Friday Furnace

Z Squared's proposed acquisition of Skycore Digital LLC — the sole announced deal underpinning the company's AI infrastructure thesis — has been stripped of its two principal commercial protections: a $500,000 break-up fee and exclusivity. An amendment effective June 30, 2026 simultaneously declares the letter of intent non-binding, meaning any party can walk away at any time without liability. The change came just 10 weeks after Z Squared went public via reverse merger, at the same moment the original drop-dead date expired, and as the company continues to raise capital through a $300 million at-the-market program and a $50 million committed equity forward.

DJT Trump Media & Technology Group, Corp. Management crisis

Trump Media's Fourth Senior Departure in Four Months Leaves CEO Role Interim

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $2.4B · Live $2.4B

George Holding resigned from Trump Media's board effective immediately on July 6, with no reason stated and no successor named — the fourth board-level or executive departure since March 6. The exits follow Robert Lighthizer, Eric Swider, and CEO Devin Nunes, who was replaced on an interim basis by Kevin McGurn under a nine-month employment agreement. The company has no permanent CEO and a $6 billion merger with TAE Technologies targeting a Q4 2026 close that still requires shareholder approval and a Form S-4 that has not yet been filed.

APAM Artisan Partners Asset Management, Inc. Platform Contraction

Artisan Partners to Close US Value Team After $5.7 Billion Mandate Exit

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $2.6B · Live $2.6B

Artisan Partners disclosed that a U.S. sub-advisory mandate terminated in June 2026, triggering approximately $5.7 billion in net outflows from its Value Equity strategy and prompting the firm to commence an orderly wind-down of all US Value team strategies, expected to complete by the end of Q3 2026. The announcement appeared as footnote 3 in the AUM strategy breakdown of a routine monthly operating update, with headline firm AUM of $183.4 billion masking the team-level closure. The US Value team had managed three strategies totaling approximately $7.5 billion at March 31, 2026; by June 30, only $1.8 billion remained across those strategies, all of it in wind-down. No personnel disclosures accompanied the announcement.

FRHC Freedom Holding, Corp. Leadership Transition

Former Kazakhstan Central Bank Chief Quits Freedom Holding Board

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $10.2B · Live $10.2B

Kairat Kelimbetov, a former Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, resigned from Freedom Holding Corp.'s board effective July 8, 2026, with no reason given beyond the standard no-disagreement disclaimer. The departure reduces the board from seven to six directors, with no replacement named. Two days later, the company closed its pre-announced $300 million Regulation S private placement, with its own subsidiary Freedom Finance Global PLC collecting a placement fee of up to $3 million.

SRBK SR Bancorp, Inc. Vendor Data Breach

Auditor's Server Breach Exposes Somerset Regal Bank Customer Social Security Numbers

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $141M · Live $141M

Mercadien, P.C. CPAs, the third-party internal audit provider for Somerset Regal Bank, suffered a data security incident in which an unauthorized actor accessed files on Mercadien's servers containing customer names, social security numbers, account numbers, identification documents, and dates of birth. The bank's own systems were unaffected and operations were not disrupted. SR Bancorp says the incident is not expected to be material to its financials, though the number of affected customers has not been disclosed. Customer notifications are being sent through Mercadien in accordance with federal and state law.

WS Worthington Steel, Inc. Turnaround

Worthington Steel Corrects Q4 Results, Electrical Steel Impairments Reach $112 Million

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $1.6B · Live $1.6B

Worthington Steel issued a corrected fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release on July 10, 2026, adding $17.7 million in previously unreported long-lived asset impairment charges in its Electrical Steel segment, discovered during year-end internal controls. The correction deepens the Q4 operating loss to $74.5 million from $57.6 million and flips full-year fiscal 2026 to an operating loss of $1.4 million from the previously reported operating income of $15.5 million. The restated figures arrive roughly six weeks after the company closed the $1.4 billion debt-financed acquisition of Klöckner & Co SE, its largest ever.

FWRD Forward AIR, Corp. Management crisis

Forward Air Executive Chairman Lorrain Steps Down After 13 Months

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $423M · Live $423M

Jerome Lorrain resigned as Forward Air's Executive Chairman on July 10, 2026, roughly 13 months after his appointment, and will remain on the board as a non-employee director. His time-based restricted stock — about 40% of a $500,000 one-time hire grant — continues vesting under an amended agreement, while his performance share units and a special 25,000-share grant tied to the now-concluded strategic review are forfeited. The departure leaves Forward Air with a five-member board after a year of attrition, as the company carries $1.69 billion in long-term debt, reported a $40.2 million net loss in Q1 2026, and faces the prospective loss of a customer responsible for approximately $250 million in fiscal 2025 revenue.

NXG NXG Nextgen Infrastructure Income Fund Management Succession

Cushing Senior Staff Buy Out Founder Swank, Taking 62% Stake

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $357M · Live $357M

A group of Cushing Asset Management's senior employees, operating through a Texas LLC called NXG Cushing, acquired a controlling 62% stake in the fund's investment adviser from founder Jerry V. Swank, simultaneously replacing Swank's personal holding company as the Adviser's general partner. The transaction closed July 10, 2026, automatically terminating the prior advisory agreement under the 1940 Act. Shareholders approved a new agreement at the adjourned annual meeting on the same day; terms are materially identical, including the 1.25% annual advisory fee and a 0.25% fee waiver running through February 1, 2027. The filing does not disclose the terms or financing of the acquisition, nor Swank's ongoing role, if any, at the firm.

PLMK Plum Acquisition Corp, IV Deal Stress

Plum IV Cuts CTR Merger Valuation 30% to $3.15 Billion

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $258M · Live $258M

The implied valuation of Controlled Thermal Resources used to calculate merger consideration was cut 30%—from $4.5 billion to $3.15 billion—in a second amendment to the SPAC merger agreement signed just four months after the original deal. Potential earnout shares were simultaneously trimmed from 100 million to 70 million across eight tranches, and the closing deadline was pushed from December 31, 2026 to April 30, 2027. The amendment also raised the cap on non-redemption incentive shares from 2 million to 3 million, a change that signals heightened concern about shareholder redemptions ahead of a July 10 extension vote. No Form S-4 registration statement has yet been filed with the SEC.

CUE CUE Biopharma, Inc. Distressed

Cue Biopharma Raises $50 Million While Carrying Active Going Concern Warning

At edition (Jul 10, 2026) $154M · Live $154M

Cue Biopharma raised $50 million in a private placement led by Cormorant Asset Management and Columbia Threadneedle Investments, selling shares at $33.21 apiece with closing set for July 13, 2026. The same filing that announced the deal disclosed the company's active going concern determination — that it does not have sufficient capital to continue operations beyond the next twelve months. It is the company's third equity raise since December 2025, following a $8.9 million public offering in December and a $30 million private placement completed in late April or early May 2026, all under a new CEO installed just ten weeks before this transaction.

Z Squared Strips Flagship Acquisition of Exclusivity and Break-Up Fee