Axios Pro Rata

October 26, 2026
Top of the Morning
Anthropic today filed for what could become the largest IPO of all time, ending months of "will they or won't they" speculation.
Why it matters: This will be viewed as a referendum on the business of AI.
The big picture: Anthropic's news comes on the same day that SpaceX secured $40 billion in debt financing to buy GPUs — with Elon Musk predicting mass neocloud death — and Meta saying it will seek up to $95 billion in equity financing for its AI buildout.
- All of this poses a capacity test for Wall Street, although each of the three offerings is targeting a different type of capital pool. If we assume Anthropic targets $100 billion — no actual target is listed on the S-1 — the three deals together represent around 0.73% of U.S. GDP.
- And that doesn't even include the $30 billion reportedly being raised in the private markets by OpenAI, which pushed its own IPO into 2027.
- One thing to watch going forward may be the volume of future debt financings, as companies don't want to risk losing their investment-grade ratings.
By the numbers: Anthropic reported an $80.75 billion net loss on $16.29 billion in revenue for the first half of 2026.
- It didn't report Q3 numbers but, given that they've been leaked, don't be surprised if they emerge in an amended filing before pricing.
- Goldman Sachs is left lead underwriter, followed by Morgan Stanley and then 20 other banks.
Zoom in: Risk factors identified by Anthropic include concerns "raised both within our organization and by other researchers, regulators, policymakers, and industry participants that sufficiently advanced AI systems could, if not developed, deployed, and operated with appropriate safeguards, oversight, and security measures, pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity."
- It adds: "Our models are contributing to the pace of our own research and these risks will increase as AI systems substantially automate AI research and development if, for example, they accelerate AI progress beyond our ability to evaluate and safeguard new models."
Cap table: Anthropic has raised over $126 billion in private funding, most recently in May at a $965 billion valuation.
- No outside investors were listed in the S-1, suggesting that none have at least a 5% ownership stake. Which is remarkable, considering that some firms have invested billions.
The bottom line: Plenty of companies flip their S-1s and then get cold feet. Anthropic can't afford to be one of them, in terms of both its balance sheet and its reputation.
The BFD
Bon Secours Mercy Health has agreed to acquire Surgery Partners (Nasdaq: SGRY) for around $5.7 billion.
Why it's the BFD: The nonprofit health system would greatly expand its outpatient services, thus helping patients avoid hospitals. Much like when Ascension paid $3.9 billion for Amsurg earlier this year.
- It also comes 18 months after Surgery Partners rejected a richer take-private bid from Bain Capital, which holds a 38.5% stake that it's expected to maintain.
By the numbers: Bon Secours would pay $23.50 per Surgery Partners share (49.2% premium over Friday's close).
- Surgery Partners says that it has more than 5,000 physicians working at over 300 facilities in 30 states.
The bottom line: "This could open new exit options for sponsors holding scaled doctor group assets that heretofore have had no real strategic buyers, as other large hospital systems seek to keep pace." — Claire Rychlewski, Axios Pro
Venture Capital Deals
🚑 Hexagon Bio, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based developer of payload mechanisms for antibody-drug conjugates, raised $62m in Series C funding. The Column Group led, joined by Nextech Invest, Deviation Capital, 8VC, and CPP Investments. axios.link/48e2UK1
• Coast, a fintech for tracking worker credit card use, raised $35m. Thomvest Ventures led, joined by Intuit Ventures, Small World Capital, Alpha Square Group, Iconiq Growth, Accel, Insight Partners, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Avid Ventures, Vintage Investment Partners, Colle Capital, Synchrony, RXR, and The Fintech Fund. axios.link/48dRQfQ
• Nous, a U.K. developer of AI agents for household management, raised $17m from Heartcore Capital, Mosaic Ventures, Chalfen Ventures, Joyance Partners, and Bain Future Back Ventures. axios.link/4zR4T2L
🚑 Adsilico, a U.K. medical device simulation startup, raised £10m in Series A funding. PXN Ventures led, joined by insiders Northern Gritstone and Parkwalk. axios.link/3UiJWyE
🚑 Kivo Health, an SF-based telehealth provider focused on lung diseases, raised $10m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Allumia Ventures led, joined by YC, Corewell Health Ventures, Heuristic Capital, and MassMutual Ventures. axios.link/3W4Y6UC
Private Equity Deals
• Apax Partners, Dalmore Capital, and Nordic Capital are among the suitors for JLA, a British commercial equipment firm owned by Cinven, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4jYtX3l
• Apollo agreed to buy nearly a 10% stake in Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Capital. axios.link/4eyl6S9
• Avid Property Group, owned by Proprium Capital Partners, made a US$1.55b takeover offer for Ingenia Communities (ASX: INA), an Australian operator of retirement communities and holiday parks that then reportedly kicked original bidder Warburg Pincus out of the data room. axios.link/48fxKSw
• Dayforce, owned by Thoma Bravo, agreed to buy Ribbon AI, a Toronto-based recruiting tech company seeded by firms like Radical Ventures and Social Leverage. axios.link/4igmfPw
⚡ Future Biogas, backed by 3i Infrastructure, paid £104m for the remaining 49% stake in a group of six U.K. biogas plants, from Foresight Environmental Infrastructure. axios.link/4i4jDW1
⚡ Hg acquired 3E, a provider of renewable energy asset performance management software, from Renew (Nasdaq: RNW). axios.link/3W88HOz
• Main Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in 4Allportal, a German provider of product information and digital asset management software. axios.link/4il3jiD
• Procede Software, backed by Rubicon Technology Partners, acquired RIMSS, a San Antonio-based provider of dealer management systems for agriculture, construction, and transportation. axios.link/4eUncMj
🚑 Sagility, an EQT portfolio company, acquired Chirok Health, a Brentwood, Tenn.-based provider of clinical documentation improvement and related services. axios.link/4i5X4QQ
🚑 TFP Fertility Group, a U.K. portfolio company of Amulet Capital Partners, acquired Manchester Fertility Group. axios.link/4yKOkEP
Public Offerings
OPay is the only company expected to go public this week on U.S. exchanges.
• Dongshan, a Chinese maker of printed circuit boards, raised around $1.3b in a Hong Kong IPO. axios.link/4Br4tSb
• OPay, an Africa-focused payments company founded by Norway's Opera, set IPO terms to 16m shares at $19-$21. It would have a $4.2b market cap at the midpoint, and plans to list on the NYSE (OPAY). The Lagos-based company reports $91m of net income on $467m in revenue for the first half of 2026, and has raised over $270m from firms like SoftBank, IDG Capital, HSG, GSR Ventures, and Source Code Capital. axios.link/4igkfH0
🚑 Windward Bio Group, a Swiss developer of antibodies for respiratory and dermatologic diseases, filed for an IPO. The Phase 2/3 biotech plans to list on the Nasdaq (WWB) and raised $365m from OrbiMed, Novo Holdings, Blue Owl, SR One, Omega Funds, RTW Investments, Qiming Venture Partners, Quan Capital, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Sanofi Ventures, and Harbour BioMed. axios.link/3WLWn6I
Liquidity Events
🚑 Cencora (NYSE: COR) agreed to buy American Oncology Network, an AEA Investors-backed network of 350 oncology providers, for $2.4b. axios.link/4kgmiNG
🚑 MyCare Medical, a Lutz, Fla.-based primary care company with $60m-$70m in EBITDA, hired JPMorgan to find a buyer, per Axios Pro. Backers include Chicago Pacific Founders, Leavitt Equity Partners, Synergistic Capital Partners, and CRG. axios.link/4iinnSy
⚡ Ovintiv (NYSE: OVV) agreed to acquire Canadian oil and gas producer Logan Energy for around $890m (including debt). axios.link/4eSQNpn
• Veritas Capital is seeking to sell Chromalloy, a Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based aerospace aftermarket company that could fetch more than $10b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dW9LuZ
More M&A
• Instacart (Nasdaq: CART) has held talks to be acquired by DoorDash (Nasdaq: DASH) or Uber (NYSE: UBER), per The Information. axios.link/4ifoIJU
• Frasers Group (LSE: FRAS) increased its stake in Hugo Boss (ETR: BOSS) to over 50%, after its €2.7b takeover offer failed. axios.link/4zQ1FMX
• Umios (Tokyo: 1333) agreed to acquire Canadian seafood producer High Liner Foods (TSX: HLF) for C$804m. axios.link/4srujl8
• LMDV Capital, an investment vehicle tied to Ray-Ban heir Leonardo Maria del Vecchio, is weighing a €7m takeover bid for Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4zWwT5a
⚽ Pitchwise Holdings bought a 42% stake in Spanish soccer club Valencia at a €1.25b enterprise value. Pitchwise backers include KKR founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts. axios.link/4iFfWGs
🏀 Mark Walter is seeking to sell the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, as he keeps unwinding his sports empire, per multiple reports. axios.link/4sn9s2n
Fundraising
🚑 Linden Capital Partners of Chicago is raising its fifth health care-focused PE fund, per an SEC filing.
It's Personnel
• Jean Gulliver joined Silversmith Capital Partners as head of IR. She previously was with Court Square Capital Partners. axios.link/4i67QGP
• Brian Singer joined Blue Sea Capital as a principal. He previously was CTO at RSi. axios.link/4yDnFte
⚡ Final Numbers


EQT Corp. (NYSE: EQT) today agreed to acquire natural gas rival Range Resources (NYSE: RRC) in an all-stock deal valued at more than $50 billion, citing data centers as a major demand driver.
📬 Thanks for reading Axios Pro Rata, and to copy editor Bryan McBournie! Please ask your friends, colleagues, and Anthropic investors to sign up.
Sign up for Axios Pro Rata




