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Trump extended the US-Iran ceasefire indefinitely, Avis Budget is doing the meme stock short squeeze, Anthropic's new Mythos model was accessed by unauthorized users, SpaceX bought the most expensive call option ever, and CitSec is taking on JPMorgan in block trading with Jamie Dimon taking notice.

SpaceX signed a deal to either acquire Cursor for $60B later this year or pay $10B for a strategic partnership. The acquisition option makes Cursor the biggest VC-backed M&A exit of all time.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 4/21/2026 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks ticked lower yesterday after US and Iran failed to conduct talks 

  • Korea's KOSPI recovered from the Iran-war bear market to hit a fresh ATH

    • The index is up 48% YTD

  • Default premium for loans to private credit funds is up 34 bps YTD and 83 bps since 2025

  • China bonds are headed for their best month since October

    • 10Y yields fell 7 bps MTD to come below 1.75% 

Earnings

  • UnitedHealth Group issued a Q1 beat-and-raise on improved management of high medical costs and streamlined operations (CNBC)

  • RTX issued a Q1 beat-and-raise on strength in its defense business (WSJ)

  • Capital One missed Q1 EPS estimates and set aside more cash to cover soured loans as higher gas prices weigh on consumers (BBG)

  • United Airlines beat Q1 EPS and revenue estimates on robust demand but slashed its FY forecast as fuel costs surge (CNBC)

  • 3M beat Q1 EPS and revenue estimates and reaffirmed its FY forecast as it expects rebounding demand for industrial products and office supplies to outweigh consumer caution (WSJ)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Tesla, IBM, AT&T, Texas Instruments

    • Thursday: Intel, Blackstone, American Airlines, American Express

    • Friday: Procter & Gamble

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • There's a new hardware guy in the house. What's it gonna be?

  • Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market

Headline Roundup

  • US extends Iran ceasefire indefinitely after talks collapsed (CNBC)

  • Trump will 'remember' companies that don't seek tariff refunds (CNBC)

  • Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh is getting grilled (CNBC)

  • China GDP grew 5% YoY in Q1 as finance overtakes manufacturing (BBG)

  • Bond traders go short vol following end to Iran War (BBG)

  • US IPO market is suddenly booming ahead of SpaceX's debut (BBG)

  • Hedge funds beef up dollar shorts as haven demand fades (BBG)

  • Private credit faces strain as borrowing costs edge higher (FT)

  • Private credit funds lure money despite stress (RT)

  • SEC is monitoring 'emerging pressures' in private credit (BBG)

  • Hybrid bond buybacks return after war paused riskier deals (BBG)

  • CitSec is taking on JPMorgan in block trading (BBG)

  • Commodity traders reap billions in profit as war upends markets (BBG)

  • Avis Budget soared 500% as shorts get squeezed (RT)

  • Musk will retain voting control of SpaceX after IPO (RT)

  • SpaceX gives Musk incentive to hit $6.6T market cap (TI)

  • SpaceX debt jumped to $23B last year (TI)

  • SpaceX says Mars settlement may not be commercially viable (RT)

  • Anthropic's new Mythos model was hacked (BBG)

  • Meta will track employee mouse movements for AI training data (RT)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

  • Majority shareholder Deutsche Telekom is considering a full combination with $215B-listed US unit T-Mobile

  • SpaceX signed a deal to either acquire AI coding startup Cursor for $60B this year or pay $10B for its work together

  • US opposes a ~$40B merger of United Airlines and American Airlines

  • Insight Partners and Five Arrows-backed commodities data and analytics firm Kpler is selling a minority stake at a $5B valuation

  • Toby Neugebauer, the co-founder of $3.2B-listed data center REIT Fermi, is calling for a sale of the firm after being fired as CEO

  • Austrian lender Bawag Group will pause investor payouts and rely on SRTs to fund the $1.9B acquisition of Ireland's third-largest lender Permanent TSB

  • Natural gas driller Arsenal Resources is exploring a $1.5B sale

  • Spanish gas grid operator Enagas will acquire ​Singapore SWF GIC's 31.5% stake in French gas grid operator Terega for $675M

  • Investment firm 2717 Partners offered to acquire Canadian edtech provider D2L at a $420M equity value for an ~15% premium

  • Japanese conglomerate Hitachi will acquire Turkey consumer electronics firm Arcelik's 60% stake in a home appliance JV with Hitachi Global Life Solutions in a $260M deal

  • CannonDesign, one of the world's largest employee-owned architecture firms, will acquire smaller peer Ennead Architects

VC

  • Blue Energy, a developer of financeable, prefabricated nuclear power plants, raised $380M in financing led by VXI Capital

  • Reliable Robotics Corporation, an autonomous aircraft systems developer, raised $160M in new funding led by Nimble Partners

  • AcuityMD, an AI platform for medtech, raised an $80M Series C at a $955M valuation led by StepStone Group

  • Point2 Technology, an RF-based interconnect startup for AI data centers, raised a $76M Series B extension led by Maverick Silicon

  • NeoCognition, a research lab developing self-learning AI agents, raised a $40M seed round co-led by Cambium Capital and Walden Catalyst Ventures

  • Afresh, an AI platform for grocery, raised $34M in new funding co-led by Just Climate and High Sage Ventures

  • Collov, a visual AI startup, raised a $23M Series A led by Brightway Future Capital

  • Ideally, an AI market research platform, raised a $10M Series A at a ~$60B valuation led by Shearwater Capital

  • GRAI, a music lab focused on AI-powered social music interaction, raised a $9M seed round co-led by Khosla Ventures and Inovo VC

  • Shorta, a mobile-first short-form video studio and platform, raised a $6M pre-seed from angels at Vercel, Auth0, and others 

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • UK fintech giant Revolut may seek a $200B valuation in a 2028 IPO

  • $17B-listed Associated British Foods will spinoff budget fashion chain Primark

  • Sycamore Partners-backed UK pharmacy chain Boots is working on a ‌strategy overhaul to prepare for a 2027 London IPO; Sycamore LBOd Walgreens Boots Alliance in a $23B deal last year

  • Chinese specialized electronics manufacturer Victory Giant surged 50% in its trading debut after raising $2.6B in Hong Kong's biggest IPO in seven months

  • India's Inox Clean Energy revived plans for a $1B India IPO

  • REIT National Healthcare Properties raised $462M in an IPO priced below a marketed range

  • Alibaba-backed Chinese AI video unicorn startup PixVerse is considering a Hong Kong IPO

  • Saudi IT services firm Dar Al Balad Business Solutions is proceeding with a $75M Saudi IPO despite Iran disruptions

  • Silver Point Capital-backed Tailored Brands, the owner of Men's Wearhouse, Jos A. Bank, and others, filed confidentially for an IPO six years after emerging from bankruptcy 

SPAC / SPV

  • AI chipmaker Forge Nano will merge with Archimedes Tech ‌SPAC Partners II in a $1.6B deal 

Debt

  • Thailand plans to unlock another $30B in bond sales for stimulus measures following the Iran war

  • JPMorgan is leading a $6B debt package to back beauty giant Estée Lauder's potential $40B merger with Spanish peer Puig Brands

  • Bitcoin miner Core Scientific is planning a $3.3B junk debt sale to fund AI infrastructure

  • Hong Kong transport operator MTR raised $2.4B in its first-ever Hong Kong dollar public bond sale

  • PE-backed data center firm Switch raised $2.6B in bank debt to help fund electricity power

  • AirAsia Aviation, now owned by Malaysia's AirAsia X, is seeking to raise $230M in private credit backed by ticket sales 

  • Commodities trader Mercuria is seeking over $200M of financing in Asia

  • Auction house Sotheby's raised $100M in ABF from KKR backed by fees owed in its auction sales

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Banco de Brasilia agreed with Quadra Capital to create an investment fund to transfer assets linked to transactions it received from failed ‌Banco Master, with a reference value of $3B

  • Distressed developer China Vanke won creditor backing to extend payments on a $300M yuan bond by a year

  • PE firm and creditor Lone Star Funds took over an office tower in San Francisco after it saw no bids in an auction sale; the WeWork-landlord was once valued at $230M

  • US is open to a government bailout of bankrupt Spirit Airlines but prefers to see a buyer emerge

  • Netflix is in talks to acquire historic LA studio lot Radford Studio Center from Goldman Sachs following a repo

Funds / Secondaries

  • European PE firm EQT raised over $15B for its ninth APAC PE fund

  • German public-sector pension VBL is transferring its residential property portfolio worth $8.2B into a new fund structure

  • Asian PE firm Hillhouse is seeking to raise $7B for an Asia buyout fund and $1B-$1.5B for a growth fund with up to $2B of GP commitments

  • Cerberus Capital Management raised a $2.3B single-asset CV for Subsea Communications led by CVC

  • Baird Capital, the PE arm of financial services firm Baird, raised $450M for its third lower MM PE fund

  • Japanese home shopping company Japanet Holdings will raise its commitment to Pegasus Tech Ventures to $200M following successful early bets in SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Polymarket launched trading of heavily leveraged 'perps' contracts

  • Kalshi will launch crypto trading with perpetual futures

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

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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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