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Good Morning,

Creditors are pushing back against PE deal terms, traders are short-rates vol amid policy uncertainty, China holdings of US debt fell to the lowest since the GFC, Europe and Asia are losing listings to the US, and Microsoft unveiled a breakthrough quantum computing chip.

Boxabl is on a mission to revolutionize home construction and they're inviting retail investors to help them expand. Check out the offering.

ICYMI: we released Litquidity's updated annual Wall Street comp report! The report is a product of 2,000+ submissions from the community and is by far one of the most comprehensive and valuable data sets out there. This is a preliminary report with several banks yet to announce bonuses, but we will continue to update it as the data comes in. Check it out here.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 2/19/2025 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks inched higher yesterday as investors digested Fed minutes

    • S&P notched a second-straight ATH

Earnings

  • Carvana comfortably beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates and forecast a 'strong' FY year as it seeks to grow its market share (CNBC) 

  • Etsy tumbled 10% after missing Q4 sales estimates due to 'significant headwinds' including a pullback in consumer spending (CNBC) 

  • Rio Tinto FY profit fell to a five-year low on soft iron prices (RT)

  • BHP profit slumped to a six-year low but the firm sees steel and copper demand recovering (RT)

  • Fortescue profit plunged 53% as China demand continued to fall (BBG)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Walmart, Booking Holdings, Alibaba, Block, Rivian

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Fed minutes reveal inflation concern from trade and immigration policy (BBG)

  • Fed may pause QT (BBG)

  • UK inflation rose to a 10-month high of 3% (CNBC)

  • PE gets pushback on attempts to strip investor protections (BBG)

  • China holdings of US debt fell to the lowest since 2009 (FT)

  • Europe and Asia face $130B listing exodus as US allure grows (BBG)

  • Russia's SWF sees US companies returning in 2025 (RT)

  • US rates volatility hit a three-year low (BBG)

  • European earnings day-stock volatility hit a record high (RT) 

  • Hedge funds are tailoring win-win bets on China (RT)

  • China regulator vowed stable credit supply to private firms (RT)

  • Rob Citrone joined top-paid hedge fund ranks with $730M paycheck (BBG)

  • Ackman's plans for Howard Hughes won't impact how portfolios invest (RT)

  • KKR confronts $470M earnings hole as flagship Italian deal sours (FT)

  • Antitrust expert Jon Orszag launched a new M&A consulting firm (BBG)

  • Activist Elliott is seeking seats on Phillips 66's board (BBG)

  • Glencore joined list of firms seeking to exit London listing (BBG)

  • Vanguard paused corporate meetings after SEC crackdown on ESG (FT)

  • KPMG US removed DEI reports from website (FT)

  • HSBC expects revamp efforts to cost $1.8B (RT)

  • UnitedHealth blamed a hospital error for stirring Bill Ackman's criticism (BBG)

  • Microsoft unveiled a new quantum computing chip (CNBC)

  • Apple launched a cheaper iPhone 16e (CNBC)

  • UnitedHealth offered employee buyouts and may pursue layoffs (CNBC) 

  • Musk's companies have added $613B in value since election (BBG)

  • China sentenced ex-ICBC banker Zhang Hongli to death (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Musk's X is in talks to raise capital at a $44B valuation

  • NFL's San Francisco 49ers is exploring a 10% stake sale at a $9B valuation

  • Japanese trading house Mitsui will buy a 40% stake in Australian iron ore project Rhodes Ridge from Rio Tinto for $5.3B

  • Software firm Roper Technologies is exploring a $4B sale of its water utility solutions Neptune Technology Group 

  • Saudi-owned game developer Scopely is in talks to acquire Pokemon Go-maker Niantic's video game business for $3.5B 

  • KKR, Warburg Pincus, EQT, Bain Capital and medical solutions company Phillips-Medisize expressed interest in $3B-listed German pharma packaging firm Gerresheimer

  • PE firm Rosebank Industries is in talks to acquire US electrical engineering firm Electrical Components from ​​Cerberus Capital Management in a $2B deal

  • Kontoor Brands agreed to acquire Canadian Tire's outdoor-and-workwear business Helly Hansen for $900M

  • Saudi-based Acwa Power agreed to acquire French utility Engie's power and water assets in Kuwait and Bahrain for $693M

  • UK PE firm Bridgepoint is considering a sale of Finnish cleantech firm Evac at a $520M valuation

  • Footwear company Caleres will acquire the Stuart Weitzman footwear brand from Coach-parent Tapestry for $105M cash

  • Prada is evaluating a potential bid for Versace, which is owned by Capri Holdings

  • Nordic real estate investor CapMan is nearing a deal to acquire a majority stake in Midstar Hotels from pension fund Alecta and a consortium of investors

VC

  • Saronic Technologies, a startup building autonomous ships, raised a $600M Series C at a $4B valuation led by Elad Gil

  • AI cloud developer Lambda raised a $480M Series D led by Andra Capital and SGW

  • Cloud-based physical security technology provider Verkada raised a $200M Series E at a $4.5B valuation led by General Catalyst

  • Baseten, an inference platform for AI-native products, raised a $75M Series C led by IVP and Spark

  • RoomPriceGenie, a revenue management systems for independent hotels and groups, raised $75M from Five Elms Capital

  • Augury, a startup using AI to detect malfunctions in factory machines, raised a $73M Series F at a $1B+ valuation led by Lightrock

  • 73 Strings, an AI financial intelligence platform for alternative investments, raised a $55M Series B led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives

  • AI-powered voices startup PolyAI  raised a $50M Series B led by Nvidia and Hedosophia

  • Sanas, a startup using AI to adjust speaker accents in real-time, raised a $48M round at a $500M valuation led by Quadrille Capital and Teleperformance

  • Frontera Health, a startup advancing health equity through AI-enabled autism care, raised a $32M seed round led by Lux Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners

  • Performance advertising platform tvScientific raised a $25.5M Series B led by NewRoad Capital Partners

  • Atrandi Biosciences, a Lithuanian life sciences startup advancing new single-cell analysis technology, raised a $25M Series A led by Lux Capital

  • Quadshift, a leading acquirer of vertically focused B2B software, raised $23M in growth equity from BDC Growth Equity Partners

  • AheadComputing, a chip startup founded by ex-Intel engineers, raised a $21.5M seed round led by Eclipse

  • Karman+, a startup building autonomous spacecraft to mine asteroids, raised a $20M seed round led by Plural and Hummingbird

  • AI-powered visual merchandising platform Spyne raised a $16M Series A led by Vertex Ventures

  • Gomboc AI, a deterministic AI solution for cloud security remediations, raised a $13M seed round led by Ballistic Ventures

  • Hyperlume, a startup making chip-to-chip communication faster and more efficient, raised a $12.5M seed round led by BDC Capital and ArcTern Ventures

  • Geothermal developer Ignis H2 Energy raised a $12.5M Series A led by alfa8

  • Sawmills, a smart telemetry data management platform, raised a $10M seed round led by Team8

  • Electricity trading startup ElectronX raised a $10M follow-on round led by Systemiq Capital

  • Supply chain visibility platform Desteia raised an $8M seed round led by Autotech Ventures, Nazca, and Village Global

  • Fluent Labs, a blended execution network, raised an $8M round led by Polychain Capital

  • Fluent Labs, a layer 2 Ethereum execution network, raised $8M in funding led by Polychain Capital

  • Era, an AI-based financial intelligence platform for personal wealth management, raised a $6.2M seed round led by MaC VC, Third Kind, and Protagonist

  • Mavvrik, an IT financial control platform, raised a $6.2M seed round led by S3 Ventures and Flyover Capital

  • Valid, an AI-enabled ad agency, raised a $5.5M seed round led by Canaan Partners 

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Australian real estate firm Goodman Group plans to raise $2.5B in a share placement to develop a global data centers network

  • Siemens is set to raise $1.5B from a 2.3% stake sale in medtech Siemens Healthineers

  • Swedish landlord SBB is considering an IPO of its community properties unit

Debt

  • HSBC kicked off the sale of its $7B French mortgages portfolio

  • Danish brewer Carlsberg raised $4.7B in euro-denominated debt to refinance bank bridge loans from a purchase of drinks-maker Britvic

  • Johnson & Johnson raised $4.2B in a euro-denominated bonds to fund its acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies after raising $5B in US

  • Slovakia drew record demand for a $3.1B bond sale

  • Citigroup and UBS are preparing $2.1B of debt to back Bain Capital's LBO of German facility-management company Apleona from PAI Partners

  • Michael Saylor's Strategy sweetened terms for its $2B convertible debt sale

  • Apollo, HPS, and Hayfin bought a portion of a $1.6B private credit loan ​​KKR issued to TDR Capital-backed used car marketplace Constellation Automotive Group

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • KKR offered $5B for a majority stake in troubled UK water utility Thames Water

  • EV maker Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to liquidate

  • Vitamin Shoppe-owner Franchise Group won court approval to proceed with a potential restructuring despite pushback from junior lenders

  • Forever 21 is preparing to close over 200 locations in a potential second Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Fundraising

  • PE firm GTCR raised $3.6B for a second strategic growth fund

  • Private markets investment firm Hamilton Lane closed its debut Venture Access Fund at $615M 

  • Madison River Capital, a spinout from Blackstone billionaire Tony James' family office, raised $370M for a debut lower MM PE fund

  • Baltic investment firm Invalda raised $318M for its second-generation PE fund and the largest PE fund in the region

  • Thomson Reuters launched its second Corporate Venture Capital Fund at $150M

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Javier Milei's crypto scandal led to losses for 86% of traders

  • Michael Saylor's big Bitcoin bet is inspiring copycat CEOs

  • Check out our 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!

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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"