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Good Morning,

General Catalyst is weighing an IPO, SoftBank plans to borrow $24B to fund its AI investments, hedge funds are ramping up short bets, Blackstone's CEO took home $1B, and State Street dropped DEI targets for boardrooms.

The State Street decision is particularly ironic because they literally commissioned the Fearless Girl statue on Wall Street.

Chronograph is changing the game when it comes to portfolio analytics for private markets. Whether you're a GP in private equity, an LP at a pension fund, or anything in between, Chronograph is the platform you need. Check 'em out and see why they're already trusted by top investors on the street.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 2/28/2025 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks rebounded on Friday as investors digested optimistic inflation data and brushed off a feisty Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

    • All three major indexes ended the month lower

    • Nasdaq slid 4% in its worst month since April 2024

  • Europe's Stoxx 600 rose for a tenth-straight week despite tariff threats

  • UK's FTSE 100 hit a new ATH

  • Asia-Pacific stocks sunk across the board after US confirmed tariffs

  • US 10Y yield hit a new YTD low

  • US 2Y yield fell below 4% to new YTD low

    • US Treasuries volatility surpassed US high-grade corporate bonds

  • Coal fell to below $100/ton to the lowest since the Russia-Ukraine war

  • Dollar fell for a second-straight month

  • Cryptocurrencies rallied after US announced a strategic reserve

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Tuesday: Target, Best Buy, CrowdStrike, Nordstrom, AutoZone

    • Wednesday: Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria's Secret, LandBridge

    • Thursday: Costco, Broadcom, Macy's, Gap

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Trump-Zelenskyy meeting ended in disaster (CNBC)

  • Fed-favorite PCE inflation slowed to 2.5% YoY (CNBC)

  • US consumer spending fell for the first time in two years (RT)

  • Canada GDP grew 2.6% YoY in Q4 (RT)

  • Hedge funds' short activity hit a one-year high (RT)

  • Hedge funds hit back against new leverage limits (FT)

  • Equity funds saw the largest weekly inflows since Christmas (RT)

  • Investors are scouring emerging markets for Trump-proof bets (BBG)

  • China investors now account for half of Hong Kong trading turnover (BBG)

  • Consulting execs are meeting with WH officials to save contracts (WSJ)

  • SEC raised concerns over new private credit ETF (RT)

  • Asset managers are challenging hedge funds with trend-chaser ETFs (BBG)

  • Blackstone raised CEO Schwarzman's pay by 11% to $1B (BBG)

  • Coatue named Blackstone's Wallace as co-president and head of private investments (BBG)

  • Julius Baer named ex-HSBC CEO Noel Quinn as chair (FT)

  • Adani revived US investment plans despite criminal charges (FT)

  • State Street dropped DEI targets for boardrooms (RT)

  • Wells Fargo dropped ESG finance targets (RT)

  • Apple's AI efforts are struggling to compete (BBG)

  • Microsoft will shut down Skype (TV)

  • Google's co-founder urged workers back to office full-time (NYT)

  • Meta fired employees for leaking information (TV)

  • Companies faced record damages from US lawsuits last year (FT)

  • Citigroup mistakenly credited a customer account $81T (FT)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Hong Kong-based CK Infrastructure is considering a bid for KKR-backed UK waste management firm Viridor at an $8.8B valuation, including debt

  • PE firm Clearlake is close to acquiring healthcare software company Modernizing Medicine for $5.3B, including debt

  • Portuguese state-owned bank Caixa is considering acquiring peer Novo Banco at a potential $5B valuation, which PE owner Lone Star plans to IPO

  • ON Semiconductor is considering a bid for $4.1B-listed Allegro Microsystems

  • A consortium of BlackRock and insurance giants Allianz and T&D Holdings, a group comprising Deutsche Bank's asset management arm DWS, Prudential Financial and Swiss family office PG3, CVC, and Apollo's insurance affiliate Athora are preparing final bids for Cinven-owned German insurance firm Viridium, which could fetch a $3.6B valuation; Italian insurer Generali, who owns a 10% stake, is considering joining BlackRock's bid

  • Italian lender Banco BPM received shareholder approval to up its bid for Italian asset manager Anima from $1.7B to $1.9B amid plans to fend off a takeover from rival UniCredit

  • Italian luxury group Prada is close to a deal to acquire Versace from Capri Holdings for $1.6B

  • Philip Morris is exploring a $1B sale of its US cigar business

  • PE firm NGP Energy Capital acquired over $900M in Denver Basin assets from Occidental Petroleum

  • Energy infrastructure firm MPLX will acquire the remaining 55% stake in BANGL natural gas pipeline it doesn't already own from WhiteWater and Diamondback Energy for $715M

  • Austria's Styria Media Group and European tech investor Sprints are nearing a deal to acquire Austrian digital marketplace Willhaben from Blackstone and Permira-backed European classifieds company and JV partner Adevinta at a $519M valuation

  • Lands' End is reviewing a shareholder letter that proposes a sale of the $360M retailer

  • Swiss real estate firm Ina Invest and peer Cham Group will merge to create a $1.8B AUM Swiss real estate company

  • Shell is considering a sale of its chemicals assets in Europe and US

  • European airlines Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, and British Airways-owner IAG are interested in bidding for Portuguese airline TAP, which is looking privatize

  • Argentina-owned oil company YPF is in talks to acquire local shale oil assets from JV partner Equinor

  • Italian car parts-maker Sapa Group agreed to buy rival Megatech Industries

VC

  • QuEra Computing, a startup building a neutral atom quantum computer, raised $230M in funding from Google, SoftBank, and Valor Equity Partners

  • CompScience, an active commercial P&C insurance company, raised a $27.6M Series B led by Sands Capital

  • Fairness-as-a-Service company FairPlay raised a $10M round from Infinity Ventures, JPMorgan, and Nyca Partners

  • Advolve AI, a Brazilian data-driven startup automating digital marketing processes, raised a $5M seed round led by Canary

  • Scientific research SaaS platform SymbyAI raised a $2.1M seed round led by Drive Capital and CharacterVC

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Italian businessman Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone increased his stake in Italian bank BMPS to 8%, which recently launched a hostile $13.8B all-share bid for Italian investment bank Mediobanca

  • The Reimann family office sold $2.5B of Keurig Dr Pepper shares

  • TV advertising platform MNTN filed for an IPO

  • General Catalyst is weighing an IPO

  • Banking fintech Brex is weighing an IPO

SPAC

  • BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics will merge with Helix Acquisition Corp. II in a $450M deal

Debt

  • Candy giant Mars plans to sell up to $30B in bonds to finance its takeover of foods giant Kellanova

  • SoftBank plans to borrow $24B to fund AI investments, including its $40B commitment to OpenAI and Stargate

  • Software firm Synopsys plans to sell $10B of bonds to finance its $34B acquisition of software maker Ansys

  • Pharma giant Bausch Health plans to raise $5B in debt to refinance upcoming maturities

  • Lone Star Funds acquired a $343M portfolio of sub-performing CRE loans from failed NYCB

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Struggling British EV maker Polestar raised a $450M loan

  • Bankrupt retailer Big Lots lacks cash to pay bankruptcy bills

  • Juice-maker Tropicana may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Fundraising

  • PE firm Garnett Station Partners raised $1.2B for its fifth fund

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • US announced a strategic crypto reserve

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

Exec’s Picks

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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"