๐ Trolley Spin
Marchers counted groceriesโmarkets counted something else.
Good morning!
France's 10-year borrowing cost went through 5% this week, its highest since 2002, and a trading desk in London would barely look up. Gilts have paid more for months, and Treasuries have spent the autumn around the same mark without anyone setting fire to a town hall. The number that matters is the gap: Paris now pays about 1.6 points more than Berlin, the widest since the euro crisis of 2011, and more than Rome or Madrid. In 2012, Spain paid 5 points more than France. Today it pays nearly a point less. PIIGS, the crisis-era acronym for the eurozone's problem debtors, never had an F in it. It now has an applicant.
Italy carries more debt than France relative to its economy, so the market has stopped grading the arithmetic and started grading the capacity to pass a budget. On that paper France keeps handing in blank sheets: a divided parliament, a presidential election in May, a state that has not balanced its books since 1974 and plans to borrow a record โฌ340B next year. The budget built on that plan assumes the 10-year will cost 4.3%. It already cost 4.8% the day the assumption was printed, which gives the forecast the shelf life of a yoghurt in a power cut.
The weekend's cost-of-living marches ended in looting from Marseille to Strasbourg. One supermarket chain counted 50 stores stripped, luxury windows went in, and the spoils surfaced on Vinted, the second-hand clothing app, within days. The US president announced online that France was burning, with the glee of a man whose own 10-year sits at the same 5% and who has not checked the wind direction. The looters have earned every court summons heading their way. But 550K people, by the interior ministry's own count, marched about the price of a weekly shop and the state of their children's schools, and the bond market has answered by raising the price of the one thing nobody marched about: money.
Moody's, the last of the big three rating agencies to keep France in the double-A bracket, reviews its grade within days. London knows how this sort of thriller ends: in 2022 the gilt market retired a prime minister after 49 days, outlasted on camera by a lettuce. Paris has no Liz Truss to sacrifice, only a parliament where every faction would rather lose than help someone else win. Every extra point of yield on โฌ340B of borrowing adds โฌ3.4B a year in interest, more than the looters could carry out in a lifetime of Saturdays. The bill lands on mortgages, on company loans, and on the classrooms the marchers were complaining about in the first place. The shop windows will be replaced by Christmas. The spread will still be there on election day, and the people paying it were never the ones holding the crowbars.
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๐๏ธ Top Story
- ๐ซ๐ท Spy Hard. French MP and former minister Agnรจs Pannier-Runacher was alerted by Apple that her iPhone was targeted by spyware, triggering a cybercrime investigation in Paris. (Le Monde)
- ๐ช๐ธ Sticky Fingers. Javier Milei publicly branded Pedro Sรกnchez a criminal and thief in Madrid, claiming Spain's leader encouraged migrant flows to Ceuta for electoral gain. (Spiegel)
- ๐ช๐บ Ready Player One. Finland, Poland, and their neighbors are reviving Cold War-era civil defense tests, treating war with Russia as more than just theory. (Le Monde)
- ๐ช๐บ Office Raid. Police searched the Strasbourg and Brussels offices of Philip Claeys, secretary general of the Rassemblement National group in the European Parliament, over suspected financial crimes tied to its previous formation. (Le Monde)
- ๐ฌ๐ช Party Line. Georgia's Constitutional Court begins reviewing a government request to ban five pro-EU opposition parties, raising alarms about democracy's health in Tbilisi. (Libรฉ)
- ๐ป๐ช Body Counted. Venezuela claims 6,509 died in June's quakes, but US Geological Survey models estimate the true toll could exceed 53,000, making the official figure look almost decorative. (New York Times)
- ๐ฎ๐ท Talk is Cheap. Iranโs Abbas Araghchi challenges the US to show it actually wants diplomacy by removing its naval blockade and easing sanctions. (Bloomberg)
- ๐ Mercury Rising. The UN says humanity has missed the 1.5ยฐC warming limit, with current pledges pointing to 2.6ยฐC by 2100 unless emissions plummet. (Libรฉ)
- ๐ Patch and Go. Governments from Finland to Japan are taking websites offline after AI found critical PHP flaws, with agencies warning that 70% of the internet could be at risk. (BBC)
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom
- ๐ฌ๐ง Cold Comfort. A UK parliamentary report warns that Britain's lack of Arctic naval resources leaves undersea cables and energy supplies exposed to Russian attack, with critical infrastructure at risk as tensions rise. (BBC)
๐บ๐ธ United States
- ๐บ๐ธ Senate Wars. James Talarico fires back at Elon Musk on X after Musk's donation to a Texas PAC, accusing the billionaire of trying to buy a Senate seat. (CNBC)
- ๐บ๐ธ Majority Rules. Ahead of the midterms, Justice Kagan argues that recent Supreme Court decisions on voting and campaign finance have pushed the further into dysfunction. (New York Times)
๐๏ธ Economy
- ๐ซ๐ท Tourist Trap. Violent scenes in Paris and viral images of unrest have triggered a wave of hotel cancellations, with industry leaders warning losses could reach 10 percent if chaos continues. (Le Parisien)
- ๐ซ๐ท Gilt Trip. French 10-year bond yields hit 5% for the first time in 22 years, sending a pointed message about fiscal credibility and market nerves. (Le Figaro)
- ๐ฎ๐น Model Citizens. The so-called โMilan modelโ lures global elites with flat-rate taxes and high-end living, while longtime residents are pushed to the outskirts and public services struggle to hire. (El Pais)
- ๐ญ๐บ Bank Job. Gyรถrgy Matolcsy, who ran Hungary's central bank for 12 years and was once Orbรกnโs right hand, was arrested this morning over alleged embezzlement and fraud. Prosecutors are probing suspicious real estate deals and foundation spending that drained public coffers. (El Pais)
- ๐ช๐บ Cookie Monster. member states reject the Commission's plan to cut down on cookie banners, opting instead to grant more exceptions for website operators. (Die Zeit)
- ๐บ๐ธ Trust Issues. Americans are skeptical about AIโs impact and reject Trumpโs call for industry self-policing, preferring stricter oversight instead. (Washington Post)
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom
- ๐ฌ๐ง Piggy Bankrupt. Chancellor John Healey unveils Britainโs long-delayed oil fund, prompting fresh reminders that Norwayโs is now worth $2.4T and Britainโs could have been. (BBC)
- ๐ฌ๐ง Current Affairs. After a near-miss during Juneโs heatwave, Britainโs grid faces warnings from industry leaders that its infrastructure and leadership are not ready for the renewable era. (Financial Times)
- ๐ฌ๐ง Union Jacked. The FCA's 5,000 employees get the official go-ahead to unionize, thanks to Labour's new rules making union entry much easier. (Bloomberg)
๐ข Real Estate
- ๐ฌ๐ง Liquid Assets. The billionaire behind Highland Spring is forced to sell off trophy properties after a cascade of debt defaults and creditor action dries up his liquidity. (Financial Times)
- ๐ซ๐ท Haunted Listings. French law compels agents to reveal past tragedies in homes, complicating sales and leaving buyers to weigh comfort against history. (Libรฉ)
- ๐บ๐ธ No More Chorebnb. Airbnb hosts can no longer demand guests do cleanersโ work, as the company cracks down on excessive checkout tasks and hidden expectations. (BBC)
- ๐บ๐ธ Serverance Pay. Trump calls for data center operators like OpenAI and Anthropic to share profits with host communities, turning digital infrastructure into a political bargaining chip. (Boursier)
๐บ๐ธ United States
- ๐บ๐ธ Falling Flat. Mortgage rates dipped for the first time in two months, but even cheaper loans could not stop applications from dropping another 5.3% last week. (CNBC)
๐ On-chain
- ๐ช๐บ Peer Pressure. With BaFinโs blessing, Boerse Stuttgart Group launches Seturion as Europeโs first licensed DLT settlement system, promising to cut costs and intermediaries for digital securities. (Startbase)
- ๐ช๐บ Token Gesture. Qivalis receives the first banking license under MiCA to launch a fully regulated euro stablecoin, setting up a private sector rival to the ECBโs digital euro. (Startupper)
- ๐ Trading Places. While tokenized stock platforms take off abroad, Goldman Sachs ๐บ๐ธ and other firms object, fearing disruption to their established turf. (CNBC)
๐ฑ Listed Markets
- ๐ซ๐ท Upward Mobility. Thales ๐ซ๐ท now expects sales growth at or above 7% this year, thanks to a flurry of big-ticket defense and aerospace contracts. (Wall Street Journal)
- ๐ช๐บ Compliance Pending. The European Commission questions whether Booking.com ๐ณ๐ฑ is doing enough to tackle fake hotel listings and safeguard customer data, opening a formal inquiry. (Die Zeit)
- ๐จ๐ญ Swiss Miss. UBS threatens to move its headquarters out of Switzerland over a proposed law, turning a policy debate into a high-stakes standoff with the government. (Le Monde)
- ๐บ๐ธ Fine Print. Meta ๐บ๐ธ faces a $25B penalty after a New Mexico jury found it misled Facebook users on data privacy in the 2016 Trump campaign era. Turns out, the real terms were in the footnotes. (Boursier)
- ๐บ๐ธ Clause and Effect. The interpretation of Title IX shifts with the political winds, turning a legal safeguard into a partisan football every election cycle. (New York Times)
- ๐บ๐ธ Rocket and Roll. Elon Musk floats the idea of merging Tesla and SpaceX, but warns shareholders will have the final say on this cosmic combo. (Breakit)
- ๐จ๐ณ Bear Minimum. Chinaโs CSI 300 index has plunged 20% from its June peak, marking a 10-week losing streak and dragging the market into bear territory. (CNBC)
- ๐ธ๐ฌ Listing in Limbo. DayOne Data Centers ๐ธ๐ฌ is considering postponing its US IPO or cutting its target by billions as data center volatility spreads. (Bloomberg)
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom
- ๐ฌ๐ง Remote Control. NatWest ๐ฌ๐ง will end its remote-first policy in 2027, ordering 13,000 staff to work in the office at least two days a week, infuriating the union. (The Guardian)
๐๏ธ Big Deals (M&A)
- Centerbridge Partners ๐ฌ๐ง and Mubadala ๐ฆ๐ช are in exclusive talks to acquire Canaccord Genuity ๐จ๐ฆ's UK wealth management business for $1.3B.
- Gulf Keystone Petroleum ๐ฌ๐ง will merge with ShaMaran Petroleum ๐ณ๐ด in a $601M all-stock 50-50 deal.
- Expedition Growth Capital ๐ฌ๐ง becomes the majority shareholder of digital accounting firm Dougs ๐ซ๐ท through a โฌ50M capital increase.
- Bridgepoint ๐ฌ๐ง, Bain Capital ๐บ๐ธ and Aquiline ๐บ๐ธ are among the firms in the second-round auction to acquire UK-based wealth and investment manager W1M ๐ฌ๐ง.
- Standard Chartered ๐ฌ๐ง has agreed to acquire 100% of digital asset custody provider Zodia Custody ๐ฌ๐ง.
- London Stock Exchange Group ๐ฌ๐ง is nearing a $3.5B deal to acquire credit data specialist Octus ๐ฌ๐ง from Permira ๐ฌ๐ง.
- YourArt ๐ซ๐ท acquires Artsper ๐ซ๐ท and its gallery network, retaining both brands.
- CNP Assurances ๐ซ๐ท will acquire Prudential Financial ๐บ๐ธ's Brazil and Mexico units for $4.03B in cash.
- Tikehau Capital ๐ซ๐ท is seeking a strategic investor.
- Axel Springer ๐ฉ๐ช proposed to acquire a stake in TikTokโs European operations ๐จ๐ณ, but EU officials were unenthusiastic and the idea was dropped.
- UniCredit ๐ฎ๐น has re-acquired its Italian securities-services unit from SocGen ๐ซ๐ท.
- Autobuses de Leon ๐ช๐ธ is in talks to acquire Mobico ๐ฌ๐ง in a potential ยฃ282M take-private deal.
- Akzo Nobel ๐ณ๐ฑ is in early talks to sell its European vehicle refinishing business to secure regulatory approval for its proposed $19B merger with Axalta Coating Systems ๐บ๐ธ, expected to close by early 2027.
- Aikido Security ๐ง๐ช has acquired Warsaw-based startup Cyberly ๐ต๐ฑ for integration into its Noon cybersecurity platform.
- Elikonos Capital ๐ฌ๐ท acquires a minority stake in A. Vezyroglou ๐ฌ๐ท, the largest producer of baby leafy vegetables in Greece, as part of a โฌ12M+ expansion program.
- Medicalgorithmics ๐ต๐ฑ has signed a non-binding letter of intent with an unnamed U.S. Nasdaq-listed healthcare company ๐บ๐ธ for the potential acquisition of all its shares, valued at at least $67M, subject to due diligence and a โฌ10M non-debt financing requirement.
- Fundacja Spoลeczeลstwo ๐ต๐ฑ has completed its acquisition of Polish AI education startup ChatHeroes ๐ต๐ฑ.
- Orlen ๐ต๐ฑ plans to replace eService ๐ต๐ฑ with PayPro ๐ต๐ฑ as the payment operator for Orlen Pay in December 2026.
- Gardera ๐ธ๐ช raises SEK 23M after its acquisition bid for an AI company was rejected.
- 120ft ๐ธ๐ช is building robotic microfactories with capital from Sophia Bendz ๐ธ๐ช and Ted Persson ๐ธ๐ช.
- Marathon Software ๐ธ๐ช has acquired a majority stake in Extended Control ๐ธ๐ช, a software provider for terminal and depot automation.
- EQT ๐ธ๐ช has agreed to acquire German diagnostics group Qiagen ๐ฉ๐ช for โฌ10.8B, including debt.
- Omnidocs ๐ฉ๐ฐ acquires WoodWing ๐ณ๐ฑ, creating a document management group with more than 400 employees and over โฌ70M in combined revenue.
- Maersk ๐ฉ๐ฐ signed a $3.5B agreement with Vietnamese conglomerate Hateco ๐ป๐ณ to develop a railway freight terminal network in Vietnam.
- Vista Bank ๐ท๐ด has completed its acquisition of 100% of brokerage firm Investimental ๐ท๐ด following regulatory approval.
- O3 Partners ๐ญ๐บ has agreed to acquire a 25% minority stake in ACCESSIO Equity Partners ๐ญ๐บ, subject to regulatory approval, due diligence and final transaction documents.
- CVC ๐ฑ๐บ is exploring a bid to take security group Verisure ๐จ๐ญ private, valued at โฌ13.7B at its 2025 IPO.
- Warburg Pincus ๐บ๐ธ is considering a sale of Sunsea Parking Industry Group ๐จ๐ณ for around $300M.
- Tesla ๐บ๐ธ and SpaceX ๐บ๐ธ have formed a special committee to discuss a $3.5T merger.
- Legendary Entertainment ๐บ๐ธ has revived talks to acquire Lionsgate Studios ๐บ๐ธ, valued at $3.6B.
- Blackstone ๐บ๐ธ and Warburg Pincus ๐บ๐ธ are exploring a $10B sale of IntraFi ๐บ๐ธ, a banking infrastructure fintech.
- Salesforce ๐บ๐ธ has agreed to acquire marketing platform Braze ๐บ๐ธ for $5.7B including debt, a 58% premium.
- Eldridge Industries ๐บ๐ธ is in advanced talks to acquire DXC Technology ๐บ๐ธ's insurance software and services unit for $2.4B.
- Tradeweb Markets ๐บ๐ธ to acquire bond-trading platform Trumid ๐บ๐ธ for $1.97B in a mostly cash deal.
- William Blair ๐บ๐ธ acquired debt advisory firm Armentum Partners ๐บ๐ธ.
- Abbott Laboratories ๐บ๐ธ plans to separate its nutrition business, including Pedialyte and Similac, into an independent company by the end of 2027. The new company is expected to generate $8.5B in annual sales.
- Blackstone ๐บ๐ธ and an Apollo Global Management ๐บ๐ธ unit may be allowed to acquire minority stakes in NFL teams ๐บ๐ธ. Talks are preliminary and no deal has been reached.
- Morgan Stanley Capital Partners ๐บ๐ธ has completed the acquisition of industrial and infrastructure services provider The Rapid Group ๐บ๐ธ.
- Cohere ๐จ๐ฆ acquires Prague-based AI startup Aisle ๐จ๐ฟ, which will become its local branch.
- IFM Investors ๐ฆ๐บ has taken a 64% stake in Associated British Ports ๐ฌ๐ง, valuing the UKโs largest port operator at ยฃ10B.
- Egypt ๐ช๐ฌ and Talaat Moustafa Group ๐ช๐ฌ signed a $202B deal to develop, build, and operate four major mixed-use real estate projects.
- Dangote Industries ๐ณ๐ฌ has acquired a 25% stake in Kenya Pipeline ๐ฐ๐ช for $335M and plans to invest $1.5B to expand its network.
๐บ๐ธ United States
- Five Elms Capital ๐บ๐ธ provides a growth investment to DashFuel ๐บ๐ธ, a petroleum distribution software company.
- Truck Parking Club ๐บ๐ธ receives a growth investment from Argentum Capital Partners ๐บ๐ธ.
๐งณ Private Markets & VC
- ๐ฌ๐ง Cloud Nine Lives. Nscale CEO Josh Payne tells staff the UK data centre firm is thriving despite AI market jitters, touting $100B in contracted revenue and a planned IPO, while rivals and investors brace for a storm. (Financial Times)
- ๐ฌ๐ง Power Play. A single power outage at a Google data center in London knocked out Revolut ๐ฌ๐ง for 80M users worldwide, exposing just how fragile "cloud banking" can be. (Startupper)
- ๐ซ๐ท Seed Money. H Company's former CTO and two ex-colleagues are seeking $30M to launch a Paris startup focused on open-weight AI models, because every tech story starts with a funding round. (Sifted)
- ๐ฎ๐น Hedge Fund. Intesa Sanpaolo ๐ฎ๐น plans to offload risk on $6B in credits through synthetic transfers, proving that caution and creativity can share the same balance sheet. (Bloomberg)
- ๐ช๐บ Unicorn Factory. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg have spawned 19 billion-dollar startups, making Benelux a stealth powerhouse in European tech. (Les Echos)
Fundraising
- DeepSeek ๐จ๐ณ (AI): $15B (Contemporary Amperex Technology, Tencent)
- Flapping Airplanes ๐บ๐ธ (AI): $1B (Index Ventures, Lux Capital, Sequoia Capital, GV, Kleiner Perkins)
- Vintage ๐ฎ๐ฑ (Venture capital): $920M
- Seaya Ventures ๐ช๐ธ (Venture capital): โฌ600M
- ID Finance ๐ช๐ธ (Fintech): โฌ545M (Spice Expeditions, WashU, Kingsway Capital, i80 Group)
- Legora ๐ธ๐ช (AI): $550M (Atreides Management, Baron Capital, Capital Group, Fidelity, Glade Brook Capital, JP Morgan, Accel, Benchmark, Bessemer, General Catalyst)
- ASI ๐บ๐ธ (Aerospace): $325M (Spark Capital)
- Otter.ai ๐บ๐ธ (AI): $320M (General Catalyst)
- Pigment ๐ซ๐ท (AI): $250M (Scaleup Europe Fund)
- Whop ๐บ๐ธ (Technology): $200M (Sequoia, Shopify Ventures)
- Arda (AI): $160M (Altimeter Capital, Accel, Khosla Ventures)
- Eka Robotics ๐บ๐ธ (Robotics): $150M (a16z, F-Prime)
- Reliable Robotics ๐บ๐ธ (Aerospace): $115M (Nimble Partners, Silicon Valley Bank, Gideon Capital, RockCreek, Geek Ventures, Gold Hill Capital, Sparkwave Capital, Island Green Partners, Allen & Company)
- Peak Energy ๐บ๐ธ (Energy): $108M (General Motors Ventures, Maverick Silicon, Infinite Capital, Eclipse, Xora Innovation, LG Technology Ventures)
- Blackwall ๐ช๐ช (Web traffic): $100M (Atlantic Vantage Point)
- Blacksmith ๐บ๐ธ (Cloud infrastructure): $66M (Sequoia Capital, Premji Invest, Peak XV Partners, GV, Y Combinator)
- North ๐บ๐ธ (Cloud infrastructure): $60M (PeakSpan Capital, Litquidity Ventures, Companyon Ventures, Alpaca, Gaingels, Uncommon Denominator, Mana Ventures)
- Daytona ๐ญ๐ท (AI): $60M (FirstMark Growth, Qualcomm Ventures, Samsung Next, Okta Ventures, Patrick Collison, Tobi Lรผtke, Aravind Srinivas, Eric Yuan, Olivier Pomel, Adam D'Angelo, Brendan Foody)
- Kevel ๐บ๐ธ (Adtech): $52M (Fulcrum Equity Partners, dunnhumby Ventures LLC, Iberis Capital, ORIX Corporation USA)
- Backing Minds ๐ธ๐ช (Venture capital): Over SEK 500M (Karl-Johan Persson)
- Baba ๐บ๐ธ (Healthcare): $40M (FirstMark Capital, CVS Health Ventures, Valtruis, General Catalyst, Genius Ventures, Ground Up Ventures)
- Watchtower Labs ๐บ๐ธ (Defense): $35M (Shield Capital, Conviction, Founders Fund)
- Elax Energie ๐ซ๐ท (Energy): โฌ30M (Noria, Crรฉdit Mutuel Impact)
- Mach9 ๐บ๐ธ (Proptech): $34M (First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Prudence, Quiet Capital)
- Enact Intelligence ๐จ๐ญ (Robotics): $30M (Redalpine, Notion Capital, Firstminute Capital)
- Qualitate ๐บ๐ธ (Intelligence): $25M (Insight Partners)
- AuxoAI ๐บ๐ธ (AI): $20.7M (NTTVC)
- Longeye ๐บ๐ธ (AI): $20M (N47, Andreessen Horowitz)
- Firstwork ๐ฌ๐ง (AI): $15M (Earlybird Venture Capital, Legion VC, Deel Ventures, Gradient, Y Combinator, SOMA Capital, 468 Capital, Houghton Street Ventures)
- IDL ๐บ๐ธ (Entertainment): $15M (Elysian Park Ventures, Sony Group Corporation, Sony Corporation, KB Partners, APEX, Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, October Ventures)
- Azoma ๐ฌ๐ง (AI): $11.2M (Puma Growth Partners, Dunnhumby Ventures, Twinpath, Mars IAF, Rank Ventures, Ignite Ventures)
- Electric Plant Company ๐บ๐ธ (Agritech): $11.2M (Onto Ventures, Climactic, Ponderosa, Endeavor Catalyst, Ludlow, Michigan Rise, The Fund, Schox VC, Dug Song)
- Mika Games ๐บ๐ธ (Gaming): $10M (Flint Capital)
- Skyfly Technologies ๐ฌ๐ง (Mobility): $10M (HICO Investment Group)
- YGO ๐ฉ๐ช (Travel): โฌ8M (Ventech, Sake Bosch, Caesar Capital, business angels)
- Opply ๐ฌ๐ง (AI): $7.5M (Chalfen Ventures, Index Ventures, Anthemis, Entrepreneurs First, In This Together, Ventures Together)
- Neonomics ๐ณ๐ด (Fintech): โฌ3.55M
- HAWK Biosystems ๐ช๐ธ (Biotech): โฌ3.5M (Inveready, EIC Fund, Basque Fund)
- Jooba ๐บ๐ธ (Recruiting): $4M (a16z speedrun, Scribble Ventures, Genius Ventures)
- Norwegian startup ๐ณ๐ด (Fintech): $4M
- Rulen ๐ฎ๐น (AI): โฌ1.8M (VC Partners, Growth Engine, AME Ventures, Zest, Alpha Venture, industry business angels)
- Vinyl Health ๐บ๐ธ (Healthcare): $2M (HealthX Ventures)
- FRESH 32 ๐ธ๐ฎ (Sustainability): โฌ1.2M
- FlamAid ๐ช๐ธ (Unknown): โฌ1M
- Ruit ๐ช๐ธ (Recommerce): โฌ880,000 (Abac Nest, Angels Capital, Decelera, Successful VC, strategic business angels)
- Go Eve ๐ฌ๐ง (Mobility): ยฃ750K (Innovate UK)
- Geneticure ๐บ๐ธ (Healthcare): $1M (Xcellerant Ventures)
- Flavii Therapeutics ๐ช๐ธ (Healthcare): โฌ843,000 (Grow Venture Partners)
- Aqualvia ๐ช๐ธ (Aquaculture): โฌ500,000 (BeHappy Investments)
- Constrik Intelligence ๐ช๐ธ (Construction software): โฌ350,000 (Plus Partners)
Fund Watch
- NX1 Capital ๐บ๐ธ: $2.5B (tech equity L/S hedge fund, raised in January)
- FFL Partners ๐บ๐ธ: $1.35B (FFL Capital Partners VI, oversubscribed private equity fund, closed)
- Northwind Group ๐บ๐ธ: $1B (Northwind Debt Fund III, real estate credit fund, final close)
- Augnition Global Investors ๐บ๐ธ: $1B+ (new technology hedge fund, raised by Jeff Wang)
- Polaris Capital ๐ฏ๐ต: $630M (private credit fund, currently raising)
- Inspired Capital ๐บ๐ธ: $450M (4th venture capital fund)
- Permanent Partners Collective ๐บ๐ธ: $100M (debut VC fund, seeking to raise)
- Nauta Capital ๐ฌ๐ง: โฌ60M (Nauta VI, 6th flagship fund, first close. Targeting โฌ150-200M for European B2B software and deep tech)
- Turbine Capital ๐ธ๐ช: โฌ54M (1st DeepTech VC fund, closed)
- BackingMinds ๐ฉ๐ฐ: โฌ50M (third venture fund, first close, investing in Nordic startups)
- European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) ๐ช๐บ: โฌ40M (higher education commercialization initiative, applications open)
- Resilience Partners ๐ช๐ธ: โฌ30M (Resilience Partners Impact Fund, impact fund for sustainable, growing companies)
- Enzo Ventures ๐ช๐ธ: โฌ20M (2nd early-stage fund for Southern European tech startups)
- NewView ๐บ๐ธ: raising its 4th VC secondaries fund
- 32 Equity ๐บ๐ธ: (JV with General Atlantic to invest in sports)
๐IPO
- Nscale ๐ฌ๐ง (Data centers): planning a US IPO that could raise up to $3B.
- Solidigm ๐บ๐ธ (Semiconductors): planning a 2027 IPO that could raise $10B at a $100B valuation.
- Solstice Advanced Materials ๐บ๐ธ (Chemicals): Starboard Value built a stake after the company scrapped its planned $14.5B merger with Element Solutions.
- Elice ๐ฐ๐ท (Technology): rose above its IPO price of 90,500 won in its second trading day.
- Sea ๐ธ๐ฌ (Fintech): considering an IPO of its fintech unit.
- Monee ๐ธ๐ฌ (Fintech): planning an IPO on the Singapore Exchange.
- Mynt ๐ต๐ญ (Fintech): raised $840M at a $7B valuation in the Philippinesโ largest-ever IPO.
- Jio Platforms ๐ฎ๐ณ (Technology): attracted extraordinary demand on the first day of its IPO.
- MNT-Halan ๐ช๐ฌ (Fintech): raised $150M in Egyptโs largest IPO since 2021.
๐งณ Debt
- Circet ๐ซ๐ท: postponed its $3.4B cross-border debt refinancing.
- Ellevio ๐ธ๐ช: signed a SEK 1B loan with the Nordic Investment Bank ๐ซ๐ฎ.
- AVI-SPL ๐บ๐ธ: pulled a $690M debt deal from syndication.
- Envestnet ๐บ๐ธ: sweetened terms on a $625M loan to fund its Vestmark acquisition.
- Grant Thornton Advisors ๐บ๐ธ: replaced a โฌ500M loan with bonds to fund its CBIZ acquisition.
- Radiology Partners ๐บ๐ธ: pulled a $485M loan offering and will sell junk bonds instead.
- Newmark ๐บ๐ธ: arranged a discounted sale of a $290M loan backed by LAโs Wells Fargo Center South tower.
- Ontario International Airport ๐บ๐ธ: selling $175M of municipal bonds.
- Under Canvas ๐บ๐ธ: received a $145M refinancing package from Derby Lane Partners ๐บ๐ธ.
๐บ๐ธ United States
- Vornado Realty Trust ๐บ๐ธ: secured $3.3B in construction financing for a 66-story Manhattan office tower.
โ Failures
- Betfair ๐ฌ๐ง: the sports betting platform is laying off around 300 technology employees in Cluj due to higher UK gambling taxes.
- Lager 157 ๐ธ๐ช: workers at its Myanmar suppliers went on strike over low wages and poor conditions, despite the retailer generating SEK 4.37B in 2025.
- Liquid Swords ๐ธ๐ช: Christofer Sundbergโs game studio filed for bankruptcy, affecting 30 employees.
- Zoofabriken ๐ธ๐ช: the e-commerce retailer filed for bankruptcy after financial problems, late filings, and complaints about delayed or missing deliveries.
- Getty Images ๐บ๐ธ: the photo agency filed for bankruptcy to restructure its debt, with creditors agreeing to erase $270M.
- Automattic ๐บ๐ธ: the WordPress.com parent has begun layoffs across multiple teams, with further cuts expected ahead of debt renegotiation.
- eBay ๐บ๐ธ: the online marketplace will lay off about 1,000 employees, or 9% of its workforce, in its second round of cuts this year.
- BioWare ๐จ๐ฆ: Electronic Arts plans to close the studio and eliminate about 50 jobs.
- JoongAng Ilbo ๐ฐ๐ท: the bankrupt newspaper company is nearing a $377M sale to a consortium led by Daou and CJ Group.
- Vestel Elektronik ๐น๐ท: the struggling appliance maker is seeking a 45% haircut or six-year extension on $500M of 2029 bonds.
- JPMorgan Menkul Degerler ๐น๐ท: JPMorganโs Turkish securities unit plans to cease capital market operations, pending regulatory approval.
๐ฏ For a Few More Minutesโฆ
- ๐บ๐ธ Bling It On. The $50M diamond-studded bra modeled by Kylie Jenner at the Victoriaโs Secret show is heading to auction, dazzling wallets as much as eyes. (Le Parisien)
- ๐บ๐ธ Easy Money. Eric Schmidtโs early bet on Anthropic could net him $15B to $20B, outpacing his entire Google payday without ever running the company. (Startupper)
- ๐ฐ๐ท Shark Tale. Bukhangi, the celebrity bull shark, slipped back into Busanโs canal just hours after being guided out, confounding officials and delighting over 1.6M fans. (Le Parisien)
- ๐ฎ๐ณ Unfriended. Finance YouTuber V. Harish was found dead near Chennai after his channels were blocked and allegations of illegal advice triggered a wave of online harassment. (Le Parisien)
๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom
- ๐ฌ๐ง Past Imperfect. Experts say the Roman sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey contains an 11th-century abbot, not its original Roman occupant. History, it seems, loves a second act. (The Guardian)
