Together with

Good Morning,

Stocks were up because Russia isn't actually invading Ukraine (unless they are, who knows), Airbnb crushed earnings thanks to digital nomads, scientists may have cured HIV for the first time, the SEC is probing Binance's trading affiliates, and Democrats vow to curb inflation (lol).

Is World War III bullish or bearish for stocks? Hopefully we won't find out. After a wild weekend in LA, I'm finally back in NYC. Time to grind.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

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

Markets

• The Dow rose for the first time in four days yesterday after Russia appeared to be backing away from an immediate invasion

  • Airline and cruise stocks helped lead the gains with US covid cases down 80% from their January peak; the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also closed the day in the green

• The producer price index for the month was higher-than-expected, coming in at 1% vs. the 0.5% expected

• The Fed releases minutes from its last meeting today, so investors will be watching carefully for any new information on rate hikes or inflation

Earnings

• Roblox shares fell 11%+ in AH trading after a Q4 earnings miss (CNBC)

• Airbnb beat top and bottom-line estimates in Q4, benefiting from remote-work policies and vacation demand (BBG)

• What we’re watching today: Shopify, Nvidia

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Russia says it’s begun partial troop pullback from Ukraine border; NATO urges caution (CNBC)

• GOP aims to block vote on Biden Fed nominees over Raskin ties to fintech firm (CNBC)

• Defense industry M&A to get tougher Pentagon scrutiny (BBG)

• Glencore sets aside $1.5B to cover regulatory probes (WSJ)

• Sandy Hook families reach $73M settlement with gun maker Remington (WSJ)

• GM to restart Chevy Bolt production in April (WSJ)

• Christie’s to auction iconic Man Ray photograph of nude woman for record $5M or more (WSJ)

• Scientists have possibly cured HIV in a woman for the first time (CNBC)

• Democrats vow to curb inflation as GOP savors told-you-so moment (BBG)

• Elon Musk gave $5.7B of Tesla shares to charity last year (WSJ)

• Fears of avocado shortage in the US rise after import ban (TH)

• SPAC mergers are falling apart at a rapid pace (BBG)

A Message From Commonstock

Discover new investment ideas on Commonstock, the social network for smart money investors.

Does anyone else feel like capital markets make zero sense these days? From equities and options to meme stocks, crypto, and NFTs, markets are changing at breakneck speed. It’s more important than ever to find trustworthy information from people who actually know what they’re talking about.

Commonstock built a platform to showcase the portfolios, real-time trades, and analysis of the smartest retail investors. It lets people link their existing brokers to verify their portfolios and performance, helping you distinguish signal from noise. Anyone can sign up for a Commonstock account for free—no subscriptions, no paywalls.

Join Commonstock’s community of engaged investors to access exclusive financial data, follow and chat with fellow investors, get alerts when friends buy or sell, and make trades directly through the platform.

Access verified investment insights now.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Merger talks between Monster Beverage and Corona brewer Constellation Brands are progressing, the companies have a combined market value of ~$90B (BBG)

• Blackstone is recapitalizing its European last-mile logistics company, Mileway, valuing the company at ~$24B (BBG)

• Brookfield Asset Management is working with advisers to sell UK student-accommodation company Student Roost in a potential $4.7B+ deal (BBG)

• Realty Income agreed to buy the land and buildings associated with Wynn Resorts’ Encore Boston Harbor resort for $1.7B (BBG)

• Madison Dearborn Partners agreed to buy money transfer service company MoneyGram International for ~$1B in cash (BBG)

• Italy’s fifth-largest bank BPER Banca agreed to buy troubled rival Carige (RT)

VC

• Securonix, a SaaS startup centered around security analytics and operations, raised $1B+ in funding led by Vista Equity Partners (BW)

• Paper, a software provider for 24/7 academic support, raised a $270M Series D led by Sapphire and Softbank Vision Fund 2 (PRN)

• Kallyope, a biotech startup focused on identifying and developing therapeutics involving the gut and brain connection, raised a $236M Series D led by Mubadala Investment Company and The Column Group (BW)

• Better Tomorrow Ventures raised a $225M fintech-focused fund (TC)

• Epirus, a developer of directed energy systems and power management tools, raised a $200M Series C at a $1.35B valuation led by T. Rowe Price (BW)

• Philippine fintech firm Voyager Innovations is considering is considering raising $150-$200M to help finance its expansion (BBG)

• iPhone refurbisher Swappie raised a $124M Series C led by Verdane (TC)

• Danish BNPL startup ViaBill raised a $120M equity/debt round led by Fasanara Capital (BW)

• Alternative protein startup Next Gen Foods raised a $100M Series A led by Alpha JWC, EDBI, MPL Ventures, Temasek, and others (TC)

• 5th gen blockchain network 5ire secured a $100M capital commitment from GEM Global Yield (BW)

• Cloudinary, a media experience cloud company, received a $100M investment at a $2B+ valuation from Blackstone Growth (BW)

• Tech-enabled homebuilder Homebound raised a $75M Series C led by Khosla Ventures (TC)

• Capital markets infrastructure and fintech startup Sharegain raised a $64M Series B led by WestCap (BW)

• Terray Therapeutics, a startup providing data for drug discovery, raised a $60M Series A led by Madrona Venture Group (PRN)

• Software procurement and implementation platform Tropic raised a $40M Series B led by Insight Partners (PRN)

• Digital fitness and wellness company FitOn raised a $40M Series C led by Delta-v Capital (TC)

• Cannabis infused beverage company Cann raised a $27M Series A led by Imaginary Ventures (PRN)

• Online used motorcycle marketplace Mundimoto raised a $22.6M round led by P101, Maniv Mobility, and Autotech Ventures(TC)

• Heygo, a startup building a live tour platform, raised a $20M Series A led by Northzone (TC)

• Reebelo, a Singaporian e-commerce marketplace for pre-used tech, raised a $20M Series A led by Cathay Innovation and June Fund (TC)

• Mobile crypto wallet Rainbow raised an $18M Series A led by Seven Seven Six (TC)

• Mundi, a financial services platform for cross-border trade, raised a $16M Series A led by Union Square Ventures (TC)

• PatientFi, a patient financing platform, raised a $15M equity round led by Patriot Financial Partners (BW)

• Metal recycling and mining technology startup Nth Cycle raised a $12.5M Series A led by Frankstahl and VoLo Earth (PRN)

• Plant-based nutrition brand KOS raised a $12M Series A led by Clayton Christopher and Brian Goldberg (PRN)

• Scrona, an ultra-high res 3D printing startup, raised a $9.6M Series A led by AM Ventures (PRN)

• Email inbox startup Shortwave raised a $9M Series A led by USV and Lightspeed (TC)

• Egyptian e-commerce platform Wasla received a $9M investment from Contact (TC)

• Digital Infrastructure, a startup building the DIMO network, raised $9M in funding led by CoinFund, Variant Fund, Slow Ventures, and others (BW)

• PropTech startup Showdigs raised a $7.4M seed II round led by MetaProp (BW)

• Permit.io, a startup providing a full-stack authorization framework to help companies build permissions systems into products, raised a $6M seed round led by NFX (TC)

• Kubernetes security startup KSOC raised a $6M seed round led by .406 Ventures (BW)

• Digital asset trading platform AlgoTrader raised a $4.5M pre-Series B led by Credit Suisse Entrepreneur Capital and C3 EOS VC Fund (PRN)

• Brazilian fintech startup Trace Finance raised a $4.3M seed round led by HOF Capital (PRN)

• MoneyHash, a startup building a super API for payment operations in Africa and the Middle East, raised a $3M pre-seed round led by COTU Ventures (TC)

• Mental wellness startup MindFi raised a $2M seed round from M Venture Partners and Global Founders Capital (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• EV maker Hozon has picked banks including China International Capital and Citic Securities for its Hong Kong IPO (BBG)

• Prom dress retailer Windsor Fashions is planning an IPO (BBG)

Debt

• Lenders including Mizuho are in talks with parts supplier Marelli to negotiate debt and offer financing to keep it operational (BBG)

SPAC

No specific deal-related news but this is an interesting chart that shows the increasing number of SPAC deals falling apart:

Crypto Corner

• SEC probes trading affiliates of crypto giant Binance’s US arm (WSJ)

• US lawmaker debuts draft of federal stablecoin regulation bill (TBC)

• VR platform Cyber teams with Rarible for virtual NFT marketplace (DC)

• Mastercard to offer crypto and NFT consulting services, may help develop central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs (DC)

• There's a portrait of Jamie Dimon hanging in JPMorgan's metaverse lounge (BBG)

• The NYSE is stepping into the digital asset space and wants to be a financial exchange for crypto and NFTs (BBG)

Exec's Picks

• Gearing up for IB Interviews, but haven't mastered 'Walk Me Through a DCF'? Check out Finance|able's Deep-Dive Guide (and Video)

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

Advertise with us // Visit our merch store // Invest alongside Lit Ventures

Catch the latest episode of our Big Swinging Decks podcast on Spotify and Apple Music 🤝