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Good Morning,

PE firms are hitting the brakes on China deals, Telegram's co-founder was arrested in France, CU Boulder football sought NIL funding from the Saudis, and Crayola trademarked the smell of its crayons.

Check out today's sponsor 10 East, a membership-based investment firm for exclusive private market deals.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks surged on Friday after J Pow indicated rate cuts are on the horizon

  • All three major indexes posted winning weeks

  • Markets now see a 33% chance of a 50 bps September rate cut and 67% chance of a 25 bps cut

• Canada's TSX index advanced to a new ATH

• Europe's Stoxx 600 index rose to its highest level in three weeks

• Pound rose to the highest since March 2022 versus the dollar

• Singapore dollar rose to a ten-year high on hawkish policy outlook 

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: Heico

  • Wednesday: Nvidia, CrowdStrike, Salesforce

  • Thursday: Dell, Best Buy, Dollar General, lululemon

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• J Pow said it's time to adjust rates (CNBC)

• Top PE firms put brakes on China dealmaking (FT)

• US Treasuries no longer safe bet they once were (RT)

• US job market may be near tipping point (RT)

• Investor expectations for European inflation fell to lowest since 2022 (FT)

• BOJ ready to raise rates if growth, inflation stay on track (RT)

• BOJ governor warned global markets are 'unstable' (FT)

• Fed mortgage bond holdings play 'central' role in policy (RT)

• CU Boulder football sought NIL funding from Saudi's PIF (SI)

• Meta, Spotify CEOs called out Europe on AI regulations (RT)

• Telegram's co-founder / CEO was arrested in France (AX)

• Bank of China President Liu Jin resigned (RT)

• China mutual funds reel from crackdown (FT)

• Nvidia is set to report a 200% increase in sales (BBG)

• US new home sales rose to the highest since May 2023 (RT)

• Australian employees can now ignore work messages after hours (RT)

• NASA sacked Boeing for SpaceX to bring back stranded astronauts (CNBC)

• Crayola trademarked the smell of its crayons (BBG)

• Mideast tensions rise as Israel and Hezbollah bomb one another (CNBC)

A Message From 10 East

Where Sophisticated Investors Access Private Markets

10 East is a co-investment platform where sophisticated investors access private market investments alongside a veteran team with a 12+ year track record of strong performance across over 350 transactions. The firm is led by Michael Leffell, former Deputy Executive Managing Member of Davidson Kempner.

Members have the flexibility to participate on a deal-by-deal basis across private equity, credit, real estate, and venture capital.

Benefits of 10 East membership include:  

• Flexibility – members have full discretion over whether to invest on an offering-by-offering basis. 

• Alignment – principals commit material personal capital to every offering.  

• Institutional resources – a dedicated investment team that sources and diligences each offering.

There are no upfront costs or commitments associated with joining 10 East.

Exec Sum readers can join 10 East with complimentary access here.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Danish transport group DSV and a consortium led by CVC submitted separate bids that value Deutsche Bahn's logistics unit DB Schenker at ~$15.6B (BBG) 

• PE firm TPG and UnitedHealth Group are among suitors seeking to acquire $4.3B-listed surgical facilities operator Surgery Partners (BBG)

• Taiwan's CTBC Financial offered over $4B for a controlling stake in smaller rival Shin Kong Financial to create the island's biggest finance group (BBG) 

• Investment firm Meritage Group is exploring a sale of beverage distributor Columbia Distributing for ~$2B, including debt (RT) 

• PE firms including Carlyle, Blackstone, Permira, CVC and Cinven are weighing investing in Grant Thornton UK at a $1.3B-$2B valuation (FT)

• Hedge-fund billionaire Paul Marshall is nearing a deal to acquire UK's Spectator magazine for over $131M from a group led by ex-CNN president Jeff Zucker (WSJ) 

• Australia's second-largest pension Australian Retirement Trust will raise its stake in New Zealand energy distributor Powerco from 25% to 58% (AFR) 

• China Mobile invested in Huawei's smartphone spinoff HONOR (BBG) 

VC

• WealthMore, an investment platform connecting customers with adviser-led portfolios, raised a $1M pre-seed round led by Emmeline Ventures (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Indian food delivery giant Swiggy is aiming to raise $1.2B at a $15B valuation in what may be India's largest IPO this year (RT) 

• Saudi perfume maker Al Majed for Oud plans to raise $188M at a $626M valuation in a local IPO (BBG) 

• Westwell, a Chinese self-driving solutions for logistics firms, is preparing for a 2025 Hong Kong IPO (BBG) 

SPAC

• Rare earths miner Tactical Resources agreed to merge with Plum Acquisition Corp III in a $589M deal (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Hong Kong real-estate developer Yuzhou filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy for a $6.7B offshore debt restructuring (WSJ)  

• Bankrupt beachwear brand Salt Life received rescue interest from multiple bidders, but their related activewear business Delta will be liquidated (BBG) 

Fundraising

• Indian wealth firm and Bain-backed 360 ONE WAM raised $500M for its debut secondary fund (BBG) 

Crypto Corner

• A judge ruled Kraken must face SEC's lawsuit (BBG) 

Exec’s Picks

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• Jack Raines made an interesting observation on how the rise of passive investing has also given rise to new market inefficiencies.

• Given the plethora of wisdom on what one should do, Ben Carlson shared some simple yet timeless advice on the things you shouldn't do to succeed in investing.

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

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