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Good Morning,

UBS is cutting half of Credit Suisse’s workers, A judge rejected SBF’s bid to throw out his fraud charges, Tesla charging tech is becoming the US standard, Google laid off staff from Waze, Costco is cracking down on membership sharing, PE firms are taking smaller deals, and Disney beat an investor lawsuit over its feud with DeSantis.

Trying to figure out your drink of choice to kick off the 4th of July weekend? Check out Sam Adams’ Ditch Days Variety Pack!

Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks made a comeback on Wednesday as investors combed through fresh economic prints showing the economy remains resilient

• Fresh economic data showed home prices are rebounding, and the newly built homes market remains attractive amid tight resale supply

• US consumer confidence hit a 17-month high on waning inflation and lower fears of recession

Earnings

• Walgreens missed Q1 estimates and cut profit outlook after seeing significantly lower demand for Covid-19 test kits and vaccines; the stock dropped 9.3% (BN)

• Manchester United beat Q3 estimates and raised outlook amid intense pressure for the current owners to sell the company because of ongoing fan frustration and underperformance, the stock jumped 7% (MW)

• Jefferies beat Q2 profit expectations thanks to robust performance in the investment bank's capital markets business that cushioned a slump in dealmaking (RT)

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: Micron, General Mills, BlackBerry

  • Thursday: Nike, Paychex, Simply Good Foods

  • Friday: Constellation Brands

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• UBS to cut more than half of Credit Suisse workforce (RT)

• The US in considering new restrictions on AI chip exports to China (WSJ)

• Tesla charging technology put on fast track to become US standard (RT)

• Australia inflation cools sharply, easing rate-hike pressure (BBG)

• United Airlines CEO blames FAA as storms trigger more flight cancellations (RT)

• Google lays off staff at its mapping app Waze (RT)

• Google violated its standards in ad deals, research finds (WSJ)

• Ford to cut jobs in the US, Canada to trim costs (RT)

• Costco cracking down on membership sharing at self-checkout (AX)

• Putin’s strategy to outlast West threatens Russia’s stability (WSJ)

• Private equity giants settle for bite size deals (WSJ)

• Bank of America to expand in four US states, closing gap with JPMorgan (RT)

• Disney beat investor lawsuit over feud with DeSantis (RT)

A Message From Sam Adams

Get the Weekend Started Right with Sam Adams

We’re six days out from the 4th of July, the sun is out, and your boss is definitely taking a five-day weekend to celebrate America’s birthday.

Why don’t you do the same, and kick off your weekend celebrations with Sam Adams’ Ditch Days Variety Pack?

The Ditch Days pack has the perfect collection of drinks for your pool day or rooftop party, featuring Sam Adams’ 1) citrus wheat Summer Ale, 2) lemon-tinted Porch Rocker, 3) pineapple and lime Summer Adventure Lager, and 4) thirst-quenching, orange-flavored Take-a-Day IPA.

So what are you waiting for? Celebrate the 4th with Sam Adams’ Ditch Days Variety Pack by clicking here!

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Assicurazioni Generali's plans to sell a $21.9B portfolio of insurance liabilities has been hampered due to the sharp increase in rates, which have complicated talks with prospective buyers (RT)

• Brookfield Reinsurance made a $4.3B takeover offer for annuities provider American Equity Investment Life Holding (RT)

• PE firm TDR Capital is weighing options for David Lloyd Leisure and could potentially sell the health and fitness club chain for as much as $2.6B (RT)

• British Columbia Investment Management is considering a $2B sale of private equity assets in the secondary market to raise capital for other investments (BBG)

• The sale of Gojo Industries, the maker of Purell hand sanitizer, fell flat due to unsatisfactory offers that did not reach the parent company’s $2B target (RT)

• KKR will buy valve and pump maker Circor International for $1.7B cash, although Arcline Investment Management bid slightly more (BBG)

• PE firm THL Partners is exploring a sale of healthcare software provider Nextech Systems at a valuation of up to $1.5B (RT)

• Durango Midstream, an energy pipeline operator backed by Morgan Stanley Energy Partners, is preparing to launch a $1B sale (BBG)

• Thomson Reuters agreed to acquire AI lawyer assistant startup Casetext for $650M cash (RT)

• Ontario’s Municipal Workers Retirement System’s real estate arm Oxford Properties and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are selling a Vancouver Amazon office building for $266M (BBG)

• India’s Federal Bank paused an estimated $244M stake sale in its non-banking financial unit due to valuation disagreements (BBG)

• State-controlled bad debt manager China Huarong Asset Management took over a real estate joint venture it previously had with Dalian Wanda Group through a capital injection of $232M (BBG)

• Fanatics increased its offer to $225M to acquire PointsBet, outbidding DraftKings; PointsBet’s board approved the bid (CNBC)

• Faraday Future received $90M in funding commitments from existing investors led by PE firm ATW Partners (RT)

• PE firm Creador bought a 40% stake in Malaysia's Pet World International, which is also planning to IPO in Singapore by the end of 2023 (RT)

VC

• Data security startup Cyera raised a $100M Series B led by Accel (TC)

• Data management startup Redpanda raised a $100M Series C led by Lightspeed, GV, and Haystack VC (TC)

• Augmedics, a startup building an augmented reality-based navigation platform for spinal surgeries, raised an $82.5M Series D led by CPMG (TC)

• Austin-based Cart.com, which provides e-commerce services, raised a $60M Series C at a $1.2B valuation from B. Riley, Kingfisher Investment Advisors, Snowflake Ventures, Prosperity7 Ventures, and more (TC)

• Flywheel, a medical imaging data and AI platform, raised a $54M Series D led by Novalis LifeSciences and NVentures (BW)

• AI model startup Reka raised $50M at a $300M valuation in a funding round led by DST Global Partners and Snowflake (RT)

• Traffic management platform NoTraffic raised a $50M Series B led by M&G Investments (TC)

• Warp, a startup providing a ‘Rust-based terminal with AI’, raised a $50M Series B led by Sequoia Capital, GV, and more (FN)

• Mythical Games, a next-gen gaming studio, raised a $37M Series C1 led by Scytale Digital (BW)

• Carbon Recycling International, a company that produces methanol from carbon dioxide, raised a $30M round led by Equinor Ventures (PRN)

• Passage, a startup aiming to match talented immigrants with educational and career opportunities, raised a $30M seed round led by Drive Capital (BW)

• Federato, an insurance industry risk management platform, raised a $25M Series B led by Caffeinated Capital (PRN)

• Everytable, a mission-driven food company that fights for food justice, raised a $25M Series C-2 led by the Dohmen Company Foundation (PRN)

• CalypsoAI, a startup adding guardrails to generative AI models, raised a $23M Series A-1 led by Paladin Capital Group (TC)

• Faros AI, a platform for software engineers designed to bring key operational data into one place, raised a $20M Series A led by Lobby Capital (TC)

• Warehouse management startup Dexory raised a $19M Series A led by Atomico (TC)

• Astraveus, a startup creating automated microfluidic cell factories, raised an $18.1M seed round led by AdBio Partners (PRN)

• Neurovisual disorder treatment startup Luminopia raised a $16M Series A led by U.S. Venture Partners (BW)

• Zenarate, an AI-powered agent coaching platform, raised $15M in funding led by Volition Capital (TC)

• Quantum algorithms startup Algorithmiq raised a $15M Series A led by Inventure VC (FN)

• Recruiting predictability platform Datapeople raised a $13M Series A led by GreatPoint Ventures and New Markets Venture Partners (PRN)

• BeeKeeperAI, a startup building zero-trust AI collaboration software, raised a $12.1M Series A led by Sante Ventures (BW)

• Resistant AI, a Prague-based AI and ML security company, raised an $11M Series A led by Notion Capital (FN)

• Industrial robotics startup Realtime Robotics raised $9.5M in funding from Shinhan GIB and Kyobo Life Insurance (TC)

• Generative AI app Loora raised a $9.3M seed round led by Emerge (TC)

• Blueprint, a platform helping mental health clinicians deliver quality care in less time, raised a $9M Series A led by Ensemble VC and Lightbank (PRN)

• Honey Homes, a membership service for home upkeep and maintenance, raised a $9M Series A led by Khosla Ventures (BW)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• India's Aditya Birla Capital will raise $214M by issuing new shares through qualified institutional placement (RT)

• German energy storage provider Intilion is planning a third-quarter listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (BBG)

SPAC

• Software engineering services firm MKD Technologies is merging with Cetus Capital Acquisition Corp. in a $230M deal (NSC)

• AI-driven video, sensor, and data management platform Airship AI Holdings will go public through a $225M deal with BYTE Acquisition Corp. (BW)

Debt

• India’s Goswami Infratech accepted bids worth $1.7B in India’s largest debt issue from a low-rated company (RT)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• A US bankruptcy judge is deciding whether Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary LTL Management can use bankruptcy to resolve an $8.9B settlement of thousands of lawsuits over its carcinogenic talc products; its first bankruptcy attempt was dismissed (RT)

• Liquidators at bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital are seeking to recover $1.3B from its cofounders (RT)

• US electric truckmaker Lordstown Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to sue multinational Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn over a disputed promised investment (RT)

• A US judge approved Overstock.com’s $21.5M purchase of Bed Bath & Beyond’s brand name, intellectual property and ecommerce platform (RT)

• Movie theater advertising firm National CineMedia will emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August or September after US courts approved its reorganization (RT)

Fundraising

• Early Postmates backer Uncork Capital raised two new funds totaling $400M, one to invest in seed companies and one to make follow up investments after a company has grown (BBG)

• Indian VC Arkam Ventures is looking to raise $180M for its second fund to invest in ‘middle India’ (TC)

• India’s ASK Group plans to raise as much as $122M for its inaugural private credit fund (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Asset manager Fidelity is expected to file a spot Bitcoin ETF with US regulators (RT)

• Nevada is seeking to appoint a receiver for Prime Trust, alleging that the custodian used customer funds to buy cryptocurrencies after it lost access to digital wallets with tens of millions in assets (BBG)

• A federal judge rejected Sam Bankman-Fried's bid to throw out most of the US government’s criminal case accusing the FTX founder of orchestrating multibillion-dollar fraud (RT)

Exec’s Picks

• Patrick O’Shaughnessy had a detailed conversation with Kevin Kelly on spotting trends, the importance of scarcity, AI, and more.

• Pennsylvania’s incredible 12-day rebuild of I-95 could provide a model for how America can start building again, according to Packy McCormick.

• Nick Gerli wrote a good thread on the Airbnb bear market.

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We aim to place strong candidates at leading private equity, hedge fund, venture capital, growth equity, and credit funds, as well as investment banks.

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