Finance & Investment

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 1, 2026 - First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC) says it is scheduled to close its previously announced acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation today in an all-stock transaction that adds its first retail consumer-focused locations in the Chicago market.

Deal snapshot and strategic intent

The transaction brings BankFinancial's core deposit franchise and branch presence into First Financial's Midwest platform. First Financial said the acquisition adds 18 financial centers in the Chicago area, along with regional and national commercial loan, lease, and deposit lines of business. With the completion of the acquisition, First Financial said it will have $22 billion in assets and will broaden its consumer, commercial, specialty lending, and wealth management offering.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 15, 2025 - HoldCo Asset Management says Comerica shareholders should vote against the proposed merger with Fifth Third at a special meeting scheduled for January 6, 2026, arguing the transaction undervalues Comerica and that rejecting the deal could improve shareholder outcomes with limited downside.

Activist investor challenges deal process and governance safeguards
HoldCo Asset Management, a Florida-based investment firm managing approximately $2.6 billion in regulatory assets under management, said it holds beneficial ownership of approximately 1.6% of Comerica's outstanding common stock and released a presentation titled "Why We Recommend Voting AGAINST The Proposed Merger and Our Litigation Update." The firm's case centers on how the transaction was negotiated and whether the board's process delivered maximum value for shareholders.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 15, 2025 - Shanghai is sharpening its push to become a leading center for merger-and-acquisition activity, as the 2025 Mergers and Acquisitions Finance Conference spotlighted stronger regional deal momentum and unveiled a new market index intended to track China's evolving M&A environment.

Policy momentum behind listed-company restructuring
The conference took place as Shanghai marks one year since releasing a three-year action plan aimed at supporting M&A among listed firms. In practical terms, the message to corporate leaders and capital providers is clear: policy alignment and financial-market infrastructure are being positioned to support more transactions that improve efficiency, accelerate industrial upgrading, and strengthen competitiveness in key sectors.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 10, 2025 - Hanwha Finance is sharpening its Middle East growth agenda as Chief Global Officer Dong-Won Kim used his opening address at Abu Dhabi Finance Week's Global Markets Summit to position South Korea-UAE financial collaboration as a long-term strategic pillar for both economies and a testbed for next-generation digital capital markets.

Strengthening a Korea-UAE "100-Year Partnership" Through Finance

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Kim framed financial services as the connective tissue that will turn high-level Korea-UAE diplomacy into investable projects and new cross-border capital flows. He noted that "since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1980, South Korea and the UAE have continuously expanded the scope of cooperation", and stressed that Hanwha Finance intends to help carry forward a "100-year partnership" between the two nations.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 10, 2025 - From its position as a fast-rising global capital hub, Abu Dhabi is using Abu Dhabi Finance Week's Asset Abu Dhabi forum to redefine how institutional investors think about asset allocation, risk and long-term value creation in a volatile macro environment. Hosted by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the event's second day brought together leading capital allocators, hedge fund managers, family office leaders and policymakers to assess emerging opportunities and the next frontier of asset management.

Abu Dhabi's regulatory platform moves into the global first rank

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 8, 2025 - Canadian fintech Tuhk Inc. is stepping out of stealth with a US$6 million seed round to turn fragmented fraud data into a real-time collaboration fabric between merchants, banks and service providers, as the payments industry wrestles with a cybercrime threat measured in the trillions of dollars.

Fintech Veterans Target a US$10.5 Trillion Cybercrime Problem

Founded in 2025 by veterans from Ethoca and NuData Security, Toronto-based Tuhk is positioning itself as a "real-time data collaboration platform" at the intersection of fraud prevention and payments optimization. The seed financing is led by FINTOP, with strategic participation from Lloyds Banking Group and Capital One Ventures, signalling early alignment from major issuers and card partners.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 4, 2025 - Mavsign, a leading provider of secure offsite contracting and fraud prevention solutions for the automotive finance ecosystem, has strengthened its legal and compliance backbone by engaging Hudson Cook LLP to review and enhance its information security, privacy and customer-facing frameworks. The move underscores how digital contracting platforms are investing ahead of regulatory pressure to give lenders, fintechs and dealers greater confidence in remote identity verification and high-value transactions.

Reinforcing a Compliance-First Offsite Contracting Model

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 4, 2025 - Cresta Fund Management is expanding its senior leadership team to support the next phase of growth, appointing industry veteran David Altshuler as Partner and Head of Capital Formation and promoting two long-standing team members into expanded roles. The Dallas-based private equity firm, which focuses on energy infrastructure across industrial, logistics and agricultural sectors, is sharpening its institutional capital-raising capabilities as limited partners seek specialist managers with operational depth and clear energy-transition strategies.

Bringing a Capital Formation Heavyweight Into the Partnership

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 15, 2025 – Diebold Nixdorf (NYSE: DBD), a global technology leader in connected commerce for banking and retail, has announced two key executive appointments aimed at unifying commercial operations and strengthening administrative efficiency worldwide. Joe Myers will become Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) starting January 1, 2026, while Elizabeth (Lisa) Radigan will assume the newly created role of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) effective December 1, 2025.

Both appointments reflect Diebold Nixdorf’s continued focus on integrated growth strategies, cross-segment collaboration, and scalable operational models designed to support banks and retailers adapting to rapid digital transformation.

Unifying Sales to Drive Customer-Centric Growth

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – August 8, 2025 – A wave of high-value licensing deals between multinational pharmaceutical companies and Chinese biotechs is reshaping the global drug development landscape. While the headlines highlight billion-dollar transactions, the reality on the ground is a complex mix of opportunity and survival for China’s crowded biotech sector.

Licensing as a Strategic Lifeline
Out-licensing overseas rights has become a critical strategy for Chinese biotechs facing tightened capital flows and rising operational pressures. For many, partnering with multinational corporations is not simply a growth choice — it’s a means to stay in business. Executives across China’s leading hubs, from Shanghai Zhangjiang Pharma Valley to Suzhou’s BioBAY, report that companies have been cutting staff, selling assets, or closing entirely since 2022.