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Good Morning,

KPMG is cutting 5% of its US jobs, New York might ban noncompetes, Eli Lilly’s new weight loss drug is showing promising results, Apple is launching a new Apple Watch in the fall, Meta launched a VR subscription, Blackstone wants to sell half of its stake in the Bellagio, and Pickleball is causing a spike in health insurance costs.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 6/26/2023 market close.

Markets

  • The tech sector led a broader market decline to start the new week, and investors are cautiously watching to see if the short-lived challenge to Vladimir Putin by armed mercenaries in Russia could cause more volatility

  • Russia’s ruble hit its lowest level against the dollar in 15 months

Earnings

  • Carnival beat Q1 expectations but still reported another loss for the quarter; however, the company says it continues to see strong demand with “bookings and customer deposits hitting all-time highs." The stock finished down 7.6% (BN)

  • What we're watching this week:

    • Today: Walgreens, Manchester United, Jefferies

    • Wednesday: Micron, General Mills, BlackBerry

    • Thursday: Nike, Paychex, Simply Good Foods

    • Friday: Constellation Brands

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Deutsche Bank tells investors some of their Russian shares are missing (RT)

  • KPMG to cut 5% of US jobs in fresh round of layoffs (RT)

  • New York could become the latest state to ban noncompetes (AX)

  • Amazon launches local business delivery network (AX)

  • China’s ‘Tesla killer’ stumbles as EV price war takes toll (RT)

  • US to spend $42B to make internet access universal by 2030 (RT)

  • Eli Lilly’s experimental drug drives weight down more than any other (BBG)

  • S&P cuts China GDP forecast as calls for stimulus intensify (RT)

  • JPMorgan $290M settlement with Epstein accusers wins preliminary approval (RT)

  • Apple reportedly plans new Apple Watch Ultra with iPhone 15 this fall (CNBC)

  • Starbucks strike over Pride decor follows LGBTQ anger on hours, benefits (RT)

  • SCOTUS rebuffs Apple in billion-dollar Caltech patent case (WSJ)

  • Meta launches VR subscription service that costs $7.99 a month (CNBC)

  • Fox News names Jesse Watters to succeed Tucker Carlson as anchor of 8 PM hour (WSJ)

  • Pickleball is bad news for health insurance stocks (CNBC)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Government-backed fund Japan Investment Corp will buy semiconductor materials maker JSR Corp for $6.4B to help revive Japan’s chip industry (RT)

  • IBM will acquire technology spend-management platform Apptio from Vista Equity Partners for $4.6B cash to expand into cloud and automation (RT)

  • Hong Kong’s billionaire Cheng family is offering to take Hong Kong conglomerate NWS Holdings private in a $4.5B deal (BBG)

  • Asset manager Ares Management bought a $3.5B lender finance portfolio from PacWest Bancorp (RT)

  • UnitedHealth Group agreed to buy home health and hospice caregiver Amedisys for $3.3B cash; Amedisys scrapped its initial all-stock offer from Option Care Health (RT)

  • Brookfield’s reinsurance arm is nearing a deal to buy $3.2B insurer American Equity Life Holding, likely through cash-and-stock (RT)

  • Warehouse REIT Prologis agreed to buy 14M square feet of industrial properties for $3.1B cash from real estate funds affiliated with Blackstone (RT)

  • Blackstone is fielding offers for half of its interest in the real estate of the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, a property it bought for $4.3B around 4 years ago (BBG)

  • Japanese firm Mori Trust bought a 50% stake in NYC’s 245 Park Avenue at a $2B valuation from SL Green Realty Corp, an office and shopping REIT (RT)

  • Gucci owner Kering will buy high-end French fragrance brand Creed for an estimated $1.1B-$2.2B (RT)

  • Data software company Databricks is acquiring AI startup MosaicML in a $1.3B mostly stock deal (RT)

  • Investment firm PAG is considering a tender offer to buy ~$1B worth of stakes in its funds from existing backers (BBG)

  • Cloud portfolio management and risk software company Enfusion, valued at ~$1B, is attracting takeover interest from PE and investment management firms Francisco Partners, Vista Equity Partners, and Irenic Capital Management (RT)

  • TPG-backed iNova Pharmaceuticals will acquire a consumer health product portfolio of brands from Mundipharma International for ~$540M (BBG)

  • A group of investors including Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, Otro Capital, and RedBird Capital has invested $218M in F1 team Alpine (AP)

  • Martin Franklin, the largest shareholder of global food company Whole Earth Brands, has made an offer to acquire the rest of the company in a $169M deal (BBG)

  • LCH Group Holdings will buy European stock market operator Euronext’s 11.1% stake in European operations of clearing company LCH for $121.1M (RT)

  • Berkshire Hathaway sold $86.3M worth of shares in Chinese EV company BYD (RT)

VC

  • Presidio Medical, a clinical-stage medical device company focused on low-frequency neuromodulation, raised a $72M Series C led by Deerfield Management (BW)

  • AltPep, a biotech startup focused on amyloid diseases, raised a $53M Series B led by Senator Investment Group (FN)

  • Fare.Coop, a gig worker co-operative, raised a $26M Series A lead by Direct Global (PRN)

  • Myra Vision, a Shifamed portfolio company, raised a $25M Series B led by Cormorant Asset Management (PRN)

  • Calidi Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on immuno-oncology, raised a $25M Series B led by Jackson Investment Group (FN)

  • MVP Index, a sponsorship measurement and valuation platform, raised a $20M Series B led by Verance Capital (PRN)

  • In-space propulsion solution provider Agile Space Industries raised a $13M seed round led by Caruso Ventures (FN)

  • AI application framework BentoML raised a $9M seed round led by DCM Ventures (TC)

  • Raincoat, a scalable climate insurance solutions company, raised a $6.5M seed round led by Two Sigma Ventures (PRN)

  • Actimed Therapeutics, a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of muscle wasting disorders, raised a $6.4M Series A led by Mankind Pharma (FN)

  • Crux, a provider of an ecosystem for sustainable finance, raised a $4.3M seed extension round led by Ardent Venture Partners (FN)

  • Continuum Space Systems, a unified space mission management company, raised a $3M seed round led by Prophetic Capital Partners (FN)

  • Metal, an LLM developer platform provider, raised a $2.5M round led by Swift Ventures (FN)

  • SnapCalorie, a startup that estimates the caloric content of food from a single photo, raised a $2M seed round from Accel, Index Ventures, and others (TC)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Galderma raised $1B through a private placement of newly issued shares ahead of its $20B+ IPO that was delayed earlier this year (RT)

  • Peninsula Real Estate’s $550M Abu Dhabi IPO is facing delays due to a lack of regulatory approval (BBG)

  • Norway's Yara postponed the IPO of its Yara Clean Ammonia business by one or two years due to unsatisfactory market valuations (RT)

SPAC

  • Chinese medtech company Baird Medical Investment Holdings and ExcelFin Acquisition Corp. are merging in a $370M deal (PRNW)

Debt

  • Warehouse REIT Prologis sold $2B in new bonds, which will help it acquire real estate from funds affiliated with Blackstone (BBG)

  • Mexican telecom giant America Movil launched a foreign debt public offering of up to $1.2B (RT)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

  • FTX bankruptcy team says the company owed its customers $8.7B after commingling and misusing customer deposits (CD)

  • French supermarket retailer Casino aims to conclude a debt restructuring agreement by the end of July and told creditors it needed an equity contribution of at least $982M (RT)

  • Troubled cinema operator Cineworld will file for administration in the UK and suspend trading on the LSE next month as a part of its restructuring plan to reduce its massive debt (RT)

Fundraising

  • French investment firm Ardian raised over $20B for a secondary fund that will purchase stakes in PE funds (RT)

  • Swedish investment organization EQT is seeking more time to close its flagship buyout fund, which has raised $19.6B of a $21.8B target (BBG)

Crypto Corner

  • Fever over BlackRock's bitcoin fund faces chill of rate hikes and regulations (RT)

  • The Swiss National Bank will issue a wholesale central bank digital currency on Switzerland's SIX digital exchange (RT)

  • The EU will publish public draft rules that give legal underpinnings for a digital euro if the European Central Bank decides to issue one (RT)

  • Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management is first in line to get potential approval for a Spot-Bitcoin ETF (BBG)

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