Sword Health in talks to acquire mental health app Headspace

Mubadala, CalPERS among institutional investors that collectively lost billions in Medallia by co-investing with Thoma

Institutional investors lost almost $3bn through equity co-investments in Thoma Bravo's failed buyout bet on Medallia, according to 9fin sources and documents.

Borrowed time — Fervour and finance of football debt

As the 2026 World Cup enters its final week, fans are waiting to see whether football will come home this time — or whether it will be another four-year wait. Meanwhile, we’ve looked beyond the pitch at the game’s financial issues. Here, too, is a story of towering ambitions and perfervid emotions — one whose fate is intertwined less with 90-minute scores and penalty kicks than with buccaneering businesspeople and vast sums of borrowed money.

'Operation Royal Crown' — How a DQ list left Bank of America holding an unsettled trade

Two of distressed debt’s largest institutions are appearing at a hearing in a New York state court on Monday, 29 June to determine the scope of a trial that could transform the way DQ lists are enforced. It started like any other trade. Andrew Van Orden, a distressed trader at Bank of America, joined a Bloomberg chat in September 2021 with a single word: “yo.” Ethan Auerbach, a portfolio manager at the alternative asset manager Black Diamond Capital Management, replied within a few seconds: “Lmk how operation royal crown goes.”

Making a case for the defence — how Starmer’s resignation could impact UK credits

Sterling credit traders and lenders might have expected a scramble on Monday morning after the resignation of UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer, but it was largely business as usual with credit market participants having priced in such an eventuality. Some though are already looking ahead to his likely successor and what ensuing policy changes could mean for credit sectors.

The tech toll — Legal clients demand haircuts for AI-driven savings

Big Law’s largest clients have begun discussions to seek fee haircuts in the wake of an artificial intelligence revolution that is expected to yield major efficiencies on legal work, according to 9fin sources.

AI warning signs, Part Two — It’s IPO o’clock, do you know where your credit returns are?