BlackRock Gets a Pass

Author

Litquidity Capital
June 04, 2025

Together with

Good Morning,

Texas Stock Exchange will debut trading in Q1 next year, Musk had some harsh words for the Republican tax-and-spending bill, hedge funds got a boost from stocks, and Texas removed BlackRock from a blacklist after BlackRock retreated from ESG.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 6/3/2025 market close.

Click here to learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks rose yesterday after healthy economic reports

    • Nvidia passed Microsoft to once again become the most valuable public company 

  • Canada's TSX hit a new ATH

Earnings

  • Dollar General issued a Q1 beat-and-raise as higher-income shoppers flocked to its stores for value deals; the company expects to offset most tariff impacts through price increases and cost controls but warned on pressured consumer spending (BBG)

  • CrowdStrike missed Q2 revenue estimates despite beating earnings and delivering $4.4B in ARR alongside $194M in net new ARR; investors remain cautious following last years global outage (BBG)

  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise issued a Q2 beat-and-raise on strong demand for AI servers and hybrid cloud solutions, while absorbing a $1.36B impairment charge (RT)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Dollar Tree

    • Thursday: Broadcom, DocuSign, lululemon, Victoria's Secret

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • It's Grand Slam season! Who you got?

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Headline Roundup

  • Musk called tax-and-spending bill a 'disgusting abomination' (WSJ)

  • Eurozone inflation fell to 1.9% (CNBC)

  • Switzerland saw deflation for first time in four years (FT)

  • US job openings and hiring picked up in April (BBG)

  • Texas Stock Exchange is on track to debut trading in Q1 2026 (BBG)

  • Private credit could 'amplify' next financial crisis (FT)

  • Hedge funds got stocks boost but bonds stymied in May (RT)

  • Japan equity funds log sharpest weekly outflows since 2007 (RT)

  • G7 debt is now a pressure point for anxious markets (RT)

  • Fed lifted Wells Fargo's asset cap after seven years (BBG)

  • US may maintain control of Fannie and Freddie to fund fiscal deficit (BBG)

  • KKR reported a record $42B pipeline of CRE financings (BBG)

  • Kuwait's SFW joined Microsoft's $30B AI infrastructure venture (BBG)

  • Klarna launched a US debit card (BBG)

  • Texas removed BlackRock from ESG-related blacklist (BBG)

  • New spying claims emerge in Deel-Rippling corporate espionage scandal  (FT)

  • Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders rejected CEO's $52M pay package (FT)

  • SpaceX revenue is projected at ~$15.5B for 2025 (BBG)

  • Over 20k Volkswagen workers will voluntarily depart (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda’s proposed $33B MBO of Toyota Industries drew investor backlash for valuing the company at an 11% discount

  • Malaysia's O&G giant PETRONAS is exploring a potential sale or minority stake divestment of its Canadian business, which could be valued at $6B-$7B

  • Diamondback Energy's Viper Energy agreed to acquire Permian Basin mineral and royalty company Sitio Royalties for $4.1B, including debt

  • Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund is preparing to sell a portfolio of UK private hospitals valued at $1.9B.

  • Minority owner IOI Properties will acquire Singapore's City Developments 50.1% stake in one of Singapore’s most iconic office complexes for $1.1B

  • Real estate developers Pandox and Eiendomsspar submitted a non-binding $1.5B bid for Irish hospitality operator Dalata Hotel Group

  • Food ingredients firm Post Holdings agreed to buy 8th Avenue Food & Provisions for $880M, including debt

  • Foresight Solar Fund’s takeover bid for NextEnergy Solar Fund was rejected, turning down a deal that would have created a $1.1B UK-listed infrastructure fund

  • Robinhood acquired crypto trading firm Bitstamp for $200M

  • Telehealth group Hims & Hers agreed to acquire European telehealth firm Zava

VC

  • Impulse Space, an in-space mobility company, raised a $300M Series C led by Linse Capital

  • Latvian robotics firm Aerones raised a $62M round led by Activate Capital and S2G Investments

  • Antheia, a pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer, raised a $56M Series C led by Global Health Investment Corporation

  • Cybersecurity startup Zero Networks raised a $55M Series C led by Highland Europe

  • Voxel, an AI platform for workplace safety, raised a $44M Series B led by NewRoad Capital Partners

  • Speedata, a chip startup competing with Nvidia, raised a $44M Series B led by Walden Catalyst Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and more

  • LawZero, a nonprofit AI safety lab, raised $30M in funding from Eric Schmidt, Open Philanthropy, and others

  • FISPAN, a startup embedded ERP banking solutions, raised a $30M Series B led by Canapi Ventures

  • Trustifi, a cybersecurity platform specializing in email security, raised a $25M Series A led by Camber Partners

  • Scottish legal tech startup Wordsmith AI raised a $25M Series A led by Index Ventures

  • AI video discovery startup Moments Lab raised a $24M round led by Oxx

  • OatFi, an API-first fintech infrastructure company, raised a $24M Series A led by White Star Capital

  • Ciroos, a startup building AI-powered solutions for SREs, DevOps, and ops, raised a $21M round led by Energy Impact Partners

  • Dataplor, a startup providing global location intelligence, raised a $20.5M Series B led by F-Prime

  • Stable Money, an Indian digital investment platform focused on fixed-income products, raised a $20M Series B led by Fundamentum Partnership

  • Deep Sentinel, an AI-powered security startup, raised a $15M Series B led by Egis Capital Partners

  • Cybersecurity platform ThreatSpike raised a $14M Series A led by Expedition Growth Capital

  • Projectworks, a project intelligence platform for consulting firms, raised a $12M Series A led by Ten Coves Capital

  • myLaurel, a healthcare startup delivering home-based acute and transitional care, raised $12M in funding led by Deerfield Management and GV

  • AssistIQ, an AI company helping hospitals manage supply chains, raised an $11.5M Series A led by Battery Ventures

  • Veris AI, a platform that lets companies safely train and test AI agents through novel high-fidelity simulated experiences, raised an $8.5M seed round led by Decibel Ventures and Acrew Capital

  • ArcheHealth, a healthcare operational intelligence company, raised a $6.7M seed round led by LRVHealth, Martin Ventures, and Texas Health Resources

  • Archil, an instant shareable volume storage startup, raised a $6.7M seed round led by Felicis

  • Console, a startup aiming to automate IT tasks, raised a $6.2M seed round from Thrive Capital

  • Regtech startup Atmen raised a $5.7M seed round led by Project A

  • Freeplay, a platform for AI teams to build products and agents, raised a $5.6M round led by Renegade Partners

  • Kumulus Water, a French climate tech startup building atmospheric water generators, raised a $3.5M seed round from Bpifrance, PlusVC, Khalys Venture, and Flat6Labs

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Lone Star-backed Portuguese lender Novo Banco shareholders will vote on preparatory steps for a potential $1.1B IPO

  • Bain Capital-owned airline Virgin Australia seeks to raise $443M in its Australia IPO

Debt

  • Ice cream maker Froneri plans to raise ~$4.6B in debt to help co-owner PAI Partners retain its stake in the Nestlé-backed JV and enable a dividend recap

  • Chinese insurance giant Ping An Insurance plans to raise $1.5B through convertible bonds listing in Hong Kong in its second such offering one year

  • India's JSW Neo Energy is seeking a $675M loan to finance its $1.5B acquisition of renewable energy platform O2 Power from Swedish PE firm EQT and Singapore SWF Temasek

  • Ripple Fiber, a provider of high-speed fiber internet services, raised $350M in private credit led by Post Road Group

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • KKR pulled out of struggling UK utility Thames Water’s rescue deal, leaving the firm scrambling for new equity to address nearly ~$27.1B in debt and avoid government-supervised insolvency

  • Brazilian airline Azul filed for bankruptcy protection in US citing FX pressures and Covid effects amid a broader LatAm airline crisis driven by inflation and high rates

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • Tech-focused PE firm Thoma Bravo raised $24.3B for its latest flagship buyout fund despite a challenging capital market, alongside $8.1B for Discover Fund V and $2B for its first dedicated Europe fund

  • PE firm Veritas Capital raised over $13B for its latest flagship fund

  • Carlyle's FOF arm AlpInvest raised $4.1B for a ninth co-investment fund

  • BNP Paribas Asset Management raised ~$800M for a targeted $1B new European small and mid-cap buyout co-investment fund

  • Climate investor Energize raises $430M for a new VC fund

  • French lower MM PE firm B & Capital raise $360M for its second fund

  • Lithuanian deeptech VC Iron Wolf launched a $113M second fund 

  • Madison Capital launched a $125M fund aimed at consolidating convenience stores and gas station propertiesTiger Cub David Snoddy launched Nezu Engagement Fund, a Japanese stock-picking fund, with plans to raise several hundred million dollars for

  • Ex-Ares and Carlyle veteran Aren LeeKong launched Nine Dean, an investing holding company with no deadline for exits; Ford Foundation anchored the fund

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Trump's meme coin team is launching a crypto wallet

  • Check out Crypto Sum for the most vital breakdowns on everything crypto!

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  • FT's latest Big Read explores the diverging megafund business models, with Blackstone drifting apart from its rivals. It's an incredibly insightful piece and a must read for everyone imo.

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by 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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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot Advisers, LLC ("Autopilot"), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks, including loss of principal. As always, be smart out there. Litquidity is compensated to promote AutoPilot. Compensation details available upon request.

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