Mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, and exits in retail and e-commerce industries.
The June cluster of Nuvei-Payoneer and Deluxe-Celero deals signals that another $1bn+ cross-border payments acquisition is likely before the end of 2026. Here are the three signals and what could still delay it.
EasyJet’s board has thrown its weight behind a £5.7 billion ($7.7 billion) take-private led by Apollo Global Management, dropping its earlier support for a rival bid from Castlelake. The switch sets an August 7 deadline for Apollo to firm up its offer for Europe’s second-largest low-cost carrier.
Shein’s Hong Kong listing likely prices at or below roughly $40bn, a discount of about 60% to its 2022 peak, most plausibly in H2 2026. Three signals from June and July, across capital markets, trade policy and consumer regulation, point the same way.
New payments-native leaders at Fiserv, Nuvei and Adyen point to a fresh round of merchant-payments portfolio reshaping. At least one more top-tier acquirer is likely to announce a carve-out or software deal before year-end 2026.
CK Hutchison has confirmed talks to sell Marionnaud, the roughly 700-store European perfumery chain owned by AS Watson, to BEHN, the investment vehicle of Groupe Bogart shareholder David Konckier. The move would end more than 20 years of ownership and hand a marquee prestige-beauty asset to a fast-consolidating French perfumery group.
Mobile World Investment Corporation has spun off its electronics chain Dien May Xanh in an IPO that raised about 505 million dollars. The 93 percent-subscribed offering values the retailer near 3.4 billion dollars ahead of an August debut on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.
Signals point to a recommerce consolidation wave in H2 2026, with electronics as the next contested resale vertical. The eBay-Depop deal likely closes by the end of Q3, with further moves expected before year-end.
Deluxe has agreed to acquire payments fintech Celero Commerce for about $625 million in cash. The all-cash deal lifts Deluxe Payments and Data revenue to a proforma 57% and creates a top-10 US merchant acquirer.
A dense cluster of payments and fintech C-suite moves points to a renewed capital-markets cycle in H2 2026. Fresh listing prep plus a 1 billion dollar-plus payments acquisition are likely to surface before Q3 earnings season closes in late October.
Yum! Brands has agreed to sell Pizza Hut for about $2.7 billion, splitting the chain between private equity firm LongRange Capital and Yum China Holdings. The exit lets Yum concentrate on KFC and Taco Bell after years of US share losses to Domino’s.