Shortened Trading Week

US markets will be closed on Thursday and close early on Friday

Together with

Good morning,

Anyone else have Jonathan Taylor on their fantasy squads? 😤😤😤 Taylor absolutely carried a battered LitCap Bois team. 

We've got a shortened trading week in the US with Thanksgiving just a few days away. US markets will be closed on Thursday and the stock market will close early at 1PM ET on Friday. 

🚨🚨 Final reminder: we've grown quite a bit recently and want to learn a bit more about y'all to help make this newsletter better. Pls fill out this brief survey (should take 1 minute, tops). This will be a big help for us to take this community to the next level. 🤝 We even have some special opportunities available for accredited investors. 

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 11/19/21 market close.

To see the LitCap Yolo Fund's portfolio holdings, download the Iris Social Stock app here and give Litquidity a follow. If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

  • The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed up last week after a strong week of earnings and retail data, with the Dow ending slightly red

  • Stock futures rose in overnight trading Sunday ahead of a historically strong holiday-shortened week, setting the stage for the year-end rally

  • Biden is expected to announce his nomination for the next Fed chief this week, so we’ll know soon if J Pow will continue or Governor Brainard, the other most likely candidate, will prevail

Earnings

What we’re watching this week:

  • Mon: Zoom, Luminex, Urban Outfitters 

  • Tues: American Eagle, Dell, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dollar Tree, Nordstrom

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • US intel shows Russian plans for potential Ukraine invasion (BBG)

  • Prime Minister Boris Johson boosts EVs with 145,000 charging points a year (BBG)

  • El Salvador plans on issuing a $1B Bitcoin bond to fund the purchase of additional bitcoin and help build out their proposed Bitcoin city (CD)

  • Activision Blizzard CEO says he would consider leaving if he can’t quickly fix problems (WSJ)

  • Ford and Rivian cancel plans to jointly develop an EV (CNBC)

  • Amsterdam hits IPO record as Europe’s SPAC capital (BBG)

  • Understanding DAOs (a16z)

A Message From ViewSonic

Boost Your Productivity on the Go with ViewSonic Portable Monitors

With an ultra-slim profile, ViewSonic's TD1655 (touch*) and VG1655 (standard) portable monitors can transform your remote setup into a powerhouse. Simply plug in a USB-C cable, and you have a second screen for work and entertainment.

Get 15% off portable monitors in the US and Canada by entering promo code LIT at checkout.

I personally own two and they are EXCELLENT.

Learn more here: ViewSonic

*Touch compatibility with Windows, Android, Linux OS

Deal Flow

M&A

  • Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman are close to buying healthcare tech company Athenahealth for ~$17B (CNBC)

  • KKR offered to buy Telecom Italia for $12.2B, an implied 46% premium to Friday’s close (BBG)

  • Australian medical lab company Sonic Healthcare and French rival Biogroup are among bidders for diagnostics firm Unilabs, which could fetch ~$5B (BBG)

  • British betting firm Entain agreed to bid $1B+ for Olympic Entertainment, an Estonian company which runs casinos and online gambling sites in the region (BBG)

  • FountainVest Partners agreed to buy China F&B, which runs Papa John’s and Dairy Queen outlets in China, for ~$160M from EQT (BBG)

  • Lone Star Funds is considering a bid for industrial pump and valve maker SPX Flow (BBG)

  • Chernin Entertainment, the studio behind various TV shows and movies, is exploring strategic options including a sale of a stake in the business; it has hired Centerview and Moelis to explore its options (WSJ)

  • Porsche is acquiring a majority stake in Croatian e-bike company Greyp (TMM)

  • Mondelez International is weighing a bid for South African food and beverage company AVI (BBG)

  • Europe’s biggest utility Enel is a frontrunner to buy Italian payments firm Mooney as part of a joint bidding proposal with Intesa Sanpaolo (RT)

VC

  • Crypto startup Anchorage is planning to raise a Series D at a ~$3B valuation led by KKR (PEI)

  • Up&Up, a startup helping renters benefit from homeownership, raised $275M in funding led by Khosla Ventures (Forbes)

  • Internet provider Bluepeak raised $70M in funding (PRN)

  • Drone based delivery service provider Flytrex raised a $40M Series C led by ​​BRM Group (TC)

  • Reinsurance platform for catastrophes Kettle books raised a $25M  Series A led by Acrew Capital (TC)

  • Biotech startup Helaina raised a $20M Series A led by Spark Capital and Siam Capital (PRN)

  • Privacy tech startup Nym Technologies raised a $13M Series A at a ~$270M valuation led by a16z (TC)

  • Yay Lunch, a startup changing the traditional in school lunch system, raised a $12M Series A led by Valor Siren Ventures (PRN)

  • Food tech company Amara raised a $12M Series A led by Eat Well Group (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • IoT company Samsara filed for an IPO, aiming to exceed the $5.4B valuation from its most recent funding round (BBG)

  • Saudi stock exchange Tadawul is seeking to raise up to $1B in an upcoming IPO (BBG)

  • Virgin Atlantic Airways is in talks with its shareholders about a $540M capital injection; the company was weighing a London IPO earlier this year but it has since slowed plans to rebuild its business before attempting to go to market in 2022 (BBG)

  • Tenedora de Acciones, which operates Mexican pawn shops under the name Casa Mazatlan, filed for an IPO, Mexico’s first in 16 months (BBG)

  • Petco fell 12%, the most since its IPO, amid a squeeze from rising costs and a shift to less-profitable food products (BBG)

Exec's Picks

  • La Aurora, the best damn cigars. Get your father-in-law something he’ll actually enjoy this holiday season. Check out their top sellers right hereMust be 21+ to purchase

  • This ugly sweater is disrupting the e-commerce supply chain. Scoop it up now 

  • ICYMI: We published a deep dive article breaking down Beehiiv's business model, the newsletter / creator industries, and why Litquidity Capital invested in the seed round

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

Join the conversation

or to participate.