Capital One acquires Brex in $5.15bn deal

BY Fraser Tennant

In an acquisition that will build on its already-strong position in the business payments marketplace, US bank holding company Capital One Financial is to acquire fintech firm Brex for $5.15bn.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Brex will be acquired by Capital One in a combination of stock and cash, with completion expected in the middle of 2026, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The transaction reflects continued consolidation across the fintech industry, where shifting market conditions and tighter funding have forced many companies to reconsider long-term strategies.

A modern, artificial intelligence (AI)-native software platform offering intelligent finance solutions that make it easy for businesses to issue corporate cards, automate expense management and make secure, real-time payments, Brex also leverages AI agents to help customers automate complex workflows to reduce manual review and control spend.

Over 25,000 of the world’s best companies – from start-ups to enterprises – run their finances on Brex, including DoorDash, TikTok, Anthropic, Robinhood, Crowdstrike, Zoom, Plaid, Intel, SeatGeek and the Boston Celtics.

“Since our founding, we set out to build a payments company at the frontier of the technology revolution,” said Richard D. Fairbank, founder, chairman and chief executive of Capital One. “Acquiring Brex accelerates this journey, especially in the business payments marketplace.”

“Brex invented the integrated combination of corporate credit cards, spend management software and banking together in a single platform,” he continued. “They have taken the rarest of journeys for a fintech, building a vertically integrated platform from the bottom of the tech stack to the top.”

The deal to buy Brex comes eight months after Capital One completed its $35bn acquisition of payments network Discover.

“We started Brex in 2017 as a category creator – bringing together financial services and software into one AI-native platform,” said Pedro Franceschi, founder and chief executive of Brex. “By combining Brex’s payments expertise and spend management software with Capital One’s massive scale, sophisticated underwriting and compelling brand, we can accelerate growth and increase the speed at which we can offer better finance solutions to the millions of businesses in the US mainstream economy.”

Upon completion of the transaction, Mr Franceschi will continue to lead Brex as part of Capital One.

Mr Franceschi concluded: “In partnership with Capital One, we will maximise founder mode and supercharge our next chapter.”

News: Capital One strikes $5.15 billion Brex deal, quarterly profit rises on interest income boost

GSK acquires RAPT Therapeutics in $2.2bn deal

BY Fraser Tennant

In the UK drugmaker’s latest move to bolster its pipeline, GSK is to acquire US biotech RAPT Therapeutics (RAPT) in a transaction valued at $2.2bn.  

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, GSK will pay RAPT Therapeutics shareholders $58 per share in cash within 10 business days of signing. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

A California-based, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing novel therapies for patients living with inflammatory and immunologic diseases, RAPT focuses on discovering, developing and commercialising novel therapies for patients living with inflammatory and immunologic diseases.

The deal to acquit RAPT includes ozureprubart, a potentially best-in-class anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) anti-IgE antibody, in development for prophylactic protection against food allergens. Around 94 percent of severe food allergies are caused by IgE-mediated reactions.

In the US, over 17 million people are diagnosed with food allergies, with more than 1.3 million people suffering severe reactions. Moreover, 65 percent of severe food allergy patients are children and adolescents, resulting in more than 3 million patient visits each year to hospital and emergency care.

The transaction gives GSK the global rights to the ozureprubart programme, excluding mainland China, Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

“The addition of ozureprubart brings another promising new, potential best-in-class treatment to GSK’s pipeline,” said Tony Wood, chief scientific officer at GSK. Food allergies cause severe health impacts to patients with existing treatment requiring injections as frequently as every two weeks. Ozureprubart offers the opportunity to bring sustained protection to patients with dosing every 12 weeks, and is consistent with our approach to acquire assets that address validated targets and where there is clear unmet medical need.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the tender of a majority of RAPT’s outstanding shares of common stock in the tender offer and expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act in the US.

Brian Wong, president and chief executive of RAPT, concluded: This transaction has the potential to provide access to the global development and commercialisation capabilities, resources and infrastructure that GSK has to offer and ultimately bring added value to our pipeline, patients and stockholders.”

News: GSK makes $2.2 billion swoop for RAPT Therapeutics' food allergy drug

Boston Scientific agrees $14.5bn Penumbra deal

BY Richard Summerfield

In a move which will bolster its cardiovascular reach, Boston Scientific has agreed to acquire medtech firm Penumbra in a deal valued at about $14.5bn.

Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the board of directors of each company, the transaction values each Penumbra share at $374, Penumbra stockholders have the right to elect to receive $374 in cash or 3.8721 shares of Boston Scientific common stock, valued at $374 based on the volume weighted average price of Boston Scientific common stock over the last 10 trading days, as of 13 January 2026, subject to proration. The total transaction consideration is approximately 73 percent in cash and approximately 27 percent in shares of Boston Scientific common stock.

The transaction is expected to complete in 2026, ⁠and Penumbra’s chairman and chief executive officer, ‌Adam Elsesser, will then join Boston’s board.

“Penumbra is a well-established company with an experienced, high-performing team and this acquisition offers Boston Scientific an opportunity to enter new, fast-growing segments within the vascular space,” said Mike Mahoney, chairman and chief executive of Boston Scientific. “The addition of Penumbra can expand access for these novel technologies to more patients and customers around the world, further enhancing our revenue and margins over time with proven offerings that have a history of growth and innovation.”

“Our decades-long development of therapies for challenging medical conditions has focused on deep innovation for complex diseases so that we can offer physicians novel solutions to transform patient care,” said Mr Elsesser. “I am grateful for the amazing people who have contributed to this work and look forward to uniting our efforts and shared values as we come together with Boston Scientific.”

According to a statement announcing the deal, Penumbra expects to deliver fourth quarter reported revenue growth in the range of approximately 21.4-22 percent and full year 2025 reported revenue of approximately $1.4bn, representing growth in the range of approximately 17.3-17.5 percent over the prior fiscal year.

Boston Scientific expects to finance the approximately $11bn cash portion of the transaction consideration with a combination of cash on hand and new debt. The transaction is expected to be $0.06-0.08 dilutive to adjusted earnings per share for Boston Scientific in the first full year following the close of the acquisition, neutral to slightly accretive in the second year, and more accretive thereafter. The impact to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings per share is expected to be dilutive in the first full year following the close, and less dilutive or increasingly accretive thereafter, due to amortisation expense and acquisition-related net charges.

News: Boston Scientific beefs up heart device portfolio with $14.5 billion Penumbra deal

U.S. Bancorp strikes $1bn BTIG deal

BY Richard Summerfield

Trading, research and prime brokerage firm BTIG is to be sold to U.S. Bancorp in a $1bn cash and stock deal. The acquisition will see U.S. Bancorp pay $725m in cash and ⁠stock upfront, plus up to an additional $275m in cash over three years, ‍contingent on meeting performance targets.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of applicable closing conditions.

“BTIG’s top talent, capabilities and technology will position us for continued capital markets growth and deeper client relationships,” said Gunjan Kedia, chief executive of U.S. Bancorp. “This acquisition will enable both organizations to deliver greater value, innovation and efficiency to the companies and institutions we serve.”

“With a long history of successful collaboration, we are thrilled to join U.S. Bancorp as a means of increasing our collective impact with institutional and corporate clients,” said Anton LeRoy, chief executive of BTIG. “Our clients will continue to enjoy the same level of high-touch service and attention from our committed leadership team, while our employees will benefit from additional resources and new opportunities as part of a leading global financial institution.”

“BTIG is a world-class firm with talented professionals who align with our unshakable commitment to lasting success and growth for clients,” said Stephen Philipson, vice chair and head of wealth, corporate, commercial and institutional banking at U.S. Bancorp. “BTIG’s addition to U.S. Bancorp is a strategic move to fill key product gaps for our corporate and institutional clients, enabling us to offer a more comprehensive suite of capital markets services. At the same time, BTIG clients will gain access to U.S. Bancorp’s robust financial platform and extensive product set, including investment services, asset management, wealth management and payments.”

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for BTIG,” said Steven Starker, co-founder and executive chairman of BTIG. “Joining forces with U.S. Bancorp will allow us to accelerate our growth and further enhance client service. We are energized by the shared vision between our organizations and confident that our combined capabilities will deliver significant value and drive future success.”

The transaction is expected to have negligible 2026 earnings per share impact and decrease U.S. Bancorp’s Common Equity tier one capital ratio by approximately 12 basis points at the time of closing. The transaction will have no impact on near-term capital return plans.

Founded in 2005, BTIG is among the top 10 US brokers for high-touch equity volume executed and has been part of more than 1275 announced investment banking transactions since 2015. With more than 700 employees, BTIG and its affiliates operate in 20 cities throughout the US, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Following the transaction, the BTIG leadership team will join U.S. Bancorp and continue to lead the business going forward. Mr LeRoy will remain chief executive of BTIG, reporting to Mr Philipson. Mr Starker will continue his current day-to-day role of engaging and interacting with BTIG’s largest institutional and corporate clients and driving business development across all departments.

News: U.S. Bancorp deepens capital markets presence with up to $1 billion BTIG buy

OneStream acquired by Hg in $6.4bn deal

BY Fraser Tennant

In an all-cash transaction that takes the US financial software maker private only 17 months after its initial public offering, OneStream is to be acquired by buyout firm Hg for approximately $6.4bn.  

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, OneStream shareholders will receive $24 per share in cash. The per-share purchase price represents a 31 percent premium to OneStream’s closing share price on 5 January 2026.

Upon completion of the transaction, OneStream will become a privately held company and will no longer be listed or traded on any public stock exchange.

OneStream’s majority voting shareholder General Atlantic, a leading global investor, will also be a significant minority investor alongside Tidemark, a leading technology investment firm.

“This transaction marks a pivotal moment for OneStream and our vision to be the operating system for modern finance,” said Tom Shea, chief executive of OneStream. “As we build on our strong foundation of growth, we are thrilled to partner with the teams at Hg, General Atlantic and Tidemark. Through this partnership, we are able to significantly advance our artificial intelligence (AI)-first go-to-market strategy and expand our finance AI capabilities at a rapid pace.”

With over 1700 customers, including 18 percent of the Fortune 500, a strong ecosystem of go to market, implementation and development partners and 1600 employees, OneStream’s vision is to be the operating system for modern finance.

“We are excited to support Mr Shea and the OneStream team,” said Joe Jefferies, a partner at Hg. “We will seek to preserve the strong customer focus and entrepreneurial culture that have been central to their success, while bringing Hg’s deep expertise in scaling software businesses. This includes support from our AI team of over 100 specialists and supporting partnerships.”

Following closure, Mr Shea will continue to serve as chief executive of OneStream alongside the current leadership team, with the company maintaining its headquarters in Birmingham, Michigan.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by OneStream’s board of directors, is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

“This transaction delivers immediate value to our shareholders and is a vote of confidence in our strategy, our talented employees and our partner ecosystem,” noted Mr Shea. “We look forward to having the ability to move faster, think bigger and deliver more for our forward-thinking finance customers.”

News: Hg Capital to buy OneStream in $6.4 billion take private deal; shares jump 28%