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Good Morning,
The Fed held rates steady yesterday while giving hawkish commentary for the rate path ahead. But the main takeaway? A complete regime overhaul under new Fed chair Kevin Warsh. It's a new era at the Fed.
With the World Cup underway, we're hosting a gameday viewing party next Thursday, June 25 in NYC! It's going to be a fun evening of drinks, networking, and USA energy for the investment banking community. Take some time away from the office and come join us! RSVP here🤝
US markets will remain closed tomorrow for Juneteenth. Our newsletter team will be out taking advantage of the mini long weekend. Hopefully, you'll be too. We'll see you back on Monday🫡
Plaid's latest ebook shares how leading companies are using modern financial infrastructure to solve real business challenges and improve outcomes. It's worth a read.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 6/17/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks fell yesterday as investors digested hawkish sentiment and a change in dynamics in the first rate decision under new Fed chair Kevin Warsh
Traders are pricing in one 25 bps rate hike by year-end
MSCI China index is nearing a bear market
Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks are down 9% YTD as traders favor AI winners elsewhere
BOJ kept FX markets steady with yen volatility at the lowest since 2021
Earnings
Prediction Markets
How long until Elon Musk announces talks with himself to merge his empires?
Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market
Headline Roundup
US will release Iran's funds and ease sanctions when 'they behave' (FT)
Trump says US will not invest in $300B fund for Iran (FT)
Fed held rates steady at 3.5%-3.75% in first meeting under Warsh (CNBC)
PBOC launched tool to boost yuan use by other central banks (BBG)
Citadel Securities saw 'astronomical' retail flows on SpaceX debut day (BBG)
Mega-IPO frenzy revives SPACs (RT)
Investors pile into bullish dollar bets as 'US exceptionalism' trade returns (FT)
Wave of SpaceX IPO arbitrage trades rattled ETFs including ARKK (BBG)
Hong Kong IPOs spring back to life with over $4B of listings (BBG)
China is seeking more IPOs from AI and Hong Kong-listed firms (BBG)
PE firms want software deals but lenders don't want to fund them (YH)
Convertibles market booms as AI firms hunt for capital (WSJ)
Vermont becomes latest state to limit PE in healthcare (WSJ)
EU antitrust chief urges EU countries to back cross-border bank deals (RT)
Green economy market cap hit a record $10T (BBG)
Zuckerberg admits Meta made 'mistakes' in AI workforce shift (RT)
SpaceX named Musk confidant Roelof Botha to the board (BBG)
A Message from Plaid
You only notice it when it breaks
Financial infrastructure is a lot like Wi-Fi. You don't think about it when it's working. You think about little else when it's not.
Every donation, account connection, fraud check, and payment depends on a stack of technology that most consumers will never see.
That's where Plaid comes in.
Companies like GoFundMe, H&R Block, HealthEquity, and Gemini use Plaid to help make those experiences faster, smoother, and more secure.
GoFundMe reimagines charitable giving
H&R Block shows the full financial picture
HealthEquity protects customers from fraud
Gemini opens the door to crypto, faster
Plaid's new Powered by Plaid ebook shares how leading companies are using modern financial infrastructure to solve real business challenges, improve customer experience, and spend less time fighting fires.
Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
Activist TOMS Capital is pushing $50B-listed shale producer Devon to quicken asset sales or sell itself
Saudi Aramco is considering a $7B stake sale in its sulphur business as part of a massive asset dumping spree
Italian aerospace and defense company Leonardo and Abu Dhabi military conglomerate EDGE detailed plans for a $5B JV
PE firm Lone Star Funds has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire Continental's industrial unit ContiTech, which could fetch $4B
Jazz Pharmaceuticals signed an $875M research collaboration and licensing agreement with Canada's AbCellera
Canadian midstream firm Keyera Corp acquired the remaining 50% stake in the KAPS LNG pipeline from Stonepeak for $860M
Mill Pond Capital is urging $600M-listed fiber producer Rayonier Advanced Materials to pursue a full sale
German investment firm Mutares is exploring a sale or IPO of Portuguese engineering group Efacec at a potential $350M-$500M valuation
Outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops will acquire the Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada (Florida Keys) from Northwood Investors for over $300M
PE firm Arcline will acquire data visualization and printing tech company AstroNova for $272M at an 80% premium
Flexstone Partners, the private markets affiliate of Natixis, will buy secondaries manager Glouston Capital Partners to form a $15B AUM platform
Tech consulting firm Accenture will acquire the Alfahealth and Industries eXcellence units of Italian digital service company Engineering for $1B
German media mogul Bernd Förtsch is seeking more details from BioNTech on the exit of its founders and the transfer of assets to their new venture
Germany will not let French energy giant TotalEnergies walk away from expensive offshore-wind projects despite rising costs and delays
VC
Chinese video AI startup Kling AI is seeking to raise over $2B at an $18B post-money valuation led by General Atlantic
AI startup CuspAI raised a $400M round at a $2.6B valuation from Jeff Bezos' family office Bezos Expeditions, Kleiner Perkins, and others
Real world AI lab Odyssey raised a $310M Series B at a $1.45B valuation led by Natural Capital
Karta, a fintech issuing US Visa credit cards to non-residents, raised $140M across a $15M Series A and a $125M credit facility co-led by Galaxy Ventures and Community Investment Management
Chronograph, a portfolio monitoring and analytics platform for private capital, raised a $140M strategic minority growth equity investment led by Sixth Street Growth
Twenty, America's first VC-backed cyber warfare startup, raised a $100M Series B at a $1B valuation led by Accel
XDOF, a robotics training-data infrastructure startup, raised $70M from Thrive Capital, Spark Capital, a16z, Lux, and WndrCo
Australian predictive healthcare startup Everlab raised $46M led by Airtree Ventures
Convey, an enterprise operations AI startup, raised a $38M Series A led by a16z
Trace Finance, a stablecoin-based cross-border payments infrastructure company, raised a $32M Series A led by CoinFund
Pramaana Labs, a startup bringing formal verification to AI, raised a $27M seed round led by Khosla Ventures
Solius, a light-therapy device startup, raised a $23M Series A led by Lauder Partners
NeuralTrust, a platform to secure AI agents, raised a $20M seed round led by Alstin Capital
Flagright, an AI OS for financial crime compliance, raised a $12.5M Series A led by Infinity Ventures
HighGround, a defense and aerospace intelligence/data startup, raised a $6.5M seed round led by Next Frontier Capital
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
National Stock Exchange of India is seeking to sell 6% of existing shares for $2.5B in an India IPO
Chinese electronics-components maker Lingyi iTech started taking investor orders for a $1.1B Hong Kong listing at a 44% discount to its China trading
Temasek-backed Indian hospital group Manipal Health Enterprises is set to launch a $1B IPO at a $10B valuation
Mynt, the firm behind Philippines' top fintech GCash, will file for Philippines' biggest IPO ever targeting an $8B valuation
Brookfield-backed data center firm Csquare filed for an IPO
SPAC / SPV
Quantum tech firm EigenQ will merge with Silicon Valley Acquisition in a $3B deal
Debt
Heir Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio is exploring private debt options to help finance his $11.6B deal to increase his stake in family holding company Delfin, the top investor in eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica
Spanish renewables giant Iberdrola sold $1.75B of senior green bonds
India's HDFC Bank secured its tightest-ever spread on a $750M dollar bond sale
Athens International Airport raised $580M in a debut euro bond sale
TAP Air Portugal is selling $350M of junk bonds ahead of a privatization of a 49.9% stake
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Creditors including Blackstone, Apollo, and FS KKR Capital will take over software firm Medallia from Thoma Bravo and invest $150M of new capital, wiping out all of Thoma Bravo's $5B investment
Hong Kong's regulator will proceed with plans to compensate minority shareholders of collapsed developer China Evergrande for $130M, brushing aside a legal challenge by liquidators
Automobile group Stellantis is in talks with two partners for cooperation on its struggling luxury brand Maserati
Funds / Secondaries
PE firm Clearlake raised $14.8B for its its eighth flagship fund
KKR plans to commit $1.4B to a new round of aircraft leasing through a partnership with commercial aviation company Altavair
Hedge fund Brevan Howard will start backing external equity L/S hedge funds
Two Warburg Pincus London MDs will leave to launch their own PE firm
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Binance is committed to European users despite reports it could leave EU
SEC is set to allow stock token trading in potential market shakeup
Wyoming becomes first state to issue its own crypto
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
SpaceX went public with OpenAI, Anthropic and Databricks lined up right behind for the deepest IPO pipeline in years. Outcomes like these print for funds that spotted them early, so getting in front of the next one is everything. At Litquidity Ventures, Fundable is how we do it, with custom alerts that flag companies fitting our thesis the second they launch or raise. Try 'em out and subscribe here.
DFIN x Litquidity World Cup Viewing Party⚽️🏆
We're partnering with DFIN to bring the investment banking community together for a World Cup Watch Party next Thursday, June 25 in Midtown Manhattan. Come join us for an afternoon of drinks, networking, and gameday energy!
June 25 game day schedule:
7:00 PM
Japan vs. Sweden
Tunisia vs. Netherlands
10:00 PM
🇺🇸USA🇺🇸 vs. Turkey
Paraguay vs. Australia
Take some time away from the office and come on out! RSVP here.
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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.