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Enjoy this week's recap!

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Theme News Coverage

Tariffs/ Trade War

Read our comprehensive Weekly Trade War Round-Up. Summary below.

This week, tariff policy disruptions deepened as the U.S. eliminated the de minimis exemption, China granted partial tariff relief, and major companies like GM, UPS, and Shein cut forecasts or paused strategic plans. While markets rallied on hopes of eventual negotiations, policy signals remained mixed, corporate warnings mounted, and trade-driven inflation pressures continued to ripple through supply chains and consumer pricing.

Weekly Index Performance

• S&P 500: +2.92% (5686.67), YTD: -3.31%

• Nasdaq Composite: +3.42% (17977.73), YTD: -6.90%

• Dow Jones: +3.00% (41317.43), YTD: -2.88%

• Russell 2000: +3.22% (2020.74), YTD: -9.39%

• VIX: -8.70% (22.68), YTD: +30.72%

• 10Y Treasury Yield: +1.17% (4.32% Yield), YTD: -5.49%

• Gold: -1.67% (3247.40), YTD: +22.96%

See more: Tariff tracker: our page covering Trade War & Tariff news and the US companies most at risk

AI

• Alibaba (BABA) unveiled its Qwen3 AI model series—including two mixture-of-experts (MoE) variants—that matches DeepSeek on advanced math and coding benchmarks and rivals hybrid reasoning systems from Anthropic and Google, while significantly lowering deployment costs versus leading alternatives. …

• Nvidia (NVDA) publicly rebuked Anthropic’s call for tighter U.S. AI-chip export controls—set to kick in on May 15 under the “AI Diffusion Rule”—after Anthropic warned of Chinese smuggling via “prosthetic baby bumps” and “lobsters.” …

• (4 additional updates: Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia)

See more: Core AI & Infrastructure theme page; Next Wave AI theme page

Space & Defense

• Amazon (AMZN) launched its first 27 Project Kuiper internet satellites aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket—a major milestone in its plan to deploy over 3,200 satellites for global broadband and challenge SpaceX’s Starlink. …

See more: New Space theme page; NextGen Defense theme page

IPOs & Other Initial Public Listings

IPO/ Listing Action

Past week

Last week, there were 13 listings:

• 9 SPAC IPOs raising $1.98 billion — notably Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT) up 10.8%

• 2 traditional IPOs raising $36 million (Smart Digital Group soared 52.8%)

• 1 reverse merger (Jade Biosciences down 2.0%)

• 1 De-SPAC listing (Liminatus Pharma down 19.6%)

Last week’s 9 SPAC IPOs accounted for 25% of this year’s total and for the first time in years a SPAC closed more than 10% above its $10 NAV on day one, driven by renewed deal momentum, notably Cantor Equity Partners’ (CEP) merger with Bitcoin firm TwentyOne (and Microstrategy comp), which has surged over 340% since its April 23 announcement.

See more: Latest Listings

Expected IPOs

• Aspen Insurance Holdings (Pre-listing: AHL) launched its IPO roadshow and published an IPO investor presentation on Retail Roadshow. AHL is looking to raise between $319 million and $341 million by selling 11 million shares at $29-31 per share. …

• American Integrity Insurance Group (Pre-listing: AII) launched its IPO roadshow and published an IPO investor presentation on Retail Roadshow. AII is looking to raise between $103 million and $117 million by selling 6.9 million shares at $15-17 per share. …

See more: Upcoming Listings

Listing Plans, Rumors, and IPO Commentary

See more: Listing Plans & Rumors

IPOs

• Andersen Group, the US unit of Andersen Global — a professional services firm specializing in tax advisory, compliance, and financial consulting, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the United States. …

• eToro (ETOR), the Israel-based trading and investment platform, is preparing to launch its U.S. IPO as early as next week after pausing the process in early April due to market volatility driven by tariff concerns. …

SPACs

• SPAC Black Hawk Acquisition Corporation (BKHA) entered into a definitve agreement to merge with cancer therapeutics biotech Vesicor in a deal that values the company at a $70M pre-money equity value. — PR

Spinoffs

• DuPont (DD) announced that its planned spin-off of the Electronics business will be named Qnity Electronics, Inc., positioning the new entity as a pure-play public company focused on providing advanced materials solutions for the semiconductor and electronics industries. …

• S&P Global (SPGI) announced a planned spin-off of its Mobility segment—encompassing CARFAX, automotiveMastermind, Polk Automotive Solutions and Market Scan—into a standalone public company within 12–18 months. …

Post-Listing Coverage/ Commentary

• A Delaware judge dismissed a lawsuit against Palantir (PLTR) founders Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Alex Karp, and board members, rejecting claims that they conspired to profit from insider trades linked to Palantir’s investments in SPACs. …

IPO Candidates

See more: IPO Candidates

Series C+ and Prominent Fundraising

AI

• London-based AI infrastructure startup Nscale is seeking to raise about $2.7 billion to build global data centers equipped with Nvidia’s GB200 chips, primarily targeting AI model training for clients like ByteDance. …

• Utilidata, a leader in edge AI for energy systems, raised $60.3 million in a Series C round led by Renown Capital Partners, with participation from Quanta, NVIDIA, and Keyframe Capital. …

• Supio, a legal AI platform serving personal injury and mass tort plaintiff law firms, raised $60 million in a Series B round led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Mayfield and Thomson Reuters Ventures, bringing its total funding to $91 million. …

• Rogo, an AI company developing large language models tailored for financial analysis, raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Thrive Capital, with participation from J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners, Tiger Global, and Positive Sum Ventures. …

• (1 additional update: Plenful)

AI-Powered Software

• Cast AI, a Kubernetes automation platform, closed a $108 million Series C funding round led by G2 Venture Partners and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Aglaé Ventures and existing investors including Hedosophia and Cota Capital. …

• Israeli startup Lightrun, which offers an observability platform for proactive code debugging, raised $70 million in a Series B round co-led by Accel and Insight Partners, bringing its total funding to $110 million. …

Aerospace/ Defense

• Apex Space secured $200 million in a Series C round—led by Point72 Ventures and co-led by 8VC, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners and StepStone Group—to scale production of its high-rate configurable satellite bus platforms amid surging customer demand. …

• True Anomaly closed a $260 million Series C round led by Accel (with Meritech Capital and existing backers including Eclipse, Riot Ventures, Menlo Ventures, 645 Ventures, ACME Capital, Space VC, Champion Hill Ventures, and Narya), alongside a debt facility from Stifel Bank, to accelerate its autonomous space-defense platform development. …

• (2 additional updates: ARX Robotics, Near Space Labs)

Mobility

• indiGOtech closed a $54 million Series B round—led by strategic investors FedEx, Foxconn, and FM Capital—to scale production of its SmartWheels-powered EV and AV platforms and launch its GO Loop service hubs. …

Cybersecurity

• Veza, an identity security company, raised $108 million in a Series D funding round led by NEA, with participation from new investors Atlassian Ventures, Workday Ventures, and Snowflake Ventures, along with existing backers including Accel, GV, and J.P. Morgan. …

• Persona, a verified identity platform, raised $200 million in a Series D round co-led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, bringing its valuation to $2 billion. …

(2 additional updates in fintech and healthtech)

Public M&A + Prominent Private Deals

Public M&A

Merger Announcements

• German life-sciences and chemicals company Merck KGaA has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SpringWorks Therapeutics (SWTX) for $47 per share in cash, valuing the company at approximately $3.9 billion in equity and $3.4 billion in enterprise value. … / Deal Page

• Regulus Therapeutics (RGLS), a biopharmaceutical company developing microRNA-targeting medicines for diseases such as Alport syndrome, has agreed to be acquired by Novartis for $7.00 per share in cash, valuing the upfront deal at $0.8 billion—representing a 274% premium to its 60-day VWAP. … / Deal Page

• Concentra Biosciences will acquire Kronos Bio (KRON) for $0.57 cash per share plus one contingent value right (CVR), under which Kronos shareholders receive between 50%–100% of net proceeds from near-term dispositions of its pipeline assets (KB-0742, lanraplenib, entospletinib pre-closing; KB-9558, KB-7898 post-closing) and sliding percentages (50%–80%) of cost-savings realized up to three years after closing. … / Deal Page

See more: Active M&A

Closings

• QXO (QXO) completed its $11 billion acquisition of Beacon Roofing Supply at $124.35 per share, making it the largest publicly traded distributor of roofing, waterproofing, and complementary building products in the U.S. …

• Amcor plc (AMCR) closed its $8.47 billion acquisition of Berry Global Group.

• Casago, a vacation rental property management firm, completed its $129 million acquisition of Vacasa, one of North America's largest vacation rental platforms.

• electroCore (ECOR) completed its merger with NeuroMetrix, creating a diversified bioelectronic technology leader in non-invasive health and wellness solutions. …

See more: Closed M&A

Live Deal Coverage and Updates

• Ares Management is syndicating a $5.5 billion private-credit package—including a $5 billion term loan and a $500 million revolver, priced at SOFR + 525–550 bps with a 99 ¢ OID—to replace Clearlake’s 364-day, $5.75 billion bridge loan for its $7.7 billion Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) buyout. … / Deal Page

Potential M&A

Talks / Offers

• Shell (SHEL) is actively consulting advisers on a potential takeover of BP (BP)—though no formal approach has been made—and is closely monitoring BP’s share price, which is down nearly 30% over the past year amid a stalled turnaround plan and weak oil markets. … / Deal Page

• WiseTech Global confirmed it is participating in a strategic review of U.S.-based cloud logistics firm E2open (ETWO), amid reports it may pursue a buyout valued up to A$3.5 billion (US$2.23 billion). … / Deal Page

Exploring Sale / Strategic Alternatives

• LiveOne (LVO), a music, entertainment, and technology platform, announced a strategic review to explore options for enhancing shareholder value following the $207 million sale of Napster. …

• Li-Cycle (OTC: LICYF), a Canadian battery recycling startup, is actively seeking buyers after a potential acquisition by Glencore Plc failed to materialize. …

• Olo (OLO), a restaurant software provider backed by Danny Meyer and The Raine Group, is exploring a potential sale and has engaged a financial adviser to assess interest from prospective buyers. …

• (2 additional updates: SNAX, CLRB, EHLD)

See more: Potential M&A

Prominent Private/Int’l Deals (non-US listed and private targets, including public subsidiaries)

Announcements/ Closings

Potential M&A

• Ripple approached Circle (Pre-listing: CRCL) with a $4 billion–$5 billion takeover proposal for the stablecoin issuer—home to one of the world’s largest dollar-pegged tokens—but Circle deemed the bid too low and declined. …

• Deliveroo (OTC: DROOF) shares rose 17% after announcing it had received a $3.6 billion cash buyout proposal from DoorDash (DASH) at 180 pence per share, representing a 22.8% premium to its prior closing price. …/ Deal Page

• Alphawave IP Group (OTC: AWEVF) announced that the UK Takeover Panel has extended the deadline for Qualcomm (QCOM) to submit a formal takeover offer to May 12, 2025, amid ongoing discussions. … / Deal Page

• J&J-backed HistoSonics is weighing a sale at a valuation north of $2.5 billion after fielding multiple takeover approaches. Potential acquirers—including Medtronic, GE HealthCare, and Johnson & Johnson itself. …

Post-M&A Activity & Market Commentary

• A group of banks led by Morgan Stanley successfully sold the final $1.23 billion tranche of debt tied to Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of X Holdings Corp. (formerly Twitter), marking the end of efforts to offload the $13 billion financing package. …

Activism, Shorts, & Other Special Situations

Activism, Investor Disputes & Shorts

Activism

• Activist investor Palliser Capital UK’s resolution to compel Rio Tinto (RIO) to review its dual-listing structure—facilitating a London and ASX listing that shares financials and dividends across two entities—garnered nearly 20% support but fell short of the 75% supermajority required across both listings to pass. …

• Activist hedge fund Third Point, led by Daniel Loeb, disclosed a “meaningful” stake in U.S. Steel (X) and expressed confidence that its planned merger with Japan’s Nippon Steel will close—citing the strong “industrial logic” of combining America’s flagship steelmaker with one of the world’s largest producers. …

See more: Activism

Short Reports

• Short seller Kerrisdale Capital published a report targeting D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) titled 'Past-Gen Computing'. — Kerrisdale Capital

• Short seller Grizzly Research published a report targeting Nexstar Media Group (NXST) titled 'Nexstar Is Failing With Its Digital Strategy and Will Face Its Kodak Moment Soon'. — Grizzly Research

Separations/ Antitrust Updates

• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF.A/ LGF.B) will formally complete its split into two independent public companies: Lionsgate Studios (LION), which was already carved out into a separate company via a SPAC merger last year, will focus on film and TV production, while Starz Entertainment (STRZ) will comprise of the media networks business. …

• CEO Sundar Pichai warned in the remedies phase of the DOJ’s search-monopoly trial that forcing Google (GOOG) to share its search index and ranking data “at marginal cost” would be “far-reaching” and potentially fatal to its Search business, which underpins ongoing R&D investments—approximately $49 billion spent last year across Search, AI and other projects. …

• Sony (SONY) clarified that recent media reports (April 28–May 4, 2025) suggesting it’s planning a partial spin-off of its Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS) semiconductor business are unfounded.

Bankruptcies/ Delistings

Bankruptcies/ Liquidations

• The court-supervised sale of bankrupt DNA databank 23andMe (OTC: MEHCQ) has been delayed as the company seeks a “stalking horse” bidder that can swiftly clear HSR and CFIUS reviews and guarantee adherence to existing privacy policies, missing its original Friday deadline and now targeting a binding bid by May 7 to unlock an additional $25 million of debtor-in-possession financing. …

Other Delistings/ Downlistings

• (5 additional updates)

Thanks for reading,

The team at ListingTrack

Market Data and Coverage: All market data presented is based on the stock prices at the close of the previous trading day. We cover the US market only at this time.
Abbreviations: PR: Press Release, SF: Company SEC filing, IP: Investor Presentation, BB: Bloomberg.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this newsletter is for your convenience only and is not intended to be treated as financial, investment, tax, or other advice. ListingTrack and its parent, CommonFi, do not make any guarantees, representations, or warranties as to, and shall have no liability for, the timeliness, truthfulness, sequence, quality, completeness, or accuracy of any of the information or data provided in this newsletter or on the ListingTrack website.