Together with

Good Morning,

The US market got thoroughly clapped, oil hit $130 (more than 10xing Cathie Wood's $12 price target), Nickel is worth a lot more than a nickel, some investors are buying Ukraine and Russia bonds, Bed Bath & Beyond jumped 60% after Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen took a stake, FTX is entering the European markets, and Russia is #1 on the Global Sanctions League Table.

No Big Swinging Decks podcast today, still getting situated after a much needed overseas vacation. We'll be back tomorrow with a fresh episode featuring Bill Keenan, an ex-Deutsche Bank associate and author of Discussion Materials 🤝 

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

• The Dow lost almost 800 points, the S&P shed nearly 3%, and the Nasdaq is now in bear market territory as the Russia-Ukraine war continues to cause turmoil in the markets

• WTI crude crossed $130 at one point yesterday as the global energy supply crunch continues

  • US politicians are discussing the potential banning of Russian oil and natural gas imports

• As the war rages, investors believe that slowing economic growth and persistent inflation will continue fueling fear and volatility in the markets

• The London Metal Exchange suspended trading in its nickel market after a massive spike left brokers struggling to pay margin calls against unprofitable short positions. Nickel is up 200%+ in the past two days (BBG)

Earnings

• Uber boosted its Q1 2022 financial outlook on Monday, citing a faster-than-expected rebound from coronavirus omicron headwinds. The ride-share company generated revenue of $5.78B vs est. $5.34B, and $0.44 EPS

• What we’re watching today: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bumble, Stitch Fix 

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Russia is now the world's most-sanctioned nation (BBG)

• Oil hits $130 as potential Russian ban spurs crisis fears (BBG)

• Uniqlo owner pledges to stay in Russia as wave of companies exit (BBG)

• Russia threatens to cut natural gas flows to Europe via Nord Stream 1 (BBG)

• Congress’ police force declares emergency over trucker convoys (BBG)

• UBS has $200M exposure to Russian assets in loans to rich (BBG)

• Credit Agricole has $7B of Russia, Ukraine exposure (BBG)

• Investors start buying Ukraine, Russia bonds (WSJ)

• San Antonio taps Quidnet Energy to build big underground battery (BBG)

• Bed Bath & Beyond stock price soars 60%+ on Ryan Cohen’s stake (WSJ)

• Kohl’s, facing activist pressure, plans to open smaller shops and aims to make Sephora a $2B business (CNBC)

• Levi Strauss suspends sales in Russia amid Ukraine war (CNBC)

• Moderna reaches preliminary agreement to build Covid vaccine manufacturing plant in Africa (CNBC)

• Aston Martin inks deal to develop EV batteries with UK start-up Britishvolt (CNBC)

• Better.com plans to lay off ~50% of its workforce this week (TC)

• UBS bonus pool rises 10% (BBG)

• Citigroup global tech co-head departing firm for Evercore (BBG)

A Message From 800º GO

The future of pizza is robotic. Get your slice of the $54B industry with 800º GO.

800º GO is the fully automated robotic pizzeria that crafts fresh artisanal pizza within 3 minutes. 

Rumor has it, the pizza is so good Grandma won’t even know the difference! 

That’s because 800º GO uses the exact same ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques you'd see in the professional kitchens of 800 Degrees Pizza restaurants.

Combining these sophisticated culinary offerings with cutting-edge technology, 800º GO is poised to redefine the restaurant industry with lower costs, a highly scalable concept, and profit margins 2x that of traditional pizzerias. 

Get in on all the dough and invest in 800º GO right here.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• US oil and gas producers Oasis Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum agreed to merge in a $6B deal (RT)

• CD&R agreed to buy exterior building product manufacturer Cornerstone Building Brands, taking them private, in a $5.8B deal (RT)

• A consortium led by Macquarie agreed to buy French solar farm developer Reden for $2.7B (BBG)

• Canadian investment firm Fairfax is exploring a sale of its stake in Indian financial firm IIFL Wealth Management, which has a current market value of ~$1.7B (BBG)

• Bill Ackman revealed $1.2B of economic exposure (via shares and forward contracts) in Canadian Pacific Railway (BBG)

• Limelight Networks agreed to buy content delivery service provider Edgecast Networks from Apollo for ~$300M (BBG)

• Spectris, a UK maker of precision and test equipment, ended talks to buy microscope and lab supplies producer Oxford Instruments, citing the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine (BBG)

VC

• Robotaxi startup Pony.ai’s valuation increased to $8.5B after closing its Series D-1 round (TC)

• Tiger Global partners are committing $1B in personal cash to back other seed funds as part of a broader play to index the early-stage startup market (TI)

• Griffin Gaming Partners, a gaming VC firm, announced the close of their oversubscribed $750M Fund II (BW)

• Forto, a provider of digital freight forwarding and supply chain solutions, raised a $250M Series D at a $2.1B valuation led by Disruptive (PRN)

• Eco-friendly, scalable Ethereum-based NFT platform Immutable raised a $200M Series C at a $2.5B valuation led by Temasek (PRN)

• AutoFi, a commerce platform for automotive sales and financing, raised $85M in funding at a $700M valuation led by Crosslink Capital, SVB Financial Group, and Santander (BW)

• Dubai-based BNPL provider tabby raised a $54M Series B extension led by Sequoia Capital India and STV (TC)

• Cell-cultured seafood startup Finless Foods raised a $34M Series B led by Hanwha Solutions (BW)

• Dash, a Ghanian fintech startup building connected mobile wallets, raised a $32.8M seed round led by Insight Partners (TC)

• Salubris Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on complex biologic therapeutics, raised a $32M round from Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceuticals (BW)

• UK-based due diligence and fraud detection startup Thirdfort raised a $20M Series A led by Breega (TC)

• Partake Brewing, a non-alcoholic beer brand, raised a $16.5M Series B led by PowerPlant Partners and Amberstone (BW)

• Crypto reward platform SocialGood App raised a $14.2M Series A from Miyako Capital (PRN)

• Ohio-based orthodontic integration startup orthobrain raised a $9M Series A led by CareCapital (PRN)

• Crypto exchange 24 Exchange raised a $7M round led by Morgan Creek Digital, Aspire Financial, and Blackwells Capital (PRN)

• Digital health intelligence startup MDisrupt raised a $6M seed round from Bren Investments, Matthew Holt, and more (BW)

• Maverick Medical AI, a medical AI startup, raised a $5M seed round led by Lionbird and Firstime Ventures (PRN)

• Ugandan telemedicine startup Rocket Health raised a $5M Series A led by Creadev (TC)

• Lypid, a startup creating vegan fats, raised a $4M seed round led by Green Generation Fund (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Saudi Arabian movie chain Muvi Cinemas is planning an IPO at a potential $800M valuation (BBG)

• Intel’s Mobileye self-driving car business has filed for an IPO (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Bain Capital Ventures launches $560M crypto fund (BBG)

• Bill Ackman and Animoca Brands back OP Ventures Fund I, a $50M fund focused on web3 investments (BBG)

• Europe crypto regulations set to move forward without bitcoin ban (DC)

• Crypto exchange FTX announces push into Europe (TBC)

• Biden plans to sign executive order on crypto this week (CD)

Exec's Picks

• Last week, Harriet Agnew of Financial Times wrote a fascinating piece about Cathie Wood and Ark Invest, from their humble beginnings, to incredible performance, to rapid decline. Check out Harriet's piece here

• Tim Ferris recently hosted author Morgan Housel on his podcast, and the duo discussed all things finance, risk, and investing. Check out their conversation here

The Hiring Block

If you're looking to break into finance, lateral, or move out, check out our job board on Pallet, where we curate highly relevant roles for you. We've got 40+ jobs spanning IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

Meme Cleanser

Advertise with us // Visit our merch store // Invest alongside Lit Ventures

Catch the latest episode of our Big Swinging Decks podcast on Spotify and Apple Music 🤝