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COVER STORY

Persistent pestilence: parsing PE’s ‘zombie’ problem

Zombie companies can exert a drag on economic performance at both company and economy-wide level, highlighting the need for stronger lending disciplines and more rigorous due diligence.

FEATURES

Industrials M&A accelerates toward 2027

Heading into 2027, the industrials sector appears well positioned for continued M&A activity. From onshoring and electrification to infrastructure investment and digital transformation, investors remain focused on a broad range of mission-critical industrial businesses.

Divestitures: preparing assets for a successful sale

For companies considering a sale, the challenge is not simply to identify a willing buyer but to ensure the asset is positioned to attract competitive interest, withstand scrutiny and achieve a successful separation.

Harnessing AI for smarter post-deal integration

AI is becoming an increasingly valuable integration tool. It can help organisations analyse large volumes of information, identify patterns and automate time-consuming processes, supporting faster, more informed decision making.

Agile and responsive: UK sets out digital payments vision

Part of the government’s National Payments Vision, the consultation proposes a more agile and responsive regulatory framework designed to promote innovation across the UK payments sector.

Grey-area decisions: the rise of ‘all-green’ fraud

As all-green fraud continues to evolve as a key challenge for FIs, organisations are finding it increasingly difficult to identify scams involving customers who successfully authenticate transactions but are ultimately being manipulated by criminals.

WORLDWATCH

Bankruptcy and restructuring

While many restructurings are still negotiated consensually, offering greater flexibility around enforcement and recapitalisations, some businesses face challenges that cannot be resolved through balance-sheet measures alone. FW moderates a discussion between Cristina Gomez-Clark at Alvarez & Marsal, Quentin Olde at Ankura, Mihir Bhatt at Kroll, Mark Meili at Prager Dreifuss Ltd, and Ulrich Klockenbrink at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

SPECIAL REPORT

Fintech

The race to build tomorrow’s financial infrastructure

As regulatory frameworks mature, firms with strong controls, robust governance and well-established compliance capabilities are likely to be better positioned to expand and capture new opportunities.

Q&A: Fintech: monitorships, independent reviews and compliance transformation

AI is going to make fraudsters better at what they do, which means organisations will need to become much better at identifying, preventing and responding to fraudulent activity. FW discusses monitorships, independent reviews and compliance transformation in fintech with Stella M. Mendes, Jaco Sadie, Andrew McCarthy, Ayse Duran and Mike Walters at FTI Consulting.

TALKINGpoint

Transactional risk insurance and the evolution of Japanese M&A

Attitudes toward transactional risk insurance in Japan have become more sophisticated as familiarity with the product has increased. FW discusses transactional risk insurance and the evolution of Japanese M&A with Toshifumi Kajiwara, Shuko Shikatani, Takuya Miyazawa and Sumiyo Yamamoto at Time Machine Underwriters.

AI governance: from innovation to accountability

Organisations will increasingly need to demonstrate that their AI systems protect people, data and business interests – not simply to satisfy regulators, but to preserve confidence, retain customers and compete effectively. FW discusses AI governance with Taryn Kilkenny Crane at BDO USA P.C.

BRIEFINGroom

Automotive transition and restructuring: navigating change across the value chain

The strongest companies are reducing complexity, reassessing programmes that cannot earn their cost of capital, and preserving strategic flexibility through modular platforms and partnerships. FW discusses navigating change across the automotive value chain with Timothy Graulich at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Jeffrey Finger at Jefferies and Daniel Steiner at PwC Germany.

DEALfront

mergers & acquisitions

Nvidia strikes $12.9bn deal for AI platform Hugging Face

Following a period of rumour and speculation, semiconductor giant Nvidia announced in September that it has agreed to buy artificial intelligence platform Hugging Face in a deal valued at about $12.9bn.

EverBank to acquire WaFd in $3.9bn reverse merger creating $75bn banking group

US financial services company EverBank Financial has agreed to acquire bank holding company WaFd in a $3.9bn reverse merger that will create a regional banking group with approximately $75bn in assets, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

private equity & venture capital

Baldwin to go private in $7.7bn Sequence and DFO deal

In a deal that will take the insurance giant private, technology holding company Sequence Holdings and private investment firm DFO Management will acquire a majority interest in The Baldwin Group in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $7.7bn.

Platinum Equity completes $6.6bn sale of Urbaser to Blackstone and EQT

In late September, Platinum Equity announced the completion of the sale of Urbaser to private equity firms Blackstone and EQT. The transaction, which was first announced in February 2026, was valued at approximately $6.6bn.

bankruptcy & corporate restructuring

LIV Golf seeks Chapter 11 protection amid planned 2027 relaunch

Controversial breakaway golf league LIV Golf has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey as part of a restructuring agreement with UK private equity firm BC Partners that it hopes will secure the league’s future beyond 2026.

Defence contractor Noble files for Chapter 11

Citing financial distress arising from the loss of several lucrative defence contracts, supply and logistics company Noble Supply & Logistics LLC, along with certain affiliates, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

SPOTlight

Funding the shift: navigating high-yield markets in natural resources

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP As producers grow through acquisition and spend on new capacity, infrastructure and critical minerals, bonds, secured facilities and project debt increasingly sit side by side in the same capital structure. The high-yield market is central to getting that mix right.

Crypto regulation after the CLARITY Act stalls

Venable As this political defeat came into focus, both the SEC and the CFTC began developing and have since implemented or proposed measures intended to fill the gap left by the Act’s failure in the Senate.

Cyber security and the False Claims Act: risks, rules and defences

Steptoe A security deficiency can become a fraud allegation when a company seeks federal funds while knowingly making, or causing, a materially false or misleading representation about its compliance.

Compliance to resilience: lessons from high-reliability industries on managing digital risk

DWF Under the GDPR, accountability is not satisfied merely by being able to produce a policy or a record of processing. Controllers must implement and be able to demonstrate appropriate measures, assess risk to individuals and revisit safeguards where necessary.

AI-washing: when promised productivity outpaces the evidence

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader A business can deploy genuine, useful AI tools and still mislead customers or investors if it treats estimated time savings as established financial returns or overlooks the costs of checking the work those systems produce.

Canada’s Competition Tribunal clarifies private access regime

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP The private application regime under the Competition Act is not a forum for what is, in essence, a commercial dispute between two parties.

Funding the exit: what Argentina’s Labor Assistance Fund tells investors

Marval O’Farrell Mairal Severance is beginning to move from being a contingent liability that surfaces at the worst possible moment to a funded obligation that can be measured, managed and negotiated.

Australian tax guidance on software distribution: business impacts

Johnson Winter Slattery There are two immediate practical implications of the ATO’s views. Taxpayers will need to form or confirm an assessment of the technical risk associated with their arrangements at law and the risk of review and challenge by the ATO.

CONTRIBUTORS

Alvarez & Marsal

Ankura

BDO USA P.C.

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

DWF

FTI Consulting

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader

Jefferies

Johnson Winter Slattery

Kroll

Marval O’Farrell Mairal

Prager Dreifuss Ltd

PwC Germany

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP

Steptoe

Time Machine Underwriters

Venable

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP