Key Highlights

  • Brixmor takes 23 grocery-anchored centers for $636 million, while Everview takes 92 properties for $1.71 billion.
  • Northern Star Resources rejected Gold Fields' proposal worth about $27.1 billion, and Gold Fields' US-listed shares tumbled.
  • Paramount Skydance rose after launching a $44.4 billion senior secured notes offering to fund its Acquisition of Warner Bros.
  • Higher borrowing costs make debt-financed deals more expensive, which is one reason all-stock structures like AMD's can be attractive.

From AMD (NASDAQ:AMD)'s $8.2 billion bet on World Labs to a $2.34 billion grocery-REIT buyout and a rejected mega-bid in gold mining, Monday, September 28 delivered a burst of dealmaking even as stocks fell.

Dealmakers kept working

Stocks had a rough Monday, September 28. The S&P 500 fell 59.72 points to 7,683.69, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 347.11 points to 51,481.51 and the 10-year Treasury Yield hit its highest level since 2007. Yet the day's news flow was packed with acquisitions, licensing deals and bids, a sign that corporate appetite for deals has not faded with the market's mood.

The tech headline: AMD and World Labs

After the close, AMD announced an all-stock deal worth about $8.2 billion for World Labs, the AI company founded by Fei-Fei Li. Li becomes AMD's executive vice president and chief scientist. "Building the compute platforms for the next generation of AI requires a deep understanding of how models are evolving," AMD chief executive Lisa Su said. AMD shares had fallen during the regular session, with the chip selloff that followed reports that OpenAI paused Training of some frontier models.

Real estate and health care deals

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) jumped after agreeing, with partner Everview Partners, to buy Slate Grocery REIT for $13 a unit, or $2.34 billion in total. Brixmor takes 23 grocery-anchored centers for $636 million, while Everview takes 92 properties for $1.71 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.

Lifecore Biomedical (NASDAQ:LFCR) soared after agreeing to be acquired by Webster Equity Partners for $6.28 a share in cash plus contingent value rights, for a total of up to $663.7 million. Merck (NYSE:MRK) licensed a preclinical cancer drug candidate from SciBrunch Therapeutics for $400 million upfront and up to $2.13 billion in total.

Bids, talks and rejections

Not every approach was welcome. Northern Star Resources rejected Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI)' proposal worth about $27.1 billion, and Gold Fields' US-listed shares tumbled. In Europe, Evonik rejected BASF's offer as "too low."

Other deals remain unconfirmed. Nu Holdings (NYSE:NU) fell after market reports reported it was in early talks to buy UK digital bank Monzo for up to about $13 billion; no deal has been announced. Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) rose on Takeover chatter involving an unnamed suitor, which market reports described and which remains an unconfirmed rumor.

Financing and smaller deals

Big deals need big financing. Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) rose after launching a $44.4 billion senior secured notes offering to fund its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The Hartford agreed to end a Reinsurance arrangement with Berkshire Hathaway's National Indemnity, receiving $1.12 billion. At the small end, AIxCrypto agreed to buy Faraday Future's $200 million robotics division.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF), which advises on many such deals, reported third-quarter investment-banking Revenue of $1.33 billion after Monday's close. "We are very optimistic about the balance of 2026 and our momentum heading into 2027, supported by the breadth and strength of our current Backlog and new Business activity," Jefferies' Richard Handler and Brian Friedman said.

Rising yields may eventually cool the deal boom

The key question is whether rising yields eventually cool this activity. Higher borrowing costs make debt-financed deals more expensive, which is one reason all-stock structures like AMD's can be attractive.

Watch for Gold Fields' next move, any confirmation or denial in the Nu-Monzo story and progress on Paramount's financing, with its exchange offers extended to October 6. The week's data, from PCE Inflation Wednesday to the jobs report Friday, will shape the rate outlook that dealmakers must price in.