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Blackstone's Back in Business
Blackstone increased its pace of investments, foreign holdings of US debt hit a record high, OpenAI is exploring making its own AI chips, and Amanda Staveley is going football club shopping.
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Good Morning,
Happy Friday, we finally made it. Blackstone increased its pace of investments, foreign holdings of US debt hit a record high, OpenAI is exploring making its own AI chips, and Amanda Staveley is going football club shopping.
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Let’s dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 07/18/2024 market close.
Markets
US stocks slumped yesterday as the tech selloff extended to the broader market
Dow snapped a six-day win streak
Markets are pricing a 40% chance of a BoE rate cut in August and a 65% chance of an ECB rate cut in September
Dollar jumped 0.5% by the most since early June
China germanium hit an ATH, after jumping ~30% MoM
Earnings
Blackstone'sQ2 distributable earnings rose 3% YoY as a jump in PE and credit asset sales more than offset a slump in real estate (RT)
TSMC issued a comfortable Q2 beat-and-raise on 40% YoY revenue growth driven by surging demand for AI chips (CNBC)
Netflix reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, revenue, and subscribers thanks to 34% YoY growth in ad-supported subscribers (CNBC)
Domino's Pizza shares plunged 14% after missing on same-store sales estimates and reporting slower international growth (YH)
What we're watching this week:
Today: American Express
Full calendar here
Headline Roundup
Fed prepares for September rate cut as focus shifts to jobs (BBG)
ECB held rates at 3.75% and hinted at September move (FT)
Traders are raising bear steepener bets on Trump re-election sights (FT)
Foreign holdings of US debt hit a record high in May (RT)
Blackstone increased its pace of investing to a two-year high (FT)
Texas's TRS will reduce PE allocation by $10B (BBG)
OpenAI is in talks with Broadcom to make its own AI chips (TI)
PwC cut China partners pay by up to 50% (RT)
PwC China lost two-thirds of accounting revenues from China clients (FT)
Goldman named news IB heads in reshuffle (RT)
Argentina's economy expands for first time under Milei (FT)
Goldman opened up an investment strategy once reserved for UHNWs (WSJ)
De Beers warned of further cuts to diamond production (FT)
Standard Chartered hired fourteen in private bank push (RT)
US 30-year mortgages fell to the lowest since March (RT)
Foreign demand for US homes slowed (CNBC)
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Deal Flow
M&A / Investments
$20.9B Warner Bros. Discoveryis examining a spinoff or sale of its streaming and studio units (FT)
PE firm CD&R is weighing an up to 50% stake sale in Epicor Software at an ~$8B valuation (RT)
$6.6B collaboration SaaS firm Smartsheet is reviewing PE takeover interest (RT)
Metais in talks to acquire a 5% stake in eyewear company EssilorLuxotticafor ~$5B (WSJ)
Bain-backed Surgery Partners, a $3.7B-listed surgical services firm, is exploring a potential sale (BBG)
Electronics maker Amphenol agreed to buy CommScope's outdoor wireless networks and antenna systems unit in a $2.1B deal (BBG)
Bosch is in advanced talks to acquire HVAC assets from Johnson Controls for several billion dollars (BBG)
​​Asian corporate services firm Acclim is exploring a potential sale at an ~$800M valuation (BBG)
Samsung agreed to acquire UK AI tech startup Oxford Semantic Technologies (RT)
Media investment firm Shamrock Capital Advisorsagreed to acquire a portfolio of film, TV and song rights from Vine Alternative Investments (WSJ)
VC
Nearfield Instruments, a metrology & inspection solutions for chip makers, raised a $147M Series C led by Walden Catalyst and Temasek (PRN)
Coast, a fintech for the future of transportation, raised a $40M Series B led by ICONIQ Growth (TC)
Hyperscale networking software startup Arrcus raised a $30M round led by Prosperity7 Ventures, NVIDIA, Lightspeed, and others (BW)
German edtech Sdui raised a $23.2M round led by Summiteer and HV Capital (FN)
Thoughtful AI, an AI-powered revenue cycle automation platform, raised a $20M Series A led by Drive Capital (BW)
Allium, a blockchain data platform for enterprises, raised a $16.5M Series A led by Theory Ventures (BW)
Momento, a real-time data platform, raised a $15M Series A led by BCV (FN)
Customer onboarding platform OnRamp raised a $14.2 seed and Series A led by Contour Venture Partners and Javelin Venture Partners (PRN)
Artificial Agency, an AI engine for NPCs, raised a $12M seed round led by Radical Ventures and Toyota Ventures (TC)
Dynelectro, a sustainable energy solutions startup, raised $12M in funding led by EIFO, PSV Deeptech, and more (FN)
After.com, a platform for families to navigate end-of-life services, raised a $10M Series A led by HIPstr (BW)
Fusion power startup Marathon Fusion raised a $5.9M seed round led by 1517 Fund and Anglo American (TC)
EdgeRunner AI, a GenAI for edge, raised a $5.5M seed round led by Four Rivers Group (BW)
SME account provider Wamo raised a $5M Series A led by Logo Ventures (EU)
IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Sao Paulo will privatize water utility Sabesp in a $2.7B jumbo stock offering (BBG)
LATAM Airlines is preparing to raise ~$533M at an $8.5B valuation in a US IPO (RT)
Hospital operatorArdent Health shares closed flat in its trading debut after its downsized $192M IPO (BBG)
Insurance broker TWFG raised $187M after pricing its IPO above a marketed range (RT)
Debt
Banks and private credit firms are competing to lend $2.3B to finance a CVC-led $7B LBO of UK financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown (BBG)
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Fundraising
Crypto Corner
Exec’s Picks
FT published an exclusive piece on how Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley funded the sudden rise of JD Vance.
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