We The People

One week until Thanksgiving and still so much left to do before then. Will save turkey / supply chain / inflation jokes for next week.

Author

Litquidity Capital
November 18, 2021

Together with

Good morning,

One week until Thanksgiving and still so much left to do before then. Will save turkey / supply chain / inflation jokes for next week.

🚨🚨 In the meantime, we've got some yugggeee stuff on the way for the Litquidity community, but we'll need to determine if you're an accredited investor first. Click here to fill out this brief survey (should take 1 minute, tops). This will be a big help for us to offer you some exciting opportunities directly and elevate this community to the next level. 🤝

Lastly, today is the day that Sotheby's will be auctioning off an original copy of the US Constitution. If you haven't heard yet, there is a DAO that has raised over $40M in hopes of acquiring it (tho if you read the fine print of the DAO, those who contribute aren't getting fractional ownership, but rather DAO tokens to vote on some governance issues). More details in the "Headline Roundup" below but y'all know I got a piece of that action for the memes. #yolo

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 11/17/21 market close.

Markets

  • US equity markets took a dip yesterday as investors weighed strong earnings reports from big retailers against their mention of inflation and supply chain concerns

  • There’s likely to be a lot of push-and-pull going into the year’s end given the continued battle between inflation concerns, supply chain pressures, and labor shortages

  • Consumer spending is on a positive trend and will likely continue through the holiday season, but there’s uncertainty as to what 2022 will look like for the economy

  • Labor dept. reports jobless claims today at 8:30am. Economists expect unemployment claims to fall to 260k (down from 267k last week)

Earnings

  • Target reported a raised FY forecast and better-than-expected earnings numbers thanks to seasonal events like Halloween and back-to-school shopping boosting sales, but shares fell early after the retailer said they plan to absorb some price increases instead of passing them on to consumers (CNBC)

  • TJX, parent of TJ Maxx, saw shares jump 5%+ after the retailer posted beats on both EPS and revenue and reported higher-than-average holiday inventory, suggesting successful navigation of supply chain snags (MW)

  • Lowe’s posted a beat-and-raise report for Q3 with better-than-expected sales and profit and a raised FY’21 outlook (CNBC)

  • Nvidia reported better-than-expected revenue numbers with YoY growth of 50% thanks to increased gaming and data center demand; they also raised their FY outlook, expecting growth as more businesses invest in AI and the metaverse (RT)

  • What we’re watching today: Alibaba, Farfetch, Macy’s 

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • US overdose deaths top 100,000 a year as opioid crisis worsens (BBG)

  • Biden asks FTC to examine oil, gas companies’ roles in high gasoline prices (WSJ)

  • Amazon to stop accepting UK-issued Visa credit cards due to high fees (WSJ)

  • Amazon in talks to switch co-brand card to Mastercard from Visa (BBG)

  • Staples Center in LA to be renamed Crypto.com Arena in a $700M deal (WSJ)

  • Nurse salaries rise as demand for their services soars during pandemic (WSJ)

  • Apple to launch self-service repair program in early 2022 (WSJ)

  • SEC investigating Cassava Sciences, developer of experimental Alzheimer’s drug (WSJ)

  • Metaverse stocks buzzing in Korea with multiple ETF launches (BBG)

  • Constitution DAO raises millions on eve of Sotheby's Auction (CD)

A Message From La Aurora

Celebrate that End of Year Bonus

The holidays are approaching fast and I know it’s crazy, time’s flying. So throw out your pumpkins and get in the holiday spirit because you got loads of family time, end-of-year deadlines, and pulling your hair out to find the perfect last-minute gift to look forward to.

But, you’ve been hustling all year and deserve to chill out. La Aurora’s premium cigars are the perfect way to close out one hell of a year.

Whether you are celebrating your bonus, steering the conversation away from your dating life at family dinners or just want a great conversation starter, La Aurora’s cigar sets the vibe.

As long as you don’t sit at the kids table (AKA you're over 21!), La Aurora has the right cigar for you. Just answer five quick questions and, boom, you've got a cigar that you'll love!

Deal Flow

M&A

  • An Alibaba-led consortium is the frontrunner to buy Chinese semiconductor and digital infrastructure company Tsinghua Unigroup in a potential $7.8B deal (BBG)

  • Partners Group agreed to buy AC and electrical parts manufacturer DiversiTech in a $2.2B deal (BBG)

  • Carlyle agreed to buy Switzerland-based industrial software provider AutoForm in a $2B deal (WSJ)

  • Brookfield Asset Management is exploring the sale of a portfolio of extended stay hotels managed by Choice Hotels that could fetch up to $1.5B (BBG)

  • Hair supplement maker Nutrafol is exploring a sale that could fetch up to $1B (BBG)

  • Australia’s Evolution Mining agreed to buy miner Glencore’s Ernest Henry Mining copper-gold mine in a $729.6M deal (RT)

  • Investment fund NextEnergy is looking to sell a portfolio of solar power plants in southern Italy that could fetch $453M+ (RT)

  • Telecom infrastructure company IHS agreed to a buy a tower network from South Africa’s MTN for $410M; MTN will lease-back the sites as part of the deal (BBG)

  • Fintech lender Oportun agreed to buy online banking platform Digit for ~$219M (BBG)

  • Activist investor Elliott agreed to buy a 3% stake in Royal Ahold Delhaize, the owner of the Stop & Shop grocery chain (BBG)

  • Payment tech company Evo Payments declined peer Shift4’s takeover offer (BBG)

  • French biopharmaceutical company Abionyx Pharma agreed to buy ophthalmological group IRIS Pharma for ~$5.7M (RT)

VC

  • LiveOak Venture Partners raised $210M for its ‘Fund III’ (TC)

  • Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, is in talks to raise $400M at a $7B valuation (BBG)

  • AllTrails, an app helping bikers, hikers, and climbers navigate and find trails, raised a $150M round from Permira (TC)

  • Web development startup Netlify raised a $105M Series D led by Bessemer Venture Partners (TC)

  • Cross-border financial services startup Airwallex raised a $100M round at a $5.5B valuation led by Lone Pine Capital (TC)

  • Proptech startup Place raised a $100M Series A at a $1B+ valuation led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s growth equity arm (TC)

  • Ultraleap, a startup building technology to replicate the sense of touch, raised an $82M Series D led by Tencent, CMB International, and more (TC)

  • In-game creation platform Overwolf raised a $75M Series D led by a16z (TC)

  • OpenStore, an e-commerce aggregator, raised a $75M Series B at a $750M valuation led by General Catalyst; proceeds will be used to acquire more Shopify sellers (FRBS)

  • Autonomous tractor maker Monarch raised a $61M Series B led by Astanor Ventures (TC)

  • Cashflow management startup Settle raised a $60M Series B led by Ribbit Capital (TC)

  • Australian client engagement and commerce platform Practice Ignition raised a $50M Series C led by JMI Equity (TC)

  • South African fintech startup Ozow raised a $48M round led by Tencent (BBG)

  • Workiz, a startup providing home services teams with productivity tools, raised a $40M Series C led by Lead Edge Capital (TC)

  • Public cloud security startup Laminar raised a $37M Series A led by Insight Partners (TC)

  • UNest, a fintech startup helping parents save for their children, raised a $26M Series B led by The Artemis Fund (TC)

  • Indian revenue-based financing platform Velocity raised a $20M Series A led by Valar Ventures (TC)

  • B2B drop-ship automation platform Cymbio raised a $20M Series B led by Corner Ventures (TC)

  • Quantum computer developer QuEra Computing raised a $17M round from Rakuten, Day One Ventures, and more (TC)

  • Robotics and AI manufacturing startup Machina Labs raised a $14M Series A led by Innovation Endeavors (TC)

  • ‘Care now, pay later’ healthcare fintech PayZen raised a $15M Series A led by SignalFire (TC)

  • Global sustainable packaging platform Noissue raised a $10M Series A led by Felix Capital (TC)

  • Sustain.Life, a SaaS startup helping companies measure carbon output, raised a $7M pre-seed round from Dame, You.com, and more (TC)

  • Hydrogen production startup DiviGas raised a $3.6M seed round led by Mann + Hummel (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • EV maker Rivian’s five-day rally has come to a halt after losing $16B in market cap at the start of trading Wednesday (BBG)

  • Customer engagement software maker Braze priced its IPO above a marketed range to raise $520M in their debut (BBG)

  • Yogurt maker Chobani filed for an IPO, disclosing steady growth on its flagship yogurt brand and new product offerings (BBG)

  • Dubai hotel mogul Khalaf Al Habtoor is considering listing his firm amid a push by the government to boost its stock market (BBG)

SPAC

  • Brazilian data software company Semantix agreed to merge with Alpha Capital in a ~$1B deal (RT)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

  • China Huarong Asset Management plans to raise up to $6.6B by selling shares to a group of state-backed investors and will divest more assets in order to keep it afloat. It will sell 41.2B shares to Citic Group to give it a 23.46% stake (BBG)

Exec's Picks

  • Straight cash (back), homie. This new credit card is a spender’s dream, offering unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases (no more tracking categories) and a generous sign-up bonus. The Ascent's independent team of experts is calling it one of best all-around cards. Learn more now.

  • We just dropped some fresh Ugly Christmas Sweaters ahead of the holidays. Gotta budget some additional time given current supply chain issues. Scoop 'em up here.

The Hiring Block

If you're looking to break into finance, lateral, or move out, check out our job board on Pallet, where we curate highly relevant roles for you. We've got 100+ jobs spanning IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

If you're looking to hire candidates and want to post a job, all you have to do is hit "+ Hire Talent" on the top right of the job board.

Candidates: We've also partnered up with Portal Jobs for a more hands-on approach to matching talent with relevant jobs. Fill out the form here and we'll get to work on placing you in a relevant gig 🤝

Meme Cleanser

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