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Good Morning,

Jerome Powell said a March rate cut is not likely, Musk and Tesla’s board will have to start from scratch on a pay deal, Barry Sternlicht sees a $1T loss in the office market, Boeing is being sued by shareholders, remote workers and middle managers are first in line to be fired, and Brazil’s central bank cut rates.

Looking to upgrade your dress shoe game in 2024? Impress your coworkers with a new pair of Amberjacks.

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks fell after the Fed’s decision to keep rates steady and Chair Jerome Powell hinted that March rate cuts were unlikely 

  • The Nasdaq led indices with a 2.23% loss

• Chinese stocks continued their decline, with the CSI 300 falling to a five year low as traders unwind rescue bets

Earnings

• Qualcomm beat Q1 revenue and earnings estimates after sales of handset chips jumped 16% YoY, a sign of a possible recovery for the smartphone market (CNBC) 

• Boeing shares rose ~5% after narrowing its losses at the end of the year and reporting higher-than-expected revenue; the manufacturer did not provide guidance for 2024 (CNBC) 

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: Apple, Amazon, Meta, Royal Caribbean, Altria

  • Friday: Exxon, Chevron, Bristol Myers Squibb, AbbVie, Cigna

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Fed Chief Jerome Powell says a March rate cut is not likely (CNBC)

• Musk, Tesla board have to start from scratch after $56B pay deal thrown out (RT)

• Jeff Gundlach says all the ‘Goldilocks’ talk makes him nervous, thinks recession is still likely (CNBC)

• Novo Nordisk smashes past $500B value on Wegovy frenzy (BBG)

• Billionaire Sternlicht sees $1T loss in office values (BBG)

• Boeing is sued by shareholders following MAX 9 blowout (RT)

• Tech CEOs told ‘you have blood on your hands’ at US Senate child safety hearing (RT)

• Who is most likely to get fired? Remote workers, middle managers (BBG)

• Nelson Peltz tells Disney investors to reject two board directors (BBG)

• Brazil’s central bank cuts to 11.25% as inflation slows (BBG)

• US disrupts Chinese hacking campaign targeting critical infrastructure, officials say (RT)

• Meta’s continued rally could hinge on the fortunes of upstart retailers Temu and Shein (CNBC)

• Biden administration looks to forgive student debt of borrowers in hardship (CNBC)

• Trump says he would ‘absolutely’ block Nippon-US Steel deal (BBG) 

A Message From Amberjack

Rated #1 Best Overall Dress Shoes

A new year means it’s time to start thinking about upgrading your dress shoes, and there’s no better place to look than Amberjack.

Amberjack is the modern footwear brand started by former executives from Adidas, Cole Haan, & McKinsey. They've created the world's most advanced dress shoes, made with proprietary athletic materials that deliver incredible comfort and A-grade leather vertically sourced from one of the world’s leading tanneries.

They’ve been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, and Yahoo, and Men’s Health named them the most comfortable business casual shoe of 2024. The only downside is they constantly sell out – get yours today before they’re gone (or pre-order to ensure availability). by clicking below:

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Media mogul Byron Allen made a $14.3B takeover offer for film and TV giant Paramount Global (BBG)

• British multinational telecom Vodafone rejected Iliad’s revised proposal to merge their Italian businesses; the proposal valued Vodafone Italia at $11.3B, and Vodafone would have received cash proceeds of ~$7.1B (FT) 

• Health insurance company Health Care Service Corp. will acquire Cigna Group’s Medicare business for $3.3B (BBG) 

• The PGA Tour approved a $3B investment by Strategic Sports Group in a new commercial entity at a $12B valuation; talks for an injection from Saudi Arabia’s PIF remain ongoing (BBG) 

• Saudi Arabia is considering plans to revive a multibillion-dollar share sale in state-owned oil company Aramco (BBG) 

• Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein and a consortium of investors agreed to buy a controlling stake in the Baltimore Orioles baseball team from the Angelos family in a deal that values the MLB team at $1.7B (BBG) 

• An investor group including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System made a $1.5B equity investment in infrastructure and sustainability investor Generate Capital (BBG) 

• Drug distributor Cardinal Health will acquire private tech company Specialty Networks for $1.2B cash to expand its services in the specialty drug space (RT) 

• Drugmaker Mundipharma International, owned by the billionaire Sackler family, restarted a process to sell its China unit in a deal that may fetch over $1B (RT) 

• TotalEnergies agreed to buy a 50% stake in independent Malaysian natural gas producer SapuraOMV, a JV between Sapura Energy Berhad and OMV, from OMV for $903M (BBG) 

• Roland Foods, which is owned by PE firm Vestar Capital Partners, is exploring a sale that could value the specialty food provider at over $700M, including debt (RT) 

VC

• Student transportation startup Zum raised a $140M Series E at a $1.3B valuation led by GIC (PRN)

• Accompany Health, a social care provider for low-income patients, raised a $56M Series A led by Venrock, ARCH Venture Partners, IVP, Granite Capital Management, and Evidenced (FN)

• Usage-based billing software startup Metronome raised a $43M Series B led by NEA (TC)

• Machine-based authentication startup Oasis Security raised $40M: a $5M seed round and a $35M Series A led by Sequoia (TC)

• Owner.com, a startup helping restaurants manage their online presence, raised a $33M Series B led by Redpoint Ventures and Altman Capital (TC)

• Incognia, a location identity solutions startup, raised a $31M Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners (PRN)

• Halia Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on inflammation, raised a $30M Series C led by Todd Pedersen (VC)

• LoanStar Technologies, a financial technology company focused on embedded lending, raised a $28M funding round from Sageview Capital, Launch Credit Union, TruMark Financial Credit Union, and more (FN)

• Indian fast fashion e-commerce startup Newme is in talks to raise $15-20M at ~$83-85M valuation led by Accel (TC)

• Benepass, a flexible benefits platform for people-first companies, raised $20M in funding led by Portage and Clocktower Technology Ventures (PRN)

• Spiden, a Swiss startup specializing in non-invasive biomarker monitoring technology, raised $15M in funding from undisclosed existing investors and new investors (FN)

• Splash, an independent provider of peer-to-peer sports strategy games, raised a $14.1M Series A-2 from Boston Seed, Velvet Sea Ventures, K5, and more (PRN)

• GenAI security platform Aim Security raised a $10M seed round led by YL Ventures (TC)

• Myosotis, a Berlin-based digital healthcare startup, raised an $8.8M Series A led by TVM Capital Life Science (EU)

• Joyned, a travel tech startup, raised an $8M Series A led by Reach Markets (FN)

• Natural materials startup Xampla raised a $7M round led by Amadeus Capital Partners, Horizon Ventures, and others (FN)

• ProcurePro, a Brisbane-based provider of a platform that enables construction firms to take control of their supply chain, raised a $6.2M round led by AirTree Ventures and Saniel Ventures (FN)

• Neurelo, a startup building an interface between a database and an application, raised a $5M seed round led by Foundation Capital (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Amer Sports is considering pricing its shares at $13, below the marketed $16-$18 range; the maker of Wilson tennis rackets was previously seeking to raise up to $1.8B at an $8.7B valuation (BBG) 

• The IPO of Athens International Airport is set to raise at least $802M amid strong investor demand (BBG)

SPAC

• Biotech company Alps Global Holding Berhad will merge with Globalink Investment Inc. in a $1.6B deal (RT)  

Debt

• Dish Network parent EchoStar terminated a proposal to swap over $5B of debt due in the coming years for new notes (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Restoration Forest Products, a lumber company based in Arizona, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to cut ~$300M in debt (BBG) 

Fundraising

• Investment manager TJC raised $6.9B for its Resolute Fund VI, which will back midmarket companies (WSJ)

• The asset management unit of BNP Paribas is in talks to raise $1.1B  for a new direct-lending fund targeting medium-sized companies (BBG) 

• Alternative investment firm Templewater is seeking up to $800M for two funds in Asia that will target mid-sized Asian firms and clean energy technology companies (BBG)

• Austrian early-stage VC Speedinvest closed its fourth early-stage fund, Speedinvest 4, at ~$380M (TC) 

• UK VC Giant Ventures is launching a $100M seed fund to back early-stage companies and a $150M climate-focused growth fund focused on Series B companies (TC)

Crypto Corner

• FTX dropped its plans to relaunch the exchange and intends to repay customers in full (BBG) 

• The DOJ filed an objection to crypto lender Genesis Global’s Chapter 11 plan, saying it provided a legal shield to the company and a myriad of third parties (WSJ) 

• British police uncovered $1.7B worth of Bitcoin laundered from a $6B Chinese investment fraud (BBG) 

Exec’s Picks

• RAD AI’s award-winning tech is disrupting the $633B industry. 6000+ investors, including VCs and execs at Google and Amazon, see its potential. $27M raised, 3X revenue growth, elite clients. Backed by Adobe Fund for Design. Invest now.

• Ben Carlson published an excellent list of 17 reflections he’s had about money lately.

• Nat Bullard shared a detailed, 200-slide presentation on the current state of decarbonization.

Litney Partners - Financial Recruiting 💼💼

If you're currently a junior investment banker looking to break into the buy side, considering lateraling to another investment bank, or have recently been impacted by widespread layoffs, it's time you check out Litney Partners, a partnership between Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

We aim to place strong candidates at leading private equity, hedge fund, venture capital, growth equity, and credit funds, as well as investment banks.

To get started, simply head over to the Litney website and create your profile by dropping your resume / filling out the form:

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