Bill Ackman Got CLAPPED

Netflix is open to the idea of ads on the platform, Tesla sold a lot of cars, US home prices hit a record high, Bill Ackman got clapped, Florida senate passes a bill to end Disney's special tax status, and Coinbase launched its NFT marketplace.

Together with

Good Morning,

Anyone else celebrate the holiday yesterday? lmaooo

Netflix is open to the idea of ads on the platform, Tesla sold a lot of cars, US home prices hit a record high, Bill Ackman got clapped, Florida senate passes a bill to end Disney's special tax status, and Coinbase launched its NFT marketplace.

ICYMI: Big Swinging Decks is back this week, and Lit and Mark answered questions from their shareholders. Catch the latest episode, presented by CoinFLEX.US, here!

Touched down in Miami and ready to send it this weekend. 🤝

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 4/20/2022 market close.

If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

  • The Dow and S&P 500 were little changed yesterday while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.2% 

    • Netflix’s poor Q1 performance impacted the shares of other streaming companies and scared investors away from buying more tech stocks ahead of their earnings

  • ~12% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q1 earnings so far with 80% beating analyst expectations

  • The 10Y Treasury retreated a little bit after hitting 2.94% Tuesday

Earnings

  • Procter & Gamble posted their biggest sales gain in at least two decades as consumers gravitated toward higher-end options, but the company said they are preparing for a possible downturn in consumer spending due to inflation and a possible recession (WSJ)

  • Nasdaq posted a mixed Q1 report, beating earnings expectations but missing on revenue; they also announced a stock split and a higher dividend (BRRNS)

  • United Airlines posted a slightly wider-than-expected loss for Q1 amid rising fuel costs but forecasted a profit for Q2 as they expect travel demand to generate the highest quarterly revenue in the company’s history (YHOO)

  • Tesla posted better-than-expected Q1 results and a record $3.3B profit thanks to strong demand for its EVs amid ongoing supply-chain challenges (BBG)

  • What we’re watching today: American Express, Verizon 

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Production company fined after fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin movie set (BBG)

  • US home prices hit a record of $375,300 in March (WSJ)

  • DOJ announces $150M in Covid health fraud, bogus vaccination prosecutions nationwide (CNBC)

  • FAA keeps zero tolerance policy for unruly travelers even after judge scraps mask mandate (CNBC)

  • Netflix to explore an ad-supported version as subscriber base shrinks (WSJ)

  • Apple faces in-store labor drive as union amps up pressure (BBG)

  • Florida Senate passes bill to eliminate Disney’s special tax district (WSJ)

  • Tesla expects gigafactories to run below capacity through 2022 (TC)

  • Goldman Sachs to end free car rides for daily commuters (NYP)

A Message From LMNT

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • A consortium led by KKR offered to buy private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care for $15B (BBG)

  • Just Eat Takeaway.com is considering a partial or full sale of its Grubhub unit less than a year after buying it for $7.3B (BBG)

  • Shopify is in talks to buy technology startup Deliverr in a potential $2B deal (BBG)

  • Specialized polymer materials maker Avient agreed to buy specialty chemicals maker DSM’s material division for $1.48B (RT)

  • Barclays is selling a 7.4% stake in its former African unit Absa that could be worth up to $740M (BBG)

  • KV Asia Capital is considering selling its Malaysian post-secondary education group Asia Pacific Education, which could fetch ~$350M (BBG)

  • Jewelry brand John Hardy is exploring a sale at a potential ~$200M valuation (BBG)

  • SoftBank Robotics agreed to buy a 5% stake in cleaning technology startup Avalon SteriTech (BBG)

VC

  • The Boring Company, Elon Musk's project to build underground highways, raised a $675M Series C at a $5.7B valuation led by Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital (TC)

  • Saudi Arabian food beverage technology startup Foodics raised $170M in a round led by Sequoia Capital India and Prosus (BBG)

  • Global employment platform Oyster raised a $150M Series C at a $1B+ valuation led by Georgian (PRN)

  • Website headline generation startup Mutiny raised a $50M Series B at a $600M valuation led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners (TC)

  • Treinta, a financial superapp for SMBs, raised a $46M round led by PayU (TC)

  • LatAm e-commerce collaboration platform Zubale raised a $40M Series A led by QED Investors (BW)

  • Levels, a startup providing real time feedback on how food affects your health, raised a $38M Series A at a $300M valuation led by a16z, Basecamp Fund, and more (BW)

  • Indonesian audio content platform NOICE raised a $22M Series A led by Northstar (TC)

  • Prezent.ai, a startup gamifying presentation creation, raised a $20M Series A at a $100M+ valuation led by Greycroft (TC)

  • Neptune Robotics, a startup building robots to clean ship hulls, raised a $17.25M round led by Sequoia China (TC)

  • Wheelhouse, a software startup for the flex rental space, raised $16M in funding led by NEA and Highgate Ventures (PRN)

  • Software driven strength training startup Vitruvian raised a $15M Series A led by Larsen Ventures and Ten13 (TC)

  • Everstage, a sales commission platform, raised a $13M Series A led by Elevation Capital (TC)

  • Vaayu, a carbon tracking platform for retailers, raised an $11.5M seed round led by Atomico (TC)

  • South Korean lab grown shrimp producer CellMEAT raised an $8.1M Series A led by NauIB, BNK Venture Capital, and others (TC)

  • White Sands, a protocol building islands in the metaverse, raised $8M in new funding via virtual land sales (PRN)

  • Bachelorette travel app Bach raised an $8M seed round led by Corazon Capital (TC)

  • Plant-based chicken startup Nowadays raised a ~$7M seed round led by Stray Dog Capital (PRN)

  • Influur, a startup matching influencers / celebrities with brands, raised a $5M seed round led by Point72 Ventures (PRN)

Fundraising

  • Blackstone raises $1.6B for fund to establish new drugs (BBG)

  • Creative Juice, a banking app built for online creators, launches a $50M fund to invest in creators (TC)

  • Tokio Marine, a global insurance company, launched a $42M corporate venture fund to invest in seed to Series A startups (BW)

Crypto Corner

  • Coinbase NFT marketplace goes live in beta for select customers (TBC)

  • Ireland preparing to ban Bitcoin donations over Russia election interference fears (DC)

  • Web3 venture studio Decent DAO launches with $10M in funding (DC)

  • US Treasury sanctions Russian crypto miners, its first sanction on mining (TBC)

  • Luxury goods giant LVMH is eyeing the metaverse 'very carefully' (TBC)

Exec's Picks

  • Doorvest - Doorvest makes owning single-family rentals as easy as owning a stock. By taking care of the things that give real estate investors headaches, Doorvest created a way where you can purchase a rental in the comfort of your own home. Sign up and invest in real estate today!

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 40+ 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.

Meme Cleanser

Catch the latest episode of our Big Swinging Decks podcast, presented by CoinFLEX.US, on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube 🤝 

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