Friends, Enemies, and VCs

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Litquidity Capital
September 20, 2024

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Good Morning,

Stocks ripped to new highs, TD named a new CEO, big banks are split on the pace of Fed rate cuts, and Sequoia was reportedly left out of OpenAI's blockbuster fundraise (totally unrelated to their backing of rival SSI 🤷‍♂️)

Diversify your income streams with grocery-anchored real estate exposure with today's sponsor, FNRP.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As 0f 09/19/2024 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks surged yesterday on optimism from the Fed's 50 bps rate cut

    • S&P and Dow closed at new ATHs

    • Traders see a 70% chance of 25 bps Fed rate cut in November

  • Germany's DAX hit an ATH

  • US 10Y yield rose to a two-week high

  • US-UK cocoa futures spreads are seeing a rare divergence on quality woes

Earnings

  • FedEx slumped 11% after missing Q1 earnings estimates and lowering its FY forecast due to muted demand in the US domestic package market (WSJ)

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • BoE held rates at 5% and will maintain pace of QT (FT)

  • PBOC left lending rates unchanged in surprise decision (CNBC)

  • Big banks are split on pace of forthcoming Fed rate cuts (BBG)

  • US current account deficit widened to its highest level in two years (RT)

  • India FX reserves boost put rupee among least volatile EM currencies (BBG)

  • TD named Raymond Chun as new CEO (BBG)

  • Nike CEO to step down amid historic market slump (CNBC)

  • Oxford CIO Sandra Robertson is stepping down (FT)

  • Sequoia won't participate in OpenAI's $6.5B fundraise (BBG)

  • Two Sigma is in talks to settle with SEC for $100M (WSJ)

  • Activist Politan Capital ousted Masimo's CEO from the board (CNBC)

  • JPMorgan named new heads of technology and healthcare IB (RT)

  • SWE jobs may have dried up for good (WSJ)

A Message From FNRP

Grocery-anchored commercial properties ⚓️

First National Realty Partners offers accredited investors unique opportunities to invest in grocery-anchored commercial real estate.

What does "grocery-anchored" mean?

  • These are properties that have a supermarket or grocery store as their primary tenant.

  • Grocery stores serve as the main draw (or "anchor") for shoppers, attracting consistent foot traffic to the property

First National Realty Partners specializes in grocery-anchored tenants, which are generally considered more stable and lower-risk investments even within the retail real estate sector, because grocery stores tend to perform well even when times are bad (after all, groceries are a basic necessity)

Invest where people live, shop, & eat.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • CEO Mathias Döpfner and KKR agreed to a $15B deal to split media giant Axel Springer's media division and classifieds business (FT) 

  • Ampere Computing, an Oracle-backed chip startup last valued at $8B, is exploring a sale (BBG)  

  • PE firm Platinum Equity is in talks to buy Trivium Packaging from Canada's OTPP and Ardagh Group for over $3.5B (BBG) 

  • US utility Vistra will acquire the 15% equity it does not already own in subsidiary Vistra Vision for $3.3B cash (RT)

  • French PR giant Publicis Groupe acquired global SME marketing firm Mars United Commerce in a $600M deal (BBG) 

  • Japanese electronics firm Seiko Epson will acquire digital printing company Fiery from PE firm Siris for $591M deal (PRN) 

  • Oaktree agreed to acquire UK lender Close Brothers' wealth management unit for $265M (RT)

VC

  • AtoB, a payment solutions for the logistics industry, raised a $130M Series C led by General Catalyst and Bloomberg Beta (BW)

  • Women's virtual care clinic Midi Health raised a $63M Series B led by Operator Collective (PRN)

  • Electric motor startup DeepDrive raised a $33.5M Series B led by Leitmotif (EU)

  • ESG software startup Datamaran raised a $33M Series C led by Morgan Stanley (BW)

  • AI hiring platform Mercor raised a $30M Series A at a $250M valuation led by Benchmark (PRN)

  • Creative analytics and research platform Motion raised a $30M Series B led by Inovia (PRN)

  • Brazilian digital prescription platform Mevo raised a $19M Series B led by Matrix (PRN)

  • Rebelstork, a baby gear returns marketplace, raised an $18M Series A led by Maveron Ventures (PRN)

  • AI note-taking bot Fathom raised a $17M Series A led by Telescope Partners (TC)

  • Inbolt, a real-time robot guidance solutions, raised a $16M Series A led by Exor Ventures (EU)

  • CO2 removal startup Phlair raised a $12.4M seed round led by Extantia Capital (TC)

  • With, an Israeli end-to-end platform for community-building efforts, raised a $10M seed round from Boaz Amiti, Tal Ventures, and others (SAAS)

  • AI-powered weather forecasting startup Brightband raised a $10M Series A led by Prelude Ventures (TC)

  • Zeno, a startup creating motorbikes with swappable batteries, raised a $9.5M seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital and Toyota Ventures (TC)

  • Safire Group, a lithium-ion battery safety technology, raised an $8M pre-Series A led by Canaan Partners (PRN)

  • Lightium, a Swiss photonics startup, raised a $7M seed round led by Vsquared Ventures and Lakestar (EU)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Carlyle-backed Japanese lab equipment maker Rigaku is seeking a ~$2.1B valuation in a local IPO (RT) 

  • Hawaiian Electric's parent company plans to sell $250M in stock to help fund its Maui wildfire settlement (RT) 

  • Obesity-focused biotech BioAge Labs is seeking a $587M valuation in its US IPO (RT) 

  • Germany is likely to IPO utility Uniper (BBG) 

Debt

  • Spanish lender Banco Sabadell is seeking to sell a $412M portfolio of soured unsecured loans (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Evergrande's liquidators are seeking to wind up CEG, a unit with key assets (BBG)

  • Lenders to bankrupt Tupperware want to force the firm into Chapter 7 liquidation (WSJ) 

  • Terraform Labs received court approval to wind down in bankruptcy after settling with the SEC (RT) 

Fundraising

  • Real estate investor Waterton closed its fifteenth value-add multifamily real estate fund at $1.7B (PRN) 

  • GP seeding firm New Catalyst is seeking $750M for a debut fund to back emerging PE managers (WSJ) 

Crypto Corner

  • Suspects behind a $230M crypto theft were arrested in Miami (CB)

  • Trump becomes first president to pay in Bitcoin (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

  • I'm stoked to be partnering with Baudoin & Lange to bring their signature craftsmanship to the unique culture of the finance world. B&L® is a symbol of elegance worn by icons like Roger Federer and Toto Wolff and we collaborated on a limited-edition Litquidity loafer showcasing a signature 'PLS FIX' engraving to blend elegance with a dash of humor. Fetch yourself a pair of the most coveted footwear in the game and we'll invite you to an exclusive event in New York and London in the coming months.

  • NYT's Kate Conger and Ryan Mac sat with Bloomberg to discuss their new book, which uncovers the "insane details" of Musk's Twitter takeover.

Hiring Junior Investment Bankers

Cascadia Capital - Investment Banking Analysts & Associates

  • Independent middle market advisory is hiring experienced IB associates and analysts in Austin, Minneapolis and Seattle

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

  • Seeking associates and analysts across technology, industrials, consumer, and business services coverage, and analysts in capital markets and generalist roles

  • Immediate start, competitive comp packages

Meme Cleanser

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