Today's Investment Banking Pulse
Autodesk to acquire MaintainX for $3.6B, expanding into operations software
Autodesk announced an all‑cash $3.6 billion purchase of MaintainX, a mobile‑first maintenance and operations platform. The transaction is funded with cash on hand, new debt and includes a $150 million restricted‑stock grant to retain staff. CEO Andrew Anagnost said the deal unlocks a $40 billion addressable market and extends Autodesk’s portfolio beyond design into building operations.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Credit Agricole raises $670M via Samurai bond issuance
Argentina’s RIGI Regime Surpasses $27 B in Approved Investments, Unlocking $95 B Pipeline
Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) cleared $27 billion in approved commitments this week after two new mining projects were added. The program now holds nearly $95 billion in approved and pending projects, creating a massive pipeline of financing opportunities for investment banks.
Sustainable Bond Issuance Rebounds in Q1 2026, Still Down From Prior Year: Moody’s
Global issuance of labelled sustainable bonds rebounded sharply in Q1 2026, reaching $241 billion, an 18% increase from the previous quarter but still 17% below the same period last year. Green bonds continued to dominate, accounting for roughly 63% of total volumes,...
Top IPO, Weak Governance
SpaceX is preparing what could become the largest IPO ever, targeting up to $75 billion in proceeds and a valuation exceeding $2 trillion. The company will issue one‑vote Class A shares to the public while retaining ten‑vote Class B shares for Elon Musk and...
Doosan Group Nears $3.3 B Deal to Acquire 70% of SK Siltron, Expanding Into Wafer Production
Doosan Group is poised to sign a stock purchase agreement for a 70.6% stake in SK Siltron, valued at roughly $3.3 billion. The move adds front‑end wafer production to Doosan’s existing testing, packaging and materials businesses, positioning the conglomerate for the...
Crux Secures $500 Million Debt Facility From Nuveen to Boost Clean‑Energy Tax Equity
Fintech platform Crux has closed a $500 million debt facility with Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit to fund hybrid tax‑equity deals. The financing arrives as the U.S. clean‑energy tax equity market expands to $36.6 billion in 2025, underscoring the growing role of structured...
Hims & Hers Shares Slide 8% After $300M Convertible Notes Offering
Hims & Hers Health, Inc. saw its shares tumble 8.06% to $23.03 after unveiling a $300 million convertible senior notes offering due 2032, plus an option for an extra $45 million. The proceeds are earmarked for international expansion, an acquisition of Eucalyptus,...
Analog Devices Eyes $1.5 Bn Cash Acquisition of AI Chipmaker Empower Semiconductor
Analog Devices, Inc. is in advanced negotiations to purchase AI‑chip specialist Empower Semiconductor for roughly $1.5 bn in cash. The deal would add Empower’s FinFast power‑management technology to ADI’s portfolio as data‑center AI spending accelerates.
York Space Systems to Acquire Solestial
York Space Systems announced a definitive agreement to acquire Solestial, a U.S.-based maker of ultra‑thin, radiation‑hardened solar cells, for an undisclosed price. The deal, expected to close in Q2, marks York’s third acquisition in 2024 following All.Space ($355 M) and Orbion...
Anglo Exits Australian Steelmaking Coal for up to $3.9B
Anglo American has agreed to sell its entire Australian steelmaking coal portfolio to UK‑based Dhilmar Limited for up to $3.875 billion. The transaction values the assets at a price‑to‑last‑value breakeven of $295 per tonne, roughly 25% above current market levels. The...
Japan Plans Massive Bond Issue to Fund Gasoline Subsidies, JGB Yields Spike to 2.8%
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ordered Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama to draft a supplementary budget that will be financed by a multi‑trillion‑yen sovereign bond issuance for gasoline subsidies. The move sent Japan’s 10‑year government bond yield to 2.8%, its highest level...
NextEra Energy to Acquire Dominion in $400B All-Stock Deal, Shares Jump and Slip
NextEra Energy agreed to buy Dominion Energy in an all‑stock transaction valued at roughly $400 billion, creating the largest regulated U.S. utility. Dominion stock surged 14.5% in pre‑market trading while NextEra fell about 4% after the announcement. The deal, which gives...
Analysts Question $1.75 T SpaceX IPO as Valuation Expert Says $1.22 T Is More Realistic
New York University finance professor Aswath Damodaran estimates SpaceX’s worth at $1.22 trillion, contrasting sharply with the company’s own $1.75 trillion target for its upcoming IPO. The gap fuels a heated debate among investors about whether the launch‑service and satellite‑internet giant is...
Big Six Bank Valuations at All-Time High, Raising Bar for Earnings Season
Canadian “Big Six” banks are trading at record valuations as their price‑to‑earnings ratio hit 13.7 and price‑to‑book climbed to 2.2, both well above historical averages. Dividend yields have slipped to roughly 3% from a 10‑year norm of 4.4%, while shares...
Antitrust: European Commission Publishes Draft Merger Guidelines
The European Commission has published draft merger guidelines that will replace the 2004 Horizontal and 2008 Non‑Horizontal rules. The new framework places greater emphasis on a merger’s pro‑competitive benefits, such as scale, innovation, investment and supply‑chain resilience. It introduces an...
The Operator Led Evolution in European Healthcare M&A: The Rise of Founder Bankers in HealthTech, MedTech, FemTech and Healthcare AI
European healthcare M&A is entering a structural inflection point as founder‑bankers—former entrepreneurs and clinicians—displace traditional bulge‑bracket banks for the majority of mid‑market HealthTech, MedTech, FemTech and AI deals. While large cross‑border mega‑transactions above €500 million still rely on Goldman Sachs or...
The Great 2026 Stall: IPO Fundraising Falls to Two-Year Low with Fears that Second Half Could Be Sluggish
IPO fundraising in India fell to Rs 56,322 crore (≈$6.8 bn) in the first five months of 2026, a 32% drop from the same period last year and the lowest level since 2024. The slowdown reflects heightened geopolitical risk, volatile oil prices and...
SC and Bursa Malaysia Push Tech IPOs, Penang Meet‑Up
Layman explanation by SC with Bursa Malaysia. Basically to drive more companies into IPO, especially from the tech industry. Meet-up with one of the SC team last weekend. Tomorrow they will be coming to Penang. Checkout the details on @noobshq...
S&P Global Launches $2 Bn Private Senior Notes for Mobility Global Spin‑off
S&P Global announced a $2 bn private offering of senior notes by its newly formed Mobility Global holding company, slated to finance the spin‑off of its mobility data business. The three‑tranche issuance, due 2029, 2031 and 2036, will also support a...
Blue Owl Capital Issues Second $400 Million Investment‑Grade Bond in a Month
Blue Owl Capital’s private‑credit vehicle sold a $400 million, five‑year investment‑grade bond at a 2.3% spread over Treasuries, tightening by 0.3 percentage points from earlier talks. The issuance follows a similar $400 million sale to Pacific Investment Management a month earlier and...
Citi and HPS Launch $16.2 Billion Private Capital Program to Boost Direct Lending in EMEA
Citigroup and HPS Investment Partners, a BlackRock affiliate, unveiled a €15 bn ($16.2 bn) private capital program aimed at financing sub‑investment‑grade debt in the EMEA region over five years. The partnership leverages Citi’s origination network and HPS’s capital to meet rising demand...
Bond Market Vetoes AI‑driven Megadeal, NextEra Drops 6%
NextEra fell 6% today on announcing its own $67 billion megadeal to buy Dominion — the largest power-utility takeover in U.S. history. Read that twice. When the most AI-bullish stock-funded merger of 2026 can't get a green tape on day...
Haussmann Development Closes on Construction Loan for Manhattanville Mixed-Income
Haussmann Development closed a $40.75 million construction loan with Affinius Capital and Axonic Capital to fund an 84‑unit mixed‑income residential building at 16–20 Convent Ave. in Manhattanville, an Opportunity Zone adjacent to Columbia University. The project will be built under New York...
Power Giants NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy Eye $67B Link
NextEra Energy announced a stock‑heavy acquisition of Dominion Energy valued at roughly $67 billion, forming the largest U.S. electricity producer. The combined company will serve about 10 million customers and own a portfolio of megaprojects across the East Coast. Post‑deal market capitalization...
Multiverse Raises $70 Million to Fuel AI Upskilling Push Across Europe
Multiverse, the London‑based upskilling platform, closed a $70 million funding round led by Schroders Capital, lifting its valuation to $2.1 billion. The capital will be used to roll out its AI and data skills platform across Europe, addressing a widening talent gap...
Analysts Weigh Rocket Lab vs SpaceX as Space IPO Looms, Stocks Diverge
Rocket Lab posted a 63.5% year‑over‑year revenue jump to $200.3 million in Q1, while SpaceX accelerated its IPO timeline to raise up to $75 billion. Analysts are parsing the two companies’ financial trajectories as investors decide where to place capital in the...
Dust Secures $40 Million Series B to Build Multiplayer AI for Enterprises
Dust announced a $40 million Series B round led by Abstract and Sequoia Capital, with strategic participation from Snowflake and Datadog. The capital will accelerate its multiplayer AI platform that lets agents share context and governance across an organization, tackling the fragmentation...
NextEra’s Dominion Megamerger: How It Affects Your Portfolio
NextEra Energy announced an all‑stock acquisition of Dominion Energy valued at roughly $67 billion, creating a combined utility with an estimated market value of $249 billion. The merger will make the new entity the third‑largest energy company in the United States, behind...
New SPAC: Freedom Metals Acquisition Corp. (FDMMU) Files for $275M IPO
Freedom Metals Acquisition Corp (ticker FDMMU) filed its S‑1 to raise up to $275 million in a SPAC IPO, issuing 11 million units at $25 each. The capital structure combines a $150 million private placement with a $125 million public offering. The SPAC will...
Hertz Vehicle Financing III LLC, Series 2026-1 and Series 2026-2: Presale Report
Hertz Vehicle Financing III LLC announced a presale offering of two senior unsecured note series, Series 2026‑1 and Series 2026‑2, slated for issuance later this year. DBRS, Inc. assigned provisional credit ratings to both series, providing an early gauge of credit quality. The notes...
SpaceX Accelerates IPO to June 12, Targets $75B Raise at $1.75T Valuation
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has moved its Nasdaq debut forward to June 12, with underwriters targeting a $75 billion capital raise and a $1.75 trillion valuation. The accelerated timeline, announced on May 16, intensifies debate over the company’s dual‑class share structure and the...
CME Group Unveils Compute Futures as New Institutional Asset Class
CME Group announced a compute futures contract tied to GPU pricing, partnering with Silicon Data and DRW. CIO Dr. Alyce Su of a global family office called the product a new institutional asset class, highlighting its potential to reshape hedging...
Could New Zim Offer Start Bidding War?
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services shareholders approved a $4.2 billion takeover by Germany’s Hapag‑Lloyd and Israel’s FIMI Opportunity Funds, creating a New Zim entity that keeps 16 Israel‑flagged vessels and a government golden share under national control. A competing all‑cash offer of...
Diana Shipping Cashes in Part of Its Stake in Takeover Target Genco
Diana Shipping has sold a modest portion of its Genco Shipping & Trading stake, estimated at 100,000‑150,000 shares out of the 6.4 million it previously owned. The Greek carrier did not disclose the exact number of shares sold, but the transaction...
Staple Financing in M&As: Pre-Arranged Funding Benefits
Staple financing is a pre‑arranged debt package that investment banks attach to an acquisition term sheet, offering potential buyers ready‑made funding. By eliminating the need for last‑minute financing, it speeds the bidding process and can drive higher sale prices through...
From Alibaba to Snap, IPO Maestro Launches Hedge Fund
This former Wall Street research analyst led Alibaba's $25B IPO — the largest in history. Then he took Snap public. Now he runs his own hedge fund.
IREN CEO Discusses M&A, Capital Markets, Nvidia, Data Center Perception
$IREN ceo on the show today: M&A, capital market activity, Nvidia and what the public thinks of data centers
Getty Images Secures UK Approval for $3.7 B Shutterstock Takeover
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority approved Getty Images’ $3.7 billion purchase of Shutterstock after the parties offered to sell Shutterstock’s global editorial business. The clearance lifts a major regulatory hurdle and positions Getty as the dominant image provider in the UK,...
Ares Capital Keeps 10% Yield Alive After Q1 Earnings Dip, Sparking BDC Resilience Debate
Ares Capital posted core earnings of $0.47 per share in Q1 2026, below its $0.48 dividend, yet the BDC maintained a 10%+ yield thanks to net realized gains and spillover income. The result fuels debate over the durability of high‑yield...
Cerebras Shares Slide 10% to $279.72 After Soaring IPO Debut
Cerebras Systems saw its stock tumble 10% to $279.72 on Friday, two days after a blockbuster debut that lifted the price to $350 and raised $6.38 billion. The pullback follows investor concerns over a 130‑times trailing‑revenue valuation and the fact that...
Publicis Groupe to Acquire LiveRamp for $2.2 Bn, Boosting AI‑driven Data Co‑creation
Publicis Groupe announced a $2.2 bn all‑cash acquisition of LiveRamp, a data‑collaboration platform, to accelerate its AI‑driven marketing services. The deal, valued at $2.167 bn enterprise value with a 29.8% premium, is expected to lift Publicis’ 2027‑28 net‑revenue and EPS growth targets.
Merck Eyes $6 Billion in Seven-Part Bond Sale for Terns Deal
Merck & Co. is planning a $6 billion investment‑grade bond issuance to finance its purchase of Terns Pharmaceuticals. The debt will be offered in up to seven separate tranches, with the longest being a 30‑year note. The senior tranche is expected...
NextEra Energy to Acquire Dominion Energy for $130 Billion
NextEra Energy announced a $130 billion agreement to acquire Dominion Energy, creating one of the largest U.S. utility operators. Dominion shareholders will receive 0.8138 NextEra shares per Dominion share, a $75.98 per‑share premium of 23.75%, plus a $360 million cash payment at...
KKR Explores Potential $3bn Bay Club Sale
KKR is weighing a sale of The Bay Club Company that could fetch roughly $3 billion. The private‑equity firm has tapped Moelis & Co. and Morgan Stanley to manage the early‑stage process. Since KKR bought the West Coast premium‑membership operator in...
M&A Insiders Predict the Market Will Continue to Surge This Year
Bain & Company’s latest survey of 303 M&A executives shows 80% expect deal activity to hold steady or rise in 2026 after a 40% jump in aggregate deal value during the second half of 2025. The first quarter of 2026...
DOJ Probes BlackRock Private Credit Fund After 19% NAV Drop and $25M Loan Write‑Off
The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into BlackRock TCP Capital Corp., a publicly traded private‑credit BDC, after the fund disclosed a 19% net‑asset‑value markdown and a $25 million loan to Infinite Commerce Holdings was written off as worthless....
Prudential to Acquire 75% of Bharti Life for $389 M, Reshapes India Insurance Landscape
Prudential plc announced it will purchase a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance for an initial cash consideration of about $389 million (₹3,500 crore), with up to $78 million (₹700 crore) additional contingent payment. The deal forces Prudential to reduce its share in ICICI...
Quantinuum Targets $20 B Valuation in 2026 Quantum Computing IPO
Quantinuum has filed an S‑1 seeking a Nasdaq listing in 2026 that could price the company near $20 billion, twice its September 2025 private‑round valuation. The move puts a rare pure‑play quantum computing firm under the spotlight as investors weigh sky‑high...
US DOJ Scrutinises Valuation Practices at BlackRock Private Credit Fund
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are probing valuation practices at BlackRock's private credit fund, BlackRock TCP Capital Corp (TCPC). The inquiry follows TCPC's January off‑cycle update warning of a roughly 19% portfolio value decline, which triggered a sharp share price drop...
KKR Taps Morgan Stanley Exec to Lead Japan Capital Markets Unit
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) has hired Masahiro Shuto, former president of Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Japan arm, as managing director and head of its Japan capital markets unit. Shuto will oversee institutional fundraising, expand KKR’s insurance‑related operations, and serve strategic...
Thoma Bravo Weighs Sale of Command Alkon Stake at up to $1.75bn Valuation
Thoma Bravo is testing the market for its 55% stake in construction‑software firm Command Alkon, hiring Evercore to run a sale that could value the company at $1.5‑$1.75 billion. Command Alkon, which posted over $230 million in revenue and roughly $92 million of...