Happy Nvidia Earnings Day

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Litquidity Capital
November 20, 2024

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Good Morning,

US execs are dumping stocks in record numbers, Bridgewater is expanding its strategy to retail investors, Ken Griffin thinks the multi-strat hedge fund boom is over, Morgan Stanley is courting wealth clients who are not yet wealthy, and markets have once again shifted all attention to Nvidia's earnings.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 11/19/2024 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks rose as investors digested Ukraine-Russia developments and braced for Nvidia's earnings

    • Options markets are implying an 8.5% swing in Nvidia shares following earnings 

  • Treasury shorts were met with dip-buyers as yields failed to break May highs

  • Gold and safe-haven currencies rose on Russia-Ukraine tensions

  • Bitcoin crossed $93k to hit a new high

Earnings

  • Walmart issued a Q3 beat-and-raise thanks to growth in e-commerce and a rise in discretionary spending by high-income consumers (CNBC) 

  • Lowe's beat Q3 earnings estimates and hiked FY guidance which nonetheless conveyed a YoY sales decline as high rates continue to pressure the home improvement market (CNBC) 

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Nvidia, Palo Alto Networks, Target, TJX

    • Thursday: John Deere, Baidu, Gap

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • JPMorgan chair of tech IB expects more IPOs after election (BBG)

  • David Solomon expects deal flow to pick up in 2025 (RT)

  • David Solomon sees global investors still on the sidelines in China (FT)

  • China pledged capital markets reform and support for Hong Kong (RT)

  • Execs are cashing in in record number amid post-election rally (FT)

  • Japan and China dumped US Treasuries before Trump's victory (BBG)

  • Ken Griffin says multi-strat hedge fund boom is over (BBG)

  • Barings sees public and private ABF converging (BBG)

  • Morgan Stanley is courting near-IPO startup employees for wealth management (RT)

  • Bridgewater opens strategy to retail investors via State Street ETF (FT)

  • Vanguard will allow shareholders to vote for profits over ESG (FT)

  • Car loan-backed ABS sales soar despite record delinquencies (WSJ)

  • EU will demand tech IP transfers from Chinese firms (FT)

  • Trump named Cantor CEO Lutnick as Commerce Secretary (CNBC)

  • FDIC chair Gruenberg will retire in January, clearing way for Trump picks (RT)

  • Activist Elliott took a 5% stake in Tokyo Gas (BBG)

  • New Abrdn CEO overhauled leadership amid poor performance (FT)

  • Head of Volkswagen North America stepped down amid poor results (FT)

  • Mulberry will cut 25% corporate jobs and slash China exposure (FT)

  • Congress is pushing for a Manhattan Project-style AI initiative (RT)

  • JPMorgan Chase UK debuted lending via credit card launch (FT)

  • Xi's push for stable world of low tariffs undone by Trump and Putin (BBG)

  • Tech jobs are mired in a recession (BI)

  • Gender equality declined at fund managers (FT)

  • Milan beat London and NYC as home to most expensive shopping street (FT)

  • Paul-Tyson fight was the most-streamed sporting event in history (RT)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Packaging firm Amcor agreed to buy US peer Berry Global in an $8.4B stock deal

  • Blackstone will acquire Jersey Mike's Subs at an $8B valuation, including debt

  • Brookfield is considering a $6.9B bid for Spanish pharma giant Grifols

  • SWFs ADIA and GIC are in advanced talks to acquire a minority stake in Pye-Barker Fire & Safety from Leonard Green & Partners and Altas Partners at an over $6B valuation, including debt

  • Drone maker AeroVironment will buy space and defense engineering firm BlueHalo from Arlington Capital Partners in a $4.1B all-stock deal

  • $2.6B-listed French fuel distributor Rubis is exploring a sale

  • Japanese trading house Mitsui emerged as the highest bidder for a ~$2B, 20% stake in First Quantum Minerals' Zambian copper mines

  • DT Midstream will buy three natural gas transmission pipelines from Oneok for $1.2B

  • Prosperity Asset Management and insurance firm Kuvare acquired minority stakes in real estate investor Evergreen Residential for $1B

  • Keppel DC REIT agreed to acquire two data center buildings in Singapore in a $747M deal

  • Robinhood agreed to buy RIA custodial platform TradePMR for $300M in cash and stock  

  • Sony is exploring a takeover of Japanese publisher Kadokawa

  • India is considering minority stake sales in Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank, and Punjab and Sind Bank 

VC

  • Kong, a developer of cloud API technologies, raised a $175M Series E at a $2B valuation led by Tiger Global 

  • High-performance networking chip maker Enfabrica raised a $115M Series C led by Spark Capital 

  • AI-based data processing company ChapsVision raised $90M led by Tikehau Capital, Qualium Investissement, Bpifrance, and more

  • Smart ring maker Oura raised a $75M Series D at a $5B valuation from Dexcom 

  • Kubernetes management platform Spectro Cloud raised a $75M Series C at a $750M valuation led by Goldman Sachs 

  • Rox, a startup developing AI agents for salespeople, raised a $50M seed and Series A round led by Sequoia and General Catalyst respectively

  • Database startup Neo4j raised a $50M round at a $2.2B valuation from Noteus Partners 

  • Selector, an AI-based IT incident response platform, raised a $33M Series B led by Ansa 

  • OneChronos, an Alternative Trading System optimizing electronic trading, raised $32M in expansion capital led by Addition 

  • Lightyear, an enterprise telecom management startup, raised a $31M Series B led by Altos Ventures 

  • Minu, a Mexican startup helping employers provide benefits, raised a $30M Series B led by QED 

  • Goodstack, a SaaS and fintech platform for charitable donations, raised a $28M Series A led by General Catalyst 

  • Ample, a battery swapping technology for EVs, raised $25M from Mitsubishi

  • Synapticure, a virtual care platform for dementia patients, raised a $25M Series A led by B Capital 

  • Distyl, an AI engineering and research team, raised a $20M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners

  • Levanta, an affiliate marketing platform for Amazon sellers, raised a $20M Series A led by Volition Capital 

  • Revv, a startup simplifying auto repair, raised a $20M round from Left Lane Capital 

  • Quantum interconnect startup Lightsynq raised an $18M Series A led by Cerberus Ventures 

  • AI publishing platform Spines raised a $16M Series A led by Zeev Ventures

  • Physical AI startup BrightAI raised a $15M seed round led by Upfront Ventures 

  • CommBox, an enterprise-grade omnichannel AI customer experience platform, raised $15M from PSG Equity 

  • Citizen Health, an AI-powered consumer health platform, raised a $14.5M seed round led by Transformation Capital 

  • DEScycle, a startup improving e-waste recycling, raised a $13.4M Series A led by BGF and Vorwerk Ventures 

  • Creator marketplace startup Agentio raised a $12M Series A led by Benchmark 

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Blackstone-owned casino operator Cirsa Enterprises is preparing a $1.1B Spain IPO

  • Cinven and CPP Investments-backed travel tech firm HBX Group is preparing a $1.1B Spain IPO

  • Dutch industrial infrastructure provider Vopak's India JV Aegis Vopak filed for a $415M India IPO

  • Comcast plans to spin off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks which include MSNBC, CNBC, and others 

  • Thoma Bravo-backed enterprise security software firm SailPoint Technologies is planning a H1 2025 IPO

Debt 

  • The family behind 7-Eleven-owner Seven & i plans to raise $52B from Japan's three largest banks and major US financial institutions to go private

  • Singapore hotel Marina Bay Sands is seeking a $9B loan to fund the planned expansion of its casino resort  

  • Citigroup and Santander are preparing a $4.2B debt package to back a potential LBO of Platinum Equity-owned Spanish waste management firm Urbaser

  • Alibaba launched a $2.7B dollar bond sale to repay offshore debt and fund buybacks

  • Mattress firm Sleep Country Canada is in talks for a potential loonie bond sale to finance its $1.2B LBO by Fairfax Financial

  • United Airlines launched a $1B junk munis sale to fund a Houston terminal renovation

Fundraising

  • Defense-focused Enlightenment Capital closed its fifth fund at $825M  

  • Saudi Arabian PE firm Jadwa Investment raised $266M for Mideast deals

Crypto Corner

  • MicroStrategy's market cap topped $100B as Bitcoin hits new high (BRN)

  • Bhutan's Bitcoin holdings is now equivalent to 36% of its GDP (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

Joe Wiggins wrote a great piece on the groups of investors involved in every asset bubble.

With Meta and EY recently in the news for questionable firings, FT explored the real reason why employers have been terminating staff for minor offenses.

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