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Good Morning,
PE LBOs slumped in Q1, BlackRock filed to launch a Nasdaq-100 ETF, Jamie Dimon warned of larger-than-feared private credit losses, and Trump went berserk with threats against Iran if Hormuz isn't opened by a deadline tonight*.
*Stocks were up on the news after Citrini Analyst #3 shared Hormuz Strait intel straight from the source.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 4/6/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks gained yesterday as traders parsed Trump's wild Iran threats
S&P rose for a fourth-straight day
Saudi Arabia is charging Asia buyers a record $20/bbl premium on top of the Oman-Dubai benchmark
Earnings
Prediction Markets
Trump's negotiating team is missing one crucial person: Citrini Analyst #3
Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market
Headline Roundup
Trump threatened to 'blow everything up' by tonight if Strait of Hormuz stays closed (CNBC)
PE LBOs slump amid AI fears and war (FT)
Jamie Dimon warns private credit losses will be larger than feared (FT)
Goldman traders see 'fast-money' funds turning into stock buyers (BBG)
Retail crowd is seen resuming stock-buying binge after tax deadline (BBG)
Goldman's private credit fund defies sector-wide spike in redemptions (BBG)
BlackRock filed to launch a Nasdaq-100 ETF (RT)
SpaceX's IPO pitch centers on Musk's ability to 'sell the dream' (BBG)
Investors press Big Tech giants on water and power use in data centers (RT)
OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google united to combat Chinese copycats (BBG)
US trucking rates hit the highest since 2022 (BBG)
Used EV sales surged 17% on rising fuel prices (FT)
China and Europe launched a rare joint space mission (FT)
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Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
Neurocrine Biosciences agreed to acquire metabolic disease-focused Soleno Therapeutics for $2.9B cash at a 34% premium
Malaysian conglomerate Sunway is abandoning its $2.7B takeover bid of IJM Corp after failing to secure shareholder support
PE firm Energy Capital Partners has agreed to re-acquire nuclear services firm EnergySolutions from TriArtisan Capital Advisors at a $2B valuation
Windjammer Capital Investors acquired precision manufacturer PrecisionX Group from CORE Industrial Partners at a reported $500M to $1B valuation, including debt
French industrial testing firm Bureau Veritas will acquire Irish quality control business Lotusworks at a $433M valuation, including debt
LinkedIn discussed acquiring newsletter platform beehiiv late last year
VC
Xoople, a Spanish satellite data startup, raised a $130M Series B led by Nazca Capital
Yuzu Health, a health insurance infrastructure and third-party administrator, raised a $35M Series A led by General Catalyst
Q-Factor, an Israeli quantum computing startup, raised a $24M seed round led by NFX and TPY Capital
NeuBird AI, an agentic AI for production operations, raised a $19.3M round led by Xora Innovation
Hades Mining, a European deep-tech mining startup, raised a $17M seed round led by HV Capital and Headline
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
HVAC giant Madison Air Solutions is seeking to raise $2.2B at a $13.2B valuation in an IPO
KKR-backed Japanese HR platform SmartHR is considering a Japan IPO at a $1B valuation
Senior housing-focused REIT National Healthcare Properties filed for an IPO
Activist investor MAK Capita is urging German biotech Evotec to list its US unit Just Biologics in US and speed up cost cutting amid an 85% share slide
Debt
Blackstone-backed data center group QTS drew $12.5B of orders for a debut $4.6B high-grade bond sale to help fund a Microsoft data center
Deutsche Bank, RBC, and UniCredit are lending $870M to finance the $1.75B One Rock Capital Partners-backed merger of Asian food producer Eat Happy Group and sushi supplier Hana Group's European operations
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Cima Investments, a LatAm investment firm led by ex-Wall Street trader Esteban Nofal, acquired bankrupt pulp and paper maker Celulosa Argentina for $1
Funds / Secondaries
Ares raised ~$10B for its third opportunistic credit fund even as the asset class reels
Japan's SMFG and Nippon Life Insurance are in talks to set up a private credit JV with $3.1B in seed capital
Anthropic is in talks to raise $800M for a $1B PE consulting JV from General Atlantic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman to sell its Claude tool to PE-backed firms
Chile's SURA Investments and BTG Pactual Chile are seeking to raise a combined $200M for two new private credit funds
Zero Shot, a new VC led by OpenAI alums, raised $20M for a targeted $100M debut fund
Morgan Stanley filed to launch an interval private credit fund
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Polymarket will launch a 1:1 USDC-backed crypto collateral token
Peter Schiff called Bitcoin a 'sh*tcoin' and challenged Saylor to a debate
New revelations reignite crypto scandal involving Argentina president Milei
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
@AutismCapital clipped some of the wildest moments from Trump's press conference yesterday. They're all on his feed. You can find them here.
WSJ published an insightful and illustrative guide to the Gulf's trillions of dollars of sovereign wealth, i.e., a major source of financing for Wall Street deals.
WSJ also published an interesting profile on Hamza Lemssouguer, the young investor who turned down a Ken Griffin offer to build one of the fastest-growing hedge funds instead.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon published his annual letter to shareholders. His letter includes some interesting perspectives on AI and private credit. Read it 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.