Together with
Good Morning,
AMD signed a mega chips deal with OpenAI, PE is raising debt from everywhere, France lost its fourth prime minister in one year, JPMorgan replaced its Europe CEO, and OpenAI has developed a Midas touch to send stocks soaring by mere mentions.
Early enrollment ends October 13 for the AI for Business & Finance Certificate Program from Columbia Business School Exec Ed and Wall Street Prep. It's perfect for non-technical business and finance professionals looking for practical, impactful AI use cases. Learn more.
Lastly, heading to LA next week for a16z's tech week. Hosting an event at an exclusive car club alongside Harbinger Motors. If you're a founder or VC, come hang. RSVP here.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 10/6/2025 market close.
Click here to learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks rallied yesterday on the back of AI and Big Tech
S&P and Nasdaq closed at record highs
S&P rose for a seventh-straight day for its best streak since May
France's CAC 40 index fell 1.4% in its worst day in six weeks on PM Lecornu's surprise resignation
France 10Y yield surged to 3.6%
France-Germany 10Y spread widened to 89 bps to the highest YTD
Japan stocks soared to fresh ATHs on Takaichi's surprise PM victory
Swap traders cut odds of a BOJ rate hike from 60% to 24%
Yen fell to record low vs euro
FX traders are the least bullish on yen since 2022
Earnings
Constellation Brands beat Q2 revenue and earnings estimates despite a 15% drop in net sales, but reiterated lower FY guidance due to macro headwinds and highlighted focus on distribution gains, disciplined innovation, and brand investment amid soft consumer demand (CNBC)
What we're watching this week:
Thursday: Delta, PepsiCo, Levi's
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
The Second Decision.
Headline Roundup
White House eyes healthcare talks with Democrats to end shutdown (BBG)
White House says no shutdown-related layoffs just yet (RT)
IRS named Frank Bisignano to new CEO role (RT)
PE taps lending power of three to finance mega deals (BBG)
JPMorgan will rake $500M fee for EA LBO debt (BBG)
US government watchdog will assess private credit risks (BBG)
World's biggest pension GPIF puts impact investing on agenda (BBG)
OpenAI's golden touch spreads as stocks soar off mere mentions (BBG)
Big debt deals throw fuel on the AI boom (BBG)
Global VC funding rose 38% YoY to $97B, with 46% towards AI (RT)
Nasdaq becomes market of choice for dubious penny-stock IPOs (WSJ)
UK steps up efforts to secure more company listings (FT)
Deloitte issued refund for error-ridden report that used AI (FT)
B. Riley will seek Nasdaq hearing to put off delisting (BBG)
Cboe gets nod to list firms in Australia in threat to ASX (BBG)
EY narrows US leadership race to three candidates (FT)
JPMorgan replaced Europe CEO who was doing job from New York (FT)
Verizon named ex-PayPal CEO Dan Schulman as CEO (RT)
SCOTUS allowed order forcing Google to make app store reforms (RT)
France lost its fourth prime minister in one year (BBG)
A Message from Columbia Business School Exec Ed
Build hands-on AI skills and an MBA-level network.
The 8-week AI for Business & Finance Certificate Program from Columbia Business School Exec Ed + Wall Street Prep is built for non-technical roles and helps you cut through buzzwords, apply AI to your work, and lead adoption in your org.
Enroll by Oct. 13 to get $200 off tuition + use code LITQUIDITY for an additional $300 off. Starts Nov 10.
Deal Flow
M&A / Investments
OpenAI is in talks to take a 10% stake in $330B-listed AMD as part of a mega chips deal
Energy technology giant Baker Hughes agreed to acquire liquid and gas equipment manufacturer Chart Industries in a $13.6B all-stock deal, including debt
Regional bank Fifth Third agreed to acquire peer Comerica in a $10.9B all-stock deal to create the nation's ninth-largest lender
Carlyle is in exclusive talks to acquire German chemical conglomerate BASF's coatings business for $8.2B
Silver Lake-owned software group Qualtrics agreed to acquire health-tech company Press Ganey Forsta for $6.7B, including debt
French PE firm Ardian agreed to acquire Irish utility Energia from infrastructure investor I Squared Capital for $2.9B, including debt
Ares agreed to acquire a 49% stake in a diversified renewable energy platform EDP Renovaveis at a $2.9B valuation
A consortium of investors including Advent and Corvex agreed to acquire executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles for $1.3B
Mining giant Atlantic Group will acquire an African Ivory Coast gold mine from Barrick Mining for $305M
Media conglomerate Paramount Skydance will acquire online news site the Free Press for $150M
US will take a 10% stake in Canadian minerals explorer Trilogy Metals for $35.6M
Australian pensions Aware Super agreed to merge with smaller rival TelstraSuper to form a $156B fund
VC
Heidi Health, a startup building an AI care partner for doctors, raised a $65M Series B led by Point72 Private Investments
Legal AI platform raised a $58M strategic round led by EQT Growth
French cybersecurity startup Filigran raised a $58M Series C led by Eurazeo
Fintech-IT Group, a Ukrainian digital banking software developer, raised funds at a $1B valuation led by UMAEF
Bee Maps, a decentralized mapping project powered by Hivemapper, raised a $32M round led by Pantera Capital, Borderless Capital, and more
MediView, an augmented reality surgical navigation platform, raised a $24M Series A led by GE Healthcare
Securitize, a blockchain startup helping companies issue tokens, received a $10M investment from ARK Invest
Hipp Health, a startup building an AI-native behavioral health platform, raised a $6.2M seed round led by RTP Global
Agio Ratings, a UK source of risk insights in digital assets, raised a $5.8M round led by AlbionVC
Vycarb, a startup using distributed water-based solutions to capture low-concentration CO2 emissions, raised a $5M seed round led by Twynam
IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Denmark's energy giant Orsted raised $9.4B in a rights offering to tackle the downturn facing the wind power industry
Spain's Natural Energy Group is offering a 3.5% stake for $1.05B in treasury stock sale
German medical equipment maker Ottobock is expected to raise $822M in what could be Germany's biggest IPO in a year
BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital-backed UK SME lender Shawbrook is seeking to raise $540M at a $2.7B valuation in UK's biggest IPO since 2021
Brookfield-owned Canadian natural gas storage platform Rockpoint Gas Storage raised its Canada IPO offering to $505M
Philippine utility Maynilad Water Services started taking orders from for a Philippine IPO that could raise $437M at a $1.6B valuation in the country's biggest listing in four years
MapLight Therapeutics is seeking to raise $250M at a $704M valuation in an IPO
Citigroup still plans to pursue an IPO of its Mexican retail unit Banamex even after receiving a 100% takeover offer from conglomerate Grupo Mexico
Debt
Canada's TD Bank Group is selling $3.2B of dollar bonds
Mining giant Vale is planning to buy back $3B in perpetual bonds that date back to its privatization in the 1990s
T-Mobile US sold $2.8B of investment grade bonds
India's Bharti Telecom is weighing a $1.7B bond sale for refinancing
Stanford University increased its short-term debt program from $500M to $1B
Hong Kong builder Lai Sun Development signed a $445M loan refinancing deal
India's Adani Green Energy will raise $250M from global lenders including DBS and DZ Bank
Canadian real estate company Morguard is seeking to sell $143M of bonds
French lender Credit Agricole delayed its Canadian dollar bond sale after France's PM unexpectedly resigned
Uzbekistan is mulling an Islamic finance and ESG bond sale to diversify its debt
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Jefferies earned undisclosed fees on First Brands 'side letter' financing
Spirit Airlines is seeking court approval to return 87 airplanes to lessors as is continues to pare down operations in bankruptcy
Fundraising / Secondaries
PE firm Bain Capital raised $14B for its fourteenth flagship PE fund
Blackstone and Abu Dhabi investment firm Lunate partnered on a $5B investment platform to target logistics in the Middle East
Apollo raised $2.4B for its third infrastructure fund
Infrastructure investor Meridiam raised $1.8B for its latest North America fund
PE firm Percheron Capital recapitalized its 2021 investment in Big Brand Tire & Service through a $1.6B continuation fund
Life sciences investor TCG Crossover raised $1.3B for its third fund
Bahrain-based Investcorp raised $560M for a new India-focused PE fund
Mideast hospitality investor Arzan Investment Management raised a debt financing commitment from Oaktree to pursue deals
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Galaxy launched all-in-one trading app GalaxyOne to compete with Robinhood
BlackRock's $100B Bitcoin ETF is the firm's most profitable ETF
Russia-backed crypto coin moves $6B despite US sanctions
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Upcoming Events🥂
Palm & Park is hosting a couple of events this coming week to bring the NYC finance community for some laid-back conversations and refreshing vibes. Come join us!
Olivia's Sip & Socialize #5 – Sunday, October 12, NYC
Join us for an intimate evening of music, drinks, art, and great conversation alongside a curated crowd for a relaxed, art-centric vibe. Perfect for reconnecting with friends and meeting new ones. RSVP here.
Blueflame × Litquidity Play & Pour #2 – Wednesday, October 15, NYC
Lit, Blueflame, and our network of PE professionals are getting together at T Squared Social to test our skills on a multi-sport golf simulator. It's going to be an evening of some meaningful conversations and fun rivalries. You should definitely join. RSVP here.
Litney Partners – Finance Recruiting 💼
Featured Roles:
We are working with a prestigious $10B AUM alternative investments firm to help hire an experienced investor relations VP. The firm's clients include sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, family offices and more. The ideal candidate will possess:
5-10 years of relevant experience in VC, growth, crossover, and/or hedge fund strategies
Prior experience engaging with RIAs, HNW, family offices, and other intermediary distribution channels
Strong understanding of private markets and late-stage private/public crossover dynamics
Commitment to relationships and stakeholder-centered success
Bachelor's degree; MBA, CFA, or CAIA preferred
If this sounds like you, we'd love to connect. Apply here 🤝
Exec’s Picks
Callie Cox wrote a great piece explaining why seasonality is irrelevant for most investors.
Rupak Ghose shared a detailed take on why pod shops are jumping into commodities.
Meme Cleanser
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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.