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AQR slammed buffer ETFs as investment failures, PwC delayed payouts for retiring partners in Hong Kong and China, Kroger countersued Albertsons over their collapsed merger, and five bankers will stand trial in Germany's first Cum-Cum case.

Streamline virtually all your investment processes with BlueFlame AI, a bespoke enterprise AI for alternative investments

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 3/25/2025 market close.

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Markets

  • US stocks rose in a choppy trading day on hopes for less aggressive tariffs

    • S&P rose for a third-straight day

  • Japan's Nikkei 225 hit a one-month high

  • US 10Y yield rose to its highest since February

  • US 30Y-5Y yield spread rose to 60 bps, the widest since September

  • Oil hit a three-week high on US sanction concerns

  • Dollar is down 2.2% MTD on track for its worst month since November 2023

Earnings

  • GameStop missed Q4 revenue estimates but beat on earnings while announcing plans to purchase Bitcoin with its cash holdings (CNBC)

    • Today: Dollar Tree, Jefferies, Chewy

    • Thursday: lululemon

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Consumer confidence hit a 12-year low (CNBC)

  • Global trade war explodes to pace not seen since Great Depression (WSJ)

  • Global bank layoffs is driving talent to Chinese rivals in Hong Kong (BBG)

  • Retail investors pumped $70B into stocks amid institutional investors exit (FT)

  • AQR slammed the buffer ETF boom as 'investment failure' (BBG)

  • BlackRock partnered with Emirates NBD to offer private markets in Dubai (RT)

  • PwC delays payouts for retiring partners in Hong Kong and China (FT)

  • Kroger countersued Albertsons after collapsed $25B merger (CNBC)

  • Activist Elliott sued Phillips 66 to protect shareholders rights (WSJ)

  • Activist Keith Meister will join Illumina's board (WSJ)

  • Activist Engine Capital nominated two directors to Lyft's board (RT)

  • Dell cut 10% of its workforce last year and affirmed DEI commitments (RT)

  • Tesla sales plunged 47% in Europe last month (WSJ)

  • Five bankers will stand trial in first German Cum-Cum case (BBG)

A Message from BlueFlame AI

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BlueFlame AI use cases for deal and investment teams include:

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • AT&T is in talks to acquire Lumen Technologies' consumer fiber operations at a potential $5.5B valuation

  • Pharma giant Merck will pay up to $2B for the rights to Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals' experimental heart drug

  • Irish food manufacturer Greencore raised its bid for $1.3B-listed UK grocery supplier Bakkavor

  • Bain Capital will acquire a majority stake in Italian software firm Namirial from PE firm Ambienta at a $1.2B valuation

  • Blackstone submitted a final bid for Warehouse REIT, increasing their offer by 4.1% to value the UK industrial landlord at $632M

  • 3D technology company Infinite Reality acquired music sharing pioneer Napster for $207M

  • UK's Ithaca Energy agreed to acquire Japan Petroleum Exploration's UK unit for $193M

  • South African retailer Pepkor will acquire clothing and homeware brands Legit, Swagga, Style, and Boardmans from Retailability Proprietary for ~$100M cash

  • Trafigura launched a strategic review of its struggling Nyrstar zinc and lead smelting assets in Australia 

VC

  • Fleetio, a fleet management software firm, raised $450M in late-stage funding led by Elephant VC and Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and will acquire maintenance authorization platform Auto Integrate to create a $1.5B entity

  • Protecht, an Australian GRC solutions startup, raised a $280M growth equity round from PSG

  • German medical education platform AMBOSS raised a $240M round from KIRKBI, M&G Investments, and Lightrock

  • Nexthop AI, a startup building custom networking solutions for hyperscalers, raised a $110M round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners

  • Navina, an AI-powered clinical intelligence startup, raised a $55M Series C led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives

  • Inn-Flow, a back-office management and accounting software for hotels, raised a $45M round led by Mainsail Partners

  • Faraday Future, a global shared intelligent electric mobility ecosystem company, raised $41M

  • Capital Markets Gateway, a fintech enhancing ECM, raised a $30M Series C led by StageDotO

  • Eco-friendly lawn care startup Sunday raised a $25M round from S2G Investments

  • Dyna Robotics, an AI-powered robotics company, raised $23.5M in funding led by CRV and First Round Capital

  • Lumber, an AI-powered construction workforce management platform, raised a $15.5M Series A led by Foundation Capital

  • BetterFleet, a software startup specializing in EV fleet management solutions, raised a $15M Series A led by Aligned Climate Capital, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, and Remarkable Ventures Climate

  • CoreSky, a meme coin incubation platform, raised a $15M Series A led by Tido Capital

  • Blockchain data provider Chronicle raised a $12M seed round led by Strobe Ventures

  • Paid, a platform that helps AI agents get paid, raised a $11M pre-seed round led by EQT Ventures

  • Sympera AI, a startup providing agentic AI for the banking sector, raised a $10M seed round led by Nyca Partners and Viola Ventures

  • Customer security platform Charm Security raised an $8M seed round led by Team8

  • Burbank, a Welsh fintech building a 'card-present over internet' platform, raised a $6.5M seed round led by Mouro Capital

  • Plural, a startup helping enterprises manage Kubernetes clusters, raised a $6M seed round led by Primary Venture Partners

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Miner Anglo American began talks for an IPO of its De Beers diamond business

  • Ategrity Specialty Insurance, a provider of excess and surplus insurance to SMEs, filed for an IPO

  • Italian tire giant Pirelli is pressing Chinese state-owned chemicals giant Sinochem to cut its stake from 37% to less than Italian shareholder Camfin's 26.4% amid Trump's trade threats

Debt

  • Hong Kong infrastructure developer MTR Corp raised $3B in a dollar bond sale

  • Ivory Coast will issue a new Eurobond to fund a $700M debt buyback

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Brazilian airline Gol struck a deal for investors to purchase $1.25B in debt, marking a significant step towards its exit from Chapter 11

Fundraising

  • Advent is close to raising a continuation fund led by Carlyle's AlpInvest and Coller Capital for payments software firm Xplor Technologies at a $3B-$4B valuation 

  • PE firm Falfurrias closed its sixth buyout fund with $1.3B to target MM firms

  • Australian private markets firm Roc Partners launched an evergreen multi-strat PE fund with $100M

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Trump's World Liberty Financial launched a stablecoin

  • Fidelity plans to launch its own stablecoin 

  • UK regulator says too many young people are investing in crypto instead of stocks and bonds

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

Exec’s Picks

  • FinMeme March Madness is back!!! Head on over to Instagram and vote on the funniest niche finance meme accounts going at it for a shot at glory😤

    A huge thanks to Kalshi for sponsoring this historic event🤝

  • Institutional Investor published their 24th annual list of the highest-earning hedge fund managers of 2024.

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!

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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.