Together with

Good Morning,

Oaktree criticized Advent and Silver Lake in a rare public call-out, the US yield curve un-inverted, Palantir and Dell are joining the S&P 500, OnlyFans is swimming in cash, US sports betting industry is firing on all cylinders, legal political betting markets are here, and Kendrick Lamar is headlining Super Bowl 2025 (*Drake punching the air rn*).

Automate your complicated business spend and expense allocation process with one of the fastest growing fintech softwares in the alternative asset management space, StavPay.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks slumped on Friday as investors digested a weak August jobs report 

  • S&P suffered its worst week since March 2023

  • Nasdaq posted its worse week since January 2022

  • Traders now see a 71% chance of a 25 bps Fed rate next week

• Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed at a three-week low

• China's CSI 300 index fell to a seven-month low

• Oil tumbled to its lowest since December 2021

• US 2Y-10Y yield curve un-inverted, ending the longest inversion ever

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: Oracle

  • Tuesday: GameStop, Dave & Buster's

  • Thursday: Adobe, Kroger 

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• August jobs report came in worse than expected (CNBC)

• Bond market rally to depend on uncertain pace of Fed rate cuts (BBG)

• Oaktree called out Advent and Silver Lake over a collapsed investment (FT)

• OnlyFans-owner Leonid Radvinksy earned $1B in dividends since 2021 (BBG)

• Palantir and Dell will join the S&P 500 (CNBC)

• Iraqi banks used US-created system to funnel funds to Iran (WSJ)

• Activist Starboard filed a proposal to break Murdoch's grip on News Corp (RT)

• Kalshi cleared to offer congressional prediction markets paving the way for legal political betting (CD)

• Deloitte UK is bringing back face-to-face interviews (FT)

• Selena Gomez is a billionaire (BBG)

• Top dealmaker left Evercore after 'affair' with younger banker (NYP)

• Kendrick Lamar to headline 2025 Super Bowl halftime show (WSJ)

• The US sports betting industry surpasses $220B in wagers the past 5 years (BBG)

A Message From StavPay

StavPay was built for Alternative Asset Managers to automate the business spend and expense allocation process.

More than 90 managers with over $1.2T of AUM collectively use StavPay to manage their vendors, contracts, invoices, expense allocations, budgets, services, 1099 filings, inter-entity reimbursements, and payments.

Get more details at www.stavpay.com and schedule a demo today.

We promise you, it's an hour well spent.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• 7-Eleven-owner Seven & i Holdings rejected a ~$39B cash offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard; Couche-Tard will bid again (BBG) 

• Bain Capital and Parthenon Capital are in talks to sell an up to 25% stake in healthcare tech firm Zelis at a $17B valuation (BBG)

• EQT and Canada's CPP are in talks with investors including Neuberger Berman for a $5B capital injection in international school operator Nord Anglia (BBG) 

• Investment firm MNC Capital increased its cash buyout offer for Vista Outdoor to $2.51B (RT)

• Methanex Corp agreed to acquire OCI’s methanol business in a deal worth more than $2B (BBG)

• VC Accel and private credit giant HPS Investment Partners are nearing an up to 25% stake purchase in Aston Martin F1 at a $2-2.6B valuation (BBG)

• Chinese state-backed brokerages Guotai Junan and Haitong will merge via share swap to create a $230B AUM powerhouse (RT)

• Chelsea FC-owners Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly are exploring buying out each others' stake (BBG) 

• Qualcomm is exploring acquiring portions of Intel's chip-design business (RT) 

• EQT is weighing a sale of revenue cycle SaaS firm AGS Health (BBG) 

• Australia telecoms Vocus Group is in advanced talks to buy TPG Telecom's fiber assets (BBG) 

VC

• Salon/spa operations SaaS Mangomint raised a $35M Series B led by Altos Ventures (TC)

• AI security and governance platform Acuvity raised a $9M seed round led by Foundation Capital (TFN)

• Insurtech startup Korint raised a $5.4M round led by Ventech (EU)

• Anytime AI, a developer of AI legal assistants, raised a $4M seed round led by Gopher Asset Management and Kao Family Office (SAAS)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Permira and H&F-backed customer service SaaS firm Genesys Cloud Services picked Goldman, Citigroup, and JPMorgan for a $2B IPO (BBG) 

• Carlyle plans to raise $1.2B in an India IPO of IT services firm Hexaware Technologies (RT) 

• GIC and Carlyle-backed aircraft maintenance firm StandardAero filed for a US IPO (RT) 

• Bicara Therapeutics is seeking to raise $212M at a $828M valuation in a US IPO (RT) 

• Zenas BioPharma is seeking to raise up to $212M at a $690M valuation in a US IPO (RT) 

• Early childhood education firm KinderCare is reviving plans for a US IPO (RT)

SPAC

• EEW Renewables will merge with Compass Digital Acquisition Corp. in a $386M deal (LAW)

Debt

• Subway raised $2.34B in its second ABS deal this year (BBG) 

• Formula 1 will refinance a $1.7B loan alongside raising $850M for its acquisition of MotoGP World Championship (BBG) 

• Goldman Sachs will provide $389M in high-yield debt to back Italian IT group Almaviva's acquisition of US tech firm Iteris (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Germany will acquire a 40% stake in struggling shipbuilder Meyer Werft for $222M in a rescue deal (BBG)

• Wheel Pros, a maker of after-market specialty auto parts, filed for bankruptcy protection after struggling with inflation costs and a slump in demand (BBG) 

Fundraising

• London-based VC Atomico raised $1.24B across two funds - $485M for early stage financing and $754M for growth deals (BBG)

• Ardabelle Capital, led by Eurazeo’s ex-CEO Virginie Morgon, plans to raise $555M for a debut climate-focused PE fund (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Bitcoin ATMs emerge as one of cryptocurrency's biggest threats (CNBC)

• Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen is among Kamala's new supporters (CD) 

Exec’s Picks

• If y'all are in the market for some premium coffee, Cometeer is a brand I've exclusively been drinking lately. They come in flash frozen pods to protect the beans' rich flavors and they'll have you ready to run through a brick wall. Check 'em out here.

• Legendary NYU professor Aswath Damodaran shared his research on Nvidia, valuing it at $87/share or a ~16% discount to Friday's close.

• FT published a profile on Robby Starbuck: the activist pushing US companies to ditch DEI.

New Opportunity - Investment Banking

We are working with Cascadia Capital to hire experienced investment banking analysts and associates in Austin, Minneapolis and Seattle. See below for more info:

• The firm is seeking to expand after a significant investment from ex-Barclays CEO Bob Diamond and several senior banker hires

• Seeking associates and analysts across four coverage groups, and analysts in capital markets and generalist roles

• Immediate start

• Competitive pay

Meme Cleanser

Advertise with us // Visit our merch store // Invest alongside Lit Ventures // Book a call with Lit // Launch your own newsletter