Scale trumps fear but 1Q26 M&A volume obscures sponsor frustration – Dealspeak EMEA
1Q26 M&A volume EUR 332.1bn, up 38% year-on-year, but volume of deals below EUR 1bn fell 25% YoY in March; key themes include AI fallout, GPs’ tech woes and sector rotation

M&A volume leap 20% to USD 1.38tn in first quarter of 2026
Even the Iran conflict has not arrested momentum among larger deals. A mammoth USD 122bn capital raise from OpenAI closed on the last day of the quarter, according to Mergermarket data

AI blockbuster deals surge as Middle East conflict test dealmaker confidence
Mergermarkets M&A Highlights 1Q26: Global M&A volume jumped 22% to the second highest start ever

EQT, Advent, Cinven embrace deal flexibility as hedge against Middle East chaos
ECM Pulse:Optionality trumps predictions in chasing LP returns; uncertainty dogs IPO prospects as bid-ask gap remains

Schroders, InPost deals boost 2026 takeover pipeline by EUR 19bn
InPost agrees EUR 7.8bn deal with Advent, FedEx; modest premium for Schroders may open for rivals

Loan market steams ahead with new launches as more deals line up in Europe
Flex-downs abound, but Hologic’s sub-300bps spread raises eyebrows, while performance in focus for Archroma, Seqens and Lipton Tea

Finastra's banking software assets pique sponsor interest ahead of NBO deadline
EXCLUSIVE: Non-binding offers due on 11 November; Cinven, Brookfield, Warburg Pincus among suitors

Evolving M&A is transforming the capital formation landscape – KKR
'Critical' link between M&A and credit is set to fuel growth in private markets

Clearlake abandons bank-led option for a private credit loan to replace Dun & Bradstreet financing
EXCLUSIVE: The private equity firm is going with the Ares-led private credit loan rather than tapping banks to raise debt in the capital markets 

Trump victory raises hopes for high yield markets, M&A revival
Leverage finance markets cheered Donald Trump’s win on the prospect the former president’s return to the White House will unleash deregulation and M&A, lower taxes and higher economy growth

BNP Paribas announces negotiations to buy AXA IM
BNP Paribas said it entered exclusive talks to buy AXA's asset management unit and set-up a partership for EUR 5.1bn

New report finds 2023 a record year for alternative credit M&A
A new report on “Acquisitions of Alternative Credit Managers” by credit specialist Gapstow forecasts that more M&A activity lies ahead for credit firms as they struggle with the challenges facing the broader investment management industry

Impax Asset Management scoops up Danish boutique manager
Impax Asset Management, an asset manager that invests in the transition to a more sustainable economy, has agreed to buy a boutique Danish business

Manulife Investment agrees deal to buy CQS
Manulife Investment Management, the global wealth and asset management portion of Manulife Financial Corporation, has agreed to buy London-based alternative credit manager CQS, including the CQS credit platform and CQS brand

Aquarian buys minority stake in Obra
Obra Capital revealed in Monday that it had sold a minority equity ownership stake to Aquarian Holdings

Obra completes acquisition of KDP assets following bankruptcy filing
Obra Capital has acquired the assets of KDP Investment Advisors following the latter firm's chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May of this year

FS and Portfolio Advisors join forces to create $73bn asset manager
FS Investments and Portfolio Advisors have announced a merger in a deal which will see Portfolio Advisors become the institutional investment arm of FS

Franklin Templeton wraps up deal for $35bn Alcentra
Franklin Templeton has completed its acquisition of BNY Mellon’s $35 billion credit unit Alcentra

Aristotle boosts credit business with Pacific AM acquisition
Pacific Life Insurance Company has agreed to sell its credit asset manager – Pacific Asset Management – to Aristotle Capital Management

Credit managers form partnerships as they eye growth
Two credit managers have struck new relationships

Spac pricing hints at Sound Point's growth ambitions in loan market
Sound Point Acquisition Corp has priced a $225 million IPO, signalling that credit asset manager Sound Point Capital Management is looking to expand its platform

Gapstow expects strategic deals as credit manager M&A volume slumps to $120 billion
M&A volume involving credit asset managers dropped last year with total target value assets under management slumping to $120 billion from $149 billion in 2020 (and $254 billion in 2019), according to Gapstow Capital Partners

Wells Fargo AM becomes Allspring under new ownership
Wells Fargo Asset Management has completed its transformation into Allspring Global Investment 

Bennett Goodman's Hunter Point buys stake in MidOcean
Hunter Point, which was launched by Blackstone Credit’s co-founder Bennett Goodman alongside Avi Kalichstein in 2020, has made its first investment and bought a minority stake in mid-market specialist MidOcean

T Rowe Price to buy Oak Hill for up to $4.2 billion
Oak Hill is set to become T Rowe Price’s private markets platform, led by Oak Hill’s chief executive officer Glenn August