Together with
Good Morning,
Anthropic's co-founder revolutionized workplace conflict management, Trump resumed his attacks on J Pow, Google employees are skeptical of their own latest model, and Sam Altman is asking for investors to be patient as it delays its IPO.
The team at my recruiting firm Litney Partners has been unusually busy this season and we have yet another incredible mandate for junior finance folks looking for a switch. We're helping hire a junior IR associate at one the most prestigious quant hedge funds globally and would love to connect with anyone interested in the role. You can learn more below 🤝
Today's letter is brought to you by F2, the agentic operating system for global credit. Golub Capital has selected F2 to power its next $100B in assets, bringing model-agnostic AI to one of private credit’s most prominent firms.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 9/30/2026 market close.
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Markets
US stock indexes reversed gains to close mixed yesterday after strong economic data paved way for further Fed rate hikes
Equal-weight S&P 500 is set for a rare seventh-consecutive weekly drop
Global stocks are just 2% off ATHs and up 12% YTD despite AI fears, oil woes, and soaring yields
Global government bonds posted their worst quarter since 2024
US 10Y and 30Y yields hit their highest since 2002
Korea's KOSPI index lost 20% in Q3 as the world's worst stock index
The index is nonetheless up 60% YTD
Earnings
Prediction Markets
Traders reduced odds of a second Fed rate hike this month after a cooler than expected inflation reading. Though strong economic data could still incentivize tightening
Deposit $10 and get a $20 bonus with code LIT on signup, only on the Polymarket US app
Headline Roundup
Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei and husband use stuffed-animal 'advisory council' for workplace conflicts (NYP)
Ken Griffin donated record $3B to Carnegie Mellon for Miami campus (CNBC)
Once Goldman reject is set to become bank's next CEO (WSJ)
US consumer spending jumped by the most in a year (BBG)
Fed-favorite PCE index rose just 3.4% YoY (CNBC)
US private payrolls growth picks up in September (RT)
Trump says J Pow should be forced to resign from Fed board (BBG)
US is set to unveil a $200B in investments from Korea (BBG)
Wall Street's trading desks come down from a record high (WSJ)
Munis managers tout equity-like returns after historic selloff (BBG)
Bank lending to Europe businesses halved in August (WSJ)
Record quarter primes India IPO market for blockbuster year (BBG)
SEC proposes performance fees for retail funds in private markets push (FT)
Robinhood will allow 24/7 trading of US stocks (RT)
OpenAI investors are patient on IPO amid safety focus (BBG)
Google grapples with employee skepticism about new Gemini model (BBG)
Google announces Gemini 4 AI model after months of delays (CNBC)
OpenAI blames Moonshot for mass data extraction on its AI models (BBG)
College students flex their power in AI investment frenzy (NYT)
Convicted insider trader arrested in Dubai after fleeing France (BBG)
Omani pilot stabbed co-pilot to attempt plane hijacking for terrorist attack (NYP)
A Message from F2
Golub Capital chose F2 to power its next $100B in assets
Golub Capital is putting AI at the center of its next chapter. Its investment comes on top of it's purchase and firm wide rollout of F2, and aims to secure a strategic advantage in agentic solutions for direct lending.
The partnership reflects three priorities for global credit:
Purpose-built AI: F2's operating system handles the complex workflows of private markets and global credit.
AI sovereignty: F2's adaptive, model-agnostic harness accesses the latest frontier and open-source models while protecting proprietary data through zero data retention and zero model training.
Unlocking trapped knowledge: F2's top-bucket deal agent, Adam, acts as a senior MD from day one. He draws on precedent deals and captures future decisions, keeping the firm’s deal history in persistent, proprietary context.
Golub Capital's investment and rollout mark a turning point for how large firms deploy agentic AI across sensitive, proprietary workflows.
Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
The Weston family is close to acquiring UK pharmacy chain Boots from Walgreens-owner Sycamore Partners for $9B, including debt
French PE firm Harrison Street will acquire US-based Vicinity Energy from Antin Infrastructure at a $2.9B valuation, including debt
UK real assets investor Actis plans to invest $2B into a new renewable energy business in India
Partners Group is exploring a $1.7B sale of Finnish modular building maker Parmaco
Japanese pharmaceutical wholesaler Toho Holdings is in talks to acquire KKR-backed medical device maker PHC Holdings Corp. for $1.3B, representing a 20% premium
Hormel Foods will acquire chicken company Brakebush Brothers for $1B
Singapore SWF GIC acquired sixteen Marriott hotels in Japan for $800M
French car parts supplier OPmobility agreed to buy Hyundai Mobis' lighting business for $444M
Brazilian healthcare firm Hapvida is exploring a $290M sale-and-leaseback transaction of some of its hospitals
Grindr will acquire HIV-prevention telehealth provider Freddie in a $250M cash-and-stock deal
Slovakia approved a $214M funding to buyout Czech energy conglomerate CEZ's 49% stake in Jadrová energetická spoločnosť Slovenska, the company set up to build the country's new nuclear reactor
UK PE firm Aspirity Partners will acquire a majority stake Danish IoT infrastructure and connectivity company Onomondo in an over $110M deal
Lufthansa and Air France-KLM submitted improved final offers for a 49.9% stake in the privatization of Portuguese airline TAP
Altor-backed Norwegian battery materials supplier Vianode is exploring a partnership or sale
Belgium will extend negotiations to buy the nuclear utility assets from French power utility Engie
Legal AI company Clio acquired judge-focused AI startup Learned Hand
UK's regulator will accept remedies offered by retailer Co-operative Group to address the concerns raised over its takeover of regional operator Southern Co-operative
Glencore, Peabody Energy, and investment firm Heeney Capital and miner Drummond are weighing bids for coal producing assets in Venezuela
VC
AI voice startup ElevenLabs sold $300M of secondary shares at a $22B valuation led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price
Novig, the sports-focused prediction market that partnered with Sydney Sweeney, raised new funding at a $2B valuation
Humaitech, a document intelligence startup, raised a $25M Series A from Vertex Ventures and Golden Gate Ventures
OuterSignal, the agentic customer intelligence platform, raised a $22M Series A co-led by Long Journey Ventures and Abstract Ventures
Zenithon AI, an AI startup developing world models for extreme physics, raised $10M from BACKED, Lunar, Seraphim, MMC and others
Blue Fire AI, a Singapore-based developer of neuro-symbolic AI decision engines for financial markets, raised $9M in funding from Asset Management One and others
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Largest shareholder RAG Foundation could sell its entire 43% stake in $11B-listed German chemicals firm Evonik as peer BASF pursues a takeover
Coca-Cola is considering filing for an India IPO of its Indian bottling unit Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages in December, which could raise $1B at a $10B valuation
India's Inox Clean Energy filed for a $1B India IPO
Olympus Partners-backed data center infrastructure firm Accelevation raised $540M for a $4B valuation in an IPO priced below its marketed range
Bill Ackman is looking to raise third-party capital to help boost returns at $4.4B-listed real estate developer Howard Hughes Holdings
Debt
Paramount Skydance is set to raise $44B in bonds, part of a $52B debt package for its $110B acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery
Tesla lined up $30B of new loans and credit lines to dial up investments in AI and robotics
A group of banks led by Bank of America and Deutsche Bank offered a rare omniblocker concession to help get a $3.2B financing deal for Platinum Equity's $2.9B acquisition of a 50% stake in Nestle's water business
Deutsche Bank is working on a SRT tied to $2B of fund financing
European Investment Bank and French lender BNP Paribas will mobilize a combined $800M in guarantees for European electricity grid manufacturers
Gabon is again seeking to raise $580M in dollar bonds
Brazilian iron ore giant Vale is considering raising $520M in a debut panda bond sale
PGIM, the asset management arm of Prudential Financial, secured limits on AI-related debt for a $500M CLO issued by insurer Allstate that it anchored last week
Canadian hedge fund Polar Asset Management Partners entered the residential MBS market with a $305M
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Banks postponed an offering to amend and extend a $4.13B loan for CD&R-backed construction supplies distributor White Cap
Nuveen dumped $190M of debt of bankrupt Florida high-speed rail Brightline at 45¢
Pool supplier Leslie's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to cut 90% of debt and hand control to creditors including Grey Helm Capital, Axar Capital Management, Cerberus, and Contrarian Capital Management
China Evergrande entered an exclusivity agreement for a potential sell-down of its stake in its property services unit
Car rental firm Hertz Global hired PJT Partners to extend debt maturities as $2.7B comes due in 2028
Funds / Secondaries
TPG raised $10B for its second climate-focused PE fund
Windrise Capital, the new hedge fund of ex-GIC commodities PM Hao Dong, is seeking to raise $200M-$300M to invest in raw materials and other assets
France's Access Capital plans to launch a second secondaries fund
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Visa, Stripe, Shopify, Coinbase, and Mastercard launched new stablecoin Open USD
Papertrade, a perps exchange that rewards you for losing, launches this month
SEC accused two firms of fake WhatsApp-fueled trades that bilked investors
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Junior IR Associate – Quant Hedge Fund 💼
We are working with one of the most renowned global quant hedge funds to help hire a motivated Sales and Relationship Management Associate to join their investor relations team in NYC.
This individual will play a critical role in cultivating and managing relationships with clients and prospects, supporting commercial initiatives, and contributing to the firm's business development efforts in a collegial, fast-paced environment.
The ideal candidate will have:
1-4 years of financial markets experience with a strong record of academic and professional achievement
Well-developed written and verbal communication skills, proven project management skills, and keen attention to detail
Ambitious, business-minded approach with a readiness to take initiative and grow professionally in a rigorous environment
Familiarity with financial concepts and language
If this sounds like you, we'd love to get in touch. You can learn more, pass it along to friends, or apply below.
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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.