Together with

Happy Friday,

Trying to keep the vibes positive even though stocks and crypto continued to get absolutely smacked. It's a vast sea of red out there to start the year. Peloton is temporarily halting production of bikes / treadmills, Nasdaq is down 10% from its highs, Netflix dropped 20% on slowing subscriptions, Russia wants to outlaw crypto while NYC's mayor takes first paycheck in crypto, US home sales drop, and crypto.com had $30M of BTC/ETH stolen (Staples arena coming back???).

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

• Equity markets closed in the red across the board on Thursday, with the Nasdaq leading the way down thanks to Netflix’s ~20% tank

  • The Nasdaq is now more than 10% below its November record as it approaches correction territory

• On the economic data front, US existing home sales surged to a 15-year high in 2021 due to low borrowing rates and intense demand and are expected to continue to rise in early 2022, and weekly jobless claims came in at 286K (above the 220K consensus estimate)

• There are a few earnings reports to watch today, but the main thing investors will be focusing on over the weekend is news to come from next week’s two day Fed meeting

Earnings

• Netflix fell up to 20% in AH trading after growth numbers fell short of expectations; the company blamed a tough economy, especially in LatAm for the results. Investors infer that the company quietly admitted streaming competition ate into its growth (CNBC)

• American Airlines posted an earnings report where Q4 figures came in slightly ahead of estimates, but the airline forecasted a worse-than-expected Q1 sales drop (IBD)

• KeyBank recorded record revenue for both Q4 and FY’21 and also posted a comfortable EPS beat on the back of consumer and commercial loan growth (CL)

• Fifth Third Bank shares slid ~3% after missing on revenue even though Q4 EPS beat on estimates due to higher interest income (MW)

• What we’re watching today: Ally, Schlumberger

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Bank of Russia seeks to outlaw mining and trading of crypto (BBG)

• NYC Mayor Eric Adams to get his first paycheck in Bitcoin and Ethereum (BBG)

• Iconic Banksy works from Robbie Williams collection to be sold (BBG)

• Sales of existing US homes drop for first time in four months (BBG)

• Unilever faces new attack from investors over health credentials (BBG)

• Carlyle prepares to raise its biggest ever European buyout fund (BBG)

• BHP shareholders back single listing as miner mulls M&A (BBG)

• JPMorgan Chase raises Jamie Dimon’s pay 10% to $34.5M for 2021 (BBG)

• Peloton plummets on reports of production pause over slow demand (BBG)

• Bank of America’s job cuts offer a road map for navigating higher costs (BBG)

• Walmart’s top US e-commerce executive is leaving (WSJ)

• 2FA compromise led $34M Crypto.com hack (TC)

A Message From Mizzen+Main

Your employer wants you back in the office, but you aren’t ready to switch out your sweatshirts for dress shirts just yet.

Thanks to Mizzen+Main, you don’t have to choose between comfort and style. Made from a 4-way stretch, wrinkle-resistant, and quick-dry fabric, their lineup of dress shirts combines the relaxed feeling of your favorite home-office t-shirt with the sharpest look on Wall Street.

Don’t have time to run by the dry cleaners when you’re back in the office? No problem.

To have your favorite shirt ready for tomorrow, just pop your Mizzen+Main shirts in with the rest of your load. It’s easy as ever to incorporate your new favorite dress shirts into your wardrobe. 

Upgrade your closet with breathable and comfortable dress shirts that leave you feeling and looking your best.

Use code EXECSUM for $35 off $125+ orders.

Deal Flow

M&A

• KKR is among suitors competing to buy BNY Mellon’s credit investment arm Alcentra that would add $43B of AUM (BBG)

• Mining firm Vedanta Resources plans to create a $10B fund to bid for assets including the Indian government’s ~53% stake in Bharat Petroleum worth $6B+ (RT)

• Chesapeake Energy is in advanced talks to buy privately owned natural gas producer Chief Oil & Gas for ~$2.4B (RT)

• PE firm Carlyle is weighing a $2B sale of defense firm Titan (BBG)

• US natural gas producer Unit Corp has hired a bank for the sale of its oil & gas producing assets in the Anadarko and Gulf Coast basins that could fetch ~$1B (RT)

• Permira and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority agreed to buy Italian family-run drugmaker Kedrion Biopharma (BBG)

• Jardine Matheson Holdings is exploring the sale of Jardine Restaurant Group, a subsidiary which operates KFC and Pizza Hut franchises in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Vietnam (RT)

• Automaker Hyundai agreed to buy a minority stake in Urban-Air Port, a UK startup designing hubs for flying taxis (BBG)

• A mystery bidder has once again raised their offer for publishing company R.R. Donnelley & Sons from $11 to $11.50 a share (BBG)

• Conglomerate Jardine Matheson is exploring options including a sale for its ~28% stake in Greatview Aseptic, who makes packaging for dairy, juice, and beverages producers, which has a current market value of ~$506M (BBG)

• Mercedes-Benz agreed to buy an unspecified minority stake in laser-technology company Luminar to use their products in new semi-autonomous driving features (BBG)

• Former Formula One team boss Eddie Jordan has pulled out of a potential bid to buy gambling software maker Playtech (RT)

VC

• 6sense, a platform for B2B organizations to generate predictable revenue, raised a $200M Series E at a $5.2B valuation led by Blue Owl and MSD Partners (PRN)

• Shoplazza, a Canadian e-commerce SaaS platform, raised a $150M Series C1 led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 (PRN)

• South Korean agtech startup Green Labs raised a $140M Series C led by BRV Capital Management (TC)

• Pixis, a contextual codeless AI infrastructure provider, raised a $100M Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (BW)

• Cloud-based software provider BigTime Software received a $100M strategic growth investment from Vista Equity Partners (BW)

• ONI, a biotechnology startup that enables pristine observation of single molecules, raised a $75M Series B led by ARCH Venture Partners and Casdin Capital (BW)

• PlanRadar, a startup digitizing the global construction and real estate industry, raised a $69M Series B co-led by Insight Partners and Quadrille Capital (PRN)

• ‘Quanum-as-a-service’ startup Terra Quantum raised a $60M Series A (BW)

• Quantum computing startup Atom Computing raised a $60M Series B led by Third Point Ventures (PRN)

• Vartana, a startup providing B2B managed checkout, raised a $57M debt-equity hybrid round from Audacious Ventures, i80 Group, and more (BW)

• Cloud security and compliance automation solution provider Anitian raised a $55M Series B led by Sageview Capital (PRN)

• Data analytics acceleration platform Pavilion Data Systems raised a $45M round led by Kleiner Perkins and Artiman Ventures (PRN)

• Shakepay, leading Canadian bitcoin platform, raised an 842 BTC Series A at a 5986 BTC valuation led by QED Investors (BW)

• Pharmaceutical drug delivery platform company Windgap Medical raised a $39M Series B-1 led by Taiwania Capital (PRN)

• Spaceplane startup Radian raised a $27.5M seed round led by Fine Structure Ventures (PAYLOAD)

• Customer referral platform Mention Me raised a $25M Series B led by Octopus Ventures (TC)

• Low-code data engineering platform Prophecy raised a $25M Series A led by Insight Partners (TC)

• Swell Commerce, a headless e-commerce platform, raised a $20M Series A led by VMG Catalyst and Headline (PRN)

• Media startup Workweek launched a $10M venture fund that allows creators to earn carried interest on deals they source (TI)

• CodeSee, a startup building a code visualization platform, raised a $7M seed round led by Wellington Access Ventures, Plexo Capital, and Menlo Ventures (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• CVC Capital Partners is working with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley on potential $20B IPO (BBG)

• Chinese lithium supplier Tianqi is working with banks on a potential share sale that could raise $1-$2B (BBG)

• File-sharing platform WeTransfer is looking to raise up to $286M in an Amstredam IPO (BBG)

• Chinese AI startup Alnnovation priced its Hong Kong IPO at the bottom of its marketed range to raise ~$151M (BBG)

SPAC

• KKR-backed SPAC, KKR Acquisition Holdings I Corp., is said to weigh deal for PetSmart at $14B value (BBG)

Exec's Picks

• Learn from the world's best startup investors. What if you could learn from the first investor in Uber, or a founder that sold his business for $200M? Early Public Offering gives you access to these experts with its newsletter and video platform. Sign up 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.

See below for a few featured job opportunities:

• Matchbook Capital, the corporate venture arm of Swisher, is hiring an Associate to work out of their Jacksonville, FL office. The associate will be responsible for developing, managing, and owning incubations or acquisition projects to bring a new set of innovative products to market. The ideal candidate will have 2-5 years of experience in a start-up, start-up environment, or consulting firm. Apply here.

• Podium Education, one of the fastest growing edtech companies in the US, is hiring a Head of Finance to work out of their Austin, TX HQ. The HoF will be instrumental in scaling the business and maintaining the financial health of Podium as they enter a high growth phase. The ideal candidate will have at least 6+ years of experience in IB, PE, or FP&A. Apply here.

Meme Cleanser

Advertise with us // Visit our merch store // Invest alongside Lit Ventures

Catch the latest episode of our Big Swinging Decks podcast on Spotify and Apple Music 🤝