Kirkland & Ellis is nearing a deal to hire Joshua Feltman, the chair of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz's corporate restructuring and finance department, with a guaranteed pay package of $80 million over three years. It’s a move to rebuild the firm’s liability management practice after the departure of David Nemecek earlier this year, following pressure from private capital clients.

The two parties are still finalizing terms, but an announcement is expected in the coming days.

Feltman joined Wachtell in 2002 and made partner in 2010. He led a deliberately small restructuring group that took on a limited number of matters annually, with the firm more focused on its corporate M&A franchise.

His recent engagements include representing Jefferies in the First Brands bankruptcy and designing a complex refinancing deal at Xerox, both structured creditor negotiations of the type Nemecek provided.

Kirkland has long dominated formal Chapter 11 bankruptcy work, but Nemecek built a parallel practice around out-of-court liability management (a trend which some saw as a risk to the volume of traditional bankruptcy filings). His departure earlier this year to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett left a gap in Kirkland's lineup.

That departure, however, wasn't something either side wanted. Last autumn, Kirkland client Optimum Communications, the telecoms operator formerly known as Altice USA, sued major creditors including Apollo Global Management, Ares Management, and Oaktree Capital, alleging that a cooperation agreement among holders of its $26 billion in debt violated federal antitrust law.

It was the first time such a competition claim had been brought in a distressed debt context. Nemecek was widely viewed as the architect behind the aggressive strategy, even though Kirkland did not formally bring the complaint (though it was filed by another firm, sponsors assumed Kirkland was responsible).

That creditor group, which included several of Kirkland's largest asset management clients, complained to firm leadership over what they saw as a lawsuit against them orchestrated by one of their primary legal advisers.

Kirkland resigned as transaction counsel to Optimum in January and assured its private capital clients it would steer clear of the most aggressive creditor-on-creditor liability management fights. That decision effectively undermined the rationale for Nemecek's practice, and his ultimate departure presumably only helped Kirkland repair its relationship with disgruntled clients.

Nemecek appeared unfazed by the controversy surrounding his departure when he spoke to the Financial Times, adding in a veiled dig at the dissenting sponsors.

"At a macro level, it's not going to change in a material way. Distressed companies are looking for concessions [from their creditors]," he said. "They will be emotional and complicated. We will be well-situated wherever the market is."

With Feltman, Kirkland is returning to more traditional restructuring work focused on complex capital structure considerations with less of the aggressive LME tactics that sparked the backlash.

The $80 million guarantee is one of the largest-ever deals for legal talent — a combination of a hot lateral hiring market (particularly in restructuring and M&A), Kirkland's urgency, and its willingness to pay a premium for someone whose approach may prove more compatible with the firm's most valuable relationships.

• Madison Air Solutions, a Madison Industries-owned HVAC products maker, raised $2.23 billion in its NYSE IPO, pricing at the top of its $25–$27 range at a $13.3 billion valuation, with shares jumping 19% on the first day of trading.

• Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) agreed to acquire Globalstar (Nasdaq: GSAT), a satellite telecommunications operator, for $11.57 billion.

• Choice Properties and KingSett Capital agreed to acquire First Capital REIT, a shopping center-focused REIT, for C$9.4 billion.

• EQT submitted an unsolicited all-cash takeover proposal for Intertek Group (LSE: ITRK), a UK-based product testing and inspection company, at £51.50 per share, valuing the business at around £7.93 billion, which Intertek's board rejected.

• I Squared Capital and Blackstone are considering a joint bid for Ströer's core out-of-home advertising and digital media business, at a valuation above $3.8 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Quadra Capital is nearing a deal to acquire around $3 billion of assets from state-owned Banco de Brasília, which were previously held by liquidated lender Banco Master, per Reuters.

• Cashco, a portfolio company of May River Capital, acquired 3B Controls, a UK-based manufacturer of tank safety and storage solutions.

• Nemetschek Group agreed to merge HCSS, a heavy civil construction software provider, with its Build & Construct segment in a deal valuing HCSS at $2.4 billion, with Thoma Bravo retaining a ~28% minority stake in the combined unit.

• ESCO Technologies (NYSE: ESE) agreed to acquire Megger Group Limited, a UK-based provider of electrical test and measurement equipment, from TBG AG for $2.35 billion.

• Standard Life agreed to acquire Aegon UK, the UK insurance and pensions arm of Aegon (Amsterdam: AEG), for £2 billion.

• TPG agreed to acquire a majority stake in Learfield, a college sports media and technology company, from Charlesbank Capital Partners and Clearlake Capital Group, at a valuation of around $2 billion.

• Emirates International Investment Company acquired a minority stake in Joe & the Juice, a Copenhagen-based juice and coffee shop chain, at a $1.8 billion valuation, with General Atlantic retaining its majority position.

• Suntory Holdings agreed to acquire Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare, the OTC pharmaceuticals subsidiary of Daiichi Sankyo, for $1.6 billion.

• American Industrial Partners agreed to acquire medtech company Avanos Medical (NYSE: AVNS) for $1.27 billion.

• Arxis, an Arcline Investment Management-backed aerospace and defense components manufacturer, raised $1.13 billion in an upsized Nasdaq IPO priced at $28 per share, with shares jumping 36% on its debut.

• ADNOC is in advanced talks to acquire Shell's (NYSE: SHEL) South African retail fuel station network for around $1 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Ayar Third Investment Company (an affiliate of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund) and Uber (NYSE: UBER) agreed to invest a combined $750 million in Lucid Group (Nasdaq: LCID), an electric vehicle maker.

• I Squared Capital agreed to acquire Spire Storage, a natural gas storage business in Wyoming and Oklahoma, from Spire (NYSE: SR) for $650 million.

• Horsburgh & Scott, a portfolio company of GenNx360 Capital Partners, acquired Franklin Machine & Gear, a Humble, Texas-based industrial gear and gearbox repair services provider.

• Tory Burch plans to repurchase General Atlantic's minority stake in the luxury retailer for around $346 million, per Bloomberg.

• Sumeru Equity Partners led a $175 million growth investment in K1x, an AI-native private markets tax data platform, acquiring a majority stake alongside existing investor Edison Partners.

• Q4 Inc., a portfolio company of Sumeru Equity Partners, acquired Virtua Research, a Boston-based provider of AI-powered earnings consensus and financial data solutions for investor relations.

• H.I.G. Capital acquired Inventus Power, a Woodridge, Illinois-based provider of advanced battery and power systems.

• Rep Data, a Mountaingate Capital portfolio company and market research data quality provider, acquired SightX, an all-in-one consumer research platform.

• Cerberus Capital Management agreed to acquire Lendco, a UK buy-to-let and bridging mortgage lender, from Cabot Square Capital and minority shareholders.

• Olympus Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in Network Connex, a fiber installation and digital infrastructure services provider serving hyperscalers, cloud operators, and large enterprises, from ORIX Capital Partners.

• Registrar Corp, a portfolio company of Paine Schwartz Partners, acquired Dell Tech, a Canada-based regulatory consulting firm specializing in Health Canada requirements.

• Cineplex (TSX: CGX), Canada's largest movie theater chain, is exploring a sale to a potential rival, per Bloomberg.

• Service Compression, a Warburg Pincus portfolio company, acquired substantially all assets of Axip Energy Services, a Houston-based natural gas compression services provider.

• LIV Golf faces potential closure as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the breakaway golf league's sole financial backer, is on the verge of withdrawing its funding, per the Financial Times and WSJ.

• Fortreum, a cybersecurity assessment and advisory firm backed by Gryphon Investors, acquired Kovr AI, a FedRAMP-authorized, AI-native compliance platform for highly regulated industries.

• King Risk Partners, a portfolio company of Lightyear Capital, acquired Morin Associates, a Groton, Connecticut-based independent insurance brokerage.

• Equity Methods, an HGGC portfolio company, agreed to acquire Equity Plan Solutions, a boutique equity plan administration firm.

• CPIhealth, a portfolio company of Iron Path Capital, acquired Midwest Interventional Spine Specialists and Serenity Surgical Center, an interventional spine practice and ambulatory surgery center in northwest Indiana.

• Hillman Solutions (Nasdaq: HLMN) acquired Delaney Hardware, a supplier of door and builder's hardware for residential, multifamily, and commercial construction, from Sargent and Greenleaf, a portfolio company of OpenGate Capital.

• Midland Industries, a portfolio company of Gemspring Capital, acquired Industrial Specialties Manufacturing, a maker of pneumatic, vacuum, and fluid-control components for OEM and medical markets.

• Apollo and KKR are weighing bids for Logoplaste, a Portuguese packaging manufacturer controlled by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, per Bloomberg.

• MKH Capital Partners acquired Haven Health Management, a Florida-based behavioral health provider operating across nine states and Puerto Rico, in a nine-figure transaction that also included the purchase of United Billing Solutions, a behavioral health billing services firm.

• One Call, a KKR-backed workers' compensation services firm, acquired Data Dimensions, a Janesville, Wisconsin-based EDI clearinghouse, from Thompson Street Capital Partners.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Fluidstack, an NYC-based AI data center provider, is in talks to raise $1 billion at an $18 billion valuation, potentially co-led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness, per Bloomberg.

• Sygaldry, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based developer of quantum-accelerated AI servers, raised $105 million in Series A funding led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, Rock Yard Ventures, and IQT.

• nEye Systems, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of optical circuit switches, raised $80 million in Series C funding led by Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation from CapitalG, M12, and Socratic Partners.

• Mintlify, an NYC-based code documentation platform, raised $45 million in Series B funding co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Salesforce Ventures, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Y Combinator, MVP Ventures, Avra, HubSpot Ventures, and TwentyTwo Ventures.

• Bluefish, a New York-based agentic marketing platform for Fortune 500 brands, raised $43 million in Series B funding co-led by Threshold Ventures and NEA, with participation from Amex Ventures, TIAA Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Crane Venture Partners, Laconia, and Swift Ventures.

• Resolve AI, an SF-based AI platform that automatically resolves production software issues, raised $40 million in Series A extension funding co-led by DST Global and Salesforce Ventures at a $1.5 billion valuation.

• Parasail, an SF-based deployment network for AI agents, raised $32 million in Series A funding co-led by Touring Capital and Kindred Ventures, with participation from Samsung Next, Flume Ventures, and Banyan Ventures.

• Hilbert, an AI platform that unifies data across teams for centralized decision-making, raised $28 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz.

• Solidroad, an AI platform for evaluating and improving customer interactions, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Hedosophia, with participation from First Round Capital and Y Combinator.

• Auctor, a software adoption platform, raised $20 million in combined seed and Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from M12, HubSpot Ventures, Workday Ventures, OneStream, Y Combinator, Tercera, and Dig Ventures.

• Phonely, an SF-based provider of AI voice agents for businesses, raised $16 million in Series B funding led by Base10 Partners, with participation from Y Combinator and Etech Global Services.

• Gitar, an AI agent platform for code review and continuous integration, raised $9 million in new funding led by Venrock, with participation from Sierra Ventures.

Fintech

• Kraken, a crypto trading platform, received a $200 million investment from Deutsche Börse via a secondary share purchase, giving the German exchange operator a 1.5% fully diluted stake in Kraken's parent company Payward at an implied valuation of roughly $13.3 billion.

• Slash, an SF-based vertical banking startup, raised $100 million in Series C funding co-led by Ribbit Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Goodwater Capital.

• Ratio, an SF-based AI fintech platform for B2B companies, raised $15.8 million in new funding from Streamlined Ventures, Cervin Ventures, HoneyStone Ventures, and Monte Carlo Capital.

• Paxos Labs, a developer of onchain financial products for enterprises, raised $12 million in seed funding led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Robot Ventures and Maelstrom.

• Wamo, a Finnish financial operating platform for SMEs, raised €10 million in Series A funding led by 3TS Capital Partners, with participation from Oleka Capital.

Consumer & Media

• Neato, a Las Vegas-based e-commerce company that serves as the exclusive online retailer for consumer brands, raised $25 million in growth capital led by Advantage Capital.

• Gizmo, a London-based AI learning platform, raised $22 million in Series A funding led by Shine Capital, with participation from Ada Ventures, Seek Investments, GSV, and NFX.

Healthcare

• Beeline Medicines, a Boston-based biotech developing autoimmune and inflammatory disease therapies using five programs in-licensed from Bristol Myers Squibb, raised $300 million in Series A funding led by Bain Capital.

• Neomorph, a San Diego-based biotech developing molecular glue degraders targeting undruggable proteins, raised $100 million in Series B funding led by Deerfield Management, with participation from Regeneron Ventures, Longwood Fund, Alexandria Venture Investments, and Binney Street Capital of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

• Adcendo, a Danish biotech developing antibody-drug conjugates for cancer, raised $75 million in Series C funding led by Jeito Capital, with participation from Vida Ventures, BPI France, EIFO, TCGX, RA Capital Management, TPG, Orbimed, Venrock, Surveyor, Logos Capital, Novo Holdings, Pontifax Venture Capital, Dawn Biopharma, HealthCap, Gilde Healthcare, and Ysios Capital.

• Alloy Therapeutics, a Boston-based AI drug discovery startup, raised $40 million in Series E funding at a $1 billion valuation from 8VC, JIC Venture Growth Investments, Echo Capital, Mubadala Capital, Presight Capital, Thiel Capital, Founders Fund, Alexandria Venture Investments, and Ulysses Diversified Holdings.

• Spiral Therapeutics, a South San Francisco-based biotech developing therapies for inner ear disorders, raised $27 million in Series B funding led by Gund Investment, with participation from Advanced Bionics, Ferring Ventures, and Uni-Bio Science Group.

• Onto Health, a Chicago-based AI-powered fertility and longevity provider, raised $20 million in Series A funding from ARTIS and Humania.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• Slate Auto, a Troy, Mich.-based electric pickup truck maker, raised $650 million in Series C funding led by TWG Global, with participation from General Catalyst and Slauson & Co., as well as Jeff Bezos.

• Hertha Metals, a Conroe, Texas-based producer of low-carbon steel and high-purity iron, is raising $100 million in Series A funding, per Axios Pro.

• Synera, a German AI platform for industrial engineering, raised $40 million in Series B funding led by Revaia, with participation from ISAI Cap Venture, UVC Partners, BMW iVentures, Cherry Ventures, and Spark Capital.

• NanoTech Materials, a Katy, Texas-based maker of thermal insulation and fireproof building coatings, raised $29.4 million in Series A funding led by HPI Real Estate & Investments, with participation from Goose Capital and Milliken & Company.

• Critical Loop, an LA-based modular microgrid provider for industrial clients, raised $26 million in Series A funding co-led by Conifer Infrastructure Partners and Hanover, with participation from Better Ventures, Climate Capital, Adapt Nation Capital, and Cyrus Ventures.

• Sepion Technologies, an Alameda, Calif.-based developer of polymer coatings for lithium-ion battery separators, raised $10 million in Series B funding led by Fine Structure Ventures, with participation from W. L. Gore & Associates, Syensqo Ventures, Volo Earth Ventures, Chailease, Catalus Capital, Impact Science Ventures, and ACVC Partners.

• Accel raised $4.65 billion across two late-stage funds: $4 billion for its fifth Leaders Fund and $650 million for a sidecar fund to increase stakes in select portfolio companies.

• Topspin Consumer Partners raised $328 million for its third consumer-focused buyout fund.

• EIG held an initial closing for EIG Geothermal Catalyst Partners, a fund focused on mid-stage development of next-gen geothermal power projects in the U.S.

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