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Good Morning,
Hedge funds are on track for their best month in a decade, US and Iran may meet again over the weekend, Kering aims to launch luxury Google glasses next year, Musk's Terafab chip project is picking up speed, and Jensen Huang went viral for his response to the China national security question on a podcast with Dwarkesh.
Warmer weather means its time for a wardrobe upgrade…and there's no better way than to start with some fresh pairs of amberjacks. Snag some new pairs and transform your shoe game in time for summer.
Let's dive in.
Before The Bell
As of 4/16/2026 market close.
Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*
Markets
US stock indexes rose to fresh ATHs as traders looked past the US-Iran war
Japan's Nikkei 225 index erased all Iran war losses and closed at a new ATH
Earnings
Netflix beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates on a windfall from its terminated Warner Bros deal but missed on forecasts due to an uneven release calendar; co-founder Reed Hastings will retire (CNBC)
TSMC beat Q1 estimates as strong AI chip demand contributed to a 58% profit surge and record profit streak (CNBC)
PepsiCo beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates as its struggling North American food business reported a return to volume growth following price cuts on brands like Doritos and Lay's (CNBC)
Full calendar here
Prediction Markets
Trump is now threatening to fire J Pow if he doesn't quit from the Board of Governors after his Fed chair term ends. Powell's board term runs until 2028
Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market
Headline Roundup
US and Iran may meet again over the weekend (RT)
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ten-day ceasefire (CNBC)
Equity L/S funds are on track for their best month in a decade (RT)
Private credit funds face more pressure as banks swap collateral (BBG)
Goldman warns private credit funds are not marketed properly (FT)
Foreign investors keep selling Chinese bonds despite resilience (BBG)
US will give federal agencies access to Anthropic's new Mythos model (BBG)
Gucci-owner Kering aims to launch luxury Google glasses next year (RT)
Musk's Terafab chip project is asking suppliers to move at 'light speed' (BBG)
Sam Altman is seeking to dismiss his sister's rape lawsuit (RT)
A Message from amberjack
New season, new shoes
With summer season around the corner, it's time to upgrade your shoes. And what better place to start than with a pair of fresh amberjacks.
amberjack is the modern footwear brand started by execs from Adidas, Cole Haan, and McKinsey. They've created the world's most advanced dress shoes, made with proprietary athletic materials that deliver incredible comfort and A-grade leather vertically sourced from one of the world's leading tanneries.
They've been featured in Forbes, GQ, and Wall Street Journal and Men's Health named them the most comfortable business casual shoe just last year. The only downside is they often sell out – get yours today before they're gone!
Deal Flow
M&A / Strategic
Finnish elevator maker Kone is in advanced talks to acquire Advent and Cinven-backed rival TK Elevator at a potential $30B valuation, including debt
Choice Properties REIT, a unit of Canada's Weston family, and Canadian PE firm Kingsett Capital will take over First Capital REIT in a $6.8B cash and stock deal, including debt
UK product testing firm Intertek rejected a $10.7B LBO offer from Swedish PE firm EQT as too low despite a 36% premium
India's Sun Pharmaceutical, Germany's Grünenthal, and some PE firms are vying to acquire $2.4B-listed women's healthcare firm Organon
KKR and Apollo are considering bids for Canada's OTPP-backed Portuguese packaging maker Logoplaste at a potential $2B valuation
PE firm TPG agreed to acquire Learfield, a media and tech company for college athletics, from Charlesbank Capital Partners for $2B
Abu Dhabi's Emirates International Investment Co. will take a minority stake in General Atlantic-backed Danish juice chain Joe & the Juice at a $1.8B valuation
Uranium Royalty agreed to acquire mineral royalty firm Sweetwater Royalties in a $1.1B deal
PE firm EQT relaunched a $1B sale for the mainland Chinese business of contact lens maker Ginko International after a deal with Advent fell through
$500M-listed Canadian theater chain Cineplex is seeking a merger with rivals including Regal Cineworld or Cinemark
Kingdom Holding Co., the conglomerate of Saudi billionaire prince Al Waleed, will acquire a majority stake in Al Hilal Football Club from Saudi SWF PIF at a $375M valuation
Megafunds including Apollo, Ares, and Sixth Street are in early talks to help fund NBA's expansion into Europe
US wealth manager Corient agreed to buy Bedrock Group, a Swiss multi-family office backed by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala
American Express will buy Sam Altman-backed AI-focused expense management startup Hyper
VC
OpenAI will take a 10% stake in AI chip firm Cerebras as part of a $20B-$30B chip deal
Cerebras is seeking to raise $3B at a $35B valuation in a pre-IPO round
Enterprise banking fintech Slash Financial raised a $100M Series C at a $1.4B valuation led by Ribbit Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Goodwater Capital
Student transportation firm Zum raised $100M at a $1.7B valuation from TPG
Wealth.com, an AI-powered estate and tax planning platform for financial advisors and institutions, raised a $65M Series B from Titanium Ventures, Pruven Capital, Charles Schwab, GV, Citi Ventures, and others
Antioch, a simulation startup for robot developers, raised an $8.5M seed round at a $60M valuation led by A* and Category Ventures
Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable
IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
CD&R-backed global car glass repair group Belron is planning an Amsterdam IPO at a $35B valuation
Arcline-backed defense parts supplier Arxis surged 36% in its trading debut after raising over $1.1B at a $15.4B market cap in an upsized IPO
HVAC giant Madison Air Solutions rose 18% in its trading debut after raising $2.2B at a $13.2B valuation in the biggest US industrials IPO this century
Chinese energy storage equipment firm Sigenergy Technology soared 100% after raising $560M in a Hong Kong IPO
UK sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion sold its entire 9.1% stake in Applied Nutrition $66.5M
African business tycoon Aliko Dangote plans to sell 10% of his Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals unit on multiple African stock exchanges
Activist Elliott took a 3% stake in Japanese HVAC firm Daikin
Bank of Ireland is proposing delisting from London to reduce costs
Debt
Bank of America sold $10B of investment grade bonds
Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Kuwait raised a combined $10B in private dollar bond placements this month while avoiding public markets
The record $5.7B junk bond sale by two data centers linked to Google received $15B in investor demand
SoftBank raised $1.5B in a dollar bond sale and $2.05B in a euro bond sale to refinance debt and partly repay a bridge loan used to invest in OpenAI
French lender BNP Paribas is planning a $1.2B SRT tied to CRE loans
AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave raised another $1B in junk bonds
Brazilian conglomerate J&F raised $400M in a debut dollar junk bond sale
Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed
Struggling TV shopping network QVC plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure over $5B of debt
Bankrupt CD&R-backed label maker Multi-Color Corp won court approval for a restructuring plan that would cut $4B in debt and allow CD&R to keep control as it seeks to exit Chapter 11
Raizen, a Brazilian sugar and ethanol JV between Shell and conglomerate Cosan, presented bondholders with a new restructuring proposal which includes a $1.6B capital injection
Funds / Secondaries
Sequoia raised $7B for a new fund to expand bets on large companies
Credit investor GoldenTree raised $3B for its latest tactical opportunities credit fund
PE firm Lightyear Capital raised $2.5B for its sixth flagship fund
Europe-based Vesper Infrastructure Partners raised $1.2B for its debut fund
UK is launching a $675M 'Sovereign AI' fund to boost support for local AI startups
Aussie pension investor Colonial First State committed $260M to infrastructure investor Morrison
Danish PE firm Blue Equity raised over $110M for its fourth fund
VC Collide Capital raised $95M for its second fund to continue investing in fintech, supply chain, and the future of work
Saudi's PIF plans to anchor a regional private credit fund of King Street Capital Management
Crypto Sum Snapshot
Drift Protocol, the crypto platform that was hacked for $385M, will relaunch after securing $150M in funding from a consortium led by Tether
Crypto and AI PACs raised $250M ahead of US midterm elections
Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.
Lit's Picks
The Litquidity × DFIN 2026 Bulls & Brackets Challenge is officially over and we have two winners🥁🥁👑
Men's Bracket: Nelson Lamkin
Women's Bracket: Erica Berger
A huge shoutout to the winners of our 2026 March Madness bracket challenge and a thank you to DFIN for the collaboration🤝
The Dwarkesh Podcast hosted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to hear his in-depth perspectives on everything AI and Nvidia. Watch it here.
Also, here's a viral clip of Jensen from their conversation that's taking Twitter by storm.
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.