Deals

Overall grocery inflation jumps to 2.3%, as Ocado and Lidl gain market shareBusiness live – latest updatesParents and carers spent 12.5% less on school uniform in the run-up to the start of this academic year, turning to promotions and second-hand items to keep expenses down as families struggled with the cost of living crisis.The average spend on school uniform was £54.53 in the four weeks to 6 September, down an eighth from £62.29 in the same period last year, according to the market research company Worldpanel by Numerator. Overall grocery inflation picked up to 2.3% from 2.1%. Continue reading...

• European tech companies secured more than €3.9 billion in funding across 70-plus deals during the last week. • Notable investments included $4.3 million for Swedish creator platform Fluencify and €4.3 million for Switzerland's Jaipur Robotics. • This surge in capital provides critical scaling resources for startups specializing in AI-powered security, waste management, and chemical-free agriculture.

• The White House signed secretive agreements with 26 drugmakers that may exempt various medicines from mandatory price reductions in Medicare. • A new analysis indicates these deals could drastically reduce the projected savings from the "most-favored nation" pricing policy, which aims to align U.S. drug costs with lower prices paid abroad. • These exemptions could limit the government's ability to lower prescription costs for millions of Medicare beneficiaries.

• Thirty-three cybersecurity-related merger and acquisition deals were announced by companies in August 2026. • The deals involved major companies such as Brinqa, Cribl, Echo, Fortinet, Kiteworks, Palo Alto Networks, and Visa, indicating a trend of consolidation in the cybersecurity industry. • This surge in M&A activity suggests that companies are looking to strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities through strategic acquisitions, which could impact the market and competition.

• Modern Healthcare is tracking the latest news on mergers, acquisitions, and joint partnerships in the healthcare industry. • The publication provides live updates on deals as they happen, giving readers insight into the changing healthcare landscape. • This coverage helps healthcare professionals and investors stay informed about potential opportunities and challenges in the market.

• Investors committed billions of dollars to startups in artificial intelligence, defense technology, robotics, nuclear energy, and battery storage during August 2026. • Companies like Valar Atomics, Base Power, and Form Energy received funding to develop technologies that increase electricity supply and grid reliability. • This investment trend reflects a growing need for power generation to support rising electricity demands from AI infrastructure and data centers.

• PayTabs and WaFd, Inc. completed major acquisition deals on September 8 and 9, 2026. • WaFd, Inc. entered into a reverse merger transaction with EverBank Financial Corp valued at $3.9 billion. • These multi-billion-dollar shifts in the financial sector alter the competitive landscape for payment services and banking in the MENA and US markets.