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Good Morning,
PE megafunds are struggling to exit China deals, US investors are exiting US stocks at a historic pace, Centerview settled its lawsuit over analyst work hours, Claude nuked cybersecurity stocks, US Q4 GDP disappointed amid the government shutdown, and SCOTUS struck down a big chunk of US tariffs under Trump's use of IEEPA.
F2.ai is tackling Wall Street's biggest AI adoption challenge: outputs that aren't defensible in IC. Their Excel-native AI platform purpose-built for private markets turns fast answers into fully traceable analysis you can actually stand behind. If you work on the buy side, it's worth a look.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 2/20/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stocks rose in a volatile session on Friday as traders digested fresh GDP and inflation data and weighed implications of the SCOTUS tariff ruling
S&P is trading in its narrowest range YTD since the 1960s, despite single-stock volatility 7x higher on AI uncertainty
Europe's Stoxx 600 hit a fresh ATH
UK's FTSE 100 hit a fresh ATH
MSCI EM index climbed to an ATH on the SCOTUS tariff ruling
MSCI EM Latin America index rose to an eleven-year high after rising 20% in its best YTD start since 1991
Korea's KOSPI index hit a fresh ATH
Iron ore fell for a sixth week for its longest weekly losing streak since 2022
Wholesale egg prices fell to lowest since 2017, down 67% YoY
Euro is near a one-month low on US-Iran risks
Earnings
What we're watching this week:
Today: Hims & Hers, Domino's Pizza
Tuesday: AMC, The Home Depot, Cava, Workday,
Wednesday: Nvidia, Salesforce, Circle, TJX
Thursday: CoreWeave, Dell, Warner Bros. Discovery, Celsius, Vistra, Duolingo
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
Trump is juggling options for his flagship economic policy after an unfavorable SCOTUS ruling
Corporations and investors are also weighing options against US after SCOTUS made no mention of refunds, but opened the door for lower-court litigation
Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market
Headline Roundup
US Q4 GDP grew 1.4% YoY with PCE inflation below 3% (CNBC)
SCOTUS struck down most US tariffs with no ruling on refunds (CNBC)
US will impose 15% global tariff amid SCOTUS ruling (WSJ)
EU will not accept any US tariff increase amid SCOTUS ruling (RT)
Wall Street's smart money wins as tariff whiplash hits markets (BBG)
US proposed banning some investors from buying homes (WSJ)
US investors are exiting US stocks at the fastest pace since 2010 (RT)
European stocks are seeing record inflows (FT)
Equity funds saw the biggest inflow in five weeks as AI concerns ease (RT)
Bond market momentum shifts bears' way as sell signals flash (BBG)
Cyber stocks slide on latest Anthropic Claude AI release (BBG)
Riskiest CLO funds are flashing a warning sign (BBG)
PE megafunds are struggling to exit China deals (FT)
African eurobond sales see strongest YTD start since 2013 (BBG)
Metals volatility may slow pace of mining M&A (BBG)
Goldman Sachs launched an AI-free index (AX)
JPMorgan closed Trump's bank accounts a month after Jan 6 attack (RT)
HSBC cut 10% of US DCM team (BBG)
Centerview settled lawsuit over analyst work hours before trial (WSJ)
M&A lawyer talent wars are heating up (WSJ)
Consulting is set for fastest growth in years on back of AI boom (FT)
OpenAI expects $600B in compute spend through 2030 (RT)
Epstein estate agreed to $35M settlement in victim class action (RT)
Violence erupts in Mexico after military kills cartel leader (WSJ)
A major blizzard hit US Northeast (BBG)
A Message from F2
From data room to decision, 75% faster
Over the past few years, AI has made it dramatically easier to generate answers. But in IC, answers alone aren't enough.
That's where F2.ai comes in. F2's vertical AI platform for private markets is not only transforming diligence workflows at Wall Street's leading funds, but also amplifying the bull case for AI adoption.
With their launch of Audit Mode, F2 is equipping deal teams with the power to:
Trace values back to exact source files, sheets and cells
Inspect live Excel formulas, including precedents and dependents
Verify and update assumptions instantly with linked citations
…and all-in-all export clean, auditable Excel outputs that are actually defensible in IC.
In a world where AI Excel slop continues to hinder investor workflows, F2 is delivering AI's promise of speed with accuracy.
See why top funds already trust F2, the AI platform for private market investors.
Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
O&G giant ConocoPhillips is exploring a $2B sale of some of Permian Basin assets
KKR is exploring a $1.5B sale of information services provider BMC Helix
Italian industrial group Alfa Gomma's CEO Enrico Gennasio teamed with UK PE firm ICG to prepare a $.12B MBO offer
Activist hedge fund Pleasant Lake Partners took a 10% stake in $250M-listed toy maker Funko and is pushing for a sale
WaveRise Investments, ChrysCapital, and Two Infinity Partners agreed to acquire a 71% stake in Swiss drugmaker Novartis' Indian unit for $160M
Philippines' largest fast-food chain Jollibee Foods agreed to acquire Korean hot pot brand All Day Fresh for $87M)
Visa's takeover of Mexican payment processor Prosa was struck down by Mexican antitrust regulators
Dubai-based aircraft lessor DAE Capital is nearing a deal to acquire leasing platform Macquarie AirFinance
VC
Pepper, a food-distribution software platform, raised a $50M Series C round led by Lead Edge Capital
Rare-earth metals producer Phoenix Tailings raised a $40.2M Series B-3 led by Olive Tree Capital
InScope, an AI financial-reporting startup, raised a $14.5M Series A round led by Norwest
Hook, an AI-powered fan remix platform, raised a $10M Series A led by Khosla Ventures
Access the complete VC deal flow on Fundable
IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
TDR Capital and I Squared Capital-backed rental power supplier Aggreko is planning a US IPO or stake sale at a $12B valuation
Baypine and TSG-backed auto service chain Mavis Tire selected Bank of America and Goldman Sachs for a $2B IPO
Singapore SWF Temasek and Abu Dhabi SWF ADIA plan to invest in Indian renewable energy firm Clean Max Enviro Solutions' $340M India IPO
Indian generic crop-protection supplier UPL is preparing an India IPO of its seeds unit Advanta Enterprises to pare debt from its $4.2B acquisition of Arysta LifeScience
Thailand's largest hotel and restaurant chain operator Minor International is exploring a Singapore REIT listing of 14 hotels and a Hong Kong IPO of its restaurant unit Minor Food
Debt
JPMorgan is preparing to raise $5.3B of debt to support analysis software firm Qualtrics' $6.75B acquisition of healthcare survey firm Press Ganey
Kenya raised $2.25B in a eurobond sale to finance a debt buyback
Philippines sold an initial $1.9B of bonds in its first large-scale local debt offering
Goldman Sachs is considering sweetening terms on $1.7B of leveraged loans tied to chemical maker Arclin's $1.8B acquisition of DuPont's Aramids business
Blue Owl-backed Kuvare and pension giants CalPERS, OMERS, and BCI acquired $1.4B in loans from Blue Owl near par as the firm races to return cash to some private credit LPs
South African lender Absa Group raised $200M in loss-absorbing FLAC notes
South African lender Rival Standard Bank raised $125M in loss-absorbing FLAC notes
Senegal raised $160M in a short-term bond sale after being locked out of international capital markets
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Materials maker Trinseo is in talks with creditors on a restructuring that could be implemented in bankruptcy
Some creditors to building products manufacturer Cornerstone Building Brands' formed a bloc ahead of talks with owner CD&R
Bankrupt luxury retailer Saks Global won final court approval for a $1B DIP loan after resolving vendor objections, with $600M earmarked for vendor payments including $330M in the next two weeks
Polish state-controlled chemicals firm Grupa Azoty is seeking an 83% debt writedown on its Polyolefins unit's $1.7B in liabilities to clear way for a sale to Polish refiner Orlen
Funds / Secondaries
PE firm Veritas Capital raised $15.3B for its ninth flagship fund to continue investing at the intersection of government and tech
Goldman Sachs-owned investment firm Petershill is seeking $5B for its fifth flagship fund to continue its strategy of investing in other investment firms
Sustainable real assets investor Vision Ridge Partners raised $2.4B for its fourth fund
Lower MM PE firm Soundcore raised $450M for its third flagship fund
Lower MM PE firm Guardian Capital raised $440M for its fourth flagship fund
Healthcare VC Frist Cressey raised $425M for its fourth fund
Lower MM industrial and services investor Palm Peak Capital raised $375M for its debut fund
Hedge fund Saba Capital and secondaries specialist Cox Capital Partners launched cash tender offers for shares in private credit BDCs owned by Blue Owl at 20%-35% discounts to NAV
Partners Group and CVC slashed Swiss watch maker Breitling's valuation by 50% from its 2023 LBO price to ~$2.2B
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Bitcoin's $1T identity crisis hits from every direction
Mentioning Bitcoin or crypto on AI agent OpenClaw's Discord will get you banned
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Exec’s Picks
WSJ published a brief primer on Trump's new tariffs (and tariff tool kit) after the SCOTUS ruling.
WSJ also published an annotated analysis of the SCOTUS tariff decision.
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.