Together with

Good Morning,

Peloton has a new head man (and 2,800 ex-employees have free one-year subscriptions), BP crushed earnings, Biden finally mentioned Tesla, Apple continues its journey to conquer all things tech, Rumble offered Joe Rogan $100M, Canadian truckers keep honking, Microsoft wants to acquire someone else, SoftBank is planning an ARM IPO, and the feds recovered $3.6B in stolen Bitcoin from two unlikely thieves. This week just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

With UBS and Evercore dropping bonus numbers yesterday, we're recirculating the link to our comp survey in order to get as many data points as possible so we can provide y'all with a thorough report. Please fill out here. We'll be releasing the report over the next week or so exclusively on Exec Sum.

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

• Strong corporate earnings drove US markets up yesterday, with all three major averages posting gains

• Investors have been closely monitoring how the Fed will react to climbing prices; Thursday’s CPI index data release will be a key for the future

  • Expectations are that prices rose 0.4% in January for a 7.2% gain YoY, which would be the highest in almost 40 years

• Treasury yields rose to 1.97% yesterday, a level not seen since November 2019

Earnings

• Pfizer stock slipped 3%+ after beating on profit and covid vaccine sales but missing on revenue (MW)

• Peloton shares popped 20%+ after posting a quarterly loss, slashing full-year revenue outlook, and announcing that CEO John Foley will be replaced by former Netflix and Spotify CFO Barry McCarthy (CNBC)

• BP posted a huge earnings beat on the heels of soaring energy prices; the full-year profit was the oil giant’s highest in eight years (CNBC) 

• Chipotle jumped 7% in AH trading after posting better-than-expected Q4 earnings numbers thanks in part to menu price hikes having little-to-no impact on customer demand (CNBC)

• Lyft shares were down 6%+ in AH trading after they beat top and bottom line estimates but reported fewer active riders than in the prior quarter (CNBC)

• Harley-Davidson surged after reporting a surprise profit in Q4; strong demand in the US and higher motorcycle prices boosted earnings while shipping delays eased (BBG)

• What we’re watching this week: CVS, Uber, Disney

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Peloton CEO John Foley to step down and become Executive Chair, firm to cut 2,800 jobs (WSJ)

• Joe Rogan gets $100M offer from Rumble video website (WSJ)

• Media mogul Byron Allen says he'll bid for the NFL's Denver Broncos (BBG)

• Trucker protest jams key Detroit bridge as Canada tensions rise (BBG)

• Biden to announce EV charger plant will be built in Tennessee (BBG)

• GIP targets $25B for record infrastructure fund (BBG)

• Leonardo and Vertical Aerospace team up on electric aircraft fuselage (RT)

• EU sets March 15 deadline for decision on MGM takeover (RT)

• Economic recovery pushed 2021 US trade deficit to record level (WSJ)

• Alfa Romeo unveils new electric-hybrid SUV with NFT, blockchain technology (CNBC)

• SEC subpoenas Tesla over settlement regarding Musk’s tweets (TC)

• Apple announces ‘Tap to Pay’ feature that will allow iPhones to accept contactless payments (TC)

A Message From Public Rec

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend. There is a party at your friend’s house. You don’t want to get dressed up for a football game, but you can’t just show up in sweats either. Public Rec has you covered!

Public Rec has engineered a more stylish alternative to sweatpants that are way more comfortable than jeans.

These pants give you the flexibility to both jump off the couch when your team scores, and fall down in pain when you lose on a last second field goal.

Besides, if you’re going to be losing money betting on football, you might as well look your best. 

Use promo code LITQUIDITY and receive 10% off.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Microsoft is in talks to buy cybersecurity research and incident response company Mandiant, which had a recent market value of ~$4.4B (BBG)

• EQT is working with advisers to prepare the sale of French water management firm Saur in a potential ~$3.43B deal (RT)

• French telecom operator Orange is exploring merging its Spanish unit with local rival MasMovil (RT)

• Canadian online banking firm Equitable agreed to buy digital rival Concentra for $371M (BBG)

• Apple agreed to buy AI Music, which uses AI to generate tailor-made music (BBG)

• Crain Communications agreed to buy a 20% stake in newsletter publisher Front Office Sports at a $25M valuation (BBG)

VC

• Chinese datacenter developer Hotwon is looking to raise ~$300M at a ~$1.5B valuation in a new funding round (BBG)

• Blockchain infrastructure startup Alchemy raised a $200M Series C1 at a $10.2B valuation led by Lightspeed and Silver Lake (TC)

• Silvr, a startup aiming to provide credit for e-commerce and SaaS companies, raised $148.8M in funding ($20.6M Series A and $128M credit line) led by XAnge, Otium, Bpifrance, Eurazeo and ISAI (TC)

• Real estate brokerage platform Houwzer raised $118M in funding ($18M Series B and $100M credit facility) led by Edison Partners (BW)

• Shopware, an e-commerce platform that provides a set of open source tools to power online shopping experiences, raised a $100M round from PayPal and Carlyle (TC)

• iBuyer marketplace Clikalia raised $86M in financing led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Fifth Wall (TC)

• Shift5, a cybersecurity platform for transportation networks, raised a $50M Series B led by Insight Partners (TC)

• Happy Money, a platform providing unsecured lending in partnership with credit unions, raised a $50M Series D1 led by Anthemis Group (PRN)

• Quaise Energy, a startup trying to scale geothermal energy, raised a $40M Series A led by Safar Partners (BW)

• Event-led engagement platform Airmeet raised a $35M Series B from Prosus Ventures, Sistema, RingCentral Ventures, and more (BW)

• Data driven insurtech platform HealthCare.com raised a $31.5M Series C extension led by Hildred (BW)

• Grid edge software company Utilidata raised $26.75M in funding led by Moore Strategic Ventures (PRN)

• Promethium, a collaborative analytics platform for business users and data teams, raised a $26M Series A led by Insight Partners (PRN)

• Industrial decarbonization startup Rondo Energy raised a $22M Series A led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Energy Impact Partners (BW)

• Climate insurance startup kWh Analytics raised a $20M Series B led by Lacuna Sustainable Investments (BW)

• m3ter, a startup helping companies switch to a usage based pricing model, raised $17.5M in funding led by Kindred Capital, Union Square Ventures, and Insight Partners (TC)

• Daffy, a charitable giving platform, raised a $17.1M Series A led by Ribbit Capital (BW)

• Oloid, a physical identity software provider, raised a $12M Series A led by Dell Technologies Capital (BW)

• Digital tax assistant for small business owners ComplYant raised a $5.5M seed round led by Craft Ventures (PRN)

• Revere, a capital markets network and deal marketplace for commercial real estate, raised a $5M round led by RET Ventures (BW)

• DeepSurface Security, an automated risk analysis and prioritization company, raised a $4.5M seed round led by Differential Ventures (PRN)

• Vietnam focused investment app Infina raised a $4M extension to their previous $2M seed round led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge program, Y Combinator, Saison Capital, Starling Ventures, and more (TC)

• ApertureData, a startup building a database focused on images, raised a $3M seed round led by Root Ventures (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Korean fresh grocery delivery app Kurly is seeking to raise ~$1B at a ~$4-$6B valuation in an IPO (BBG)

• Spanish fashion retailer Tendam is considering an IPO in Madrid at a potential ~$2.3B valuation (RT)

• SoftBank has plans for an IPO for chip designer Arm after Nvidia abandoned a proposed acquisition due to opposition from regulators and customers (BBG)

• Cerberus Capital Management is selling 37% of its remaining stake in Deutsche Bank for ~$242M, a month after putting a similarly large chunk on the block (BBG)

SPAC

• Canadian quantum computer maker D-Wave agreed to merge with DPCM Capital in a $1.6B deal (BBG)

• Gabriel Theron, the founder / CEO of Cilo Cybin, is planning to raise a minimum of ~$32M for Africa’s first cannabis-focused SPAC with plans to take his own company Cilon Cybin public (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Sotheby’s to auction off one lot of 104 CryptoPunks in its first live NFT auction (TBC)

• US government seizes $3.6B in BTC tied to 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex (TBC)

• Ukraine is using Bitcoin to 'crowdfund war' with Russia, according to a report (Decrypt)

• Democrat lawmaker calls for tougher action against crypto millionaires using Puerto Rico as a tax shelter (Decrypt)

• PayPal formed a crypto advisory council to support crypto-related products (CD)

Exec's Picks

• FranShares - where anyone can earn passive income, diversify their portfolio, and hedge against inflation through franchise investing with target returns of 16.00% - 21.86%. More than 9,000 investors are already on the waitlist. Don’t miss your chance to get in on this investment opportunity – join the waitlist and secure your spot today!

• There is an energy crunch in Europe affecting countries all over the world, and the US and Russia are major players. "Doomberg" wrote a great piece breaking this situation down. Check out Shooting Oil in a Barrel. 

Big Swinging Decks Podcast

ICYMI: We dropped a new episode yesterday. Mark discusses his time in Oklahoma on set for the movie “The Line” (a Litquidity Co-Production), the duo plays “Cash or Pass”, and Lit explains the market forces and dynamics behind “The Simp Economy”.

Catch the latest episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts 🤝

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 🤝