For deal sourcers, staying current on private company activity is critical to spotting active buyers, tracking market trends, and uncovering emerging investment opportunities ahead of competitors.
In May alone, we added more than 1,400 new private company transactions, bringing the total to over 24,000 searchable deals across sectors, industries, and transaction types in Dakota Marketplace.
Inside Dakota Marketplace, you’ll find the transactions tab that provides structured, filterable data on deal types, values, and dates, while our editorial team curates daily updates through the Dakota transactions newsletter, helping you cut through the noise and focus on what matters most.
To ensure the most comprehensive coverage of private market activity, Dakota monitors over 10,000 websites including company websites, newswires, and numerous third-party news providers to capture and verify transaction data as it happens.
Below are the top 10 financial transactions.
- Transaction Date: 5/5/2026
- Industry: Financial Services
- Type: Buyout / Private Equity
- Transaction Value: $4.2B
Digital asset platform Bullish has agreed to acquire Equiniti, a global transfer agent serving nearly 3,000 public company clients and processing $500 billion in annual payments, from Siris Capital for $4.2 billion in a mix of assumed debt and Bullish stock. The deal creates what the companies describe as the first fully integrated blockchain-enabled transfer agent, positioning the combined platform to power the tokenization of securities as capital markets shift toward blockchain-native infrastructure.
- Transaction Date: 5/26/2026
- Industry: Financial Services
- Type: Acquisition / Merger
- Transaction Value: $3.5B
Swiss quantum technology company Terra Quantum is going public via a SPAC merger with Axiom Intelligence Acquisition Corp 1 at a $3.5 billion equity valuation, expected to trade on Nasdaq under "TQ" in the second half of 2026. Unlike hardware-focused quantum peers, Terra Quantum has built a commercial platform combining quantum computing, quantum security, and AI-driven optimization that already generates enterprise revenue across financial services, manufacturing, pharma, and defense sectors..
- Transaction Date: 5/5/2026
- Industry: Financial Services
- Type: Acquisition / Merger
- Transaction Value: $1B
Scilex Holding's subsidiary ACEA Therapeutics has agreed to sell its ACEA Pharma unit to Nasdaq-listed shell company Phoenix Asia Holdings for $1 billion in stock (100 million shares at $10), with Phoenix to be renamed ACEA Pharma upon closing and ACEA Therapeutics retaining ~82% ownership of the combined entity. The transaction effectively takes ACEA Pharma — a clinical-stage company focused on cancer, autoimmune disease, and Covid-19 with drug manufacturing and commercial capabilities in China — public via a reverse merger.
- Transaction Date: 4/7/2026
- Industry: Capital Markets
- Type: Growth Equity
- Transaction Value: $1B
Prediction market platform Kalshi raised $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation in a Series F led by Coatue, with participation from Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Morgan Stanley, and others, as institutional trading volume on the platform surged 800% over the past six months. Kalshi controls over 90% of U.S. prediction market activity with $178 billion in annualized trading volume, and plans to use the capital to deepen penetration among hedge funds, asset managers, and insurance companies.
- Transaction Date: 5/11/2026
- Industry: Financial Services
- Type: Acquisition / Merger
- Transaction Value: $848M
Providence Equity-backed 365 Retail Markets completed its $848 million acquisition of Cantaloupe, combining 365's self-checkout and smart store systems with Cantaloupe's payments, telemetry, and global device network to create a more comprehensive unattended retail platform. The combined company serves nearly 40,000 customers across vending, food service, hospitality, sports and entertainment, and transit — positioning it to capture share of the $86 billion global unattended retail market.
- Transaction Date: 5/1/2026
- Industry: Consumer Finance
- Type: Acquisition / Merger
- Transaction Value: $800M
Barclays completed its $800 million acquisition of Best Egg, a leading U.S. direct-to-consumer personal loan platform that has facilitated over $40 billion in loans to 2+ million customers and is on track for $7 billion in 2025 originations. The deal strengthens Barclays' U.S. Consumer Bank by adding a proven digital lending platform and risk capabilities in prime personal loans, complementing its existing co-brand credit card business.
- Transaction Date: 5/7/2026
- Industry: Financial Services
- Type: Acquisition / Merger
- Transaction Value: $600M
Payward agreed to acquire Reap Technologies, a stablecoin-native card issuing and cross-border payments infrastructure company, for up to $600 million in cash and stock, adding global card issuance and stablecoin payment rails to its B2B infrastructure platform. The deal extends Payward's regulatory footprint into APAC and the Americas while giving its 1,900+ B2B partners a single integration point spanning crypto trading, custody, derivatives, and now stablecoin-powered card and payments infrastructure.
- Transaction Date: 5/1/2026
- Industry: Capital Markets
- Type: Acquisition / Merger
- Transaction Value: $550M
Payward (Kraken's parent company) completed its acquisition of Bitnomial for up to $550 million, gaining the first complete CFTC-licensed crypto derivatives stack in the U.S. — comprising an exchange, clearinghouse, and brokerage built natively for digital assets. The deal enables Payward to offer CFTC-regulated spot margin, perpetuals, and options to U.S. clients across Kraken and NinjaTrader, completing its regulated derivatives footprint across the U.S., UK, and EU.
- Transaction Date: 5/12/2026
- Industry: Financial Services
- Type: Credit
- Transaction Value: $260M
Credibly, an AI-powered working capital lender for small and medium-sized businesses, secured over $260 million in new financing through a securitization transaction and refinancing of existing warehouse and mezzanine facilities with Truist Bank and Medalist Partners. The expanded capital base positions the company to scale SMB lending originations following a record first quarter, building on over $3 billion deployed to 60,000+ businesses since its 2010 founding.
- Transaction Date: 5/22/2026
- Industry: Capital Markets
- Type: Venture
- Transaction Value: $200M
Kalshi raised an additional $200 million in a Series F extension round with participation from Baillie Gifford and Layer Global, adding to the company's previously announced $1 billion Series F, to continue expanding its prediction market product suite.
At Dakota, we understand how important it is to stay current on deal activity as it happens. That’s why our editorial team continuously monitors the news for real-time updates on platform investments, add-ons, divestitures, and more to deliver daily highlights straight to your inbox through our transactions newsletter.
Inside Dakota Marketplace, the transactions tab provides structured, filterable data with deal dates, types, sectors, and financials, allowing you to build a customized feed that aligns with your focus areas.
Whether you're evaluating a new investment opportunity or tracking trends within a target sector, Dakota Marketplace helps you cut through the noise and focus on what matters most.
For more information on these transactions and a deeper dive into their industries and sub-industries, book a demo of Dakota Marketplace.
