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Good Morning,

Roger Federer announced his retirement, Kanye is breaking up with Gap, Manhattan workers are returning to the office, Amtrak will resume its normal operations, mortgage rates top 6% for the first time since '08, the DOJ is changing how it prosecutes companies, Patagonia's founder "donated" the company to non-profits, tech-focused hedge funds are taking massive L's, Apple and Amazon passed on LIV Golf media rights, and Adobe is purchasing Figma for $20B.

Only a matter of time until Roger Federer announces his new venture capital fund. Y'all heard it here first! We'll deny ever saying this if it never happens though.

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

• US stocks fell slightly yesterday as investors digested a mixed batch of economic reports and continued to process the unexpected August CPI report from Tuesday

  • Initial jobless claims came in better than expected, but import prices saw a smaller drop than estimates suggested

  • Retail sales beat expectations but were negative when excluding autos. Also, manufacturing data portrayed a slowing economy

Earnings

• FedEx fell ~15% in AH trading after withdrawing 2023 guidance and announcing major cost cuts; the company will release official Q1 2023 earnings next week (CNBC)

• Adobe topped Q3 earnings and revenue estimates but expects to finance their recently announced $20B acquisition of Figma with debt; their stock tumbled ~17% from the day before (TC)

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.3% in August (RT)

• US jobless claims fell for the fifth consecutive week to a seasonally adjusted 213k (WSJ)

• Manufacturing production edged up 0.1% in August (RT)

• Startup Sporttrade is building an app to let sports bettors trade contracts like stocks (BI)

• The number of people working remotely tripled during Covid (AX)

• Nearly 50% of Manhattan workers are expected to return to office by end of 2022 (RT)

• World Bank sees rising risk of global recession in 2023 (RT)

• Amtrak will resume normal operations after labor deal (RT)

• Taliban condemned US move to form Swiss-based trust for Afghan central bank funds (RT)

• DOJ will change how it prosecutes companies and could put more executives in jail (CNBC)

• US consumer watchdog plans to regulate 'buy-now, pay-later' companies (RT)

• US tech-focused hedge funds are bracing for heavy losses, with some funds already down 30%+ (RT)

• Chinese investment in US VC funds is on pace to reach ~$880M this year, the second-highest level since 2010 (WSJ)

• US sued to block a $4.3B lock deal between Assa Abloy and US rival (RT)

• Apple and Amazon passed on LIV Golf media rights (WSJ)

• TikTok launched a BeReal copycat (TI)

• Kanye West is is terminating his partnership with Gap (WSJ)

• Fast-fashion giant Shein is planning a US expansion as sales climb (WSJ)

• Roger Federer is retiring from tennis (AX)

• Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is coming in November (TV)

A Message From Simon & Schuster

What do the most successful investors have in common?

David M. Rubenstein, cofounder of one of the world’s largest investment firms, has spent years interviewing the greatest investors in the world to discover the time-tested principles, hard-earned wisdom, and indispensable tools that guide their practice.

Rubenstein, who has spent more than three decades in the hyper-competitive world of private equity, now distills everything he’s learned about the art and craft of investing, from venture capital, real estate, private equity, hedge funds, to crypto, endowments, SPACs, ESG, and more.

• How did Stan Druckenmiller short the British pound in one trade for a profit of $1 billion dollars?

• What made Sam Zell the smartest, toughest investor the world of real estate has ever seen?

• How did Mike Novogratz make $250 million from crypto in one year?

• How did Larry Fink build BlackRock from scratch into a firm that manages more than $10 trillion?

With unprecedented access to global leaders in finance, Rubenstein has assembled the most authoritative book of its kind. Whether you’re brand-new to investing or a seasoned professional, this book will transform the way you approach investing forever.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Adobe agreed to buy software design startup Figma in a $20B deal, representing a ~50x ARR multiple (BBG)

• Singapore’s GIC and PE firm Oak Street agreed to buy commercial REIT Store Capital in a $14B deal (RT)

• KKR and GIP are among PE firms competing for a stake in Vodafone’s wireless towers unit Vantage which has a current $13.4B market cap (BBG)

• Germany is considering taking a stake in troubled domestic gas supplier VNG through a capital injection that would give the government a minority stake (BBG)

• Italian luxury group Prada agreed to buy a stake in Italian tannery Superior (RT)

• Goldman Sachs and Cleanhill Partners agreed to buy a majority stake in clean energy firm EPC Power (BBG)

VC

• Ratio, a startup creating a BNPL product that combines payments, predictive pricing, financing, and a quote-to-cash process, raised $411M in financing ($11M in equity and a $400 RCF) led by Streamlined Ventures, Cervin Ventures, 8-Bit Capital, HoneyStone Ventures and a group of individual investors (TC)

• Security tools manufacturer Verkada raised a $205M Series D at a $3.2B valuation led by Linse Capital, MSD Partners, Sequoia Capital and more (TC)

• Denim, a financial enablement platform for the freight and logistics industry, raised a $126M Series B ($26M in equity and $100M in debt) led by Pelion Venture Partners (PRN)

• Fortanix, a data-first multicloud security startup, raised a $90M Series C led by GSAM (BW)

• SparingVision, a vision-focused genomic medicines company, raised a $75M Series B led by Jeito Capital and UPMC Enterprises (PRN)

• Organ transplant startup TransMedics Group received $60M in debt financing from CIBC (BW)

• Portofino Technologies, a startup building HFT tech for digital assets, raised $50M+ in funding from Valar Ventures, Global Founders Capital and Coatue (BW)

• HICX, a supplier experience management platform, raised a $30M round ($22M in equity and $8M in debt) led by WaveCrest Growth Partners and Espresso Capital (TC)

• Professional network Polywork raised a $28M Series B led by former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and Caffeinated Capital (TC)

• Invert, a personalized carbon offsetting platform, closed $25M in financing led by Altius Minerals (BW)

• HaptX, a provider of realistic haptic technology, raised $23M in funding led by AIS Global and Crescent Cove Advisors (PRN)

• Codi, a startup combining flexible leasing and office space management, raised a $16M Series A led by a16z (BW)

• Token management platform Magna raised a $15.2M seed round led by Tiger Global and Tusk Ventures (PRN)

• Ancora Semiconductor, a Taiwanese developer of power semiconductors, raised ~$14.6M in funding from ROHM, Sino-American Silicon, uPI Semiconductors and Delta Electronics (PRN)

• Sigmoid, a data engineering, analytics, and AI solutions company, raised a $12M Series B from Sequoia Capital India (PRN)

• Indonesian crypto exchange and marketplace Reku raised an $11M Series A led by AC Ventures (TC)

• Generative AI startup Rephrase.ai raised a $10.6M Series A led by Red Ventures (PRN)

• Cross-border payments processor Payall raised a $10M seed round led by a16z (TC)

• Kenyan insurtech startup Turaco raised a $10M Series A led by AfricInvest and Novastar Ventures (TC)

• Dating app Smitten raised a $10M Series A led by Makers Fund, Possible Ventures, Wonder Invest and more (BW)

• Allocations, a startup allowing users to instantly set up SPVs and funds, raised $5M in funding at a $150M valuation led by Flex Capital, Genesis Accel, Digital Horizon and others (TC)

• Tech talent marketplace MVP Match raised a $5M seed round from Stage 2 Capital (TC)

• Valve, a startup providing sales, marketing, and distribution solutions for commercial real estate professionals, raised a $4.5M seed round led by Project A (PRN)

• Transaera, a startup building air conditioners that provide energy-efficient dehumidification, raised a $4.5M seed round led by EIP (BW)

• ProFuse Technology, a startup aiming to improve the quality and cost of cultivated meat production, raised a $2.5M seed round led by Green Circle (PRN)

• Climate tech startup Arbonics raised a $1.8M pre-seed round led by Plural and Taavet Hinrikus (PRN)

• Agtonomy, a startup building software and services for the agtech space, raised an undisclosed seed III round led by Cavallo Ventures and Mirae Asset Venture Investment (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Hong Kong-based insurer FWD Group refiled for a Hong Kong IPO and is seeking to raise ~$1B in Q1 next year (BBG)

• Drug maker Third Harmonic Bio jumped ~16% following an upsized $185M IPO raise (SA)

SPAC

• "Conservative friendly" video platform Rumble agreed to merge with Cantor Fitzgerald Acquisition Corp. VI in a ~$2B deal and will trade under the ticker "RUM" (TI)

• Brazilian agricultural products retailer Lavoro agreed to merge with TPB Acquisition Corp I in a $1.2B deal (RT)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Crypto exchange FTX is in the lead to buy the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital (CD)

Fundraising

• California-based PE firm HCAP Partners raised a $353M fifth fund aimed at healthcare, software, and services companies (PRN)

• Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo raised its first VC fund of $250M to back Italian tech and other European startups (IS)

• Swiss non-profit NEAR Foundation partnered with Caerus Ventures to launch a $100M VC fund and venture lab (GNW)

• Web3 developer platform Alchemy is raising $12M for a third VC fund (CD)

Crypto Corner

• Terra co-founder Do Kwon is facing an arrest warrant in South Korea (BBG)

• Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said investing in crypto is not an escape from inflation (CT)

Exec's Picks

• Billionaire investor David M. Rubenstein discusses philosophies for successful investing plus shares advice from some of the titans of private equity, crypto, real estate, and more in his latest book: How to Invest. (Copped this on Monday and the book just arrived via Amazon Prime 🤝)

• Looking to invest in early stage fintech? Staax is a seed-stage startup enabling peer-to-peer payments via fractional shares of stock and are raising a community round on Wefunder (think Venmo meets Robinhood). Existing investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Techstars, Western Union, Harlem Capital, Plug & Play, and Litquidity (aka ya boiii). You can invest as little as $100 and don't have to be an accredited investor. Invest here.

• LaGuardia used to be one of the worst airports in the country, but it recently got a much-needed facelift. Check out this WSJ piece to see how Frank Scremin and his team redesigned the NYC airport.

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 aim to curate jobs across IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We'll sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

If you're a company looking to hire candidates and want to list a job opening on our board and feature on Exec Sum, click the button below:

Meme Cleanser

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