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Good morning,

The S&P closed at an ATH on Friday, just a few days after inflation / omicron / debt ceiling fears were sending investors into a selling frenzy. On the flipside, the LitCap Yolo Fund is getting clapped and underperforming inflation. If Karl doesn't get his act together in the next two weeks, we might have to decentralize his employment status. 

We're in the process of wrapping up an oversubscribed SPV that will be formed to invest in an exciting seed stage fintech startup. If you're accredited and want access to private deals, we'll need you to respond to this survey. We've got more planned in 2022 and ready to take the LitGang to the next level.

Shoutout to today's sponsor JOKR, the instant delivery service taking over NYC with the best name in the game. They came in clutch when the Santacon postgame was running low on beer.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

To see the LitCap Yolo Fund's portfolio holdings, download the Iris Social Stock app here and give Litquidity a follow. If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

• US markets finished off their rally last week with the Dow snapping a 4-week losing streak and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 having their best weeks since February

  • The S&P 500 even hit a new ATH despite inflation soaring to 6.8% YoY (vs. 6.7% expected) in November, the highest rate since 1982

  • US Core CPI rose 4.9% YoY, in line with estimates

• The Fed will hold their last meeting of the year starting on Tuesday, and investors will be paying close attention to their inflation response and if they’ll speed up the bond buyback taper

Earnings

• What we’re watching this week:

  • Mon: H&R Block

  • Tue: RCI Hospitality

  • Wed: HEICO, Progressive

  • Thurs: Adobe, FedEx, Accenture

  • Fri: Darden Restaurants, Winnebago

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Deadly collapse at Amazon warehouse puts spotlight on phone ban (BBG)

• Fed hikes seen starting with yield curve flattest in generation (BBG)

• California to use Texas abortion ruling as anti-gun law model (BBG)

• Pfizer course may have 23% efficacy versus omicron (BBG)

• Activist Mantle Ridge seeks to replace Dollar Tree board (BBG)

• Activist Elliott Management calls on builder Taylor Wimpey to ‘shake up’ its management (BBG)

• KKR gives Co-CEOs Bae, Nuttal shot at $1B in stock (BBG)

• Chris Wallace to depart Fox News, join CNN+ streaming service (WSJ)

• Sirius hires top builder of Disney+ streaming service (WSJ)

• More than 80 killed in Kentucky after deadly tornadoes rip across several states (CNBC)

• G-7 warns Russia of ‘massive consequences’ if it attacks Ukraine (CNBC)

• Verstappen wins 1st F1 title with last lap pass of Hamilton (CNBC)

• Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launches and returns first six passenger spaceflight (CNBC)

A Message From JOKR

Are you slammed with work? Is your fridge / pantry game down horrendous? JOKR has the answers to your struggles. 

As the global leader in instant delivery, you can order groceries, household items and local favorites and have them instantly delivered to your door or office (in the cities JOKR is available in). 

JOKR launched in NYC in June and has taken it by storm, becoming a go-to for financial professionals in the city that never sleeps. They also just expanded into Boston where they are already available in several neighborhoods. 

They’re backed by the likes of Tiger Global and GGV Capital so you know JOKR is set to expand into your city soon.

So if you’re at a pregame that’s running low on beer, mixers, or snacks and want to be the hero, fire up the JOKR app and save the party. 

Download the app here and use the code EXEC15 for $15 OFF your first $20+ order. 

If the link doesn't work on desktop, try on your phone

Deal Flow

M&A

• Japanese conglomerate Hitachi is considering options to streamline its business including the potential sale of its minority stake in Hitachi Transport System that could be worth ~$1.6B (BBG)

• Blackstone agreed to buy a stake in Australian Logistics Trust for $1.5B from GIC (BBG)

• Australian hospitals operator Ramsay Health Care agreed to buy UK mental health services provider Elysium for $1B (BBG)

• Insurer Royal London made a new proposal to merge with rival LV=, reportedly minutes after Bain Capital’s buyout offer failed (BBG)

• Halliburton is in talks to buy Exxon’s stake in the West Qurna-1 oil field in southern Iraq (BBG)

• Australian pension funds QIC and Sunsuper Superannuation Fund agreed to buy New Zealand’s second-largest hospital operator, Evolution Healthcare, for ~$500M (BBG)

• Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is one of the bidders for bankrupt Indian textile firm Sintex Industries in a push to diversify the conglomerate (BBG)

• Sony Corp’s gaming division agreed to buy “God of War” developer Valkyrie Entertainment (RT)

• LVMH agreed to buy a 49% stake in Italian eyewear manufacturer Thelios from Italian group Marcoline; as part of the deal, Marcolin will also buy back a 10% stake in Thelios from LVMH (RT)

• Health insurer Centene is exploring options to offload its international operations, including newly acquired UK hospital operator Circle Health (BBG)

• KKR may make a formal offer to buy Telecom Italia without a due diligence request, after reports that the company’s board may next week deny it (BBG)

VC

• Digital wealth management platform FNZ is in talks to raise ~$1B of fresh capital to fuel its expansion (BBG)

• Berlin-based instant grocery delivery startup Flink raised a $750M Series B at a $2.85B valuation led by DoorDash (TC)

• SF-based seed and Series A-stage VC Breakout Ventures closed a second fund at $112.5M (TC)

• Logistics startup Nuvocargo raised a $20.5M round at a $180M valuation led by Tiger Global (TC)

• Maev, an Austin-based startup developing human-grade raw dog food, raised a $9M round led by Springdale Ventures (TC)

• UK fashion rental marketplace HURR raised a $5.4M seed round led by Octopus Ventures (TC)

• Cross-border infrastructure startup Router Protocol raised a $4.1M round from Coinbase Ventures, Polygon, and more (TC)

• AcadArena, a Philippine startup building student gaming communities across SE Asia and educating youth about web3 and the metaverse, raised $3.5M in funding led by 1KX, Hashed, and the founders of Twitch and Crunchyroll (Inquirer)

• Social audio app Wisdom raised a $2M seed round led by First Round Capital (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund raised $3.2B from a share sale of a stake in Middle East mobile phone operator Saudi Telecom Co. (BBG)

• Manufacturer Daimler’s trucks division gained in their debut after their spinoff from Mercedes, ending the day with a ~$27B market valuation (BBG)

• QSR Brands, which runs KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Southeast Asia, selected CIMB and Citigroup to work on its planned Malaysian IPO (BBG)

• Chinese AI firm Sensetime is delaying it’s Hong Kong IPO, citing the country’s rising tensions with the US government (BBG)

SPAC

• Stock and news photos provider Getty Images agreed to merge with CC Neuberger Principal Holdings in a $1.2B deal (BBG)

• Fertitta Entertainment, the parent company of the Golden Nugget casinos and Landry’s restaurant group, agreed to pay up to $33M to end a planned $8.6B merger with Fast Acquisition Corp (BBG)

Exec's Picks

In case you missed it over the weekend, we dropped our "last minute" holiday gift guide for the Chads and Beckys too jammed with work to find something thoughtful and quality to gift to friends and family. Some of our favorites:

• Yellow Label - 25% of first order w/ code "LIT"

  • Runner Hoodie - $130

  • Exclusive Litquidity Winter Drop - (Various Prices)

• Meriggi - Premium men's swim shorts, inspired by the Mediterranean lifestyle - $95 (Use code "LITQUIDITY" for free shipping)

• Lululemon - City Sweat Jogger - $118

• Del Toro - Suede Milano Loafer - $385

• Hermes - Clic H Bracelet - $660

• The Clear Cut - Diamond Tennis Bracelet - $1,950 

• Cometeer - Coffee Box - $64

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 100+ 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.

If you're looking to hire candidates and want to post a job, all you have to do is hit "+ Hire Talent" on the top right of the job board. If you want the role to be featured on Exec Sum, check out our "Featured" and "Premium" tiers.

To Candidates: We've also partnered up with Portal Jobs for a more hands-on approach to matching talent with relevant jobs. Fill out the form here and we'll get to work on placing you in a relevant gig 🤝

Meme Cleanser

We just dropped a sticker pack in partnership with our friends over at Bullish Studio. Check it out here

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