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Good Morning,

Another Boeing whistleblower died, Australian business is booming, KKR sees PE deal flow recovering, chip stocks slumped on disappointing earnings, and Bitcoin had its worst month since FTX’s collapse.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks ended slightly lower as the Fed left rates unchanged and cited 'lack of further progress' on inflation

• Most European and Asian markets were closed for the May 1st holiday

• Oil tumbled as stockpiles surged on lackluster demand

• Yen strengthened another 2% versus the dollar amid BOJ intervention speculation

• Bitcoin suffered its worst month since FTX's collapse in November 2022

Earnings

• Mastercard beat Q1 profit estimates on higher card spending by US consumers but lowered its FY forecast citing unfavorable FX headwinds (RT) 

• Qualcomm rose ~4% after beating Q1 earnings estimates and providing strong Q2 revenue guidance on strong demand for AI-smartphone chips (CNBC) 

• Pfizer jumped ~6% on a Q1 beat-and-raise thanks to its cost-cutting program and a smaller-than-expected sales drop (CNBC) 

• CVS shares dove ~17% after slashing its FY profit forecast and flagged challenges for next year’s health insurance plans (RT) 

• KKR beat Q1 earnings estimates after changing financial result reports to emphasize recurring earnings (BBG) 

• Carlyle shares fell ~9% despite reporting better-than-expected Q1 profit due to a flagship fund falling below the threshold return to reap carried interest (WSJ) 

• Coca-Cola reported a Q1 beat-and-raise on strength in its ​​Fanta and Fairlife beverages (CNBC)

• McDonald's missed Q1 EPS estimates due to a pullback in consumer spending and hit from Middle East boycotts (CNBC)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: Apple, Coinbase, DraftKings, Apollo Global Management

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Another Boeing-involved whistleblower died (ST)

• Australian business strength is taking everyone by surprise (BBG)

• KKR sees PE deal flow accelerating as credit market loosens (WSJ)

• Fed leaves rate unchanged, extends wait-and-see stance (WSJ)

• Fed will slow pace of QT (RT)

• US job openings hit a three-year low (BBG)

• ETFs tracking Congress member trades are outperforming indexes (FT)

• Citi CEO sees US consumers becoming more cautious (RT)

• AMD, Super Micro tumble as AI earnings fall short (RT)

• AI fuels cloud computing boom for tech giants (RT)

• Goldman poached JPMorgan’s ETF head (FT)

• Blackstone hired Morgan Stanley’s head of securitized products trading to lead European credit (BBG)

• Huge supply shortages put cocoa market under strain (FT)

• HF Graham Capital wants New York office as others cut space (FT)

• JPMorgan expects its Russian assets to be seized (RT)

• JPMorgan to pay $100M fine for reporting incomplete trading data (RT)

• Microsoft will invest $10B with Brookfield in data center power deal (FT)

• NYCB short sellers see $42M in losses after post-earnings rally (RT)

• Trump raises stake in media firm to 65% (RT)

• J&J to settle all talc ovarian cancer lawsuits for $6.5B (CNBC)

• One-third of Americans potentially impacted by UnitedHealth cyberattack (CNBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• FTC is set to approve ExxonMobil’s $60B acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources after the companies agreed to minor concessions (BBG)

• Singapore and Abu Dhabi SWFs and PE firms KKR, Permira and Hellman & Friedman are among potential suitors seeking controlling stakes in $15B international school operator Nord Anglia from EQT and CPPIB (BBG) 

• Spanish bank BBVA made an all-stock $13.2B takeover bid for Spanish lender Banco Sabadell (BBG) 

• PE firm KPS Capital Partners emerged as the frontrunner to purchase Siemens' $3.2B Innomotics large motors business (BBG)

• AI company Presight AI acquired a 51% stake in AIQ, a tech JV between ADNOC and G42 in a deal valuing the company at $1.4B (RT) 

• PE firm Advent International is in talks with Oman to invest $250M in OQ Chemicals for a majority stake (BBG) 

VC

• AI cloud infrastructure startup CoreWeave raised a $1.1B round at a $19B valuation led by Coatue (CNBC) 

• Securitize, a startup helping companies tokenize real-world assets, raised a $47M round led by BlackRock (VC)

• Oasis Security, a non-human identity management solutions provider, raised a $35M Series A extension led by Accel, Cyberstarts, and Sequoia Capital (FN)

• API security startup Traceable raised a $30M round at a $500M valuation led by Citi Ventures (TC)

• Data integration platform Peregrine raised a $30M Series B led by Friends & Family Capital and Fifth Down Capital (FN)

• STELLA, a provider of automotive AI tech, raised a $19.7M Series A led by Reynolds and Reynolds (BW)

• Belgian security platform Aikido raised a $17M Series A led by Singular (TC)

• Cyber risk management startup DefenseStorm raised a $13M Series C-1 led by Georgian, Curql, and Live Oak Ventures (BW)

• Screenverse, a provider of programmatic advertising solutions to DOOH media owners, raised $10.5M in funding led by Volition Capital (FN)

• Wishew, a social network designed to fulfill wishes, raised a $10M pre-seed round from LMDV Capital (BW)

• Swap, an e-commerce OS that manages operations for D2C brands, raised a $9M Series A led by QED Investors (BW)

• Netskrt Systems, a CDN provider focused on OTT streaming video quality, raised a ~$7.6M Series A led by Yaletown Partners (BW)

• Baselayer, a B2B platform fighting fraud and optimizing business onboarding, raised a $6.5M seed round from Torch Capital, Afore Capital and more (BW)

• Seam, a startup making customer data accessible, raised a $5M seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners (TC)

• BAXUS, a global marketplace for collectible spirits, raised a $5M seed round led by Multicoin Capital (BW)

• Teleskope, an automated data protection tool, raised a $5M seed round led by Primary Venture Partners (TC)

• Ceartas, an AI-startup bolstering brand protection and anti-piracy services, raised a $4.5M seed round from Earlybird Venture Capital and Upside VC (TC)

• Web3 video game startup GFAL raised a $3.2M seed round led by Supercell and Mitch Lasky (FN)

• StepSecurity, a cybersecurity company protecting CI/CD pipelines, raised a $3M seed round led by Runtime Ventures (PRN)

• RunReveal, a SIEM built to detect threats, raised a $2.5M seed round led by Costanoa Ventures (FN)

• Resonance Security, a Web2/Web3 cybersecurity provider, raised a $1.5M pre-seed round led by Arca, Fabric VC, and Blockchain Founders Fund (FN)

• Kutt, a social betting platform, raised a $1M round led by Lightning Capital (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Cruise operator Viking Holdings rose 9% in its trading debut after its $1.5B IPO, valuing the company at $11B (RT) 

• Vista-backed automotive data and software services provider Solera Global confidentiality filed for a US IPO that could raise over $1B (BBG) 

• German academic publishing giant Springer Nature is lining up banks for an IPO that could fetch a $9.6B valuation, including debt (RT) 

• High-end supermarket chain Spinneys' $375M Dubai IPO drew $19B of orders (BBG

Debt

• Private lenders led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management are preparing a $1.6B loan package for UK-based card reader maker SumUp Payments (BBG) 

• Sunnova Energy International hired Moelis to advise on its $7.5B of long term debt, including ~$1B of notes due 2026 (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• WeWork reached a $450 restructuring deal to exit bankruptcy, cut $4B in debt, and see property management software provider Yardi Systems take a 60% stake (AX)

Fundraising

• Credit investor Golub Capital raised $2bn for its sixth credit opportunities fund (ACI)

• Alternative asset manager HighVista Strategies raised $675M for its tenth fund (BW)

• India’s Anthill Ventures is seeking to raise $100M for a private credit cross fund (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Hong Kong approved crypto ETFs (FT)

Exec’s Picks

• Everyone knows LVMH for its luxury bags, but not too many know them as a growing titan in real estate.

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