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Good Morning,

Musk's net worth hit $600B, PayPal applied to become a bank, Nasdaq filed plans for around-the-clock trading, Tesla board made $3B in stock awards, AQR is having a comeback moment, and US launched a 'Tech Force' to recruit AI talent for government initiatives.

It's almost year-end – if you haven't heard from your CPA since April, their silence is likely costing you money. Check out OLarry, a proactive, year-round tax advisory service for individuals and businesses with complex taxes. All for a flat price, no surprises.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 12/15/2025 market close.

Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks slipped further yesterday as investors braced for a slate of long-awaited (but incomplete) economic data

  • UK's FTSE 100 is set for its best year in sixteen years despite a dead IPO market

  • Oil fell to its lowest since February 2021

  • Swedish krona is up 5% versus euro and up 20% versus dollar in its best run in over two decades

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Wednesday: Micron, General Mills

    • Thursday: Accenture, Nike, FedEx, CarMax, Darden Restaurants

    • Friday: Carnival

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Meanwhile, Trump is hoping for a sub-1% terminal rate

  • Trade your forecast on the Fed's rate cutting cycle on Polymarket

Headline Roundup

  • Trump said Ukraine peace deal is 'closer than ever' (FT)

  • Trump's top allies push back against Kevin Hassett for Fed chair (CNBC)

  • Fed's Stephen Miran says 'phantom inflation' is distorting Fed decisions  (FT)

  • Hedge funds are dumping Asian tech stocks (RT)

  • Warner Bros. deal is blockbuster finale to $4.5T M&A haul (BBG)

  • Hong Kong's blockbuster IPO year is set for blockbuster December (BBG)

  • CLO managers bet big on M&A revival to lift 2026 profits (BBG)

  • EM dollar bond ETF inflows surged to a three-year high (BBG)

  • Israeli tech sector deals hit $60B this year (RT)

  • US bank lending to competitors surged 26% (BBG)

  • Nasdaq will file plans for around-the-clock trading (RT)

  • Goldman Sachs restructured TMT IB group to focus on AI (RT)

  • JPMorgan's global chair of IB Jamie Grant will retire (RT)

  • AQR roars back with $180B AUM and taste for secrecy (BBG)

  • PayPal applied to become a bank (BBG)

  • Tesla board made $3B in stock awards (RT)

  • B. Riley Financial filed overdue 10-Q in step to staying listed (BBG)

  • OpenAI poached Google's Albert Lee for VP of corp dev (RT)

  • McKinsey will cut 10% of non-client-facing jobs (BBG)

  • Frontier Airlines fired CEO Barry Biffle (CNBC)

  • Ben & Jerry's ousted board chair Anuradha Mittal (RT)

  • Musk's net worth hit $600B (RT)

  • Ford will take a $20B hit on EVs (WSJ)

  • US launched 'Tech Force' to recruit AI talent for government work (CNBC)

  • JPMorgan will allow Europe HNW clients to borrow against luxury cars (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • PE firms TowerBrook, Warburg Pincus, and Stonepeak are exploring a sale or IPO of UK roadside recovery firm AA at a ~$6.7B valuation

  • Canadian engineering firm WSP agreed to buy US peer TRC from Warburg Pincus in a $3.3B all-cash deal

  • Japan's MUFG is nearing a deal to buy a 20% stake in Indian shadow lender Shriram Finance for $3.2B

  • French pharma company Sanofi agreed to pay US biotech Dren Bio up to $1.8B to develop autoimmune drugs

  • Mexico Infrastructure Partners agreed to acquire wind and solar assets in US and Mexico from Acciona Energy for $1B

  • UK PE firm BC Partners is nearing a deal for a majority stake in shipping, fulfillment and marketing services firm Fortidia from founders and Oaktree for $940M

  • UK PE firm DBAY withdrew its rejected bid for UK electronics manufacturer TT Electronics, leaving Swiss electronics firm Cicor's $385M all-cash offer as the sole proposal

  • China's Fosun Pharma agreed to acquire a 53% stake in Alzheimer's therapy firm Green Valley Pharmaceutical for $200M

  • Italian family office Exor rejected Tether's $634M all-cash bid for a 65.4% stake in Italian soccer club Juventus

  • Australian mining giant Fortescue agreed to acquire the remaining 64% stake in copper miner Alta Copper at a $101M valuation

  • Mexican billionaire Fernando Chico Pardo acquired a 25% stake in Citigroup's Mexican retail bank Banamex

  • Nvidia will acquire AI software provider SchedMD

  • IG4 Capital agreed to acquire a stake in Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem from Novonor

  • US plans more 'historic deals' with mining sector in pivots to critical sectors

Select VC Deals

  • PolyAI, an enterprise conversational AI platform, raised an $86M Series D co-led by Georgian, Hedosophia, and Khosla Ventures

  • AI-enabled drug discovery startup ChemLex raised a $45M round led by Granite Asia

  • AI audio startup Mirelo raised a $41M seed round led by Index Ventures and a16z

  • AI patent-workflow startup Solve Intelligence raised a $40M Series B co-led by Visionaries and 20VC

  • Axion, a pioneering AI platform for manufacturing product quality, raised a $37M Series B led by Salesforce Ventures

  • BlackRock and JPMorgan-backed Texas Stock Exchange raised $20M from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America 

  • Trustyfy, a DeFi banking startup, raised a $6.8M round led by Tokenee Select and the Sixth Society Angel Syndicate

Get real-time updates on any startup, VC, or sector. Try Fundable.

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman-backed medical supplies firm Medline priced its IPO near the top of a marketed range to raise ~$5.4B in what is this year's biggest listing

  • Singapore SWF GIC and PE firms CVC and Silver Lake are exploring an IPO or sale of UK roadside assistance firm RAC at a ~$6.7B valuation

  • Hong Kong crypto exchange HashKey raised $206M in a Hong Kong IPO

  • Indian audio content platform Mebigo Labs is seeking to raise $200M in an India IPO

  • HVAC firm Madison Air Solutions confidentially filed for an IPO

  • Malaysia's largest online insurance aggregator Bjak is weighing an IPO

  • World's biggest in-flight caterer Gategroup selected banks for a Swiss IPO

Debt

  • Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac grew their retained portfolios by over 25% through October, reaching a combined $234B

  • Japanese lender SMBC's APAC arm completed its first $3.2B SRT deal with Blackstone, Stonepeak, and Clifford Capital

  • Greek lender Eurobank is planning two SRT deals tied to $2.3B of corporate loans

  • Animal medicine company Zoetis is seeking to raise $1.75B in a convertible bond sale

  • US firefighting chemical producer Perimeter Solutions raised $550M in a secured notes sale

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Spirit Airlines secured a $100M DIP lifeline to stay afloat in Chapter 11 

  • Telecom infrastructure firm CommScope lenders are demanding immediate loan repayment plus a $100M make-whole premium, arguing a recent asset sale triggered a default

  • LiDAR sensor manufacturer Luminar Technologies filed for Chapter 11 following the loss of a contract with Volvo

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • Lightspeed Venture Partners raised $9B across six funds targeting AI in its largest fundraising haul ever

  • BlackRock lost another $6B equity mandate from Dutch pension PME over ESG pullback concerns

  • Dragoneer raised $4.3B for its seventh VC fund

  • Private credit firm Pathlight Capital raised $1.9B across its fourth ABL credit fund and second tranche of its evergreen fund

  • PE firm Stone Point Capital is testing a $1B evergreen fund that will one day open to individuals investors 

  • BNP Paribas' AXA Investment Managers raised a $535M seed commitment for its carbon transition global core credit fund from WTW's master trust 

  • Abu Dhabi SWF Mubadala and investment firm Barings launched a $500M JV targeting CRE debt investments across US, Europe, and APAC

  • Israeli VC Viola Ventures raised $250M across its seventh flagship early-stage fund and first secondaries fund

  • Spanish VC Kibo Ventures raised $95M for a targeted $175M fourth fund 

  • Japanese imaging technology firm Olympus Corporation committed $150M for a second VC fund focused on medtech

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • JPMorgan will launch its first tokenized money market fund

  • Strategy acquired $1B in Bitcoin for a second-straight week

  • Crypto investor Olivier Janssens plans Caribbean community with own court system

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

Exec’s Picks

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We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.

We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot Advisers, LLC ("Autopilot"), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks, including loss of principal. As always, be smart out there. Litquidity is compensated to promote AutoPilot. Compensation details available upon request.

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