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Good Morning,

Oil broke through $110 (two years after Cathie Wood said it was going to $12), stocks were down and crypto was up, a Russian convoy is approaching Kyiv, Target and SoFi crushed earnings, the summer intern market is heating up, MLB opening day is canceled, the luxury car cargo ship sank, and it seems like every American company is halting sales in Russia.

If Adidas stops supplying track suits to Moscow, this war just might end tomorrow.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

• Volatile market days continued as US stocks slid yesterday with oil prices rising above $110/barrel and Russia continuing to attack Ukraine

• Treasury yields were lower across the board, with the 10Y falling below 1.7% at several points yesterday as investors bought bonds amid stock market volatility

• The VanEck Russia ETF fell 30% Monday and was down another 23.9% yesterday

• The ISM released its gauge of factory activity for February which showed an increase in US manufacturing activity after an omicron-induced setback in January

Earnings

• Target shares jumped 10%+ after reporting strong increases in comparable sales during the holiday quarter. The retailer had a big earnings beat but a slight miss on revenue (WSJ)

• SoFi shares rose 15%+ in AH trading after posting better-than-expected top- and bottom-line numbers thanks to record new members and new product adds (INV)

• AMC posted its “strongest quarterly results in two full years,” beating expectations as it continues to grow post-pandemic (YHOO)

• Salesforce posted a beat-and-raise report as it continued to see strong demand from customers (YHOO)

• Nordstrom reported better-than-expected Q4 sales and earnings numbers driven by strong holiday demand; it also upgraded its outlook hoping that post-Covid life brings more consumer dollars to stores (CNBC)

• What we’re watching today: Abercrombie & Fitch, Snowflake, Dollar Tree, Victoria’s Secret

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Huge Russian convoy approaches Kyiv as fears of all-out assault on capital grow (CNBC)

• Visa and Mastercard block Russian banks from networks after sanctions (CNBC)

• US and other major economies agree to coordinated release of stockpile of 60M barrels of oil as price pushes above $100 (BBG) 

• Summer interns jilt companies as better offers come along (WSJ)

• Starbucks threatened to shutter stores over organizing, union claims (BBG)

• Jan. 6 panel subpoenas six tied to bid to overturn election (BBG)

• Nike temporarily halts sales in Russia via its website, app (BBG)

• Ford tells partners it’s suspending operations in Russia (BBG)

• EU agrees to move to next step in Ukraine’s membership bid (BBG)

• Mubadala, Qatar fund holding on to Russian assets for now (BBG)

• NYC Police Pension Fund approves divestment of Russian holdings (BBG)

• Southwest Gas plans to spin off subsidiary Icahn wanted sold (BBG)

• FTC prepares for possible challenge to Amazon’s $8.5B MGM deal (RT)

• Russia targets Ukrainian civilian areas in shift to demoralize resistance (WSJ)

• MLB cancels Opening Day and some regular season games after owners fail to reach deal with players (CNBC)

• Apple halts product sales in Russia (CNBC)

• Cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars sinks in the Atlantic (WSJ)

• More US states say no to Russian vodka amid Ukraine invasion (WSJ)

A Message From Titan

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Telecom Italia is looking to get KKR to drop a $12.1B takeover bid in an effort to pursue a spinoff plan for its landline network (BBG)

• KKR and Pembina agreed to combine their Western Canadian natural gas processing assets in a $9B deal (BBG)

• Golden Gate Capital is weighing a sale of its controlling stake in Ensemble Health Partners which could be valued at $4B-$5B (BBG)

• An investor group backed by DCP Capital Partners and Ocean Link Partners reached a deal to buy Chinese online recruitment company 51job at a $4.3B valuation (BBG)

• KPS Capital Partners is exploring options for Scottish engineering firm Howden including a potential sale or IPO at a valuation of up to $3.5B (BBG)

• Inflexion raises $3.3B for new mid-market buyout fund (BBG)

• Jaime Gilinski makes a fresh run at taking control of Colombia’s largest business group with a $1B to increase his ownership stake in Grupo SURA (BBG)

• Payment service provider Shift4 acquires Finaro for $575M (BBG)

• Shift4 also acquires The Giving Block for $54M (CT)

• BP may seek to sell its ~20% stake in state-controlled Russian explorer Rosneft at a huge discount as they make a rapid exit from the country (BBG)

• GM agreed to sell its ~5% stake in EV maker Lordstown Motors (CNBC)

• Grocer Albertsons said it would study ‘strategic alternatives’ to boost growth with Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse serving as financial advisers (BBG)

• Insurance broker Hub is partnering with Bold Penguin to buy insurtech firm Insureon (BBG)

• Huntington Bancshares agreed to buy middle-market advisory firm Capstone Partners (BBG)

• Spooler, a podcast company allowing creators to update content after it has been published, received an investment from Insider and AxelSpringer (Axios)

VC

• Accel-KKR raised $1.35B for its fourth growth capital fund (PRN)

• Electric Capital raises $1B to fund crypto networks, Web3 protocols, and blockchain-enabled businesses (EC)

• Prefab home builder Veev raised a $400M Series D led by Bond (TC)

• Visby Medical, a medical diagnostic company, raised a $100M+ Series E led by Ping An Voyager Partners (PRN)

• Bulgarian payments and expenses platform Payhawk raised a $100M Series B extension at a $1B valuation led by Lightspeed Venture Partners (BW)

• Direct-to-consumer home insurance startup Kin Insurance raised an $82M Series D led by QED Investors (BW)

• African unbanked and underbanked financing platform M-KOPA raised $75M in growth financing led by Generation Investment Management and Broadscale Group (TC)

• GridPoint, an energy management and optimization startup decarbonizing commercial buildings, raised a $75M strategic investment from Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Shell Ventures (BW)

• Cybersecurity posture automation startup Balbix raised a $70M Series C led by Redline Capital (PRN)

• Michigan-based energy storage tech startup ONE raised a $65M round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures (PRN)

• Digital health startup MDClone raised a $63M Series C led by Warburg Pincus and Viola Growth (BW)

• NextRNA Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup looking to unlock the potential of non-coding RNAs, raised $56.1M: a $9.3M seed round and $46.8M Series A led by Cobro Ventures and Lightchain Capital (BW)

• Healthcare benefits recommendation engine Nayya raised a $55M Series C led by ICONIQ Growth (TC)

• African crypto exchange VALR raised a $50M Series B at a $240M valuation led by Pantera Capital (BBG)

• Autonomous delivery robot startup Starship Technologies raised a $42M round led by NordicNinja and Taavet+Sten (TC)

• Metadata.io, an operating system for B2B marketers, raised a $40M Series B led by Next47 and Resolute Ventures (BW)

• Volopay, a Singapore-based fintech startup, raised a $29M Series A led by JAM Fund (TC)

• Medication intelligence platform Synapse Medicine raised a $28M round led by Korelya Capital (TC)

• Thermal imagery satellite startup Satellite Vu extended its Series A funding to $21M with new capital from Lockheed Martin, In-Q-Tel, and Contrarian Ventures (TC)

• Anrok, a sales tax solution startup for SaaS companies, raised $20M in funding at a $100M+ valuation led by Index Ventures and Sequoia (BW)

• Stämm, a biotechnology startup based in Buenos Aires, raised a $17M Series A led by Varana Capital (PRN)

• Vū Technologies, a creator of virtual production studios for film and video, raised a $17M seed round led by ADX Labs, Topmark Partners, and angels (PRN)

• OpsLevel, a startup helping development teams organize and track microservices, raised a $15M Series A led by Threshold Ventures (TC)

• Summit Nanotech, a sustainable lithium extraction startup, raised a $14M Series A led by Xora Innovation and Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund (BW)

• Zero Systems, a startup using automation to streamline professional services, raised a $12M Series A led by Streamlined Ventures (TC)

• Virdee, a virtual concierge platform, raised a ~$9M seed round led by Silverton Partners (PRN)

• Insurtech startup Pendella Technologies raised a $5.2M seed 2 round led by MassMutual Ventures and American Family Ventures (PRN)

• Calyptia, a first-mile observability startup, raised a $5M seed round led by Sierra Ventures and Carbide Ventures (PRN)

• Edge data solutions company DataShapes raised $5M in funding from Berg Venture Capital (PRN)

• Parcl, a startup that digitizes real estate investments via the Solana blockchain, raised a $4.1M seed round led by Archetype, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, Solana Ventures, and ParaFi (BW)

• Digital health startup Curv Health raised a $4M seed round led by iGan Partners and Build Ventures (BW)

• Whistle, an employee experience platform, raised a $3.2M seed round led by Dundee Venture Capital (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• India to potentially review timeline of state-owned LIC’s share sale due to the Ukraine invasion (BBG)

• Saudi pharmacy retail chain Nahdi Medical is looking to raise $1.36B in its IPO where it reportedly has demand for all shares up for sale (BBG)

• Dubai’s road-toll collection system Salik has picked banks for its local IPO (BBG)

• KKR-owned cosmetics maker Wella announced plans for an eventual IPO (BBG)

SPAC

• Roadside-assistance startup Urgently has held talks to go public through a merger with Graf Acquisition Corp. IV (BBG)

Debt

• Protein shake maker BellRing Brands sold $840M of junk bonds in a second attempt in ~a week to raise debt after market volatility forced them to postpone their initial bond offering (BBG)

• KKR-owned auto-parts supplier Marelli is filing to renegotiate debts with Mizuho Financial Group and other Japanese lenders (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Ken Griffin says ‘fair to assume’ Citadel will be market making in crypto in ‘months to come’ (TBC)

• EU lawmakers drop Bitcoin ban from draft of crypto regulations (Decrypt)

• Axie Infinity players push back on fee hike as play-to-earn economy lags (Decrypt)

• Polkadot founder Gavin Wood donates $5.8M to Ukraine (TBC)

• Bitcoin miners brought in $1B in revenue during February (TBC)

• CME is planning to launch micro bitcoin and ether options in March (TBC)

Exec's Picks

• Are you ready for IB interviews? Find out for free with Finance|able's new GearUp interview readiness platform.

• There is a lot of noise in financial markets right now, especially with the situation in Ukraine. Nick Maggiulli wrote a great piece on why it pays to be optimistic with your investments. Check out his latest here.

The Hiring Block

If you're looking to break into finance, lateral, or move out, check out our job board on Pallet, where we curate highly relevant roles for you. We've got 20+ jobs spanning IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

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