Never Forget 🇺🇸

Author

Litquidity Capital
September 11, 2025

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Good Morning,

Today, we begin by remembering those we lost on September 11, 2001, and are in gratitude to the first responders and countless others who embodied courage and unity. May we never forget.

Quick recap of yesterday's news: The S&P and Nasdaq hit all-time highs, Larry Ellison gained $100B in net worth to become the world's richest man, Mexico slapped a 50% tariff on Chinese cars, BNPL giant Klarna began trading on the NYSE, Oracle and OpenAI signed a monster cloud deal, and Charlie Kirk was assassinated while hosting an event at Utah Valley University.

Specialized AI tools are emerging as the leaders for investment workflows which is why Blueflame AI is ahead of the curve. Check out their platform and see how Blueflame AI can serve your firm's specific needs.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 9/10/2025 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks rose yesterday as investors digested a surprise decline in wholesale inflation

    • S&P and Nasdaq notched new ATHs

    • Traders suggest that the PPI print rolled out the red carpet for a Fed rate cut next week

  • South Korea's KOSPI index jumped 1.7% to its first ATH in four years

  • MSCI's global stock index hit a new ATH

  • US Treasury yields hit their lowest since April

  • Copper rose above $10k / ton in London

Earnings

  • Chewy met Q2 earnings estimates and raised FY sales guidance as active customers rose 4.5% and sales per customer increased to $591 (BN)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Kroger, Adobe

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Never fade Larry Ellison.

  • 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

  • US producer inflation unexpectedly fell (CNBC)

  • SEC chair threatened ban on European accounting rules over ESG (RT)

  • Goldman's CEO expects to see busiest IPO week in four years (RT)

  • Apollo and KKR execs share dire prediction for some PE firms (BBG)

  • Private capital listing plans stoke hopes of a London IPO revival (FT)

  • Investors plowed $45B in EM assets in August but cracks show (RT)

  • Mexico to slap 50% tariff on Chinese cars under US pressure (RT)

  • SEC targets US firms tied to suspected Chinese 'pump and dump' sams (FT)

  • Larry Ellison topped Musk to become the world's richest person (BBG)

  • Oracle signed a $300B computing deal with OpenAI, one of the largest cloud contracts ever signed (WSJ)

  • Shorts return to AppLovin despite $3.4B squeeze (BBG)

  • Oracle options bulls are set for a $1.5B windfall (BBG)

  • Gold miner Newmont applied to delist from Toronto Stock Exchange (RT)

  • Chipotle plans Asia debut, with stores in Singapore and South Korea (RT)

  • Trump had a heated call with Netanyahu over Israeli strike on Qatar (WSJ)

  • Trump asks appeals court to let him oust Fed’s Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud (BBG)

  • Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk is set to cut 9,000 jobs (WSJ)

  • Charlie Kirk was killed in an assassination (CNBC)

A Message from Blueflame AI

Investment decisions hinge on having the full picture, but critical details often hide in plain sight. 

That's why we built Global Search: to help investment firms not only find information faster but also uncover insights they didn't even know they had. 

Global Search is already helping Blueflame users reduce research time and surface insights they'd otherwise miss. A few real-world examples: 
 
 ✅ Build company summaries using deal notes, CRM records, emails, and public data 
 ✅ Reference historical deals to inform comps, memos, or diligence workflows 
 ✅ Search firm-wide knowledge for everything related to a sector or theme 
 ✅ Prepare for LP meetings with relationship-specific insights and internal context 

With one interface for firm knowledge, connected apps, LLMs, and the web, Blueflame helps dealmakers and investment firms go deeper—and move faster—without sacrificing accuracy. 

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Blackstone, CVC and KKR are among bidders in talk to acquire Siemens Healthineers' diagnostics segment, at a potential $7B valuation

  • Chinese PE firm Centurium Capital is considering selling its stake in Chinese biopharma group Taiang Biologic Group at a $6B valuation

  • China's Shenzhen Dongyangguang Industry agreed to acquire datacenter assets from Bain Capital-backed WinTrix DC Group for $4B

  • Brookfield is weighing a $2.2B sale of European student housing company International Campus

  • European mobile app developer Bending Spoons agreed to acquire online video platform Vimeo in a $1.38B all-cash deal at a 91% premium

  • PE firm Vector Capital agreed to acquire database startup SingleStore from Google and Dell Technologies; the company was last valued at $1.3B in 2022

  • Convenience store operator RaceTrac agreed to acquire sandwich chain Potbelly for $566M cash

  • Blackstone acquired the luxury East Miami hotel from a JV between Trinity Investments and Certares Real Estate Management for $325M

  • Oscar winning animation studio Lion Forge Entertainment raised $30M from HarbourView Equity Partners

  • Samsung Life Insurance agreed to acquire a stake in UK private credit firm Hayfin Capital Management, joining Mubadala and AXA IM Prime

  • European PE firm Cinven acquired a majority stake in accounting firm Grant Thornton's Germany unit

  • Luxury group Kering delayed its acquisition of Italian fashion brand Valentino amid debt concerns

  • Holding company Aquarium is the sole bidder left in the process to acquire life insurer Brighthouse after TPG, Apollo, and Carlyle dropped out

  • Norway's energy giant Equinor is mulling combining renewable assets with Danish wind developer Orsted

  • PE firm Warburg Pincus will acquire Park Place Technologies and merge it with Service Express to create a global data center leader

VC

  • Quantum computing startup PsiQuantum raised a $1B Series E at a $7B valuation led by BlackRock, Temasek, and Baillie Gifford

  • Replit, a cloud-based coding platform for developers, raised a $250M round at a $3B valuation led by Prysm Capital

  • Speedchain, a fintech specializing in commercial card programs and expense management for project-driven sectors, raised $111M from Community Investment Management and GTM Fund, Village Global, and others

  • CuspAI, a UK startup using AI to help companies discover and develop new materials, raised an $100M Series A led by NEA and Temasek

  • PixVerse, an AI video platform, raised a $60M Series B led by Alibaba

  • Adaptive Security, a cybersecurity company preventing AI-based social engineering attacks, raised $55M in funding from OpenAI Startup Fund

  • Fyxer AI, an AI-powered assistant for everyday professionals, raised a $30M Series B led by Madrona

  • Optain Health, a healthcare startup applying AI, robotic retinal imaging, and teleophthalmology, raised a $26M Series A led by Insight Partners

  • Atolio, a startup building a private AI-powered enterprise search platform, raised a $24M Series A led by Translink Capital

  • UK AI clinical workforce platform TERN Group raised a $23M Series A led by Notion Capital

  • Syncari, an enterprise data platform, raised a $20M Series B led by Escape Venture Investing

  • SaaS-based security platform Red Access raised a $17M Series A led by Norwest Venture Partners

  • AI gaming startup Born raised a $15M Series A from Accel, Tencent, and Laton Ventures

  • Social platform Clyx raised a $14M Series A led by Blitzscaling Ventures

  • AI-powered email security startup AegisAI raised a $13M seed round led by Accel and Foundation Capital

  • LightSpun, an AI-powered dental insurance administration platform, raised a $13M Series A led by Brewer Lane

  • Standard Fleet, a fleet management platform, raised a $13M Series A led by Nova Threshold

  • Hush Security, a secretless policy-based access platform for machine identities, raised an $11M seed round led by Battery Ventures and YL Ventures

  • Blocks.diy, an AI-powered platform for teams, raised a $10M seed round led by monday.com

  • Aurelius Systems, a defense technology startup, raised a $10M seed round led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates

  • Meet5, a German socializing app for people over 40, raised a $9M Series A led by Peak

  • Agent-native cybersecurity startup Geordie raised a $6.5M seed round led by Ten Eleven Ventures and General Catalyst

  • Elysian, a startup using AI to transform commercial insurance claims, raised a $6M seed round led by Portage

  • TwinMind, a startup building an AI-powered app to be your ‘second brain,’ raised a $5.7M seed round led by Streamlined Ventures

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Klarna jumped 30% in its trading debut for a $20B valuation after its US IPO; it ended the first trading session up 14.55% 

  • Chinese EV firm Nio raised $1B in a share sale

  • E-commerce reseller Pattern is seeking to raise $321.4M in its IPO

  • Activist Elliott took a 5% stake in Japanese regional utility Kansai Electric

Debt

  • Colombia raised $4.8B in its first eurobond offering in almost ten years

  • India's Tata Motors is syndicating a $4.5B bridge loan to fund its acquisition of Italian truck marker IVECO's commercial vehicle business

  • Lenders including Blackstone and Ares will provide $3.6B in private credit to help finance Warburg Pincus' acquisition of data center infrastructure firm Park Place Technologies

  • China's Alibaba is seeking to raise $3.17B in what may be this year's biggest convertible notes offering

  • $22B-listed AI infrastructure firm Nebius will raise $3B across a private convertible senior notes offering and an underwritten public share offering

  • China Pacific Insurance is seeking to raise $2B in a convertible bond sale

  • Bolivia raised $590M against future gold deliveries

  • Titanium-dioxide maker Tronox is seeking to raise up to $400M through five-year senior secured notes

  • A group of investors led by BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners is in talks with lenders including JPMorgan and SMBC to secure $10.3B in financing for Saudi Aramco's Jafurah Midstream Gas Company JV deal

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • CVS-unit Omnicare tapped A&Ml to help with cash flow and operations after being ordered to pay $950M for a drug fraud suit

  • US subprime car lender Tricolor Holdings collapsed into bankruptcy amid fraud, leaving JPMorgan and Fifth Third exposed to over $200M in losses 

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • European PE firm Ardian is on track to raise over $11.7B for its sixth fund targeting European infrastructure investments

  • Blue Owl Capital raised $2.7B in debt and equity for a fund-backed note tied to its Dyal Capital Partners IV fund

  • Mezzanine investor Peninsula Capital Partners raised $400M for its eighth flagship fund

  • Australian real estate investment firm Wentworth raised $230M for its first opportunistic real estate fund

  • Lincoln Financial and Bain Capital partnered to launch an evergreen private credit fund for individual investors 

  • Brookfield lined up backers for its new AI infrastructure strategy

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Winklevoss twins lean on MAGA as Gemini losses mount ahead of IPO

  • Shares in Bitcoin hoarders sink as 'crypto treasury' mania sours

  • SEC chair vowed to end legal chaos in crypto with promise of 'golden age'

  • POP Culture Group buys $33M in Bitcoin, plans to expand into ‘entertainment’-related crypto treasury holdings

  • SEC delays decisions on staking for Ethereum ETFs, along with XRP and SOL funds

Subscribe to Crypto Sum for the best daily roundup on everything crypto.

Exec’s Picks

Finance & Startup Recruiting 💼

Litney Partners

Featured role(s):

  • BlueFlame is seeking two Product Strategists, one focused on investment banking and another focused on private equity

  • The product strategy team bridges the capabilities of the technology they build with domain-specific needs and expectations of their clients

  • The ideal candidates will have between 3-5 years of front office experience at top-tier IB / PE firms

  • Opportunity for junior bankers or PE investors to break into the AI technology field

  • Competitive base of $175k-$200k + bonus and benefits

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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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