Oaktree Milan

Oaktree seized control of Inter Milan, PE is eyeing college sports, Fidelity halted European private credit activity, PwC is facing heat in China, DuPont will split into three, and Nvidia pulled off yet another Nvidia.

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Litquidity Capital
May 23, 2024

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Good Morning,

Oaktree seized control of Inter Milan, PE is eyeing college sports, Fidelity halted European private credit activity, PwC is facing heat in China, DuPont will split into three, and Nvidia pulled off yet another Nvidia.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 05/22/2024

Markets

  • US stocks ticked lower yesterday as Fed minutes revealed concerns about persistent inflation

  • Japan’s 10Y yield topped 1% for first time in 11 years

Earnings

  • Nvidia rose ~6% after yet another beat-and-raise driven by a 262% YoY jump in sales; they also announced a 10-for-1 stock split (CNBC) 

  • Target plunged ~8% after reporting a YoY sales decline and missing Q1 earnings estimates as customers purchase fewer everyday items (CNBC) 

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Intuit, Workday, Ralph Lauren

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Fed minutes reveal inflation anxiety among officials (BBG)

  • PE is eying college sports (WSJ)

  • Junk bond risk premiums are at pre-pandemic lows (WSJ)

  • Emerging market credit ratings are finally looking up again (RT)

  • David Solomon says Fed unlikely to cut rates this year (RT)

  • Fidelity halted European direct lending activities (BBG) 

  • Chinese sovereign bond trading was suspended after frantic retail buying (FT)

  • Citigroup fined $79M for 'fat-finger' trading error (RT)

  • South Korea to keep short-sale ban until system developed (BBG)

  • CPP's exposure to yuan reduced to just 5% (BBG)

  • PwC faces crisis in China over audit of failed developer Evergrande (FT)

  • Hedge funds bought Chinese stocks for a fourth-straight week (RT)

  • Retail giants cut prices as inflation hits shoppers (FT)

  • TikTok is planning significant layoffs (TI)

  • BNPL borrowers will get the same protections as credit card users (AX)

  • Cancer victims sue J&J over 'fraudulent' bankruptcies (RT)

  • Bridgewater tapped China head as head of new investment unit (RT)

  • Techstars CEO Maëlle Gavet will depart (TC)

  • Barclays hired BofA’s David King as global tech M&A head (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Miner Anglo American agreed to enter talks with larger rival BHP Group after rejecting a third proposal worth ~$49B (BBG) 

  • German railway Deutsche Bahn received a handful of confirmatory bids for its DB Schenker logistics unit, which could fetch $16B in one of Europe’s largest deals this year (BBG) 

  • Eni is studying a sale of a 20% stake in its biorefining unit Enilive after receiving interest; the whole business is valued at ~$10.8B (BBG) 

  • UK investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown rejected an $5.9B takeover proposal from a consortium comprising CVC Capital and Abu Dhabi's ADIA (FT)  

  • US based Vulcan Materials reportedly rejected Mexico's offer to purchase its Caribbean coast assets for $2Bl (BBG) 

  • Biogen agreed to acquire Human Immunology Biosciences for up to $1.8B, with a $1.15B payment upfront (BBG) 

  • Firefly Aerospace investors are considering a sale at a ~$1.5B valuation (BBG) 

  • Tata Group will acquire Disney’s minority stake in Tata Play in a deal that values the subscription television broadcaster at ~$1B (BBG) 

  • KKR and TPG are exploring options including a buyout of Southeast Asian online real estate platform PropertyGuru (BBG) 

VC

  • Suno, a music creation platform, raised $125M in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix, and more (FN)

  • Turkish fintech Colendi raised a $65M Series B led by Citi Ventures (EU)

  • Streaming data lake platform Hydrolix raised a $35M Series B led by S3 Ventures (FN)

  • Coactive Systems, a startup for users to manage and retrieve visual data, raised a $30M Series B at a $200M valuation led by Emerson Collective and Cherryrock Capital (FN)

  • Cover Whale, an insurtech startup focused on commercial auto, raised $27.5M in funding from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital (PRN)

  • SOCRadar, a threat intelligence and brand protection platform, raised a $25.2M Series B led by PeakSpan Capital (FN)

  • Aerodome, a DFR tech company, raised a $21.5M Series A led by CRV (FN)

  • Verse, a startup helping organizations reduce emissions, raised a $20.5M Series A led by GV (PRN)

  • Majority, a mobile banking and international services platform for migrants in US, raised $20M including $12.5M in equity led by Victor Jacobsson (FN)

  • Patronus AI, an automated evaluation and security platform, raised a $17M Series A led by Notable Capital (FN)

  • Hospitality software provider Nory raised a $16M Series A led by Accel (EU)

  • Max Retail, a marketplace for independent retailers and brands to sell excess inventory, raised a $15M Series A led by Nosara Capital (FN)

  • Bolster, a multi-channel phishing protection company, raised a $14M Series B led by M12 (PRN)

  • Amino Health, a digital healthcare navigation company, raised $10M in funding led by Transformation Capital (FN)

  • WeatherXM, a decentralized physical infrastructure network, raised a $7.7M Series A led by Lightspeed Faction (PRN)

  • Superlegal, an AI-powered platform for legal contract review for SMBs, raised a $5M seed round led by Aleph and Disruptive AI fund (PRN)

  • Messaging operations infrastructure platform Volt raised a $3M seed round led by Mercury (FN)

  • Sinn Studio, an XR studio, raised a $2.5M seed round led by Hartmann Capital (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • State-owned ADNOC plans to sell a 5.5% stake in its drilling unit ADNOC Drilling for $900M (BBG) 

  • Carlyle sold its minority stake in Brazilian hospital chain Rede D'Or for $427M (RT)

  • Saudi fintech Rasan Information Technology's $224M local IPO drew $29B in orders (BBG) 

  • Chemicals giant DuPont will split into three listed companies (BBG)

  • Softbank-backed Indian budget hotel chain Oyo, once valued at $10B, withdrew its IPO application for a second time (TC) 

SPAC

  • Admiral Acquisition will acquire industrial engineering firm Acuren in the largest SPAC deal YTD valued a $1.85B (RT) 

Debt

  • Qatar raised $2.5B in its first ever dollar-denominated green bond sale (BBG)  

  • Bain-backed Chinese EV services firm NewLink Group is seeking as much as $100M in private debt (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Oaktree took ownership of Inter Milan after its Chinese owners Suning defaulted on a $428M loan (BBG) 

  • Citgo’s Venezuelan parents weighs US bankruptcy to slow sale (BBG)

  • British online used-car retailer Cazoo Group filed for administration (RT) 

Fundraising

  • Permira is seeking $814M for a new debt fund to finance mid market firm (WSJ)  

  • Peter Thiel-founded Valor Ventures raised $300M for its ninth fund (TC) 

  • Investment firm Peterson Partners closed its PE business’ Fund X at $265M to invest in growth-oriented companies (FN) 

  • Temasek’s VC arm will launch its first Japan-focused fund (FT)

Crypto Corner

  • SEC urged against crypto bill adoption (RT)

  • UK approved first-ever crypto ETPs (BBG) 

Exec’s Picks

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