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AI and chip stocks were down on news that the US may limit chip exports to China, US banks have increased sales of loan portfolios to private lenders, Apple stock hit a record high, the Biden-McCarthy deal failed to tame US debt, Teamsters want a final contract from UPS, and OpenAI was sued for theft.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks wobbled after Fed Chair Jerome Powell left open the possibility of consecutive interest-rate hikes

  • AI stocks lost ground on reports that the US is considering more restrictions on AI chip sales to China

• Traders now see an 79.4% chance of a 25 bps Fed rate hike in July

Earnings

• Micron beat Q2 expectations on higher than expected demand for memory chips inside AI servers, but traditional data center server demand remains soft (BN)

• General Mills missed Q1 estimates as price hikes to counter inflation dented demand for its ready-to-eat cereals and meal kits; their stock was down 5% (RT)

• BlackBerry beat Q1 revenue estimates on growth in its cybersecurity business unit thanks to YoY increase in billings and pipeline, particularly from government customers (BZ)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: Nike, Paychex, Simply Good Foods

  • Friday: Constellation Brands

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• M&A / IPO deal value is down ~$1T YoY (BBG)

• US banks step up sales of loan portfolios to private lenders (FT)

• US mulls new export restriction on computer power in AI chips (RT)

• Junk-rated companies accept tougher terms to borrow (WSJ)

• US M&A deals may get tougher and longer amid new rules (BBG)

• Big US banks would lose $541B in doomsday scenario, predicts Fed (FT)

• Foreigners raise record Yuan debt in China as global issuers tap low rates (YF)

• China’s factory activity seen contracting for third month in June (RT)

• Biden-McCarthy deal fails to tame US debt as Republicans demand cuts (BBG)

• Yen slide fuels speculation over government intervention (FT)

• Apple stock hits record, on cusp of $3T market value (RT)

• Google violated promised standards in ~80% of video-ad deals (WSJ)

• US Teamsters demand final contract offer from UPS (RT)

• DoorDash revealed a new wage model (DD)

• Oaktree named Robert O’Leary and Armen Panossian as co-CEOs (WSJ)

• ChatGPT creator OpenAI sued for theft of private data in ‘AI Arms Race’ (BBG)

• Chinese ballon used US tech to spy on Americans (WSJ)

• National Geographic laid off its last remaining staff writers (WP)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• The Qatari group led by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad J.J. Al Thani is confident in winning the long-delayed race to acquire Manchester United in a deal worth at least $6B (BBG)

• New York State Teachers’ Retirement System is looking to sell $6B worth of PE assets on the secondary market (BBG)

• Vietnamese conglomerate Truong Hai Group is considering bringing in an investor for Thaco Auto, its automobile arm, in a deal that could value the unit at $5B (RT)

• Controlling shareholder John Swire & Sons is buying Hong Kong conglomerate Swire Pacific’s Swire Coca-Cola USA unit for $3.9B (RT)

• EU antitrust regulators have temporarily suspended their investigation into Korean Air Line’s $3.8B acquisition of Asiana Airlines after the former asked for more time to prepare competition concern remedies (RT)

• Arcline Investment Management increased their bid to $1.8B for industrial manufacturer Circor International, 12% higher than KKR’s $1.7B bid that Circor had accepted (RT)

• Ramsay Health Care and Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby are exploring a sale of their Asian healthcare joint venture Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care at a possible valuation of $1.3B (RT)

• Ascential's consumer research unit WGSN, which has a price tag of ~$1B, has attracted two bids including PE firm Apax Partners (RT)

• GQG Partners bought stakes worth $1B in Adani Enterprises, Adani’s flagship company, and Adani Green Energy from the family trust (BBG)

• Payments giant Visa will acquire Brazilian fintech Pismo for $1B cash (RT)

• Indian edtech startup Byju is in advanced talks to raise $1B from new investors and is seeking to avoid a revolt from existing ones (RT)

• Premier single family home leasing company Invitation Homes is nearing an agreement to buy a portfolio of 2,000 rental homes for ~$800M from Starwood Capital Group, whose Starwood Real Estate Income Trust is facing redemptions (BBG)

• Ireland sold a 5% stake in Irish lender AIB Group, raising $527M (RT)

• A group that includes Ryan Reynold’s Maximum Efforts Investments will acquire a 24% $218M stake in Alpine F1 Team at a ~$900M valuation (AP)

• Indian mattress maker Sheela Foam is acquiring rival Kurlon Enterprise for $396M cash (RT)

• TSG Consumer Partners is exploring a sale of outdoor gear retailer Backcountry, which is worth ‘hundreds million dollars’ (BBG)

• Singapore state investor Temasek is selling $296M worth of shares, or a 1.85% stake, in national carrier Singapore Airlines (RT)

• Thomson Reuters will buy digital content asset management company Imagen, which owns the Screenocean video distribution platform (RT)

• French lender BNP Paribas is in exclusive talks to acquire French multinational telecoms company Orange SA’s 2 million Orange Bank clients (BBG)

• Advent-owned NielsenIQ is set to receive conditional EU antitrust approval for its acquisition of German market research firm GfK on the condition GfK sells its consumer panel business (RT)

• India’s antitrust body is scrutinizing Air India's planned merger with Vistara over competition concerns (RT)

VC

• Celestial AI, a startup developing photonics-based tech for data transfer, raised a $100M Series B led by IAG Capital Partners, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and Xora Innovation Fund (TC)

• Miami-based sports betting and media company Betr raised a $35M Series A-2 at a $300M pre-money valuation led by Roger Ehrenberg and Fuel Venture Capital (FN)

• Carbon recycling startup CRI raised a $30M round led by Equinor Ventures (FN)

• AI software for radiologists Gleamer raised a $29.5M Series B led by Supernova Invest and Heal Capital (TC)

• Venn Software, a startup developing technology to enable secure BYO-PCs, raised a $29M Series A led by NewSpring Capital (PRN)

• Astrix Security, a platform helping companies secure app integrations, raised a $25M Series A led by CRV (TC)

• Parabola, a collaborative data tool, raised a $24M Series B led by OpenView (PRN)

• Cultivated fish products startup Bluu Seafood raised a $17.5M Series A led by Sparkfood and LBBW VC (TC)

• Green technology startup Gradient Comfort raised a $9M Series A led by Climate Investment (FN)

• Robotic process automation startup Quandri raised an $8.5M Series A led by FUSE (TC)

• Maza, a fintech startup aimed at undocumented immigrants, raised an $8M seed round led by a16z (TC)

• Evommune, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on treating inflammatory diseases, raised a $7.5M Series B from Verition Fund Management (PRN)

• Clearstory, a startup providing a change order communications tool for construction businesses, raised a $5.5M round led by GS Futures (FN)

• Contoro Robotics, a startup augmenting robot intelligence with AI, raised a $4.7M seed round led by SV Investment (PRN)

• Sixty AI, an AI-powered personal relationship management platform, raised a $3.5M seed round led by 468 Capital (FN)

• Qlog, a Tel Aviv-based healthcare technology provider, raised a $2.5M seed round led by eHealth Ventures and Sanara Capital (FN)

• 32Co, a collaborative healthtech startup, raised a $2.2M round led by Balderton Capital (FN)

• Renatus Robotics, a startup building logistics automation systems, raised a $2M seed round led by e-LogiT and CVC fund Dawn Capital (FN)

• Invary, a cybersecurity startup focused on detecting hidden malware and preventing costly ransomware attacks, raised a $1.9M pre-seed round led by Flyover Capital (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• India’s state oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum will raise $2.2B through an equity issuance to pursue green energy objectives (RT)

• China IC Fund II will invest $414M in China’s second-largest chip foundry Hua Hong Semiconductor through its share sale (RT)

• China's Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Pharmaceutical is looking to raise $209M in a Hong Kong IPO (RT)

SPAC

• UK autonomous vehicle tech company EVIE Autonomous is merging with Bannix Acquisition Corp. in a $500M deal (NSC)

Debt

• Chile sold $2.25B of sustainability-linked dollar bonds (YF)

• Data center firm TierPoint aims to raise $400M in a bond sale (CS)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Britain’s biggest water supplier Thames Water is in talks with officials over contingency plans and possible nationalization over growing concerns of its $16.5B debt load (BBG)

• Bankrupt FTX is planning to relaunch its international cryptocurrency exchange and is currently soliciting interested parties (RT)

• The Malaysian government has agreed to restructure the debts of state palm oil plantation agency Felda through the issuance of revolving credit and sukuk, or sharia-compliant bonds (RT)

Fundraising

• CVC Capital Partners has secured at least $27.3B in commitments for CVC Capital Partners IX, putting it on track to raise the largest ever private equity fund (PEI)

• Oaktree Capital Management raised $2.3B for its first private credit fund dedicated to life science companies (BBG)

• Startup accelerator Techstars raised $150M for a new startup accelerator fund (TC)

Crypto Corner

• 130 countries representing 98% of the global economy are exploring digital versions of their currencies (RT)

• A UK legal body recommends creating a new category of personal property that would include digital assets (RT)

• Long-time Bitcoin superbull MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor bought $347M Bitcoin in Q2 (BBG)

• FTX is suing its former top compliance officer for allegedly letting SBF raid customer funds and silencing whistleblowers (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

• Trung Phan highlighted how TBS sped up Seinfeld reruns by 7.5% to account for longer commercial breaks.

• The Information covered how Social IRL, an upstart social media app that previously raised $200M, was forced to wind down after an investigation by its board confirmed that 95% of its users were fake.

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