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Good Morning,

Traders are now weighing a rate INCREASE, the FTC banned worker non-competes, O&G M&A hit a record high, investors are exiting Cathie Wood's funds, Amazon launched a grocery subscription, and strong earnings helped lift markets.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks rose for a second straight session yesterday on positive early earnings from popular mega caps

• US 2Y yields touched 5% to hit a five-month high

• Options markets are re-pricing a 20% chance of a Fed rate increase

Earnings

• Tesla shares jumped ~12%, despite missing Q1 earnings and revenue estimates and reiterating a pessimistic FY outlook, as Musk announced plans to pull forward production of a new affordable EV (CNBC) 

• Visa beat Q2 analyst estimates as consumers shrugged off worries of a slowing economy to swipe cards on everything from travel to dining (RT)

• Spotify shares jumped 11% after beating Q1 estimates, swinging to a profit as it implements its ‘efficiency’ strategy (YF) 

• PepsiCo beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates as growth in international markets offset weaker demand in its North America market (CNBC)

• GE Aerospace shares rose ~8% on a beat-and-raise thanks to strong sales from commercial aircraft engines and services (BBG) 

• General Motors shares rose ~4% after on a Q1 beat-and-raise thanks to strong North American operations, driven by truck sales (CNBC) 

• JetBlue Airways shares tumbled ~19% after lowering Q2 and FY revenue forecasts as it attempts to return to profitability (CNBC) 

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: Meta, Boeing, IBM, Ford, Chipotle, AT&T

  • Thursday: Microsoft, Alphabet, Intel, Snap Inc., American Airlines

  • Friday: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Abbvie

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Fund offering 'VC' exposure sends investors on meme-like ride (RT)

• Jamie Dimon cautions over soft landing for ‘unbelievable’ US economy (FT)

• US banned worker 'non-compete' agreements (RT)

• Global EMN hedge funds report best quarter in 24 years (RT)

• US oil and gas M&A hit a record high $51B in Q1 (RT)

• Chinese speculators super-charge gold rally (FT)

• JPMorgan AM surges to dominance in Europe active ETF market (FT)

• JPMorgan named new heads of China securities unit (RT)

• Cathie Wood’s popular ARK funds are sinking fast (WSJ)

• US business activity cooled to a four-month low (RT)

• Eurozone business activity rose to an eleven-month high (FT)

• FDIC ponders tighter checks on big ‘passive’ investors in US banks (FT)

• US new home sales rebounded to a six-month high (RT)

• US will sanction Chinese banks aiding Russia War effort (WSJ)

• TikTok spent $7M on lobbying and ads to combat potential US ban (CNBC)

• Microsoft launched a lightweight AI model (RT)

• Advisers on trillions in IRAs must now put your interest first (WSJ)

• Amazon launched a grocery subscription (TC)

• NBA TV rights are up for grabs (TA)

• Oracle is moving its world HQ to Nashville (CNBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Canada found major competition concerns with US grains merchant Bunge's proposed acquisition of Viterra, which would create a $34B company, including debt (RT) 

• Communications infrastructure REIT Uniti Group is in advanced talks to reunite with telecom provider Windstream in a deal worth up to $15B, including debt (BBG) 

• CVC Capital Partners is exploring options for its controlling stake in $11.8B Italian drugmaker Recordati (BBG)

• US sued to block luxury goods group Tapestry’s $8.5B acquisition of Capri Holdings, which owns brands including Michael Kors (FT) 

• IBM is in advanced talks to acquire $5.9B software company HashiCorp (BBG) 

• Australian industrial conglomerate Seven Group Holdings is exploring an acquisition of Cleanaway Waste Management, which has a ~$4.3B market cap (BBG) 

• PE firm PAI Partners will acquire a majority stake in UK music equipment maker Audiotonix from French PE firm Ardian in a ~$2.5B deal (FT) 

• UK's JD Sports Fashion agreed to buy US sportswear retailer Hibbett for $1.1B (BBG) 

• Ithaca Energy agreed to acquire almost all of Italian energy company Eni’s UK oil and gas fields in a ~$940M stock deal (FT) 

• Coffee roaster Luigi Lavazza agreed to buy vending machine maker IVS Group in a  $697M cash deal (BBG) 

• Metaverse firm Infinite Reality acquired the Drone Racing League for $250M (BBG) 

• Redwood Capital Investments is nearing a deal to acquire BDT & MSD Partners' majority stake in Marquette Transportation (BBG)

• Allfunds Group abandoned discussions over a potential sale of the European fund distribution platform (BBG) 

VC

• AI search engine startup Perplexity is raising a ~$250M Series B at a $2.5B-$3B valuation (TC)

• Community college startup Campus raised a $23M Series A extension led by Founders Fund (TC)

• Repairable laptop startup Framework raised a $17M Series A-1 led by Spark Capital (TC)

• Outpost, a network of managed semi-truck parking facilities, raised a $12.5M Series A led by GreenPoint Partners (BW)

• Industrial software company HighByte raised a $12M Series A led by Standard Investments (PRN)

• 401GO, a retirement plan provider, raised a $12M Series A led by Next Frontier Capital (BW)

• Zefir, a Paris-based proptech startup, raised $12.1M in funding led by Zigg Capital, Sequoia Capital, and more (FN)

• Summer Health, a digital health platform, raised an $11.7M Series A led by 7wire Ventures and Lux Capital (PRN)

• Prophet Security, an AI-powered platform that triages, investigates, and responds to security alerts, raised an $11M seed round led by BCV (BW)

• Texture, a data collection and sharing platform for renewable energy, raised a $7.5M seed round from Abstract Ventures, Day One Ventures, Equal Ventures, and more (TC)

• Aquabattery, a climate tech startup developing a saltwater LDES solution, raised a $6.6M seed round led by EIT InnoEnergy (FN)

• Prime Intellect, a provider of an open and decentralized AI platform and protocol, raised a $5.5M seed round led by Distributed Global and CoinFund (FN)

• Bump, a platform helping creators manage and grow their businesses, raised a $3M seed round from ImpactX, Capitalize, and Serac Ventures (TC)

• SustainAble Exchange, a sustainable commerce platform, raised a $2M seed round led by Jeff Hallstead (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Brazil’s Eletrobras obtained bondholders’ approval for a $780M public share sale of its stake in power grid operator CTEEP (BBG)

• Microsoft-backed cloud and data security startup Rubrik’s $713M IPO is ~20x oversubscribed (BBG) 

• Independent renewable energy provider Nexamp secured a $520M capital raise led by Manulife Investment Management (VC)

• Supermarket chain Spinneys' UAE franchisee Spinneys 1961 is seeking to raise $375M at a ~$1.5B valuation in its Dubai IPO (RT)  

• Hong Kong’s biggest IPO of 2024 flopped as shares of Chinese bubble tea chain ChaPanda dropped 38% in its trading debut after raising $331M (FT)

• Fidelidade-Companhia de Seguros, a Portuguese insurer controlled by China’s Fosun International, is planning a 2025 IPO (BBG)

Debt

• Morocco’s state-owned phosphates giant OCP aims to raise $5B-$7B through 2027 via bond sales and an IPO of its chemicals unit (BBG) 

• Goldman Sachs held talks with private credit lenders to help shore up Beyond Meat liquidity and is seeking ~$250M (BBG) 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Fisker may file for bankruptcy protection in 30 days amid debt obligations (RT)

• Venezuela hired Rothschild & Co. to advise on its $154B foreign debt obligations (BBG)

Fundraising

• Industrial MM PE firm The Sterling Group raised $3.5B for its its sixth PE fund (FN) 

• Investment firm Fundamental Advisors is seeking $1.5B for its latest flagship fund to invest in municipal assets (WSJ) 

• Early-stage VC Crosslink Capital closed its tenth flagship VC fund at $350M (FN) 

• PE firm Strattam Capital closed its third flagship PE fund at $308M to invest in founder-led tech companies (FN) 

Crypto Corner

• Crypto lobbyists sue SEC over 'dealer' definition (CD)

• FTX to auction off another unspecified amount of Solana tokens (BBG) 

Exec’s Picks

• Bloomberg’s Chris Bryant explained why everyone in finance is getting ripped…and naturally, Litquidity took notice.

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