The Week’s Biggest Mergers Unpacked

This week’s M&A landscape features landmark deals and strategic consolidations across media, defense, banking, and energy. As governments and corporate giants realign their assets and influence, mergers are reshaping competitive dynamics and future growth trajectories. From shipbuilding superpowers to streaming rights and European banking maneuvers, here are the most consequential deals of the week.

China State Shipbuilding – China Shipbuilding Industry
China is creating the world’s largest shipbuilding group by merging its two state-owned titans, China State Shipbuilding (CSSC) and China Shipbuilding Industry. The $16 billion merger reunites companies split in 1999 and will command 17% of the global market with over 530 ships on order. It also strengthens China’s strategic posture amid rising global naval tensions, countering U.S. moves to rebuild its own maritime manufacturing base.

Paramount – UFC
Paramount, now owned by Skydance, will become the exclusive U.S. streaming home of UFC events in a blockbuster $7.7 billion deal. The seven-year agreement brings 43 live events annually to Paramount+ and CBS, marking a pivot from UFC’s traditional pay-per-view model. With this move, Paramount accelerates its push into premium sports content, following similar high-stakes strategies from Netflix and Disney.

Prosus – Just Eat
Prosus has secured conditional EU approval for its $4.8 billion acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway, contingent on divesting part of its Delivery Hero stake. The deal will create the fourth-largest global food delivery company and aims to boost AI integration and competition with Uber Eats. Regulatory hurdles were addressed with structural and governance commitments to avoid market distortion in five European countries.

Apollo – Kelvion
Private equity giant Apollo is reportedly close to acquiring industrial heat exchanger manufacturer Kelvion from Triton. While deal terms remain private, the acquisition underscores continued investor appetite for industrial and climate-aligned technologies. Kelvion’s presence in decarbonization-focused sectors may align with Apollo’s broader ESG-driven investment strategy.

Banco BPM – Crédit Agricole
Banco BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna has signaled openness to a potential merger with Crédit Agricole Italia, framing it as an “Italian operation” despite the French bank’s growing stake. While still in early discussions, a deal could create a banking heavyweight with robust asset management capabilities, including Anima via Amundi. The political climate in Italy may now be more favorable for such a cross-border alignment, especially after UniCredit’s bid fell through.

Federal National Mortgage Association – Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
Investor Bill Ackman has proposed merging the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) to drive down U.S. mortgage rates and streamline government oversight. Though still a speculative idea, such a union could dramatically reshape the American housing finance system. Ackman argues the synergies would improve efficiency and enhance investor confidence in the secondary mortgage market.

Omnicom – Interpublic
Omnicom’s $13.25 billion all-stock acquisition of Interpublic has cleared UK and U.S. regulatory hurdles, paving the way to form the world’s largest advertising and marketing agency. The merger includes exchange offers for Interpublic’s debt and aims to close later this year. This consolidation responds to rising competition and demand for integrated digital and data-driven advertising services globally.

BBVA – Sabadell
BBVA is reassessing the synergy potential of its $11.5 billion all-stock bid for Banco Sabadell following regulatory constraints from the Spanish government. The deal now faces delays in achieving cost efficiencies, especially as Sabadell has divested its UK unit TSB. BBVA still sees long-term value in the merger but anticipates a complex integration once restrictions are lifted after three to five years.

PZU – Pekao
Poland’s government is pushing forward with a plan to merge insurer PZU with lender Pekao, forming a financial conglomerate valued at over $27 billion. The move, described as the largest financial M&A deal in Europe in the past year, is still in its early legislative phase, with share exchange terms expected by Q2 2026. A change in PZU leadership signals alignment with national strategic priorities in a consolidating market.

Glencore – Rio Tinto 
Although not a confirmed deal, Glencore’s restructuring of its coal assets and missed H1 earnings have reignited speculation of a possible merger with Rio Tinto. With both companies refocusing geographically and strategically, market watchers see potential for a future tie-up. A deal would reshape the global mining hierarchy and challenge BHP’s dominance, but CEO selection and strategic alignment remain key hurdles.

Infosys – Telstra
Indian tech powerhouse Infosys has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Versent Group, a Telstra subsidiary, for $153 million (A$233.3 million). The move enhances Infosys’ presence in Australia and bolsters its cloud transformation capabilities. It also signals Telstra’s continued streamlining of non-core assets amid evolving market dynamics.

Cardinal Health – Solaris Health
Cardinal Health announced a $1.9 billion acquisition of Solaris Health, a move to deepen its presence in the specialty healthcare sector. The deal, structured through its Specialty Alliance platform, includes 750 providers across 14 states and will be funded through new bond issuances and cash on hand. Despite mixed quarterly results, Cardinal expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings in year one.

Foxconn – FII AMC Mexico
Foxconn has restructured its operations by transferring its Mexican subsidiary, FII AMC, to its Singapore-based Cloud Network Technology unit for $45 million. This internal acquisition tightens corporate structure and aligns the firm’s global investment strategy. It also brings 99.999999986% ownership of the Mexican arm under Singapore control.

EQT – CareNet
The BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth Partnership, under EQT AB, has offered ¥48 billion (approx. $330 million) to acquire Japan’s CareNet Inc.. The all-cash offer has received full support from the board and key shareholders, signaling a likely full acquisition. The deal is expected to enhance EQT’s footprint in Asian digital health and medical education platforms.

CoreWeave – Core Scientific
AI infrastructure firm CoreWeave is making a daring $9 billion all-stock bid for Core Scientific, aiming to secure 1.3 GW of power capacity to meet booming AI demand. This bold move reflects the intense race for energy infrastructure needed to run large-scale AI models. Despite investor concerns over scale and margins, the acquisition could dramatically expand CoreWeave’s power availability.

Brown & Brown – Tire Shield
Insurance broker Brown & Brown has acquired the assets of Tire Shield, a provider of road hazard coverage for tires and wheels. The Las Vegas-based team will retain operations locally. The deal continues Brown & Brown’s strategic expansion into niche coverage markets.

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