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Good Morning,

Banks and private credit firms are uniting for LBO fees, Goldman won a rare solo mandate for BlackRock's Panama port deal, DOGE is going after consultants, Brookfield and KKR are pursuing Berkshire's model, German bonds got wrecked, Norway will allocate billions to L/S, Millennium's founder may give ownership to execs, and one of America's most high-profile tech bankers is expected to lead US's sovereign wealth fund.

See how you can simplify your business finances with BILL and they'll send you a $200 lululemon gift card.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

As of 3/5/2025 market close.

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

Markets

  • US stocks surged in a recovery rally yesterday after US announced concessions to Mexico and Canada tariffs

  • MSCI EM index rose 2.1% in its best day since September

    • iShares MSCI EM ETF is up 6% YTD

    • China-India equities valuation gap shrunk to the lowest in two years as India optimism fades

  • US 2Y yield climbed back above 4% after briefly dipping below this week

  • Germany 10Y bund yield surged 31 bps to 2.79% in its worst day since the fall of the Berlin Wall on plans to expand fiscal deficit 

  • Japan 10Y yield topped 1.5% for the first time since 2009

  • Japan 30Y yield topped 2.5% for the first time since 2008

  • Oil prices fell to three-year lows

  • Pound joined euro to trade at four-month highs

    • Euro is set for its best week in 16 years ahead of ECB's meeting today

Earnings

  • Abercrombie & Fitch dropped 9% despite beating Q4 estimates as it missed on FY sales forecasts, citing a moderation in its recent momentum (CNBC)

  • Victoria's Secret fell 5% despite beating Q4 earnings and revenue estimates as it forecast a hit to FY operating income due to China tariffs (INV)

  • LandBridge reported a 109% surge in Q4 revenue while reaffirming its FY earnings outlook after tripling its land holdings in 2024 (BW)

  • What we're watching this week:  

    • Today: Costco, Broadcom, Macy's, Gap, LandBridge

  • Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

  • Recession trade is back on Wall Street (WSJ)

  • Wall Street banks say markets are flashing rising recession risk (BBG)

  • US granted a one-month tariff exemption for automakers (WSJ)

  • Fed's Beige Book shows slight growth and mounting tariff worries (BBG)

  • US firms added the fewest jobs since July (CNBC)

  • Morgan Stanley's head of tech IB will lead new US SWF (CNBC)

  • Dealmakers are losing faith in anticipated M&A boom (BBG)

  • Walgreens LBO is uniting fee-hungry banks and private credit firms (BBG)

  • Goldman won rare solo mandate on $19B Panama port deal (BBG)

  • KKR is trying to build a 'mini Berkshire' (BBG)

  • Brookfield explores using insurance arm to adopt Berkshire model (BBG)

  • DOGE will expand blitz to consulting firms (FT)

  • UK bankers are pursuing reform to reignite lagging IPO market (BBG)

  • Canada expanded oversight to allow rejections on foreign investments (BBG) 

  • Norway's $1.8T SWF will allocate billions to L/S strategies (FT)

  • Europe investors sold US equity ETFs for first time since May 2023 (FT)

  • Retail investors pulled $1.2B from US stocks in quickest pace ever (CNBC)

  • Market cap of UAE stocks hit $1T last year (AGB)

  • Millennium's founder explores expanding ownership to execs (FT)

  • Goldman named David Dubner as COO of global M&A (RT)

  • Phillips 66 pushed back against activist Elliott in board fight (BBG)

  • Kenvue settled proxy fight with activist Starboard with three directors (RT)

  • Early 401(k) withdrawals hit a record high (WSJ)

  • FIFA World Cup is planning Super Bowl-style halftime show (ESPN)

  • MIT overtook Harvard as most popular 'dream' school (CNBC)

A Message from BILL

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1BILL Divvy Card issued by Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, and is not a deposit product. 2Credit lines and the advertised range are not guaranteed and will be determined upon application approval. 3Terms and conditions apply: see offer page for more details.

Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

  • UK's regulator cleared chip-design-software maker Synopsys' $35B cash-and-stock acquisition of engineering software firm Ansys

  • Saudi Aramco is considering an offer for BP's Castrol lubricant business, valued at ~$10B

  • Bain Capital is finalizing a deal to acquire 7-Eleven-owner Seven & i's York Holdings, which includes supermarkets, restaurants, and other non-core assets, for over $4.7B; Seven & i will announce a new CEO, restructuring changes, and a $13.5B share buyback as its fends of a $47B takeover from Circle K-owner Couche-Tard

  • Japanese retailer Trial Holdings will acquire Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu from KKR and Walmart for $2.5B, ending foreign ownership

  • Blackstone acquired a minority stake in infrastructure investor ITE Management and up to $2B in investments

  • Danish retail giant Salling Group agreed to buy Swedish grocery retailer ICA Baltic subsidiary Rimi Baltic for $1.4B, excluding debt

  • $860M-listed ecommerce fraud prevention software firm Riskified is exploring a sale

  • Blackstone is close to a deal to acquire South City Mall in Kolkata, India for $400M

  • PE firm New Water Capital is acquiring Dutch Gold Honey from the Gamber family for $75M-$250M

  • AI cloud computing startup CoreWeave will acquire AI developer platform Weights & Biases

  • Abu Dhabi PE firm Gulf Capital plans to sell its IVF business Art Fertility Clinics

VC

  • Swedish eco-friendly data center startup EcoDataCenter raised a $478M round from unnamed investors

  • Epirus, a defense tech startup specializing in anti-drone systems, raised a $250M Series D led by 8VC and Washington Harbour Partners

  • Flex, a personal finance software and payments infrastructure for business owners, raised a $25M round at a $250M valuation led by Titanium Ventures

  • Peregrine Technologies, a startup developing software engineering talent for the public safety domain, raised a $190M Series C at a $2.5B valuation led by Sequoia

  • Quantexa, a data analytics startup fighting money laundering and fraud, raised a $175M Series F at a $2.6B valuation from OTPP

  • Darwinbox, an Indian SaaS platform for hiring and onboarding, raised a $140M round at a $950M+ valuation led by KKR and Partners Group

  • SpecterOps, a cybersecurity company providing adversary-focused solutions, raised a $75M Series B led by Insight Partners

  • Multiverse Computing, a startup building AI compression software, raised $72M from the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation

  • Zeitview, a visual AI platform for critical infrastructure, raised a $60M round led by Climate Investment

  • Bluebird Kids Health, a healthcare services company, raised a $31.5M round led by F Prime and .406 Ventures

  • Freed, a startup using AI to automate medical documentation, raised a $30M Series A led by Sequoia

  • Steady Energy, a Finnish startup developing a heat-only small modular reactor, raised $24M in funding led by 92 Ventures

  • AI-driven cancer care startup Ataraxis AI raised a $20.4M Series A led by AIX Ventures

  • Numeral, a startup helping businesses manage state-by-state sales tax requirements, raised an $18M Series A led by Benchmark Capital

  • VIE Technologies, an energy monitoring and predictive maintenance solutions provider, raised a $15M Series A led by Energy Impact Partners

  • CaPow, an in-motion power delivery solution for robotic fleets, raised a $15M Series A led by Toyota Ventures

  • CoverForce, an infrastructure platform for commercial insurance, raised a $13M Series A led by Insight Partners

  • Epigenetic reprogramming platform Decibel Bio raised $12M from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Future Ventures, Bayer, and Syngenta

  • Ceramic.ai, a startup helping enterprises build AI models more efficiently, raised a $12M seed round led by NEA

  • Knostic, a need-to-know access controls for GenAI, raised $11M led by Bright Pixel Capital

  • Glimpse, a battery quality management company, raised a $10M Series A led by TDK Ventures

  • GoodSAM Foods, a food brand dedicated to regenerative agriculture, transparency, and farmer empowerment, raised a $9M Series A led by Alive Ventures

  • AidKit, a startup helping government agencies and nonprofits administer aid programs efficiently and transparently, raised an $8.5M Series A led by Blueprint Equity

  • AI-powered customer journey management platform MaxIQ raised a $7.8M seed round led by Dell Technologies Capital

  • Healthtech startup XUND raised a $6.4M pre-Series A led by Lead Ventures

  • Mode, am AI-driven data management solutions for building management, manufacturing, and construction, raised $5.3M in funding from KDDI, Canon Marketing Japan and Safie Ventures

  • Watter, a startup reducing energy waste, raised a $5M seed round led by Hunt Innovative Technologies and 17Shoals

  • Henry AI, a startup using AI to automate commercial real estate deals, raised a $4.3M seed round led by Susa Ventures and 1Sharpe Ventures

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

  • Discord, the gaming chat platform last valued at $15B in a 2021, is in early IPO talks

  • Swedish BNPL fintech Klarna is set to file for a $1B US IPO as soon as next week

  • Belgian investment firm GBL is seeking $888M in a 4.5% stake sale of Swiss testing and certification group SGS 

  • Arabian Construction is considering a UAE IPO that could raise several hundred million dollars

  • Yupi, one of Asia's top candy makers, plans to raise $130M in an Indonesia IPO

  • Commonwealth Bank of Australia sold its remaining 4.4% stake in Vietnam bank VIB for $107M, marking a full exit

  • Italian lender UniCredit is set to increase its stake in the Italian insurer Generali from ~5% to 10%

  • Apollo is offloading a 10.3% stake in Italian betting firm Lottomatica 

Debt

  • Foods giant Mars is issuing $26B in high-grade bonds, the largest debt sale YTD, to finance its acquisition of peer Kellanova

  • Colombia's state-owned oil producer Ecopetrol plans to raise $2B in additional debt this year to fund M&A

  • Chinese tech giant Baidu sold $1.4B of foreign bonds in its first debt issuance since 2021 and its first yuan-denominated note ever

  • Israel's largest bank Hapoalim raised $830M in a debt offering 

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

  • Tex-Mex restaurant chain On The Border filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Fundraising

  • Northleaf Capital Partners raised $1B for its third private credit fund 

  • 8VC raised $1B for its sixth fund

  • European biotech VC Sofinnova Partners raised $1B to continue investing in life sciences

Crypto Sum Snapshot

  • El Salvador plans to continue buying Bitcoin in defiance of IMF

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

Exec’s Picks

  • Eilla AI just launched its Valuation & Comps AI Analyst. It finds all relevant public and private comparables in less than 3 minutes using Capital IQ, Crunchbase and in-depth product data. It also uncovers premium valuation drivers and generates football fields. Cut the manual digging.

    Try Eilla for free.

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.