Paramount's record $52B bond sale, AMD's $8.2B World Labs buy, and the Sep. 28–Oct. 2 Wall Street week
A scannable review of Sep. 28–Oct. 2: Paramount's record $52 billion bond sale, AMD's $8.2 billion purchase of World Labs, Oura's pulled listing against one discounted IPO, the SEC's crypto-custody proposal, and Micron's $54 billion quarter.
Wall Street spent the week repricing around the cost of borrowing: the 10-year Treasury yield reached 5.34% on Oct. 1, its highest since 2002, and the market's largest moves — a record $52 billion bond sale, an $8.2 billion all-stock acquisition, a pulled $2.1 billion listing — were made or abandoned against that rate 1. This issue covers Monday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026 ET.
IPOs and listings
One operating company priced a US initial public offering this week, and its marquee deal never traded at all. Smart ring maker Oura postponed its $2.1 billion offering on Sept. 29, a day before it was due to list, saying demand was strong but market conditions were uncertain — the fourth US listing pulled in two weeks, after Bamboo Insurance Services, Amaero and Holtec Nuclear 234. Oura had filed to sell 50 million shares at $40 to $44, with 73% of the deal sold by existing shareholders, at a market value of about $14.9 billion, or a fully diluted $15.62 billion at the top of the range; investors had pushed back on the price 23.
The one sizable deal that cleared took a discount to do it. Accelevation, which manufactures the power-distribution and white-space infrastructure installed inside data centers, priced 30 million shares at $18, below a marketed $20 to $24 range, raising $540 million at a $4.1 billion market capitalization — 18% below the range's midpoint 2. The company sold 10 million of the shares; selling stockholders affiliated with Olympus Partners sold the other 20 million 5. Accelevation grew revenue 147% in 2025 and reported about $1.1 billion of backlog as of June 30, 2026; the stock finished the week down 2% 2.
| Issuer | Deal size | Market cap at IPO | Price vs. midpoint | Return at Oct. 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Roze AI (RZAI) 2 | $0M | $933M | 0% | +149% |
Southport Acquisition II (PORT.U) 2 | $200M | $274M | 0% | 0% |
Accelevation (ACCV) 2 | $540M | $4,095M | −18% | −2% |
Roze AI is a direct listing rather than a priced IPO: the South Korean developer of AI-based fire-detection and disaster-prevention software listed on the Nasdaq with no proceeds raised and finished the week up 149% 2. The week's only blank-check pricing was Southport Acquisition II, led by TVC Capital's Jeb Spencer, which raised $200 million to target the AI industry 2. The Renaissance IPO Index returned −0.2% for the week against −0.3% for the S&P 500, and stood at 16.4% for the year against the index's 13.0% as of Oct. 1 24. Software led on a rotation out of AI hardware: ServiceTitan returned 15.6%, Navan 10.4% and Rubrik 8.2%, while chipmaker Cerebras fell 19.5% 4.
Three operating companies and one direct listing filed, alongside six blank-check vehicles 2:
YHTEPrimagrove: $31 million, a Hong Kong provider of custom software development and smart-office solutions, with Eddid Securities as lead 2.LPCILPC: $19 million, a Malaysia-based distributor of transformers, switchgear and related electrical equipment, with Sutter Securities as lead 2.SRAVSource Agriventures: $15 million, which seeks to own farmland to lease for agriculture and energy uses, with Aegis Capital as lead 2.GBCGeorgia Banking Company: a direct listing, a commercial and retail bank with 10 branches in the Atlanta metro area 2.CSEA.UCalm Seas Acquisition: $300 million, targeting the energy and shipping industries, with Cohen & Company as lead 2.BHAIUBHAV Acquisition II: $150 million, targeting advanced technologies, with Maxim as lead 2.PGAPop Global Acquisition: $100 million, targeting tech, with Kingswood as lead 2.ANACUArca Nova Acquisition: $100 million, targeting agentic AI, stablecoin payments and digital yield platforms, with Maxim as lead 2.MNBSUMNBS Acquisition: $75 million, targeting cross-border businesses in North America, Europe and Asia, with Maxim as lead 2.OSACUOrange Street Acquisition: $65 million, targeting established businesses with defensible market positions, with Polaris as lead 2.
Two biotechs, TRex Bio and Iambic Therapeutics, are the most likely to launch in the week of Oct. 5, and the fourth quarter's headline listing is firming up: Anthropic is reported to be ready to begin marketing its offering as soon as the week of Nov. 9 4.
M&A
AMD agreed on Sept. 28 to buy World Labs, the spatial-intelligence startup co-founded by the AI researcher Fei-Fei Li, in an all-stock deal valued at about $8.2 billion — the week's largest transaction. Li, a Stanford professor, will join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist when the deal closes, which the companies expect by the end of 2026 subject to regulatory approval 6. World Labs builds "world models," software intended to let machines reason about physical space, and had raised about $1 billion in funding before the sale 67.
Other deals signed, cleared or completed during the week:
- Long Lake–Amex GBT: Long Lake, which describes itself as the first AI holding company, completed its $6.3 billion take-private of American Express Global Business Travel on Sept. 29. Holders received $9.50 a share in cash, a 65.1% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price at signing; the deal was announced May 4 and approved by shareholders Aug. 3 8.
- Novartis–Abogen: Novartis signed a licensing deal worth up to $7.8 billion with China's Abogen Biosciences on Oct. 2, paying $575 million upfront and up to about $7.2 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones for global rights to the mRNA drug candidate ABO2203 and options on other RNA therapies 9.
- AstraZeneca–Summit Therapeutics: AstraZeneca agreed on Sept. 28 to invest $2 billion in Summit Therapeutics and collaborate on a series of cancer-drug studies 10.
- Anglo American–Teck Resources: China's competition regulator asked Anglo American to commit to a steady flow of copper concentrate as the condition for clearing its $54 billion merger with Canada's Teck Resources — the last authority still to approve the combination, Reuters reported on Oct. 2 11.
- AES–Global Infrastructure Partners: a bipartisan group of US lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren asked federal energy regulators to block the sale of the power utility AES to BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, a transaction agreed in March and valued at about $33 billion 12.
- The market behind them: global M&A in the third quarter totalled $993 billion, down 41% from the second quarter, as rising borrowing costs slowed dealmaking 13.
Regulatory and policy
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules on Oct. 1 that would create a custody framework for crypto assets held by registered investment advisers and regulated funds — registered investment companies and business development companies — under the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act 14. The proposal would let advisers hold crypto in self-custody under certain circumstances, allow state trust companies to serve as custodians, and update audit and broker-dealer custodial requirements; comment runs for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register 14. Chairman Paul Atkins said the existing rules were "crafted for a bygone era" 14.
- Private-market access: the SEC voted on Sept. 30 to propose amendments that would expand retail participation in private markets, including letting advisers to regulated funds receive performance-based compensation and modernizing the interval-fund framework. It separately asked for comment on new ways to qualify as an accredited investor, among them passing an exam to be developed by FINRA and holding a CPA, CFA or CFP credential or a Series 79, 86 or 87 license 15.
- Examinations: the Division of Examinations published a new Exam Handbook on Oct. 1 16.
- A commissioner leaves: Hester Peirce departed the SEC on Oct. 2 after nearly nine years, taking a role in academia and leaving the five-member Commission with two sitting members 1718.
- Enforcement: on Sept. 30 the SEC charged Meyer Global Management and its chief executive with defrauding retail investors in private funds that held interests in SpaceX and other pre-IPO securities 19. It separately charged entities behind fraud schemes that used WhatsApp and other platforms to lure investors and totalled at least $15 million 20, and charged the adviser Zoe Financial with failing to disclose a conflict of interest 21.
- Oil reserves: the US government offered on Sept. 29 to loan energy companies up to 40 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, drawing on the reserve as oil prices stayed elevated 22.
Earnings and market-moving results
Micron reported the largest corporate result of the week, and the largest in its history. For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 3, revenue was $54.229 billion against $11.315 billion a year earlier, GAAP net income was $37.701 billion, or $32.87 a diluted share, and gross margin reached 86.8% from 44.7% 23. Non-GAAP earnings were $33.42 a diluted share against the $31.61 analysts expected, on revenue above the $51.07 billion consensus 24. For the full year, revenue was $133.188 billion against $37.378 billion and GAAP net income was $84.969 billion; the company guided fiscal first-quarter revenue to $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion 23. Micron said DRAM revenue for the year passed $100 billion and that it expects memory supply and demand to be "much tighter" in fiscal 2027 and 2028 than in 2026 25.
- Nike (
NKE), fiscal first quarter reported Oct. 1: revenues of $11.213 billion, down 4% on a reported basis and 5% currency-neutral; net income of $712 million and diluted earnings of $0.48 a share; gross margin up 60 basis points to 42.8%. Greater China revenue fell 22% and Converse 28%. Nike announced an operating-model restructuring called Pace, which it expects to deliver about $2.5 billion of cumulative savings through fiscal 2031 against roughly $1.0 billion of pre-tax charges, and guided to a high-single-digit revenue decline and adjusted earnings of $1.15 to $1.35 a share for fiscal 2027 26. The stock fell about 6% 27. - Conagra Brands (
CAG), fiscal first quarter reported Sept. 30: net sales of $2.6 billion, down 1.4%, with reported earnings of $0.36 a share and adjusted earnings of $0.41. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2027 guidance of adjusted earnings of $1.40 to $1.50 a share on organic net sales down 1% to 3% 28. - The September jobs report: US employers added 29,000 nonfarm jobs last month, well below the roughly 84,000 forecast, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1%, with average hourly earnings up 0.1% 2930. The weak reading eased concern that the Federal Reserve would raise rates again this month, though the 10-year yield stayed at its highest in more than two decades and stocks closed the week higher 31.
Major financings
Paramount Skydance sold $52 billion of bonds and loans to fund its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery — the largest debt raise ever assembled for a takeover — and the price it paid showed what the week's yields had done to corporate America. The package included roughly $41 billion of bonds, with coupons as high as about 9.1% and maturities running from 2028 to 2066 32. Within hours of pricing, the bonds were trading below their offer price, leaving buyers with hundreds of millions of dollars of paper losses and drawing complaints to Wall Street 3334. Paramount said the financing was fully placed by Oct. 4, and the acquisition is expected to close on Oct. 6 3536.
- Snowflake (
SNOW): priced an upsized $3.75 billion convertible senior notes offering on Sept. 28 — $2.0 billion of notes due 2029 and $1.75 billion due 2031 — in a sale that closed Oct. 1; the stock fell 3.5% 3738. - Broadcom–Anthropic: Broadcom agreed to lend Anthropic up to $42 billion to lease its chips, a financing disclosed in an Oct. 1 filing that gives Broadcom the right to convert the debt into Anthropic equity 39.
- The backdrop: US Treasuries closed their worst quarter since 1994, and the 10-year yield touched 5.34% on Oct. 1, its highest since 2002, while the UK's 30-year gilt briefly cleared 6% for the first time since 1998 140.
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