Capital Partners 🇺🇸: $254M (4th industrial tech-focused PE fund)
- Brightshore Capital 🇺🇸: $250M (debut real estate credit fund)
- BlueOrchard 🇨🇭: $250M (climate fund for emerging markets)
- Ciena 🇺🇸: $200M (VC fund for next-gen networking startups)
- S2G Investments 🇺🇸: $50M (commitment to Kanin Energy, industrial waste-heat-to-power projects)
- Nordic Foodtech VC 🇫🇮: €30M (Fund II, early-stage AgriTech fund, €80M target)
🔔IPO
- Vue 🇬🇧 (Entertainment): exploring a London IPO at a valuation of up to £1.5B.
- Syngenta 🇨🇭 (Agribusiness): confidentially filed for a potential $5B Hong Kong IPO.
- Altera 🇺🇸 (Semiconductors): confidentially filed for a potential $2B IPO.
- May Mobility 🇺🇸 (Mobility): raising over $300M in a SPAC deal at a $1.4B valuation.
- Holtec International 🇺🇸 (Nuclear): suspended its planned $900M IPO amid a market downturn in AI and nuclear stocks.
- OpenAI 🇺🇸 (Artificial Intelligence): exploring a private funding round valuing it at nearly $1.2T ahead of a potential IPO.
- Biren Technology 🇨🇳 (Semiconductors): weighing another $1B share sale.
- SB Energy 🇯🇵 (Data Centers): targeting $500M in the Japanese portion of its planned US IPO.
- Eclat Health Solutions 🇮🇳 (Healthcare): considering a $300M Indian IPO.
🇺🇸 United States
- Haymaker Acquisition Corp V 🇺🇸 (Blank-check): priced a $250M IPO of units to fund a future business combination.
🧳 Debt
- Publicis Groupe 🇫🇷: raised €500M in bonds maturing in 2030 to fund its LiveRamp acquisition.
- Truist 🇺🇸: will sell $5.5B of auto loans as it exits near-prime auto lending.
- World Bank 🇺🇸: priced a $3B bond from an $8B order book.
- CDW 🇺🇸: selling $1.5B of senior notes.
- Republic of Panama 🇵🇦: secured a $1.0B senior loan from Bladex.
- The Executive Centre (TEC) 🇭🇰: secured $585M in financing from Apollo Global Management 🇺🇸.
- Vietnam 🇻🇳: considering its first sovereign dollar bond sale since 2014, potentially raising $1B.
🇺🇸 United States
- USD.AI 🇺🇸: secured a $40M stablecoin-based revolving debt facility from K3 Capital.
- Lioness 🇺🇸: secured a $1M asset-based credit line, expandable to $5M, from JPalmer Collective.
❌ Failures
- Biscuit International 🇫🇷: $800M in term loans are trading at 66¢ just three months after a debt restructuring.
- Life 🇸🇪: the Swedish health and wellness retail chain has filed for bankruptcy again.
- Ridely 🇸🇪: the horse-tech company filed for bankruptcy after reporting SEK 3M in revenue and a SEK 3.6M loss, despite raising nearly SEK 50M.
- Wexthuset 🇸🇪: the green e-commerce retailer filed for bankruptcy after revenue fell to SEK 27.6M and it posted a SEK 1.5M loss in 2025.
- Oracle 🇺🇸: after previously cutting roughly 21,000 jobs, the company announced further layoffs while investing billions in AI.
- Pulley 🇺🇸: after raising over $50M, the cap table management platform is shutting down on December 8 and transferring customers to Carta.
- CoinEx 🇭🇰: the crypto exchange is shutting down on December 22, citing security and compliance risks.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Reach 🇬🇧: the Mirror and Express publisher will cut 220 editorial jobs as online traffic declines and readers turn to AI summaries.
- Entain 🇬🇧: the Ladbrokes owner is preparing to cut 400 customer care jobs despite reporting better-than-expected first-half profits.
🎯 For a Few More Minutes…
- 🇫🇷 Fashion Weak. Kim Kardashian gets €1 in damages for her infamous Paris Fashion Week robbery, as the French court delivers justice with a side of irony. (Le Parisien)
- 🇺🇸 Swift Justice. Travis Kelce, NFL star and Taylor Swift’s husband, was named as a victim in a $35M Ponzi scheme run by Swiftarc Capital’s cofounder, who just received 11 years in prison and a $31M restitution order. (Le Parisien)
- 🇺🇸 Dancing Letters. Cat Frazier, whose vibrant GIFs on AnimatedText revived the playful chaos of early web design, has passed away at age 35. (New York Times)
- 🇺🇸 Post Truth. AI-generated content floods LinkedIn, driving demand for human ghostwriters who now charge hundreds per post to restore a sense of authenticity. (Financial Times)
- 🇺🇸 Of Mice and Men. Researchers at Stanford have transplanted human cerebral tissue into mouse brains, opening a new frontier for studying human brain development and disease. (Financial Times)
- 🇧🇴 Drawn Out. Bolivia and Paraguay officially settled their border after nearly a century of technical wrangling, making them the only South American neighbors with a fully defined frontier. (Le Figaro)
- 🇸🇬 Safe Bet. Police in Singapore have begun selling off luxury watches, bags, and jewelry worth $2B, all kept in the city’s fortified Le Freeport vault. (BBC)
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