Binance Blocked Dollar Withdrawals
Binance.US paused dollar withdrawals, retail sales rose by 0.7% in September, Nvidia stock fell on news of US restrictions on AI chip exports, GM is delaying its all-electric truck production at Michigan plant, Airbnb faces curbs in Canada, and protests in Guatemala are closing roads.
Litquidity Capital
October 18, 2023
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Good Morning,
Binance.US paused dollar withdrawals, retail sales rose by 0.7% in September, Nvidia stock fell on news of US restrictions on AI chip exports, GM is delaying its all-electric truck production at Michigan plant, Airbnb faces curbs in Canada, and protests in Guatemala are closing roads.
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Let’s dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 10/17/2023 market close.
Markets
US stocks closed mostly unchanged as investors digested corporate earnings and hotter-than-expected retail sales data
The Nasdaq slipped 0.25%, while the Dow added 0.04%
Earnings
Bank of America beat Q3 analyst earnings and revenue expectations thanks to stronger-than-expected interest income (CNBC)
Goldman Sachs beat Q3 expectations for revenue and profit thanks to strong trading revenue (CNBC)
United Airlines shares fell ~5% despite beating Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue expectations due to a bleak profit forecast for next quarter thanks to a rise in jet fuel prices and a reduction in flights to Tel Aviv (CNBC)
Johnson & Johnson reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue and lifted its full-year guidance thanks to strong sales growth in its pharmaceutical and medical devices business (CNBC)
Lockheed Martin beat Q3 expectations for revenue and profit as geopolitical tensions fueled military spending (RT)
What we're watching this week:
Wednesday: Tesla, Netflix, Morgan Stanley, ASML, P&G, Discover, Nasdaq
Thursday: TSMC, Blackstone, AT&T, American Airlines
Friday: American Express
Full calendar here
Headline Roundup
Retail sales rose 0.7% in September, much stronger than estimate (CNBC)
Nvidia stock falls after US announces new restrictions on AI chip exports (CNBC)
Country Garden, Evergrande set up two tense weeks for creditors (BBG)
GM to delay all-electric truck production at Michigan plant until late-2025 (CNBC)
The Adobe exec behind the Figma deal expresses frustration over slow pace of regulatory approval (CNBC)
Airbnb faces curbs in Canada after sharp rise in rental costs (BBG)
Tesla urges US to adopt much tougher fuel efficiency rules (RT)
The US gets a C+ in retirement (WSJ)
Roblox tells employees they have to come to office three days a week or take severance package (CNBC)
Mexico is locking in prices for 2024 crude exports (BBG)
Instagram chief says Israel-Hamas war is ‘biggest safety focus’ on Threads (CNBC)
Nigeria allows Naira to weaken most in four months to a record (BBG)
Protests in Guatemala close roads, choke exports (WSJ)
Tyson Foods workers, activists protest child labor in US meat sector (CNBC)
Sweden says second undersea cable damaged in Baltic Sea (WSJ)
Republicans delay speaker vote as Jim Jordan struggles to gain support (BBG)
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Deal Flow
M&A / Investments
US natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy approached rival Southwestern Energy, which has a $12B valuation including debt, about a possible acquisition (RT)
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts rejected a ~$9.8B cash and stock takeover offer from Choice Hotels International, calling the offer ‘underwhelming’ (BBG)
CVC Capital Partners is in the early stages of considering a potential bid for European payments firm Nexi, which has an $8B market value (BBG)
Life sciences and lab equipment supplier Thermo Fisher Scientific will acquire Olink Holding in a deal that values the pharmaceutical products and services company at ~$3.1B (BBG)
Mitsubishi is considering a bid for Fujitsu's $2.6B, 50% stake in chip packaging unit Shinko Electric Industries (RT)
South Korea's biggest carrier, Korean Air Lines, will offer to sell Asiana Airlines' air cargo business and divest routes to four EU cities in a bid to acquire EU antitrust approval for its $1.4B acquisition of its rival airline (RT)
Australian property developer Mirvac Group will acquire land lease operator Serenitas from Singapore state investor GIC for $643M (RT)
Chile state miner Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, will acquire Lithium Power International for ~$244M (RT)
British retailer Tesco is exploring a potential sale of its banking arm (BBG)
Abu Dhabi holding company Multiply Group is in talks to buy a stake in Turkish waste management firm Biotrend (BBG)
Ant Group acquired mutual fund issuer Vanguard’s 49% stake in their robo-advisory JV, giving Ant full ownership of the business (BBG)
Continental, one of Europe’s top car-parts makers, is considering a sale of its automotive assets, including its autonomous mobility business (BBG)
Fitness company Hydrow, which is backed by PE firm L Catterton, is in talks to acquire smaller rival Cityrow (BBG)
KKR acquired a minority stake in life sciences investor Catalio Capital Management (WSJ)
VC
AI-centric commercial trucking insurance startup Nirvana Insurance raised a $57M Series B led by Lightspeed Venture Partners (TC)
Nucleus RadioPharma, a startup building an integrated development, manufacturing, and supply chain organization for radiopharmaceuticals, raised a $56M Series A led by Eclipse and GE HealthCare (BW)
AI-powered procurement platform Procurify raised a $50M Series C led by Ten Coves Capital (TC)
Nova Credit, a startup helping immigrants access financial products, raised a $45M Series C led by Canapi Ventures (TC)
NoSQL database platform ScyllaDB raised a $43M round led by Eight Roads Ventures (TC)
Prove Identity, a smartphone-based identity verification startup, raised a $40M round at a $1B+ valuation led by MassMutual and Capital One (TC)
VedaBio, a molecular detection startup, raised a $40M round led by OMX Ventures (BW)
Evident Vascular, a startup developing an intravascular ultrasound platform, raised a $35M Series A led by Vensana Capital (FN)
Lanes & Planes, a Munich-based SaaS provider for corporate travel in Europe, raised a $35M Series B led by Smash Capital (FN)
Device intelligence platform Fingerprint raised a $33M Series C led by Nexus Venture Partners (TC)
Society Brands, a tech-enabled consumer products company, raised $25M in equity led by Gullane Capital (PRN)
Joor, an NYC-based digital wholesale ecosystem company, raised a $25M round led by Brightwood Capital and Tamarix Capital Partners (FN)
Green hydrogen developer NovoHydrogen received a $20M equity commitment from Modern Energy (BW)
Nexu, a Mexico City-based provider of an automotive financing platform, raised a $20M Series B led by Valor Capital (FN)
Membrane Labs, a startup developing a platform to manage institutional crypto trading and financing activity, raised a $20M Series A led by Brevan Howard Digital, Point72 Ventures, Jane Street Capital, and more (FN)
Reality Defender, a startup developing tools to detect deep fakes and AI-generated content, raised a $15M Series A led by DCVC (TC)
QSR startup Salted raised a $14M Series B led by Creadev (TC)
Yardstik, a trust and safety platform for hiring businesses, raised $12M in funding led by MissionOG (PRN)
Scorability, a platform matching athletes with college athletics programs, raised an $11M seed round led by Next Coast Ventures and Silverton Partners (BW)
Grid monitoring and analytics startup Ampacimon raised a $10.6M Series C led by Junction Growth Investors (FN)
Riffusion, an AI-generating music app, raised a $4M seed round led by Greycroft (TC)
Intelligent space automation startup Cognitive Space raised a $4M seed+ round from York IE, Draper Associates, and Dolby Family Ventures (FN)
QuoteMachine, a retail software platform that enables better-personalized sales experiences, raised a $3.7M seed round led by Manresa Ventures (BW)
Sports team analytics startup Zelus Analytics raised a $3.6M seed round from RedBird Capital, Gametime Capital, Teamworthy Ventures, and more (TC)
Swsh, a social app founded by Gen Zers, raised a $1.7M pre-seed round co-led by Stellation Capital and MaC Venture Capital (TC)
ergo, a pre-repricing platform for online retailers, raised a $1.5M pre-seed round led by Anthemis and Wischoff Ventures (FN)
Home-IQ, a startup providing self-administered health tests, received a $1M investment from Healthy Capital and private investors (EU)
IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Singapore-based insurance technology firm Bolttech is considering a US IPO that could raise up to $300M (BBG)
European PE firm CVC Capital Partners is preparing to announce its intentions to IPO in Amsterdam (BBG)
Chinese PE firm Cherami is considering a Hong Kong IPO as soon as next year (BBG)
Saudi Arabian water treatment firm Miahona is considering a domestic IPO as soon as next year (BBG)
Russian gold mining group Uzhuralzoloto is planning a Moscow IPO before the end of the year (RT)
Debt
Food-to-power conglomerate San Miguel, the Philippines’ most indebted company, is in talks with at least 10 banks for a $2B loan as it looks to refinance a similar-sized facility maturing next year (BBG)
Bankruptcy / Restructuring
Fundraising
Danish investors Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners closed two new funds for a combined $2.1B to invest in clean energy and clean fuels (AX)
Crypto Corner
Exec’s Picks
James Surowiecki discussed how the success of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic medication has impacted the Danish economy, and whether or not it could be a problem in the future.
The Collison brothers joined Patrick O’Shaughnessy for a great conversation on ambition, the importance of sweating the small stuff, and Stripe’s goal of raising the internet GDP.
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