🕵️‍♂️ License to Spill

🗞️ Top Story

• 🇮🇹 Ciao Protocol. Giorgia Meloni’s government halts the automatic renewal of Italy’s 2006 defense agreement with Israel, bowing to opposition calls and rising tension. (France Info)
• 🇩🇰 Minority Report. Denmark’s next government will likely be another minority coalition, as party leaders navigate the country’s famously fragmented parliament. (Le Monde)
• 🇺🇦 Fallout Shelter. Greenpeace reports that Chernobyl’s compromised containment could fail, risking a new wave of radioactive contamination across the region. (Le Parisien)
• 🇺🇸 Cruise Control. The Trump administration’s naval blockade turned back six merchant vessels leaving Iran, making international shipping less free and more fraught. (Washington Post)
• 🇺🇸 Case Closed? The Justice Department is asking a federal court to overturn the convictions of twelve Oath Keepers and Proud Boys members for the January 6 Capitol attack, citing looming legal deadlines. (Die Zeit)
• 🇵🇪 Dynasty Pending. Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, tops Peru’s first-round vote, but no candidate is close to winning outright. (Boursier)
• 🇱🇧 Ceasefire Sale. At US-brokered talks in Washington, Israeli and Lebanese officials met for the first time since 1983, agreeing only to keep talking amid escalating border clashes. (Boursier)
• 🇸🇩 Drone Alone. Nearly 700 civilians have been killed by drone strikes in Sudan since January, as the UN marks another year of international inaction and rising chaos. (Le Temps)
• 🌍 Secret Service Talks between the Congolese government and M23 rebels are underway near Montreux, Switzerland, with Qatari and US mediation, the location kept undisclosed for security. (Le Temps)

• 🇬🇧 Speech Therapy. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will use the King’s Speech in May to relaunch his agenda after local election setbacks and reclaim lost momentum. (Financial Times)
• 🇬🇧 Thin Red Line. Richard Barrons backs claims the UK military is now too small and starved of resources, echoing US mockery of British readiness. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Gilt by Association. Survivors of Mohamed Al Fayed’s abuse demand a public inquiry and accountability for the network of enablers who shielded the late Harrods boss. (BBC)
• 🇬🇧 Planless Attack. As the US strikes Iran, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves calls the move “folly” for lacking a clear exit strategy and fueling inflation fears. (The Guardian)

• 🇺🇸 Blast in Class. The military destroyed yet another suspected drug boat in the Pacific, raising the campaign’s kill count to 174. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Doubt Fire. A new Ipsos/Reuters poll finds that 51% of Americans think Trump’s military action in Iran was not worth the cost, splintering even his Republican base. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 OpenAIred. Federal charges reveal an assailant threw a firebomb at Sam Altman’s house and tried torching OpenAI offices, igniting debate over tech and polarization. (Washington Post)
• 🇺🇸 No Tax Zone The GOP’s House campaign arm unveils ads pushing tax-free tips and overtime, hoping to turn small breaks into big election wins. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Policy Shift. Stephen Miller is reworking Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, signaling changes to the former president’s signature hardline approach if he returns to office. (New York Times)

🏛️ Economy

• 🇫🇷 Pump Fiction. About 5% of France’s independent gas stations have stopped selling fuel due to high prices and cash crunches, leaving rural drivers on empty. (France Info)
• 🇩🇪 Driven Down. BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz all reported lower first-quarter sales in 2026, as weak demand in China drags numbers into reverse. (Die Zeit)
• 🇪🇸 Pump It Up. Spain’s inflation was revised upward to 3.4% for March, driven by surging fuel prices after Middle East tensions rattled global oil markets. (Le Figaro)
• 🇪🇸 Paper Trail. Spain launches a sweeping plan to regularize nearly 500,000 undocumented migrants, bypassing Parliament with a royal decree and sidestepping Europe’s hardline trend. (Libé)
• 🇪🇺 Bif and Run. Britain, Italy, and France are now the main targets in Europe’s bond sell-off, replacing the old PIIGS as market scapegoats. (Financial Times)
• 🇪🇺 Heavy Metal. The will double tariffs on steel imports above quota, raising the rate to 50 percent and slashing duty-free steel to 18.3M tons per year. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇪🇺 Carbon Copy. As energy costs spike, the EU’s flagship carbon pricing scheme faces renewed political pressure and falling permit prices, putting climate policy under the microscope. (Financial Times)
• 🇪🇺 Deadlock Holmes. The ECB calls for states to solve the mystery of the missing common deposit insurance, blaming fragmentation for Europe’s banking woes. (Financial Times)
• 🇪🇺 Forecast Fog. Christine Lagarde reveals the ECB’s crystal ball is blurry as the eurozone sits between its baseline and worst-case economic projections. (Boursier)
• 🇷🇺 Crude Awakening Russian oil revenues jumped from $9.7B to $19B in March as Middle East turmoil sent prices soaring and handed the Kremlin a much-needed cash boost. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Barrel Proof. Trump’s latest oil blockade targets Iran’s exports, but the global economy faces rising prices and energy insecurity as a result. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Flywheel Effect. Detroit bets on drones to revive its industrial legacy, luring Birdstop to a site once left empty by auto decline. (New York Times)
• 🇺🇸 Fed of Plenty. Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee for Federal Reserve chair, disclosed assets exceeding $100M, including millions from hedge funds and consulting gigs. The Senate will now decide if wealth is a feature or a bug. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Help Wanted. Top CEOs including Anthropic insist AI will mostly enhance jobs instead of eliminating them, even as some warn of mass layoffs ahead. (Cnbc)
• 🇦🇺 Flight Club. The Australian government will invest up to $5B AUD in drones, betting unmanned systems are now the main event in conflict. (Le Parisien)
• 🌍 Aid Wide Open The World Bank promises up to $100B in financial support for countries hit hardest by the Middle East conflict, surpassing its pandemic-era aid. (Die Zeit)
• 🌍 Oil Shockwaves. The IMF slashes its global growth forecast as the war in the Middle East disrupts oil markets, raising recession fears and halting post-pandemic optimism worldwide. (New York Times)

• 🇬🇧 Snackdown. Lidl and Iceland are the first brands to have ads banned under the UK’s new junk food rules, after ASA flagged their online promotions for breaking the fat, salt and sugar crackdown. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Swiss Intent. Anneliese Dodds and fellow Labour MPs push for an EU deal modeled on Switzerland and a hard look at US ties, betting on fresh alignment to outmaneuver the populist right. (The Guardian)
• 🇬🇧 Britain’s Got Fallout. The IMF says the UK will take the hardest economic hit of any advanced country from the Iran war, with growth cut by nearly half. (BBC)

• 🇺🇸 Watt’s Next. American utilities are preparing to pour $1.4T into grid upgrades, all to keep the AI boom from blowing a fuse. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Trillion Dollar Baby. Harvard’s Linda Bilmes warns the Iran war could cost taxpayers $1T, multiplying the deficit and handing the bill to future generations. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Blue Crush. ActBlue powered Democrats to a $568M fundraising surge this quarter, but Republicans are investigating alleged foreign influence behind the flood. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Price Hike Mike. The producer-price index jumped 0.5% in March, pushing wholesale inflation to its highest 12-month rate in three years. (Wall Street Journal)

🏢 Real Estate

• 🇬🇧 Help Yourself. A new report shows that Help to Buy mainly assisted higher earners, offering little relief for those actually struggling to afford homes. (Financial Times)
• 🇨🇳 Tower of Babel. Xu Jiayin, once China’s real estate king, confessed to fraud and corruption, bringing Evergrande’s house of cards into the courtroom. (Le Figaro)

• 🇺🇸 Home Alone. New York Governor Kathy Hochul plans to tax second homes worth $5M or more, aiming at out-of-towners to patch a gaping budget hole. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Cloud Cover. Maine just passed the nation’s first data centre construction ban, giving other states a fresh template for digital resistance. (Financial Times)

🔗 On-chain

• 🇫🇷 Coin and Rescue. French special forces freed a mother and child held hostage in Val-de-Marne after kidnappers demanded $400K in crypto from the father. (France Info)
• 🇦🇷 Bit by Bitterness. Fresh bribery allegations tie Javier Milei to a $5M crypto deal, souring Argentina’s ambitions to lead the digital money revolution. (The Guardian)

💱 Listed Markets

• 🇫🇷 Cough and Order. A Paris court orders Netflix 🇺🇸 to cough up €250K for a documentary trailer that doubled as a tobacco ad, with 23 flashes of cigarette logos. (Le Figaro)
• 🇬🇧 War Premium. BP expects an “exceptional” trading result this quarter as conflict in Iran drives oil prices above $100 and volatility fuels big wins. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Auto Pilot. Uber announces a $10B push into robotaxis, investing in self-driving tech and ordering vehicles to reboot its lagging strategy. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Battle Bonus. The war with Iran drove wild market swings, letting JPMorgan and Citigroup cash in with some of their best profits in years. (Financial Times)
• 🇺🇸 Fee-nomenal. BlackRock’s Q1 profit hit $2.21B as flows into its iShares ETFs and booming performance fees pushed assets to $13.89T, leaving rivals in the rearview. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Reader Beware. For at least four months, hackers exploited an unpatched bug in Adobe Reader and Acrobat, allowing malware-laced PDFs to hijack devices before Adobe fixed it. (TechCrunch)

• 🇺🇸 Fixed Up. Surging fixed income revenue helped Citigroup top analyst estimates, posting its strongest quarter in ten years and a 56% jump in earnings per share. (Cnbc)
• 🇺🇸 Flight Club. United’s Scott Kirby floated merging with American Airlines to the Trump administration, a move that could make airfares and regulators equally nervous. (Cnbc)

🛎️ Big Deals (M&A)

• KKO International 🇫🇷 is in negotiations for a significant minority stake with a European food group known in the chocolate and confectionery sector.
• Delta Plus Group 🇫🇷 acquires Sicur Delta 🇮🇹 for €10.5M, enhancing its portfolio in fall protection systems.
• Somnigroup 🇫🇷 acquires Leggett & Platt 🇺🇸 in a $2.5B all-stock deal.
• Eurofins 🇫🇷 sells its electronics testing division, MET Labs, to UL Solutions 🇺🇸.
• Worldline 🇫🇷 to sell its payment activities in New Zealand to Cuscal 🇦🇺 for approximately €17M.
• Eurofins Scientific 🇫🇷 to sell MET Labs 🇺🇸 for €575M.
• CMA CGM 🇫🇷 acquires Fattal Group 🇱🇧, securing 100% ownership with finalization expected in Q3 2026.
• Revaia 🇫🇷 invests $40M in Synera 🇩🇪, an AI platform for industrial engineering.
• Axel Springer 🇩🇪 acquires Telegraph 🇬🇧 for £575M, ending nearly three years of uncertainty over ownership.
• Axel Springer 🇩🇪 acquires Telegraph Media Group 🇬🇧 for £575M from RedBird IMI 🇺🇸🇦🇪.
• Aegon 🇳🇱 to sell its U.K. insurance business to Standard Life 🇬🇧 for $2.7B in cash and stock.
• Bawag 🇦🇹 to acquire Permanent TSB 🇮🇪 for $1.9B.
• Gungnir Capital 🇸🇪 invests in Kelluu 🇫🇮, raising over 160M SEK.
• MW Group 🇸🇪 acquires Alumbra Stockholm 🇸🇪 and Richardssons Verktygsservie 🇸🇪, both specializing in designed die-casting tools and components for radar systems and space applications.
• Leonh 🇸🇪 acquires Erneholm Haskel 🇸🇪, a financial advisory firm established in 1999.
• Hexagon 🇸🇪 acquires Waygate Technologies 🇺🇸 from Baker Hughes 🇺🇸 for $1.45B.
• Sensofusion 🇫🇮 acquires Atol Aviation 🇫🇮 to expand into airborne surveillance.
• Pine Studio 🇭🇷 acquires Somnium Games 🇭🇷, enhancing development capabilities in the puzzle game sector.
• BP 🇬🇧 acquires a 60% operating interest in three offshore exploration blocks in Namibia from Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas 🇨🇦 for $2.7M.
• USS 🇬🇧 acquires a majority stake in Venn Partners 🇸🇬 from ESR Group 🇸🇬.
• OTIS 🇺🇸 acquires WeMaintain 🇫🇷 after raising €38.8M since its inception.
• I Squared Capital 🇺🇸 and Blackstone 🇺🇸 are seeking to acquire Ströer 🇩🇪’s core advertising business at a potential $4B valuation.
• Palo Alto Networks 🇺🇸 acquires Liberty Bank 🇺🇸 from Stone Point Capital and Reverence Capital.
• Perella Weinberg 🇺🇸 acquires Gleacher Shacklock 🇬🇧.
• Instacart 🇺🇸 acquires Instaleap 🇨🇴.
• Amazon 🇺🇸 agrees to acquire Globalstar 🇺🇸 for $11.6B, marking one of its largest-ever acquisitions.
• Nvidia 🇺🇸 denies reports of seeking to acquire Dell 🇺🇸, listed at $120B.
• United Airlines 🇺🇸 explores a potential merger with American Airlines 🇺🇸, which could create the largest airline in the world.
• GFL Environmental 🇨🇦 acquires Secure Waste Infrastructure Corp 🇨🇦 for $4.6B mostly in stock.
• The Mark Anthony Group 🇨🇦 acquires The Finnish Long Drink 🇫🇮 for $325M.
• Manulife 🇨🇦 is in talks to acquire Cellnex 🇪🇸’s Swiss unit.
• Petrobras 🇧🇷 is in early talks to re-acquire Mubadala 🇦🇪’s Mataripe refinery in Brazil.
• TCL Electronics 🇨🇳 is considering selling a $200M stake in its Indian TV manufacturing unit.

🧳 Private Markets & VC

• 🇩🇪 Call of Duty. Trade Republic launches a 1,000-agent customer service blitz after months of complaints, promising 24/7 support and a total service overhaul. (Die Zeit)
• 🇬🇧 London Calling. French scale-ups are setting up shop in London as the UK cements its status as the world’s fintech magnet with $11B raised in 2025. (Maddyness)
• 🇺🇸 Rocket Man Showdown. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are intensifying their private space race, each vying to outdo the other in orbital ambition and cosmic hype. (Wall Street Journal)
• 🇺🇸 Shrink Tank. Users say they are paying the same for a weaker Claude Code, accusing Anthropic of “AI shrinkflation” while leadership insists only visible settings changed. (Venturebeat)
• 🇺🇸 Ban, Then Beg. Anthropic faces a Pentagon lawsuit after being blacklisted as risky, but Wall Street banks get told to test its AI anyway. (Thenextweb)
• 🇺🇸 Reddit Reveal. A grand jury is pressuring Reddit to hand over details of a user who criticized ICE after a deadly shooting by one of its officers. (Thenextweb)
• 🇺🇸 Power Play. Inertia Enterprises and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have joined forces to commercialize the famed NIF laser fusion breakthrough, with $450M already in Inertia’s tank. (TechCrunch)
• 🇺🇸 Lost in Space. Elon Musk’s SpaceX posted a $5B loss for 2025, as AI bets and orbital data center dreams burn through its pre-IPO fuel. (Mamstartup)
• 🇺🇸 Plug and Pray. Dozens of WordPress plug-ins secretly shipped with a backdoor after a change of ownership, exposing thousands of sites to malicious code overnight. (TechCrunch)

Fundraising

• Mercer 🇺🇸 (Finance): $4B
• Stegra 🇸🇪 (Steel): €1.4B (Wallenberg Investments, Temasek, IMAS, Altor, Hy24, Just Climate)
• Lucid Group 🇺🇸 (Automotive): $750M (Uber Technologies, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund)
• Fluidstack 🇬🇧 (AI): $700M (Situational Awareness, Stripe, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross)
• Senhwa Biosciences 🇹🇼 (Biopharmaceutical): NT$500M
• SiFive 🇺🇸 (Semiconductors): $400M (Atreides Management, NVIDIA, Apollo Global Management, Point72 Turion, T. Rowe Price, Prosperity7 Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures)
• ShengShu Technology 🇨🇳 (AI): $293M (Alibaba, Baidu Ventures, Luminous Ventures)
• Glydways 🇺🇸 (Mobility): $170M (Suzuki Motor Corporation, ACS Group, Khosla Ventures, Mitsui Chemicals, Gates Frontier, Obayashi Corporation)
• Sygaldry 🇺🇸 (Quantum Computing): $139M (Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Initialized Capital, Y Combinator, Rock Yard Ventures, IQT, University of Michigan, QDNL Participations, Expeditions Fund, 468 Capital, Morpheus Ventures, WTI, Overmatch Ventures, RRE Ventures, Switch Ventures)
• Xoople 🇪🇸 (Aérospatial): €130M
• nEye.ai 🇺🇸 (AI): $80M (Sutter Hill Ventures, CapitalG, M12, Socratic Partners)
• Adcendo 🇩🇰 (Biotech): $75M (Jeito Capital, Vida Ventures, BPI France, EIFO, TCGX, RA Capital Management, TPG, Orbimed, Venrock, Surveyor, Logos Capital, Novo Holdings, Pontifax Venture Capital, Dawn Biopharma, HealthCap, Gilde Healthcare, Ysios Capital)
• Subra 🇩🇰 (Deep-tech): $47M
• MillTech 🇬🇧 (Fintech): £44.8M
• Bluefish 🇺🇸 (Marketing): $43M (Threshold Ventures, NEA, Amex Ventures, TIAA Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Crane Venture Partners, Laconia, Swift Ventures)
• Luminai 🇺🇸 (Healthcare): $38M (Peak XV Partners, Define Ventures, General Catalyst, Y Combinator)
• PLD Space 🇪🇸 (Aerospace): €30M
• MerQube 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $30M (7RIDGE)
• Spiral Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): $27M (Gund Investment, Advanced Bionics, Ferring Ventures, Uni-Bio Science Group)
• Quartzy 🇺🇸 (Life Sciences): $23M (Avenue Capital Group, BroadOak Capital Partners)
• Pillar 🇺🇸 (Fintech): $20M (Andreessen Horowitz, Crucible Capital, Gallery Ventures, Dara Khosrowshahi)
• Altilium 🇬🇧 (Cleantech): £18.5M
• Citra Space Corp 🇺🇸 (Space Technology): $15M (Washington Harbour Partners, Industrious Ventures, Reliable Properties, Scout VC, Squadra Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Flex Capital)
• Kelluu 🇫🇮 (Deeptech): €15M (theNATO Innovation Fund, Keen Venture Partners, Gungnir Capital, Tesi)
• Citra Space 🇺🇸 (Space Tech): $15M
• Archangel Lightworks 🇬🇧 (Communications): $13.5M
• Haast 🇺🇸 (Compliance): $12M (Peak XV Partners, DST Global Partners, Airtree, Aura Ventures, Black Sheep Capital)
• Wamo 🇫🇮 (Fintech): €10M (TCEE Fund IV, Oleka Capital, 3TS Capital Partners)
• Trent AI 🇬🇧 (Security): £9.7M
• OpenGradient 🇺🇸 (AI): $9.5M (a16zcrypto, Coinbase Ventures, SV Angel, Foresight Ventures, Pragma, SALT, Symbolic Capital, CanonicalCrypto, Black Dragon, NEAR, Celestia, Thanefield Capital)
• Prefix 🇺🇸 (Facility Management): $7.5M (Collide Capital, Slow Ventures, Connexa Capital, Kyle Archer, I2BF, Bienville Capital)
• Kimia 🇦🇺 (Chemicals): $7M
• Treon 🇫🇮 (AI): €6.8M
• Kilter 🇳🇴 (Agritech): €6.5M
• Round 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $6M (Alstin Capital, Backed VC, Love Ventures, Passion Capital)
• Blocks 🇩🇪 (Tech): $6M (Speedinvest, Caesar Ventures)
• Mirabelle 🇫🇷 (Fintech): €6M
• Crescenta 🇪🇸 (Investments): €5M
• AirHub 🇩🇪 (Software): €4.4M (Keen Venture Partners, Runway FBU, Lumaux, LUMO Labs)
• Handhold 🇪🇪 (SaaS): €3M
• Replenit 🇵🇱 (AI): $2.5M (Movens Capital, Vastpoint, Logo Ventures, Finberg, Caucasus Ventures, ElevenLabs)
• Ralio 🇬🇧 (Fintech): $2.5M (Sure Valley Ventures, Seed X, Love Ventures, Plug and Play, rule30, Adeline Arts and Science, Endurance Ventures, Campus Fund, Alan Morgan, Antler)
• Edmund 🇨🇿 (Industrial Tech): €2.5M (FORWARD.one, University2Ventures, Tensor Ventures)
• Replenit 🇵🇱 (Martech): $2.5M (Movens Capital, Vastpoint, Logo Ventures, DigitalOcean Ventures, Finberg, Caucasus Ventures, Mati Staniszewski)
• Velca 🇪🇸 (Mobility): €2.5M (José Manuel Calderón, Ignacio Rivera)
• Peak Quantum 🇩🇪 (Quantum Computing): €2.2M (Cloudberry Ventures, United Founders, QAI Ventures, Golden Egg Check)
• Playruo 🇩🇪 (Gaming): €2.1M (Blast, Kameha Ventures, Ventech, Kima Ventures)
• Sapient Perception 🇩🇰 (Defense): €2M (Balnord, FORWARD.one)
• Apex B2B 🇮🇪 (SaaS): €1.5M
• Golden Owl 🇪🇸 (Tech): €1.4M
• Centinel 🇦🇷 (Fintech): €1.2M (Boost Capital Partners, Lanai VC, Abac Capital)
• SchuBu 🇦🇹 (EdTech): €1M (FASE, VerVieVas, Johannes Woithon, Erste Social Finance, European Social Innovation and Impact Fund)
• Arca Digital 🇪🇸 (Fintech): €1M (DraperB1, Robin Capital)
• Sybol 🇪🇸 (Digital Identity): €1M (SETT, Repsol, Grupo Synaptia)
• Zell 🇩🇪 (AI): €500K (P3 Ventures, SkyDeck Europe, UC Berkeley SkyDeck, Lendlease, Cariplo Factory, Mamba Ventures, Nicola Pivaro, Flavio Di Palo, Pietro Tansini, Thomas Hunziker, Gabriele Sidoti, Ricardo Waller)
• Jaakko.com 🇫🇮 (Proptech): €500K

Fund Watch

• Adams Street Partners 🇺🇸: $7.5B (3rd private credit fund)
• 26North Partners 🇺🇸: $6B
• Mercer 🇨🇦: $3.8B (8th private markets FOF)
• Arcmont Asset Management 🇺🇸: $2.5B (credit CV, led by Ares)
• Alua Capital Management 🇺🇸: $2B (equity L/S hedge fund, winding down)
• Ping An Insurance 🇨🇳: $1B (selling PE LP stakes, software-focused funds)
• Creador 🇲🇾: $1B (7th PE fund, planned for next year)
• Dominus Capital 🇺🇸: $640M (4th fund, largest to date, oversubscribed)
• Nest 🇬🇧: $610M (commitment to Crescent Capital, private credit firm)
• CapitaLand Investment 🇸🇬: $320M (2nd APAC real estate credit fund)
• Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości 🇵🇱: $125M
• Eka Ventures 🇬🇧: $110M (2nd fund, consumer health and decarbonization)
• Creas Impacto 🇪🇸: €65M (2nd impact investing fund, closed)
• Newfund 🇫🇷: €60M (brain technologies fund, early-stage VC)
• Inditex 🇪🇸: €18.6M (FutuRetail Fund, sustainable textiles investments)
• EIG 🇺🇸: $X (EIG Geothermal Catalyst Partners, geothermal projects fund, initial closing)
• Thoma Bravo 🇺🇸: N/A (winding down growth equity business, 5 years)

🔔IPO

• Leo Pharma 🇩🇰 (Pharmaceuticals): planning a Denmark IPO following a $3.5B valuation from a 2021 investment by Nordic Capital.
• Kraken 🇺🇸 (Crypto): has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO with a current valuation of approximately $13.3B.
• Pershing Square 🇺🇸 (Finance): launching formal marketing for a combined $10B IPO of Pershing Square and Pershing Square USA.
• National Healthcare Properties 🇺🇸 (REIT): seeking to raise $616M at a $1.1B valuation in its IPO.
• Yesway 🇺🇸 (Retail): seeking to raise $320M at a $1.4B valuation in its IPO backed by Brookwood Financial Partners.
• Kailera Therapeutics 🇺🇸 (Biotech): seeking to raise $533M in an IPO focused on obesity treatments.
• Alamar Biosciences 🇺🇸 (Diagnostics): plans to raise $160M in an IPO.
• Lockheed Martin Ventures 🇺🇸 (Defense): increasing venture capital fund capacity from $400M to $1B, marking a 250% boost.
• Metatek-Group Ltd. 🇨🇦 (Tech): debuted on the Toronto Stock Exchange as the first tech IPO since 2021.
• CATL 🇨🇳 (Batteries): seeking to raise $5B in a Hong Kong share or convertible bond sale following a stock rally.
• StepFun 🇨🇳 (AI): unwinding its offshore structure to pave the way for a Hong Kong IPO.
• Skyechip 🇲🇾 (Semiconductors): hired banks for a Malaysia IPO of 22% of shares.
• Dangote Petroleum Refinery 🇳🇬 (Refinery): planning to offer shares on multiple African stock exchanges.

🧳 Debt

• LightOn 🇫🇷: raised €4M in a bond financing to strengthen its cash position until 2027.
• PLD Space 🇪🇸: raised €30M from the European Investment Bank to finalize the MIURA 5 rocket development.
• Goldman Sachs 🇺🇸: raised $6.5B in an investment grade bond sale.
• Strategy 🇺🇸: funded $1B Bitcoin purchase through sale of Stretch perpetual preferred shares.
• CIFI 🇵🇦: secured a $30M loan from FinDev Canada to support infrastructure growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• SoftBank 🇯🇵: planning a six-part dollar and euro bond sale after a $2.6B hybrid bond sale.

❌ Failures

• Renault 🇫🇷: the French automotive group will reduce engineering positions by 15-20%, impacting approximately 1,600 to 2,400 jobs globally.
• Jott 🇫🇷: après avoir été placé en redressement judiciaire, la marque a été reprise par le groupe Amoniss pour 3,5M€.
• Matsmart 🇩🇪: the company has shut down in Germany, its second-largest market, due to soaring logistics costs and a tough capital market environment.
• Wallbox 🇪🇸: the company signed a rescue plan to restructure over €180M in debt it could not repay.
• Fabbric 🇪🇸: après 5 ans d’existence et plus de 2M€ en financement, la marque de mode a fermé suite à des difficultés financières.
• Farmers First 🇸🇪: after raising over 100 million SEK, the company shut down due to liquidity issues.
• Swiftcourt 🇸🇪: after accumulating over 50M SEK in investments, the Malmö-based company filed for bankruptcy on March 20, 2024, amid financial struggles and 45.5M SEK in losses.
• Shapoorji Pallonji Group 🇮🇳: seeking to delay payment on a $1.5B debt at its Goswami Infratech unit for refinancing.

🎯 For a Few More Minutes…

• 🇩🇪 Family Ties. A new German search engine lets users instantly discover if their ancestors were Nazi Party members, shattering family myths with a few clicks. (BBC)
• 🇬🇧 Time Well Served. John Richardson’s gold watch, awarded for his role in the Carpathia’s Titanic rescue, is expected to sell for up to £100K. (BBC)
• 🇺🇸 Love Locked Up. Marie-Thérèse, 86, moved from France to Alabama to marry her long-lost sweetheart but now finds herself detained by ICE after his sudden death. (BBC)

• 🇬🇧 Page Turners. Traditional British tabloids face an identity crisis as social media, AI, and influencers siphon off their readers with digital flair. (Financial Times)
• 🇬🇧 Old News. Remains of « Baby Auckland » found under a Bishop Auckland house, wrapped in a 1910 newspaper, may date back 300 years, inquest hears. (The Guardian)