7,079 banks and M&A advisory firms, with 34,850 contacts already mapped.

Instead of building your own list from scratch, start with a structured database built for outreach, origination and market mapping.

Hi there,

An update on this week's key developments across markets and finance:

Global debt climbed to a record $353T as refinancing concerns intensified, while Europe’s M&A market recorded its strongest activity since 2007 and the European bond market posted its busiest day ever as issuers rushed to secure funding. Hedge funds also delivered their best monthly performance since the pandemic.

JPMorgan and BlackRock pushed back against AI bubble concerns as Wall Street prepares a wave of AI-linked data center IPOs. In private credit, Blue Owl moved to cut software exposure and Apollo pledged daily pricing for direct lending funds. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia’s PIF expands further into China, while Brazil faces rising corporate credit stress.

Let's dive in.

Global debt hit a record $353T: Rising sovereign and corporate leverage is increasing concerns around refinancing risk and long term growth (YF)

Europe M&A volume is at the highest since 2007: Deal-makers topped $450B in rapid time as financing conditions improved and confidence returned (MS)

European bond market had its busiest day ever: Companies rushed to sell bonds as rates outlook worsened due to Iran conflict (YF)

Debt crisis brews in Brazil as 8M firms miss payments: Deepening credit stress in LatAm's largest economy (TJT)

European IBs continue lagging Wall Street rivals: US banks are widening the profitability and market share gap across trading and advisory (RT)

JPMorgan and BlackRock downplayed concerns about AI bubble: They argued that infrastructure demand still supports current spending levels (YF)

The stock market rebound became the most concentrated ever: A handful of mega cap companies are driving a disproportionate share of gains (BB)

Saudi's PIF opened a second office in China: The $1T wealth fund sets up in Shanghai to deepen deal-making and attract Chinese capital (AGBI)

Investors are piling into municipals at the fastest rate in five years: Muni bond funds drew $22.3B, the strongest Jan–Apr since 2021 (AP)

Hedge funds posted their best month since Covid with 5% gains: Volatility and macro trading opportunities boosted industry performance (HW)

Wall Street readies data center IPOs as AI-linked debuts surge: Pipeline builds as investor appetite for AI infrastructure grows (AP)

Blue Owl will reduce software exposure in private credit portfolios: Managers are reassessing technology risk after volatility across software markets (Inv.)

SEC unveiled plans for semi-annual earnings reporting: Proposal would let US public companies file bi-annually instead of quarterly (SEC)

Apollo pledges daily pricing for direct lending: The change is intended to allay concerns about private credit’s opacity and valuation practices (YF)

US charged 30 people in a massive insider trading scheme: M&A lawyers from elite firms fed a decade-long ring tied to nearly 30 deals (Axios)

Hong Kong GDP grew 5.9% YoY in Q1: Fastest growth in nearly five years, driven by AI-related electronics demand (RTE)

I’m reserving a few sponsorship opportunities for the coming months and would be happy to see whether there’s a fit for your brand.

You can book a slot below or reply “SPONSOR” and I’ll send over the details.

SpaceX plans investment in Musk’s Terafab AI chip project (YF)
Potential Deal Value: $55B

UniCredit launched hostile bid for Commerzbank (BBX)
Potential Deal Value: $41B

Blue Owl-owned Stack Infrastructure explores sale of Asia operations (DCD)
Potential Deal Value: $30B

Swedish PE firm EQT improved bid for Intertek for third time (CNBC)
Potential Deal Value: $12B

CK Hutchison to exit VodafoneThree stake (RTE)
Deal Value: $5.8B

AMETEK to buy Indicor's instrumentation businesses from CD&R (PRN)
Deal Value: $5B

Bullish agreed to acquire transfer agent Equiniti from Siris Capital (GNW)
Deal Value: $4.2B

Angelini Pharma agreed to buy Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (BioSpace)
Deal Value: $4.1B

Sony Music to acquire Recognition Music Group from Blackstone (MBW)
Deal Value: $4B

I Squared & Blackstone consider bid for German media group Stroeer (PEW)
Potential Deal Value: $2.9B

Bayer agreed to acquire Perfuse Therapeutics for eye medicines (YF)
Deal Value: $2.4B

KFT Senator Treasury offered to buy 56.1% of NIS oil firm (EUT)
Potential Deal Value: $2.4B

Western Midstream announced acquisition of Brazos Delaware II (PRN)
Deal Value: $1.6B

Carlyle & Diversified Energy buys Oklahoma O&G fields from Camino (CRL)
Deal Value: $1.2B

Kraken to acquire stablecoin payments firm Reap Technologies (CD)
Deal Value: $600M

UAE investor acquiring part of UniCredit's Russian unit (Inv.)
Deal Value: Undisclosed

✔ 20% off financial modelling courses with WSO
✔ 25% off any FE course with code PEBRO25
✔ Advanced models and templates
✔ More content on LinkedIn