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UK M&A is set for a record year as foreigners raid, two hedge funds are set for mega windfalls from the SpaceX IPO, Musk received an unfavorable technical ruling in the OpenAI non-profit case, and Google and Blackstone are teaming up to take on AI cloud and chip giants.

Startup fundraising does not have to be a shot in the dark. Check out Fidelity's Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit for the resources and templates that founders use to raise rounds successfully and smoothly.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 5/18/2026 market close.

Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks edged lower yesterday on rising inflation fears 

  • Japan 10Y yield is 45 bps higher than TOPIX index dividend yields in the most since 2007

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Home Depot, CAVA

    • Wednesday: Nvidia, Target, Lowe's 

    • Thursday: Walmart, Hamilton Lane, Zoom, Workday, Ralph Lauren

  • Full calendar here 

Prediction Markets

  • Kevin Warsh will assume Fed leadership on Friday amid a highly complex economic backdrop

  • Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market

Headline Roundup

  • Mamdani met with Jamie Dimon and other Wall Street CEOs (WSJ)

  • Kevin Warsh will be sworn in as Fed chair on Friday (CNBC)

  • US will hold off on Iran strikes following Gulf appeal (BBG)

  • Foreign holdings of US Treasuries slid in March (RT)

  • Investors flock to commodity ETFs amid Iran war energy inflation (BBG)

  • Investors add exposure to China ETFs after Trump-Xi meeting (BBG)

  • UK M&A is set for a record year as foreigners raid (RT)

  • US may scrap ban on trading through best price on stocks (BBG)

  • Citigroup partnered with HPS on $17B Europe private credit program (RT)

  • Cerebras' blockbuster IPO is a huge bet on Nvidia fatigue (WSJ)

  • Two hedge funds are set for ~50x return from SpaceX IPO (FT)

  • Jury ruled against Musk in OpenAI non-profit case on technicality (CNBC)

  • Texas Stock Exchange named a 12-person board (BBG)

  • lululemon urged shareholders to reject founder's proxy fight (CNBC)

  • Standard Chartered will cut 15% of jobs (WSJ)

  • US formed $1.8B fund to compensate victims of political lawfare (CNBC)

  • Europe has 'almost zero' jet fuel shortage concerns (FT)

A Message from Fidelity Private Shares

Fundraising Can Get Expensive When Structure Comes Too Late

Fundraising problems usually aren't strategic – they're structural.

When ownership data, investor materials, and diligence prep live in different places, small inconsistencies can turn into time-consuming cleanup. 

The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips finance leaders with the materials investors expect to see, before pressure is on. 

Inside: 

  • A scalable cap table template 

  • A pitch deck template with a real example 

  • An investor update template you can reuse

  • A diligence checklist so nothing catches you off guard 

Built for companies that care about accuracy, continuity, and fewer surprises.

Download the Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit

Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

  • Power utility giant NextEra Energy will acquire peer Dominion Energy in a $67B all-stock deal at a 23% premium

  • German lender Commerzbank formally rejected a $45.4B no-premium takeover ‌offer from Italian rival UniCredit 

  • India is exploring reviving a divestment of its majority stake in $8B-listed IDBI Bank

  • Google and Blackstone will create an AI cloud company to rival Nvidia and CoreWeave with Blackstone committing $5B equity as majority owner of the venture

  • AI chip startup Tenstorrent is drawing early takeover interest from Intel and Qualcomm and could sell at a potential $5B valuation

  • UK-based miner Dhilmar agreed to acquire the Aussie steelmaking coal mines of Anglo American for $3.9B cash after an earlier $3.8B deal with Peabody Energy fell through

  • Analog Devices is in advanced talks to acquire Empower Semiconductor for $1.5B cash

  • Australia's SIMBA Telecom's $1.1B acquisition of Singaporean telecom M1 from Singaporean asset manager Keppel collapsed after regulators suspended assessment of the deal

  • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Thailand's Global Power Synergy are considering selling their offshore wind farm in Taiwan

  • Australia ordered five of the biggest Chinese shareholders in $150M-listed rare earths firm Northern Minerals to sell their stakes

  • Standard Chartered will acquire the crypto custody business of its majority-owned subsidiary Zodia Custody

  • Japanese lender Mizuho is considering investing in Rakuten Bank, the financial unit of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten

VC

  • Decart, a software startup making it easier for developers to switch between AI chips, raised a $300M round at a $4B valuation led by Radical Ventures 

  • Elliptic, a digital asset decisioning company, raised a $120M Series D at a $670M valuation led by One Peak

  • Dust, an agentic AI company, raised a $40M Series B led by Abstract and Sequoia

  • Tomorrow.io, an AI weather intelligence and resilience platform, raised a $210M Series F and a $35M extension from Pitango, Harel Insurance, and others

  • LetinAR, a Korean optics startup for AI glasses, raised $18.5M in funding led by KDB and Lotte Ventures

  • Xpanner, a construction automation company, raised an $18M Series B led by Korea Investment Partners

  • Nof1, an AI research lab focused on training frontier models for financial markets, raised $15M in funding co-led by SUI Group and Karatage Opportunities

  • Searchable, an AI performance marketing platform, raised $14M at an $85M valuation led by Headline 

  • AEON, the settlement layer for the agentic economy, raised an $8M pre-seed round led by YZi Labs

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • $180B-listed Japanese memory firm Kioxia is preparing to list ADSs in US

  • Uber boosted its stake in $11B-listed German food delivery company Delivery Hero from 7% to up to 25% but has no plans for a takeover

  • Activist Elliott built a sizable stake in $7.6B-listed Bio-Rad Laboratories

  • Activist Corvex Management took a 7% stake in $5.3B UK-listed Premier Inn-owner Whitbread and is pushing for a sale 

  • Chinese memory chip firm CXMT is seeking to raise $3.4B in a China IPO

  • Spanish construction firm ACS Group is looking to sell 6% of shares for $2.6B to fund data centers and other AI-related infrastructure

  • Vietnam's largest gold retailer Bao Tin Manh Hai is preparing a Q4 Vietnam IPO 

  • Wall Street brokerage fintech Clear Street replaced its CEO weeks after abandoning plans for a $365M IPO

Debt

  • Pharma giant Merck is seeking to sell $6B of investment grade bonds to help finance its $6.7B acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals

  • S&P's Mobility Global unit will sell $2B of notes ahead of a planned spinoff 

  • A Blue Owl private credit fund sold a $400M investment grade bond at a 230 bps premium just one month after a similar debt sale to PIMCO

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Liquidators of China Evergrande are seeking $8.4B from PwC for negligence in auditing

  • $300M of bonds in Paraguayan meatpacker Frigorífico Concepción are trading for just 19¢ amid an imminent default

  • Boating supply retailer West Marine filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a deal with key creditors to find a buyer while under court protection or hand control to lenders owed $251M

  • Investors holding senior bonds of struggling high-speed rail Brightline Florida may get just 44¢ in a bankruptcy or restructuring

  • Crypto ATM operator Bitcoin Depot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to wind down

Funds / Secondaries

  • Bain Capital raised $10.5B for its sixth Asia PE fund

  • Deep tech VC Playground Global raised $475M for its fourth fund

  • Kenyan fund manager Spearhead Africa Asset Management plans to raise $116M to finance infrastructure projects

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • SEC is readying plan to allow tokenized stock trading

  • Bitcoin Depot will shut down in bankruptcy

  • Ohio man was sentenced to 9 years for $10M crypto Ponzi scheme where he solicited money even after being indicted

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

Exec’s Picks

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

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We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.

We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot Advisers, LLC ("Autopilot"), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks, including loss of principal. As always, be smart out there. Litquidity is compensated to promote AutoPilot. Compensation details available upon request.