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Paramount launched a $108B hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. to challenge Netflix's deal. Our best wishes to all the TMT bankers staffed on this deal whose calendars are also victim of a hostile takeover.

Plaid released their 2025 Fintech Effect report to explore what 2,000+ consumers want next – and how listening to their expectations can be your 2026 advantage. Read it here.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 12/8/2025 market close.

Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks pulled back yesterday as traders braced for the Fed's rate decision 

    • S&P snapped a four-day win streak

  • Canada's TSX index is up 25% YTD

  • US Treasury yields rose to two-month highs

  • Traders are pricing in 30% chance of an ECB rate hike next year

    • Germany 10Y yield rose to 2.86% to a nine-month high

    • Germany 5Y yield surged 10 bps

  • Congo franc is up 30% YTD as Africa's best FX amid a reserve surge

Earnings

  • Toll Brothers reported higher Q4 revenue but posted a drop in profits and gave a cautious FY outlook on house deliveries due to slow demand amid high mortgage rates and broad economic concerns (WSJ)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Campbell's, GameStop, Cracker Barrel

    • Wednesday: Oracle, Adobe

    • Thursday: Broadcom, Costco, lululemon

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Merger arbitrage has never been so easy. Trade the Warner Bros. takeover saga on Polymarket

Headline Roundup

  • Berkshire's top stock picker Todd Combs will leave for JPMorgan (CNBC)

  • Berkshire shakes up leadership as Buffett steps down (RT)

  • Jamie Dimon named advisors for $1.5T US investment pledge (WSJ)

  • PIMCO CIO warned of 'dangerous' assumptions in credit ratings (BBG)

  • J Pow's vote-gathering challenge shows test for next Fed chair (BBG)

  • Bond investors bet on mild rate cut cycle with middle-of-curve positions (RT)

  • Retail investors help drive gold and US stocks to bubble territory (FT)

  • Hedge funds tap US leveraged-swap bets as basis trade stagnates (BBG)

  • Companies rush to bond markets for cut-price M&A funding (BBG)

  • US tariff shock drove global FX trading to record (BBG)

  • US will allow Nvidia H200 chips sale to China with 25% tax (CNBC)

  • Trump says Netflix, Paramount not his friends as WBD fight heats up (RT)

  • Trump will issue order creating national AI rule (RT)

  • Foreign investors are dominating Japan's bond market (BBG)

  • Ares will join the S&P 500 (BRN)

  • Number of listed Canadian firms shrank for a fourth-straight year (BBG)

  • Nine EU nations urge extreme caution on 'Buy European' policies (RT)

  • German corporate bankruptcies surged to a decade high this year (RT)

  • China trade surplus topped $1T for the first time (FT)

  • Evolution was ordered to compensate trader who made 97% of revenues (FT)

  • Simulated trading firm accused of fraud clears hurdle to restart (BBG)

  • PepsiCo reached a deal with activist Elliott (WSJ)

  • Ben & Jerry's chair will not resign despite pressure from Unilever unit (RT)

  • US unveiled a $12B bailout for farmers (WSJ)

A Message from Plaid

WTFintech?

Then you need to check out the 2025 Fintech Effect by Plaid. 

Download the full report for free right here. 

Plaid partnered with The Harris Poll to survey 2,000+ US fintech consumers and get a pulse on what’s working, what's not, and where the biggest opportunities lie.

From the next wave of users to emerging usage trends to the future of AI, this report covers everything you need to truly understand the fintech space. 

But what makes this year's edition worth the download? Good question. Here's a glimpse:

  • 47% of consumers say the loan application process is too confusing → real-time transaction data can simplify it

  • 77% expect their bank to connect to the apps they use → no more app-jumping to make payments

  • 57% want their fintech apps to use AI → signaling the next phase of financial experiences

If you're looking to grow your business through fintech – or just understand what consumers expect next – this report is a must-read. 

Read the report

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Paramount Skydance launched a $108.4B hostile bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery with equity support from Mideast SWFs PIF, L'imad, and QIA, Trump-linked Affinity Partners, and RedBird Capital in a last-ditch effort to outbid Netflix's $83B deal for WBD's studio and streaming assets

  • IBM will acquire data streaming platform Confluent at an 11% valuation for a 34% premium

  • Antero Resources and its pipeline affiliate Antero Midstream agreed to buy natural gas upstream assets from HG Energy II for $3.9B cash

  • US metals processor Worthington Steel held takeover talks with $915M-listed German steel producer Kloeckner

  • E-commerce firm ContextLogic acquired evaporated salt products provider US Salt from Emerald Lake Capital Management for $900M, with BC Partners contributing $150M in preferred equity

  • PE firm Carlyle emerged as the frontrunner to acquire $825M-listed Japanese medical supplies company Hogy Medical

  • Mirum Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire Bluejay Therapeutics in an $820M cash-and-stock deal

  • US energy giant NextEra Energy's infrastructure arm agreed to acquire gas retail platform Symmetry Energy Solutions for $800M

  • Nordic PE firm Altor Equity Partners will acquire Finnish clean tech firm Evac from UK PE firm Bridgepoint for $700M

  • UK's Hayfin Capital Management and UK real estate investor Capreon agreed to buy London's Can of Ham tower for $453M

  • Apollo will take a <10% stake in Ryan Reynolds-owned Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC

  • Jefferies agreed to buy a 50% stake in $18B AUM credit-focused asset manager Hildene for $340M cash as Hildene acquires annuities firm Silac

  • UK PE firm Cinven will acquire a majority stake in UK advisory firm Flint Global at a $255M valuation

  • Indonesian O&G firm Prime agreed to acquire UK's Harbour Energy's operating interests in two Indonesia offshore projects for $215M

  • Ares acquired Redback Boots at a $66M valuation in its first PE deal in Australia

  • Bain Capital is considering bringing in fresh backers for Singapore-based Bridge Data Centres to help raise cash and expand

  • Boeing and Airbus completed their complex acquisition of struggling US aerospace supplier Spirit AeroSystems

  • Germany is closing in on a deal to buy a 25% stake in the German unit of Dutch state-owned grid operator TenneT

VC

  • AI robotics startup Skild is in talks to raise an over $1B round at a $14B valuation from investors including  SoftBank and Nvidia 

  • Crypto firm Ripple's $500M share sale at a $40B valuation to Citadel Securities, Fortress, and others came with strong protections including the right to sell shares back to Ripple at a guaranteed return

  • Brazilian stablecoin startup Crown raised a $13.5M Series A at a $90M valuation led by  Paradigm 

  • COGNNA, an AI-led SecOps platform, raised a $9.2M Series A led by Impact46

Access the complete VC deal flow on Fundable.

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman-backed medical supplies provider Medline is seeking to raise $5.4B at a $55B valuation in what would be the biggest US IPO of 2025

  • French cosmetics giant L'Oreal acquired another 10% stake in $48B-listed skincare firm Galderma from PE firm EQT to raise its stake to 20%

  • Unilever's spinoff The Magnum Ice Cream debuted lower than expected at a $9.1B market cap

  • French lender BNP Paribas' insurance unit BNP Paribas Cardif will raise its stake in Belgian insurance group Ageas from 15% to 22.5% for $1.3B and sell its 25% stake in Belgian insurance provider AG Insurance to Ageas for $2.2B to give Ageas full control of AG Insurance

  • Andersen Group, the tax firm founded by Arthur Andersen alumni, is pursuing a $176M IPO at a $1.75B valuation

  • Vietnam's biggest fund manager Dragon Capital plans to list all its shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market at a $150M market cap

  • The China IPOs of Chinese chipmakers MetaX Integrated Circuits and Onmicro Electronics are ~3000x oversubscribed after peer Moore Threads' stellar debut

SPAC / SPV

  • Cancer detection biotech Freenome will merge with Perceptive Capital Solutions Corp in a $330M deal that includes a $240M investment from Perceptive Advisors, RA Capital, and ADAR1 Capital Management

Debt

  • Paramount lined up $54B of secured bridge financing from Bank of America, Citigroup, and Apollo to support its $108B hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

  • AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave plans to raise $2B in a convertible bond sale

  • Casino operator Bally's secured amended commitments from Ares, King Street, and TPG to lift its term loan to $1.1B

  • Carlyle is providing $340M in private credit to French aerospace and defense high-precision components supplier Mecachrome

  • Ukraine's Universal Bank hired Morgan Stanley to explore a debut international bond sale

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Senior lenders including CVC, KKR, Blackstone, and HIG Capital will take control of French nursing home operator Colisée from owner EQT in exchange for writing off $1.4B of debt

  • Troubled Chinese developer Vanke's local bondholders are discussing Vanke's payment delay with China officials

  • The struggling CRE unit of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda is seeking to delay payment on a $400M bond

  • Spirit Airlines will transfer two airport gates to American Airlines for $30M

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • Ares raised $3.2B for its debut credit secondaries fund

  • Tiger Global is raising $2.2B for its seventeenth VC fund which will employ a more disciplined approach

  • Jay-Z's investment firm MarcyPen Capital Partners is working with Korea's Hanwha Asset Management to raise a $500M PE fund to back Korean firms in entertainment, beauty, food, and lifestyle pursuing international growth

  • German VC FoodLabs raised $122M for its third fund to invest in early-stage food tech startups in Europe 

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF is up 40% YoY from its January 2024 debut but average investor returns are just 11% YoY

  • Bank CEOs are set to meet senators on crypto market structure

  • Criminal's 'cash to crypto swaps' use stablecoins to bypass bank security

  • Binance gains major regulatory wins in Abu Dhabi

  • StableChain launch shows how far crypto has strayed from Bitcoin's original promise

  • Strategy's 60% slide leaves Bitcoin's biggest booster with dwindling options

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

Exec’s Picks

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by 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.

We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

Get Hired 🤝

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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot Advisers, LLC ("Autopilot"), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks, including loss of principal. As always, be smart out there. Litquidity is compensated to promote AutoPilot. Compensation details available upon request.

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