Category: 3. Business

Asian stocks were on track for their best February on record as investors piled into the region’s companies supplying the artificial intelligence infrastructure build-out. The yen strengthened on inflation data.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has gained about 7% this month, making it the best February performance since the inception of the index in 1998. The gauge — up 0.3% on Friday — is also poised to outperform the S&P 500 Index for a third consecutive month. Equity-index futures indicated Wall Street benchmarks were set to slip on Friday.

Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) has announced the sale of Macquarie AirFinance (MAF) to global aviation services specialist Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Ltd.

MAF was established in 2006 and, under Macquarie’s stewardship, has grown to become a world class aircraft leasing platform servicing a broad customer base of major global commercial airlines, with a portfolio of 352 commercial aircraft (including orders) across 48 countries.

MAM remains committed to the aviation sector as part of its broader asset-based finance investment strategy. Following the sale of MAF, the business will continue to leverage its deep and longstanding aviation expertise to pursue investment opportunities across the sector, including lending, leasing and aviation infrastructure.

Peter Glaser, Global Head of Credit & Insurance, Macquarie Asset Management, said: “Macquarie AirFinance’s strong position in the global aircraft leasing market reflects Macquarie Asset Management’s long-standing expertise in the sector and its ability to develop and invest in the platforms it manages.

“Our business has a strong track record of investing in asset-based finance and will continue to actively pursue opportunities in the sector,” Mr Glaser said. 

MAF is 50 per cent owned by Macquarie Group. The sale is expected to complete in the second half of calendar year 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Waitrose has become the first UK supermarket to suspend the sale of mackerel because of overfishing and will start pointing customers toward herring and other species.

The Marine Conservation Society warned last year that stocks were at breaking point owing to overfishing, and it downgraded mackerel from a three to a four on its five-point Good Fish Guide sustainability scale.

Kerry Lyne, of the MCS, praised Waitrose’s move, saying: “To keep favourites like mackerel on the menu, we need support right across the supply chain with fishing kept within sustainable limits.”

A University of East Anglia study published in January urged supermarkets to encourage customers to expand their fish diet to include more environmentally friendly and locally caught fish, such as herring and sardines.

Last September, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended that mackerel fishing in the north-east Atlantic be cut by 70% to help replenish numbers to a sustainable level following overexploitation.

Responding to the data, Hugo Tagholm, the executive director of the enviromental charity Oceana UK, said: “This a clear warning that we are risking the total collapse of this population and endangering countless other wildlife species in the process.”

In December, all the nations of the UK agreed to reduce mackerel fishing by 48%, well short of the cut ICES had called for.

In the same month, WWF voiced its concerns that the north-east Atlantic mackerel population was facing collapse, with catches exceeding recommended levels by an average of 39% since 2010.

The latest statistics show that from May, the mackerel catch in the north-east Atlantic will no longer meet the requirements set out by the Sustainable Seafood Coalition.

Tagholm called for administrative change: “The responsibility cannot lie entirely with retailers or shoppers. It is the government that sets catch limits, and the government that has failed, year after year, to devise a cogent strategy to end overfishing once and for all. Now, with staple fish like cod and mackerel on the brink of disaster, it must act immediately.”

Waitrose will promote the sale of herring, sardines and sea bass as sustainable and nutritious alternatives to mackerel.

The supermarket says it will suspend sourcing of fresh, chilled and frozen mackerel by 29 April, with tinned mackerel following once the current stock has sold.

Marija Rompani, the director of ethics and sustainability at the John Lewis Partnership, which owns Waitrose, said: “Sustainable food production must balance climate action; nature protection and responsible fish sourcing is fundamental to protecting our oceans.”

A spokesperson for the department for environment, food and rural affairs said: “We are working with other countries to reduce pressure on North-East Atlantic mackerel stocks while also protecting jobs in our fishing communities.

“Safeguarding the future of this crucial stock is a priority, which is why the UK is actively tackling overfishing to protect the long-term sustainability of our waters.”

SOMERVILLE, Mass., Feb. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Generate Biomedicines, Inc. (Nasdaq: GENB) (“Generate”), a clinical-stage generative biology company pioneering the AI revolution in biotechnology and drug design and development, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 25,000,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $16.00 per share. The gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be $400 million, before underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Generate. In addition, Generate has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,750,000 shares at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. All shares are being offered by Generate.

Generate’s common stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on February 27, 2026, under the ticker symbol “GENB.” The offering is expected to close on March 2, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint lead book-running managers for the offering. Piper Sandler, Guggenheim Securities, and Cantor are acting as book-running managers for the offering.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed and was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2026. This offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the final prospectus, when available, may be obtained from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, via telephone: (866) 471-2526, via fax: 212 902-9316, or via email: [email protected]; Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014; Piper Sandler & Co., Attention: Prospectus Department, 350 North 5th Street, Suite 1000, Minneapolis, MN 55401, by telephone at (800) 747-3924, or via email at [email protected]; Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 330 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017, or by telephone at (212) 518-9544 or by email at [email protected]; and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, at 110 East 59th Street, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022, or by email at [email protected].

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain disclosures that contain “forward-looking statements,” including, without limitation, statements regarding Generate’s expectations regarding the commencement of trading of its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the completion and timing of the closing of the offering and the anticipated gross proceeds from the offering. Forward-looking statements are based on Generate’s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to market conditions, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and the completion of the offering, and the risks inherent in pharmaceutical product development and clinical trials. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the “Risk Factors” section of the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and Generate undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law. Readers should not rely upon the information in this press release as current or accurate after its publication date.

Generate Contact
Megan McLaughlin
[email protected]

SOURCE Generate:Biomedicines

Netflix has been given four days to beat a sweetened offer by Paramount Skydance for the assets of Warner Bros Discovery in the latest twist in the battle for control of the media giant.

In an announcement on Thursday afternoon, WBD said that its board had determined Paramount’s revised offer to be a “company superior proposal” compared to Netflix’s $82.7bn deal – triggering Netflix’s window to respond.

In its revised offer, Paramount offered $31 per share for the company, up from $30, a $7bn regulatory termination fee if the merger is not improved, and a “ticking fee” amounting to about $650m in cash each quarter beginning after September.

“WBD has notified Netflix of its determination that the PSKY proposal constitutes a ‘company superior proposal’,” the company said. “Under the terms of the Netflix merger agreement, this notice triggers a four-business-day period during which Netflix has the right to propose revisions to the Netflix merger agreement so that the PSKY proposal would cease to constitute a ‘company superior proposal’.

“Following the conclusion of this period, if the board determines in good faith, after consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, that, after considering any revisions to the terms of the Netflix merger agreement proposed by Netflix, the PSKY proposal continues to constitute a ‘company superior proposal’, WBD would be entitled to terminate the Netflix merger agreement.”

Still, WBD said that its board of directors “continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction and has not withdrawn or modified its recommendation”.

In a statement, Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison said: “We are pleased WBD’s board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing.”

WBD has announced a 20 March special meeting for shareholders to vote on the Netflix merger, though it’s unclear how Thursday’s announcement might affect that.

The announcement from WBD’s board comes on the same day that Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos held meetings in Washington with Trump administration officials.

Netflix’s acquisition of the streaming and studio assets of WBD is expected to receive close regulatory scrutiny, including a thorough review by the Department of Justice to determine if it poses a threat to competition in the entertainment industry.

In a US Senate subcommittee meeting earlier this month, Sarandos defended the deal and said that, based on his conversations, Donald Trump “has been nothing but interested in protecting and creating American jobs”.