MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

International Seaways Expands VLCC Fleet Through Combination with Bruton

By The Maritime Executive 2026-10-17 

[By International Seaways]

International Seaways, Inc. (NYSE: INSW), one of the largest tanker companies worldwide providing energy transportation services for crude oil and petroleum products, today announced the execution of agreements to acquire Bruton Limited (OSL: BRUT), in a series of transactions that values Bruton at approximately $370 million.

The transaction combines Bruton’s 4 VLCC vessels, including newbuildings, with Seaways diversified fleet of approximately 70 vessels across both the crude and product segments.

Seaways has entered into exchange agreements with Bruton shareholders holding approximately 50.5% of Bruton’s outstanding common shares, to immediately acquire those shares in exchange for 0.0519 INSW shares for each Bruton share held (the “First-Step Exchange”). The First-Step Exchange transactions are expected to settle on or about October 20, 2026.

Seaways has also entered into a definitive transaction agreement with Bruton, pursuant to which the Company will acquire all of the Bruton shares that remain outstanding following the completion of the First-Step Exchange in a cash and stock merger (the “Merger” and, together with the First-Step Exchange, the “Transactions”). Seaways expects to issue approximately 3.12 million INSW shares in the Transactions, representing approximately 96% of the aggregate consideration payable in the Transactions, with the remainder settled in cash.

Bruton will hold a special meeting of shareholders on or about October 30, 2026, to vote on the proposed Merger. The Bruton shareholders party to the First-Step Exchange have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the Merger. The Merger is expected to close promptly following the Bruton special meeting of shareholders, subject to the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Additional details with respect to the structure of the Transactions will be included in the Company’s current report on Form 8-K, expected to be filed today with the SEC.

Lois K. Zabrocky, International Seaways President and CEO commented, “We're excited about the opportunity to expand and modernize our fleet through this accretive transaction with Bruton. The transaction underscores our disciplined approach to growth. Following completion of the transaction, Seaways will remain well-positioned to continue executing on our growth strategy, generating attractive returns and creating long-term value for our shareholders.”

Preliminary Third Quarter 2026 Results

The Company also today announced selected preliminary financial results for the third quarter of 2026.

Based on information currently available, the Company expects:

•    Shipping Revenues and Other Operating Revenues of approximately $480-$490 million
•    Net income of approximately $340-$350 million, which includes a gain on the sale of a 2012-built Suezmax of approximately $50 million
•    Total Liquidity was approximately $965 million as of September 30, 2026, including cash (and short-term investments) of $455 million and $510 million of undrawn revolving credit capacity.

Results for the third quarter were driven primarily by strong market conditions that resulted in blended spot earnings of approximately $68,000 per day compared to $79,000 per day in the second quarter of 2026 and $29,000 per day in the third quarter of 2025. During the first three weeks of the fourth quarter, the Company has fixed blended spot earnings of approximately $180,000 per day on about 37% of expected fourth quarter revenue days. Blended spot earnings exclude revenues associated with profit-share components of the Company’s time charters.

These preliminary results are based on management's initial review of operations for the quarter and are subject to completion of the Company's financial closing procedures. Actual results may differ from these preliminary estimates and will be reported in the Company's full earnings release on November 5, 2026.

Advisors

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

CMA CGM Group Completes Acquisition of FedEx Supply Chain

Published Oct 3, 2026 12:43 PM by The Maritime Executive

[By CMA CGM Group]

•    Advances CMA CGM Group’s long-term strategy to build integrated, end-to-end logistics solutions.
•    Reinforces the Group’s investment commitment to the United States, a strategic market for its long-term growth.
•    Nearly triples the North American contract logistics footprint of CEVA Logistics, the Group’s logistics subsidiary.

The CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, today announced the successful closing of its acquisition of FedEx Supply Chain, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., at an enterprise value of $1.4 billion.

The completed acquisition significantly expands CEVA Logistics' North American contract logistics operations and reinforces CMA CGM's more than 25-year commitment to investing in the United States. It also advances the Group's strategy to provide comprehensive end-to-end logistics solutions spanning ocean shipping, terminals, inland transport, warehousing and value-added logistics.

With the integration of FedEx Supply Chain's assets and nearly 10,000 team members, CEVA Logistics is now one of North America's leading contract logistics providers. This acquisition triples the north American logistics footprint of CEVA Logistics, adding approximately 34 million square feet of warehouse space. The combined business operates approximately 150 warehouses, expanding CEVA's presence in North America to more than 240 locations with a workforce of approximately 20,000 people.

Beyond physical footprint, the acquisition combines complementary digital and operational capabilities, accelerating the deployment of automation and robotics across the North American network. It also deepens CEVA's sector expertise in healthcare, technology, consumer and retail, enhancing its ability to manage complex, end-to-end supply chains across the United States and Canada.

In parallel, the CMA CGM Group and FedEx also enter into multi-year commercial agreements related to air and ocean freight, unlocking broader global collaboration.

CMA CGM will become a preferred ocean carrier for FedEx, offering transport and carrier services under a non-exclusive agreement.

The two companies also plan to collaborate on an air cargo capacity agreement on key strategic routes, including Asia-Europe. This will strengthen their respective global networks, improving aircraft utilization and providing greater flexibility on long-haul routes. This will also further reinforce CMA CGM’s capabilities as an integrated logistics solutions provider across ocean, air and land.

Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, stated: “The completion of this acquisition marks an important step in the development of CMA CGM and CEVA Logistics in North America. By significantly expanding our contract logistics capabilities, we are strengthening our ability to offer customers integrated, end-to-end supply chain solutions across ocean, air, land and logistics. It also reinforces CMA CGM’s long-term commitment to investing in the United States, a strategic growth market for the Group, and supporting the resilience and efficiency of its supply chain.”

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

How Bill Gates’ Billions Shape US Medical Research – OpEd


Image: Grok


September 23, 2026

By Paul Thacker

Key Takeaways:

On the eve of Bill Gates’s private congressional testimony, RealClearInvestigations cites NIH whistleblower emails arguing the Gates Foundation, via the Foundation for the NIH, has steered U.S. biomedical priorities since a 2003 $200 million gift and later joint workshops, trials, and grant alignment across multiple NIH programs. The foundation and NIH did not comment to RCI.

Documents describe Gates-first billing on federal-campus meetings, a 2015 Ebola alignment that hired McKinsey through FNIH, and a 2016 visit where Francis Collins escorted Gates past NIH police; Fauci moderated a panel and another covered gene-drive mosquito work Gates had seeded. FNIH later honored Gates (~$413 million) and Pfizer.

The piece also flags foundation investments (CureVac, a BioNTech stake later sold at a large gain) as blurring charity and profit, quotes an official on a “merging” of NIH and Gates, and notes Target Malaria’s Burkina Faso pause. Critics ask who elected Gates to set federal research direction.

Bill Gates has long been one of the most admired people in the world, especially since he stepped down from his role running Microsoft to devote himself and much of his fortune to philanthropy. That reputation has been tarnished recently, however, by revelations of the billionaire’s close relation with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and exposés on his own fraught relationships with women.

On the eve of Gates’ private testimony with Congress scheduled for tomorrow, a trove of federal whistleblower documents provided to RealClearInvestigations is renewing questions about how Gates money has bought what critics complain is an untoward influence on government health policy. For almost a quarter of a century, his main vehicle of power, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), allowing Gates to shape the direction of the country’s health strategy in ways that have benefitted his own priorities and pet causes while polishing his image as a benevolent global do-gooder.

At a time of growing concern about the power of billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman, Gates’ efforts stand out. Instead of lobbying federal agencies for specific policies, Gates leveraged his wealth to work inside the government, partnering with high-ranking NIH officials to steer taxpayer research funding and design scientific policies for several federal programs.


The cache of several dozen emails and documents, made public for the first time by an NIH whistleblower, reinforces previous reports detailing Gates’s extensive influence over U.S. biomedical research. During the height of the COVID pandemic, Kate Elder, a senior vaccines policy adviser for Doctors Without Borders, complained to Politico, “What makes Bill Gates qualified to be giving advice and advising the U.S. government on where they should be putting the tremendous resources?”

Emails and internal plans, for example, show that the NIH – the world’s largest funder of biomedical research – gave the Gates Foundation first billing for the joint workshops and meetings held on federal property.

The Gates Foundation did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The NIH also declined to comment.

Leveraging Investments

Like most philanthropies, the Gates Foundation tries to grow its endowment through investments. Some of these efforts, especially its stake in vaccine companies, blur the lines between profit-seeking and the foundation’s mission to develop and deliver vaccines around the world. This symbiotic relationship between capitalism and charity also benefits Gates, whose power and position hinge in large part on the size of his foundation’s assets. Before the pandemic, The Nation magazine reported that the Gates Foundation had a $40 million stake in CureVac – this was not a grant but an investment. CureVac was one of many companies the nonprofit bought stock in that were working on COVID vaccines and therapeutics.

Around that same period, the Gates Foundation announced that it had begun to “leverage a portion of its $2.5 billion Strategic Investment Fund” to advance the nonprofit’s COVID work. The Gates Foundation also turned a $55 million investmentin Pfizer’s COVID vaccine partner, BioNTech, into over $550 million when it sold stock a couple of years later after the vaccine hit the market.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was established in 2000 with an initial endowment of $20 billion and a primary focus on reducing global health disparities. Rather than working exclusively through non-governmental agencies, the Gates Foundation began contributing to the NIH through the agency’s own nonprofit, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH). Congress created the FNIH in 1990 as a firewall between NIH officials and outside donors seeking to influence federal research.

That firewall is not ironclad. In 2018, for example, NIH officials, funded by beer and liquor companies through an FNIH grant, were in frequent contact with the alcohol industry while designing a study that seemed predetermined to find alcohol’s benefits but not potential harms, such as cancer. The NIH also declined money in 2018 from drugmakers to support a proposed $400 million research program to discover opioid alternatives and addiction treatments. Like the alcohol funds, that drugmaker money would have also been routed through the FNIH.

Major Grants to Government

In 2003, the Gates Foundation donated $200 million to the FNIH to fund NIH scientific programs, an unprecedented sum. Rice University researchers warned in 2008 that this Gates cash was shifting the NIH’s scientific priorities, even though the money was cycled through the FNIH. While FNIH manages and administers Gates money, they said, the Gates Foundation’s scientific board ultimately “oversees and selects the projects to be funded” at the NIH

After Gates gave an NIH lecture in 2013, NIH documents show that the agency began hosting Gates-NIH Workshops, eventually synchronizing federal research programs with Gates, to include coordinating grant funding and science policies across 10 NIH programs.

“Bill Gates, along with the NIH, the Wellcome Trust, it was this cartel,” the whistleblower, a former NIH official who requested anonymity, told RCI. “This is a globalist movement. And that’s something that I don’t think the public knows.”

The Gates Foundation held its second annual meeting with the NIH in July 2105, with both sides proposing new areas of teamwork, and later agreeing to cooperate on funding and research policies for global health. One area of overlap was the West African Ebola outbreaks. To align the Gates Foundation’s Ebola research with the federal agency, Gates routed money through the FNIH so that NIH employees could hire the McKinsey consulting firm.

According to the NIH’s summary of the 2015 workshop, McKinsey’s study of the Ebola field found 20 therapeutics, eight diagnostics, and eight different vaccines, concluding that the Merck and GSK vaccines were the most advanced.

At no point in the several dozen emails and documents provided to RCI did NIH officials appear to raise any concerns about conflicts of interest regarding their work with Gates, nor the hiring of McKinsey to shape federal research and development policies. McKinsey is a global consulting firm whose clients include dozens of foreign governments and some of the world’s largest corporations.

House Democrats released an April 2022 investigation that documented McKinsey’s conflicts of interest during the opioid epidemic that killed tens of thousands of Americans, finding that McKinsey provided consulting advice to both Purdue Pharma and the Food and Drug Administration from 2008 to 2019. In one example, the report surfaced emails with McKinsey employees congratulating themselves for influencing a 2018 speech on opioid safety by then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb.


When Congress brought McKinsey managing partner Bob Sternfels before cameras during a 2022 public hearing, he alleged that his firm did not have a conflict of interestwhen it gave simultaneous advice to both OxyContin’s manufacturer and the government agency that regulated OxyContin. Two years later, McKinsey paid a $650 million fine to resolve a criminal and civil investigation into the firm’s consulting work with Purdue Pharma.

“The NIH and BMGF have had a long history of interaction, particularly with respect to vaccines and drugs,” reads the NIH summary of the 2015 Gates-NIH meeting.

A longtime NIH official said that the agency’s leadership initially held Gates at arm’s length, but eventually gave in. “They were very suspicious at first,” said the official, who requested anonymity. “But they got caught up in, ‘Wow, he’s the richest man in the world!”

The NIH official added, “What I saw, which really, I think, extends until this day, is a complete merging of NIH and Gates. And I’ve never seen that written anywhere. I don’t think people realize this incredible symbiotic relationship.”
Bill Gates Is Coming!

Bill Gates added a bit of splendor to the Gates-NIH workshop series when he made his first personal appearance at the April 2016 meeting. As part of the meticulous planning for the event, NIH Director Francis Collins held a 45-minute teleconference10 days prior to hash out the meeting’s details with Trevor Mundel, a former pharmaceutical executive in charge of global health at the Gates Foundation.

According to a list of key “milestones and accomplishments” sent at the time to Collins, the Gates Foundation was by then firmly entwined within the NIH ecosystem to include dual workshops, joint clinical trials, combined research policies, and collaborative funding efforts. For example, NIH staff and Gates employees worked together on clinical trials for TB treatment in Africa. Both Gates and NIH employees also began a joint study for TB with support from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

The night before the meeting, the NIH held a reception and a catered dinner, paid by the FNIH, for almost two dozen Gates executives at the Cloisters Mansion, a historic, stone castle in rural Maryland, where actor Will Smith married actress Jada Pinkett.

Emails show that the NIH continued scrambling that night to lock down the arrival of other attendees, which included Obama officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Robert Califf.

To provide Bill Gates a luxury experience, NIH staff prepared Collins – a Nobel Prize-winning scientist – a minute-by-minute itinerary for the arrival of Gates and his retinue the following morning. NIH police were ordered to greet Bill at the facility’s entrance and then escort the billionaire’s three-vehicle convoy the final half mile to one of the main research centers, where the Director lingered in waiting. Such deference to power, said a senior Trump official when reading the Collins itinerary over the phone, is normally reserved for the president, first lady, or visiting dignitaries of state.



“Dr. Collins will meet Bill Gates after he exits the car and steps inside of the building,” the itinerary read. After posing for a photo, Collins was bidden to escort the billionaire into the main auditorium and welcome the audience for Gates.

The agenda shows Collins and Gates Foundation’s Trevor Mundel gave a joint introduction before stepping aside for Bill Gates’s opening speech. Moderated by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the man who would later lead the U.S. medical response to COVID, the first panel included a mix of NIH and Gates executives discussing microbial outbreaks and public-private partnerships to develop pandemic-preventive vaccines.

Collins then moderated a panel on “Research on Engineered Gene Drives and Vector-Borne Disease Control: Status and Next Direction.” Gene drive technology involves inserting specific genetic traits to spread rapidly throughout a population. Gates has long been a fan of gene drives to control mosquitoes, but the technology is highly controversial as it could also drive species to extinction and irrevocably alter ecosystems. The NIH’s scientific program to control mosquitoes with genetic technology was apparently started with seed money from Gates in 2003.

Beginning in 2012, a Bill Gates-funded nonprofit called Target Malaria began a gene drive technology study to eradicate malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Burkina Faso. Last August, Burkina Faso’s government suspended Target Malaria’s project over safety concerns and worries about the excessive influence of Bill Gates on the country’s sovereignty.


Gates only stayed the morning of the 2016 meeting and left before lunch. “Bill Gates is escorted, by Dr. Collins, out of the building through the same hallway he entered,” reads Collins’ itinerary. “NIH Police escort Mr. Gates and staff to the exit gate.”

The meeting ended with a wrap-up and review of next steps, led by Collins and a Gates executive.

Later that year, the FNIH honored the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Pfizer with an award for supporting the NIH’s mission. Gates was recognized for $413 million dollars in donations and Pfizer for $73 million. In a press release announcing the honor, the NIH said, “Their gifts created cornerstone programs and paved the way for our partnerships with literally hundreds of other organizations dedicated to driving biomedical research worldwide.”



The FNIH continues to maintain close ties to pharmaceutical interests, a major NIH funder. The current CEO, Julie Gerberding, came to the FNIH during the COVID pandemic, having previously served as President of Merck Vaccines.

This article appeared at Brownstone Institute and republished from the author’s Substack

About Paul Thacker
Paul D. Thacker is an Investigative Reporter; Former Investigator United States Senate; Former Fellow Safra Ethics Center, Harvard University
View all posts by Paul Thacker →

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Paramount on track to acquire Warner following a deal with US states

21.09.2026, DPA

Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa

The entertainment group Paramount has cleared a major hurdle in its takeover of Hollywood rival Warner Brothers.

Paramount reached an agreement on Monday with several US states that had sought to block the deal, worth more than $110 billion dollars, through legal action.

The agreement stipulates that the merged group will invest more money in the US and specifically in Hollywood, said California's Attorney General Rob Bonta. 

A new editorial oversight board has been agreed for the news channel CNN and Paramount's broadcaster CBS News, designed to safeguard their independence.

Paramount's commitment that the studios will release a combined total of 30 films a year in cinemas, at least for the first two years following the merger, has been reaffirmed, according to Bonta.

The financial news service Bloomberg reported that the screenwriters' union is also dropping its lawsuit against the Warner takeover following an agreement with Paramount. Among other things, the studio has agreed to contribute $17.5 million to a healthcare fund for the writers.

The states led by California argued in their antitrust lawsuit that the concentration of economic power at Paramount would harm Hollywood and the cinema business. 

US media reported that Paramount had threatened to begin the process of moving out of California from October onwards if no agreement is reached.

Paramount was taken over just over a year ago by the family of tech billionaire Larry Ellison.

The Warner group also owns the news channel CNN, whose fate has received particular attention in debates surrounding the takeover. CNN often reports critically on US President Donald Trump. Larry Ellison is known as a Trump supporter.

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Paramount settles with US states, clearing path for Warner Bros. merger

Paramount has reached a settlement with California and 11 other states that clears a major legal hurdle to its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, with the deal imposing commitments on film production, jobs and editorial independence at CNN and CBS News.


Issued on: 22/09/2026 - 
By: FRANCE 24
Video by: Wassim CORNET

Cover image: The Paramount Pictures water tower is seen in Los Angeles, 18 December 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. © Jae C. Hong, AP
01:24




Paramount has reached a settlement with a group of US states that clears the way for its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, officials announced Monday, creating a Hollywood empire spanning television, news and cinema.

Paramount, which is run by David Ellison, whose ultra-wealthy family has ties to US President Donald Trump, won a bidding war against Netflix in February for control of a stable of assets that includes Warner Bros. Pictures, CNN and the HBO Max streaming service.

The Trump administration approved the deal, one of the largest media mergers in years, in June without demanding a change to its business, before 12 US states sued to block the transaction.

Financing for the deal reportedly includes about $24 billion in equity from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. David Ellison's father, billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, also provided funding and a guarantee.


Opponents in the movie industry said the combined company would slash jobs in a Hollywood already under pressure and reduce the number of films produced every year, while news media groups feared CNN's independence could be compromised.

The deal includes several safeguards on these issues, including a board meant to protect CNN's editorial independence.

The news comes just days after Trump banned CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House. The outlets are suing the administration to have the decision reversed.

Paramount had threatened to move out of California if the state's attorney general, Rob Bonta, did not negotiate an end to the lawsuit.

In their complaint, the 12 states argued the combined company would control roughly 27 percent of wide-release theatrical film distribution and a similar percentage of the basic cable channel industry.

California led the suit, joined by Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington, all Democratic-led.

'Facts of the law'

Four states -- Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Minnesota -- had held out but concluded that fighting on without California was not worth the expense, Bloomberg reported.

Bonta told reporters that protecting jobs was a major concern in his handling of the case and acknowledged that many people may be disappointed with his decision to strike a deal.

"My job as attorney general is to look at the facts and look at the law, weigh the options in front of us, and make the best decisions for the people of California," he said.

Bonta said the settlement includes a commitment that the merged studio would produce 30 movies in each of the first two years of the deal, and 32 movies in each of the following three years.

At least four of those films must be independent productions, and at least 20 percent must be blockbusters, Bonta said.

The terms include a financial penalty if Paramount fails to meet the targets.

According to a joint court filing, the deal also requires at least $300 million more in annual spending on US film production by Paramount and Warner Bros. than in 2025.

The companies must also keep both studios' production lots, honor labor agreements and commit funds to workforce training, the filing said.

It also creates a News Editorial Independence Board to set editorial principles for the combined company's news channels, including CNN.

Compliance would be overseen by an internal monitor, an independent trustee and a committee of five states, with the court retaining jurisdiction over enforcement.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Uber to gobble up Delivery Hero in latest food delivery deal

AFP
July 16, 2026

Food delivery giant Delivery Hero operates in dozens of markets worldwide – Copyright AFP Toby Shepheard



US ride-hailing giant Uber has struck a 12.7-billion-euro ($14.6-billion) deal to take over German food delivery behemoth Delivery Hero, the latest consolidation in the industry, the companies said Thursday.

The German firm operates in over 60 markets worldwide and has expanded beyond its traditional food business to “quick commerce”, delivering household items and groceries to customers.

The deal, widely expected after Uber built up a stake in the Berlin-headquartered group, brings together two companies operating in 99 markets which delivered goods and services worth $236 billion in 2025.

“Uber’s global mobility and delivery platform and our shared commitment to innovation make this the right partnership to build on Delivery Hero’s strengths in local food delivery and quick commerce,” said Niklas Oestberg, CEO and co-founder of Delivery Hero.

It is the latest consolidation in the fast-growing global food delivery industry, after US group DoorDash took over Britain’s Deliveroo and Prosus acquired Dutch outfit Just Eat Takeaway.

But the huge deal is likely to attract scrutiny of regulators worldwide due to its potential to reduce competition.

In a bid to placate concerns, Uber will not take over Delivery Hero’s operations in 14 mainly European markets where they already compete, with these businesses instead being sold to a US investment firm.

“There is always a risk with acquisitions that the resulting increase in a company’s market power will be used to push through higher prices,” Kai Hudetz, managing director of the IFH Koeln retail research institute, told AFP.

But he also stressed it was a “major challenge for anti-trust authorities to properly assess acquisitions in the digital sphere”.



– ‘More opportunities’ –



Uber is offering 41.50 euros per share for Delivery Hero — above their price on Thursday of nearly 39 euros — valuing the transaction at 12.7 billion euros.

Shares in Delivery Hero, which was founded in 2011, were volatile in Frankfurt following the announcement, initially dropping over two percent before bouncing back to trade one percent higher.

Uber is acquiring Delivery Hero’s businesses in 50 markets worldwide.

It operates under different brand names around the world: in much of Asia, it is called foodpanda; in parts of Europe and Africa, Glovo; in Latin America, PedidosYa and in the Middle East, talabat.

A US investment firm, SSW Partners, is paying 1.4 billion euros to acquire the German group’s operations in the 14 markets where the firms compete.

Delivery Hero said its management recommended that shareholders accept the offer, and it is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2027.

For the deal to pass, it needs to be accepted by parties holding 50 percent of Delivery Hero stock, plus one share.

The deal had been widely expected after Uber, which also operates food delivery services in many countries on the Uber Eats platform, built up a stake of over 30 percent in Delivery Hero.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said a merger would “extend affordable, reliable delivery to many millions more people in some of the world’s most dynamic economies, while creating more opportunities for merchants and couriers”.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Eni and Mercuria agree to join forces in commodity trading

Bloomberg News | July 1, 2026 | 

Stock image.

Italian oil company Eni SpA and commodity merchant Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. signed an agreement to join forces in trading, seeking growth in an area that has seen huge price swings and profit opportunities during the war in Iran.

The two firms will be combining their main trading books for various commodities including oil, liquefied natural gas and biofuels under a new entity headquartered in Geneva, according to statements on Wednesday.

It’s a big move for both companies — integrating Eni’s physical energy supply chains with Mercuria’s trading expertise could potentially allow them to compete more effectively with larger rivals such as Shell Plc or Vitol Group.

“This partnership brings together two highly complementary organizations,” Mercuria chief executive officer Marco Dunand said. The venture will combine “physical energy flows with world-class trading, logistics and risk management capabilities.”

For Eni, the tie-up could allow it to challenge its larger European rivals Shell, BP Plc and TotalEnergies SE, which are among the largest oil and gas traders in the world, buying and selling far more than what’s produced by their own assets.

For Mercuria, which long has trailed rivals like Vitol, Trafigura Group and Gunvor Group in its physical trading volumes, the deal offers an opportunity to supercharge an expansion push, especially in LNG. The fuel is seen by many in the industry as a key growth commodity, but it has faced setbacks, with Steve Hill, a former senior Shell executive whom it hired in 2024, leaving this year.

Eni and Mercuria expect the joint venture to be operational in 2027, with the two firms equally represented at the senior managerial level, according to a spokesperson for the Italian oil giant. Commodity traders won’t be made redundant, the spokesperson added.

Price volatility caused by the Iran war has created opportunities for companies that buy and sell energy in large volumes. Shell and BP posted first-quarter earnings that far exceeded expectations, thanks to a surge in profit from their extensive in-house trading operations.

Mercuria’s first-half profit jumped 88%, putting it on track for one of its best-ever annual results. For several months, the trading house has been doing deals to grow its access to physical commodities and processing assets, including $1.2 billion to help finance the buyout of a copper mining company in Kazakhstan and a deal to buy an oil refinery and petrol stations in Argentina.

Trading activities for both parties will be exclusive to the JV for the identified commodities, except cases that require joint approval, the spokesperson said, adding that Eni does not currently expect refinery assets to form part of the venture.

Talks between Eni and Mercuria to form a joint venture were first reported by Bloomberg in January.

(By Jack Wittels)

Mercuria signs first uranium financing deal with Malawi miner

Bloomberg News | June 29, 2026 | 

Kayelekera uranium mine in Malawi. Credit: Lotus Resources.

Trading house Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. signed its first prepayment agreement with a uranium miner, striking a deal with the owner of an operation in Malawi.

Australia’s Lotus Resources Ltd. said last week it has signed a non-binding term sheet with the commodity trader for production from the its Kayelekera mine. If finalized, Mercuria will pay up to $30 million and be able to market 3 million pounds of uranium over 30 months.

The arrangement is Mercuria’s maiden foray into financing uranium miners in return for a portion of their output. The market for the nuclear fuel has recovered in recent years following a lengthy downturn after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and demand is forecast to grow as multiple countries – led by China – expand their fleet of reactors.

Lotus acquired the Kayelekera asset in 2020, six years after it was shuttered due to weak uranium prices. The company restarted the mine last year and is targeting annual output of 2.4 million pounds of uranium oxide, although earlier this month it announced a temporary pause in production after the Iran war disrupted sulfuric acid supplies.

Mercuria’s funding – which won’t be available until September at the earliest – will provide “significant additional working capital flexibility to progress the project,” Lotus said. That involves repairing the mine’s acid plant.

Under the marketing agreement, Lotus will retain “full control” over who Kayelekera’s production is sold to, including to power utilities that have existing offtake contracts with the mine, the company said.

A spokesperson for Mercuria declined to comment.

(By William Clowes and Archie Hunter)

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Mining M&A value surges in Q1, but deal count plunges: S&P

Staff Writer | June 10, 2026 | 

Stock image. (By Gorodenkoff.)

The mining industry saw mixed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the first quarter of 2026, with a surge in deal value but a sizeable decrease in the number of transactions, according to S&P Global.

In its latest M&A trends report, the firm highlighted a strong resurgence in deals involving companies in the metals and mining sector during the January-March period, with the combined value of transactions rising 63% over the previous quarter.

At $26.28 billion, the total value of deals represents the second highest ever for a quarter since it began tracking the data in late 2013, S&P said, pointing to the industry’s strategic focus on securing long-term supply.

It also noted that companies in the mining sector are now seeking immediate scale, which explains the surge in corporate-level deals as opposed to asset acquisitions. In total, there were 30 company acquisitions recorded by S&P during the quarter, nearly double the number of asset purchases (16).

However, the report came with a caveat, as Q1 2026 was the first quarter that the firm included steel deals in its coverage. As such, the $10 billion acquisition of BlueScope Steel — the largest of the quarter — likely overstated the increased value of M&A deals compared to past years.

This was also evident in the number of M&A deals, which at 46 was nearly half of the December quarter totals.

Focus on copper-gold remains

Aside from the steel deal, the second and third largest deals centered on gold and copper respectively, an indication of the strong appetite for the two hottest commodities, S&P said. Several large players, including South Africa’s Gold Fields and China’s Zhaojin Mining, have indicated they are open to deals.

As for individual asset buys, the combined value ($3.35 billion) was well above the quarterly average, buoyed by the $1 billion sale of the Copler mine in Turkey, though it was 12% lower than the previous quarter. But compared to the same period last year, the value of asset purchases was a significant 221% higher.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Storied UK Shipbuilder Cammell Laird Sold in Consolidation of Sector

Storied Cammell Laird shipbuilder is part of the consolidation under the Balaena identity (Cammell Laird)

Published Jun 10, 2026 7:26 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The famed UK shipbuilder Cammell Laird has been sold as part of an ongoing consolidation of the sector as firms posture for the anticipated increase in UK defense shipbuilding. The yard, which dates back to 1828, was sold as part of the APCL Group to a relative newcomer to the sector, Balaena.

A maritime engineering and shipbuilding group based in Cornwall, Balaena was launched in 2019 and made its first major acquisition, a shipyard in Gibraltar, in 2022. The Financial Times reports it is paying approximately £150 million (US$200 million) for the group, which consists of Cammell Laird located in Birkenhead as well as A&P Type in Tyneside and the two yards in Falmouth, A&P Falmouth and Falmouth Docks and Engineering Company. The four yards had previously been consolidated into the APCL Group in 2023, which is a subsidiary of the Peel Group.

Balaena highlights that the consolidated company will own 12 dry docks and have more than 2,000 employees with a reach across the UK and to the Mediterranean. It said in announcing the acquisition that the new enterprise “provides the basis for increased support to UK defense interests,” as well as forming the UK’s most comprehensive commercial ship repair and refit networks. It said that, in addition to the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, it will be serving the offshore energy, cargo, cruise, and ferry sectors.

Balaena has already built a strong business with the Royal Navy, with reports that nearly a quarter of the capacity at the yard in Gibraltar is committed to the UK’s Ministry of Defence. The group also owns a smaller shipyard in Cornwall.

The company highlights that it plans to invest in modernizing APCL’s facilities, expanding capacity for ship repair, offshore fabrication, and low-emission propulsion systems. A new national skills and apprenticeship program will also be launched in partnership with local colleges and maritime training bodies to develop Britain’s next generation of maritime professionals.

Cammell Laird is one of the most historic names in UK shipbuilding, having built passenger liners, the famed aircraft carrier Ark Royal commissioned in 1955, and recently the RRS Sir David Attenborough research vessel. It has also recently built blocks for programs, including the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers, submarines, and is involved with the Type 26 frigates. A&P Tyne has also been building for the Type 26 program. Both yards have also provided repair services to the Ministry of Defence.

The company is seen as positioning itself ahead of the government’s announcements for its future fleet as part of the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan. Competition is expected among the remaining established yards as well as the new entrants, including Balaena and Navantia.

Balaena follows others that have also moved to consolidate and reposition ahead of the UK’s anticipated investment in shipbuilding. Spain’s Navantia Group had partnered with the famed Harland & Wolff Shipyard and won the contract for the UK’s Fleet Solid Support (FSS) shipbuilding program. When Harland & Wolff collapsed, Navantia stepped in to acquire the group at the start of 2025 and established a UK shipbuilder with the four yards of H&W. It is moving forward with the FSS program while also being positioned to benefit from the anticipated future contracts.
 

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Frasers makes €2 billion offer for Hugo Boss

AFP
June 10, 2026 

Hugo Boss may get a new boss if a buyout offer by Britain’s Frasers Group is successful – Copyright AFP/File Charly TRIBALLEAU

British clothing group Frasers announced Wednesday a nearly two-billion-euro ($2.3 billion) offer to acquire outstanding shares in German men’s premium apparel firm Hugo Boss.

“Hugo Boss is a key brand partner for Frasers, and one of the top five brands across the Frasers group,” said the British firm, which owns the sporting goods chain Sports Direct and already holds 26 percent of the German brand.

The offer is voluntary, but Frasers noted that it held a significant number of options on Hugo Boss shares that would put its stake above 30 percent and oblige it to make a buyout offer.

Frasers said the offer would allow it to continue to invest in Hugo Boss and expressed its support for the company’s current leadership team.

At 38 euros per share in cash, the offer is worth approximately 1.98 billion euros overall.

But that proposal doesn’t offer Hugo Boss shareholders much of a premium from the 36.46 euros the company’s stock closed at on Wednesday on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

Hugo Boss shares spent much of 2023 above 60 euros per share.

Subject to regulatory approvals Frasers said it hoped the offer could be completed in the second half of this year.

Hugo Boss, which offers apparel, footwear and fragrances in the accessible-luxury segment, posted a net profit of 249 million euros in 2025.

Frasers saw its net profit slide to 292.1 million pounds (339 million euros) in its fiscal year that ended on April 30.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Baleària Completes Canary Islands Acquisition from Armas Trasmediterránea

Baleària completed the Canary Islands portion of the combination reporting it will launch a new brand (Baleària)

Published May 21, 2026 8:45 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Baleària, Spain’s leading maritime passenger and freight transport company, has completed the first phase of the planned acquisition of Armas Trasmediterránea, taking control of the assets in the Canary Islands. It includes both inter-island routes and connections between the mainland and the island and, according to the company, consolidates Baleària’s position as Spain’s leading operator of scheduled maritime transport while also establishing it as one of Europe’s leading ferry operators, in terms of both scale and quality.

The agreement for this acquisition was announced last August, with the company now taking control of the Canary Island assets. The procedures relating to the operations for the Strait of Gibraltar and Alboran Sea are yet to be finalized. The company said the deal would include the management of 15 ships, while other portions of the operations were being sold to DFDS.

This acquisition marks the integration of three historic Spanish shipping companies: Trasmediterránea (founded in 1916), Armas (in 1941), and Baleària (in 1998). The resulting group will have around 4,500 employees and a fleet of over 50 vessels. The combined annual traffic volume will exceed 8 million passengers and 11 million linear meters of cargo, generating a consolidated turnover of over €1 billion (nearly $1.2 billion at current exchange rates). 

"The new Baleària is ready to ensure the efficiency of the entire national maritime transport network across all its regions," said Adolfo Utorm, president of Baleària. “We are talking about a key infrastructure for territorial cohesion with the Canary and Balearic archipelagos, and with the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, as well as a vital link for political and commercial relations with Morocco and Algeria."

As part of this integration, the company has launched the Baleària Canarias brand, through which it will operate in the Canary Islands. During the transitional period, this new brand will coexist with that of Armas Trasmediterránea. 

Baleària has also committed to investing €45 million ($52 million) over the next three years in the Canary Islands to enhance the quality, digitalization, and comfort of the fleet it has acquired. The company has also guaranteed that the entire existing workforce will be retained.

It is a significant consolidation of ferry operations in Spain and its territories. Baleària called it a strategic deal that would increase its competitiveness against the multinational ferry companies.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy agree deal

Monday, 18 May 2026

World Nuclear News

NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have announced plans to combine in an all-stock transaction valued at about USD66.8 billion that they say will create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business.
 

(Image: NextEra Energy, Dominion Energy logos)

The combined entity will operate under the NextEra name and be 74.5% owned by NextEra Energy shareholders and 25.5% by Dominion Energy shareholders. It will serve around 10 million accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The combined entity will have 110 GW of generating capacity, including considerable nuclear energy capacity - NextEra Energy Resources, along with its affiliate company Florida Power & Light Company, operates seven nuclear units at four sites: Turkey Point and St Lucie in Florida; Seabrook in New Hampshire; and Point Beach in Wisconsin. Additionally, it plans to restart the Duane Arnold plant in Iowa, which ceased operations in 2020. The plant is scheduled to become operational at the beginning of 2029, pending regulatory approvals. A power purchase agreement with Google was announced last October.

In January NextEra Energy said it could add up to 6 GWe of small modular reactor generating capacity at its existing nuclear power plant sites or potential new sites, primarily to meet demand from data centres.

More than 40% of the electricity Dominion Energy generates is from its nuclear plants - Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Connecticut, North Anna and Surry nuclear power plants in Virginia and VC Summer in South Carolina.

John Ketchum, chairman, president and CEO of NextEra Energy, said: "This is a historic moment for our two companies and for the states we are privileged to serve. Electricity demand is rising faster than it has in decades. Projects are getting larger and more complex. Customers need affordable and reliable power now, not years from now. We are bringing NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy together because scale matters more than ever - not for the sake of size, but because scale translates into capital and operating efficiencies. It enables us to buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently, which translates into more affordable electricity for our customers in the long run."

Robert Blue, chair, president and CEO of Dominion Energy, said: "This combination brings together two strong operating platforms and creates an even stronger energy partner for Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, with the scale and balance sheet to deliver the generation, transmission and grid investments our customers and economies need."

The proposal is that Ketchum will serve as chairman and CEO of the combined company and Blue will serve as president and CEO of regulated utilities and as a member of the board of directors. The combined company's board of directors will include 10 directors from NextEra Energy and four from Dominion Energy. The announcement includes a proposal for USD2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina over the two years after the deal closes.

The two sides expect the deal to close in 12 to 18 months "subject to customary closing conditions and approvals by the shareholders of NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy, the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under Section 203 of the Federal Power Act and approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission".

NextEra-Dominion Energy Merger To Create World’s Largest Electric Utility

By Alex Kimani - May 18, 2026

Leading clean energy utility, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE), has agreed to buy Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) in an all-stock transaction valued at $66.8 billion, marking the largest power utility acquisition on record. The merger unites Florida-based NextEra Energy and Virginia-based Dominion Energy to create the world’s largest regulated electric utility, a power sector titan with an enterprise value exceeding $400 billion including debt.

The historic consolidation is directly driven by the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, with high-performance AI hardware having triggered a massive surge in electricity demand. NextEra, a global leader in wind and solar power, will leverage its clean energy assets to meet the carbon-free electricity requirements of tech hyperscalers like Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META).

NextEra previously secured high-profile deals, including an agreement with Google to revive Iowa’s Duane Arnold nuclear plant.

Dominion operates in Virginia and the Carolinas, with Northern Virginia home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers, also known as the “Data Center Alley”.

PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. power grid operator, has projected that summer peak demand in the Dominion Energy zone (encompassing Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley) to grow by 5.4% annually over the next decade. Because hyperscale data centers run continuously at high load factors, they drive up demand evenly, causing winter peak loads to rise at a 4% annualized rate.

However, the mega-merger faces a complex review process since it requires antitrust clearance and approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) alongside state public utility commissions in Florida, Virginia, and the Carolinas.

Thankfully, Wall Street is generally bullish that the current federal administration’s general openness to corporate mergers may provide a smoother path toward finalization.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

NextEra to Buy Dominion in Landmark U.S. Utility Mega-Merger

By Charles Kennedy - May 18, 2026NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy on Monday unveiled a blockbuster merger agreement that would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility company by market capitalization, as surging U.S. power demand drives consolidation across the sector.

Under the agreement, Dominion shareholders will receive 0.8138 shares of NextEra Energy for each Dominion share they own, giving NextEra investors roughly 74.5% ownership of the combined company and Dominion shareholders about 25.5%. The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

The combined company would serve around 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and control approximately 110 gigawatts of generation capacity spanning natural gas, nuclear, renewables, and battery storage. The companies said more than 80% of the merged business would be regulated operations.

The deal comes as U.S. utilities race to secure scale and capital to meet rapidly rising electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence, data centers, industrial reshoring, and electrification trends. NextEra said the combined company would have more than 130 GW of large-load opportunities in its development pipeline.

To ease regulatory and political concerns over customer impacts, the companies proposed $2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina over two years after closing. They also pledged to retain dual headquarters in Juno Beach, Florida, and Richmond, Virginia, while maintaining Dominion’s regional utility brands.

NextEra Chief Executive John Ketchum said the transaction was designed to improve operating efficiency and lower long-term customer costs as utilities face increasingly complex and capital-intensive infrastructure needs. Dominion CEO Robert Blue said the merger would strengthen the companies’ ability to fund new generation, transmission, and grid upgrades.

The companies expect the merger to immediately boost adjusted earnings per share and project more than 9% annual adjusted EPS growth through 2032. They also said the larger balance sheet could improve credit metrics and lower financing costs.

The merger would significantly expand NextEra’s already dominant position in U.S. power markets. The company is currently the largest renewable energy and battery storage developer in the world through NextEra Energy Resources, while Dominion brings major regulated utility operations and one of the largest offshore wind development portfolios in the United States.

The transaction will require approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and multiple state utility regulators, including commissions in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com