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Good Morning,

A China trade deal may be coming soon, banks are pushing for LBO financings despite hung debt, hedge funds are dumping discretionary consumer stocks, and Trump confirmed that he has no intent to sack J Pow.

Accelerate and streamline your M&A workflows like never before with SS&C Intralinks. Learn more below!

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 4/22/2025 market close.

Click here to learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks rebounded yesterday on hopes on easing tariff tensions

    • S&P had its best day in two weeks

    • Dow snapped a four-day losing streak

  • Canada's TSX index index rose to three-week high 

  • MSCI EM index is up 8% from its April low compared to S&P 500's 6% slide

  • Treasury options call/put skew is at its highest since 2021

  • Gold hit another ATH

  • Bitcoin topped $90k for the first time since early-March

Earnings

  • Tesla missed Q1 earnings and revenue estimates and omitted its growth forecast on a 20% sales drop amid rising competition and Musk's reputational damage (CNBC)

  • Verizon beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates but reported a larger-than-expected loss in postpaid phone subscribers; the firm maintained its FY forecast (WSJ)

  • Lockheed Martin beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates on resilient demand for missile systems and fighter jets which allowed the firm to maintain its FY forecast (CNBC)

  • RTX beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates but warned that tariffs pose a 'significant' threat to operating profit (BBG)

  • Capital One beat Q1 earnings estimates on lower delinquencies, increased credit card spending, and also gained regulatory approval to merge with Discover (BBG)

  • SAP beat Q1 earnings estimates despite missing on cloud revenue on cost savings from job cuts as part of a corporate overhaul; growth in its license and cloud subscription businesses nonetheless slowed in its US market (BBG)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Boeing, IBM, AT&T, Chipotle, Newmont

    • Thursday: Alphabet, Intel, Southwest, T-Mobile, PepsiCo, Vale

    • Friday: AbbVie

  • Full calendar here 

Prediction Markets

  • Ambitious much? Seems like the people are optimistic though.

  • Trade your predictions on a range of events, only on Kalshi. Sign up with code LIT and get a $20 bonus when you trade $100.

Headline Roundup

  • Trump has 'no intention' of firing J Pow (CNBC)

  • Trump said China tariffs will come down 'substantially' in trade deal (BBG)

  • Bessent expects trade war with China to de-escalate (BBG)

  • ECB is 'nearing completion' of 2% inflation goal (BBG)

  • Banks haunted by hung debt are financing LBOs anyway (BBG)

  • Dealmakers are struggling to make sense of US antitrust policy (WSJ)

  • Big Tech dip buyers vanished ahead of earnings (BBG)

  • Chinese foreign bond sales hit a record share of EM total (BBG)

  • Western investors are piling into gold after three-year pause (BBG)

  • Hedge fund selling is focused on discretionary stocks this year (RT)

  • Saudi and UAE lead MENA VC funding to highest since 2023 (BBG)

  • BofA shareholders approve exec pay and elected 14 board directors (RT)

  • Goldman asked shareholders to approve $160M in top exec bonuses (BBG)

  • NYC pensions threatened to drop asset managers over ESG pullbacks (FT)

  • Consulting firms offered to cut $20B from federal contracts (WSJ)

  • Tesla shorts are up $11B YTD (RT)

  • Musk will cut back DOGE work amid Tesla struggles (RT)

  • OpenAI could buy Google Chrome if tech giant is forced to divest (BBG)

  • CFA Level III pass rate rose to 49% (BBG)

A Message from SS&C

We're for the visionaries. The value creators. The ones who set the pace and make global markets thrive.

SS&C Intralinks pioneered the first virtual data room (VDR), transforming how deals get done. Today, we lead the world's most advanced financial technology ecosystem, integrating AI-driven intelligence, bank-grade security and expert service to power funds, M&A and banking.

From executing high-stakes transactions to managing seamless investor relations, we provide the speed, bank-grade security and insights you need to navigate complexity with confidence. Whether you're streamlining workflows, securing sensitive data or accelerating decision-making, our solutions help you stay ahead.

Trusted by top financial institutions worldwide, we don't just enable deals — we empower the people behind them.

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire Boeing's flight navigation unit Jeppesen and other digital assets for $10.6B cash

  • PE firm Investindustrial Advisors agreed to acquire UK sales and marketing provider DCC's healthcare division for $1.4B

  • Novagold Resources and billionaire John Paulson are purchasing Barrick Gold's 50% stake in the Alaskan Donlin Gold project for $1B

  • Banco Santander plans to split off a litigation-hit consumer finance unit from its Santander UK subsidiary

  • Indian wealth manager 360 One WAM acquired UBS' Indian wealth unit in exchange for an option to acquire a minority stake and forming a partnership to expand in India

  • Barrick Gold is seeking buyers for Hemlo gold mine, its last mine in Canada

VC

  • Open source database Supabase raised a $200M Series D at a $2B valuation led by Accel

  • Sentra, a cloud-native data security company, raised a $50M Series B led by Key1 Capital

  • Superpower, a biannual lab testing startup, raised a $30M Series A led by Forerunner

  • Reco, a SaaS security company, raised a $25M round led by Insight Partners, Zeev Ventures, boldstart ventures, and more

  • UbiQD, a quantum dot tech startup, raised a $20M Series B led by Phoenix Venture Partners

  • Uniqus Consultech, a tech-enabled consulting solutions, raised a $20M Series C led by Nexus Venture Partners

  • Identity protection startup AuthMind raised a $19.3M seed round led by Cheyenne Ventures

  • Robotic sprinkler head startup Irrigreen raised a $19M Series A led by Natural Ventures, Burnt Island Ventures, and more

  • GreenFi, a climate-friendly banking and investing brand, raised $17M in funding

  • BitradeX, a next-gen AI-powered digital asset trading platform, raised a $16M Series A led by Bain Capital

  • Lace AI, an AI-powered customer service software for home services, raised a a $14M seed round led by Bek Ventures

  • Khloe Kardashian's new food company Khloud raised a $12M round led by K5 Globa

  • Ascertain, a healthcare technology company, raised a $10M Series A led by Deerfield Management

  • CSignum, a wireless technology extending IoT communications beneath the surface, raised an $8M Series A led by Archangels, Par Equity, and Scottish Enterprise

  • Tally, an on-chain governance provider, raised an $8M Series A led by Appworks and Blockchain Capital

  • Hopper, a cybersecurity startup, raised a $7.6M seed round led by Meron Capital and New Era

  • No-code web app platform Adaptive Computer raised a $7M seed round led by Pebblebed

  • OnePlanet Solar Recycling, a materials recovery company, raised a $7M seed round led by Khasma Capital

  • Fan engagement platform Sesh raised a $7M round led by Miura Global

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Saudi packaging manufacturer United Carton Industries saw 3x demand for its $160M IPO

  • Activist Icahn Enterprises built a 34% economic interest in $2B-listed Bausch Health

SPAC

  • Cantor Fitzgerald, Tether-affiliated exchange Bitfinex, and SoftBank raised $200M for a planned $3B SPAC Cantor Equity Partners to invest in Bitcoin and launch an adjacent firm 21 Capital

  • Nuclear reactor developer Terra Innovatum is set to merge with GSR III Acquisition Corp at a $475M pre-money equity valuation

Debt 

  • Apollo and Blackstone are leading a $4B private credit loan to support Thoma Bravo's $10.5B acquisition of Boeing's flight navigation unit Jeppesen and other digital assets

  • United Nations Development Corp. sold $365M in munis to fund major renovations at One and Two UN Plaza in NYC

  • Clearlake Capital-backed Ivanti Software secured a $350M refinancing deal with lenders

  • Indian non-bank lender HDB Financial plans to raise $330M in a bond sale 

  • The Export-Import Bank of the United States provided a $300M debt package to Pure Lithium, a lithium metal battery technology company

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Rite Aid is preparing to sell itself in pieces as it heads toward a second bankruptcy in one year

Fundraising / Secondaries

  • Singaporean asset manager Keppel raised over $1.5B across two new funds targeting data centers, education assets, and urban renewal strategy

  • India's LaunchBay Capital plans to raise ~$250M for a debut PE fund 

  • UK-based VC Hedosophia raised over $200M for a dedicated secondaries fund

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Trump Media entered a deal with crypto trading platform crypto.com

  • Check out our Crypto Sum newsletter for the full stories on everything crypto!

Exec’s Picks

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

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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.