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Good Morning,

Google crushed earnings and announced a 20-for-1 stock split, PayPal dropped 16% the day after Jim Cramer said he liked it, Tom Brady officially retired, Texas energy prices are soaring, the great resignation has carried into 2022, AT&T will spin off WarnerMedia, and ExxonMobil is hot again.

Shoutout to Tom Brady, really excited to see his next move as a General Partner at a crypto VC fund. Let the Linkedin / VC posts comparing Brady's accomplishments to lesson they've learned in their careers begin!

Reminder that we'll be closing the SPV for one of our private investment opportunities soon. Check your inboxes for more info if you previously expressed interest in the deal.

Lastly, we dropped a new BSD podcast episode yesterday morning covering the "future of work", the importance of strong culture in the workplace, and how firms can retain talent in this new hybrid / WFH environment. Check it out on Spotify or Apple.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 2/1/2022 market close.

If you want to learn more about crypto trading strategies and the world of DeFi, check out our Foot Guns newsletter.

Markets

  • Stocks rose for a third day as the market recovers from the worst month since March 2020

    • The DJI (boosted heavily by the banks) led the major indices rising .8%

  • Big tech continued to recover from January with help from Netflix and Meta, increasing 7% and 1.8% respectively

  • Earnings are looking good so far, as 78.5% of the S&P 500’s companies that have reported so far have beaten bottomline expectations

  • We are looking forward to Amazon’s and Meta’s earnings coming out later this week

Earnings

  • Alphabet shares gained more than 6% after market close when it reported better than expected earnings. The tech giant also announced a 20-for-1 stock split.

  • PayPal shares fell more than 16% after hours on Tuesday after reporting mixed results and Q1 guidance that fell below analyst estimates.

  • Starbucks reported mixed results for its latest quarter as higher costs weighed on profits, but U.S. cafes saw strong demand during the holiday season. Shares fell more than 4% in extended hours trading.

  • ExxonMobil shares rose as much as 5.9% intraday as the energy giant crushed profit estimates, paid down $9B of debt in Q4, and announced plans to accelerate its $10B share buyback (BBG)

  • AMD  traded up more than 11% late Tuesday on better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. AMD posted $4.8B in revenue and $0.92 EPS. The results were driven by strong demand for both server and PC processors.

  • What we’re watching today: Meta, Spotify

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • NFL legend Tom Brady officially announces retirement on social media (CNBC)

  • Google parent Alphabet announces 20-for-1 stock split (CNBC)

  • US covid fatalities reach highest level in a year even as omicron cases lower (CNBC)

  • Texas power prices surge due to cold snap (BBG)

  • Brian Flores sues the NFL for discrimination (NYT)

  • US job openings, quits remained elevated at end of last year (WSJ)

  • Native American tribes reach $590M opioid settlement with J&J, drug distributors (WSJ)

  • Microsoft-Activision deal to be reviewed by FTC (WSJ)

  • Pfizer asks FDA to authorize its covid-19 vaccine for young children (WSJ)

  • Rio Tinto says racism and sexual harassment are widespread at miner (WSJ)

  • There were 4.6M more job openings than unemployed workers in December (CNBC)

A Message From Graze

This^^^ is indeed factual. 

Graze has created a 100% electric commercial lawn mowing solution that saves companies up to 50% in labor costs, can increase profit margins by 3-5x and cuts fuel costs by up to 75%.

With “great resignation” underway, the $100B commercial landscaping market (also plagued by high labor costs and low margins) is at risk and Graze is coming to its rescue.

Built by a team with deep technical expertise in robotics and world class investors, here's what you need to know about Graze…

  • $32M in pre-orders with two thirds being recurring software sales.

  • $9.2M+ previously raised via equity crowdfunding

  • Targeting landscaping companies managing parks, municipalities, golf courses, airports and more.

Invest in Graze right here.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • AT&T announced a plan to spin off WarnerMedia in a $43B media property merger with Discovery; it will also nearly cut its dividend in half (CNBC)

  • SeaWorld offered to purchase amusement park owner Cedar Fair for ~$3.4B (BBG) 

  • KKR is exploring a sale or an IPO for cybersecurity solutions distributor and consultant Optiv Security at a $3B+ valuation (RT)

  • Mexican petrochemical company Alpek agreed to buy international PET laminate producer Octal for $620M (BBG)

  • Centerbridge Partners agreed to buy marina owner Westrec Marinas for ~$400M, which it will absorb into its Suntex Marinas to create a $2.5B company (WSJ)

  • ConsenSys, the Ethereum software incubator behind tools such as Infura and Truffle, agreed to buy MyCrypto, a wallet interface for securely managing Ethereum addresses (DC)

VC

  • Saudi Arabia unveiled plans to invest $6.4B in future technologies at the inaugural LEAP22 event in Riyadh (PRN)

  • Cruise, a driverless robotaxi startup, received a $1.35B investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund (TC)

  • Smart Automobile, the JV between Mercedes Benz and Geely, is considering raising $500M-$1B in a new funding round (BBG)

  • Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s VC firm 776 closed a $500M fund ($300M – ‘earliest stage’ & $200M – growth stage) (TC)

  • GWI, an audience insights company, raised a $180M Series B at an $850M valuation led by Permira (BW)

  • Irish revenue based financing and growth platform for ecommerce merchants Wayflyer raised a $150M Series B at a $1.6B valuation led by DST Global and QED Investors (BW)

  • RenoRun, a construction ecommerce platform, raised a $142M Series B led by Tiger Global and Sozo Ventures (PRN)

  • Chinese insuretech startup Betterfly raised $124M at a $1B valuation in a Series C led by Glade Brook Capital Partners (BBG)

  • Marketing platform for smart TVs MNTN raised a $119M Series D led by BlackRock, Fidelity, and Research Company (BW)

  • League, a healthcare platform startup, raised a $95M Series C led by TDM Growth Partners (BW)

  • Ekona Power, a hydrogen production company, raised a $62.27M round led by Baker Hughes (BW)

  • Engineering management platform Jellyfish raised a $71M Series C led by Accel, Tiger Global, and Insight Partners (PRN)

  • Lunchbox, an online ordering startup for restaurants / ghost kitchens, raised a $50M Series B led by Coatue (PRN)

  • B2B marketplace Retailo raised a $36M Series A led by Graphene Ventures (PRN)

  • Viam, a robotics platform, raised a $30M Series A led by Tiger Global (PRN)

  • withco, a commercial property ownership platform for small businesses, raised $30M in funding led by Canaan, Founders Fund, Initialized Capital, and NFX (PRN)

  • Metronome, a startup helping software companies shift to a usage-based pricing model, raised a $30M Series A led by a16z (TC)

  • Jasper Health, a cancer care platform, raised a $25M Series A led by General Catalyst (PRN)

  • Tint, a platform enabling companies to protect end users’ through embedded insurance products, raised a $25M Series A led by QED Investors (BW)

  • Zeta Energy, a lithium sulfur battery developer, raised a $23M Series A led by Moore Strategic Ventures (PRN)

  • Cancer diagnostics startup Biofidelity raised a $23M Series A led by Octopus Ventures (PRN)

  • Krista Software, an AI-led intelligent automation platform, raised $15M in funding led by Grotech Ventures (BW)

  • Launch House, a multidimensional social space for founders, raised a $12M Series A led by Andrew Chen of a16z (BW)

  • DataOps.live, a platform building products for the data lifecycle, raised a $10.3M seed round led by Anthos Capital and Snowflake Ventures (PRN)

  • AI-powered conversational intelligence company for call centers Talkmap raised a $8M Series A led by Stage1 Ventures (PRN)

  • Cannabis and hemp genetics company Phylos raised $7.6M in funding led by Merida Capital Holdings (PRN)

  • Digital health startup Marigold Health raised a $6M seed round led by KdT Ventures and Felicis Ventures (BW)

  • Pesto, a remote workplace startup, raised a $5M seed round led by Jett Fein of Headline (BW)

  • Kenya-based digital trucking and logistics startup Amitruck raised a $4M seed round led by Better Tomorrow Ventures (PRN)

  • Biometric identity platform Passage raised a $4M round led by LiveOak Venture Partners (PRN)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Al Nahdi Medical, Saudi Arabia’s largest pharmacy retail chain, plans to seek ~$1.3B in an IPO (BBG)

  • India aims to file draft prospectus for LIC IPO next week (BBG)

Crypto Corner

  • Coachella, FTX US to auction lifetime festival passes as NFTs on Solana (DC)

  • Super Bowl ticket NFTs offered as NFL tests digital collectibles (SPORTICO)

  • Hackers Move $3.55B Worth of Bitcoin From 2016 Bitfinex Hack (CD)

Exec's Picks

  • Terrified of the Paper LBO? Check out Finance|able's new, deep-dive guide on how to master Paper LBO questions for IB/PE Interviews.

  • Cullen Roche wrote a great piece yesterday breaking down why Bitcoin has proven to be a great store of value, but a terrible currency. Check it out here.

Big Swinging Decks Podcast

Ep. 4: The Future of Culture with Suman Siva (Co-Founder / CEO of Marco)

Listen to this episode from Big Swinging Decks on Spotify. This week Litquidity and Mark Moran chat with the Co-Founder and CEO of Marco, Suman Siva, about the future of culture and the workplace. Suman dives into his background in consulting and investing, as well as his tenure at SoftBank – all experiences that culminated in his founding of a company that has set out to change the way we view work.BSD shareholders will recognize Marco as one of the special investment opportunities brought to you by Litquidity recently. So tune out your VP’s third round of comments and tune in to Big Swinging Decks!LitquidityIG: @litquidityhttps://litquidity.co/Mark MoranIG: @itsmarkmoran This is a Redd Rock Music PodcastIG: @reddrockmusicwww.reddrockmusic.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ICYMI: This week, Lit and Mark chat with Suman Siva, the cofounder and CEO of Marco Experiences, about the future of culture and the workplace. Catch the latest Big Swinging Decks on Spotify and Apple now.

The Hiring Block

If you're looking to break into finance, lateral, or move out, check out our job board on Pallet, where we curate highly relevant roles for you. We've got 40+ jobs spanning IB, S&T, VC, tech, private equity, DeFi, crypto, CorpDev and more. We sift through all the noise on LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. so you don't have to.

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Catch the latest episode of our Big Swinging Decks podcast on Spotify and Apple Music 🤝