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Fed officials are considering more modest rate hikes, Wall Street is finding it easier to raise money, PIMCO still forecasts a recession, Google will enhance search results with generative AI features, Disney is cutting 7,000 jobs, Bed Bath & Beyond issued new equity, Robinhood's board approved a plan to buy back SBF's stock, and LeBron broke the NBA scoring record.

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks slid yesterday as investors turned cautious on hawkish comments from Fed officials following last week's blockbuster jobs report 

• The pan-European Stoxx 600 traded at nine-month highs before closing with a 0.3% gain 

• Oil settled higher for a third straight day

Earnings

• Uber beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates to cap off its 'strongest quarter and year' on sustained food delivery demand and a continuing post-Covid rebound in their rideshare business; their shares rose 5.5% (CNBC)

• Robinhood posted worse than expected Q4 loss and revenue numbers on a sixth-straight quarterly decline in monthly active users amid a fading retail investment boom (YH)

• Walt Disney beat Q1 EPS and revenue estimates as strong theme park demand offset slight losses from its streaming business; their shares jumped 7.7% AH (RT)

• Yum! Brands beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates as strong demand for wallet-friendly meals at Taco Bells helped offset weaker growth at their Pizza Hut and KFC chains (RT)

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: PepsiCo, PayPal

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• More modest pace of rate hikes are in the cards for numerous Fed officials (RT)

• Wall Street finds it easier to raise money despite rising interest rates (FT)

• Russian oil and gas revenues dropped 46% from January 2021 levels (AX)

• PIMCO still forecasts a US recession despite strong economic data (RT)

• Google will enhance search results with generative AI features in response to Microsoft (RT)

• Alphabet shares lost 7.7% after its AI chatbot Bard botched an answer in ad (RT)

• TotalEnergies put a $4B hydrogen investment with Adani on hold (FT)

• JPMorgan plans to hire over 500 small-business bankers (RT)

• JPMorgan cut hundreds more mortgage employees (BBG)

• Disney will slash 7k jobs in restructuring and $5.5B cost cutting drive (CNBC)

• Truist cut 5% of its investment bankers (BBG)

• Fintech Affirm cut 19% of its workforce (CNBC)

• Ebay will cut 500 employees (RT)

• Wells Fargo taps Morgan Stanley's Jeff Hogan as new co-head of M&A (RT)

• Twitter has been restricted in Turkey following devastating earthquake (RT)

• LeBron James broke the NBA scoring record (ESPN)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• CVS agreed to buy primary care center network Oak Street Health for $10.6B (BBG)

• German auto parts supplier ZF Friedrichshafen is considering a sale of its passive safety systems division that could be valued at $3.2B+ (BBG)

• General Motors is competing for a stake in Brazilian mining firm Vale that could fetch $2B+ in a deal (BBG)

• Chinese state-backed seamless steel pipe maker Tianjin Pipe is considering selling its Texas-based steel mill for $1.3B+ (BBG)

• Brookfield Asset Management’s reinsurance unit agreed to buy and take private insurer Argo in a $1.1B deal (RT)

• The owners of software management solutions company Snow Software are considering a sale of the firm at a ~$1B valuation (RT)

• Media company Sony and a possible financial partner are negotiating to buy 50% of the estate of pop star Michael Jackson’s interest in Jackson’s publishing, recorded-music revenues, and upcoming Broadway show and biopic in a $800M-$900M deal (VTY)

• South African cement maker PPC is considering selling its Zimbabwe business for ~$200M (BBG)

• Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm is in talks to invest in German cryptocurrency firms Deutsche Digital Assets and Tradias as part of efforts to revive growth (BBG)

• Mobile telecoms operator VEON won approval from Russian regulatory authorities for the proposed sale of its Russian operations (RT)

• Activist investor Third Point has disclosed a stake in software firm Salesforce, making it the fifth known activist shareholder with a position in the company (WSJ)

• The Peugot Family and Dassault Family are prepared to invest in Paris-listed investment bank Rothschild & Co, which the Rothschild family plans to take private (RT)

• Investment management firm Ancora Group, a key shareholder in US auto retailer IAA, has accumulated a 0.5% stake in Canada’s Ritchie Bros Auctioneers, and is calling a major opponent of Ritchie’s $6B deal to buy IAA 'misinformed' (RT)

VC

• Time series database provider InfluxData raised $81M: a $30M debt facility from SVB and a $51 Series E led by Princeville Capital and Citi Ventures (BW)

• Data observability platform Acceldata raised a $50M Series C led by March Capital (TC)

• Light Field Lab, developers of the SolidLight holographic display platform, raised a $50M Series B led by NCSOFT (PRN)

• Ionblox, a lithium ion battery startup, raised a $32M Series B from Lilium, Applied Ventures, Temasek, and Catalus Capital (BW)

• AI-powered integrated market research platform Entropik raised a $25M Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners and SIG Venture Capital (BW)

• Zypp Electric, an EV-as-a-service platform catering to e-commerce companies and gig workers, received a $25M investment from Gogoro (TC)

• Space media brand TDGA raised a $20M seed round at a $100M valuation led by New Media Holding (PRN)

• Macro, a startup layering intelligence on top of digital documents, raised a $9.3M seed round led by a16z (TC)

• Fable Food, a mushroom-based meat startup, raised an $8.5M Series A led by K3 (TC)

• Ostial, a medtech startup focused on aorto-ostial interventions, raised a $7.5M seed round led by Delos Capital (PRN)

• MENA-based HR tech startup Palm.hr raised a $5M pre-Series A led by Speedinvest (TC)

• Web3 marketing platform Sesame Labs raised a $4.5M seed round led by Wing Venture Capital and Patron (TC)

• Meala FoodTech, a functional plant-based protein platform, raised a $1.9M pre-seed round led by The Kitchen FoodTech Hub and DSM Venturing (PRN)

• VRRB Labs, a Proof-of-Claim (“PoC”) decentralized protocol, raised a $1.4M pre-seed round from Jump Crypto, Taureon, and Big Brain (BW)

• Nevly Money, a web app providing data-driven solutions to Americans with subpar credit scores, raised a $1.25M pre-seed round from Tenacity Venture Capital (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Solar tech firm Nextracker is expected to price its $535M IPO at the upper end of its stated range today (CNBC)

• Chinese white liquor brand Guotai is considering a Hong Kong IPO that could raise $500M+ (BBG)

• Philippine poultry firm Bounty Agro Ventures is considering a domestic IPO that could raise $400-$500M (BBG)

• Bed Bath & Beyond raised ~$225M in an equity offering and issued warrants to raise another $800M over the next 10 months (RT)

• Pakistani technology company Symmetry is planning an IPO that could raise ~$1.6M (BBG)

SPAC

• Cloud mining firm BitFuFu postponed its $1.5B merger with Arisz Acquisition Corp. until May (CT)

Debt

• Gautam Adani faced a $500M+ margin call by lenders including Barclays, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank on a $1.1B share-backed loan before repaying in full (FT)

Fundraising

• ​​VC firm Seven Seven Six plans to raise $776M for two new funds (TI)

• PE firm Bluestone Equity Partners raised $300M for a first fund focused on the sports, media and entertainment industry (BW)

• German VC Planet A Ventures raised a $171.4M European climate fund (TC)

• Paris-based PE firm Weinberg Capital Partners has $107M+ in commitments for a fund to buy small and mid-sized French security and defense companies (BBG)

• Hedge fund Arini will launch two new funds this year aiming to profit from economic uncertainty over European corporate debt (RT)

Crypto Corner

• Robinhood's board approved a plan to buy back SBF’s $578M 7.6% stake in the company (CNBC)

• FTX's top bankruptcy, legal and financial advisors have billed ~$20M for 51 days of work (CNBC)

• FTX gained court approval to subpoena SBF and his family members (RT)

• Fintech Affirm is shutting down its crypto business (CD)

Exec's Picks

• Floom brings the local florist experience online, reminding people just how special it is to both send flowers and have flowers delivered to you. Find talented and unique florists local to you, with the majority offering same-day flower delivery, perfect for those last-minute gifts, by checking out Floom here!

• Bain Capital Ventures' Sarah Hinkfuss and Tina Dimitrova recently published a great article laying out what drives value in public fintech companies post-correction, and how to create enduring value. Check out their in-depth analysis and key takeaways by reading it here.

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explained why he thinks AI can beat Google in search in this interview with The Verge.

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