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Lyft’s IR misshap briefly sent their stock flying 60%, US inflation came in hot, the Super Bowl smashed the US viewership record, the IRS sued the FDIC, flight attendants want higher wages, Paramount and Instacart are cutting jobs, and the Senate passed an Israel/Ukraine aid package.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks fell after after January’s CPI was higher-than-expected at 3.1% YoY and 0.3% MoM

  • The Nasdaq led indices with a 1.8% decline

• European stocks fell due to hotter-than-expected US inflation data

• Bitcoin falls from $50,000 following hotter-than-expected inflation data

Earnings

• Airbnb shares fell ~5% despite reporting better-than-expected Q4 revenue and issuing an optimistic forecast (CNBC)

• Lyft shares jumped ~18% after beating Q4 earnings and revenue estimates and forecasting higher-than-expected Q1 bookings; the stock initially jumped 60% due to an earnings typo regarding margin expansion (CNBC) 

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: Sony, Cisco Systems, Kraft Heinz

  • Thursday: Coinbase, DraftKings, John Deere, Applied Materials

  • Friday: Cinemark

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US inflation tops forecasts in blow to Fed rate-cut hopes (BBG)

• UK labor market remains tight as unemployment unexpectedly falls (WSJ)

• Super Bowl smashes US viewership record, highest since moonwalk broadcast (RT)

• IRS sues FDIC over Silicon Valley Bank’s $1.4B tax debt (RT)

• BofA survey shows investors are all in on US tech stock rally (BBG)

• Flight attendants are pushing airlines for higher wages (CNBC)

• Coca-Cola CEO says inflation is moderating in most markets after higher prices boost revenue (CNBC)

• ESPN Bet plans launch in New York, the largest US betting market (CNBC)

• Early adopters of Microsoft’s AI bot wonder if it’s worth the money (WSJ)

• Paramount Global to cut 800 jobs in drive to boost profitability (BBG)

• Instacart to lay off 250 employees, or about 7% of the company as part of structuring (CNBC)

• The cost of car ownership is getting painful (WSJ)

• Solar use on US farms jumps 30% in five years (BBG)

• Senate passes $95.3B Ukraine, Israel aid package (WSJ)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• CK Hutchison Holdings cancelled the $3.6B sale of a majority stake in its Italian network infrastructure portfolio to EQT (BBG)

• Tech-focused PE firm Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe is weighing a sale of Avetta i​​n a deal that could value the supply chain risk compliance platform at ~$3B, including debt (BBG)

• Walmart is in talks to purchase smart television-manufacturer Vizio for over $2B to help grow its advertising business (WSJ) 

• The EU conditionally approved Korean Air Lines’ $1.8B bid for smaller rival Asiana Airlines (BBG) 

• The Premier League approved British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's acquisition of a 25% stake in football club Manchester United for ~$1.3B (RT) 

• Global Infrastructure Partners will acquire a 50% stake in two wind power projects from utility firm Eversource Energy for a cash consideration of $1.1B (RT) 

• US wireless tower operator SBA Communications, Blackstone-backed Phoenix Tower, and Spanish fund Asterion Industrial Partners are competing for Cellnex’s Irish unit, which would be valued at ~$1.1B in a deal (RT) 

• Fintech company Global Payments is nearing a deal to acquire Britain's Takepayments at an expected valuation of over $250M (RT)

• A consortium that includes the owner of logistics group Tuffnells will acquire parcel delivery company Yodel from the Barclay family (FT)

VC

• BioAge, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on aging and metabolic diseases, raised a $170M Series D led by Sofinnova Investments (BW)

• ProfoundBio, a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing antibody-drug conjugates for cancer treatment, raised a $112M Series B led by Ally Bridge Group (PRN)

• Areteia Therapeutics, a biotech company developing oral drugs for severe eosinophilic asthma, raised a $75M Series A extension led by Viking Global Investors and Marshall Wace (BW)

• Finom, a European challenger bank for SMEs, raised a $54M Series B led by Northzone and General Catalyst (TC)

• Bob W, a marketplace for short-term apartment rentals, raised a $43M Series B led by Evli Growth Partners (TC)

• Cambridge Mechatronics, a startup developing shape memory alloy actuators, raised a $40M round led by Atlantic Bridge (BW)

• Skylo Technologies, a D2D satellite connectivity provider, raised a $37M round from Intel Capital, Innovation Endeavors, BMW i Ventures, and others (FN)

• Meter, a startup building internet infrastructure for businesses, raised $35M in funding led by Sam Altman and Lachy Groom (BW)

• Sudo Biosciences, a biotech company focused on developing TYK2 inhibitors, raised a $30M Series B extension from Enavate Sciences, TPG, Sanofi Ventures, and more (BW)

• PatientFi, a payments platform for medical practices, raised $25M in growth equity from Questa Capital (AX)

• Marqo, a startup building a vector search platform, raised a $12.5M Series A led by Lightspeed (FN)

• Grid orchestration platform Camus Energy raised a $10M Series A extension led by Congruent Ventures and Wave Capital (BW)

• Rimere, a climate solutions company with proprietary plasma technology, received a $10M investment from Clean Energy Fuels (BW)

• Quilter, an AI company building generative circuit board design software, raised a $10M Series A led by Benchmark (FN)

• Aegir Insights, a provider of software, data, and intelligence for the offshore wind sector, raised a $9.1M Series A led by Seaya Andromeda (BW)

• FlowFi, a startup creating a marketplace of finance experts for entrepreneurs, raised a $9M seed round led by Blumberg Capital (TC)

• Document Crunch, an AI-powered contract platform, raised a $9M Series A led by Navitas Capital (FN)

• Groover, a music promotion platform, raised an $8M Series A led by OneRagtime, Trind, Techmind, and MozzaAngels (PRN)

• Anatomy Financial, a startup building an AI-powered financial operating system for healthcare, raised $7.6M in funding from Lightspeed, Meridian Street Capital, Live Oak Ventures, and others (BW)

• Seal Security, an Israeli startup helping companies keep their open source libraries up to date, raised a $7.4M seed round led by Vertex Ventures Israel (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Banca Progetto’s owner, Oaktree Capital Management, plans to sell a 35%-40% stake in the challenger bank through a listing on the Milan Stock Exchange (BBG)

SPAC

• Healthcare center chain Nava Health will merge with 99 Acquisitions Group in a $320M deal (YF)

Debt

• ​​Investment manager Blue Owl Capital is leading a private credit package worth at least $2B for health care software company RLDatix (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Enviva, the largest US wood pellet exporter, is preparing to file for bankruptcy within days (WSJ)

• Breast implant manufacturer Sientra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to a consumer pullback (BBG) 

Fundraising

• VC AIX Venture closed its second fund at $202M (FN)

Crypto Corner

• Crypto gaming platform PlayDapp loses $290M worth of tokens in two exploits (TB)

• Crypto political group Fairshake targets California Senate candidate Katie Porter (CD)

Exec’s Picks

• Nick Maggiulli gave a scathing review of Tony Robbins’ latest book.

• Bryce Elder investigated why Arm has been experiencing its post-IPO stock surge.

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