Bed, Bath, and Bankrupt

Bed Bath & Beyond plans to seek bankruptcy protection as early as this week, a US judge ordered for SBF's bail guarantors to be identified, ExxonMobil posted record-high 2022 profits, central banks bought a lot of gold last year, UK company insolvencies hit their highest level since the GFC, Norway's wealth fund posted a record loss in 2022, and a Japanese trading firm says its traders can be part-time YouTubers to bring in more side income.

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Good Morning,

Bed Bath & Beyond plans to seek bankruptcy protection as early as this week, a US judge ordered for SBF's bail guarantors to be identified, ExxonMobil posted record-high 2022 profits, central banks bought a lot of gold last year, UK company insolvencies hit their highest level since the GFC, Norway's wealth fund posted a record loss in 2022, and a Japanese trading firm says its traders can be part-time YouTubers to bring in more side income.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 1/31/2023 market close.

Markets

  • All three major US indexes gained over 1% on strong quarterly earnings and encouraging inflation data ahead of the Fed's rate policy decision today

    • The Nasdaq had its best monthly performance since July 2022 and its best January performance since 2001

    • Investors expect the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark rate by 25bps, a decrease from 50bps in December and the 75bps hikes earlier last year

    • This will signal that the Fed still believes there's work to do to ease price pressures (aka inflation) and will probably not cut rates later in the year

  • Bitcoin had its best month since 2021

  • Oil settled near a three-week low on a weakening dollar

Earnings

  • ExxonMobil missed on revenue but beat Q4 EPS estimates on a $56B 2022 profit, a record high for the western oil industry, owing to 'strong markets, strong throughput, strong production, and really good cost control'; major peers are likewise posting record high 2022 profits (RT)

  • AMD beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates but forecast a 10% YoY sales decline amid lower consumer demand and ongoing supply chain issues; their stock jumped 5.4% (CNBC)

  • Snap posted a $288M Q4 net loss and missed on revenue estimates as macroeconomic headwinds and increased competition continued to wound their digital ad business; their stock tanked 15% AH (CNBC)

  • Spotify posted a worse-than-expected Q4 loss but beat on revenue on a 20% YoY increase in active monthly users and 14% YoY increase in paid subscribers; their stock popped 12%+ yesterday (CNBC)

  • Amgen met Q4 EPS estimates and beat on revenue but provided messy 2023 guidance as it works to complete its $28B acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics (INV)  

  • Caterpillar beat Q4 revenue estimates and offered bullish 2023 guidance but missed on EPS amid higher manufacturing costs and foreign currency effects that weighed on their margins; their stock slipped 3.5% (RT)

  • McDonald's beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates on a second-straight quarter of increasing traffic as inflation-strapped consumers chose cheaper eats (CNBC)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Meta, Peloton 

    • Thursday: Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Qualcomm, Eli Lilly

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Eurozone economy unexpectedly grew 0.1% in Q4, outpacing US and China in 2022 (WSJ)

  • Home prices fell in November for a fifth straight month (WSJ)

  • US labor costs rose at slowest pace in a year in Q4 (RT)

  • Eurozone mortgage demand fell at record pace in Q4 (FT)

  • UK company insolvencies hit highest level since financial crisis last year (FT)

  • IMF raised 2023 global growth outlook amid easing inflation, China's reopening and resilient demand in the West (AX)

  • A Japanese trading firm says workers can pursue side careers, such as being a YouTuber or an artist, to top up $100,000 salaries (BBG)

  • Central banks bought the most gold since 1967 last year (RT)

  • Europe banks are racing to shed $5.4B in unsold buyout loans, which is holding back M&A activity (RT)

  • Norway's wealth fund posted a record $164B loss last year (RT)

  • Credit Suisse will shift its Private Funds Group to its First Boston spinout (BBG)

  • PayPal will cut 2000 employees or 7% of its workforce (FT)

  • Intel slashes CEO pay by 25% as part of companywide cuts (BBG)

  • Lebanon will devalue its currency by 90% today (RT)

  • Whole Foods is asking suppliers to lower prices (WSJ)

  • Boeing delivered its last ever commercial 747 yesterday (AX)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Investment firm GI Partners agreed to buy infrastructure and environmental solutions provider Atlas Technical Consultants in a ~$1.05B deal (RT)

  • A group of Indian in-vitro fertilization clinic operator Indira IVF’s largest shareholders are considering selling their holdings in a potential ~$1B deal (BBG)

  • KKR agreed to invest up to $250M in a new industrial investment vehicle led by sector veterans to acquire and build businesses; the name of the venture was not provided (RT)

  • The Qatar Investment Authority agreed to invest $150M in independent studio North Road Co., which produces the TV series Love Is Blind, at a $1B+ valuation (BBG)

  • Pop star Ariana Grande agreed to buy $15M worth of assets tied to her cosmetics brand r.e.m. beauty that recently filed for bankruptcy (BBG)

  • BlackRock raised its stake in crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital by 1.3% to 7.2% (CNBC)

VC

  • Identity management platform Saviynt raised $205M in debt from AB Private Credit Investors (TC)

  • Crop health startup Enko raised an $80M Series C from Eight Roads Ventures, Nufarm, Endeavor8, and Akroyd LLC (PRN)

  • Data security startup Sentra raised a $30M Series A led by Standard Investments (TC)

  • Q-CTRL, a Sydney-based startup building software to reduce the errors in quantum computers, raised a $27.4M Series B extension from Salesforce Ventures, Alumni Ventures, ICM Allectus, and others (TC)

  • 2ULaundry, a mobile laundry pickup and delivery service, raised a $20M Series B led by Level 5 Capital Partners (BW)

  • Pre-sale home renovation startup Freemodel raised a $19.5M Series A led by QED Investors (PRN)

  • Service level observability startup Nobl9 raised $15.8M in funding from ServiceNow and Cisco Investments (BW)

  • Aluna, a lung health management platform, raised a $15.3M Series B led by Matrix Partners (BW)

  • Select Star, a startup providing data discovery, lineage, and governance tools, raised a $15M Series A led by Lightspeed Ventures (TC)

  • RocketRez, a ticketing and business operations software platform, raised a $15M Series B led by Level Equity (PRN)

  • Orbital Sidekick, a startup bringing hyperspectral imaging to oil and gas pipeline monitoring, raised a $10M round led by Energy Innovation Capital (TC)

  • Guardz, a startup providing SMB’s with security and cyber insurance to protect against attack-as-a-service breaches, raised a $10M seed round led by Hanaco Ventures (TC)

  • Nexus, a platform powering support-a-creator programs for live service video games, raised $10M in funding led by Griffin Gaming Partners (PRN)

  • Women’s health platform Teal Health raised an $8.8M seed round from Serena Ventures, Metrodora Ventures, and more (PRN)

  • Levels, a startup providing real-time feedback on how food affects your health, raised a $7M Series A extension led by a16z, Trust Ventures, and others (BW)

  • Insect breeding technology startup Entocycle raised a $5M Series A led by Climentum Capital (TC)

  • Recruitment marketing automation platform Dalia raised a $5M Series A led by Lewis & Clark Ventures (PRN)

  • Cleary, a startup aiming to reinvent the intranet, raised a $4.5M seed round led by Moonshots Capital (TC)

  • TBD Health, a sexual healthcare provider, raised a $4.4M seed round led by Tusk Venture Partners (PRN)

  • Squid, a routing protocol that enables users and developers to access cross chain liquidity, raised a $3.5M seed round led by North Island Ventures (PRN)

  • Ballislife, a basketball and lifestyle media company, raised a $2.7M Series A at a $20M valuation led by Oakvale Sports Investco (PRN)

  • TrueBiz, a startup aiming to help financial services providers onboard customers faster while also avoiding fraud, raised a $2.4M seed round led by Flourish Ventures (TC)

  • Rysk Finance, an on-chain market maker for DeFi derivatives, raised a $1.4M pre-seed round led by Lemniscap (PRN)

  • Polemix, a Web3 platform for discussing controversial topics, received a $1M investment from the Be Kind Tech Fund (PRN)

  • Customer engagement platform OneSignal received an investment from ServiceNow Ventures extending its $50M Series C (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • India's Digit Insurance will refile papers for its $440M IPO after India’s market regulator raised compliance issues (RT)

  • SF and Shanghai-based biotech Structure Therapeutics filed plans to raise $111M at a $522M valuation in a US IPO (MW)

SPAC

  • EV maker Lotus Technology agreed to merge with L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp., which is tied to LVMH CEO Bernaurd Arnault, in a $5.4B deal (BBG)

Debt

  • Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex launched a $2B bond sale with a 10.375% yield (FT)

  • US hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management agreed to buy $1.1B in bad debt from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank as the lender cleans up its balance sheet (BBG)

  • Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group is in discussions for an offshore loan to pay off a $350M dollar bond maturing next month (BBG)

  • Adani Group added ~$300M worth of shares to maintain its collateral on a $1B loan after a steep selloff in shares across the conglomerate (BBG)

  • Identity management platform Saviynt raised $205M in venture debt from AB Private Credit Investors (TC)

  • Deutsche Bank joined banks including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan in expressing interest to finance the media business of Italy’s Serie A soccer league (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

  • Retailer Bed Bath & Beyond plans to seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week (RT)

  • Norwegian airline Flyr will file for bankruptcy (RT)

Fundraising

  • Adenia Partners, an Africa-based private markets investment firm, raised $300M for its fifth fund (BW)

  • Early-stage VC firm Defy.vc raised $300M for its third fund to invest in pre-Series A rounds (CB)

  • LA-based Embedded Ventures launched a $100M inaugural fund with focus on national security and space tech (CNBC)

  • Canada-based Raven Indigenous Capital Partners raised $100M for a VC fund to back early and growth-stage indigenous enterprises (NS)

  • Zurich-based VC group Momenta launched a $100M target fund for ‘Industry 5.0’ tech (RCR)

  • Breed VC, a new crypto-focused firm, raised ~$20M for its first fund (CD)

Crypto Corner

  • A US judge ordered SBF’s $250M bail guarantors' identities to be made public (CT)

  • Crypto lender Celsius misused customer funds for years, examiner finds (FT)

  • Binance's offshore exchange tapped the same DC lobbyists as its US affiliate, despite claims of indepence (FT)

  • An Oxford student was sentenced to 4.5 years for stealing over $2.4M in a cryptocurrency scam (OX)

  • Hong Kong will require stablecoin licensing as early as this year (CD)

  • Threshold Network is planning a new decentralized bitcoin bridge to Ethereum (AX)

Exec's Picks

  • Eight Sleep is a high-tech smart bed system that has taken Silicon Valley by storm. With a built-in heating and cooling system, multiple foam layers to deliver comfort, and analytics tracking to help you optimize your sleep and recovery, Eight Sleep is the complete package. Upgrade your mattress game here, and use code "LIT" at checkout for $200 off the signature pod mattress and $150 off the cover (a better deal than they're offering directly on their site) 

  • Tom Loverro, a general partner at IVP, wrote a great thread breaking down a potential "extinction event" that could hit early and mid-stage companies a year from now.

  • Kyla Scanlon covered Jerome Powell's "Crazy Balancing Act" in New York Magazine's Intelligencer.

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