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Happy Q3 To All Who Celebrate

What's up Exec Sum fam! The editing team was out relaxing over the long weekend we hope ya'll were too. Yet, markets continued to shape on European elections and robust M&A. We've got it all covered for you below as we get back to bringing the best in markets daily…here's to a great H2🫡

Together with

What's up Exec Sum fam! The editing team was out relaxing over the long weekend we hope ya'll were too. Meanwhile, markets continued to shape on European elections and robust M&A. We've got it all covered for you below as we get back to bringing the best in markets daily…here's to a great H2 🫡

Cathie Wood recently opened her ARK Venture Fund to all US investors, offering exposure to startups like SpaceX and OpenAI. Check out the full portfolio here and see how you can invest today.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 07/05/2024 market close.

Markets

  • All three major US stock indexes ended the shortened Fourth of July trading week higher as a cooling labor market increased hopes for Fed rate cuts

    • S&P and Nasdaq hit new ATHs again

    • Markets are now pricing in an ~80% chance of a September rate cut

  • Bitcoin fell below $55k in its worst week since 2021 

  • Investors are looking ahead to J Pow's Congressional testimony, crucial inflation data, and European election reactions this week

Earnings

  • Constellation Brands beat Q1 profit estimates as demand for its core beer brands offset sluggish wines and spirits businesses (RT)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Thursday: Delta, PepsiCo

    • Friday: JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • A sex offender worked at Goldman for months after conviction (FT)

  • Unemployment rose to 4.1% in sign of cooling labor market (WSJ)

  • Upbeat Q3 earnings expectations set high bar for US firms (WSJ)

  • UK markets stand out for stability after election landslide (FT)

  • Left-wing bloc leads in surprise projections for French elections (WP)

  • Dealmaking revival expected to boost results for big banks (FT)

  • AI made up 47% of US VC funding in Q2 (RT)

  • JPMorgan chief market strategist will depart after series of wrong calls (FT)

  • SNB's chairman blamed Credit Suisse execs for bank's crash (RT)

  • Bridgewater's flagship fund was up 14.4% in H1, with peer results mixed (RT)

  • Southwest adopted a poison pill against activist Elliott (CNBC)

  • Top lawyers are commanding NBA-matching salaries (NYT)

  • UK consultant numbers shrink as firms cut back on external advice (FT)

  • India's 'passion for gold' fades as prices hover near ATHs (FT)

  • Bonds funds drew biggest weekly inflows since 2021 (RT)

  • Government reform is driving biggest returns in EM bond markets (BBG)

  • Active bond ETF boom could put total inflows on track for $1T year (FT)

  • China is leading the GenAI patents race (RT)

  • Tech industry wants to lock up nuclear power for AI (WSJ)

  • Activists Artisan raised its stake in Philips to 10% (RT)

  • Apple approved Epic Games' marketplace app in Europe (RT)

  • PwC named Daniel Li as new China head amid regulatory scrutiny (RT)

  • US consumer goods companies are losing upper hand on pricing (FT)

  • US judge partially blocked FTCs ban on worker noncompetes (RT)

  • EU confirmed tariffs on Chinese-made EVs (WSJ)

  • Multi-decade high debt awaits Europe's new leaders (WSJ)

  • India will fail to plug jobs gap even with 7% growth (BBG)

  • China is demanding loyalty from young US immigrants (FT)

  • Keir Starmer is UK's new prime minister (NYT)

A Message From ARK Invest

The ARK Venture Fund is taking an asset class once reserved for the accredited, ultra-rich and making it available to all US investors.

ARK offers investment exposure to companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, Epic Games, and more! See the portfolio here.

You can invest in the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) for as little as a $500 minimum initial investment.

All US self-directed investors can download the SoFi or Titan app and invest in the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) now.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • PE firms Bain Capital and Cinven are exploring a potential joint bid for French drugmaker Sanofi's $20B consumer health division (BBG)

  • ADNOC and Aramco are considering bids for Australian oil and gas producer Santos, which has a $17.5B market cap (RT)  

  • Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management raised their buyout offer for Macy's by $300M to ~$6.9B (WSJ

  • Canada conditionally approved Glencore's $6.9B acquisition of Teck Resources' steelmaking coal unit (RT

  • PE firm New Mountain Capital submitted an all-cash take-private proposal for R1 RCM that values the healthcare services provider at ~$6B (RT

  • KKR agreed to acquire school apparel maker Varsity Brands from Bain Capital for ~$4.75B, including debt (RT

  • Carlyle is in exclusive talks to acquire Baxter International's kidney care spinoff Vantive for over $4B, including debt (RT

  • PE firms KKR and Francisco Partners are competing to acquire $3.4B listed education software provider Instructure (RT)

  • Payments processor NCR Voyix is exploring a sale of its digital banking business which could be valued at ~$3B (RT)

  • Saks-owner Hudson's Bay will acquire peer luxury retailer Neiman Marcus for ~$2.7B (BBG

  • PE firm EQT teamed up with German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne to invest $1.2B for a 35% stake in German bus and train operator Flix (BBG)

  • Quest Diagnostics will acquire LifeLabs from OMERS for ~$985M, including debt (RT

  • Paramount Global's board approved a merger with Skydance Media (BBG

  • Chinese EV maker BYD will acquire a 20% stake in its official Thai distributor Rever Automotive (BBG

  • UK home builder Crest Nicholson, which has a ~$700M market cap, rejected an all-share bid from Elliot-owned rival Avant Homes (BBG

  • French insurance giant AXA is studying options for its investment manager including a JV with BNP Paribas' asset manager (BBG

  • PE firm L Catterton is seeking to sell a stake in Saudi Arabian gourmet food company Bateel (BBG

VC

  • AI-driven automation startup Quantum Rise raised a $15M seed round from Erie Street Growth Partners (TC)

  • Blockchain ecosystem startup Astria raised a $12.5M round led by dba and Placeholder VC (FN)

  • Cartken, a startup building autonomous delivery robots, raised a $10M round led by 468 Capital (TC)

  • Cement and concrete decarbonization startup alcemys raised a $10M round led by Norrsken VC (EU)

  • SendBlocks, a blockchain data management startup, raised an $8.2M seed round (FN)

  • Overseed, a French cannabis medtech startup, raised a $7.3M round from Blast.Club and UI Investissement (EU)

  • European carbon offset startup Tree.ly raised a $5.4M seed round led by PortfoLion Capital Partners (EU)

  • Altrove, a materials development startup, raised a $4M round led by Contrarian Ventures (TC)

  • Sensorita, a trash tech startup, raised a $3.3M seed round led by Brick & Mortar Ventures (FN)

  • Vida, a provider of carrier-grade AI voice agents for SMBs, raised a $3M seed round led by Stillmark (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • BBVA shareholders approved a $10.8B share issue to support their hostile bid for Banco Sabadell (FT

  • Korean cloud company MegazoneCloud selected JPMorgan, Samsung Securities, and Korea Investment as lead underwriters for an IPO that could value the startup at several billion dollars (BBG

  • Indian renewable energy firm ACME Solar filed for a $360M local IPO (RT

  • India's Emcure Pharmaceuticals' $234M IPO drew $11.2B worth of bids (RT

  • LATAM Airlines will proceed with re-listing of ADRs and a secondary share sale (RT)

Debt

  • Banc of California is selling ~$2B of business-purpose mortgage loans (BBG

  • Indonesian miner Amman Mineral is seeking an up to $1.5B loan to expand its copper and gold mines (BBG

  • Deutsche Bank is seeking to acquire a stake in a $1.3B project loan backing a luxury development in Hong Kong (BBG

  • Indian biopharma Biocon Biologics is considering raising up to $540M in rupee-denominated bonds (BBG

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

  • Build-your-own-pizza restaurant Mod Pizza is exploring a potential bankruptcy filing as it searches for a potential buyer (WSJ)  

  • PE-owned Italian coffee machine maker Caffitaly is pursuing a debt restructuring (BBG

  • Flooring retailer LL Flooring is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (BBG

Fundraising

  • J2 Ventures, a veteran-led VC focused on military healthcare, closed its second fund at $150M (TC

Crypto Corner

  • Crypto theft doubled to $1.4B in H1 (BBG

  • Banks will publish crypto asset exposure from 2026 (RT)

  • Crypto remittances becomes key for Venezuelan migrants supporting families (BBG)

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