Ukraine’s UFORCE Raises $700 Million at $6 Billion Valuation
UFORCE, a defense-technology company founded in Ukraine, raised $700 million in a Series A round that values it at $6 billion, one of the largest private financings yet for a maker of battlefield drones. Valor Equity Partners and Britain’s state-backed National Wealth Fund co-led the round. The U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, set up under the […]
Opinion: Wall Street Has Started Haggling Again
For most of this year, the question in deal markets was whether there was enough money. This week the question was price, and the people with the money answered it. Take Hancock Whitney’s $3.2 billion all-stock purchase of Trustmark. The board agreed to an 18.6% premium. By the close, Hancock Whitney’s own shareholders had knocked […]
$7.6 Billion Gas Pipeline Plan Would Cross Middle Tennessee
Kinder Morgan Inc. and Southern Co. are moving ahead with a roughly $7.6 billion natural gas pipeline that would run 470 miles from Middle Tennessee to central Georgia, one of the largest gas infrastructure projects proposed in the Southeast, as landowners along the route begin receiving notices. The Southeast Connector is being developed by Southern […]
Treasury’s $25 Billion 30-Year Sale Tails, Capping Weak Week
The Treasury Department’s sale of 30-year bonds on Thursday drew the softest demand in five months, closing out a quarterly refunding in which all three auctions showed investors reluctant to load up on long-term U.S. debt. Treasury sold $25 billion of new bonds due November 2056 at a high yield of 5.441%, with a 5.375% […]
Berkshire, IBM Sell Yen Bonds as Alphabet Upsizes Asia Debut
Two of America’s best-known companies borrowed in yen in Tokyo on Friday, and the price of admission went up. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sold 182.3 billion yen, about $1.1 billion, of bonds in Tokyo, paying wider spreads on several maturities than it did in April. IBM Corp. finalized terms on about 108.8 billion yen, roughly $680 […]
Mirendil Raises $1 Billion Series A for AI Research Agents
Mirendil, an artificial-intelligence startup founded less than a year ago by former Anthropic researchers, raised $1 billion in a Series A round led by Kleiner Perkins and Clearlake Capital. Battery Ventures, Doerr Capital, Gil & Co, Google, M13, Pear VC and S32 also took part, along with other new and existing investors. The company didn’t […]
Banco BPM Opens Merger Talks With Credit Agricole, Wants More
Banco BPM SpA’s board agreed to open merger talks with its largest shareholder, Credit Agricole SA, but put the French bank on notice that the price will have to rise to win over the Italian lender’s other investors. Meeting in Milan on Thursday, the board reviewed the Nov. 8 letter in which Credit Agricole proposed […]
Hancock Whitney to Buy Trustmark in $3.2 Billion Bank Deal
Hancock Whitney Corp. agreed to buy Trustmark Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at about $3.2 billion, combining two Mississippi-based lenders into a Gulf South bank with roughly $58 billion in assets and about 370 branches across six states. Gulfport-based Hancock Whitney will issue 0.7463 of its shares for each share of Jackson-based Trustmark. At […]
Opinion: Money Is Easy to Find. Permission Isn’t.
If you wanted to raise money this week, you could. If you wanted someone’s permission, good luck. Start with the money. Anthropic’s IPO book was covered several times within a day of launch, and its bankers are talking about raising the price. Alphabet went looking for about $3 billion in Hong Kong and Singapore and […]
Pizza Hut Markets $1 Billion Franchise Bond After Buyout
Pizza Hut is borrowing against its franchise checks. The pizza chain is marketing about $1 billion of bonds backed by the royalties its restaurant owners pay, a first for the brand and a sign of how its new private-equity owner plans to finance the business. The deal is a whole-business securitization, a structure that bundles […]