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Good Morning,

Lego is abandoning its effort to make oil-free bricks, Chinese gold buying is impacting bullion pricing, MS’s Zenter says the Fed is done raising rates for now, Unifor workers voted in favor of Ford contract, Thailand expects big investments from big tech companies, and Singapore is Japan’s top property investor this year.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks retreated on Friday, posting their worst week since March after the Fed’s update

  • The S&P and Nasdaq have dropped 2.9% and 3.6% on the week, respectively

• The MSCI World Index slide 2.67% last week for its steepest fall since March

• The MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index lost 2.3% in its biggest fall in five weeks, on track for a 3% Q3 loss

• 10Y US yields rose 12 bps for its biggest weekly rise since July, having risen eight weeks in the last ten

• US 10Y real yields topped 2%

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:

  • Tuesday: Costco, Cintas, Ferguson

  • Wednesday: Micron Technology, Jefferies

  • Thursday: Nike, Accenture, BlackBerry

  • Friday: Carnival Corporation

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Stocks flash recession warning as trouble spreads to industrials (BBG)

• Oil resumes rally as hedge funds join increasingly bullish bets (BBG)

• Bond yield surge casts dark quarter-end shadow (RT)

• Chinese gold buying is driving a paradigm shift in bullion (BBG)

• Airbnb and Blackstone joined the S&P 500 (WSJ)

• Bill Ackman is short 30-year Treasuries, expects yields to hit 5.5% ‘soon’ (CNBC)

• Germany scraps plans for more stringent building standards to prop up industry (RT)

• Morgan Stanley’s Ellen Zenter says the Fed is done raising rates for now (BBG)

• Biden to host Pacific Island leaders in US charm offensive against China (CNBC)

• Workers with Canadian union Unifor vote in favor of Ford contract (CNBC)

• Russia dodges G7 price cap sanctions on most of its oil exports (RT)

• Thailand expects Tesla, Google, Microsoft to invest $5B, according to prime minister (RT)

• Lego abandons effort to make oil-free bricks (RT)

• US shared intelligence with Canada after alleged assassination of Sikh separatist (WSJ)

• IRS to target ‘unscrupulous’ tax preparers amid crackdown of small business tax credit (CNBC)

• Credit card losses are rising at the fastest pace since the great financial crisis (CNBC)

• Singapore is Japan’s top property investor in 2023 (BBG)

• McDonald’s will raise royalty fees for new franchisees for first time in ~30 years (CNBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• UK’s antitrust regulator said there were grounds to clear Microsoft's $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard (RT)

• Minority owners of the Golden State Warriors are exploring a ~10% stake sale that could value the NBA team at $7B (BBG)

• UK telecom Vodafone Group is in talks with acquisition vehicle Zegona Communications about a potential deal for its challenged Spanish unit, which could be valued at over $5.3B (BBG)

• Coherent, a major supplier of materials used to make automotive chips, attracted interest from four Japanese conglomerates for an investment in its silicon carbide business at a valuation of up to $5B (RT)

• Malaysia’s state oil giant Petroliam Nasional is nearing a deal to acquire a 25% stake in the ammonia unit of India’s AM Green for ~$1.6B (BBG)

• Costa Group Holdings agreed to be bought out by a consortium led by US PE firm Paine Schwartz Partners in a deal that values the food produce supplier at $963M (RT)

• Struggling Swedish landlord SBB received a $720M cash boost after selling a further stake in a portfolio of school buildings to Brookfield Asset Management (BBG)

• Todd Boehly’s holding company Eldridge Industries is leading the acquisition of Australian mining-focused consulting services provider Ausenco in a ~$578M deal (WSJ)

• UK automotive retailer Pendragon received a sweetened offer from Hedin Mobility Group and US-based PAG International to buy out the company for $548M (RT)

• TotalEnergies is looking to sell its remaining 40% stake in UK North Sea gas fields within the Greater Laggan Area; it sold a 20% stake to energy company Kistos for $125M last year (BBG)

VC

• bolttech, a Singapore-based insurtech startup, raised a $50M Series B extension from LeapFrog Investments (FN)

• Robotic automation startup Diligent Robotics raised a $25M round led by Canaan (FN)

• Qihan Biotech, a biotech company focused on cell therapies and organ transplants, raised a $16M pre-Series B led by Zhejiang Industrial Fund (BW)

• Abu Dhabi-based digital assets startup Fuze raised a $14M seed round led by Further Ventures (FN)

• Complete Farmer, a Ghanaian startup bringing together African farmers and international buyers, raised a $10M pre-Series A (equity / debt) led by Alitheia Capital, Goodwell, ARAF, Proparco, and Newton Partners (FN)

• Commerce media platform Katalys raised a $5.4M seed round from KEY Investment Partners, WGD Capital, and GreenAxs Capital (FN)

• Power amplifier startup Falcomm raised a $4M round from Squadra Ventures (TC)

• Mona Lee, a solar installation company, raised a $3.25M seed round led by Ludlow Ventures, Shrug VC, and more (FN)

• Bubblemaps, a blockchain data visualization startup, raised a $3.2M seed round led by Ince Capital (FN)

• Layup, a provider of a bank offering prize-linked savings accounts for sports fans, raised a $2.3M seed round led by Continental Investment Partners (FN)

• Mundial Media, a media platform combining multicultural voices, raised a $2M pre-seed round led by New Day Industries, Barlow Family Investments, Amazon execs, and others (FN)

• Vaccine automation and management startup Canid raised a $1.5M seed round led by SeedtoB Capital (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• AirTrunk is planning an IPO that would give the data center operator an EV of more than $6.4B (BBG)

• Cainiao Network Technology, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, is planning to file for a Hong Kong IPO as soon as next week and plans to raise at least $1B (BBG) 

• KKR-backed BrightSpring Health Services, which withdrew its IPO last year, confidentially filed for a listing and is seeking to raise $1B (BBG)

• Star Entertainment Group is planning a $438M equity raise as part of a broad equity restructuring (BBG)

• Vietnam-based internet startup VNG postponed plans for a US IPO until market demand improves (BBG)

• Spinneys Dubai, a franchisee of the supermarket chain in UAE and Oman, is planning an IPO in Q2 2024 (RT)

SPAC

• Biotech company Abpro will merge with Atlantic Coastal Acquisition Corp. II in a $725M deal (BW)

Debt

• Masdar, a major operator of solar power plants in the UAE, is planning to raise as much as $1B through a second green bond offering (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Chinese property developer Evergrande scrapped its $35B debt-restructuring plan after a steepening downturn in China’s real estate market (WSJ)

• Rite Aid is negotiating with creditors over the terms of its bankruptcy plan and has proposed to close 400-500 stores (WSJ)

Fundraising

• China Reform Holdings, a state asset manager, is planning a $13.7B development fund to invest in strategic emerging industries (BBG)

• European PE firm Keensight Capital raised $3B to invest in profitable, high-growth tech and healthcare companies (BBG)

• Singapore-based healthcare-focused PE firm Quadria Capital is looking to raise up to $1B for its third and biggest fund (RT)

• EJF Capital, a Virginia-based alternative asset management firm, closed its EJF Ventures Fund at ~$104M to invest in early-stage fintech companies (FN)

Crypto Corner

• Binance filed court papers to have the SEC’s lawsuit against them dismissed (BBG)

• Coinbase secured an Anti-Money Laundering compliance registration that will allow the exchange to offer its services to retail and institutional investors in Spain (CT)

Exec’s Picks

• Ganesh Sitaraman explained how airlines make more money from mileage programs than from flights themselves.

• Jeremy Grantham explained that the most recent market bubble still hasn’t burst on The Compound and Friends podcast.

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