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Good Morning,

Welcome back, Exec Sum fam! We hope you enjoyed the Memorial Day long weekend and are gearing up for a vibrant summer ahead.

Before we dive in, I'm co-hosting a happy hour with BlueFlame AI to bring together buy-side folks for an exciting evening of food, drinks, and epic games on Monday, June 2nd at T-Squared Social, NYC. This is one of the first events of my new events company, Palm & Park, and I'd love for you to join! RSVP here 🫡

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Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 5/23/2025 market close.

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Markets

  • US stock and bond markets remained closed yesterday in observance of Memorial Day

  • US stocks closed lower on Friday after US announced new tariffs on EU (which were subsequently postponed)

    • S&P tumbled for a fourth-straight day

  • India-US yield spread fell to a 20-year low

  • Thermal coal prices hit a four-year low amid a supply glut

  • Dollar fell to its lowest since December 2023

    • Dollar had its worst week since April's 'Liberation Day'

    • Euro hit a one-month high 

Earnings

  • Booz Allen Hamilton missed Q1 earnings and revenue estimates as reduced federal spending hit its civil division, prompting 2.5k job cuts and sending shares 16% lower (WSJ)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: AutoZone, Heico

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

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

  • Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

  • Clearly, traders haven't heard of Bart P. Fuchs IV (Global Head of Memes) 🤷‍♂️

  • 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 extended deadline for 50% tariffs on EU (BBG)

  • Junk debt is flashing a warning sign for credit markets (BBG)

  • Private funds are turning to complex bonds to tackle liquidity crunch (BBG)

  • Private credit funds have too much money in rare problem (WSJ) 

  • India's record private credit deal hinges on tricky collateral (BBG)

  • Asian hedge funds jacked leverage to recover losses in May (RT)

  • PE portfolios are underperforming at Canada's 'Maple 8' (FT)

  • EM equity funds are luring investors fleeing overvalued US assets (RT)

  • Investors are piling into ETFs at record pace despite turmoil (WSJ)

  • Companies are withdrawing guidance amid Trump's tariffs (RT)

  • Japan lost top creditor status for first time in 34 years (BBG)

  • Jane Street made $2.3B riding India options trading wave (BBG)

  • JPMorgan poached four tech bankers from BofA, Goldman, and Lazard (RT)

  • Citadel Securities' MD of APAC BD exited the firm (BBG)

  • SoftBank proposed a US-Japan SWF (FT)

  • China pushes for M&A to create global banking giants (FT)

  • Hong Kong will start 0DTE options trading in 2026 (BBG)

  • VCs are experimenting with AI-infused roll-ups of mature startups (TC)

  • US new-home sales jumped to a three-year high as prices plummet (BBG)

  • US importers paid a record $16.5B as April tariff bill lands (BBG)

  • Four partners left Paul Weiss following deal with US (RT)

  • Gen Z is leading the RTO charge (CNBC)

  • Firms are rushing to import Chinese goods amid 90-day tariff pause (WSJ)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • Chinese regulators approved the $6.9B PAG-led acquisition of 48 Wanda malls, with Tencent, JD.com, and Sunshine Life also participating as investors

  • Towerbrook, Warburg Pincus, and Stonepeak are weighing a sale or IPO of UK roadside assistance firm AA at a potential $5.4B valuation

  • Australian shipping software company WiseTech Global agreed to acquire US logistics company E2open for $2.1B

  • A group led by investment firm Terlos will acquire gelato and pastry ingredient maker Casa Optima from Charterhouse Capital Partners in a ~$1B deal, including debt

  • RedBird Capital Partners agreed to acquire The Telegraph for $674M, ending two years of uncertainty for the UK newspaper group

  • Movendo Capital and Draycott acquired French perfume bottle maker Verescence from Stirling Square Capital Partners in a ~$558M deal, including debt

  • Japanese auto parts manufacturer Denso is in final talks to acquire Temasek-backed Axia Vegetable Seeds for ~$500M in an agri sector push

  • Norwegian investment firm Kistefos acquired active fund manager Holberg from DNB Bank's investment banking unit

  • Software giant Capgemini's advanced talks to acquire outsourcing firm WNS Holdings stalled amid global market volatility

  • Miami-based Aliya Capital Partners will join the ownership group of UK's Reading Football Club as a major investor, pending league approval

VC

  • Viral running fitness app Strava raised a funding round at a $2.2B valuation led by  Sequoia Capital

  • EngineAI, a Chinese humanoid robotics developer, plans to raise $140M at a $1B valuation in a funding round later this year

  • Swedish AI legal assistant startup Legora raised an $80M Series B at a $675M valuation led by ICONIQ and General Catalyst 

  • Personal finance app Monarch raised a $75M Series B at an $850M valuation led by Forerunner Ventures and FPV Ventures

  • Dutch medtech startup Salvia BioElectronics raised a $60M Series B led by Innovation Industries

  • Fleetx.io, an Indian fleet management platform, raised a $19M Series B led by IndiaMART

  • Tarjama, a language solutions technology company, raised a $15M Series A led by Global Ventures

  • VIOTAS, an Irish startup working on smart grid demand response services, raised an $11M growth facility from Claret Capital Partners

  • Secro, an AI-enabled platform for global trade finance, raised a $10M Series A led by Assembly Ventures and Sway Ventures

  • Data Sutram, an Indian B2B SaaS startup providing an AI-powered fraud detection and compliance platform, raised a $9M Series A led by B Capital and Lightspeed

  • AI-powered impact monitoring platform viAct raised a $7.3M Series A led by VentureWave Capital

  • AI-powered healthcare operating platform Optura raised a $6.5M seed round led by Susa Ventures and Matrix Partners

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • PE firm Hellman & Friedman plans to IPO security firm Verisure in Sweden at an over $23B valuation, including debt

  • Japanese conglomerate GMO Internet Group canceled its $2B share sale of its internet unit following a surge in the stock price that raised the unit’s valuation

  • India budget airlines IndiGo's co-founder Rakesh Gangwal and his family trust are aiming to raise up to $803M by selling a 3.4% stake

  • India's National Stock Exchange is offering ~$118M to settle a dispute with India's regulator, potentially clearing the path for its IPO

  • Florida-based specialty home insurer Slide Insurance Holdings filed for an IPO

  • Sixth Street-backed oncology startup Caris Life Sciences filed for an IPO

  • Minority shareholders approved meat producer giant JBS's reorganization plan, clearing way for a US IPO

Debt

  • Trump Media is seeking to raise $3B to fund a crypto purchase

  • Deutsche Bank is selling a significant risk transfer tied to a $3B corporate loan portfolio

  • Zimbabwe aims to secure $2.6B in bridge finance by early 2026 from negotiations with the UK, Germany, and Brazil to repay international debt and restore capital market access

  • Football club Inter Milan is marketing privately placed notes worth $453M to refinance high-yield bonds backed by the club’s sponsorship and media rights

  • Digital presence platform Yext raised $200M in debt led by BlackRock

  • Indonesia plans to issue its first-ever dim sum bonds and kangaroo bonds this year to diversify its debt portfolio

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Key bank creditors warn that failure to meet demands could be a 'deal breaker' for Chinese property developer Country Garden's $14.1B offshore debt restructuring plan

  • Bankrupt hospital operator Healthscope received $65M from Commonwealth Bank of Australia to help fund its sale process and maintain patient care after Australia declined a bailout

Fundraising

  • Schroders Capital raised ~$2.3B for its sub-investment grade infrastructure debt fund

  • Crestline Investors raised $1.7B of new NAV financing capital following a private credit fund close

  • Arena Investors raised $1.1B for flagship 'scarce capital' asset credit fund

  • Series X Capital, a VC fund linked to Alphabet’s X, aims to raise over $500M to invest in companies spinning off from the lab

  • Aliph Capital, the first woman-led PE firm in the Gulf, raised $200M for its debut fund

  • VC Factorial Funds raised $200M for its second fund

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • Bitcoin options open interest hit an ATH of $48.2B

  • Crypto investor charged with kidnapping and torturing man in NYC apartment for weeks

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

Exec’s Picks

MD Opportunity – Investment Banking 💼

  • We are working with a leading investment bank based in NYC to help bring on a Managing Director to lead Asset Management coverage within the Financial Institutions Group

  • The MD will manage client relationships and drive origination across M&A, capital raises, and other strategic transactions, alongside various other responsibilities

  • If this sounds like you, we'd love to get in touch!

Apply Here 🤝

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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.