Good Morning! Occidental Petroleum will buy oil producer CrownRock in a $12 billion deal. KKR wants to raise $7 billion for its first climate fund. Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic, was named the company of the year by Yahoo Finance, and Microsoft says it doesn’t own any portion of OpenAI. Plus the 15 best business books of 2023, and 7 phrases people with low emotional intelligence use.

If you haven’t already, make sure you are subscribed to our PE, VC & M&A newsletter Buysiders. Tomorrow we’ll send out details on how oil money is funding climate funds.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Goldman’s Latest Bet

Goldman is revamping its $110 billion private credit arm - and aiming to double its size. The bank announced it’s shuffling up its leadership in the space yesterday.

Goldman has been in the $1.6 trillion private credit market since before the 2008 financial crisis. And the latest shake-up is meant to keep rivals like JPMorgan, Barclays, and Citi at bay.

And Goldman’s unique selling point? They house the private credit unit in its asset-management arm, raising third-party capital from Wall Street instead of throwing their own money around. JPMorgan, on the other hand, will deploy its own balance sheet (and many private equity firms are doing the same).

And Goldman was even a lender for the record-breaking private loan for Adevinta ASA's buyout last month.

Takeaway: If you listen to Wall Street titans, private credit is all the rage. It’s much more scalable, and private equity firms like Apollo and KKR are moving away from traditional LBOs to rake in on the craze.

Goldman trying to grow its private credit arm to $200 billion is definitely ambitious. But hopefully this bet pays off better than CEO David Solomon’s bet on DJing.

_{SPONSORED BY ATLAS VPN}

Do you spend much time on the internet?

Research by Statista shows that we spend almost 7 hours online daily: banking, shopping, socializing with others, working, or organizing our daily lives.

It puts the importance of cybersecurity and online protection into perspective. We all take precautions in the real world to protect our money, valuables, and identity, so why not do the same with your life online?

Short Squeez readers can get a 3-year Atlas VPN plan for $1.70 per month + 6 months EXTRA.

Grab yours here with exclusive discount.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Novo Nordisk is the 2023 Yahoo Finance company of the year (YF)

• Microsoft says it doesn’t own any portion of OpenAI (Reuters)

• Why Hawaiian Airlines is worth 270% more to a rival than to the public markets (Axios)

• KKR wants to raise up to $7 billion for first climate fund (Reuters)

• SEC probes investment advisers’ use of AI (WSJ)

• Inside the massive write-down of one of the biggest acquisitions of all time (Axios)

• Wall Street gets ready to cash in on $1 trillion climate market (YF)

• Spotify slashes staff to move faster into AI – and Wall Street loves it (CNN)

• How high mortgage rates stalled the housing market (Axios)

• Why Treasury auctions have Wall Street on edge (WSJ)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed higher with investors betting Fed will lower interest rates as soon as July.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Macy’s ($M) +19% after receiving a $5.8B buyout offer.

• (+) Cigna ($CI) +17% after ending Humana takeover pursuit, announcing share buyback program.

• (–) Eli Lilly ($LLY) -2% after reported weight gain in users who quit its drug.

Private Dealmaking

• Occidental Petroleum bought CrownRock, an oil producer, for $12 billion

• SumUp, a point-of-sale solutions provider, raised $306 million

• Rokid, an AR glasses maker, raised $112 million

• Koho Financial, a Canadian challenger bank, raised $63 million

• ContactMonkey, an internal communications platform, raised $55 million

• Mine, a data privacy auditing startup, raised $30 million 

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Infinite Influence

Unintentional or not, choosing the wrong actions while interacting with people will rob you of your ability to captivate, connect with, and compel someone to make decisions in a way that is mutually beneficial.

Instead, move forward intentionally to capitalize on priceless moments using the seven simple actions that create Infinite Influence. With limitless influence, you harness your power to wake up wealthier every single day.

In a world moving and evolving at breakneck speed, your ability to authentically connect with people from all walks of life in every interaction matters.

The challenge of building trust quickly—knowing what to think, say, and do—might seem impossible. However, the solution is rather simple, often overlooked, and wildly undervalued. 

As someone born under-resourced and underestimated, Alyson Van Hooser discovered exactly how to build influence with anybody…and now she is sharing her top seven secrets with you.

Alyson experienced firsthand how the right mindset behind simple actions enables you to attract people who become invested in you. In this book, she reveals her immediately actionable, proven approach you can use to create endless opportunity.

Infinite Influence delivers the eternal perspective and behaviors to create instant connections that endure a lifetime. Because we know that success is neither built nor destroyed by one person, you must intentionally and precisely assemble relationships with friends, family, teams, customers, and communities to advance together.

Without the right strategy, you choose self-sabotage—people will disengage from you, resulting in averted attention, fading loyalty, lost sales, and more.

“When doubt creeps in, influence fades.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Average Public Debt Decreases Globally

_{WHAT ELSE TO READ}

The Best PE, VC & M&A Newsletter

We launched Buysiders to bring y’all the best insights on deals around Wall Street.

Every Wednesday, you get insider details on the week’s top 3 deals. Tomorrow’s newsletter includes:

1. How oil money is funding climate funds

2. Big Oil’s deal frenzy continues with two players in M&A talks

3. Ares is buying a stake in a sports team

We will also be sending exclusive investment opportunities to all Buysiders.

If you work on the buyside or aspiring to work on the buyside or just want access to private deal flow, this newsletter is for you. Subscribe here.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Compensation Effect

In the quirky world of human behavior, let's talk about the compensation effect—a phenomenon where people fancy themselves as the Warren Buffet of moral investments.

It's like we all have a little moral piggy bank, and every virtuous deed drops a shiny coin inside. The twist? We might be sneakily using those coins to cover up our moral shopping sprees.

So, next time you resist the urge to honk at slow drivers or help a neighbor carry groceries, beware of that inner accountant tallying up your moral net worth. Remember, moral currency doesn't come with a cashback option for questionable decisions.

It's a strange economy where being a decent human isn't about bartering, but hey, it's the only currency that truly appreciates over time. Keep that moral stock portfolio diversified!

_{JOB BOARD}

Featured Jobs

• Blackstone Group - Associate - New York, NY

• ByteDance - Finance - New York, NY

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• 15 best business books for 2023

• Phrases people with low emotional intelligence always use 

• If you want to achieve your dreams, you have to be a little crazy

• The emotional landscape of leadership

• 3 things that influence our character

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day