September 01, 2026 | All | All | Active
Global Risk Arbitrage Report / Monthly Update : September 2026
What’s inside: This 63-page report covers latest deal developments, key catalysts, regulatory risks, risk arbitrage spread context, and our independent views across every live situation in our coverage universe. All situations covered in the September 2026 issue are listed below.
August 26, 2026 | Industrials | Europe | Active
easyJet / Apollo Global Management : Deal Insight
Private equity firm Apollo Global Management has agreed to acquire easyJet, seeing off a months-long rival approach from another US financial sponsor, Castlelake. Under the agreed terms with Apollo, easyJet shareholders will receive 715p in cash, an 81.5% takeover premium to the company’s 394p undisturbed price on 28-May-26. The consideration is cum-dividend and subject to a downward adjustment if any dividend is paid before completion (the next one, per Bloomberg estimates, is 15.1p per share and will trade ex-dividend 25-Feb-27). T he easyJet board intends to unanimously recommend the offer and Apollo will fund the cash consideration through equity and interim debt facilities. Certain shareholders can additionally elect to roll over their stakes into unlisted Topco shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to proration: “as an alternative to the Cash Offer, eligible easyJet Shareholders (being those easyJet Shareholders who are not Restricted Shareholders) may elect, in respect of all (but not part) of their holding of easyJet Shares (subject to any Scaling Back as a result of excess valid elections for the Alternative Offer exceeding the Alternative Offer Maximum), to receive (in lieu of the cash consideration under the Cash Offer) unlisted Rollover Shares (being Topco Ordinary Shares).” Rollover shares will carry a three-year lock-up, after which transfers to permitted third parties remain subject to a right of first offer in favour of any Topco shareholder holding 20% or more. easyJet’s board has not yet formed a view on the alternative offer and Barclays, acting for Apollo, will supply a fair value estimate for the rollover shares in the scheme document. The Haji-Ioannou family concert party (easyJet’s Cypriot founder and family), holding 15.31% of easyJet, has given an irrevocable undertaking to elect for the alternative offer; this will lapse if a superior proposal is ...
August 12, 2026 | Real Estate | Europe | Active
SEGRO / Prologis : Deal Insight
UK industrial REIT Segro agreed to a £14.0bn offer from Prologis on 4-Aug-26, under which Segro shareholders will receive 0.0920 new Prologis shares for each Segro share. The stock offer valued Segro at 998.1p per share based on the last trading day before the Rule 2.7 announcement, implying a 39.0% takeover premium to its 742p undisturbed price on 23-Jun-26. It also represents a 14.4% premium to Segro’s last reported EPRA NTA, the industry-standard net tangible asset measure. Segro shareholders may instead elect the “Partial Cash Alternative”, subject to a £3.5bn cap representing 25% of the offer’s total equity value. As the basic alternative, electing shareholders will receive 25% of a fixed 1,031.7p cash price, equivalent to 258p cash + 0.069 Prologis shares. They may also elect for additional cash, at 1,031.7p, although elections will be scaled back pro rata if the £3.5bn cap is exceeded. Non-electors default to the full 0.0920 share ratio. The cash portion will be funded from a £3.6bn committed term loan and existing liquidity. Segro typically pays dividends twice yearly, and through completion its shareholders will retain a 2026 final dividend of up to 22.56p per share (ex-date: 11-Mar-27) and the company’s recently-declared interim dividend (10.14p, traded ex- dividend on 6-Aug-26 and is payable on 17-Sep-26), both of which will not affect the offer terms. Segro has committed not to hold its scheme hearing or deliver the Court Order until after a 2027 AGM approving the final dividend, expected “no later than” March 2027, despite historically taking place in April. If completion is delayed further, a ...
August 06, 2026 | Media | North America | Active
Twelve state attorneys general (AGs), all Democrats and led by California’s Rob Bonta, sued on 13-Jul-26 to block PSKY’s acquisition of WBD, a deal the DoJ had declined to challenge a month earlier. The key question we explore in this report is whether the states are genuinely prepared to take the case to trial rather than settle, and, if they are, who would prevail.
July 21, 2026 | Health Care | North America | Ended
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals / Vertex Pharmaceuticals : Deal Insight
On 6-Jul-26, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, an endocrine disease-focused biopharma, agreed to be acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a dominant biotech in cystic fibrosis (CF) drugs. Under the terms of this $10bn all-cash agreed deal, Vertex is offering $85.00 per Crinetics share, representing a 102.2% one-day premium. Vertex will fund the deal through it existing cash and debt, and it has secured fully committed bridge financing for $4.5bn from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. The deal is subject to Crinetics shareholder approval (50%) and regulatory clearances, including HSR and unspecified foreign regulatory approvals. To date, the companies have filed with German and Austrian antitrust regulators on 10-Jul-26 and 14-Jul-26, respectively, implying an EU-wide notification may not be required. The merger agreement’s MAC contains carve-outs for force majeure events, including tariffs, war, and pandemic, as well as drug trial outcomes. A standard non-solicitation restriction with a fiduciary-out exemption applies only to Crinetics. Both parties agree to use reasonable best efforts to take all actions necessary to obtain regulatory approvals and close the deal, and the burdensome condition restricts offering any remedies relating to businesses of Vertex or, in the case of remedies relating to the business or assets of Crinetics, if such remedy would be material and adverse to Crinetics. Any remedy that is offered must, in any event, be conditioned on completion of the merger. A preliminary proxy as well as an HSR notification will be filed within ...
July 15, 2026 | Health Care | North America | Active
Bio-Techne / Merck KGaA : Deal Insight
On 25-Jun-26, German drugmaker Merck agreed to acquire US life science tools maker Bio-Techne for $11.3bn in an all-cash deal. The $73.00 per share offer represents a 24.0% premium to Bio-Techne’s 24-Jun-26 close and 35.2% over its 14-Jun-26 undisturbed price, the last close before Bloomberg reported that Ananym Capital Management had built a stake and written to the board urging a strategic review that could include a sale. Through completion, Bio-Techne may continue to pay regular quarterly dividends consistent with past practice, subject to a cap set out in a non-public Company Disclosure Letter. Bio-Techne’s board and the relevant corporate bodies of Merck have approved the deal, which Merck will fund from its existing cash and new debt, all while preserving its strong investment-grade rating. Closing conditions include Bio-Techne shareholder approval (50%) and regulatory clearances, including HSR. Foreign regulatory jurisdictions are not disclosed, although Bio-Techne must give Merck its revenue breakdown, by jurisdiction, by 31-Jul-26. Merck will then determine whether approvals beyond those in the Company Disclosure Letter are needed. The merger agreement contains standard representations, warranties and covenants. The MAC definition appears standard, with carve-outs for force majeure events including tariffs, war and pandemic. Bio-Techne has agreed to non-solicitation provisions with a standard fiduciary-out exception. Both parties have agreed to use reasonable best efforts to secure regulatory approvals, yet a Burdensome Condition means neither ...
July 14, 2026 | Health Care | North America | Ended
Apogee Therapeutics / AbbVie : Deal Insight
On 22-Jun-26, AbbVie agreed to acquire Apogee Therapeutics for $10.9bn to bolster its drug pipeline in inflammatory and immunological (I&I) diseases such as atopic dermatitis and asthma. AbbVie will pay $135.11 per Apogee share, representing a 49.5% one-day premium. Both boards have unanimously approved the transaction, which requires the approval of the two classes of Apogee shareholders, being (i) 50% of the voting common stock (APGE US), and (ii) 50% of non-voting common stock (unlisted). Fairmount Funds Management and Venrock Associates, the two founding venture capital firms, together hold 100% of the non-voting shares, and Apogee co-founder Nimish Shah is a partner at Venrock. The funds have entered into voting agreements covering all unlisted non-voting shares and approximately 3.3% of Apogee’s outstanding voting shares. The companies filed a preliminary merger proxy on 2-Jul-26 and very shortly thereafter, a definitive, on 13-Jul-26, which has scheduled the shareholder meeting for 11-Aug-26. Closing is also conditional on regulatory approvals, including US and international antitrust clearances, and the definitive proxy confirmed that HSR notification was made on 6-Jul-26, implying the 30-day waiting period will expire on 5-Aug-26. Outside the US, the companies have notified the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) and the Austrian Federal Competition Authority on 7-Jul-26. The statutory review period will expire on 7-Aug-26 (FCO) and on 4-Aug-26 (FCA). Additionally, the companies disclosed that they have initiated a pre-notification review with the ACCC. With regards to potential CMA and EC reviews, the companies will only make requisite filings if these regulators notify AbbVie in writing of their intention to formally investigate the combination. With the FCO and FCA notified, we expect the deal to ...
July 01, 2026 | All | All | Active
Global Risk Arbitrage Report / Monthly Update : July 2026
What’s inside: This 68-page report covers latest deal developments, key catalysts, regulatory risks, risk arbitrage spread context, and our independent views across every live situation in our coverage universe. All situations covered in the July 2026 issue are listed below.
July 01, 2026 | Industrials | Europe | Active
Intertek Group / EQT-led Consortium : Deal Insight
On 18-Jun-26, British product testing company Intertek agreed to be taken private by Swedish private equity firm EQT for £10.9bn, including debt, after months of negotiations. The headline consideration is 6,107.7p per Intertek share, but this includes the target’s 107.7p of FY’25 final dividend, which has already been paid to shareholders (ex-date: 28-May-26, paid: 24-Jun-26). Any subsequent dividends will result in EQT reducing the cash consideration proportionately. Inclusive of the final dividend, the total offer consideration represents 40.0% takeover premium to the Intertek’s undisturbed share price on 15-Apr-26, the last business day before the approach was made public. EQT is joined by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala, sovereign funds of Abu Dhabi (ADIA’s stake is held through its wholly owned subsidiary Luxinva). Per the agreement, the acquiring entity Bidco will be majority owned by EQT (76%), while ADIA and Mubadala will own 16% and 8%, respectively. Morgan Stanley, the lead financial advisor, confirmed the sufficiency of funds available to fund the deal. The deal is structured as a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement and thus requires shareholder approvals at the Court Meeting (75% in number of shareholders) and General Meeting (75% of votes cast). Intertek directors, consider the offer terms to be “fair and reasonable”, and accordingly, unanimously recommend shareholders to vote in favour of the deal. Directors holding 0.42% of Intertek have offered irrevocable undertakings. A scheme document will be published within 28 days (by 16-Jul-26), and the shareholder meetings will be held ...
June 25, 2026 | Media | North America | Active
On 15-Jun-26, Fox announced a bet on live sports and news streaming by agreeing to acquire Roku for $22bn. Fox will pay $96.00 in cash plus 0.9693 Class A shares for each Roku share, worth $160 per share at announcement and representing a 33.7% premium to Roku’s undisturbed price on 11-Jun-26. Roku doesn’t pay dividends and, through completion, Fox is permitted to distribute “normal semi-annual cash dividends… consistent with past practice.” Fox shareholders will own 73% of the new entity, with Roku shareholders owning the remaining 27%. Both boards approve the deal, and Fox plans to fund the cash portion with cash and debt, supported by $12bn of fully committed bridge financing from Morgan Stanley. Fox’s pro forma net leverage is expected to be 2.8x at closing, including a 50% credit for run-rate cost synergies. Roku’s founder and CEO Anthony Wood will retain “an ongoing role” and join Fox’s board. Conditions include approvals from both sets of shareholders: 50% of Roku Class A and Class B shares, voting together as a single class, and 50% of Fox Class B votes. Wood and related entities (“Sellside VSA Stockholders”), which hold 55% of the Roku votes, have signed a voting agreement; Wood owns 98.7% of Roku’s higher-vote Class B shares (10 votes per share) and 2.0% of Class A shares (one vote per share). On the acquirer side, LGC Holdco (“Buyside VSA Stockholder”) has also signed a voting agreement that covers ...