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Air Canada's CEO resigned over his failure to speak French, Delaware's top corporate judge reassigned Musk's cases after expressing bias on social media, Blackstone is planning a multi-strat hedge fund for individual investors, and AI satellite startups are gaining traction with investors ahead of SpaceX's IPO.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 3/30/2026 market close.

Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

  • US stocks continued to drag lower on gaining oil prices 

  • US bonds rallied from its deepest selloff in 17 months after traders ditched Fed rate hike bets

  • US oil closed above $100/bbl for the first time since July 2022

  • Euro fell 2% in its worst quarter since 2022

Earnings

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Nike

  • Full calendar here 

Prediction Markets

  • Not a good day for the Duke/Cowboys/Yankees/Lakers/Alabama fans. March Madness delivers once again

  • Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market

Headline Roundup

  • Trump threatened to obliterate Iran's energy if deal not reached shortly (WSJ)

  • J Pow says Fed can 'wait and see' how war affects inflation (RT)

  • US Treasury will consult with insurance regulators on private credit (RT)

  • US paves way for private assets to be included in 401(k) plans (BBG)

  • Nasdaq will allow immediate index inclusion of SpaceX post-IPO (BBG)  

  • SEC semi-annual reporting plan advanced to White House for review (BBG)

  • AI satellite startups gain traction with investors ahead of SpaceX IPO (FT)

  • Controversial Delaware judge reassigned Musk's cases after expressing bias on social media (RT)

  • Air Canada CEO will resign over failure to speak French (FT)

A Message from F2

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Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

  • UK consumer goods giant Unilever is in advanced talks to combine its food business with seasonings giant McCormick in a cash-and-stock deal to create a $60B enterprise, including debt

  • Food distributor Sysco Corp. will acquire peer Jetro Restaurant Depot in a $29.1B cash-and-stock deal, including debt

  • Apollo is nearing a deal to acquire Atlantic Aviation Atlantic Aviation from KKR at a $10B valuation

  • Industrial plant builder SMS Group and PE firm Altor Equity Partners are exploring a $2.3B sale of German industrial services company Kaefer

  • Uber agreed to acquire chauffeur booking app Blacklane, the company's latest move to court a high-end clientele.

  • Paris plans to complete a sale of the Parc des Princes stadium to soccer club Paris Saint-Germain by this year

VC

  • Nxtra Data, an Indian data center firm owned by Indian telecom Bharti Airtel, raised $1B at a $3.1B valuation from Alpha Wave ​Global, Carlyle, Anchorage Capital, and  Airtel

  • Orbital compute infrastructure startup Starcloud raised $170M at a $1.1B ‌valuation led by Benchmark and EQT Ventures

  • Rebellions, a South Korean fabless AI chip startup, raised a $400M pre-IPO round at a $2.34B valuation led by Mirae Asset and the Korea National Growth Fund 

  • British Space Foundry, a UK startup building AI-powered satellites, raised a $170M Series A led by Seraphim Space

  • ScaleOps, autonomous cloud and compute management software, raised a $130M Series C at an $800M valuation led by Insight Partners

  • Qodo, an AI agents startup for code review, testing and governance, raised a $70M Series B led by Qumra Capital

  • Sycamore, a trusted agent OS for enterprise AI agents, raised a $65M seed round led by Coatue and Lightspeed Venture Partners

  • IQM Quantum Computers raised $58M in funding from ​BlackRock ahead of its planned dual listing in US and Finland

  • Midas, a platform for composable on-chain investment products, raised a $50M Series A led by RRE Ventures and Creandum

  • Mars Men, a natural men's wellness and testosterone-focused supplement brand, raised a $27.5M Series A led by L Catterton

  • Valinor, a modern credit institution at the intersection of credit and blockchain, raised a $25M seed round led by Castle Island Ventures

  • Create Wellness, a creatine brand known for creatine gummies, raised a $20M Series B  led by Alliance Consumer Growth

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Morgan Stanley's E*Trade retail brokerage unit is in talks to lead the retail portion of SpaceX's record $75B IPO, with peers Robinhood and SoFi expected to be cutoff

  • Chinese specialized electronics manufacturer Victory Giant Technology is gauging investor interest for a $2B Hong Kong listing 

  • Industrial robot maker Inovance Technology picked banks for a $2B Hong Kong listing

Debt

  • Banks led by JPMorgan sweetened pricing on a $7.2B debt deal to back CD&R's $10.3B LBO of packaging firm Sealed Air by 50 bps to a 4% premium amid investor pushback

  • Citigroup is approaching other lenders to join a $4.8B financing to back water treatment firm Ecolab's $4.75B purchase of data center cooling company CoolIT Systems from KKR

  • Harvard will issue another $675M in tax-exempt munis in its third major debt sale in one year

  • Banks led by JPMorgan sold a $500M leveraged loan for specialty materials manufacturer Mativ Holdings at 95¢ in one of the biggest discounts YTD

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • A judge ruled JPMorgan ‌must face Wells Fargo's lawsuit on a defaulted $480M CRE loan to Manhattan developer Chetrit Group, accusing the bank of ignoring inflated financials

  • Struggling Aussie casino operator ​Star Entertainment secured a $390M refinancing commitment from WhiteHawk Capital Partners

  • Blackstone acquired Stanly Ranch, a luxury resort in California's Napa Valley, in a foreclosure sale after the previous owners defaulted on a $220M loan

  • Fortress Investment Group plans to restructure struggling UK discount retailer Poundstretcher just two years after its acquisition in a deal that would cut rent by ~25% on some stores and eliminate rent on unprofitable stores in exchange for equity upside 

  • UK is close to fully nationalizing loss-making British Steel almost a year after taking control

Funds / Secondaries

  • Blackstone raised $6.3B for its sixth life-sciences fund 

  • European PE firm Inflexion raised $4.7B for its seventh buyout fund in just six months

  • Credit investor Antares Capital raised a $1.7B private credit continuation vehicle led by Ares

  • Swiss family office Infinitas Capital plans to launch a $20M investment company Aureon Capital to acquire stakes in private tech companies

  • Blackstone plans to debut a multi-strategy hedge fund targeting HNWIs

  • Carlyle plans to launch a defense-focused fund 

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Strategy paused Bitcoin buying after a thirteen-week buying spree

  • US rule change may open trillions in 401(k) funds to crypto

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

Exec’s Picks

  • WSJ published an interesting article on 'the Algorithm' that Musk relies on to turn his business visions into reality.

  • WSJ also published some insightful charts on the state of gas markets.

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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.