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Good Morning,

All four US stock indexes closed at record highs, Nvidia took a stake in Intel, private credit is eying public companies, and Trump said he hopes AI CEOs know what they're doing as they 'take over the world.'

Specialized AI tools are emerging as the leaders for investment workflows which is why Blueflame AI is ahead of the curve. Check out their platform and see how Blueflame AI can serve your firm's specific needs.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

The AI Alpha Fund is absolutely killing it since launch this year. Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios here and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

• US stocks rose yesterday as investors digested the Fed's rate cut

  • All three major indexes notched new ATHs

  • Small caps Russell 2000 surged to its first record close since 2021

• MSCI ACWI index closed at an ATH

• Europe's Stoxx 600 index is virtually flat since May

  • Stoxx 600 tech index rose 4.1% in its best day since April

• Japan 2Y yield rose to 0.88% to its highest since 2008

• Gold slipped for a third-straight day

• Dollar rose to a two-week high

• Coffee futures volatility hit a four-year high

Earnings

• FedEx beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates as stronger domestic shipping and efficiency gains offset weaker freight results (CNBC)

• Darden Restaurants missed Q1 earnings estimates but met on revenue on a 4.7% rise in same-store sales driven by Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, the firm raised its FY sales outlook on value-driven pricing and new delivery initiatives (CNBC)

• Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

• Biden is supposedly failing to monetize his presidential clout despite being signed to CAA.

• Trade your predictions on a range of events, only on Kalshi. Sign up with code LIT and get a $20 bonus when you trade $100.

Headline Roundup

• Trump hopes AI CEOs know what they're doing as they 'take over the world' (RT) 

• BoE held rates at 4% and will slow pace of QT (CNBC)

• Trump asked SCOTUS to let him fire Fed's Cook (BBG)

• US is weighing a SWF-backed manufacturing boost (WSJ)

• Private credit firms are targeting public companies (BBG)

• Blackstone sees tight credit spreads fueling private credit boom (BBG)

• US stake in Intel is now worth $13B after Nvidia deal (BBG)

• Foreign holdings of US Treasuries surged to another ATH (RT)

• US corporate bond sales jumped after Fed rate cut (RT)

• Asian bonds saw their first monthly foreign inflow in three months (RT)

• Man Group bets big on ETFs with hedge fund trades for masses (BBG)

• PIMCO debt move in Texas brings credit fights to munis (BBG)

• Quant traders are offering India interns $14k / month (BBG)

• Trump's AI plan involves antitrust enforcement (RT)

• Activist Cevian says Switzerland 'not viable' for UBS under new rules (FT)

• China rare-earth product exports hit a record high (BBG)

• China dropped its Google antitrust probe amid trade talks (BBG)

• Google added Gemini to Chrome after dodging forced sale (BBG)

• Nvidia offered $900M to hire Enfabrica CEO Rochan Sankar (CNBC)

• SoftBank Vision Fund will lay off 20% of employees in shift to AI bets (RT)

• SoftBank and OpenAI's Japan JV is delayed (RT)

• Carlyle hired two senior execs in private credit push (RT) 

• Amex boosted its Platinum fee to $895 and added $1.5k in perks (BBG)

• Meta unveiled latest Meta Ray-Ban display glasses for $799 (CNBC)

• JPMorgan Private Bank can now help you find a private jet or butler (CNBC)

A Message from Blueflame

Investment decisions hinge on having the full picture, but critical details often hide in plain sight.

That's why we built Global Search: to help investment firms not only find information faster but also uncover insights they didn't even know they had.

Global Search is already helping Blueflame users reduce research time and surface insights they'd otherwise miss. A few real-world examples:

✅ Build company summaries using deal notes, CRM records, emails, and public data 
✅ Reference historical deals to inform comps, memos, or diligence workflows 
✅ Search firm-wide knowledge for everything related to a sector or theme 
✅ Prepare for LP meetings with relationship-specific insights and internal context 

With one interface for firm knowledge, connected apps, LLMs, and the web, Blueflame helps dealmakers and investment firms go deeper—and move faster—without sacrificing accuracy.

Schedule your demo today to see it in action.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Nvidia agreed to invest $5B in Intel

• Swiss pharma company Roche agreed to acquire 89bio in a $3.5B deal

• Medtech company GE HealthCare is exploring a stake sale of its China unit which could be valued at several billion dollars

• Mortgage insurer Radian agreed to acquire UK-based multi-line specialty insurer Indigo for $1.7B

• UK hospital group Spire Healthcare is exploring a potential $2B sale

• Australian tech solutions company Atlassian agreed to acquire engineering intelligence company DX for $1B in cash and restricted stock

• Advanced Drainage Systems is in advanced talks to acquire the water management unit of Germany's Norma Group in a $1B deal

• Japanese financial services group SMFG is weighing increasing its stake in Jefferies to 20% for $675M

• Canadian PE firm Onex Partners agreed to acquire insurance platform Integrated Specialty Coverages from KKR

• BMG, a unit of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, agreed to acquire country music star Jason Aldean's catalog for $250M

• Luxury hospitality investors Highgate and Gencom are in advanced talks to acquire InterContinental Times Square for $230M

• Uber invested in autonomous drone firm Flytrex to accelerate drone food deliveries

• Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is in talks with multiple companies to acquire a US shipyard

VC

• De-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences raised a $120M round at a $10.3B+ valuation led by USIT

• AI security firm Irregular raised an $80M round led by Sequoia and Redpoint Ventures

• EV Realty, a startup building EV truck charging hubs, raised a $75M round led by NGP

• PassiveLogic, an AI platform for orchestrating physical systems, raised a $74M Series C led by noa

• Hubble Network, a satellite-powered Bluetooth network, raised a $70M Series B from Y Combinator and angels

• Numeral, an AI sales tax compliance startup, raised a $35M Series B at a $350M valuation led by Mayfield

• French wealth management fintech startup Finary raised a $29M Series B led by PayPal Ventures

• Markup AI, a startup delivering content guardian agents, raised a $27.5M led by Genui Partners and EMH Partners

• Centari, an AI-powered deal insights platform, raised $14M in funding led by Sentinel Global

• Digital health platform MoldCo raised an $8M seed round led by Cantos and Collaborative Fund

• Phia, an AI shopping agent, raised an $8M seed round led by Kleiner Perkins

• Myriad AI, a startup automating regulatory compliance for enterprises, raised a $7.8M seed round led by Category Ventures

• Titan, a Solana-based meta-dex aggregator, raised a $7M seed round led by Galaxy Ventures

• Scalekit, a SaaS startup providing an authentication platform, raised a $5.5M seed round led by Together Fund and Z47

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Amonio, the auto parts supplier spun out from Continental, launched its Germany IPO at a $4.1B market cap

• Chinese Gold miner Zijin Gold international is seeking to raise $3.2B in Hong Kong in the world's largest IPO since May

• Cybersecurity firm Netskope raised $908M at an $8.8B valuation in an IPO priced at the top of a range

• PayPal-backed Indian digital payments provider Pine Labs plans to raise $700M in a downsized India IPO

• E-commerce accelerator Pattern is seeking to raise $300M at a $2.5B valuation in a US IPO

• HOPU Investment Management-backed Asian logistics giant GLP is seeking to IPO its China business next year

• Ghost kitchen company CloudKitchens is seeking to IPO its Mideast operations

• Andersen Group, the tax firm founded by Arthur Andersen alumni, is planning to file publicly for an IPO

• UK's Octopus Energy plans to spinoff its Kraken Technologies software unit

Debt

• AT&T plans to sell $5B of investment-grade bonds to help fund network expansion

• French IT giant Capgemini attracted over $15B of investor bids for a $4.7B bond sale  to back its $3.3B acquisition of outsourcing firm WNS Holdings

• German auto parts manufacturer ZF Friedrichshafen doubled its junk-debt sale to $1.5B

• Auto parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing is raising $2.3B in junk debt to support its acquisition of UK peer Dowlais

• UK's Lloyds Bank is selling a SRT linked to $680M of CRE loans

• French auto parts maker Forvia raised $500M in junk debt 

• ECB sold over $177M of bonds in embattled payments processor Worldline

• Bank of America agreed to acquire a Spanish real estate loan portfolio worth $118M from Spanish lender Santander

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• The trustee overseeing bankrupt subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings is seeking control of roughly 100k subprime auto loans

Fundraising / Secondaries

• Apollo is seeking to raise $10B from insurers in a collateralized fund obligation

• Rothschild's alternative investment arm Five Arrows raised $2.8B for its fourth private credit fund

• Real estate investor GreenPoint raised over $1B for its debut fund

• Jack Altman's VC Alt Capital raised $275M for its second fund to invest in enterprise AI

• Moderna co-founder Robert Langer launched biotech VC T.Rx Capital with a $77.5M debut fund 

Crypto Sum Snapshot

• SEC made spot crypto ETF listing process easier

• Eric Trump says crypto can 'save the US dollar'

• Crypto bros are trying to monetize Charlie Kirk's death

• Crypto legal pioneer Marco Santori left Pantera to join the crypto treasury rush

• ARK Invest and UAE-based Pulsar Group invested $300M in publicly-listed football business Brera Holdings for it to buy crypto

Subscribe to Crypto Sum for the most important stories on everything crypto.

Exec’s Picks

• Viral sleep-tech Eight Sleep recently raised $100M from Elon Musk, Charles Leclerc, and others and its about time you check it out. Their new Pod 5, which fits on any bed, tracks your health while you sleep and automatically optimizes body temperature and breathing throughout the night to have you waking up sharper, energetic, and fully rested from day one. There's a reason why it's trusted by Lewis Hamilton, Mark Zuckerberg, and more. Use code LIT to get $350 off your Eight Sleep Pod 5.

• Andy Martin shared an interesting take explaining why the democratization of private investments isn't to benefit investors.

Connect with the Community 🥂

• Olivia's Sip & Socialize #5 – Sunday, October 12

  ​Join us for an intimate evening of music, drinks, art, and great conversation alongside a curated crowd for a relaxed, art-centric vibe. Perfect for reconnecting with friends and meeting new ones. RSVP here.

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Litney Partners

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting venture between Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm), Litney Partners places talent at leading firms in PE, hedge funds, VC, growth, credit, IB, and fintech and is currently recruiting for some incredible roles. Head over to our website to drop your resume and we'd love to get in touch!

Next Play

If you're down bad, realizing finance isn't for you, and want to explore the world of startups (BizOps, chief of staff, strategic finance, etc.), fill out this form. Next Play will reach out to schedule a 1:1 video call if they think they can help as your own, personal startup matchmaker. They've grown their community to over 50k talented professionals and have deep relationships across the tech ecosystem.

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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.