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Good Morning,

Musk found a new CEO for Twitter, Biden’s debt ceiling meeting with McCarthy got pushed back a week, Carl Icahn approved share buybacks, US weekly jobless claims hit an 18-month high, and SoftBank’s Vision Fund lost $2B in Q1.

Interested in making vacation rentals part of your portfolio before this summer? Check out today’s sponsor, Wander.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks had a mixed day as investors weighed more inflation data amid an on-going regional bank turmoil

  • Initial jobless claims increased to highest level since October 2021

  • The PPI notched its slowest rate of growth since January 2021

• Bitcoin fell below $27k as crypto market makers step back from US trading

Earnings

• Krispy Kreme beat Q1 expectations as revenue increased 12.5% YoY, driven by both domestic demand and sales through retail giants like Walmart and Target (YF)

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US PPI growth slowed to 2.3% YoY in April (CNBC)

• US weekly jobless claims hit an 18-month high (RT)

• Musk says he has found new CEO for Twitter (YF)

• Traders embrace bonds as recession angst builds (BBG)

• FDIC asks big banks to cover billions in losses (BBG)

• Deposit outflows after SVB collapse concentrated among 'super-regionals' (RT)

• SoftBank Vision Fund lost $2B in Q1, despite tech rebound (BBG)

• Biden’s debt ceiling meeting with McCarthy pushed to next week (BBG)

• PacWest stock plunges after the bank lost 9.5% of deposits last week (YF)

• Blackstone is in talks with US regional banks over lending partnerships (FT)

• Peloton shares slid after 2M+ bikes recalled (NYT)

• Turkish Airlines set to order 600 aircraft (RT)

• Carl Icahn’s firm authorized a share buyback, increasing shares backing his debt (BBG)

• BlackRock revamps credit, private asset business leadership (BBG)

• Quebec energy shortfall hurts EV supply chain, says lithium CEO (BBG)

• Investors bail on government contractors amid debt-ceiling standoff (BBG)

• Cathie Wood-linked ETF firm is shut down by Canada regulator (BBG)

• Adidas will sell some leftover Yeezy inventory instead of burning it (CNBC)

• Job satisfaction is at a four-decade high (WSJ)

A Message From Wander

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Mexican conglomerate Grupo Mexico is nearing a deal to acquire most of Citigroup's Banamex retail operations for ~$7B (BBG)

• A group of Vinda International Holdings managers is weighing a purchase of a 52%, ~$1.5B stake in Hong Kong-listed tissue maker Essity (BBG)

• An investment group that includes Bain Capital, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Ares Management bought a 20% stake in Canadian asset manager CI Financial for $1B, valuing the business at ~$5.3B (BBG)

• Pharmaceutical company GSK sold a $1B stake in Haleon after spinning off the consumer healthcare division last year (BBG)

• Family-owned Italian industrial conglomerate Angelini is set to invest $506M to fund the development of a new treatment for epilepsy by Japan’s JCR Pharmaceuticals (RT)

• Ovo Energy and Octopus Energy are bidding for Shell’s UK retail energy supply business as they seek to gain market share (BBG)

VC

• Driveco, an EV charging company, raised $258M in equity funding from APG, Mirova, and Corsica Sole (FN)

• AMP Robotics, a Denver, Colorado-based startup creating robotic systems that can automatically sort recyclable material, extended its Series C to $99M after a new investment from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund (TC)

• Digital healthcare guidance startup Amino Health raised $80M in debt and equity led by Transformation Capital and Oxford Finance (FN)

• Everseen, a provider of AI-powered computer vision and hyper-automation solutions, raised a $70.1M Series A led by Crosspoint Capital (BW)

• Ecorobotix, a Swiss-based manufacturer of the plant-by-plant recognition and precision spraying system ARA, raised a $52M round led by AQTON Private Equity and Cibus Capital (FN)

• NewBiologix, a gene / cell therapy manufacturing startup, raised a $50M Series A led by Recipharm (BW)

• Wingcopter, a German startup building an unmanned delivery drone, raised $43.7M in quasi-equity from the European Investment Bank (FN)

• Modern Hydrogen, a startup decarbonizing natural gas into clean hydrogen, raised a $32.8M Series B-2 led by NextEra Energy (BW)

• Wellthy, a caregiving startup, raised a $25.5M round led by Eldridge and Hearst (TC)

• AccelerComm, a company optimizing 5G radio access network performance, raised a $22.5M Series B led by Parkwalk, Swisscom, and Hostplus (BW)

• Climate action platform Cloverly raised a $19M Series A led by Grotech Ventures (PRN)

• Cable, a provider of the ‘all-in-one’ financial crime effectiveness testing platform, raised an $11M Series A from Stage 2 Capital and Jump Capital (BW)

• Odsy Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing the Odsy Network ecosystem, raised a $7.5M seed round led by Blockchange Ventures (FN)

• AudiencePlus, a media software company for B2B brands, raised a $5.4M seed round led by Emergence Capital (FN)

• Lavita AI, a provider of an AI+Web3 healthcare platform, raised a $5M seed round led by Camford Capital (FN)

• Sparrow Quantum, a Copenhagen-based quantum technology company, raised a $4M seed round led by 2xNand (FN)

• Sustainable performance fibers startup Werewool raised a $3.7M seed round led by Material Impact and Sofinnova Partners (FN)

• Integrated Projects, a provider of digitization services for building owners and designers, raised a $3M seed round led by 186 Ventures (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Adani Enterprise, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Transmission are considering raising between $3B-5B (RT)

• ADES International, an oil & gas driller backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, delayed its planned $1B IPO to H2 2023 (BBG)

• Beyond Meat plans to raise up to $200M in an equity offering as it contends with falling sales and a decline in cash reserves; shares fell ~18% to new lows (RT)

• Saudi Aramco is pushing back its planned mega IPO of its energy trading business (BBG)

• Investment firm Artal Group sold its remaining stake in Weight Watchers through a Rule 144 block trade, sending shares tumbling 19% (BBG)

• Italian steelmaker Feralpi is inviting investment banks to help arrange a possible IPO (RT)

• Moroccan clinic operator Oncorad plans to IPO in Casablanca in three years to finance its expansion plan (RT)

SPAC

• Photonics maker Syntec Optics is merging with OmniLit Acquisition in a $325M deal (MS)

Debt

• EQT is in talks with lenders to raise up to $1.5B to support its potential takeover bid of veterinary drugmaker Dechra Pharmaceuticals (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi received court permission to return $297M to customers with non-interest bearing accounts (RT)

• Bankrupt crypto exchange Bittrex received court permission to borrow $7M in Bitcoin to fund its Chapter 11 case (RT)

Fundraising

• Britain’s leading asset managers are in advanced talks to create a Future Growth Fund of $63.1B to invest in fast-growth technology and biotech firms (RT)

• Emirates created a $200M research fund focusing on reducing the impact of fossil fuel emissions in commercial aviation (RT)

• Tel Aviv-based Catalyst Funds raised $150M for its Catalyst IV to invest in growth companies in sectors such as cybersecurity, life sciences, mobility, and more (PRN)

• NYBC Ventures launched a $50M fund to accelerate innovation in blood-related fields (BW)

Crypto Corner

• Binance’s VC arm has grown assets from $7.5B to $9B, despite the bear market and volatility (CD)

• Pudgy Penguin’s $9M seed round could point to a growing NFT industry (TC)

• The IRS is working with Ukraine to track Russian crypto sanction evaders (BBG)

Exec’s Picks

• Farmland produces the food, fiber and fuel we rely on daily, and when prices rise, generally so do farmland values. When you invest in farmland, you invest in American agriculture and the enterprising farmers who support it. Join investors from across the U.S. in diversifying your portfolio with AcreTrader.*

• The Information published an interesting article looking at 34 startups that were on track to IPO recently but have since plummeted in value amidst rising rates and other macro factors. Check it out here.

• Bloomberg shared Jamie Dimon’s thoughts on what the Fed should do to end this banking crisis.

*AcreTrader Financial, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Farmland investing is speculative and involves high degree of risk, including complete loss of principal and not suitable for all investors. Past performance does not guarantee future results and there is no guarantee this trend will continue.

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