What you Need to Know for April 8th

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The Week Ahead Of Us 🔍

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Well Trump’s 8pm deadline last night was shockingly delayed.

President Trump has announced a 2-week ceasefire, subject to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s comments, especially the ones yesterday morning saying “A whole civilization will d** tonight, never to be brought back again.” was clearly more of a way to get the Iranians to the negotiation table and to try to re-open the Strait. This obviously parallels the Tariffs from Liberation Day a year ago, and until we see otherwise, we’re going to presume this is the playbook for the next month. As of now, futures point towards a dramatically positive Wednesday. Barring a downside case, it seems like we’ve set the lows and can hopefully recover from here.

Here’s the earnings that are coming up today:

• Wednesday: Delta Air Lines, Constellation Brands, RPM International, Applied Digital

• Thursday: WD-40, BlackBerry Limited, Simply Good Foods

Here’s a look at economic data this week (estimates are in quotations).

• Wednesday: Fed Meeting Minutes

• Thursday: Personal income (0.3%), Personal spending (0.5%), PCE index (0.4%), PCE y/y (2.8%), Core PCE index (0.4%), Core PCE y/y (3.0%), GDP second revision (0.7%), Initial jobless claims (210,000), Wholesale inventories (-0.5%)

• Friday: Consumer price index (1.0%), CPI y/y (3.3%), Core CPI (0.3%) Core CPI y/y (2.7%), Factory orders (0.2%), Consumer sentiment prelim (52.0)

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Earnings Corner 💸 

• $LEVI ( ▲ 4.36% ) Levi Strauss came in with a top and bottom line beat, with revenue at $1.74B vs. $1.65B (+14%) and EPS at $0.42 vs. $0.37. The beat was driven by price increases and strong DTC growth. DTC sales rose 16% and now make up 52% of revenue as the company continues shifting toward its own channels, supporting margins as cost stay elevated given the higher profitability of the channel. The company raised full year guidance while noting that tariff remain a swing factor while lower duties could provide an additional boost to earnings later this year.

On The Move 📈 📉

• Invesco $IVZ ( ▼ 2.64% ) was down after BlackRock announced its plans to launch a competing Nasdaq-100 ETF. The move threatens Invesco’s $374B QQQ franchise, raising concerns about increasing competition in a market it has long dominated.

• Universal Music Group $UMGNF ( ▼ 4.33% ) jumped after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square submitted an offer to buy the company at a ~$60B valuation.

• Paramount Skydance $PSKY ( ▲ 0.28% ) surged after securing $24B in funding from Middle East investors for the Warner Bros deal.

• Major healthcare companies like $UNH ( ▲ 0.3% ) , $CVS ( ▲ 0.06% ) , and $HUM ( ▼ 0.54% ) rose on news that the U.S. Medicare program will pay private insurers 2.48% more in 2027.

• Broadcom $AVGO ( ▲ 1.22% ) climbed after announcing a long-term deal with Google to develop and supply TPUs.

• Apple $AAPL ( ▲ 0.61% ) was down slightly after encountering engineering challenges in the development of its first foldable iPhone.

IPO Roundup 📍 

• Madison Air is looking to raise $2.23B in an IPO that’s expected to price on April 15th. The ventilation and filtration systems provider is selling 82.7 million shares for $25 to $27 each, valuing the company at up to $13.2B.

• National Healthcare Properties, a senior housing-focused REIT, has filed for an IPO as it aims to capitalize on the growing elderly population in the U.S.

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Today’s Headlines 📖🍿 

• Anthropic is on track for $30B in estimated 2026 revenue, up from $9B at the end of 2025, with over 1,000 enterprise customers now spending $1M+ annually. The company confirmed a long-term chip and capacity deal with Broadcom and Google, securing access to 3.5 gigawatts of AI compute starting in 2027.

  • Meanwhile, reports are that Anthropic's new model, Claude Mythos, is so powerful that it is not releasing it to the public. Instead, a 40-company coalition is getting a head start on locking down critical software.

  • The company is also planning to invest $200mm in a joint venture with PE firms to sell its AI tools to their portfolio companies. General Atlantic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman are among the firms in talks to raise $1B (including Anthropic’s planned contribution) for the effort.

• QTS draws $12.5B demand for Microsoft-linked data center bond: Blackstone-backed QTS saw peak orders of $12.5B for a $4.6B debut investment-grade bond tied to a Microsoft-leased data center in Georgia, pricing at +137.5bps over Treasuries.

  • Meanwhile, Blackstone has raised $10B for its opportunistic credit fund, which was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap. The strategy has generated a 13% net IRR since its inception in 2007.

• Banks line up €750M financing for €1.5B sushi merger: Deutsche Bank, RBC, and UniCredit are underwriting a €650M term loan and €100M revolver to back up the merger of Eat Happy and Hana Group’s European operations, with plans to syndicate the debt as leveraged loans or high-yield bonds depending on market conditions.

• Pimco weighs a $14B debt package for Oracle data center: Pimco and Bank of America are in talks to help finance a $14B bond deal for Oracle’s Michigan data center tied to OpenAI workloads. The move follows Pimco’s $18B Meta data center financing last year.

• Yahoo is in talks for a $1.6B refinancing: The Apollo-backed media company is seeking a $1.1B leveraged loan with px talk of S+550 @ 98.5 and secured debt in the mid-to-high 9% range.

• Private credit fears spill into the muni market, as concerns in the private credit industry continue to build, with bonds linked to Apollo-owned Athene Annuity and Life Co. weakening even more than the benchmark munis.

• RBC leads $1.1B loan to finance nuclear LBO as AI-driven power demand boosts the sector. The bank is backing debt for Energy Capital Partner’s acquisition of EnergySolutions, as growing electricity demand from AI data centers increases demand for reliable nuclear power, even as volatile markets have slowed leveraged loan issuance recently.

• SMFG, Nippon Life explore $3B Japan LBO loan fund: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Nippon Life are in talks to launch a ¥500B ($3B) private credit fund to finance leveraged buyouts, real estate transactions, and mezzanine financing, marking a potential shift in Japan’s bank-dominated LBO market.

• Deutsche’s distressed desk more than doubled its profits in Q1 to over $100mm after shorting a basket of software company debt. The trades included going long Brightspeed and shorting Xerox.

• Arclight raised $3.9B for its 8th fund that will focus on energy-related infrastructure strategies. The fund was 30% oversubscribed, highlighting the strong demand for power generation deals.

• EV sales are on the rise with fuel prices up: 137k new EVs were sold in the UK in March, a monthly record and up 14.5% y/y. Tesla sales specifically rose 20% y/y.

  • Used car sales are also on the rise, with prices increasing 6.2% y/y last month to their highest level since summer 2023.

• Goldman warns laid-off tech workers that finding new employment will be difficult, likely taking one month longer and resulting in a job that pays 3% less.

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M&A Transactions💭 

Soleno Therapeutics (NAS: SLNO), a biopharmaceutical company, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $2.953B by Neurocrine Biosciences (NAS: NBIX). EV/EBITDA was 258.29x and EV/Revenue was 15.51x. Centerview Partners and Guggenheim Partners advised on the sale.

SBI Savings Bank, operator of a banking institution, was acquired for KRW 900.0B by Kyobo Life Insurance. EV/Net Income was 15.11x.

Olympic Group (TKS: 8289), a Japan-based company engaged in the retail business, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for JPY 25.0B by Pan Pacific International Holdings (TKS: 7532).

Lotusworks, provider of engineering and technical project recourses services, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for EUR 375.0M by Bureau Veritas (PAR: BVI).

Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing, manufacturer of fitting systems and supplying components, was acquired for $1.8B by Howmet Aerospace (NYS: HWM). EV/Revenue was 4.39x. Evercore Group advised on the sale.

Hologic, manufactures proprietary products, was acquired by Blackstone, TPG, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and GIC Private for $20.5B. The transaction was supported by $12.25B of debt financing. The stockholders will receive $76.0 per share in cash plus a non-tradable contingent value right (CVR) to receive up to $3.0 per share in two payments of up to $1.5 each, for a total consideration of up to $79.0 per share in cash. EV/EBITDA was 20.44x and EV/Revenue was 4.97x. Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.

Private Placement Transactions💭 

Xoople, developer of an observation and data analysis platform, raised $130.0M of Series B venture funding led by Nazca Capital.

Stipple Bio, operator of a biotechnology company, raised $100.0M of Series A venture funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, Nextech Invest, and RA Capital Management.

Firmus Technologies, provider of advanced AI-infrastructure systems, raised $505.0M of venture funding.

OFF/BEAT, the company is currently operating in stealth mode, raised $1.0B of Seed venture funding from Bessemer Venture Partners.

Aria Networks, developer of an AI-focused networking platform, raised $125.0M of Series A venture funding from Valor Equity Partners, Eclipse Capital, and Sutter Hill Ventures.

Superhuman, developer of writing assistance technology, raised $1.02B of venture funding from Teachers’ Venture Growth, 9Yards Capital Management, and Makai VC.

Starfish Space, developer of autonomous satellite servicing vehicles, raised $100.0M of Series B venture funding led by Point72 Ventures, Shield Capital, and Activate Capital Partners.

Spirit AI Robotics, manufacturer of intelligent robotics and AI systems, raised CNY 1.0B of venture funding led by Yunfeng Capital, and Shunwei Capital.

Odds of the Day 🍒 

Polymarket traders are pricing in a 59% chance of Strait of Hormuz traffic returning to normal following this ceasefire.

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Obviously, none of this constitutes financial or investment advice. Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Alts. *Today’s Odds of the Day is in paid partnership with Polymarket