Mergers & Acquisitions

Working capital pegs have become a high-stakes negotiation point in lower middle-market deals.

Banks are dipping their toes into commercial real estate lending again, after largely sitting on the sidelines for the past several years due to high interest rates, bank failures and regulatory pressure. However, the alternative lenders who stepped in to fill in the gap, aren’t going anywhere.

Griffis Residential has $100 million in commitments for its seventh fund and has made its first apartment acquisition in West Palm Beach, Fla., the company’s acquisitions analyst tells Mergers & Acquisitions. The $3.6 billion Denver-based multifamily investment firm’s latest fundraising endeavor is targeting $550 million and plans a first close in June.

Transactions involving brokerages have gotten most of the attention in the insurance sector, but recently deals involving managing general agencies (MGAs) and managing general underwriters (MGUs) have taken a higher profile. MGAs and MGUs are intermediaries between insurance companies on the one hand, and insureds and their brokers on the other.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a differentiator in tech-enabled services M&A — it has become a core underwriting consideration. As dealmakers move deeper into 2026, buyers are shifting their focus from AI adoption to execution risk, governance and commercial defensibility, factors that are reshaping how targets are valued and how diligence is conducted across the middle market.

Netflix will not raise its offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery after the latter called Paramount Skydance’s rival offer “superior”, clearing the path for Paramount to win the bidding war. Paramount recently increased its offer by $1 per share, according to various reports. Last December, Warner Bros agreed to a takeover offer from Netflix for some of its assets. But Paramount made a rival offer – and has not backed down – as it looks to transform itself into a Hollywood heavyweight.

Merck will split into two divisions, separating its cancer franchise led by blockbuster drug Keytruda from its non-oncology portfolio as it prepares for looming patent expirations. The restructuring creates a standalone cancer business and a separate division housing the company’s Specialty, Pharma, and Vaccines businesses, underscoring Merck (NYSE: MRK)’s effort to diversify revenue streams beyond Keytruda and other legacy medicines facing loss-of-exclusivity pressures, reported CNBC.

PayPal is reportedly attracting early-stage takeover interest from banks and industry rivals amid operational challenges and slowing growth. The digital payments company has reportedly fielded meetings with banks following unsolicited approaches from potential buyers, with at least one large rival evaluating a bid for the entire company while others are exploring specific assets, according to Reuters.

Expanded QSBS benefits, simpler reporting, and broader investor access are making C corporations a compelling alternative to traditional pass-through structures.

Benefit Street Partners has a clear lending strategy, it likes the middle market and the multifamily housing sector, and it’s looking to acquire loan portfolios, the firm’s head of commercial real estate tells Mergers & Acquisitions. According to Michael Comparato, head of commercial real estate at Benefit Street, the firm’s core asset class is multifamily housing because it’s the most liquid asset class within commercial real estate.