A Googol Fine For Google

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Good Morning,

OpenAI is working on an in-house AI chip, big banks see dealmaking growth continuing into next year, early megacap earnings came in mixed, and Russia fined Google more money than what exists on Earth.

Invest in institutional-caliber private markets with 10 East, a membership-based investment platform offering targeted exposure to PE, VC, and more.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 10/29/2024 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks mostly rose as investors braced for a slew of megacap earnings

    • Nasdaq closed at a new record high

  • US bond markets are pricing the biggest post-election volatility in over 30 years, with some targeting a 4.5% yield on the 10Y

  • UK 10Y gilt yields hit 4.32%, a post-election high

  • Gold hit a fresh record high

  • Bitcoin hit $73k for the first time since March, inches away from an ATH

Earnings

  • Alphabet rose 6% after beating Q3 EPS and revenue estimates as its AI offerings boosted growth in its cloud unit (CNBC

  • AMD fell 8% despite doubling revenue for a second-straight quarter as its in-line Q4 forecast failed to impress growth-hungry AI investors (CNBC

  • Reddit jumped 25% after beating Q3 estimates and forecasting an optimistic Q4 on resilience in user traffic (CNBC

  • Visa beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates on an 8% jump in payments volume; it will cut 1.4k jobs to streamline its international business (WSJ

  • PayPal fell 4% after missing on Q3 revenue and Q4 guidance as the fintech seeks to address deteriorating take rates (CNBC

  • Chipotle fell 5% after missing Q3 revenue and same-store sales expectations as growth across income brackets and a re-emphasis on generous portions failed to meet investors' high bar (CNBC

  • McDonald's beat Q3 EPS and revenue estimates as US restaurants reversed a same-store sales decline, though the E. coli outbreak may weigh on Q4 (CNBC

  • Pfizer beat Q3 EPS and revenue estimates and hiked FY guidance on strength in its Covid products; a crucial win amid an activist campaign (CNBC

  • What we're watching this week: 

    • Today: Microsoft, Meta, Coinbase, Eli Lilly 

    • Thursday: Apple, Amazon, Intel, Uber

    • Friday: ExxonMobil, Chevron

  • Full calendar here

🇺🇸 Election Forecast

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Headline Roundup

  • US job openings dropped to the lowest since January 2021 (CNBC)

  • China may issue over $1.4T in extra debt over next few years (RT)

  • Goldman and Morgan Stanley CEOs see more dealmaking in 2025 (RT)

  • FTC's new merger rules came from rare bipartisan compromise (BBG)

  • Asset-backed debt sales topped $313B to beating a post-GFC record (BBG)

  • JPMorgan says fear has receded in a $1.8T SSLs market (BBG)

  • PwC profits fell 13% in Asia after China and Australia scandals (FT)

  • Saudi Arabia's PIF is pivoting away from international investments (FT)

  • OpenAI is working with Broadcom and TSMC to build in-house AI chips (RT

  • Adani Enterprises profit rocketed 7x on growing infrastructure business (FT)

  • Russia fined Google $2.5D (MT)

  • Adidas settled all lawsuits with Kanye West (WSJ)

  • 'Roaring Kitty' Keith Gill dissolved his entire stake in Chewy (RT)

  • Feds raided the NYC jail where SBF and Diddy are being held (BBG)

A Message from 10 East

Where Sophisticated Investors Access Private Markets

10 East is a co-investment platform where sophisticated investors access private market investments alongside a veteran team with a 12+ year track record of strong performance across over 350 transactions. The firm is led by Michael Leffell, former Deputy Executive Managing Member of Davidson Kempner.

Members have the flexibility to participate on a deal-by-deal basis across private equity, credit, real estate, and venture capital.

Benefits of 10 East membership include:  

  • Flexibility – members have full discretion over whether to invest on an offering-by-offering basis. 

  • Alignment – principals commit material personal capital to every offering.  

  • Institutional resources – a dedicated investment team that sources and diligences each offering.

There are no upfront costs or commitments associated with joining 10 East.

Exec Sum readers can join 10 East with complimentary access here.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • BlackRock is in advanced talks to buy private credit giant HPS at an over $11B valuation

  • America's largest pipeline system Colonial Pipeline is weighing a sale at a $10B valuation

  • Europe's largest broadcaster RTL Group is exploring a merger for its $2.1B Fremantle production unit

  • A JV between Hilco Global and TPG acquired rights to B. Riley Financial's consumer brands for $236M

  • Municipal finance lender Preston Hollow is exploring a sale

  • Sports PE firm Arctos is in talks to buy minority a stake in NFL's Buffalo Bills 

  • Czech utility CEZ acquired a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce's small nuclear reactor business

  • Abu Dhabi-owned growth equity firm CYVN agreed to acquire 100% of McLaren's automotive business from Bahrain's SWF Mumtalakat 

VC

  • Musk's xAI in talks to raise funding at a $40B valuation

  • Data center start-up Crusoe Energy is raising $500M at a $3B valuation led by Founders Fund 

  • Fingercheck, a payroll and HR platform for SMBs, raised a $115M growth round led by Edison Partners 

  • African fintech Moniepoint raised a $110M Series C at a $1B valuation led by Development Partners International 

  • GMI Cloud, a GPU cloud infrastructure startup, raised an $82M Series A led by Headline Asia 

  • INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, a brain-computer interface therapeutics startup, raised a $50M Series B led by imec.xpand 

  • Petfolk, a provider of veterinary and urgent care, raised a $36M Series C led by Deerfield Management 

  • Reflexivity, an AI solutions for the investment industry, raised a $30M Series B led by Greycroft and Interactive Brokers 

  • EvoluteIQ, an AI-powered end-to-end automation platform, raised $20M led by Round2 Capital 

  • Elevate, a consumer-directed benefits administration platform, raised a $20M growth round led by Fin Capital

  • Infraspeak, a collaboration platform for facility management, raised a $19.5M Series B led by Endeit Capital 

  • Semble, a UK-based healthtech SaaS startup, raised a $15M Series B led by Mercia Ventures 

  • Brightwave, an AI agent to help asset managers find signal, raised a $15M Series A led by Decibel Partners 

  • Tilled, a PayFac-as-a-Service startup, raised $12.5M in funding led by Canvas Ventures and UPC Capital Ventures 

  • HOMEE, an AI-driven direct repair network for the insurance industry, raised a $12M Series C led by W.R. Berkley Corporation 

  • RIFT, a startup decarbonizing energy-intensive industries with iron fuel, raised an $11.5M Series A from PGGM, Invest-NL, and more

  • Table22, an e-commerce tools for the food and beverage industry, raised an $11M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners

  • Matia, a unified data operations platform, raised $10.5M led by Leaders Fund and Secret Chord Ventures 

  • Infinite Machine, a startup building futuristic urban transit alternatives, raised a $9M seed round led by a16z 

  • CredibleMind, a mental wellbeing platform, raised a $7.5M Series A led by Horizon Mutual

  • Auquan, an AI startup automating deep work in finance, raised a $4.5M seed extension led by Peak XV 

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Boeing raised $21.1B in an expanded share sale

Debt

  • Colombia sold $3.6B of dollar bonds

  • Slovakia sold $2.2B of Eurobonds in a syndicated sale

  • Soccer team investor Eagle Football is seeking to borrow $300M to help repay part of a loan from Ares

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • TPG-owned orthopedics medtech Exactech filed for bankruptcy after being sued for defective implants

Fundraising

  • Blackstone raised $22B for an evergreen direct-lending fund

  • Energy-focused PE firm Quantum Capital raised $10B for its eight flagship and other funds

  • TPG raised $4.4B for its second climate fund

  • Adams Street Partners raised $1.1B for its Global Fund Program to invest in small to mid-market firms

  • Carlyle-subsidiary AlpInvest Partners closed a $1B collateralized fund obligation

  • Hollywood's Olivia Wilde co-founded Proximity Ventures with plans to raise over $100M

Crypto Corner

  • USDC stablecoin issuer Circle raised fees to cash out BBG

  • Treasury's new financial inclusion strategy makes no mention of crypto (CD)

  • Bitcoin miners are cutting costs and embracing AI post-halving (CT)

Exec’s Picks

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