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Good Morning,

Inflation came in hot, stocks and crypto tanked, Credit Suisse may give its senior bankers equity in the IB business, Ukraine is recapturing land from Russia, Ark's Cathie Wood is worried about deflation, former Disney CEO Robert Iger is joining a VC fund, Google is developing chips for US researchers, and Mr. Beast's manager wants to bankroll the creator economy.

VC appears to be BACK, seeing as our deal flow section is long af today with many funding announcements.

As we've said the past few days, if you're looking for a great book about investing written by a legendary financier, check out David Rubenstein's latest book: How To Invest.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• A hotter-than-expected inflation report erased almost all of the market’s recent gains, with all three major averages having their worst day since June 2020

  • The August CPI rose 0.1% MoM despite a sharp drop in gas prices, defying the expected 0.1% decline

  • The unexpectedly high inflation report could lead the Fed to continue its aggressive rate hikes longer than expected

• High-growth tech stocks were hit the hardest by the selloff, with names like Cloudflare and Unity Software dropping over 10%

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:

  • Thursday: Adobe

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• The August CPI rose 8.3% YoY (CNBC)

• Biden officials are weighing buying oil at ~$80 to refill reserves (BBG)

• US emergency oil reserves tumble to lowest level since 1984 (RT)

• Canada announced $3.43B in measures to provide inflation relief to low-income families (RT)

• JPMorgan's IBD revenue is expected to plunge ~50% in Q3 YoY (CNBC)

• Credit Suisse board members floated the idea of giving senior dealmakers an ownership stake in their unit, leading some to believe the firm is considering a spinout of its advisory / underwriting unit (BBG)

• Casino company Hard Rock will spend $100M to raise wages for over half of US workforce (CNBC)

• US signed a deal with Google to develop chips for researchers (RT)

• Former Disney CEO Robert Iger will join VC firm Thrive Capital (TI)

• Grindr's new CEO will need to sell the gay sex app to Wall Street investors as it prepares to go public (TI)

• Peloton will expand their bike rental program nationwide (CNBC)

• Paramount is considering discontinuing Showtime streaming service, merging with Paramount+ (WSJ)

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

• A KKR-led consortium told Australian hospital operator Ramsay Health Care that it will not improve its $14.5B offer (RT)

• Toll road operator Atlas Arteria agreed to buy a 66.67% stake in Chicago Skyway, a toll road that connects the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan Expressway, for $2.01B (RT)

• Auto parts supplier Aptiv agreed to buy an 85% stake in Intercable Automotive Solutions, a unit of Italy’s Intercable that manufacturers high-voltage busbars, for $605.71M (RT)

• Germany is looking to raise up to $458M from the sale of a 6.2% stake in flagship airline Lufthansa that was bailed out by the state during the pandemic (BBG)

• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund signed a pact to buy a 30% stake in local travel and tourism firm Almosafer Travel & Tourism for $412M (BBG)

• Citizens Financial agreed to buy College Raptor, a firm that helps connect prospective students with colleges based on their academic and financial compatibility (BBG)

• German media company Prosiebensat 1 Media agreed to buy the remaining 50% of shares in streaming service Joyn from Warner Bros. Discovery (RT)

VC

• EV charging infrastructure startup TeraWatt raised a $1B Series A led by Keyframe Capital, Cyrus Capital, and Vision Ridge Partners (TC)

• ACELYRIN, a late-stage clinical biopharma company focused on immunology, raised a $300M Series C led by Access Biotechnology (PRN)

• RayzeBio, a targeted radiopharmaceutical company, raised a $160M Series D led by Viking Global Investors, Sofinnova Investments, and Wellington Management (BW)

• Xeneta, a startup aiming to improve shipping through better data and analytics, raised an $80M round at a $265M valuation led by Apax Digital (TC)

• Zesty, a startup automating cloud usage to save money, raised a $75M Series B led by B Capital and Sapphire Ventures (TC)

• Doodles, a web3 media/entertainment startup, raised a $54M round at a $704M valuation led by Seven Seven Six (BW)

• High-end speaker manufacturer Devialet raised a $50M round from Crédit Mutuel Equity, Bpifrance’s Large Venture Fund, and an unnamed Asian investor (TC)

• School transportation startup HopSkipDrive raised a $37M Series D from Energy Impact Partners, Keyframe Capital, FirstMark Capital, and more (PRN)

• Tidelift, a provider of solutions improving open source software supply chain resilience, extended its Series C round to $33.5M with an investment from AEI HorizonX, AE Industrial Partners, Cisco Investments, and more (BW)

• Corporate learning platform Hone raised a $30M Series B from 3L Capital, F-Prime Capital, Cowboy Ventures, and Slack Fund (TC)

• Engineering and testing startup Liquid Instruments raised a $28.5M Series B led by Acorn Capital (TC)

• Soda Health, a healthcare startup focused on the supplemental benefits system, raised a $25M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Define Ventures, and Qiming Venture Partners (PRN)

• Agricultural nanoliquid startup Aqua Yield raised a $23M Series A led by the LHM Company (PRN)

• MyCarrier, a freight shipping platform for small and midsized shippers, raised a $22M Series B led by NewRoad Capital Partners (PRN)

• Ashby, an all-in-one recruiting platform for high growth startups and enterprises, raised a $21.5M Series B led by F-Prime Capital (PRN)

• Goldsky, a data infrastructure company for crypto startups, raised a $20M seed round led by Felicis and Dragonfly Capital (TC)

• Next Level Burger, a plant-based burger chain, raised $20M in funding led by unnamed strategic investors and Alex & Nicole Payne (BW)

• Kafene, a digital platform used by merchants to offer lease-to-own financing, raised an $18M Series B led by Third Prime (PRN)

• Sightfull, a startup that tracks key business activities, raised an $18M Series A led by Dell Technologies Capital (TC)

• Cloud data security startup Theom raised a $16.4M seed round led by Ridge Ventures and M12 (PRN)

• Ideon Technologies, a startup visualizing the earth’s subsurface for the mining industry, raised a $16M Series A led by Playground Global (BW)

• Roofr, an all-in-one roofing software platform, raised a $12M Series A led by Bullpen Capital, Crosslink Capital, K5 Global, and more (PRN)

• HR management startup Benivo raised a $12M round led by Updata Partners (TC)

• Tract, an online community for kids to teach each other, raised a $7M seed round led by NEA (PRN)

• Clean energy SaaS platform Prescinto Technologies raised $6.5M in financing (BW)

• Pakistani embedded finance platform Neem raised a $2.5M seed round led by SparkLabs Fintech (TC)

• Cannabis enterprise resource planning platform GrowerIQ raised a $2.3M seed round led by Golden Section and MaRS IAF (BW)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Australian toll roads operator Atlas Arteria is planning to raise ~$2.1B through a share offering in order to purchase a majority stake in the Chicago Skyway toll road (BBG)

• Honda is considering an IPO of its electric motorcycle unit (RT)

Fundraising

• European VC firm Northzone raised $1B for its tenth fund to support Web3 and fintech startups (CD)

• Madrona, a Seattle-based venture firm, raised $690M across two oversubscribed funds to invest in tech firms based in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere (BW)

• SER Capital Partners, a private investment firm dedicated to sustainability, raised $475M for its debut fund (BW)

• European decarbonization investment firm Energy Impact Partners launched their “European Fund” with $390M to invest in companies advancing the net zero economy (BW)

• AC Ventures, a VC firm focused on early-stage startups in Southeast Asia, raised $162.5M for its fifth fund and is targeting $250M in total (TC)

• Reed Duchscher, manager of YouTube megastar Mr. Beast, is teaming up with investment firm TCG to launch Night Capital, a $100M fund that will acquire controlling stakes in businesses to be led by online creators (NYT)

• Palo Alto-based VC Runa Capital raised $55M for its fourth fund and aims to raise $250M in total (TC)

• Peru-based Salkantay Ventures raised $26M for its first Salkantay Exponential Fund to invest in technology (TC)

Crypto Corner

• Charles Schwab, Citadel, and Fidelity launched their crypto exchange EDX Markets (DC)

• Crypto's market cap dropped below $1T after disappointing inflation data (YH)

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. (I personally just copped this 🤝)

• 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.

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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