Down Bad in China

Author

Litquidity Capital
November 22, 2024

Together with

Good Morning,

PJT's founder is Wall Street's newest billionaire, Ken Griffin is open to selling a stake in his hedge fund, Citron Research took a short position in MicroStrategy, and private equity is floundering in China.

With deal flow picking up, there's absolutely zero reason for financial modeling to be as tedious as it is, and Mosaic has the biggest names agreeing. Try 'em out and see why their digital deal modeling platform is taking the industry by storm.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 11/21/2024 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks inched upwards yesterday as investors rotated into cyclical stocks

    • S&P rose for a fourth-straight day 

    • S&P and Dow hit one-week highs to trade near ATHs

  • Bitcoin traded above $98k for a new record high

Earnings

  • John Deere beat Q4 EPS estimates and gave a poor FY profit outlook but shares rose 8% on expectations for the agriculture slump to turn (BBG)  

  • Baidu beat Q3 EPS and revenue estimates as growth in its AI cloud business offset ongoing weakness in their online marketing stream; the Chinese tech giant has not seen any recovery despite China's stimulus efforts (CNBC)

  • Gap rose 22% after beating Q3 EPS estimates and raising its guidance thanks to a strong start to the holiday season (CNBC) 

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • PE firms are trapped in China after $1.5T betting spree (BBG)

  • US hedge funds exposure to China stocks rose to a three-year high (RT)

  • Chinese firms are hoarding dollars as trade tensions rise (RT)

  • Ken Griffin is open to selling a minority stake in Citadel (BBG)

  • PJT founder/CEO Paul Taubman is a billionaire (FT)

  • Big banks asked buyers of bank risk to disclose leverage (BBG)

  • Business spending on AI surged 500% to $13.8B this year (CNBC)

  • SEC chair Gensler will step down on Trump's first day (CNBC)

  • Big accounting firms will have to submit financial statements annually (WSJ)

  • CFPB expands oversight of fintech services like Apple Pay, Zelle (CNBC)

  • A court struck down SEC's overhaul of Treasury dealer rules (RT)

  • Citron Research took a short position in MicroStrategy (BBG)

  • UK PM Keir Starmer met with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink (FT)

  • Firstrade will join peers in offering overnight trading (RT)

  • McKinsey is nearing a $600M settlement deal over opioid claims (FT)

  • Gautam Adani's net worth sank by $15B after US indictments (BBG)

  • French investment firm Tikehau may move its listing to New York (FT)

  • Hong Kong's private wealth assets rose for first time since Covid (BBG)

  • Three BofA India bankers quit amid insider information probe (FT)

  • OpenAI is weighing developing a web browser to take on Google (TI)

  • FBI arrested a man plotting to bomb NYSE (AP)

  • US existing home sales rose for the first time since 2021 (RT)

A Message from Mosaic

Model with Mosaic

With deal flow gathering steam, it's time to reconsider the way we spend time building models. Which is why I want to shine light on the buzzworthy deal modeling platform, Mosaic.

Mosaic was recently featured in Bloomberg and FT for their next-gen technology that allows investment professionals to build LBO models in mere minutes.

The platform was built by PE veterans themselves, and its accuracy, complexity and practicality virtually eliminates the tediousness of modeling tasks that many of us face daily.

I wish I had this tool during my PE days and I'm not surprised that Mosaic is emerging as the new industry standard in deal modeling.

Some of the biggest investors already use Mosaic to save hours on modeling workflows and it's something that you must try.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Building materials provider Quikrete is in advanced talks to acquire $9B-listed Summit Materials

  • A Chinese consortium agreed to acquire the industrial gasses business of AirPower Technologies from Asian investment firm PAG in a $6.8B deal

  • Czech family office Se.ven GI acquired Spanish steelmaker Celsa's UK and Norway mills for $630M

  • Blackstone invested over $500M in Texas data center infrastructure firm Lancium  

  • Advertising software firm Mediaocean will acquire peer Innovid for $500M

  • Värde Partners acquired healthcare real estate-focused Unity Investment Management from Unity Medical Properties

VC

  • Fintech giant Stripe will buy back shares at a ~$70B valuation

  • Data center start-up Crusoe Energy raised $686M of a targeted $818M round from Founders Fund and Felicis Ventures

  • Enveda, a biotech AI translating nature into new medicines, raised a $130M Series C led by Kinnevik and FPV 

  • OneRail, a last-mile delivery solutions, raised a $42M Series C led by Aliment Capital 

  • Nivoda, a digital marketplace and supply chain for the diamond industry, raised $51M led by Northzone

  • AI management platform Lightning AI raised a $50M round from Cisco, JPMorgan, Nvidia, and K5 Global 

  • Swedish eFuel production facilities developer Liquid Wind raised a $47.9M Series C led by Uniper, HYCAP, and Samsung Ventures 

  • Iontra, a next-gen battery charging technology, raised a $45M Series C led by Volta Energy Technologies 

  • Healthcare financial aid startup TailorMed raised $40M led by Windham Capital Partners 

  • Clean Skin Club, a skincare and hygiene brand, raised a $32M round led by Asto Consumer Partners and Amberstone 

  • CellPoint Digital, a payment solutions for airline and travel industries, raised $30M from Toscafund and Penta Capital 

  • Viso Trust, an AI-powered third-party risk management platform, raised $24M from BCV, Allstate Strategic Ventures, Cisco, and more

  • Apaleo, a German API-first open property management platform, raised a $21M growth equity round led by PSG Equity 

  • Aviz Networks, an AI-driven networking solutions provider, raised a $17M Series A led by Alter Venture Partners 

  • Aira Technologies, a company applying AI to cellular network infrastructure, raised a $14.5M Series B from AT&T, Intel, IQT, and more

  • EV boat startup Candela raised a $14M Series C extension led by SEB Private Equity 

  • Echion Technologies, a supplier of niobium-based anode materials, raised a $12.8M round led by Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and BGF 

  • AI-powered security compliance startup Trustero raised a $10.4M Series A led by Bright Pixel Capital 

  • Anitian, a compliance automation solutions, raised a $7M Series D led by Sageview Capital

  • Toku, an enterprise cloud communications and customer experience solutions, raised a $5M Series A extension led by Betatron Venture Group 

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Password management security firm 1Password, last valued at $6.8B in 2022, is preparing for a potential 2025 IPO

  • Medical supply firm Medline Industries, which is owned by Blackstone, H&F and Carlyle, plans to raise over $5B at a $50B valuation in a H1 2025 US IPO

  • Bain-backed Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia is planning a December Tokyo IPO at a $4.8B valuation

Debt 

  • Blackstone's private credit fund BCRED raised $1.5B via a bond and CLO issuance

  • Adani scrapped its $600M dollar bond sale

  • Canadian clothing manufacturer Gildan Activewear raised $500M in a loonie bond sale

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Swedish battery maker Northvolt filed for Chapter 11; Swedish truck maker Scania will lend $100M in bankruptcy

  • Snack maker Hearthside Food Solutions, which is owned by Charlesbank Capital Partners and Partners Group, is preparing to file for bankruptcy

Fundraising

  • Tech-focused PE firm Accel-KKR closed its debut secondaries fund at $2.2B

  • Renewables focused PE firm Neos Partners raised $1.4B for its second fund

  • Chinese PE firm Trustar Capital raised a $1B continuation fund for its McDonald's China unit from QIA and Chinese investors

  • VC Blue Bear Capital raised $160M for its third fund to back AI founders in climate, energy, and industry

Crypto Corner

  • Charles Schwab will offer spot crypto trading once regulations ease (BBG)

  • Trump Media is mulling a crypto payment service TruthFi (NYT)

  • MicroStrategy's magical Bitcoin buying machine relies on wacky math (WSJ)

Exec’s Picks

Hedge Fund Analyst Opportunity 💼

  • We are working with Pantera Capital to hire an Investment Analyst for their Liquid Token Fund, an open-ended fund focused primarily on liquid tokens.

  • With $5B total firm AUM, Pantera was the first US institutional asset manager focused exclusively on blockchain technology.

  • If you are crypto native and have deep fundamental analysis skills with 1-4 years of investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, consulting, or equity research experience, this is the perfect opportunity for you!

  • Bonus points if you manage your own portfolio of digital assets and can discuss your investment strategy.

  • Learn more and apply below:

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