Top Midday Stories: Ares Capital to Acquire MidCap Financial for $2.6 Billion; S&P Global Considering Separation of Capital IQ

11:51 AM EDT, 10/27/2026 (MT Newswires) -- All three major US stock indexes were up in late-morning trading Tuesday, as oil prices fell and investors look ahead to the Federal Reserve's next announcement on interest rates at the conclusion of officials' two-day meeting on Wednesday. In company news, Ares Capital (ARCC) will acquire MidCap Financial Investment (MFIC) in a stock-and-cash deal with a total enterprise value of around $2.6 billion, the companies said Tuesday. Under the deal terms, MidCap shareholders are expected to receive total consideration of $10.88 per fully diluted share, representing a premium of 30.1% to its closing share price on Monday. The acquisition is expected to close in H1 of 2027. Separately, Ares Capital reported Q3 core earnings Tuesday of $0.46 per share, down from $0.50 a year earlier and below the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $0.47. Total Q3 investment income was $763 million, down from $782 million a year ago. Ares Capital shares were up 0.2% around midday, while MidCap shares were up 23.7%. S&P Global (SPGI) has initiated a strategic review of alternatives, including a potential separation, for Capital IQ and associated data businesses, which constitute the majority of Kensho Data & Platforms within Market Intelligence, the company said Tuesday. Separately, S&P Global reported Q3 adjusted EPS Tuesday of $4.58 per share, up from $4.20 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $4.43. Revenue was $3.68 billion, up from $3.44 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $3.64 billion. For full-year 2026, the company expects adjusted EPS of $17.70 to $17.95, up from its prior outlook of $17.50 to $17.75 and compared with the FactSet consensus of $17.84. S&P Global shares were up 0.3%. Meta Platforms (META) said Tuesday it priced 40 million Class A common shares at $625 each, raising the stock offering to $25 billion from $22.5 billion, with both offerings set to close Thursday. Separately, Meta and Nvidia (NVDA) are expanding their partnership to develop the social media giant's Muse family of AI models, and Nvidia is also planning to invest $3 billion in Meta's equity offering, Nvidia said Tuesday. Lastly, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Meta also said they are advancing their strategic partnership to power Meta's superintelligence infrastructure. Meta shares were down 0.8%, while Nvidia and AMD shares were up 0.8% and 4.7%, respectively. Boeing (BA) reported a Q3 core loss Tuesday of $0.34 per share, narrowing from a loss of $7.47 a year earlier and compared with the FactSet consensus of a loss of $0.25. Revenue was $24.19 billion, up from $23.27 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $23.95 billion. Boeing shares were down 9.9%. Coca-Cola (KO) reported fiscal Q3 comparable diluted EPS Tuesday of $0.91, up from $0.82 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $0.88. Net operating revenue was $13.38 billion, up from $12.46 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $12.92 billion. For full-year 2026, the company expects comparable EPS growth of at least 11%, up from its previous guidance of 9% to 10% growth. Coca-Cola also expects organic revenue growth of at least 5%. Coca-Cola shares were down 0.4%. Novartis (NVS) reported Q3 core diluted EPS Tuesday of $2.46, up from $2.25 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $2.27. Net sales were $14.52 billion, up from $13.91 billion a year ago but below the FactSet consensus of $14.53 billion. For full-year 2026, the company expects core operating income growth of low-single digits, up from its previous guidance of a low-single-digit decline. Novartis shares were up 0.9%. Qualcomm (QCOM) and Anduril Industries are collaborating on a laptop designed and assembled in the US under a new product line called BlueChip, which seeks to rebuild American computer manufacturing, the companies said Tuesday. Qualcomm shares were up 1.0%. Price: 18.65, Change: +0.04, Percent Change: +0.20