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Good Morning,

McKinsey laid off 10% of its staff, PE fundraising plunged in Q1, US paused student visas, YouTube topped Disney and Netflix in TV viewing, and Citadel Securities posted record Q1 profit amid April's turmoil.

See how you can transform your spend and expense management with BILL, and they'll send you a Blackstone Griddle.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 5/27/2025 market close.

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Markets

  • US stocks rallied yesterday in response to the US-EU trade truce and optimistic economic data

    • S&P 500 had its best day this month

  • Canada's TSX index hit a new ATH

  • Mexico stocks rallied to an ATH 

Earnings

  • PDD Holdings missed Q1 earnings and revenue estimates as trade tensions and end to US de minimis duty exemption weighed on Temu's international growth and domestic competition intensified (BBG)

  • AutoZone missed Q1 earnings despite its first revenue beat in one year amid a less-than-expected impact from tariffs (MW)

  • Heico beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates on a 18.5% YoY sales growth in Flight Support Group and 7.2% YoY sales growth Electronic Technologies (MSN)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Nvidia, Macy's, DICK'S, Abercrombie & Fitch

    • Thursday: Dell, Costco, BestBuy, Foot Locker, Kohl’s

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Aah yes, just what the American people need.

  • 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

  • US consumer confidence jumped by most in four years on trade truce (BBG)

  • Treasury cut size of bond sales as debt ceiling concerns rise (BBG)

  • PE fundraising plunged 35% in Q1 (BBG) 

  • Universities map out new investment strategies to deal with tax hikes (WSJ)

  • Investors are bracing for record Canadian debt issuance this year (RT)

  • China plans commodities overhaul to bring in global investors (BBG)

  • UK turns to shorter-term borrowing as fiscal pressure mounts (FT)

  • Investors brace for Nvidia earnings as $7T cash pile soars (BBG)

  • Biotech IPOs slump is expected to continued as returns disappoint (BBG)

  • Newly minted ETF fees hit a record high (BBG)

  • Citadel Securities posted a record $3.4B Q1 profit (BBG)

  • AI boom added $170B in value to Europe's four oldest industrial groups (FT)

  • EU plans sweeping stress test of non-banks (FT)

  • McKinsey cut 10% of staff in cost cutting drive (FT)

  • HSBC cut dozens of analyst jobs in IB overhaul (BBG)

  • Tesla's Europe sales halved in April (BBG)

  • YouTube topped Disney and Netflix in TV viewing (TC)

  • Apple will debut a dedicated gaming app (BBG)

  • US will not renew Chevron's Venezuela oil license (FT)

  • US paused student visas (BBG)

  • US canceled all federal contracts with Harvard (BBG)

  • A China bank offered Wall Street internships if families deposited $1M (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • PE firms TPG and Blackstone offered to take-private medtech firm Hologic for $16.7B, including debt, which Hologic rejected 

  • Salesforce agreed to acquire cloud data software firm Informatica for ~$8B cash at a 30% premium

  • Motorola Solutions agreed to acquire radio maker Silvus Technologies from PE firm TJC in a $4.4B deal

  • KKR and Japanese PE firm NSSK offered to acquire $2B-listed Japanese chemical manufacturer Taiyo

  • Harmony Gold will acquire MAC Copper for ~$1B cash at a 21% premium

  • Brazilian bank BTG Pactual agreed to acquire ~$266M in assets from troubled Banco Master and its shareholders

  • Cerberus Capital's Polish unit VeloBank agreed to buy Citigroup's Bank Handlowy retail operations for up to $142M

  • European residential real estate platform Neinor Homes is in talks to acquire developer Aedas Homes to create Spain's largest developer with a combined $2.6B market cap

  • An investor group led by Chamath Palihapitiya acquired 2.1k acres in Arizona for $51M to develop data centers

  • Portugal plans to privatize state-owned airline TAP with Europe's largest carriers showing interest

  • Saudi Arabia-based REDA Hazard Control is exploring a sale to regional or international PE firms

VC

  • Musk's brain implant startup Neuralink raised a $600M round at a $9B pre-money valuation 

  • EnduroSat, a Bulgarian provider of satellite constellations-as-a-service, raised a $49M round led by Founders Fund

  • Pillar Biosciences, a biotech startup focused on decision medicine, raised $34.5M in funding from Illumina, Soleus Capital, and existing investors

  • Pallet, an AI workforce for logistics, raised a $27M Series B led by General Catalyst

  • Superblocks, a secure enterprise app development company, raised a $23M Series A from Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital, Greenoaks, and more

  • SeqOne, a French AI-driven genomic analysis company focused on personalized medicine, raised a $23M growth round led by Supernova Invest

  • Hedera Dx, a Swiss biotech bringing modern cancer care to patients globally, raised $17M Series A led by Vsquared Ventures

  • Infinity Constellation, an AI-native Holdco, raised $17M in funding led by Freestyle

  • Identity-as-a-Service startup Memority raised a $15M Series A led by Tikehau Capital

  • Gridcare, a platform helping data centers and utilities find capacity on the grid, raised a $13.5M seed round led by Xora

  • SpAItial, an AI startup creating the 'holy grail' model, raised a $13M seed round led by Earlybird Venture Capital

  • Bespoken Spirits, a startup creating sustainable, precision-aged spirits, raised an $11M Series C

  • Slikk, an Indian 60-minute fashion delivery platform, raised a $10M Series A led by Nexus Venture Partners

  • Traceloop, a startup replacing 'vibes' and 'prompting' with data and insight, raised a $6.1M seed round led by Sorenson Capital and Ibex Investors

  • Neuron Factory, an AI platform for the construction industry, raised a $6M seed round from Activant Capital, Colle Capital, Karman Ventures, and more

  • Bito, an AI developer platform for code review, raised a $5.7M seed extension round led by Vela Partners

  • Frinks AI, an Indian manufacturing AI startup, raised a $5.4M pre-Series A led by Prime Ventures

  • Clear Current, an AI platform to deliver a comprehensive virtual energy manager for enterprise businesses, raised a $4M+ seed round led by Coreline Ventures and Avesta Fund

  • SCI Semiconductor, a startup developing a 'memory safe' computer chip, raised a $3.3M round from Mercia Equity Finance and angels

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • EQT, SWF ADIA, and Auba Investment plan to raise ~$2.3B in an 8% overnight sharae placement in Swiss skincare giant Galderma

  • Chinkerpoo Family Trust, the family office of Indian budget airlines IndiGo's founder, raised $1.4B in a 5.7% stake sale

  • HDB Financial Services, the shadow lending unit of India's biggest bank HDFC Bank, is set to receive approval for a potential $1.5B IPO

  • Trump Media will raise $1.5B in a stock sale to buy Bitcoin

  • British American Tobacco plans to sell a 2.3% stake worth $1.36B in Indian tobacco firm ITC

  • Swiss National Bank divested its $712M stake in Chevron over ESG concerns

  • Stablecoin issuer Circle is seeking to raise $624M at a $5.7B valuation in an IPO

  • Sanctioned metals billionaire Vladimir Potanin acquired a 9.95% stake in internet giant Yandex after Russian investors bought the company’s Russian business for $5.4B in 2024

  • Saudi packaging manufacturer United Carton Industries raised $160M in a Saudi IPO priced at the top of the range

  • Australian testing services company ALS plans to raise $250M in a new share placement

  • Coal India plans to IPO 10% of its stake in its mining consultancy unit Central Mine Planning & Design Institute and its Bharat Coking Coal unit

  • Sony is exploring a spinoff of its finance arm

Debt

  • Struggling car maker Nissan is seeking to raise over $7B in debt and asset sales in Renault, battery maker AESC, and plants in South Africa and Mexico

  • Oil giant Saudi Aramco raised $5B in a dollar-denominated bond sale at an 80 bps premium

  • DoorDash is raising $2B via convertible bonds to fund M&A, buybacks, and hedges

  • Trump Media will raise $1B via convertible bonds to buy Bitcoin

  • Crypto prime broker FalconX raised a $100M Bitcoin-backed credit facility from Cantor Fitzgerald

  • Alibaba is considering selling exchangeable bonds to reduce its minority stake in ZTO Express

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • TV-shopping network QVC is evaluating options for its $5B+ debt load

  • Home-decor retailer At Home is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after missing an interest payment and entering a forbearance pact with lenders

  • Zambia will remain in default on loans from Afreximbank and other regional lenders until a full debt restructuring is finalized, potentially setting precedent for future African debt deals

  • Canada's oldest retail chain Hudson's Bay will layoff 90% of staff as it concludes a liquidation sale and shuts all stores

  • Canadian aluminum trader Sinobec filed bankruptcy in US and Canada amid a tariff hit to its restructuring efforts

Fundraising

  • Blackstone agreed to buy $5B of PE LP stakes from New York City pension system, covering 450 commitments in 125 funds from 75 managers

  • Asian healthcare PE firm Quadria Capital raised ~$1.1B for its third fund

  • VC Cathay Innovation raised $1B for its third fund and Europe's largest AI-focused VC fund to date

  • Korean automobile giant Hyundai Motor launched a $90M third fund for its corporate VC arm to target early-stage startups 

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Cantor Fitzgerald launched a $2B Bitcoin-backed lending initiative

  • Block plans Bitcoin payments on Square terminals

  • Subscribe to Crypto Sum for the full stories on everything crypto!

Exec’s Picks

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