Monitoring the Situation

Author

Litquidity Capital
June 16, 2025

Together with

Good Morning,

Traders are monitoring the situation in the Middle East after Israel and Iran launched strikes. Also, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI are all cutting ties with Scale AI after Meta acquired half of the startup. Big Tech competition is no joke…

A team of Zillow execs founded Pacaso to democratize co-ownership of second homes. While they've already raised over $200M from notable VCs, they're inviting retail investors to become investors in their new growth round. Check out the opportunity.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 6/13/2025 market close.

Click here to learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks fell on Friday as the Israel-Iran conflict escalated

    • All three major indexes ended the week in red

  • Oil saw its biggest single-day gain since 2022

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Wednesday: Smith & Wesson

    • Friday: Kroger, Accenture, Darden Restaurants, CarMax

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Prediction markets are also monitoring the situation 👍

  • Trade your predictions on a range of events, only on Kalshi. Sign up with code LIT and get a $20 bonus when you trade $100.

Headline Roundup

  • Israel's strike on Iran is their biggest strike in history (BBG)

  • PE outpaces banks in scramble for graduate talent (FT)

  • General Atlantic follows Apollo in halting early junior banker recruiting (FT)

  • US consumer sentiment jumped by the most since January 2024 (BBG)

  • Fed on hold leaves investors asking what it will take to cut rates (BBG)

  • Over 50% of LPs are eying LP-led transactions in secondaries market (SI)

  • Corporate bond defaults have disappeared from China's onshore market (FT)

  • US equity funds saw the largest outflows in eleven weeks (BBG)

  • Global equity funds saw inflows for the first week in four (RT)

  • Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI will cut Scale AI contracts after Meta deal (RT)

  • Novo Nordisk again overtook SAP as Europe's most valuable firm (BBG)

  • Cybercriminals are posing as fake PE secondaries firms (BBG)

  • Renault CEO Luca de Meo will depart (RT)

  • Trump reported over $600M in income from crypto, golf, licensing fees (RT)

  • Influencer marketing gains ground as global ad budgets tighten (BBG)

  • Home sellers now outnumber buyers by the most since 2013 (WSJ)

A Message from Pacaso

Zillow helped millions buy their first homes.

Now, a former Zillow executive is reimagining how people buy second homes through his new venture Pacaso – unleashing the full potential of a $1.3T market.

In just under 5 years, Pacaso has already facilitated $1B+ in real estate transactions and service fees across 2,000+ happy customers and 40+ top destinations.

They recently reported 41% YoY gross profit growth last year, surpassing $110M+ in their operating history. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Pacaso is offering everyday investors the chance to invest in its current growth round. Invest in Pacaso as a private company for $2.90/share today.

This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving the ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the Nasdaq is subject to approvals.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • A consortium led by Abu Dhabi state-owned oil giant ADNOC, and including ADQ and Carlyle, offered to acquire Australian oil and gas producer Santos at an $18.7B valuation, a 28% premium

  • French banking group BPCE agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Portugal's Novo Banco from Lone Star Funds at a $7.4B valuation

  • Investment firms Starwood, Sixth Street, SSW, and Warburg Pincus, SWF QIA, and founders will acquire Hong Kong-listed warehouse operator ESR Group for $7B

  • UK precision instruments maker Spectris rejected a second takeover proposal from KKR, days after backing a possible competing $5B bid from Advent International

  • $2.4B-listed Japanese chemical manufacturer Taiyo Holdings will decide on privatization proposals from multiple PE firms by August

  • Canada's Dundee Precious Metals agreed to acquire UK-based silver mine operator Adriatic Metals in a cash and stock deal for ~$1.3B

  • $1B-UK listed lender Metro Bank received takeover interest from UK-based firm Pollen Street Capital

  • PE firm MPE agreed to acquire UK chain and gear maker Renold for $254M

  • Blackstone is in talks to acquire leisure travel firm Allegiant's troubled Sunseeker Resort

  • State Grid Corp. of China and Colombia's Grupo Energia Bogota are in talks to acquire Brookfield's Brazil power line Quantum Participacoes

VC

  • Enterprise banking fintech Ramp raised a $200M round at a $16B valuation led by Founders Fund

  • Sales automation startup Clay raised a Series C at a $3B valuation led by Capital G

  • Hiive Markets, a Canada-based pre-IPO marketplace to trade shares of VC-backed companies, plans to raise $100M this year

  • Look Up, a European orbital safety and space surveillance startup, raised a $58M Series A led by ETF Partners

  • German AI tutor platform Knowunity raised a $31M Series B led by XAnge

  • Intelligent industrial robotics startup Sunrise Robotics raised $8.5M in funding led by Plural

  • Coral Vita, a company scaling coral reef restoration, raised an $8M+ Series A led by Builders Vision

  • Zevo, a peer-to-peer EV car-sharing startup, raised $6M

  • Finofo, a FinOps platform for SMBs, raised a $3.3M seed round led by Watertower Ventures

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Brazilian meat producer giant JBS listed in US at a $15B market cap

  •  J.C. Flowers-backed debt collector Jefferson Capital is targeting a $1.1B valuation in its IPO

  • Asian healthcare provider Qualitas Health Group is considering raising ~$940M in a Malaysia IPO

  • Drone maker Airo jumped 140% in their IPO debut after raising $60M, at a $622M valuation

  • Soccer club investor Eagle Football Holdings filed confidentially for a US IPO

  • Activist investor Barington Capital built a 1% stake in Victoria's Secret 

Debt

  • Distressed Hong Kong developer New World Development's $11.1B loan refinancing plan requires unanimous lender approval or the deal will collapse

  • JPMorgan will launch a $6.5B debt sale to finance 3G Capital's $9.4B LBO of Skechers

  • Lenders are syndicating a $3B loan to back Australian software firm WiseTech Global's $2.1B acquisition of US supply chain software firm E2open, marking APAC's largest M&A loan this year

  • Trustar Capital is seeking a $900M-$1B loan to fund a dividend recap to shareholders in pallet maker Loscam Asia Pacific, which it owns a stake in alongside FountainVest Partners

  • Italian soccer club Inter Milan will repay $461M in high-yield bonds early, which are backed by the club's sponsorship and media rights

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Founder Anne Wojcicki and TTAM Research Institute won the auction for bankrupt DNA testing firm 23andMe's assets with a $305M bid, outbidding Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

  • Creditors of LNG firm New Fortress Energy organized amid a slump in bond prices

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • Energy investor Quantum Capital Group is seeking to raise $4.5B for its ninth flagship O&G-focused fund 

  • Swiss PE firm Partners Group's private credit evergreen fund AUM hit $2.3B

  • An ex-Man Group PM Yves Blechner plans to raise $500M to debut 44 Hill Capital Management, a London-based hedge fund focused on performing, special situations, and distressed credit investments

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Trump earned $58M from World Liberty Financial venture

  • SEC's new director of trading and markets has crypto ties

  • Retailers are using stablecoins to push back against card fees

  • Amazon and Walmart are weighing issuing stablecoins

  • Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the full stories on everything crypto!

Exec’s Picks

  • In M&A, complexity comes with the territory. How you navigate it sets you apart. SS&C Intralinks DealCentre AI is where AI-driven speed and human expertise move as one — accelerating execution and sharpening decision-making. Bring a clear advantage to every deal with Intralinks.

    Learn more.

  • Wall Street's dealmaking environment may not be so gloomy after all. Check out these charts on the state of M&A.

  • The US Army is now recruiting tech execs from Meta, OpenAI and more.

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.

We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot Advisers, LLC ("Autopilot"), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks, including loss of principal. As always, be smart out there. Litquidity is compensated to promote AutoPilot. Compensation details available upon request.

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