Saudi Aramco Back on Top

Markets were red (again), inflation kept inflating, Google announced new consumer products, Saudi Aramco passed Apple as the world's most valuable company, and Instacart filed for an IPO.

Together with

Good Morning,

Markets were red (again), inflation kept inflating, Google announced new consumer products, Saudi Aramco passed Apple as the world's most valuable company, and Instacart filed for an IPO.

ICYMI: Big Swinging Decks is back with a new episode: Case Studies & EBITDA Adjustments: Stories from the Bullpen! This week, Lit & Mark give you their best and worst memories from their days in the bullpen. From blacking out at holiday parties to crashing U-Hauls, tune into the funniest episode yet, presented by CoinFLEX.US, on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube 🤝

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 5/11/2022 market close.

If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

  • The major averages all closed down yesterday as investors digested the higher-than-expected 8.3% jump in inflation

  • This morning we will receive the jobless claims numbers and PPI data at 8:30 ET

  • The meltdown in crypto markets continues, with ETH nearing a 50% YTD pullback

Earnings

  • Disney shares fell AH despite stronger-than-expected growth in streaming subscribers as Covid closures in Asia weighed down on theme park revenue (CNBC)

  • Rivian stock jumped after reporting narrower-than-expected losses, high demand, and on-track production (CNBC)

  • Beyond Meat shares tumbled after reporting wider-than-expected losses as it offered steeper discounts and cheaper prices for international customers and its jerky launch weighed heavily on margins (CNBC)

  • Bumble shares surged up to 17% AH after reporting better-than-expected revenue and new paying users numbers (BBG)

  • What we’re watching today: Affirm

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Prices in US outstrip forecasts in sign of inflation persisting (BBG)

  • TerraUSD backers seek $1.5B rescue, Cashaa CEO says (BBG)

  • Google joins Amazon in mulling a bid for coveted cricket event (BBG)

  • Remittances to war-hit Ukraine seen rising 20% to record high (BBG)

  • Victims of Surfside condo collapse reach $997M settlement (WSJ)

  • Saudi Aramco surpassed Apple as the world’s most valuable company (CNBC)

  • Google announces its first smartwatch, a new budget phone, and more (CNBC)

  • Cushman & Wakefield appeals subpoenas order in Trump Organization probe by NY attorney general (​​CNBC)

A Message From Here

Bullish on Experiences

The stock market is in turmoil, cryptocurrencies are down 50%, and no one knows where to invest their money.

While financial markets are bearish, the market for experiences has never been more bullish. The world has reopened, remote work has made travel easier than ever before, and consumers are taking advantage.

What if you could invest in experiences?

Thanks to Here, you can! And you can get started for as little as $100.

Here is the first platform to offer fractionalized ownership of premiere vacation properties around the country. You no longer need hundreds of thousands of dollars to enter the real estate market either, Here has lowered the barriers to entry for the everyday investor.

The best part? Here handles everything from property inspections to upkeep, and you get a pro-rata claim on cash flow.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • REIT Duke Realty rejected a nearly $24B offer from warehouse giant Prologis (WSJ)

  • Blackstone is considering teaming up with KKR on a joint bid for Japanese conglomerate Toshiba, which has a market value of almost $18B (BBG)

  • Marlboro cigarette maker Philip Morris agreed to buy nicotine pouch maker Swedish Match for $16B (BBG)

  • Brookfield Asset Management is nearing a purchase of emergency household repairs provider HomeServe in a potential $5B deal (BBG)

  • Telecom company Vodafone is in talks to merge its UK operations with Three UK (YHOO)

  • Colombia’s Avianca and Brazil’s Gol Linhas will unite under a common ownership structure to create one of the largest airline groups in Latin America (BBG)

  • American Industrial Partners is considering buying personal-hygiene firm Ontex, which has a market value of $541M (BBG)

  • Italy’s illimity Bank agreed to buy loan specialist Aurora Recovery Capital for $42M (RT)

  • Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment agreed to buy movies-to-rent streaming service Redbox Entertainment in a ~$31M deal (BBG)

VC

  • HR-Path, a provider of HR operations software, raised a $237M round led by Andera Partners (PRN)

  • Aiven, a software company combining open source technologies into its cloud infrastructure, raised a $210M Series D at a $3B+ valuation led by Eurazeo (BW)

  • Habi, a startup building an online marketplace for property ownership, raised a $200M Series C at a $1B+ valuation led by Homebrew and SoftBank (TC)

  • Crypto forensics startup Chainalysis raised a $170M Series F at an $8.6B valuation led by GIC (TC)

  • Carbon Clean, a startup aiming to capture harmful factory emissions, raised a $150M Series C led by Chevron (TC)

  • AI contract intelligence platform Evisort raised $100M in funding, including a $50M Series C led by TCV (PRN)

  • Mothership, a same-day freight tech company, raised $76M in funding led by Benchmark, WestCap, and Bow Capital (BW)

  • Cloud-based observability startup Observe raised a $70M debt round from Sutter Hill Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Madrona Venture Partners (TC)

  • Nexite, a startup building a radio-powered tagging system for in-person merchandise sales, raised a $67M Series C led by Pitango Growth and Saban Ventures (TC)

  • Remote work startup Deel raised a $50M round at a $12B valuation led by Emerson Collective (TC)

  • CIQ, the software infrastructure startup, raised a $26M Series A led by Two Bear Capital (PRN)

  • Pan-African crypto exchange platform MARA raised a $23M seed round from Coinbase Ventures and FTX (TC)

  • Electric last-mile delivery startup GetHenry raised a $17.4M seed round led by LocalGlobe (TC)

  • E-commerce fulfillment startup Mylerz raised a $9.6M funding round led by Lorax Capital Partners (TC)

  • Identitypass, an identity verification API for Africa, raised a $2.8M seed round led by MaC Venture Capital (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Instacart filed confidentially for an IPO that could happen this year, its valuation fell 40% to $24B in March (BBG)

Debt

  • Apollo is in talks to lead a preferred financing for Elon Musk’s proposed buyout of Twitter (BBG)

  • Trudeau’s oil pipeline gets government-backed $7.7B loan (BBG)

Fundraising

  • Energy inclusive investment platform Black Bay Energy closed its second fund at $210M (BW)

  • Edtech fund Educapital is closing its first fund at $100M and looking to raise a second $160M fund (TC)

Crypto Corner

  • Bitcoin hits lowest price since 2020 as ethereum nears $2,000 (DC)

  • ‘Fire sale prices’: Coinbase CEO on stock’s 87% decline since 2021 debut (DC)

  • The SEC has already sued Terraform Labs. It has every reason to investigate UST, lawyers say (TBC)

Exec's Picks

  • If y'all are in NYC or the Hamptons over Memorial Day Weekend, the Litquidity team will be tagging along with Friday Beers as part of their Three Day Bender mini-tour. Tix to Saturday's show in the Schimanski nightclub in Brooklyn can be found 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 40+ 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.

Meme Cleanser

🚨BONUS: Banger video from Lit 🚨

Catch the latest episode of our Big Swinging Decks podcast, presented by CoinFLEX.US, on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube 🤝

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