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Good Morning,

Apple dropped out of OpenAI's high-profile fundraise, Gavin Newsom vetoed a major AI safety bill, China stocks ripped on economic stimulus measures, and a premier black swan fund sees a recession reigniting the Fed's QE.

In 2024, there is absolutely zero reason for financial modeling to be as tedious as it is, and Mosaic has the biggest names agreeing. Try 'em out and see why their digital deal modeling platform is taking the industry by storm.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks closed mixed on Friday as investors digested fresh PCE data 

  • Dow closed at a fresh record high

• Europe's Stoxx 600 closed at a record high on optimistic inflation data and a China boost

  • Markets now see a 75% chance of a third ECB rate cut next month 

• China's CSI 300 gained 16% in its biggest weekly gain since 2008

• Hong Kong's HSI gained 13% on the week

• Japanese Yen gained 1.7% while the Nikkei tumbled 4%+ following the election of hawkish incoming Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba

• Oil traders will keep a close eye on how Iran will respond to Israel’s killing of Bezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Tuesday: Nike 

  • Wednesday: Levi's 

  • Thursday: Constellation Brands

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Fed-favorite PCE index grew 2.2% YoY (CNBC)

• California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a major AI safety bill (TV)

• Apple dropped out of OpenAI's $6.5B funding round (WSJ)

• Defense-Tech startups need a new supplier that isn’t China (WSJ)

• China will allow home buyers to refinance mortgages (WSJ)

• China urged local firms to stay away from Nvidia chips (BBG)

• OpenAI sees $5B loss on $3.7B in revenue this year (RT)

• ​​UBS chair warns against big increase in capital requirements (RT)

• LME lags rival exchanges as battery metals trading gains momentum (RT)

• Opposition to Toyota’s chairman spreads among big shareholders (BBG)

• Shigeru Ishiba is set to become Japan's next prime minister (CNBC)

• Israel killed Hezbollah's leader (AX)

• Hurricane Helene is the deadliest in years (AX)

A Message From Litquidity

Model with Mosaic

By now, I'm sure you've heard of the buzzworthy deal modeling platform, Mosaic.

Mosaic was recently featured in Bloomberg and FT for their next-gen technology that allows investment professionals to build LBO models in mere minutes.

The platform was built by PE veterans themselves, and its accuracy, complexity and practicality virtually eliminates the tediousness of modeling tasks that many of us face daily.

I wish I had this tool during my PE days and I'm not surprised that Mosaic is emerging as the new industry standard in deal modeling. 

Some of the biggest investors already use Mosaic to save hours on modeling workflows and it's something that you must try. 

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Intel rebuffed Arm's takeover offer for its product division (BBG) 

• Australian property listings group REA made a fourth $8.3B offer for UK peer Rightmove (FT) 

• Activist investor Elliott won an auction to take control of Citgo Petroleum from Venezuela with a $7.3B bid (BBG) 

• Brazilian conglomerate Cosan is considering a sale of assets including its $2.2B stake in mining giant Vale (BBG) 

• PE firm TPG emerged as a frontrunner to acquire a $2B stake in wealth management firm Creative Planning at a $15B valuation (RT) 

• Alibaba's $1.7B, 79% stake in Chinese hypermarket chain Sun Art Retail attracted preliminary interest from PE firms DCP Capital and Hillhouse (BBG) 

• Morgan Stanley Capital Partners is exploring a sale of HVAC firm Sila Services at a ~$1.5B valuation, including debt (RT) 

• Chinese EV maker Nio and strategic investors plan to inject $1.9B into its Chinese unit (BBG) 

• PE firm General Atlantic is nearing a deal to buy UK-based Learning Technologies for over $1.1B (FT) 

• Indonesian O&G firm MedcoEnergi is in exclusive talks to buy a 70% stake in Singapore-based Senoko Energy at a ~$1B valuation (BBG) 

• Kylian Mbappe's Coalition Capital acquired a 10%+ stake in German electronics firm Loewe (BBG) 

• LVMH acquired a 10% stake in Double R, the investment vehicle controlled by Moncler's chairman (BBG) 

VC

• Nurix AI, an Indian AI-driven enterprise solutions, raised a $27.5M Series A led by Accel and General Catalyst (SAAS)

• LiquidStack, a liquid cooling tech for data centers, raised a $20M Series B extension from Tiger Global (PU)

• Anaphite, a startup specializing in production technology for battery electrodes, raised a $13.7M Series A co-led by World Fund and Maniv (TFN)

• Pie, a social app that for friends to connect in real life, raised an $11.5M Series A led by Forerunner Ventures (PU)

• Distance Technologies, a developer of glasses-free MR for automotive and defense markets, raised an $11M seed round led by GV (TFN)

• AI-driven real estate data platform syte raised a $5.3M seed round led by Schwarz Group (EUS)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Carlyle-backed aircraft maintenance firm StandardAero is seeking to raise $1.4B at a $7.7B valuation in an upsized IPO (RT)

• MNTN, Ryan Reynolds' connected TV advertising platform, selected Morgan Stanley for a 2025 IPO (BBG) 

Debt

• TikTok-owner ByteDance is set to receive a $10.8B dollar-denominated loan from ~20 international and Chinese lenders (BBG) 

• NYC's Rockefeller Center plans to raise $3.5B in debt refinancing led by Bank of America and Wells Fargo (FT)

• Goswami Infratech, a unit of Indian conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji, is seeking to raise $254M in a private bonds placement (RT) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Clearlake-backed Springs Window is working to unite two creditor groups for a $2B restructuring (BBG) 

• UK energy service provider Petrofac reached an agreement with creditors to convert  majority of its debt into equity (BBG) 

• Brazilian agri inputs firm Portal Agro filed for bankruptcy protection (BBG) 

Fundraising

• PE FOF StepStone raised $4.8B for its fifth secondary opportunities fund (WSJ) 

• Spanish PE firm Miura Partners closed its fourth fund at $530M (FN) 

Crypto Corner

• Binance founder CZ was released from US custody (BBG) 

Exec’s Picks

• Litquidity is helping bring Tech Week to California this October 7-20. To kick things off, we're giving away limited-release merch and reserving a few guest spots for exclusive events! To enter, simply 1) like this post, 2) tag a friend in comments and 3) follow @litquidity and @techweeka16z on Instagram.

• Rachel Feintzeig wrote an incredible piece on the benefits of shutting up. A professional and personal hack that always beats out non-stop yapping…

• Matt Phillips identified an interesting economic indicator of consumer health, which currently paints an optimistic picture for the US economy.

Hiring in Investment Banking

Cascadia Capital - Investment Banking Analysts & Associates

• Cascadia Capital is hiring experienced IB associates and analysts in Austin, Minneapolis and Seattle

• The firm is expanding after a significant investment from ex-Barclays CEO Bob Diamond and several senior banker hires.

• The firm is seeking associates and analysts across technology, industrials, consumer, and business services coverage, and analysts in capital markets and generalist roles

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