Ro the Robber

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Good Morning,

It was an unusually slow Monday for markets yesterday as traders weighed progress in US-Iran talks. Maybe it's cause everyone was too busy watching Congressman Ro Khanna get cooked on Twitter for his policy ideas.

Fidelity is sharing their Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit to equip founders with proven materials and templates that support growth over time. Get it here.

Let's dive in.

Before The Bell

Learn more about the Litquidity portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.*

Markets

• US stocks slipped yesterday as traders weighed tech valuations against optimistic US-Iran talks

  • Small caps Russell 2000 hit an ATH

  • SpaceX has lost $600B in value in three days

• Japan's Nikkei 225 hit a new ATH to take YTG gains past 40%

• Chinese stocks in Hong Kong rebounded 2% from the edge of a bear market

• Oil prices slid after US cleared Iran to sell crude in dollars

• Dollar hit a YTD high vs Swiss franc

  • Pound fell to a YTD low after UK PM Starmer resigned

  • Yen is at a two-year (and forty-year) low

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:

  • Today: FedEx, Cerebras

  • Wednesday: Micron, Jefferies

  • Thursday: McCormick, FedEx Freight

• Full calendar here

Prediction Markets

• Keri Starmer become the sixth UK prime minister to resign before term. Talk about fragile democracy…

• Trade event contracts on Polymarket, the world's largest prediction market

Headline Roundup

• US stocks slipped yesterday as traders weighed tech valuations against optimistic US-Iran talks

  • Small caps Russell 2000 hit an ATH

  • SpaceX has lost $600B in value in three days

• Japan's Nikkei 225 hit a new ATH to take YTG gains past 40%

• Chinese stocks in Hong Kong rebounded 2% from the edge of a bear market

• Oil prices slid after US cleared Iran to sell crude in dollars

• Dollar hit a YTD high vs Swiss franc

  • Pound fell to a YTD low after UK PM Starmer resigned

  • Yen is at a two-year (and forty-year) low

A Message from Fidelity Private Shares

Fundraising Can Get Expensive When Structure Comes Too Late

Fundraising problems usually aren't strategic - they're structural.

When ownership data, investor materials, and diligence prep live in different places, small inconsistencies can turn into time-consuming cleanup. Teams end up reconciling cap tables, rewriting decks, chasing historical context for investor questions, and pulling documents together under pressure.

The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips finance leaders with standardized materials that support fundraising over time, not just during a raise.

Built for companies that care about accuracy, continuity, and fewer surprises.

Deal Flow

M&A / Strategic

• Germany and France are set to hold equal 40% stakes in tank maker KNDS ahead of its IPO which could fetch an over $25B valuation

• Pharma giant AbbVie will acquire anti-inflammatory-focused Apogee Therapeutics for $10.9B at a 50% premium

• Irish building materials group CRH will acquire US rival Arcosa in an $8.5B cash deal, including debt, at a 10% premium

• UK budget airline EasyJet has rebuffed three separate offers from Castlelake, prompting the investment firm to go hostile with its $6.3B offer

• Manchester United acquired a plot of land from a Blackstone-backed firm to build a new $2B stadium close to its Old Trafford landmark.

• Canada will acquire the Over the Horizon Radar system from Australia for $1.8B

• UK utility Southern Water reached a target to raise $1.6B in equity from owners Asterion Industrial Partners, Macquarie, and others

• French foods giant Danone will acquire Australian drinks and dairy producer Made Group from TPG Capital for $1.4B and will also buy the remaining 49% stake in its JV with Saputo Dairy Australia

• Biggest shareholder Pointillist Family Office is pushing offshore energy services company $200M-listed SEACOR to explore a sale at a 300% premium

• Agri-commodities giant Cargill is aiming to complete a sale of its metals unit by August

VC

• AppsFlyer, a marketing analytics and mobile ad attribution platform, raised a $1B Series E at a $2.7B post-money valuation from Moloco, Google, Meta, and others

• CRED, an Indian fintech platform, raised a $900M round at a $4.5B post-money valuation led by Meta

• Nearfield Instruments, an advanced semiconductor 3D metrology and inspection company, raised a $380M Series D at a $1.6B valuation led by Fidelity

• Upscale AI, a pure-play AI networking infrastructure company, raised a $190M Series A-1 extension at a $2B valuation led by Premji Invest

• Fomo, a crypto trading app, raised a $75M Series B at a $550M valuation led by Index Ventures

• Ploy, an AI growth platform, raised a $27M seed round led by First Round Capital and Y Combinator

Access the complete VC deal flow and data on Fundable

IPOs / Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• German energy company RWE is seeking to raise $4.75B in a share issuance to acquire a 30% stake in transmission system operator Amprion to boost ownership to 55%

• Italian app investor Bending Spoons is seeking to raise $1.6B at a $19B valuation in a US IPO

• GM and Toyota-backed Chinese autonomous-driving startup Momenta is set to raise $1B in a Hong Kong IPO; the firm is valued at $9B

• Oaktree-backed digital infrastructure company ITG is seeking to raise $2.7B at a $430M valuation in a US IPO

• VITRO REIT, the data center subsidiary of Philippine telecoms firm PLDT is looking to raise $400M in Philippine's first IPO of the year

• Mexican silver mining company Sinda is looking to raise $345M at a $2B valuation in a US IPO

Debt

• Banks are marketing $2.75B of leveraged loans to back infrastructure investor Stonepeak's $10.1B acquisition of BP's lubricants business Castrol

• Mexico is offering $6.3B of bonds to fund a buyback of existing deb

• Sony is planning its first dollar bond sale in three decades

• Argentine O&G firm Pluspetrol is planning a $500M bond sale

Bankruptcy / Restructuring / Distressed

• Asian PE fund MBK Partners is in talks with banks to extend the repayment deadline on $465M of leveraged loans for Belgian chocolate maker Godiva's Japan unit

Funds / Secondaries

• Apollo again accepted withdrawal requests from its largest $25B non-traded private credit fund for retail investors

• French pension FRR selected Swen Capital Partners and Flexstone Partners to manage $570M worth of PE FOF mandates

• Palladio Partners raised a $515M CV for Railpool, Europe's leading rail vehicle leasing firm

• Ex-DOGE employees raised $225M for new VC firm Banner VC

• Healthcare VC Marram Ventures spun out of investment group The 4100 Group and is targeting a $100M debut fund

• Baltic-based INVL Family Office debuted a new secondaries fund

Crypto Sum Snapshot

• BoE dilutes stablecoin rules with plan for £40bn issuer limit

• Ex-NY governor Andrew Cuomo will co-chair a JV between NYSE owner ICE and OKX

• CME Group sues CFTC over Bitcoin perps approval

Crypto Sum compiles the most important stories on everything crypto. Read it here.

Exec's Picks

• Your analyst already knows more about AI than you do. Close the gap with Columbia Business School Exec Ed + Wall Street Prep's AI for Business & Finance Program. Use code LITQUIDITY for $300 off and secure your spot by July 13.

• Robin Powell published an interesting piece on the challenges that women face in the wealth management industry. Read it here.

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.