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Good Morning,

Student loan bills are back, London is on pace to become Europe’s biggest stock market again, Ackman is looking for new SPARC deals, Biden signed a bill to keep the government open, Americans are still spending like crazy, Microsoft’s Nadella is testifying at Google’s antitrust trial, and small business bankruptcies are on the rise.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks mostly fell as investors digested news of a potential government shutdown

  • The Dow fell 0.47%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.14%

• Hong Kong’s HSI rallied 2.51% from a 10-month low on Friday, led by tech stocks

Earnings

• Carnival shares fell ~5% despite posting its first annual profit since 2020 due to forecasting a Q4 earnings outlook that missed analyst expectations as higher fuel and currency costs hurt its bottom line (BBG)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Tuesday: McCormick & Company

  • Wednesday: Tilray

  • Thursday: Lamb Weston, Levi’s, Constellation Brands

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Student loan bills resume for 40M Americans. How it could shake the economy (CNBC)

• London on cusp of becoming biggest stock market in Europe, again (BBG)

• Ackman’s SPARC is seeking new deals with private companies (RT)

• Microsoft discussed selling its Bing browser to Apple in 2020 (BBG)

• Biden signs 45-day funding bill to keep government open (CNBC)

• Americans are still spending like there’s no tomorrow (WSJ)

• Flush with cash, Amtrack embarks on ambitious makeover (WSJ)

• California governor vetoes bill offering unemployment pay to strikers (RT)

• Australian housing prices stay strong as RBA seen standing pat (BBG)

• Microsoft’s Nadella to testify at Google antitrust trial Monday (BBG)

• Saudi Arabia projects a $21B deficit in 2024 (BBG)

• Japan startup develops ‘Gundam’-like robot with $3M price tag (RT)

• Apple will issue a software update to address iPhone 15 overheating complaints (CNBC)

• Small business bankruptcies rising at worst pace since pandemic (WSJ)

• Ryan Cohen’s GameStop gambit raises specter of his spotty record (BBG)

• A disastrous start doomed the US as Europe wins the Ryder Cup (WSJ)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Carlyle Group is in exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake in the patient monitoring and respiratory interventions businesses of Medtronic at a valuation of over $7B (RT)

• Buyout firm HGGC is exploring a sale of Monotype Imaging Holdings that could value the typeface firm at over $4B, including debt (BBG)

• Wells Fargo sold ~$2B of its PE investments managed by Norwest Equity Partners and Norwest Mezzanine Partners to a group of buyers including Carlyle Group’s AlpInvest Partners, Atalaya Capital Management, Lexington Partners, and Pantheon Ventures (RT)

• UK regulators approved UnitedHealth Group's $1.5B acquisition of healthcare technology firm EMIS (RT)

• PE firm Bridgepoint Group is exploring a sale of Humanetics Group that could value the safety systems technology company at $1.5B, including debt (RT)

• PE firm Cinven will take Synlab private for ~$1.3B just two years after listing the German lab operator (BBG)

• PE firm Stonepeak will acquire a 49% stake in Cellnex Telecom’s Denmark and Sweden businesses for $772M (BBG)

• German media group Axel Springer expressed interest in bidding in the Telegraph Media Group’s $732M auction (BBG)

• UK health insurance company Bupa will acquire a 20% stake in Niva Bupa Insurance for $325M from its partner, Indian PE firm True North (RT)

• Privately held food delivery company Wonder Group will acquire meal kit business Blue Apron for $103M (CNBC)

• Two groups of investors, including Apollo Global Management, are bidding for bankrupt Scandinavian airline SAS (RT)

• Denmark's largest telecoms company TDC Holding is exploring strategic options for the business as consolidation in the Danish market accelerates (RT)

• Saudi Arabia’s PIF delayed the potential sale of its remaining stake in local utility firm Marafiq due to weak demand (BBG)

• Aston Martin’s stock jumped 11% after Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll’s Yew Tree Consortium raised its stake in the automaker by 3.3% to 26.2% (BBG)

VC

• Avalyn, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing targeted inhaled therapies for pulmonary diseases, raised a $175M Series C led by Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds, SR One, and Eventide Asset Management (VC)

• Prins AI, a startup using AI to create digital identities, raised a $100M Series B led by AAB VC (FN)

• Cardata, a provider of tax-compliant mileage reimbursement software, raised $100M in funding led by Wavecrest Growth Partners (PRN)

• Internet privacy and security solutions startup Nord Security raised a $100M round at a $3B valuation led by Warburg Pincus, Novator Ventures, and Burda Principal Investments (FN)

• Evozyne, a startup combining evolution and deep learning to create functional proteins, raised an $81M Series B led by Fidelity and OrbiMed (VC)

• AI-enabled financial markets startup OneChronos raised a $40M Series B led by Addition (BW)

• Traydstream, a fintech startup working in the trade finance industry, raised a $21M Series B led by Pivot Investment Partners and e& capital (FN)

• Planning and portfolio management startup Timeline raised a $12.1M Series B led by Blackfin Capital Partners (FN)

• TruFund Financial Services, a community development financial institution, raised $11.5M in funding from the Ford Foundation, Morgan Stanley, and the Kresge Foundation (BW)

• Homecare Hub, a Toronto-based startup providing innovative home care and housing solutions, raised a $2.5M seed round led by Inception Health, Ballad Ventures, and more (FN)

• Morphoses, a startup providing a ‘soft skill learning experience’ platform, raised a $2.2M pre-seed round led by Uni.Fund II (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Activewear brand Vuori, a SoftBank-backed rival to Lululemon, is planning an IPO as soon as the middle of 2024 at a valuation above $4B (BBG)

• Shopper Park Plus, an investor in Hungarian and Czech retail parks, aims to raise $56M in the first euro-denominated IPO on the Budapest Stock Exchange (BBG)

• Weight-loss drugmaker Carmot Therapeutics is exploring a potential IPO (BBG)

Debt

• The US Energy Department and lithium miner Lithium Americas are negotiating a $1B loan to fund more than half of the cost of the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada to build out a domestic supply of critical metals (BBG)

• Altice International, one of three branches of billionaire Patrick Drahi’s troubled telecommunications empire, raised $846M in a term loan due 2027 via borrowing unit Altice Financing (BBG)

• Adler Group raised $203M at a 21% coupon to raise funds from the bond market, a sign of intense funding stress for the troubled German landlord (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Dental aligner company SmileDirectClub filed for bankruptcy four years after raising $1.4B from its IPO (BBG)

• LAS Capital, Lordstown Motors’ former CEO Steve Burn’s firm, will acquire the bankrupt EV truck startup’s assets for $10M (WSJ)

• Instant Brands, the maker of the Instant Pot cooker, selected PE firm Centre Lane Partners as its bankruptcy auction winner (WSJ)

Fundraising

• UK fund manager Moorfield Group started a new $610M fund to buy houses from distressed landlords to lease (BBG)

• Israeli VC firm Cyberstarts raised $480M for its first Cyberstarts Opportunity Fund to reinvest in portfolio companies raising money in Series A and B rounds (FN)

• Altriach Asset Management raised its first evergreen vehicle, Altriach Specialty Finance Fund, LP, providing financing to alternative lenders across the US (FN)

Crypto Corner

• Su Zhu, one of the founders of bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, was apprehended in Singapore (RT)

• SEC sued former FTX auditor Prager Metis for committing hundreds of auditor independence violations, although FTX was not explicitly mentioned in the suit (CT)

Exec’s Picks

• The Wall Street Journal explained how Bill Ackman might take X public through his SPARC investment vehicle.

• Dan Currell wrote about how colleges are actually cheaper than conventional wisdom might suggest.

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