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Good Morning,

Lionel Messi launched an investment firm targeting sports / sports-tech investments, UK inflation is double digits again, $13B in SPAC deals have been liquidated this year, weed will be sold in select US gas stations next year, startups are taking on debt to avoid valuations hits, and VCs are FOMO'ing into AI deals.

In a time of market uncertainty and volatility, fundamental analysis remains critical in selecting strong long term investments. Today's sponsor, Stream, provides an extensive library of investor-led interviews diving into a vast array of companies and industries. You can check them out here.

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

• Stocks snapped a two-day winning streak as the 10Y yield hit its highest level since 2008

• The Fed sees firms providing gloomier outlooks, but inflation pressures are easing

• Meanwhile in Asian markets, stocks slumped and bond yields spiked higher amid concern that strong inflation and rising covid cases in China will further slow the global economy

Earnings

• Tesla beat on Q3 profit but missed on revenue estimates, citing supply chain bottlenecks as a reason for delivering fewer vehicles than expected; their shares fell 3.7% in immediate AH trading (RT)

• IBM beat profit and revenue estimates and raised its FY revenue growth forecast as revenue grew 6.5% YoY; their stock jumped 4.4% in AH trading (CNBC)

• Procter & Gamble topped EPS and revenue estimates as higher pricing helped offset lower sales volume and currency headwinds, but the company lowered guidance and expects a $1.3B FY blow amid rising dollar; their stock rose 0.8% yesterday (CNBC)

• Nasdaq reported strong Q3 EPS and revenue on a 6% YoY increase in net revenues, while also relaying confidence in their positions amidst rising rates; their stock fell ~2.5% yesterday (Nasdaq)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: Blackstone, Snap Inc.

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US economic activity expanded modestly in recent weeks (RT)

• UK inflation hit a 40-year high at 10.1% in September (RT)

• Canada inflation edged down to 6.9% in September (RT)

• Bank of Japan ruled out countering weak yen with rate hike (RT)

• Global VC deals fell below $100B in Q3 to lowest level since Q4 2017 (BW)

• Startups are taking on debt to avoid valuation hits despite high interest rates (WSJ)

• Typical US households are spending $445 more per month than one year ago (CNBC)

• Venture FOMO returns as investors chase Artificial Intelligence deals (TI)

• 27 SPAC deals worth $12.8B have been liquidated this year amid poor markets and new buyback tax (CNBC)

• US single-family home starts fell to lowest level in over two years (RT)

• Remote work may have fueled a mini-baby boom among US women (AX)

• US will award $2.8B for projects to boost EV battery manufacturing (CNBC)

• BlackRock told UK it will not stop investing in fossil fuels (RT)

• JPMorgan launched their Capital Connect platform to connect startup founders with VC investors to simplify the fundraising process (RT)

• BMW will invest $1.7B in US to build EVs and batteries (CNBC)

• Chase bank is giving customers early access to direct deposits in challenge to fintech rivals (CNBC)

• Netherlands will follow Spain and pull out of treaty protecting energy investments (RT)

• AT&T is in talks to create an up to $15B valuation JV to expand fiber-optic networks (BBG)

• Kevin Hart's early-stage VC firm Hartbeat Ventures took in its first institutional investment from JPMorgan (TC)

• Weed is coming to Circle K gas stations in US next year (BBG)

• Hong Kong may let bankers who get covid at the HKMA summit exit on private jets (BBG)

A Message From Stream

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• EQT and Tillman Infrastructure are lining up rival bids to buy Brookfield’s 45% stake in French towers firm TDF, a business worth ~$6.8B (RT)

• Spirit Airlines shareholders approved the carrier’s $3.8B sale to JetBlue (BBG)

• EQT is considering a sale of North American bus services operator First Transit that could fetch up to $1B (BBG)

• Abu Dhabi transferred ownership of Etihad Airways to wealth fund ADQ and appointed Antonoaldo Neves as new CEO (RT)

• SurveyMonkey owner Momentive Global is weighing a sale after receiving takeover interest; the company has a market value of ~$958M (BBG)

• PE firm CPE is reviving the $300-400M sale of Chinese hair treatment chain Zhuhai Hairology after halting the process during the pandemic (BBG)

• Dubai-listed courier firm Aramex agreed to buy Florida-based e-commerce company Access USA Shipping for ~$265M (RT)

• Veleas Capital Partners agreed to buy a minority stake in Sequoia Financial Group for $200M (BBG)

• Nestlé agreed to buy the Seattle’s Best Coffee brand from Starbucks (WSJ)

• Activist investor Elliott Investment Management took a stake in Fresenius, with a view of potentially untangling the health-care company (BBG)

• Chinese automaker Geely is considering boosting its stake in luxury-car maker Aston Martin up to 10% over time (BBG)

VC

• Sweden-based H2 Green Steel raised a $254M Series B co-led by AMF, GIC and Schaeffler to build the world's first large scale green steel plant (PRN)

• Munich-based software and services vacation rental startup Holidu raised a $102M Series E of 75% equity and 25% debt from Northzone, Prime Ventures, EQT Ventures and others (TC)

• MaxAB, an Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform for food and grocery supplies, raised a $40M pre-Series B from 4DX Ventures, Flourish Ventures and other existing investors (TC)

• Precision-built health plan solution Vitori Health received $30M in funding from BV Investment Partners (PRN)

• Nourish Ingredients, a food tech company creating animal-free fats using synthetic biology, raised a $28.6M Series A led by Horizons Ventures (TC)

• Product supply chain management platform Makersite raised an $18M Series A round with participation from Planet A Ventures (TC)

• Free electric ride-hailing business Freebee raised an $8M Series A led by bp ventures (PRN)

• Reverion, a startup extracting electricity out of biogas and existing fuel-cell technology, raised a $7M seed round from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection, European Social Fund and XPrize (TC)

• Mental health care provider Mindful Care raised a $7M Series B led by Sopris Capital (PRN)

• Channel activation leader Relevize raised a $6M seed round led by Insight Partners (PRN)

• Nigerian retail automation platform Bumpa raised a $4M seed round led by Base10 Partners (TC)

• Hello Divorce, a legal fintech platform making divorce processes easier, raised a $3.25M seed round led by The Artemis Fund (PRN)

• Nexta, an Egyptian fintech launching a 'next-gen banking' app, received a $3M investment from eFinance Group (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Saudi Aramco is planning to IPO its oil-trading unit in Riyadh as soon as this year at a potential $30B+ valuation (BBG)

SPAC

• Malaysian payments technology firm Super Apps agreed to merge with Technology and Telecommunication Acquisition Corp. in a $1.1B deal (RT)

Fundraising

• Edelweiss Wealth Management is looking to raise ~$362M for a new venture debt fund (BBG)

• SaaS and B2B focused growth-stage VC firm Avataar Venture is targeting $350M for its new Fund II (YS)

• Albion Capital is seeking to raise ~$56M across its six VC trusts (FT)

• Maven Capital Partners launched a ~$45M fundraise across four VC trusts (FT)

• Lionel Messi launched an investment firm called Play Time Sports-Tech to invest in sports, media and technology globally (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Buffett-backed digital bank Nubank will launch its own cryptocurrency in Brazil (CNBC)

• Israel is preparing to issue government bonds via blockchain technology (RT)

• Aaron Iovine, a former exec at bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, joined JPMorgan as director of crypto regulatory policy (RT)

Exec's Picks

• NEW MERCH JUST DROPPED: The weather is getting colder, and it's time to break out your fall outfits. We just dropped new Litagonia long sleeves for the fall season, get yours here 🤝 (pic below for reference)

• Business Insider published a funny, but fascinating piece on the biggest charlatans in financial markets over the last couple of years. Check it out here.

• Nat Eliason joined the Danny Miranda Podcast for a wild conversation that covered everything getting lost (and rug-pulled) in the crypto rabbit hole to making a living as a creator. Check it out 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:

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