Exclusive: Blackstone set to back AI ‘droid’ firm at $3.5bn valuation AI Blackstone is weighing a fresh funding injection for Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence firm Factory in a deal likely to value the coding company at more than $3.5bn, Morning Wire has learned. The New York-headquartered investment giant, which has been ploughing cash into AI firms and digital infrastructure in recent years, is considering the investment as part [...]
Clifford Chance partners pocket £2.3m as private markets drive growth Law Magic circle firm Clifford Chance’s revenue surpassed £2.6bn for the first time, largely driven by the surge in private market work. The firm’s revenue was up 9 per cent from £2.4bn last year, as the Canary Wharf-headquartered firm said that while all service lines performed well, the hike was driven largely by “momentum in the private markets” [...]
Private credit firms draft in City advisers to help with ‘meltdown’ stress test Banking Firms taking part in the Bank of England’s inaugural private credit stress test have been allowed to draft in external City advisers to help them manage the substantial workload required to respond to the doomsday scenario, which participants have branded “extremely severe”. So-called shadow banks will be allowed to lean on consultants, two people involved [...]
Bank of England unveils Armageddon stress test scenario ‘more severe than the financial crisis’ June 19, 2026 The Bank of England is poised to probe how private markets’ respond to a theoretical financial Armageddon scenario in which stocks plummet and prices soars that industry figures have said is more severe than the global financial crisis. Watchdog officials will scrutinise how alternative asset managers react to the scenario’s five-year downturn in financial conditions [...]
Blackstone looks to shed $2bn of stakes in private investment funds June 8, 2026 Blackstone is looking to offload over $2bn of stakes held in private investment funds, presenting a test of investors’ appetite for ageing private equity vehicles. The firm is promoting a so-called collateralised fund obligation (CFO), which will bundle more than $2bn (£1.5bn) of stakes in leveraged buyout funds into bonds to sell to investors and [...]
Google and Blackstone take aim at Nvidia in $5bn AI bet May 19, 2026 Alphabet’s Google and Blackstone are launching a $5bn (£3.7bn) AI infrastructure firm in one of the clearest signs yet that Big Tech is trying to loosen Nvidia’s grip on the AI boom. The deal, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal, will see the pair create a new US-based AI cloud and data centre [...]
‘Alarming’ lack of private credit understanding in finance bosses May 5, 2026 The elusive nature of the private credit industry has been called further into question with fresh data revealing less than one in five financial services leaders fully understand their exposure to the sector. A fresh report from Big Four firm KPMG has found just 14 per cent of financial services executives believe they are fully [...]
Blackstone, Saudi wealth fund collect £4m dividends from four Morrisons stores May 4, 2026 Private equity firm Blackstone and the Saudi sovereign wealth fund have handed themselves £4m in dividends from their ownership of four Morrisons supermarket buildings. The pair acquired the sites – in Maldon, Stockport, Harrogate and Newcastle – for £110m in 2023 as part of a sale and leaseback arrangement which saw the supermarket chain sell [...]
Blackstone swoops on Senior in £1.3bn aerospace supply chain play April 7, 2026 Manufacturing giant Senior has agreed to a £1.3bn takeover by a consortium backed by Blackstone and Tinicum, marking the latest London-listed industrial firm to be taken private as overseas buyers target UK assets. The recommended all-cash offer values the FTSE 250 engineer at £1.28bn, with an implied enterprise value of roughly £1.4bn, the companies told [...]
Goldman Sachs flagship private credit fund bucks industry sell-off April 7, 2026 Goldman Sachs’ flagship private credit fund has said investors looked to pull less than five per cent of their holdings in the first three months of this year, dodging an industry-wide redemptions wave that has forced some rivals to gate their funds. The investment bank’s direct lending arm, which functions like a private equity fund [...]