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Friday, 10 July 2026

Compiled with AI from public news sources. Folio is editorial commentary for commercial-awareness practice, not legal advice. Verify any detail against the linked sources before relying on it professionally.

All M&A Capital Markets Banking & Finance Energy & Tech Regulation Disputes International AI & Law

Top Story/Capital Markets

SK Hynix raises $26.5bn in US market debut in one of the largest equity offerings of 2026

SK Hynix has raised $26.5bn in its US market debut, completing one of the largest equity offerings of 2026 and capitalising on intense investor demand for AI-linked semiconductor exposure. The listing generated a substantial fee windfall for Wall Street advisers, described by the Financial Times as a contrast to the comparatively modest returns advisers earned on the SpaceX secondary share sale. The deal reflects a broader surge in global equity capital markets activity driven by AI infrastructure investment themes, with semiconductor memory makers positioned as direct beneficiaries of data centre buildout. The offering follows a period during which SK Hynix was reported to be preparing a US listing to tap AI investor demand. The transaction underscores how non-US technology companies are choosing American exchanges over their domestic markets to access deeper pools of AI-focused capital, a trend with implications for competing listing venues including London Stock Exchange. No UK-based advisers are named in the available sources.

The Daily Briefing

Daily commercial law briefings for future City trainees — curated stories, talking points, and firm intelligence, every morning.

Also Today

Blue Owl Capital acquires portfolio of 12 UK private hospitals from Malaysia's EPF in £1.3bn deal

Intellectual property specialist Justice Birss named as next Master of the Rolls and head of civil justice in England and Wales

US direct-lending volume falls 55% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2026 even as private credit fundraising rebounds sharply

FCA details crackdown on illegal financial promotions and financial crime as enforcement posture sharpens

EU approves new antidumping duties on Chinese car and light truck tyres as trade tensions in the auto supply chain escalate

The European Commission has approved new antidumping duties (tariffs imposed to counteract artificially low import prices) on passenger car and light truck tyres entering the Eu…

“EU antidumping duties on Chinese tyres force a contractual renegotiation across every supply chain that ass…”

International

New global law firm Novara launches with offices in Singapore, Tokyo, London and New York targeting cross-border M&A and ASEAN work

Novara, a newly established global law firm, has officially launched with offices in Singapore, Tokyo, London, and New York. In New York, the firm operates through a collaborati…

NovaraBochner

“Singapore-anchored boutiques are competing with Magic Circle firms on ASEAN cross-border work by offering p…”

AI & Law

Legal AI governance debate intensifies as commentators argue different AI roles in legal practice require fundamentally different regulatory frameworks

A prominent debate in legal AI governance has crystallised around the argument that treating all legal AI as a single regulatory category is analytically and practically wrong.…

“Governing all legal AI identically is like applying the same negligence standard to a stapler and a barrister.”

Bigger Picture

Sector Watch

Global M&A Megadeal Surge

Morgan Stanley projects global M&A will hit a record $6.4 trillion in 2026, eclipsing the 2021 boom, with Q2 announced deals surging more than 64% year-on-year led by software, utilities, energy, and healthcare. PitchBook data confirms Q2 global M&A reached $1.3 trillion, up 35% year-on-year, though deal count barely moved, meaning a handful of transformative transactions such as the $118.5bn Dominion Energy-NextEra Energy merger are driving the headline figures. A more permissive antitrust posture in Washington and a broadly constructive tone from regulators in Brussels and London are giving corporate buyers more room to pursue scale deals. For City firms, the pipeline implication is clear: as megadeals close and capital deploys, mid-market activity must follow, and the leveraged finance and regulatory clearance teams that staff those transactions will be under sustained pressure through year-end.

One to Follow

The FCA's concurrent enforcement programme spanning illegal financial promotions, financial crime, and 11 open Consumer Duty investigations is entering an active case-building phase that will generate enforcement defence, skilled persons review, and remediation mandates across multiple financial services firms.

As the FCA moves from implementation guidance to live enforcement simultaneously across three fronts, regulated firms face a compressed window to demonstrate compliance before formal action crystallises. Regulatory and financial services disputes teams at City firms can expect a sustained flow of instructions as firms seek outside counsel to manage FCA investigations, prepare voluntary attestations, and coordinate remediation programmes.

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