America’s AI Boom Brings the Five Families Together to Finance Industrial Renaissance

Rockstar Energy Founder Builds Celsius Stake, Wants to Take Over as CEO
Last week, Rockstar Energy CEO Ross Savage went live on CNBC to share that he had accumulated a nearly 5% stake in Celsius Holdings and publicly argued in favor of replacing the energy drink maker’s CEO, COO and marketing manager. Celsius investors have responded positively to Savage’s suggestion, writes The Deal’s Jean Haggerty, and in response, the company announced the appointment of a new COO this week. Read More

Semafor: Lionsgate Faces Activist Pressure to Sell Itself in ‘AI Era’
Anson Funds’ Sagar Gupta sent a letter to Lionsgate’s Board arguing that the movie studio should put itself up for sale, following recent consolidation across the media sector, writes Rohan Goswami. Read More

Goldman Sachs: 2H 2026 Global M&A Outlook: Embracing the Volatility Paradox
The Goldman team previews the dealmaking environment for the remainder of the year, emphasizing that market conditions will make sponsors more willing to pursue deals and that AI investment could help “supercycle” another wave of M&A. Read More

Financial Times: How Investors Killed AstraZeneca’s $400bn Megadeal
The FT team provides a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at how talks for a potential mega-merger between Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca progressed and eventually fizzled out following pushback from investors. Read More

Bloomberg: Investors Want Quarterly Reports, Unfavorable Results and All
A detailed report by Bloomberg’s Mathieu Benhamou and Lydia Beyoud examines how Wall Street is still overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the quarterly reporting status quo. Read More

The Wall Street Journal: CIO Brief: Shareholder Proposal Filings Are on the Wane
A new study by The Conference Board reveals that across the Russell 3000, the number of shareholder proposals filed during the 2026 proxy season declined by nearly 20% across the board, with diversity and environmental-related proposals seeing a particularly precipitous decline. Read More

The Wall Street Journal: Private-Equity Firms Eager for Exits Pounce on Hot IPO Market
Over 20 private-equity-backed companies have gone public so far this year, as firms continue to seize upon the red-hot IPO market. Read More

Bloomberg: Data Center Firm Switch to File Confidentially for IPO
Switch Inc., a Nevada-based data center owner, filed to go public in a listing as soon as this November, reports Baily Lipschultz. Read More

GPPers often tout New York City as a premier culinary capital and we were glad to see that Time Out recently called our home one of the best food cities in the world. No news to us of course.

With this in mind, and considering the fact it would take someone almost 23 years to eat at every NYC restaurant, we wanted to take you on a gastronomic journey that our team enjoyed this week

Earlier this week, we started at Primrose – a new cocktail bar that recently opened on 26^th Street between 6^th and 7^th Avenue. This bar, which is the latest location for The Letterkenny Hospitality Group, offered up fantastic cocktails (our favorites were their Signature Espresso Martini, the Primrose Pick Me Up, and the Slightly Effervescent House Negroni, called the Bitter Fizzle). Beyond the beverages, they also have a great food selection and happy hour menu where we enjoyed the slow-braised meatballs and Classic Margherita pizza.

The following day, we had some celebratory cocktails at one of our favorite nearby watering holes – The Elgin. The Elgin, which was created from a dream that four lifelong friends had growing up, also has a stunning whiskey list that would leave the top whiskey connoisseurs dying for another dram.

We then headed downtown for a birthday celebration at Village staple Il Cantinori. Founded in 1983, this restaurant balances its Tuscan heritage and ever-changing menu to perfection and is a place that makes you feel at home. Here we enjoyed a variety of pasta courses before a spectacular lemon chicken that we enjoyed with a nice Chianti that Hannibal Lecter would love.

We closed out the week at French bistro Le Baratin – a Village hotspot that transports you to Paris. Opened in 2013, we enjoyed the Steak Frites with a peppercorn sauce and a martini.

Finally, we wanted to highlight Wine on Wheels, an amazing organization dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities and building a more inclusive world. They are hosting a Grand Tasting and Silent Auction at City Winery on October 18^th  that will bring together over 75 of New York City’s top sommeliers alongside leading importers and wineries. We hope to see you there for an unforgettable night of pours, community, and conversation.

• Gotham on the Rise: New York is Having a Summer for the Ages
• Jane Fraser in TIME: Why the World Is Still Investing in America
• The Wall Street Journal: Wine, Cheese and 26.2 Miles: What Could Go Wrong?
• Seven Fifty Daily: The Science Behind Disease-Resistant Grapes
• The Atlantic: The Human-Origin Story Is Being Radically Revised

• September 30-October 2: Council of Institutional Investors Fall Conference, Boston, MA
• October 6: Sportico Invest London, London, UK
• October 13-14: Berkeley Fall Forum on Corporate Governance, San Francisco, CA
• October 20: 13D Monitor Active/Passive Investor Summit, New York, NY