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Big Banks Are Back to Banking

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Good Morning,

Election betting markets are surging, Guggenheim got caught in the Starboard-Pfizer battle, investor optimism jumped by the most since Covid, and big banks reported a major rebound in Q3 dealmaking activity.

Plaid just released their webinar dissecting what the upcoming open banking regulation means for you and your company. Check it out.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 10/15/2024 market close.

Markets

  • The US stock rally took a breather as investors digested crucial bank earnings

  • US-Germany 10Y spread widened to 183 bps, the highest since July

  • Euro fell to a two-month low 

Earnings

  • ASML fell 16% after reporting disappointing net bookings and issuing a weak 2025 sales forecast due to weak demand from China (CNBC)

  • Goldman Sachs beat Q3 earnings estimates on strong results in trading an IB (CNBC)

  • Bank of America beat Q3 earnings and revenue estimates on strength in trading, asset management and IB (CNBC)

  • Citigroup fell 5% despite beating Q3 earnings estimates as increased credit loss provisions offset growth in wealth and IB (CNBC)

  • UnitedHealth fell 8% despite beating Q3 earnings estimates due to missing its 2025 earnings outlook on rising medical costs (WSJ)

  • Walgreens jumped 16% after beating Q4 earnings and revenue estimates and announcing plans to close 1.2k stores to cut costs (CNBC)

  • LVMH fell 8% after missing Q3 revenue estimates in the latest sign of a global demand slowdown in luxury goods  (WSJ)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Morgan Stanley

    • Thursday: TSMC, Netflix, Blackstone

    • Friday: P&G

  • Full calendar here

🇺🇸 Election Forecast

As of 10/15/2024.

  • Trump's lead hits another all time high on Kalshi. Get $20 to trade the election when you deposit $100 or more. See live odds and bet now!

Headline Roundup

  • US election bets surge after court lifts ban (FT)

  • US consumers expect higher long-run inflation (RT)

  • Wall Street banks see major boost from deal making fees (RT)

  • Investor optimism sees biggest jump since Covid (RT)

  • China may raise $850B in new debt over three years to spur growth (RT)

  • Chinese stocks attractive but investors cautious before US election (RT)

  • Global public debt will pass $100T this year (FT)

  • UK will raise bank ring-fencing threshold to 'improve competitiveness' (FT)

  • Apollo CEO sees private and public markets converging (BBG)

  • Starboard-Pfizer battle strains Guggenheim's relationship with drugmaker (FT)

  • Intel and AMD teamed up to confront rising challenge from Arm (RT)

  • Andreessen and Horowitz donated $2.5M to a pro-Trump super PAC (BBG)

  • Frontier pilots authorized a strike (RT)

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield settled antitrust lawsuits for $2.8B (RT)

  • Australia's Woodside Energy will delist from London (RT)

  • Australia plans to ban dynamic pricing (FT)

  • Ex-banker dubbed 'accidental spy' gets no jail time (BBG)

A Message From Plaid

Open banking is coming… 

New regulation sounds scary. But open banking regulation is a good thing. We promise. 

And now's the time to get ready.

Thankfully, our friends at Plaid have compiled what you need to know about the upcoming Section 1033 rulemaking right here. 

With insights from industry experts like Jamie Lang (Product Owner at Alkami) and Ryan Miller (VP, Senior Counsel for Innovation Technology at American Bankers Association), this free webinar has what you and your company need to know surrounding open banking rulemaking in the US. 

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Pension fund AustralianSuper led a $2B minority equity investment in data center developer DataBank 

  • HR platform ADP acquired Elliot-backed WorkForce Software for ~$1.2B

  • ExxonMobil is seeking to sell a portion of its North Dakota Bakken shale assets for ~$500M

  • Security technology firm Crane NXT agreed to acquire UK banknote printer De La Rue's authentication business for $391M, including debt

  • Tom Brady and Knighthead Capital Management co-founder Tom Wagner received NFL approval to acquire a 10% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders

  • Italian energy giant Eni is in talks to sell a stake in a new carbon capture division it plans to spin off

  • Abu Dhabi SWF ADQ will acquire Turkish mid-size lender Odeabank from Lebanon's Bank Audi

  • French lender Credit Agricole will acquire a 50% stake in the leasing unit of Chinese state-owned carmaker GAC 

VC

  • Galileo, an observability startup for GenAI, raised a $45M Series B led by Scale Venture Partners 

  • Xscape, a startup building multicolor lasers to connect chips in data centers, raised a $44M Series A led by IAG Capital Partners 

  • AI customer service startup Neuron7 raised a $44M Series B led by Smith Point Capital 

  • Azra Games, a startup creating the next gen of mobile RPGs, raised a $42.7M Series A led by Pantera Capital

  • Ghost, a B2B marketplace for brands, raised a $40M Series C led by L Catterton 

  • Equilibrium Energy, a next-gen power management platform, raised a $39M Series B led by DCVC 

  • Port, a platform centralizing dev tools in a single dashboard, raised a $35M Series B co-led by Accel and Bessemer Venture Partners

  • Alchemy, an in-house pharmacies for HIV clinics, raised a $31M seed round led by a16z Bio + Health

  • European cyber insurance startup Stoik raised a $27M Series B led by Alven 

  • AI-powered wildfire detection startup OroraTech raised a $27.5M Series B led by Korys 

  • Monogoto, a platform for software-defined connectivity, raised a $27M Series A led by Toyota Ventures

  • Tebi, a Dutch all-in-one financial OS for retail and hospitality, raised a $22.1M Series A led by Index Ventures

  • French speech recognition API startup Gladia raised a $16M Series A led by XAnge

  • Aviation intelligence startup Beacon AI raised a $15M Series A led by Costanoa Ventures

  • Airline disruption management startup AviLabs raised an $8M round led by Frumtak Ventures 

  • Early, a startup automating code testing for devs, raised $5M in seed funding led by Zeev Ventures

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Swiss construction firm Holcim is considering a dual US and Swiss listing of its $30B North American unit

  • Struggling Boeing plans to raise up to $35B in a bond and share issuance

  • Chinese condiment maker Foshan Haitian is weighing a second Hong Kong listing that could raise ~$1.5B

  • Platinum Equity-backed IT products distributor Ingram Micro is seeking to raise $428M at a $5.4B valuation in a US IPO

  • UK sports nutrition firm Applied Nutrition is seeking $287M in its London IPO

Debt

  • JPMorgan launched an $8B bond sale

  • Apollo is in discussions with Electricite de France to help finance a UK nuclear power plant, with Electricite aiming to raise $5.2B

  • Banks led by Deutsche Bank launched a $3.3B loan package help finance CD&R and TowerBrook Capital Partners' $8.9B LBO of hospital payments management firm R1 RCM

  • US and Apollo will lend $1.5B to EV chip manufacturer Wolfspeed  

  • Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream raised $210M through a convertible note offering

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Chinese property developer Sino-Ocean expects to repay $2.8B in offshore debt as part of a restructuring effort

Fundraising

  • Tech investor Insight Partners closed its third continuation fund at ~$1.5B

  • Podcaster Harry Stebbings raised $400M for 20VC's third fund, one of Europe’s biggest VC funds 

Crypto Corner

  • Trump's World Liberty Financial's website crashed after debuting its token sale (BBG)

  • Kamala Harris announced her crypto policy platform (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, an executive search partnership between Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

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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