Never Skip Due Diligence

Author

Litquidity Capital
June 26, 2025

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Good Morning,

Jane Street's co-founder was duped into funding AK-47s for a South Sudan coup planned by a Harvard fellow. One slip up in due diligence and next thing you know, you're overthrowing governments 🤦

Also, lots of mixed reactions to the NYC mayor Democratic primary but Twitter sums up the sentiment perfectly…

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 6/25/2025 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks closed flat yesterday as investors digested comments from J Pow's Congressional testimony

    • Nasdaq 100 hit another ATH

    • Nvidia re-passed Microsoft as the world's most valuable company after hitting a new ATH

    • Traders fully priced in a 25 bps rate cut in September

  • EM assets are outperforming developed markets YTD 

  • US 5Y-30Y yield curve steepened to its most since 2021

  • Euro hit its highest since October 2021

  • Hong Kong intervened to defend dollar peg as local currency drops

Earnings

  • Micron beat Q3 earnings and revenue estimates and issued upbeat Q4 guidance on strong data center-related sales (CNBC)

  • Jefferies missed Q2 earnings estimates as profit slumped 40% YoY on weaker IB and muted capital markets activity amid geopolitical uncertainty, though the firm noted improving sentiment around global tariffs (BBG)

  • General Mills beat Q4 earnings but missed revenue estimates and issued a downbeat profit outlook citing consumer pullback and ongoing macro pressures from tariffs, global conflicts, and regulatory uncertainty (BBG)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Nike, Walgreens Boots Alliance

    • Full calendar here 

Prediction Markets

  • Aah sh*t, here we go again…

  • 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

  • Jane Street's co-founder was 'duped' into funding AK-47s for South Sudan coup (BBG)

  • J Pow emphasized focus on taming inflation in Congress testimony (CNBC)

  • Trump considers naming New Fed chair early to undermine J Pow (WSJ)

  • Fed plans to reduce post-2008 bank capital requirements (BBG)

  • Senator Warren demanded information on PE firms' tax break lobbying (FT)

  • US long-term bond funds saw the largest inflows in two years in May (RT)

  • JPMorgan launched its largest active ETF (RT)

  • State Street's private credit ETF inflow drought finally ends (BBG)

  • Wealth managers gear up to put UK retail savings into private assets (FT)

  • UBS will merge its M&A and Sponsor Advisory units in IB revamp (BBG)

  • China collateral demands are curbing EMs' ability to manage finances (RT)

  • EU agreed to rules on winding down failed banks (BBG)

  • OpenAI and Microsoft CEOs discussed future of current partnership (RT)

  • Mideast crisis is testing Dubai and Abu Dhabi's haven status (BBG)

  • Nestle USA will eliminate synthetic food colors (RT)

  • Bumble will layoff 30% of its staff (BBG)

A Message from Plaid

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Shell denied reports of talks to acquire $80B-listed oil rival BP

  • Josh Harris' 26North Partners agreed to acquire a controlling stake in AV systems provider AVI-SPL from Marlin Equity Partners at an over $1B valuation

  • Tritax Big Box REIT agreed to acquire UK's Warehouse REIT for $663M, beating out a prior bid from Blackstone

  • Italy's top football league Serie A is considering selling a stake in its international media rights business

  • Community Bank First Commonwealth will acquire seven Santander branches in Pennsylvania from Santander Bank, adding ~$525M in deposits

VC

  • AI-powered healthcare company Abridge raised a $300M Series E at a $5.3B valuation led by a16z

  • Prediction market platform Kalshi raised a $185M round at a $2B valuation led by Paradigm

  • Prediction market platform Polymarket is set to raise a $200M round at a $1B valuation led by Founders Fund

  • Cryptography startup Zama raised a $57M Series B at a $1B+ valuation led by Blockchange Ventures and Pantera Capital

  • UK HR tech platform Metaview raised a $35M Series B led by GV

  • Synthflow, a German easy-to-setup enterprise-grade conversational AI platform, raised a $20M Series A led by Accel

  • SuperDial, a voice AI startup, raised a $15M Series A led by SignalFire

  • Integrated Indian e-commerce products startup GoKwik raised a $13M round at a $450M pre-money valuation led by RTP Global

  • Skyramp, an AI-driven testing platform, raised a $10M seed round led by Sequoia Capital

  • Quantum networking platform Qunnect raised a $10M Series A extension led by Airbus Ventures

  • Unchained Robotics, a startup automating industrial processes, raised a $10M Series A extension from Direttissima, Navivo Capital, and more

  • Claira, an AI-powered deal intelligence platform for financial institutions, raised a $7M seed round led by Barclays, Citi, and Reimagine Tech Ventures

  • Holographic display technology startup Swave Photonics raised a $7M Series A follow-on led by IAG Capital Partners

  • BackOps, an AI operations platform for supply chain workflows, raised a $6M seed round led by Construct Capital

  • Better Auth, an open source framework for devs to simplify user authentication, raised a $5M seed round from Peak XV, Y Combinator, P1 Ventures, and Chapter One

  • AI dating app Sitch raised a $5M seed round from M13 and a16z

  • Lux Aeterna, a startup building reusable satellites, raised a $4M pre-seed round led by Space Capital, Dynamo Ventures, and Mission One Capital

  • Bruce Markets, an extended hours platform for trading US equity markets, raised a strategic investment round from Apex Fintech, Fidelity Investments, Nasdaq Ventures, Robhinhood, Webull, and others

IPOs / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • TSMC's overseas unit TSMC Global will issue $10B in new stock to bolster FX hedging

  • HDB Financial Services, the shadow lending unit of India's HDFC Bank, began taking orders for an India IPO that could raise $1.5B at a $7B valuation

  • German  stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse is preparing a $1B IPO of its data unit ISS Stoxx

  • Hong Kong insurance company FWD Group is seeking to raise $442M in a Hong Kong IPO, with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Capital and Japan’s T&D Holdings serving as cornerstone investors

  • WuXi AppTec-backed life-sciences AI and robotics company MegaRobo Technologies is planning a Hong Kong IPO to raise over $300M

  • Canadian miner OceanaGold plans a 'boring' dual listing in the US to boost its share liquidity without issuing new shares

SPAC

  • M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp., a SPAC backed by Tether's co-founder and an ex-Blackstone dealmaker, is raising $1B to invest in crypto

Debt

  • Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea is seeking $2.9B in loans to bolster its network and compete with larger rivals

  • Czech defense firm Czechoslovak Group is marketing $1.3B of junk bonds

  • Bain Capital raised ~$1B in debt to fund its $1B LBO of major fast-food chain franchise Sizzling Platter

  • Egypt raised $1B in an Islamic bond sale to Kuwait's largest bank Kuwait Finance House

  • Saudi bank Banque Saudi Fransi is seeking a $750M loan from banks in Asia

  • Italian lender BMPS plans to raise $580M in debt after the ECB cleared its Mediobanca takeover

  • Ghana plans to raise $290M in its first domestic bond sale since defaulting in 2022

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Black Lion Citgo Group, a consortium including family office Black lion, Quazar Investment, Fortress Management, and Anex Management, entered the court-ordered auction for Citgo Petroleum with an $8B bid

  • Saks Global Enterprises is negotiating with bondholders to secure ~$600M in new debt financing to bolster its liquidity position

  • Cle Elum, a small town in Washington, filed for rare munis bankruptcy after a dispute with developer City Heights Holdings led to a $26M court judgment it couldn't pay

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • Vista Equity Partners raised $5.6B for a single-asset continuation fund to retain ownership of Citrix and TIBCO-owner Cloud Software Group from its own funds and investors including secondaries specialist Coller Capital

  • Sentinel Global, founded by ex-GIC tech investment co-head Jeremy Kranz, raised $213M for its debut enterprise tech-focused VC fund

  • Quant hedge fund AQR launched its first new US mutual funds in four years, betting on levered strategies to boost returns

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • EU will disregard ECB warnings over stablecoin rules

  • US ordered Fannie and Freddie to find ways to count crypto as an asset

  • US Treasuries face stablecoin-driven demand surge as supply looms

  • Crypto coin designed to evade Russian sanctions has moved $9B

  • SoFi reintroduced crypto spot trading and global remittances

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

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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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