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Good Morning,

Analysts aren’t bullish about Morgan Stanley and Citi’s stock, Finra calls AI an ‘emerging risk,’ Australia’s UBC is looking beyond IPOs after a slow 2023, Ackman is backing a bid by dissidents for Harvard board seats, Apple’s Saori Casey was named Sonos’ finance chief, and the EU is launching a competition probe into Microsoft’s OpenAI investment.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks mostly closed down, but the indices were supported be a positive day from tech

  • The Dow led indices with a 0.42% decline, while the Nasdaq rose 0.09%

• Asian stocks mostly rose, with Japan’s Nikkei rising 1.16% to a 33-year high thanks to positive Japanese inflation data

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Thursday: Infosys

  • Friday: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, United Health, BlackRock, Delta Air Lines

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Morgan Stanley displaces Citigroup as least-loved big bank stock (BBG)

• Boeing CEO says company needs to acknowledge ‘our mistake’ (WSJ)

• Finra calls AI 'Emerging risk’ in annual regulatory report (WSJ)

• Australia’s top underwriting UBC looks beyond IPOs after 2023 low (BBG)

• Grifols denies Gotham claims as short seller triggers 26% rout (BBG)

• Honda teases new EVs with futuristic ‘Space-Hub’ and ‘Saloon’ concept cars (CNBC)

• Trump’s presidential immunity appeal meets judges’ skepticism (WSJ)

• Swiss pharma giants plot different paths for next blockbuster drugs (BBG)

• Bill Ackman backs bid by dissidents for Harvard board seats (RT)

• Intel challenges Nvidia, Qualcomm with ‘AI PC’ chips for cars (RT)

• Apple veteran Saori Casey leaving to become Sonos finance chief (BBG)

• Article on Ackman’s wife triggers tensions between Business Insider and owner (WSJ)

• Match Group names new Tinder CEO after reports of activist stake (BBG)

• Boeing to revise 737 MAX 9 inspection instructions as planes remain grounded (CNBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a maker of data center hardware, will acquire Juniper Networks for $14B to expand its presence in networking (BBG) 

• Microsoft's $13B investment into OpenAI is facing a potential full-blown EU competition probe (BBG) 

• British drugmaker GSK will acquire asthma drug maker Aiolos Bio in a deal worth up to $1.4B (RT) 

• CVC Capital Partners is nearing a deal to acquire German vitamin and supplement maker Sunday Natural at a ~$983M valuation (BBG) 

• Pharmacy benefit manager MedImpact Healthcare Systems received bankruptcy court approval to acquire bankrupt pharmacy chain Rite Aid’s Elixir pharmacy benefit manager business for $575M (RT) 

• A Brookfield Asset Management property fund sold a large portion of a manufactured housing portfolio in a $325M deal (BBG) 

• US energy company Eversource Energy is in talks is in advanced talks to unload its 50% share in three offshore wind projects it planned with Orsted; it will take a Q4 charge of as much as $1.6B (BBG)  

• TikTok owner ByteDance is in talks with multiple prospective buyers, including the world's largest video games company, Tencent, who are interested in purchasing its gaming assets (RT) 

• Accenture Song, the creative services division of consulting giant Accenture, will acquire Work & Co., a digital design and technology agency (WSJ) 

• Buyout shop Investcorp is acquiring a controlling stake in heating and air-conditioning business Best in Class Technology Services (WSJ)

VC

• Vantage Data Centers, a global provider of hyperscale data centers, raised $6.4B in equity from DigitalBridge and Silver Lake (BW)

• AppDirect, a platform for buying, selling, and managing tech, raised a $100M round from CDPQ (TC)

• ExtraHop, a cloud-native network detection and response (NDR) startup, raised $100M in growth capital from existing investors (BW)

• PerformYard, a platform providing software-based retention, staff management, and upskilling tools, raised a $95M round led by Updata Partners (TC)

• AI 3D model building startup Luma raised a $43M Series B at a $200-300M valuation led by a16z (TC)

• Brazilian expense management startup Conta Simples raised a $41.5M Series B led by Base10 Partners (TC)

• Impact Analytics, a startup building an AI-powered merchandising software suite, raised a $40M round led by Sageview Capital (BW)

• Anecdotes, a startup automating governance, risk management, and compliance tasks, raised a $25M Series B led by Glilot Capital Partners (TC)

• Agtech robotics firm Burro raised a $24M Series B co-led by Catalyst Investors and Translink Capital (TC)

• Gallant Therapeutics, a startup developing stem cell therapies for pets, raised a $15M Series A led by BOLD Capital (FN)

• Mycelium-based biotech startup Mogu raised a $12M Series A led by CDP Venture Capital and ECBF VC (EU)

• DigitalOwl, an insurance tech startup, received a $12M investment from RGA (FN)

• FA Bio, a UK-based bio-tech startup, raised a $6.7M round led by Clean Growth Fund and Pymwymic (FN)

• Mush Foods, a startup using mushroom mycelium to boost nutrition and sustainability in meat dishes, raised $6.2M in a seed round led by Viola Ventures (PRN)

• Parallel, a teletherapy platform for kids with special needs, raised a $6.1M Series A extension led by Rethink Impact (TC)

• ArenaX Labs, an AI-centric game studio, raised $6M in funding led by Framework Ventures (PRN)

• Via Scientific, a developer of a multi-omics platform for biological insights, raised a $5M seed round led by G20 Ventures and Innospark Ventures (PRN)

• Open source front-end development platform Deco.cx raised a $2.2M seed round led by MAYA Capital (TC)

• Umoja, a decentralized hedging platform, raised $2M in funding from Quantstamp, Blockchain Founders Fund, and more (PRN)

• Xaba, a startup developing AI-powered software to automate programming and deployment of robotics and CNC machines, raised a $2M seed extension round led by BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund (BW)

• Bracket Labs, an on-chain volatility trading platform, raised a $2M pre-seed round from NGC Ventures, Cypher Capital, 0x Capital, and more (VC)

• Whispp, a Dutch AI startup giving people with speech impediments a stronger voice, raised a $950K seed round led by LUMO Labs (EU)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Auna, a healthcare provider operating in Mexico, Columbia, and Peru, filed for a US IPO (RT) 

SPAC

• Australian farming productivity tech company Braiin will merge with Northern Revival Acquisition Corp. in a $572M deal (BW) 

Debt

• US wireless carrier T-Mobile US raised $3B through a three-part bond sale, which included 31-year fixed rate notes (BBG) 

• Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol is selling $1.9B worth of dollar bonds due in 2036 to raise cash, which will fund a $1.2B debt buyback (BBG) 

• One Investment Management, the firm set up by SoftBank Vision Fund’s architect Rajeev Misra, provided a $382M loan to support Apollo Global’s LBO of Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group (BBG) 

• Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec provided $100M in debt financing to JPMorgan-backed AppDirect, an online marketplace for buying, selling and managing apps (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• SVB Financial Group, the former parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, struck a deal with key creditors in a step towards resolving its bankruptcy case (BBG)

• German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof filed for insolvency, became the latest asset caught up in the bankruptcy spiral of Rene Benko’s Signa property and retail empire (BBG)

Fundraising

• Lexington Partners, one of the oldest investors in secondhand PE assets, raised $22.7B for its latest Lexington Capital Partners X fund (WSJ) 

• UK PE firm Cinven raised $14.5B for its eighth buyout fund (BBG) 

• Canadian PE firm TorQuest Partners raised $2.1B for TorQuest Partners Fund VI, which will make middle-market investments (FN) 

• Singapore-based Asia Partners Fund Management, a growth equity investor, raised $474M in the final close of its second fund (WSJ)  

Crypto Corner

• Bitcoin derivative traders bet billions on Bitcoin’s ETF future (RT) 

• The SEC’s official X account was compromised, leading to a false tweet stating that the SEC had approved spot-Bitcoin ETFs (BBG) 

• Investment manager Valkyrie is 95% sure Bitcoin ETFs will begin trading on Thursday (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

• The Washington Post published a good piece covering the rise of Padel.

• Financial Times explored whether or not PE funds will increasingly look for more IPO exits.

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