Today's Investment Banking Pulse
SpaceX’s $1 trillion IPO filing faces scrutiny over AI‑compute lease claims
SpaceX filed a massive S‑1 targeting a $1 trillion IPO. Elon Musk’s recent X post described the company’s lease with Anthropic as a short‑term 180‑day arrangement, contradicting the prospectus that outlines a multi‑year $1.25 billion‑per‑month deal. The AI‑compute partnership cited could contribute up to $15 billion.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Credit Agricole raises $670M via Samurai bond
Citigroup Sells $2.5 B Banamex Stake, Moves Closer to Full Mexico Exit
Citigroup has completed the sale of a 22.6% stake in Grupo Financiero Banamex to a consortium of institutional investors for $2.5 billion, raising its total divested ownership to roughly 49%. The deal clears a major hurdle in Citi’s four‑year plan to exit Mexico’s consumer banking market and sets the stage for a future IPO.
UK 30‑Year Gilt Yield Hits 5.78%, Highest Since 1998 Amid Election and Energy Shock
The yield on Britain’s 30‑year government bond jumped to 5.78%, the highest level since 1998, as investors priced in Bank of England rate‑hike expectations, record oil prices and uncertainty surrounding local elections. The move pushes long‑term borrowing costs to a...
Latus Bio Secures $97 Million Series A to Scale Gene‑Therapy Access
Latus Bio closed a $97 million Series A financing, with a $43 million extension led by 8VC, to accelerate its AAV‑based gene‑therapy pipeline. The capital will fund IND filing for Huntington’s disease candidate LTS‑201 and a CLN2 trial, underscoring investor confidence in...
Exclusive: Baird Capital to Test Buyout Market for Water Treatment Firm Cleanwater1, Sources Say
Baird Capital is preparing to test the buyout market for Cleanwater1, a water‑treatment firm that reported $40 million of EBITDA last year. Analysts estimate the company could command a 15‑to‑17 times EBITDA multiple at exit, implying a valuation between $600 million and...
Wealthspire Acquires $1.2bn Indiana-Based Advice Firm
New York‑based Wealthspire announced the acquisition of Indianapolis boutique Fi3 Advisors, which manages about $1.2 billion in assets (≈£890 million). The deal adds roughly $1.2 billion to Wealthspire’s existing footprint, bringing its total AUM in the Indiana market to about $3 billion. Fi3 will...
M&T Takes ‘Patient’ Approach to M&A, CFO Says
M&T Bank, which manages $213.8 billion in assets, is actively scouting acquisition targets but is deliberately pacing its M&A activity, CFO Daryl Bible said. The bank’s focus remains on deepening scale within its existing 13‑state Northeast and Mid‑Atlantic footprint rather than...
SpaceX Financials Flagged as Concern to SEC
SOC Investment Group, a pension‑fund adviser, has written to the SEC urging a thorough review of SpaceX’s financial disclosures before its slated IPO, citing concerns over the accuracy of its accounting and auditor independence. The group also wants the agency...
NVIDIA Takes Warrants for $500m in Corning Stock as Fibre-Optics Partnership Goes Structural
Nvidia has secured equity‑linked warrants worth roughly $500 million in fibre‑optics maker Corning. The deal gives Nvidia a traditional warrant for up to 15 million shares at $180 each and a pre‑funded warrant for an additional 3 million shares. In return, Corning will...
Deepseek Nears $45 Billion Valuation as China's State Chip Fund Leads Round
Deepseek, a Chinese artificial‑intelligence lab, is on the brink of a funding round that could lift its valuation to roughly $45 billion, up from $20 billion just weeks earlier. The round is being spearheaded by the state‑backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment...
Long Lake Management to Acquire Amex GBT for $6.3 Billion, Redefining Corporate Travel
Long Lake Management agreed to purchase American Express Global Business Travel for $6.3 bn, creating the biggest private‑equity‑backed corporate travel platform. The deal, announced today, positions Long Lake to capitalize on a fragmented market and intensifies consolidation in business travel services.
Vernal Capital Acquisition Corp Prices $100 Million SPAC IPO
Vernal Capital Acquisition Corp announced the pricing of its initial public offering, raising $100 million through 10 million units at $10 per unit. The units will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker VECAU on May 6, 2026, with...
Siris Exits Equiniti as Bullish Strikes $4.2bn Deal
Private equity firm Siris Capital is exiting its portfolio company Equiniti after agreeing to sell it to cryptocurrency exchange Bullish for $4.2 billion. Bullish will assume $1.85 billion of debt and fund the remaining $2.35 billion with stock, aiming to combine blockchain technology...
Top Biotech Deals in April 2026
April 2026 marked a flurry of blockbuster biotech mergers, highlighted by Sun Pharma’s $11.75 billion acquisition of Organon, giving it a foothold in women’s health across 140 countries. Eli Lilly emerged as the most active buyer, spending roughly $11.5 billion on four...
Astranis Raises $450M+, Including $300M Series E
Astranis announced a $300 million Series E round co‑led by Snowpoint Ventures and Franklin Templeton, lifting its valuation to roughly $2.8 billion. The round also attracted Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, Baillie Gifford and Fidelity, and was complemented by a $155 million delayed‑draw credit facility from...
Dominus And Cheyne Capital Snag £250M Funding As Student Deals Hit £2.1B
Dominus and Cheyne Capital have secured a $317 million debt facility from Standard Chartered to convert the former 65 Fleet Street office block into a 875‑room student‑living development. The scheme will reserve 35% of rooms for affordable rents, include cultural spaces, and aim...
Lufthansa to Make Binding Offer For TAP Air Portugal
Lufthansa Group announced it will submit a binding offer for a minority stake in TAP Air Portugal, aiming to strengthen its foothold in South America. The Portuguese government is selling 44.9% of TAP to external investors while retaining a 51.1%...
ORBCOMM Pulls in New Financing, Replaces All Publicly-Traded Debt
ORBCOMM secured a $460 million refinancing that replaces all of its publicly‑traded debt, with financing from Carlyle, Bain Credit’s private‑credit arm and Morgan Stanley Private Credit. The restructuring prompted S&P Global Ratings to withdraw its B‑ rating and negative outlook, while...
Black Designers Shift From Visibility to Ownership, Securing Equity in Fashion
Black designers are turning runway presence into equity stakes, confronting an industry where just 1% of venture capital reaches Black founders. With 64% of New York fashion students identifying as BIPOC, the gap between influence and ownership is narrowing as...
Private Activity Bonds to Fund Detroit Mixed-Use Developments
The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $150 million private‑activity bond issuance for Bedrock TBP, Inc. to fund four mixed‑use developments in Detroit, including the Hudson’s Detroit skyscraper, Book Tower renovation, One Campus Martius expansion, and a COSM immersive‑reality venue. The bonds...
SAP to Acquire Dremio and Prior Labs, Pledges $1.2 Bn AI Push
SAP said it will buy data‑lakehouse provider Dremio and tabular AI startup Prior Labs, while earmarking over €1 bn ($1.17 bn) for a new frontier‑AI laboratory in Europe. The moves aim to eliminate data fragmentation and give SAP Business Data Cloud an...
Analysis: L’Oréal’s Growth Gameplan for Acquisitions Creed, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta
L’Oréal has completed a $4 billion acquisition of Creed and the fragrance‑and‑beauty licences for Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, expanding its Luxe division. The move mirrors the success of YSL Beauté, which helped the luxury segment reach roughly $17 billion in sales in 2025, about...
ING Secures Over €8 Billion in Orders for €3.25 Billion Senior Bond Issue
ING received more than €8 billion ($8.7 billion) in orders for a three‑part senior bond issuance totalling €3.25 billion ($3.54 billion). The oversubscription highlights robust investor appetite for Dutch bank debt and signals confidence in ING's balance‑sheet strength.
Allstate Returns with $200m Target for Florida-Focused Sanders Re III 2026-2 Cat Bond
Allstate is back in the catastrophe‑bond market, targeting a $200 million Florida‑focused issuance under the Sanders Re III 2026‑2 vehicle, with the potential to expand to $400 million if both tranches sell. The deal offers two identical $200 million layers—one with a three‑year term ending...
QuantWare Secures $178 Million Series B to Build Industrial‑Scale Quantum Processors
Dutch quantum‑hardware startup QuantWare raised €152 million ($178 million) in a Series B round led by Intel Capital, with participation from In‑Q‑Tel, ETF Partners and existing backers. The money will fund KiloFab, the world’s first dedicated open‑architecture quantum fab, and accelerate the VIO‑40K...
Chancery Dismisses Merger-Related Fraud Claims As Preempted Under SLUSA
The Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed the fraudulent‑inducement claims in Guerra v. Snap, ruling that the state‑law class action is preempted by the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA). The court determined that the lawsuit satisfied every SLUSA element: it...
Blue Owl Weighs $30bn Asia Data Centre Exit
Blue Owl Capital is weighing a sale of the Asia operations of its portfolio company, Stack Infrastructure, that could exceed $30 billion. The firm is evaluating full or partial divestments in key markets such as Japan, Australia and Malaysia, though no...
Oaktree BDC Cuts Software Valuations
Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp, a $2.8 bn business development company, wrote down the carrying value of its performing software loans by roughly 3%, pushing its net asset value down about 4% for the period. Management said the adjustment reflects broader market...
Sixth Street BDC Trims Dividend After Quarterly Loss
Sixth Street Capital Partners’ Business Development Company posted a $73 million net loss for the quarter, driven by higher credit write‑downs and softer interest income. In response, the board reduced the quarterly dividend from $0.20 to $0.15 per share, cutting the...
Trillium Raises $13 Million for Demonstration Plant for Bio-Based Acrylonitrile
Trillium Renewable Chemicals announced the completion of its $13 million Series B financing, led by HS Hyosung Advanced Materials, to fund Project Falcon—the world’s first demonstration plant for 100 % bio‑based acrylonitrile. The plant, built at Ineos Nitriles’ Green Lake facility, is slated for...
People’s Trust Targets Mid-Guidance Pricing for Debut $100m GWS Re Cat Bond
People’s Trust Insurance Company, a Florida homeowners specialist, is preparing its debut catastrophe bond issuance through Bermuda‑based GWS Re Limited. The $100 million Series 2026‑1 Class A notes will provide three years of fully‑collateralized Florida named‑storm reinsurance with an indemnity trigger. Pricing guidance...
Exited Founder Podcast | Vik Tantry: How He Bootstrapped FormSwift to $95M and Sold to Dropbox
In this episode, co‑founder Vic Tantry recounts how he and his partner bootstrapped FormSwift, a document‑creation platform for freelancers and SMBs, to $95 million in revenue and ultimately sold it to Dropbox in 2022. He explains the early decision to self‑fund,...
Activists Are Taking On Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing what could become the largest IPO ever, targeting a valuation above $2 trillion and raising tens of billions of dollars. A coalition of activist groups, led by the American Federation of Teachers, has written to the...
Telecel Zimbabwe Needs $50 Million or It’s Gone
Telecel Zimbabwe, once a major operator, has entered a corporate rescue and needs roughly $50 million in fresh capital to avoid liquidation, while carrying about $240 million in debt and only 300,000 active subscribers. The company’s network of over 1,000 base stations...
SP Group’s Goswami Infratech Receives Debt Downgrade Ahead of $3 Billion Refinancing
CareEdge downgraded Goswami Infratech, a Shapoorji Pallonji unit, to B+ from BB‑ after the firm missed its original $2.8‑$3.1 billion refinancing timetable. The delay stems from rising rupee‑hedging costs and a shift to a mixed dollar‑rupee bond issuance slated for before the...
Forvis Mazars UK CEO: We Have What Others Are Trying to Buy
UK CEO James Gilbey says Forvis Mazars’ globally integrated partnership, built by merging French Mazars and US Forvis, gives it a competitive edge that rivals are now trying to acquire through mergers. The firm can pool profits and capital across...
SEC Chair Atkins Discusses Proposed Amendments for Semiannual Reporting
On May 5, SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins announced a proposal to create Form 10‑S, an optional semiannual reporting filing that would replace the three quarterly Form 10‑Q reports for public companies. The change is intended to give issuers flexibility in choosing reporting...
Avalo Therapeutics Announces Pricing of $375 Million Public Offering
Avalo Therapeutics announced the pricing of a $375 million underwritten public offering, selling 19.73 million shares at $17.75 each and 1.4 million pre‑funded warrants at $17.749. The company granted underwriters a 30‑day option to purchase up to an additional 3.17 million shares on the...
India’s Cautious Stance Overlooks Decades of Foreign‑owned Success
In an article today in Bloomberg the journalists talk about how Shriram Finance deal is a test deal for India because of (among others) "India's guarded embrace of foreign capital" Who will tell these guys about presence of very high (even...
Public Acquires Investing Education Startup in Fintech M&A
Love to see it: More big fintech M&A from @Public, acquiring an investing education startup. https://t.co/ea217OjQp0
Leveraged Loan Insight & Analysis – 5/4/2026
US collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance fell sharply to $6.2 bn in April, the lowest level since December 2023. The market contracted from $18.1 bn raised across 38 deals in March to just 14 deals in April. The drop reflects tighter credit conditions,...
Skipping Low-Rate Debt Terming Proved Costly
And NO terming out the debt when rates were low was NOT a good idea
Rheinmetall and MSC in Negotiations to Buy Romania’s Mangalia Shipyard
German defense contractor Rheinmetall and shipping giant MSC are negotiating to acquire a majority stake in Romania’s bankrupt Mangalia shipyard, while the Romanian government will keep a minority share and provide the land and assets. The yard, valued by the...
Tesla's $2B Lucid Purchase Likely Terrible Amid $1B Quarterly Losses
At a market cap of just $2 billion, should $TSLA buy Lucid for shits n gigs? Probably a terrible idea considering they’re losing $1 billion a quarter, but interesting to consider.
GCI to Acquire Quintillion, Adding 3,300 Miles of Fiber in $300 Million Deal
Alaska's largest telecom operator, GCI, announced a purchase of fiber‑network developer Quintillion for more than $300 million. The transaction brings roughly 3,300 miles of subsea and land‑based fiber into GCI’s statewide system, creating a ringed backbone that can reroute traffic during...
UniCredit Launches €35 Billion Hostile Bid for Commerzbank
UniCredit has submitted a hostile €35 billion takeover proposal for Germany’s Commerzbank, offering 0.485 of its own shares per Commerzbank share at roughly €32 ($37.4). The bid triggers a six‑week acceptance window from May 5 to June 16, marking one of the year’s...
Corvera Secures $3.8M Seed Funding to Accelerate AI‑Driven Supply‑Chain Platform
London‑based AI supply‑chain specialist Corvera closed a £3 million ($3.8 million) seed round led by 6 Degrees Capital, bringing total capital to £4.5 million ($5.7 million). The funding will fund platform scaling, hiring and customer acquisition, positioning the startup to reshape CPG ecommerce logistics.
AI Grocery Startup Vori Secures $22 Million Series B to Aid Independent Stores
Vori, the San Francisco AI grocery platform, closed a $22 million Series B round led by Cherryrock Capital. The funding will expand its AI‑driven operating system for the 75% of U.S. food retailers that sit outside the Walmart‑Amazon orbit.
SpaceX IPO Could Redefine Early‑Investor Liquidity Under Nasdaq Fast‑Entry Rule
Nasdaq’s new 15‑day fast‑entry rule for large‑cap listings could dramatically affect the exit calculus for SpaceX’s early backers. Analysts warn that a small float, retail demand and forced buying by index funds may inflate the stock before lock‑up periods expire,...
Sun Pharma Explores Funding Mix for $12 Billion Organon Deal
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is weighing a mix of financing tools for its proposed $12 billion acquisition of New York‑listed Organon & Co. The Indian drugmaker may ask Organon bondholders to exchange their securities for Sun Pharma debt, while also exploring a euro‑denominated bond that...
BlackRock-Backed GIP Mulls IPOs for Pristine, Ascend at $500 Mn Valuations
BlackRock‑backed Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is weighing initial public offerings for its Indian assets Pristine Logistics and Ascend Telecom, each slated at roughly $600 million. The move follows BlackRock’s $12.5 billion acquisition of GIP two years ago and signals an exit strategy...