Activate Energy Acquisition completes $230 million IPO

Activate Energy Acquisition Corp. (AEAQU) completed its initial public offering of 23 million units at $10 per unit, raising $230 million in gross proceeds before deducting underwriting discounts and expenses, according to a company statement.

The offering included 3 million additional units from the full exercise of underwriters’ over-allotment option. Units began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on December 4, 2025.

Each unit contains one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Whole warrants allow holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at $11.50 per share. The company expects Class A ordinary shares and warrants to trade separately on Nasdaq under symbols "AEAQ" and "AEAQW" respectively.

BTIG, LLC served as sole book-running manager for the offering. The Securities and Exchange Commission registration statement became effective December 1, 2025.

Activate Energy plans to use net proceeds from the offering and simultaneous private placements to complete its initial business combination. The Cayman Islands-incorporated blank check company intends to focus on acquisition opportunities in the oil and gas industry, leveraging management’s background in that sector.

The company will seek merger, share exchange, asset acquisition or similar business combinations with one or more entities. Activate Energy Sponsors, LLC serves as the company sponsor.

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 rose after a relatively benign inflation report kept open the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

At 1:10 p.m. ET (18:10 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 190 points, or 0.4%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.3%.

PCE inflation gauge in spotlight

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), indicated that inflation remained under control, suggesting that the U.S. central bank can cut interest rates next week to support the slowing economy.

Excluding food and energy, the underlying, or "core," PCE price index fell to 2.8% in the 12 months to September, below the expected 2.9%, and 0.2% month-on-month.

The importance of price stability, the second element of the Fed’s dual mandate, has faded a little of late, but the Fed policymakers will be pleased to see the index falling, further emboldening rate-cut expectations.

Expectations of a 25-basis point reduction at the Federal Reserve’s December 9–10 meeting have been running hot on the back of recent weak labor data and broader signs of economic cooling.

Thursday’s weekly jobless claims plunged by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000, the lowest level since September 2022, but economists cautioned that distortions tied to the Thanksgiving holiday may have exaggerated the decline.

Elsewhere, a private-sector payroll report from ADP on Wednesday showed a decline of 32,000 jobs -- the largest drop in over two and a half years, and a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas stated that announced job cuts dropped sharply in November but hiring intentions remained weak.

Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery

In the corporate sector, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has agreed to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) in a cash and stock transaction valued at $27.75 per share, with a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion.

The deal, announced on Friday, follows a weeks-long bidding war where Netflix outbid Paramount Skydance’s (NASDAQ:{{8171’s|PSKY}}) nearly $24-a-share offer with its nearly $28-a-share proposal.

Should the transaction be finalized, it would transform Netflix into a media powerhouse with control over one of the most valuable content libraries in the entertainment industry.

Get premium news and insight, AI stock picks, and deep research tools by upgrading to InvestingPro - get 55% off today

Elsewhere, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares soared after the cosmetics retailer topped Wall Street estimates for its fiscal third quarter and raised its full-year outlook.

Victoria’s Secret (NYSE:VSCO) stock rose strongly after the lingerie retailer reported better-than-expected third quarter results, raising its full-year outlook as its turnaround strategy shows signs of success.

On the flip side, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock slumped after the cloud services and hardware company missed analysts’ revenue expectations for the fourth quarter, posting $9.68 billion versus a consensus estimate of $9.94 billion.

Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 rose after a relatively benign inflation report kept open the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

At 1:10 p.m. ET (18:10 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 190 points, or 0.4%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.3%.

PCE inflation gauge in spotlight

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), indicated that inflation remained under control, suggesting that the U.S. central bank can cut interest rates next week to support the slowing economy.

Excluding food and energy, the underlying, or "core," PCE price index fell to 2.8% in the 12 months to September, below the expected 2.9%, and 0.2% month-on-month.

The importance of price stability, the second element of the Fed’s dual mandate, has faded a little of late, but the Fed policymakers will be pleased to see the index falling, further emboldening rate-cut expectations.

Expectations of a 25-basis point reduction at the Federal Reserve’s December 9–10 meeting have been running hot on the back of recent weak labor data and broader signs of economic cooling.

Thursday’s weekly jobless claims plunged by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000, the lowest level since September 2022, but economists cautioned that distortions tied to the Thanksgiving holiday may have exaggerated the decline.

Elsewhere, a private-sector payroll report from ADP on Wednesday showed a decline of 32,000 jobs -- the largest drop in over two and a half years, and a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas stated that announced job cuts dropped sharply in November but hiring intentions remained weak.

Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros Discovery

In the corporate sector, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has agreed to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) in a cash and stock transaction valued at $27.75 per share, with a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion.

The deal, announced on Friday, follows a weeks-long bidding war where Netflix outbid Paramount Skydance’s (NASDAQ:{{8171’s|PSKY}}) nearly $24-a-share offer with its nearly $28-a-share proposal.

Should the transaction be finalized, it would transform Netflix into a media powerhouse with control over one of the most valuable content libraries in the entertainment industry.

Get premium news and insight, AI stock picks, and deep research tools by upgrading to InvestingPro - get 55% off today

Elsewhere, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares soared after the cosmetics retailer topped Wall Street estimates for its fiscal third quarter and raised its full-year outlook.

Victoria’s Secret (NYSE:VSCO) stock rose strongly after the lingerie retailer reported better-than-expected third quarter results, raising its full-year outlook as its turnaround strategy shows signs of success.

On the flip side, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock slumped after the cloud services and hardware company missed analysts’ revenue expectations for the fourth quarter, posting $9.68 billion versus a consensus estimate of $9.94 billion.

Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article