Together with

Good Morning,

Reddit will sell user content to develop data products for hedge funds, a PE bankruptcy once-again exposed flaws in private credit valuations, GameStop is considering investing in Bitcoin, and dealers are flying gold on planes to stockpile amid tariff threats.

A team of Zillow execs founded Pacaso to democratize co-ownership of premier properties and while they've already raised capital from top VCs, they're inviting retail investors to help them expand. Check out the opportunity.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 2/13/2025 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks jumped as investors digested fresh inflation data and Trump tariff plans 

  • Europe's Stoxx 600 hit a fourth-straight ATH 

  • Gold hit another ATH

Earnings

  • Coinbase rose 8% after beating Q4 earnings estimates on its highest quarterly revenue in three years thanks to the post-election crypto rally (CNBC) 

  • Airbnb jumped 15% after beating Q4 earnings and revenue estimates on strong international travel demand, though it forecast slightly slower Q1 growth due to seasonality and FX headwinds (RT)  

  • DraftKings missed Q4 revenue estimates but beat on earnings and raised its FY guidance on continued customer engagement, efficient customer acquisition, and sports book expansion into new jurisdictions (BZ) 

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Moderna

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • DOGE arrived at IRS (WSJ)

  • Dealers are flying gold by plane from London to NYC amid tariff threats (WSJ)

  • Trump outlined a reciprocal tariff plan (WSJ)

  • US producer inflation rose 3.5% YoY (CNBC)

  • US consumer debt delinquency hit the highest since Covid (BBG)

  • Reddit will soon to help drive hedge fund and asset manager bets (BBG)

  • Bankrupt car wash Zips exposes flaws in private credit valuations (BBG)

  • Hedge fund startup that replaced analysts with AI beat the market (BBG)

  • UK's $16B bond sale smashed records for size and demand (BBG)

  • China money markets face $411B crunch as congress nears (BBG)

  • Morgan Stanley boosted new CEO Ted Pick's pay to $34M (RT)

  • Goldman named Brandon Watkins as global head of internet IB (BBG)

  • Meta raised quarterly dividends by 5% (WSJ)

  • TikTok US deadline may be extended (RT)

  • Arm will launch its own chip (FT)

  • Alibaba will partner with Apple on AI features (RT)

  • Musk's X will pay $10M to settle Trump lawsuit (WSJ)

  • Porsche plans to cut additional 1.9k jobs (RT)

  • Donald Trump Jr. invested in 'steroid Olympics' Enhanced Games (FT)

  • Argentina inflation slowed to 2.2% to the lowest level since Covid (RT)

A Message from Pacaso

Top Investors Are Buying This Unlisted Stock

When the team that created Zillow and grew it into a $16B real estate leader starts a new company, investors take note. That's why top firms like SoftBank and Maveron already invested in Pacaso.

Taking the industry by storm all over again, Pacaso's streamlined platform offers co-ownership of premier properties – completely revamping a $1.3T market. And by handing keys to 1,500+ happy homeowners, Pacaso has made $100M+ in gross profits.

Now, they're focused on international expansion – with record-breaking sales in Paris, 7 homes in Cabo, and their most expensive European property yet recently bought in London.

You can join them as an investor – but with this expansion underway, the current share price won't last long. Invest at $2.70/share by 2/27.

This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Elon Musk will pull his $97B bid for control of OpenAI if it remains a non-profit

  • BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners is seeking to sell its controlling stake in Singaporean renewable energy producer Vena Energy at a $10B valuation

  • Indian state Karnataka is seeking $4B in private investments to expand its grid network

  • Global Infrastructure Partners is in advanced talks to acquire a 70% stake in Brazilian mining giant Vale's renewable energy unit Alianca Energia and a solar plant for $870M-$1B

  • Mobile app developer platform AppLovin plans to sell its mobile games development arm to a private company for $900M

  • Australia's Macquarie agreed to acquire UK waste management firm Renewi for $880M

  • Carlyle will acquire a 65-70% stake in an Indian auto-parts maker formed by the merger of Highway Industries and Roop Automotives in a $400M deal

  • Steven Madden agreed to acquire UK luxury fashion brand Kurt Geiger for $360M cash from PE firm Cinven

  • Identity security company CyberArk acquired identity governance and administration platform Zilla Security in a $175M cash deal

  • Investment manager Nuveen is exploring a minority stake sale of its $78B Nuveen Private Capital unit

  • UK lender NatWest discussed acquiring Spanish lender Santander's UK retail business

  • KKR is weighing an investment in Nissan after Honda merger talks ended 

VC

  • Humanoid robot startup Apptronik raised a $350M Series A led by B Capital and Capital Factory

  • Mercury, a digital banking platform for startups, is in talks to raise hundreds of millions at an over $3B valuation in a round led by Sequoia

  • Legal AI startup Harvey raised a $300M Series D at a $3B valuation led by Sequoia and with participation from Coatue, Kleiner Perkins, OpenAI, GV, and more

  • Uscreen, a video monetization platform for the creator economy, raised a $150M investment from PSG

  • K2 Space, a satellite bus platform, raised a $110M Series B led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Altimeter Capital

  • Eudia, an augmented intelligence platform for Fortune 500 legal teams, raised a $105M Series A led by General Catalyst

  • EnCharge AI, a chip startup developing analog memory chips for AI applications, raised a $100M Series B led by Tiger Global

  • Neuroscience startup Newleos Therapeutics raised a $93.5M Series A led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives

  • Plasma, a crypto startup developing a Bitcoin-based network for stablecoins, raised a $20M Series A led by Framework Ventures 

  • Finmo, a Singaporean treasury OS company, raised an $18.5M Series A led by Quona Capital and PayPal Ventures

  • Circuit, an EV shuttle solutions company, raised a $17M Series B led by MKB

  • Newronika, a deep brain stimulation company, raised a $14.8M Series B led by Fondazione ENEA Tech Biomedical

  • Phase, a no-code platform that helps UI/UX designers create interactive prototypes, raised $13M from Gobi Partners, New Economy Ventures, Palm Drive Capital, and more

  • Tofu, an AI-driven B2B marketing platform, raised a $12M Series A led by SignalFire

  • Thai healthcare startup HD raised a $7.8M round led by Merck Sharp & Dohme

  • Renew Risk, a startup providing risk modeling for renewable energy assets, raised a $6M round led by Molten Ventures

  • IBI Ag, an Israeli crop protection company, raised a $6.1M round led by Corteva

  • Vitalchat, an AI-powered ambient solutions for in-patient virtual nursing and procedural telehealth, raised a $6M Series A led by Green Harvest Capital Industries

  • Teneo Protocol, a startup working to decentralize social media data access, raised a $3M seed round led by RockawayX and Borderless

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Activist Elliott built a 5%, $4.7B stake in UK oil giant BP and will push for big divestments

  • Space and defense firm Karman surged 36% in its trading debut for a ~$4B valuation after its upsized $506M IPO

  • Cinven, EQT, and CPPIB-backed Spanish travel tech firm HBX fell 11% in its trading debut after its $780M Spain IPO 

  • Chinese battery-component producer CNGR is planning a $400M-$500M Hong Kong listing

  • UAE-based IT services company Alpha Data is planning a $200M Abu Dhabi IPO at a $500M valuation

Debt

  • Cash-strapped Hong Kong developer New World Development picked Bank of China, DBS Bank and HSBC to arrange a loan to refinance $7.5B of bank debt 

  • Morgan Stanley will boost the size of its senior secured debt sale tied to Elon Musk's LBO of Twitter to $4.7B after strong demand; the debt will sell at par 

  • Indian infrastructure conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji is in advanced talks to raise $3.3B in private credit from Cerberus, Davidson Kempner, Varde Partners, Farallon, Ares, and EAAA India Alternatives in India's biggest-ever local currency private credit deal

  • Blackstone is seeking an $800M loan to finance the purchase of a stake in a 50-story office building in NYC

  • State-backed Chinese property developer Greentown China launched a $350M dollar bond sale to refinance offshore debt in their property sector's first dollar-bond sale in two years

Fundraising

  • Asian investment firm PAG closed its tenth distressed real estate fund at $4B, which will focus on Japan

  • VC Founders Fund is nearing a $3B close of its third growth fund

  • Private markets investment firm StepStone raised $2.4B for its fifth real estate secondaries fund

  • Seed investor Ulu Ventures closed its fourth fund at $208M to continue investing in diverse founders

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • GameStop is considering investing in Bitcoin and other cryptos

  • SEC paused lawsuits against Binance

  • Crypto scams hit a new record in 2024, driven by 'pig butchering' and AI

Subscribe to our free Crypto Sum newsletter for the full stories on everything crypto!

Exec’s Picks

Financial Services Recruiting 💼

If you're a junior banker looking for your next career move, check out Litney Partners, a recruiting firm established by Litquidity and Whitney Partners (the oldest purely financial services executive search and consulting firm).

We aim to place strong candidates across private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, growth equity, credit, and investment banking.

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!

GET HIRED 🤝

Meme Cleanser

🛒 Merch Store: Visit our merch store to shop our latest apparel, shoes, bags, accessories and more. 

💵 Litquidity Ventures: Accredited investors & qualified purchasers within the Litquidity community can gain access to alternative investments such as venture, late-stage growth, and private equity through Litquidity Ventures. Interested? Fill out this form.

☎️ Book a call with Lit: Want to pick Litquidity's brain on business advice, insights, or just chat to say what's up? Buy his time here.

📧 Launch your own newsletter: Have great content ideas and looking to launch your own publication? We highly recommend Beehiiv to get started.

*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"