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Briefing Notes
M&A
Thales agrees to acquire French underwater-drone maker Exail at €3.9bn implied enterprise value, beating a competing Safran offer
European defence consolidation is accelerating, and dual-use drone assets now attract multi-bidder competition that tests both antitrust and export-control clearance simultaneously.
Energy & Tech
Simpson Thacher Poaches Weil Energy Tax Partner Lorch as Firms Race to Build Renewable and Data Centre Practices
Transferable tax credits have turned energy tax into a dealmaking practice, not just advisory.
Regulation
FCA publishes roadmap calling for tighter oversight of AI in retail financial services as consumer adoption of AI financial tools accelerates
Twenty percent of consumers willing to let AI manage their finances is the market signal that makes FCA intervention on AI governance inevitable.
Disputes
Prince Harry and other celebrities lose privacy claims against Daily Mail publisher in London High Court ruling
Proving unlawful information-gathering requires more than showing private facts were published: claimants must trace the method, and that is where most cases fail.
Capital Markets
Amazon is said to be planning a $25 billion bond sale, one of the largest corporate debt issuances of 2026
A $25bn investment-grade bond sale stress-tests the debt capital markets window: timing against Fed minutes and oil-price shocks is as much a legal-strategy call as a banking one.
Banking & Finance
Bank of England weighs easing a key capital requirement for major banks to boost lending capacity
Capital rule relaxation at the Bank of England shifts the constraint from regulatory headroom to credit demand, changing the advice banks need overnight.
International
Kirkland and Ellis hires a debt finance partner from Ropes and Gray in Paris as US firms intensify their Continental European buildout
US firms poaching from each other in Paris one year after opening means the Continental European talent war has moved from strategy to execution.
AI & Law
Harbor acquires UK legal technology training firm iTrain to expand its AI adoption advisory practice in Britain
Buying a legal AI training firm is the clearest signal yet that deployment and governance, not procurement, are now where the advisory value sits.