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Bill Ackman has once again launched a major capital play, this time in one of the most stable and profitable segments of the media business. His firm, Pershing Square, has submitted a non-binding offer to acquire Universal Music Group valued at approximately €55.75 billion, or about $64.31 billion. The goal is not only the acquisition itself but also to move the company closer to the U.S. market, achieve a higher valuation, and expand its investor base.

Unilever has taken one of its biggest strategic moves in recent years by agreeing to merge its Unilever Foods business with McCormick, creating a global group valued at approximately $65 billion with combined revenues of around $20 billion for fiscal year 2025. For shareholders, this is not just another merger announcement, but a clear signal that Unilever’s management wants to radically restructure the portfolio and shift the company’s focus to faster-growing categories outside of packaged foods. This makes it all the more interesting that the market did not receive this deal with enthusiasm.[1]

Apple isn’t pushing into AI through the loudest headlines, but through devices that users hold in their hands every day. In early March, it unveiled the iPhone 17e with an A19 chip, 256 GB of base storage, and a price tag of $599, while in the latest quarter, it reported revenue of $143.8 billion, diluted earnings per share of $2.84, and operating cash flow of nearly $54 billion. This is precisely where the essence of the whole topic begins. The company isn’t trying to sell AI as a standalone product, but as a reason to upgrade iPhones more frequently, stay within the ecosystem, and use new features directly in the system, apps, and services.

When the biggest players in the tech market stop talking about vision and start reserving physical computing capacity years in advance, the nature of the entire industry changes. Nvidia will supply Amazon’s cloud division with up to 1 million GPU chips by the end of 2027, with deliveries set to begin as early as this year. At first glance, this is just another major corporate deal in AI. In reality, however, this news reveals something more significant.

While the broader technology market declined in March 2026 under the pressure of uncertainty, Palantir experienced its best week since August of last year. The company’s shares rose by approximately 15%* and closed at $157.16, clearly defending their position in the portfolios of investors seeking protection from geopolitical chaos. However, this sharp rise was not accidental – the market’s attention turned to companies whose software solutions form the very backbone of modern defense.