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Good Morning,

A judge ruled Google's App store to be an illegal monopoly, EY is holding back pay for US partners, Starboard Value took a $1B stake in Pfizer, FTX's bankruptcy is looking like a success, and the US presidential race is dead even according to betting markets.

Why only spend at your favorite franchise when you can own a slice of it too? Check out FranShares, a platform democratizing access to profitable franchise ownership.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 10/07/2024 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks tumbled as higher yields weighed on markets

    • S&P closed at a two-week low

    • Traders slashed all bets of a second 50 bps rate cut

  • US 10Y yield rose past 4% for the first time since August

  • Oil prices jumped as the Mideast kept markets nervous

    • Brent crossed $80/bbl for the first time in a month

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: PepsiCo

    • Thursday: Delta, Domino's

    • Friday: JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, BlackRock

  • Full calendar here

🇺🇸 Election Forecast

As of 10/07/2024.

  • Trump gained 1% on Kalshi yesterday to even the election odds

    • This follows Kamala’s recent appearances on 60 Minutes and the Call Her Daddy podcast

  • See live odds and place your trades here

    • Kalshi has launched over 20 new election markets

Headline Roundup

  • Cboe will list hedged ADRs (RT)

  • EY will hold back some pay from US partners after tough year (FT)

  • Three startups aim to raise $400M as US biotech IPOs gain traction (RT)

  • Goldman has derivatives positions worth 6.7% stake in UniCredit (RT)

  • Activist Starboard Value took a $1B stake in Pfizer (WSJ)

  • A US judge found Google's App store to be an illegal monopoly (TV)

  • Chinese chip stocks are rallying like Nvidia (WSJ)

  • US antitrust case against Amazon will move forward (RT)

  • Hurricane Milton is barreling towards Florida with 180 mph winds, triggering evacuations along the state’s west coast (BBG)

A Message From FranShares

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Ready to see how FranShares can make franchise ownership simple, accessible, and profitable for you?

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Canadian Natural Resources will acquire assets in Canada's Athabasca Oil Sands and Duvernay Shale from Chevron for $6.5B  

  • Apollo agreed to buy aerospace components manufacturer Barnes at a ~$3.6B valuation  

  • Norway's Equinor bought a 9.8% stake in Danish offshore wind farm developer Orsted valued for ~$2.5B  

  • Food-focused PE firm Butterfly Equity will acquire winemaker Duckhorn Portfolio for $2B  

  • India's Adani Group is in talks to buy the Indian cement operations of Germany's Heidelberg Materials in a ~$1.2B deal  

  • Investment firm Blue Owl agreed to acquire digital infrastructure investor IPI Partners for ~$1B  

  • ​​Saudi Arabia's PIF is exploring a 10% stake purchase in sports-streaming group DAZN for ~$1B  

  • Luxury goods group Richemont will acquire a 33% stake in the luxury online platform Mytheresa in exchange for its e-commerce business Yoox Net-A-Porter 

  • An American consortium led by PE exec Steven H. Rosen is in takeover talks with UK football club Sheffield United 

  • Thai investor Central Group and PIF will jointly acquire European retail chain Selfridges 

VC

  • Kobold Metals, an AI-powered mineral discovery startup, raised $491M of a targeted $527M round from Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, a16z, and more

  • Eleanor, an outpatient addiction treatment provider, raised a $30M Series D led by General Catalyst

  • Layer, a developer tools for full-stack DApps, raised a $6M seed round led by 1kx

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Chinese automobile maker Chery is considering a Hong Kong IPO for its automotive unit Chery Automobile at a $7.1B valuation  

  • Tokyo Metro is seeking to raise $2.4B in Japan's largest IPO since 2018  

  • Swedish landlord SBB plans to IPO $390M worth of shares in its residential unit Sveafastigheter  

  • Rivus Pharmaceuticals, a drug developer focused on obesity treatments, is considering a $250M US IPO  

  • Saudi perfume maker Al Majed for Oud rose 30% in its trading debut after its $188M IPO  

  • Dutch transmission system operator Tennet is preparing a potential IPO of its German operations  

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

Fundraising

  • Healthcare PE firm Shore Capital Partners raised $1.9B across three funds  

  • Credit investor Deer Park Road Management is seeking to raise $500M to acquire distressed CRE debt  

  • Fidelity Investments closed its debut VC fund at $250M

Crypto Corner

  • Crypto adoption is on track to hit 8% by 2025

  • Robinhood legal chief could be tapped to lead SEC if Trump wins

Exec’s Picks

Seeking impartial news? Meet 1440.

Every day, 3.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a brief 5-minute email. Enjoy an impartial news experience.

Noah Smith wrote a great piece on the one problem with the US economy at present.

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, an executive search partnership between Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking and are currently hiring for some incredible roles.

Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

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