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European stocks are lagging US by record margin, equity funds saw decade-high inflows, bank trading assets hit pre-2008 highs, ByteDance's valuation rose to $300B, and PE firms are turning to 'NAV loans' in yet another unique search for liquidity.

Move on from the daily deluge of tedious tasks and streamline all your investment processes with BlueFlame AI, an enterprise GenAI for private markets.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks fell on Friday as investors digested hawkish Fed comments and economic data

• Gold suffered its worst week in three years 

• Dollar rose for its best week since September

Earnings

• Alibaba beat quarterly earnings estimates but missed on revenue due to sluggish Chinese consumer spending (CNBC) 

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Tuesday: Walmart, Lowe's

  • Wednesday: Nvidia, Palo Alto Networks, Target, TJX

  • Thursday: John Deere, Baidu, Gap

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• US retail sales rose 0.4% in October (BBG)

• Fed's Collins says December rate cut not a 'done deal' (WSJ)

• PE turns to collateralized fund obligations in new risky way to tap liquidity (BBG)

• European stocks are lagging US by record margin (FT)

• Trading assets at US banks crossed $1T for first time since GFC (FT)

• Equity funds saw the largest weekly inflow in a decade (RT)

• EM stocks saw the largest foreign monthly outflow since Covid (RT)

• Firms raised over $50B in US bond markets last week (FT)

• Ilex, Shiprock join list of hedge funds closing to new cash (BBG)

• TikTok-owner ByteDance's valuation rose to $300B (WSJ)

• Musk's rise stirs hope for banks to offload $13B of Twitter LBO debt (RT)

• Samsung announced a $7.2B buyback amid historic struggles (BBG)

• JPMorgan weighs options for London HQ as it outgrows office (RT)

• GM plans to cut 1k salaried workers in cost-cutting bid (BBG)

• Historic Netflix Paul-Tyson livestream was plagued by glitches (TC) 

• Prosecutors are seeking a 21-year sentence for Bill Hwang (RT)

• Republicans win presidency, House, Senate and popular vote in 2024 election sweep (BBG)

A Message from BlueFlame

Unlock the Power of Your Firm's Collective Knowledge with BlueFlame AI

BlueFlame AI is a GenAI solution for private markets, designed to harness the vast knowledge accumulated within your firm.

• Search everywhere: access and aggregate information from all sources

  • Entire shared drives (Box, Dropbox, Egnyte)

  • CRM systems (Deal Cloud, Salesforce)

  • Outlook emails and calendar

  • Market data platforms (CapIQ, PitchBook, Grata)

  • Google and news feeds

  • Pre-loaded 10-Ks/Qs and earnings transcripts

• Knowledge management:

  • Build and organize libraries of CIMs, board decks, expert network transcripts, C-suite candidate resumes, and more

  • Quickly retrieve prior deal data and portfolio company financials

  • Identify research insights and trends across your firm's data

• Intelligent output:

  • Generate reports in template PowerPoint or Word formats

  • Automate tedious tasks like data aggregation for valuations / comps

BlueFlame AI empowers your team to effortlessly navigate your firm's collective intelligence, enhancing decision-making and operational efficiency.

Experience the transformative power of BlueFlame AI. Request a demo today and revolutionize how you leverage your firm's knowledge.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• KKR raised its offer for Japanese software firm Fuji Soft to $4.1B to match Bain Capital's rival bid 

• Nordic Capital is nearing a $2.5B acquisition of patent software company Anaqua from PE firm Astorg Partners 

• Halozyme Therapeutics proposed to buy German drug developer Evotec for $2.1B cash 

• Compass Minerals is in talks to sell to PE firms at a $1.5B valuation, including debt 

• A consortium including Saudi Arabia's Zahid Group and Entsha is in talks to acquire Barloworld, an African distributor of Caterpillar equipment, for $876M 

• Macquarie is considering selling its 45% stake in one of Philippines' largest independent telecom tower firms at a $700M-$800M valuation 

• A JV between India's NTPC Green Energy and ONGC Green Energy submitted a leading $650M bid for Ayana Renewable Power 

• Pest control giant Rentokil Initial is exploring a sale of its $528M French workwear business 

• UK's TT Electronics rejected a takeover offer from an unnamed party that exceeded peer Volex's $315M bid 

VC

• Musk's xAI is raising up to $6B at a $50B valuation led by Mideast SWFs

• Drone manufacturer Skydio raised a $170M Series E extension at a $2.2B valuation led by KDDI and Axon 

• The Exploration Company, a startup building Europe's first reusable space capsule, raised a $160M Series B led by Balderton Capital and Plural 

• Advanced nuclear tech startup Radiant raised a $100M Series C led by DCVC 

• Beta Bionics, a diabetes management solutions company, raised a $60M Series E led by Wellington Management 

• Plantible Foods, a startup using plants to promote health and longevity, raised a $30M Series B led by Piva Capital and Siddhi Capital 

• Kody, a UK PaaS provider for physical commerce, raised a $20M Series A

• French online shopping startup Just raised an $8.4M seed round led by Backed 

• Architectural AI platform Gendo raised a $5.5M seed round led by PT1 and LEA Partners 

• Molg, a robotic microfactory to disassemble complex electronics, raised a $5.5M seed round led by Closed Loop Partners, Techstars, and more 

• Mithrl, an AI-powered scientific research platform, raised a $4M seed round led by Bonfire Ventures 

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• French media giant Vivendi's planned London IPO of its Canal+ broadcasting unit could fetch an up to $8.4B valuation in London's biggest listing since 2022

• Home service software firm ServiceTitan, last valued at $7.6B in 2022, plans to file for an IPO this week

• German engineering conglomerate Thyssenkrupp plans to IPO its $1.6B naval shipbuilding unit

• UK-based theater giant Cineworld is considering a 2026 US IPO months after emerging from bankruptcy

• Chinese data center firm Zdata Technologies is considering a Hong Kong IPO at a potential $5B valuation

Debt 

• Mexico will transfer $6.7B to state oil firm Pemex to cover debt payments in 2025

• Alibaba plans to raise $5B in a dollar and offshore yuan bond sale

• SVP-backed German packaging firm Kloeckner Pentaplast is seeking $2.1B to refinance debt

• State Bank of India is seeking to raise $1.25B in India's largest dollar-denominated loan this year

• India's Adani Green Energy is looking to revive a dollar-bond sale

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Swedish debt collector Intrum filed for Chapter 11 to restructure $5.3B of debt

• Troubled Swedish battery developer Northvolt is scrambling for emergency funding after a $300M plan fell apart

• Elderly-care health system CareMax filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

• Food sanitation firm Cosmed Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid cancer-related lawsuits

Crypto Corner

• MicroStrategy has more Bitcoin than IBM, Nike, and others (BBG)

• RFK Jr. put most of his wealth into Bitcoin (CT) 

• Founder of crypto mixer Helix was sentenced to three years (WSJ)

• NFT weekly sales surged 94% amid crypto bullrun (CT)

Exec’s Picks

Larry Swedroe shared some insightful data that may explain if private credit is in a bubble.

Josh Brown shared his thoughts on why permabears are they way they are.

Harvard Business Review published an insightful piece on why the US healthcare system is so much worse than its peers.

Seeking impartial news? Meet 1440.

Every day, 3.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a brief 5-minute email. Enjoy an impartial news experience.

Join for free today!

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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