Why some Major Banks Are Bringing Embedded Finance In-House
Capital One is reshaping its business by bringing embedded finance capabilities in-house through two high‑profile acquisitions. The 2024 purchase of Discover gave the bank broader credit‑card reach, payment rails and consumer data, while the January 2026 acquisition of Brex adds a B2B fintech platform and API infrastructure. Together, these deals collapse the gap between product development, distribution and the balance sheet, signaling a strategic shift from reliance on third‑party providers to full ownership of the embedded finance stack. The move reflects a broader industry trend of banks seeking tighter control over digital financial services.
Comcast & Paramount May Merge As Both Struggle With Streaming
Comcast’s Peacock and Paramount Global’s Paramount+ are both under pressure, with Peacock reporting 44 million paid subscribers but a $552 million quarterly loss, while Paramount+ reached 79.1 million subscribers and posted a $340 million profit. Analysts suggest a merger could give the two mid‑tier...
Velocity FBO Network Acquires BTR Jet Center in Baton Rouge
Velocity FBO Network, backed by private‑equity firm Tallvine Partners, announced the acquisition of BTR Jet Center at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport. The deal adds a well‑established South‑central FBO with Jet A and 100LL fueling, lounges, crew cars and concierge services to...
AirAsia Chief Says Brand Unit Is Nearing Nasdaq Backdoor Listing
AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes announced that the airline’s branding unit is close to completing a Nasdaq backdoor listing, targeting a valuation of roughly US$1.5 billion. The merger with a US‑listed vehicle is expected to be announced within two months, with the...
Private Equity Commits to Fletchers and Backs Higgs’ First Acquisition
Sun Capital has extended its ownership of serious‑injury firm Fletchers through a continuation fund, committing another four to five years of capital. The firm’s EBITDA surged from £8 m to £38 m and case volume rose 60%, prompting a large recruitment drive...
Hapag-Lloyd’s Plan to Acquire Zim Would Deepen Shipping Oligopoly
Hapag-Lloyd announced a $3.5 billion plan to acquire Israel’s Zim Integrated Shipping Services, pending regulator sign‑off. The transaction would add roughly 704,000 TEUs, pushing Hapag-Lloyd’s capacity above 3 million TEUs and placing it among the world’s five largest container lines. The deal...
Paramount Hires Ex-Trump Official to Lead Policy as Battle for WBD Heats Up
Paramount Pictures has hired former Justice Department antitrust official Rene Augustine as Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy. Augustine, who served under the Trump administration and led international antitrust matters, will report to Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim. The...
Rivalry to Scale Back Operations
Rivalry Corp., a TSXV‑listed esports betting operator, announced it will dramatically scale back operations while evaluating strategic alternatives. The board approved immediate cost reductions, including a significant workforce cut and a pause on player activity with withdrawals permitted. Rivalry is...
Sabra CEO: Skilled Nursing M&A Remains Relationship-Driven and Limited in 2026
Sabra Health Care REIT sold seven skilled‑nursing properties for $51 million in Q4, signaling a sharp pullback in nursing‑home M&A for 2026. The REIT’s pipeline will focus almost entirely on senior housing, which represents roughly 95% of its investment opportunities and...
Zscaler-SquareX Deal Boosts Zero Trust, Secure Browsing Capabilities
Zscaler announced the acquisition of Singapore‑based startup SquareX, adding its Chromium‑based browser extension to the Zero Trust Exchange platform. SquareX’s browser detection and response (BDR) technology provides real‑time threat detection inside browsers on managed and personal devices. The deal, closed...
BTG Pactual Acquires Brazilian Fintech Meutudo
BTG Pactual announced the acquisition of up to a 48% stake in Brazilian digital‑credit platform meutudo, valuing the fintech at roughly $200 million. meutudo specializes in FGTS‑backed and payroll‑deducted loans, leveraging workers' severance funds to lower interest rates. The app also...
District Court Vacates FTC Changes to Premerger Notification Rules
On February 12, a U.S. District Court in Texas vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s final rule that altered pre‑merger notification requirements under the Hart‑Scott‑Rodino Act. The rule had expanded the HSR filing form and imposed additional reporting obligations on merging firms....
Report: Savvy Games Group in Talks to Buy MOONTON Games
ByteDance is in advanced talks to sell its wholly owned studio MOONTON Games to Saudi sovereign‑wealth‑fund‑backed Savvy Games Group for roughly $6‑7 billion. MOONTON, creator of the hit mobile MOBA Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and its esports ecosystem, represents one of...
Aveanna CEO: Hospice Multiples Still Too High
Aveanna Healthcare Holdings CEO Jeff Shaner warned that hospice acquisition multiples remain excessively high, often exceeding 10x and sometimes reaching 15x‑17x. The company, which is evaluating growth options, says it will not pursue hospice deals unless valuations fall into the...
Quality Inn & Suites Kissimmee by the Lake Sold
DSH Hotel Advisors arranged the sale of the Quality Inn & Suites Kissimmee by the Lake, originally listed at $10.9 million, though the final price remains undisclosed. The firm acted as exclusive advisor for both seller JC Investments FL LLC and...
Expect the Unexpected: A 2026 Lending Outlook with WhiteHorse Capital
WhiteHorse Capital’s Pankak Gupta and Stuart Aronson forecast a cautious‑optimistic 2026 for middle‑market lending, citing modest Federal Reserve rate cuts and lingering inflation. They expect a rebound in M&A activity with narrowing valuation gaps, while new capital inflows are driving...
Mergers And Acquisitions Strategies For British SME Growth
British SMEs are turning to mergers and acquisitions to sustain growth as organic expansion slows. The piece outlines the current UK mid‑market M&A landscape, noting strong activity in technology, healthcare, manufacturing and professional services. It highlights strategic drivers such as...
Sky–ITV Talks Slow as Warner Bros Discovery Battle Reshapes Landscape
Talks between Sky and ITV over the £1.6 billion sale of ITV's Media and Entertainment division have slowed, according to Reuters sources. The deal was intended to create a top‑three UK streaming player capable of challenging global services such as Netflix...
Commission Approves UMG’s Acquisition of Downtown, Subject to Conditions
The European Commission has cleared Universal Music Group’s purchase of Downtown Music Holdings, but only after the companies agreed to fully divest Downtown’s royalty‑accounting platform Curve. The conditional approval removes UMG’s ability to access Curve’s data on rival labels, which...
Cineverse Acquires IndiCue
Cineverse announced the acquisition of ad‑tech firm IndiCue for up to $40 million, integrating its advertising and monetisation tools into the Matchpoint platform. The deal adds real‑time revenue optimisation across FAST, AVoD, CTV and other ad‑supported streaming channels. Financing combines cash,...
ServiceNow Buys Pyramid Analytics to Streamline Access to Business Intelligence
ServiceNow announced the acquisition of Israeli big‑data firm Pyramid Analytics, an deal valued at an estimated few hundred million dollars. Pyramid’s decision‑intelligence platform blends AI, traditional analytics and data preparation, and recently added generative BI capabilities that let users ask...
Apple Strikes Deal to Acquire Canadian Database Software Startup Kuzu
Apple has agreed to acquire Canadian startup Kuzu, a developer of lightweight embedded graph database technology, as disclosed to the EU under the Digital Markets Act. The acquisition, finalized on Oct. 9, 2025, includes all Kuzu shares and select employee...
Calian Group Expands Defence and Space Footprint in Record First Quarter
Calian Group posted a record Q1 2026 revenue of $208 million, up 12% year‑over‑year, driven by recent acquisitions and organic defence growth. The company secured $171 million of new contracts, including a November 2025 deal to build four Ka/Q/V‑band RF gateway stations for a...
Highspot Announces Intent to Merge with Seismic
Highspot and Seismic announced a definitive agreement to merge, creating a unified AI‑powered revenue enablement platform. The combined entity will operate under the Seismic brand, with Seismic CEO Rob Tarkoff leading and Highspot founder Robert Wahbe joining the board. Permira,...
'A Blow to the LSE': Industry Raises Concerns About Schroders Takeover
Nuveen, a US investment firm, has launched a £9.9 bn hostile bid to acquire UK asset manager Schroders. Industry voices warn the deal could further shrink the already limited pool of listed assets on the London Stock Exchange. Critics argue the...
Nuveen’s Takeover of Schroders to Create $2.5trn Asset Manager
Nuveen, the TIAA‑affiliated asset manager, announced the acquisition of Schroders Capital, the private‑equity arm of UK‑based Schroders. The deal merges Nuveen’s $2.45 trillion of assets under management with Schroders’ $25 billion private‑equity portfolio, creating a combined $2.5 trillion powerhouse. The transaction is expected...
Bill Weighs the Best Path to Profits
Bill Holdings, a San Jose‑based business‑payments software firm, is weighing a sale after activist investors demanded higher profitability. The company reported a $2.6 million loss for Q4 2025, a sharp reversal from a $33.5 million profit a year earlier, while revenue rose...
PE Weekly: Business Services Retains Its M&A Strength
Business services private equity firms continued a busy week of M&A, completing multiple platform acquisitions—including Kingswood Capital’s purchase of Safran Passenger Innovations (renamed RAVE Aerospace), H.I.G. Capital’s buy of CargoTuff, Trinity Hunt Partners’ launch of Allvia, KPS Capital’s pending acquisition...
IIAs 2026 | Harro Höfliger’s Expansion in Debrecen, Hungary
Harro Höfliger, a German machinery maker, is expanding its Debrecen plant with a €15 million investment, creating 100 jobs. The project follows the 2024 acquisition of Manz’s Hungarian operations and was ranked the second most impactful small‑scale FDI in the 2026 Investment...
Frazier & Deeter Makes Plans for Acquisitions
Frazier & Deeter, an Atlanta‑based Top 50 accounting firm, is finalizing the integration of three firms it acquired in 2023 while positioning for further selective deals. Under new CEO Jeremy Jones, the firm has grown revenue from $29 million to over $200 million...
Credit Manager M&A Spree Raises Diligence Issues for LPs
Credit managers are accelerating mergers and acquisitions, sparking a wave of private‑debt GP consolidation. Fund allocators such as Goldman Sachs’ external investing group and Allianz Global Investors are sharpening their focus on this trend. The surge in deals expands assets...
This TSX Gold Producer Tipped as Top M&A Target in Scorching Metals Market
A TD Cowen survey of 58 institutional investors and mining executives identified Toronto‑listed Iamgold Corp. as the leading M&A candidate for 2026, with 20 % of respondents flagging the company. The poll also showed near‑universal expectations of heightened gold and silver...
Wabtec Acquires Dellner Couplers (UPDATED 2/11)
Wabtec announced a definitive agreement to acquire Dellner Couplers for $960 million in cash, funded by cash on hand and short‑term debt. The deal values Dellner at roughly 12.5 times its projected 2025 EBITDA and includes anticipated $22 million in cost synergies over...
Britney Spears Sells Catalog
The episode discusses Britney Spears' reported sale of her music catalog to independent publisher Primary Wave, noting the lack of confirmed details and price. It places this deal in the context of recent high‑profile catalog sales by artists like Queen,...
Why Harbor Health Is Acquiring Dementia Support Company Rippl
Harbor Health, an Austin‑based primary care and health‑insurance group, announced the acquisition of Rippl, a Seattle‑based dementia‑care platform. The deal, terms undisclosed, adds Rippl’s CMS GUIDE‑model services for Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare beneficiaries to Harbor’s condition‑focused care pathways. By...
Side Letter: Bain Leans Local
Bain Capital announced a strategic pivot toward more locally‑focused private‑equity investments, citing heightened macro‑economic uncertainty and tighter cross‑border financing. The shift aligns with broader industry trends, as firms anticipate a surge in take‑private transactions through 2026 driven by low financing...
Mattel Acquires Full Ownership of Mattel163 From NetEase
Mattel announced it will acquire NetEase’s 50% stake in the mobile‑gaming joint venture Mattel163, valuing the studio at $318 million. The deal, slated to close by the end of Q1 2026, will be funded largely with cash generated from the existing partnership....
Wonder Acquires NYC's Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken
Wonder, the mealtime platform, announced the acquisition of Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, taking full ownership of the iconic NYC brand and its East Village location. Financial terms were undisclosed, but the deal aligns with Wonder’s strategy to absorb beloved restaurant...
Attabotics Technology Revives as Part of LaFayette Systems
Attabotics, the robotic cube‑storage specialist, is restarting operations after its September 2025 acquisition by LaFayette Systems. The privately held LaFayette group will provide a stable financial base and engineering expertise, allowing Attabotics to retain its Calgary engineering, business, and manufacturing...
‘The New Normal’: Nursing Home M&A Is Being Shaped by Regional Operators, REITs, and Private Capital
The skilled‑nursing sector entered 2026 with strong occupancy and higher state reimbursements, restoring profitability for many facilities. Financing remains robust, but activity has shifted toward acquiring and refurbishing existing homes rather than new construction. Regional operators are snapping up underperforming...
Skilled Nursing Dealbook: Arizona Nonprofit Sells for $30M-Plus, Viventium Acquires Apploi
Evans Senior Investments brokered the sale of the nonprofit Glencroft Center for Modern Aging in Glendale, Arizona, fetching $30.15 million—about $134,000 per bed—despite a 47% occupancy rate and a 1‑star CMS rating. The deal doubled the seller’s expected proceeds by creating...