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Good Morning,

Crypto and growth stocks got clapped last week, all US stock indexes had their worst weeks since 2020, the US and Russia are playing geopolitical chicken in Ukraine, execs in Hong Kong are tired of covid restrictions, Lamborghini is going electric, Credit Suisse wants its employees back in the office on Feb 1st, M&Ms go woke, and Tesla releases earnings this week.

Oh, and we just had the best football weekend of all time.

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

• Tech stocks led the plunge Friday after the three major US indexes all had their worst weeks since 2020

• The threat of rising rates has been putting heavy pressure on growth stocks; Netflix was the first major player to report last week and their disappointing quarterly report sent them down 20%+

  • We’ll be hearing from big names like Apple and Tesla this week, so it will be interesting to see how the markets react

• The Fed’s January two-day policy meeting starts tomorrow, and attention will now be turned to their timeline for raising interest rates and monetary policy plans

Earnings

• What we’re watching this week:

  • Mon: IBM

  • Tues: Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Verizon, Amex, GE, Capital One

  • Wed: Boeing, Tesla, AT&T, Intel, Nasdaq

  • Thurs: Mastercard, Apple, McDonald’s, Visa, Blackstone, JetBlue, Robinhood 

  • Fri: Chevron, Caterpillar

Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Goldman Sachs expects at least four rate hikes in 2022 (CNBC)

• Secretary of State Blinken warns of severe response if single Russian force enters Ukraine aggressively (CNBC)

• US orders families of embassy staff to leave Ukraine (FT)

• Foreign execs in Hong Kong leaving due to zero-Covid curbs (WSJ)

• Lamborghini to bid farewell to pure combustion cars this year (BBG)

• Experts doubt whether Covid vaccine patent waivers will ever come to be (CNBC)

• Hong Kong reports 140 Covid cases, highest number in year (BBG)

• Apollo to shun fossil-fuel investments in next buyout fund (BBG)

• Carlyle flagship fund expected to reach $17B by midyear (BBG)

• Credit Suisse asks US staff to return to office on Feb 1 (BBG)

• Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen produced one of the greatest NFL games ever (WSJ)

• Empty private jet flights hastened Credit Suisse chairman's downfall (WSJ)

• Activist investor pushes Peloton to fire CEO and seek sale (BBG)

• El Salvador purchases more bitcoin worth $15M on market dip (TBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• A group led by Acacia Research Corp and backed by activist Starboard offered to buy retailer Kohl’s for ~$9B (BBG)

• Globalization Partners, a software provider that helps businesses streamline the process of hiring employees internationally, received a $200M convertible preferred equity commitment from Vista Credit Partners at a $4.2B valuation (WSJ)

• Blackstone and Starwood Capital are partnering to buy 111 extended stay hotels from Brookfield Asset Management in a ~$1.5B deal (BBG)

• Information services and events organizer Informa is preparing to launch an auction process to sell its clinical trial data provider Citeline in a potential ~$1.63B deal (RT)

• Francisco Partners agreed to buy part of IBM’s Watson Health business in a $1B+ deal (BBG)

• A plan to sell the China assets of global pharma company Mundipharma for $1B+ has been stalled over valuation (BBG)

• China Mobile Communications Group is planning to increase its stake in its mobile carrier China Mobile by buying up to $789M of its Shanghai-traded shares (BBG)

• Nippon Steel agreed to buy a 49.99% stake in Thai steelmaker G Steel and a 40.45% stake in G J Steel in a combined $763M deal (RT) 

• UK defense company BAE Systems is exploring a sale of its NetReveal business, which provides technology to detect financial crime and fraud (BBG)

• BC Partners is working with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley to advise it on exit options for UK lender Shawbrook (BBG) 

• Eldridge Industries is exploring strategic options for its CBAM Partners credit unit that could include selling a majority stake in the business at a potential $500M-$1B valuation (BBG)

• Telecom carriers Vodafone and Iliad are in talks to merge their businesses in Italy, creating a business with ~$6.8B in revenue (BBG)

• Germany’s flagship carrier Lufthansa is in talks to buy a 40% stake in Italy’s ITA Airways (RT)

• German auto supplier Vitesco Technologies plans to grow through acquisitions as it winds down its businesses related to combustion engines (BBG)

• Activist hedge fund Trian Partners acquired an undisclosed stake in consumer products maker Unilever (BBG)

• Malaysian budget airline AirAsia is in early talks to buy air cargo carrier Raya Airways (RT)

• Iceland plans to sell its remaining 65% stake in Islandsbanki in stages over the next two years (RT)

VC

• Israeli VC Entree Capital raised a $300M Israel-focused fund (TC)

• Deliverect, a Belgian software firm focused on simplifying online food delivery, is in talks to raise ~$170M at a $1.4B valuation from investors including Coatue Management (BBG)

• European spend management platform Moss raised an $86M Series B led by Tiger Global (TC)

• Dublin-based greentech startup Exergyn raised a $35M Series A led by Mercuria (TC)

• Grocery delivery startup Calii raised a $22.5M Series A led by Dalus Capital and JAM Fund (TC)

• On-demand home repair startup Zuper raised a $13M Series A led by FUSE (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Energy royalties firm Source Rock Royalties is seeking to raise ~$8M in a small cap  Canadian IPO (BBG)

SPAC

• Pet supply retailer PetSmart ​​is in talks to merge with KKR Acquisition Holdings I Corp in a potential $14B deal (BBG)

Exec's Picks

• Crypto got clapped last week, with everything from Bitcoin to shitcoins now in a bear market. Foot Guns is the best source for actionable insights on crypto through a mix of technical analysis, humor, and explanations on the technologies. Check out their newsletter and podcast here.

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've got 40+ jobs spanning IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

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