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Good Morning,

M&A-focused strategies are leading the hedge fund pack, Goldman and Evercore are bullish on stocks, Deutsche Bank is going all in on IB, Apple will shut down BNPL, our beloved Zyn is under attack, and one crypto came full circle to adopt the gold standard.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 06/17/2024 market close.

Markets

  • US stocks continued their upward rally on a positive for rates and AI

    • The S&P and Nasdaq closed at fresh ATHs

    • The Dow snapped a four-day losing streak

  • Corn futures fell to near three-year lows after hitting a four-month high last month

Earnings

  • Lennar beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates on a jump in new orders amid sales incentives directly aimed at buyers, but fell short on Q3 forecasts (MW) 

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Thursday: Accenture, Kroger

    • Friday: CarMax

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Pressure mounts on senior bankers as discontent in junior ranks simmers (FT)

  • M&A-focused hedge funds have outperformed all other strategies YTD (RT)

  • PE firms smart to exploit weak debt covenants, Marathon CEO says (BBG)

  • Midsize firms are big business for Wall Street banks (WSJ)

  • Goldman and Evercore ramp up US stock outlook (YH)

  • SCOTUS to hear shareholder lawsuit against Nvidia (RT)

  • Deutsche Bank counting on IB hiring spree to pay off (FT)

  • Milan stock exchange workers set to strike over Euronext’s divestments (FT)

  • India pulls in tech giants for its AI ambitions (FT)

  • Global metal supply chains are diversifying away from China (RT)

  • Western's flagship bond fund is lagging 97% of bond funds (BBG)

  • Regal takes short position in Australia's biggest bank (BBG)

  • Activist Starboard built a $500M stake in Autodesk (WSJ)

  • Trafigura to pay $55M over fuel oil manipulation (BBG)

  • US Treasury and IRS to close $50B tax loophole on partnerships (RT)

  • Apple will shut down its BNPL program (BBG)

  • Stripe to let employees cash out of stock for third time (BBG)

  • GE Aerospace CEO declined Boeing CEO job (WSJ)

  • UBS offers to repay 90% to clients hit by Greensill implosion (FT)

  • China's property investments fell 10% YTD in May (RT)

  • Zyn suspends online sales amid investigations (WSJ)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • KKR and TPG are among suitors interested in acquiring CVC's controlling stake in $11.4B Milan-listed drugmaker Recordati (BBG) 

  • Canada's CDPQ launched a sale of its 16.6% stake in Colonial Pipeline, US's largest fuel transportation system, at a potential $10B+ valuation (RT) 

  •  $3.7B-listed packaged water company Primo Water will merge with peer BlueTriton Brands in an all-stock deal and trade on the NYSE (RT) 

  • Finnish insurance group Sampo agreed to acquire Danish rival Topdanmark in an all-stock $4.7B deal (BBG) 

  • Fintech IQVentures will take furniture company The Aaron's Company private in a $504M deal (PRN)

  • French industrial group Seche Environnement agreed to acquire Singapore's ECO Industrial Environmental Engineering from Beijing Capital Eco-Environment Protection Group for $447M (RT) 

  • Singapore SWF Temasek will invest $200M in Betashares, one of Australia’s largest ETF providers (WSJ) 

VC

  • TIER IV, a pioneer in open source software for autonomous driving, raised a $54M Series B extension (PRN)

  • You.com, an AI-infused search engine, is raising a $50M Series B at an up to $900M valuation (RT)

  • Finaloop, an e-commerce accounting platform, raised a $35M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners (PRN)

  • Princeton NuEnergy, a lithium-ion battery recycling startup, raised a $30M Series A led by Samsung and Helium-3 Ventures (PRN)

  • Real-time data platform Tinybird raised a $30M Series B led by Balderton Capital (FN)

  • Constructor, an AI product discovery and search platform for ecommerce, raised a $25M Series B at a $550M valuation led by Sapphire Ventures (PRN)

  • Aim Security, a startup enabling the secure adoption of AI across enterprise organizations, raised an $18M Series A led by Canaan Partners (BW)

  • Autify, a quality engineering platform, raised a $13M Series B led by Globis Capital Partners and LG (PRN)

  • Tender, a food tech startup creating cuts of alternative meat, raised an $11M Series A led by Rhapsody Venture Partners (FN)

  • CampusAI, an AI learning skills startup, raised a $10M pre-seed round from angel Maciej Zientara (FN)

  • Hona, a client engagement software for law firms, raised a $9.5M Series A led by Costanoa Ventures (FN)

  • Data-driven property valuations startup Valuebase raised a $6.3M seed round led by Narya Capital (FN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Utility firm NextEra Energy plan to raise ~$1.9B in an equity issuance (RT) 

  • Spanish baking firm Europastry plans to launch a $537M Madrid IPO at a $1.6B valuation (BBG) 

  • LandBridge, a PE-backed landowner in the Permian Basin, is seeking to raise up to $319M in a US IPO at a $1.6B valuation (RT) 

  • Online comics platform Webtoon Entertainment is seeking an up to ~$2.7B valuation in its $315M US IPO (RT) 

Debt

  • Deutsche Bank agreed to buy ~$1.8B in aviation loans from state-owned lender NordLB (BBG)

Fundraising

  • Direct lender Antares Capital is seeking to raise up to $6B for a third senior loan fund (BBG) 

  • Pemberton Asset Management plans to raise over $4.3B for a fourth mid-market debt fund (BBG) 

Crypto Corner

  • Tether created a new synthetic dollar back by gold (CD)

  • SEC's crypto chief David Hirsch quit (CD)

  • SEC expects spot Ethereum ETFs to launch this summer (BN)

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