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Litquidity Capital
June 23, 2025

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Good Morning,

The Iran conflict dominated headlines over the weekend, with US successfully striking Iran's nuclear facilities. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Columbia Business School Exec Ed and Wall Street Prep launched a comprehensive online program on AI for Business & Finance, covering everything from GenAI foundations to advanced ML and predictive analytics. Get more info below!

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 6/20/2025 market close.

Click here to learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks fell on Friday as investors digested the Fed meeting alongside escalating tensions between Israel, Iran, and US

  • Oil jumped to a five-month high

  • Raw sugar futures rebonded from a four-year low

  • Bitcoin briefly sunk below $99k

  • Stablecoins' market cap surged to a record high 

Earnings

  • Kroger missed Q1 revenue estimates but beat on earnings and raised FY guidance on steady grocery spending and minimal impact from Trump tariffs; the firm reported its best revenue in two years (CNBC)

  • Accenture beat Q3 earnings and revenue estimates but shares fell as bookings declined 6%, raising investor concerns over slowing contract wins and uncertainty in its federal government business (WSJ)

  • Darden Restaurants beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse delivered better-than-expected same-store sales growth; the firm expects continued strength in casual dining and FY growth despite consumer spending pullback concerns (CNBC)

  • CarMax beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates as strong used-car demand, driven by Trump-era tariffs impacting new vehicle supply, led to its fastest unit sales growth since 2021, despite a 1.5% drop in average selling prices (MW)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Tuesday: FedEx

    • Wednesday: General Mills, Jefferies

    • Thursday: Nike, Walgreens Boots Alliance

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • The US president unironically hinted at a regime change in Iran.

  • Trade your predictions on a range of events, only on Kalshi. Sign up with code LIT and get a $20 bonus when you trade $100.

Headline Roundup

  • Fed governors are split on rate cuts (RT)

  • Trump may change his mind about firing J Pow (RT)

  • US attacked Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday (BBG)

  • Goldman and BlackRock take the lead in carry pay for non-PE execs (WSJ)

  • Ordinary investors are souring on Big Tech (WSJ)

  • Options traders wrestle with stocks' muted reaction to war risk (BBG)

  • Hedge funds boost long oil bets as Mideast conflict grows (BBG)

  • Hong Kong stock rally shakes up investor playbook for China (BBG)

  • SPAC revival puts spring in step of investors in New York (FT)

  • Quant giants step up India presence with talent hunt and upgrades (RT)

  • Europeans seek 'digital sovereignty' as US tech firms embrace Trump (RT)

  • Microsoft is prepared to walk away from high-stakes OpenAI talks (FT)

  • Solar bankruptcies mount as Congress slashes green energy funds (FT)

  • Shareholders sued Apple for overstating AI progress (RT)

  • Scale AI rivals see customer demand surge After Meta investment (BBG)

  • SoftBank's Son pitched a $1T Arizona AI hub (RT)

  • Tesla debuted robotaxis (CNBC)

  • Temu US sales plunged 25% amid trade war (BBG)

  • Citigroup poached JPMorgan's Drago Rajkovic as co-head of M&A (RT)

  • Nestle nominated ex-Zara boss Pablo Isla to replace Paul Bulcke as chair (RT)

  • Intel hired three chip industry execs as part of turnaround strategy (RT)

  • FedEx founder and executive chairman Frederick Smith passed away (RT)

A Message from Columbia Business School Exec Ed

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  • Learn from leaders who are driving AI transformation at BlackRock, OpenAI, Morgan Stanley, and more. 

  • Apply AI tools through case studies and automate workflows with easy-to-use code.

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • BNY Mellon approached smaller rival Northern Trust to discuss a merger that could create a combined ~$90B entity

  • Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. secured enough bids to buy NTT Data Group in a $16.3B deal 

  • Apple held internal talks about acquiring AI startup Perplexity, which was last valued at $14B

  • Darden Restaurants is considering a sale of its Bahama Breeze restaurant chain

  • Japanese electronics giant TDK acquired US-based SoftEye, which makes software and hardware for smart glasses

VC

  • Thinking Machines Lab, the pre-product pre-revenue AI startup founded by OpenAI's ex-CTO Mira Murati, raised a $2B seed round at a $10B valuation led by a16z

  • Browserbase, an infrastructure platform that powers web browsing capabilities for AI agents, raised a $40M Series B led by Notable Capital

  • Insight M, a startup providing cost-effective methane management solutions for the energy sector, raised a $30M round led by Morgan Stanley's 1GT climate PE strategy

  • Payments infrastructure platform Payabli raised a $28M Series B led by Fika Ventures and QED Investors

  • Ostrom, a digital green energy provider, raised a $23M Series B led by Eneco Ventures

  • Profound, a startup helping marketers understand and control how they show up in AI responses, raised a $20M Series A led by Kleiner Perkins

  • CloudQuery, a developer-first cloud governance platform, raised a $16M round led by Partech

  • Cluely, a startup help users 'cheat on everything,' raised a $15M Series A led by a16z

  • Sauz, a startup creating a new generation of tomato sauce, raised a $12M round led by CAVU Consumer Partners

  • Decentralized AI infrastructure startup Gradient raised a $10M seed round led by Pantera Capital and Multicoin Capital

  • ZeroRISC, a silicon supply chain integrity solutions startup, raised a $10M seed round led by Fontinalis Partners

  • HydroBlok, a startup building lightweight and waterproof construction panels, raised a $6M Series A extension led by Pier 88 Investment Partners and Andina Capital Partners

  • Crypto firm operations startup Stackup raised a $4.2M seed round led by 1kx

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Vietnamese tech firm VNG Group is planning a US IPO after delaying last year

Debt

  • Apollo agreed to help Electricite de France raise up to $6.1B via private bond placements to fund the Hinkley Point C nuclear project and other UK investments

  • Musk's OpenAI-rival xAI secured a $5B debt package with sweeter pricing, including higher yields and bigger discounts

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Wolfspeed, a semiconductor manufacturer for EVs, struck a deal with creditors to reduce its $6.5B debt by 70% and wipe out shareholders

  • French heart prosthesis firm Carmat is facing insolvency risk

  • A PE-backed JV involving CareerBuilder and Monster, the early pioneers of online job hunting, is exploring a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • UK alternative investor Intermediate Capital Group is looking to raise $11.5B for its flagship flexible capital fund

  • European PE firm Cinven is raising $1.7B-$2.3B for a new MM fund, succeeding its Strategic Financials Fund

  • Nordic middle market PE firm Accent Equity raised $233M for its seventh fund, 25% smaller than its predecessor

  • UK's Arini Capital Management secured a $200M anchor investment from Canada's BCI for its Europe-focused private credit fund

  • Ares launched its debut European Long-Term Investment Fund, offering individual investors semi-liquid exposure to private credit

  • Ares acquired control of three PE funds from Indonesia's Northstar Group

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • AQR's Cliff Asness agrees with critique of Michael Saylor's Bitcoin strategy

  • Stablecoins' market cap surged to a record high after Senate passed GENIUS bil

  • Barron Trump reportedly made millions from family's lucrative crypto firm

  • Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the full stories on everything crypto!

Exec’s Picks

*The above is for general informational purposes only and is not investment advice nor does it constitute an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell a particular financial instrument. Bitcoin Depot is not a registered investment adviser under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Nothing contained herein constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Bitcoin Depot to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments.

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.

We're currently seeking talent for some incredible roles. Head over to Litney Partners to drop your resume / create your profile and we'd love to get in touch!

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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot Advisers, LLC ("Autopilot"), an SEC-registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks, including loss of principal. As always, be smart out there. Litquidity is compensated to promote AutoPilot. Compensation details available upon request.

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