Good Morning! T-Mobile is set to acquire most of U.S. Cellular for $4.4 billion. Meanwhile, Hess shareholders approved a $53 billion merger with Chevron. The FTX exec who turned on SBF got sentenced to 7.5 years in prison. Nvidia's stock surged another 7% on bullish AI sentiment after Elon’s AI startup raised $6B. More investment banks are ramping up 5 days in-office, and this summer is the end of outdoor dining in NYC as we know it. Plus how to boost your reputation at work, and tips for picking the right adult friendships. 

Applying to top business schools like Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, and more? Join 1,000+ applicants at Leland’s FREE MBA Week June 3-6.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

WeDone

The Adam Neumann WeWork saga is officially over, with the former unicorn CEO officially giving up on his plan to buy back the coworking company he helped found.

Neumann helped propel the company to its meteoric rise, at one point reaching a $47 billion valuation. But Neumann infamously resigned after the company’s IPO flop in 2019.

As recently as this month, Neumann was still attempting to buy WeWork out of bankruptcy. In a recent interview, he detailed why his bid was the best and his reasons for wanting to regain control of the company. The interest in WeWork, however, is largely tied to his latest venture, Flow.

One of the key reasons Neumann was ultimately unsuccessful in buying WeWork back? The company found a different lifeline - thanks to getting $4 billion in debt wiped out in court, including $450 million in new funding from SoftBank. And WeWork is busy renegotiating leases and trying to shed its $11 billion in rent obligations. 

Takeaway: And for Neumann? He’s busy at his new real estate company, Flow - which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, and announced plans to build a $300 million tent city in Miami a few months ago. Neumann tried buying WeWork back for around $650 million - but let’s just hope he’s not using community-adjusted EBITDA this time.

_{PRESENTED BY LELAND}

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• T-Mobile will acquire most of U.S. Cellular for $4.4 billion (CNBC)

• Hess shareholders approve merger with Chevron (Reuters)

• FTX exec who turned on SBF sentenced to 7.5 years in prison (Reuters)

• More investment banks ramping up 5 days in-office (YF)

• This summer is the end of outdoor dining in NYC as we know it (Gothamist)

• OpenAI creates new oversight team, begins training next model (CNBC)

• HSBC’s NYC attendance jumps 80% at new office (YF)

• Palm Beach housekeepers making $150k/year due to massive demand (CNBC)

• Stock trading speeds up, a little (Axios)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed higher and Nasdaq hit 17,000 for the first-ever time thanks to Nvidia’s rally.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Duolingo ($DUOL) +9% after the language company was upgraded by JPMorgan.

• (+) Nvidia ($NVDA) +7% because of bullish AI sentiment after Elon Musk’s AI startup raised $6B.

• (–) DraftKings ($DKNG) -10% after Illinois announced new rules that would increase taxes on gaming companies.

Private Dealmaking

• T-Mobile will acquire most of U.S. Cellular for $4.4 billion

• Energy Transfer bought WTG Midstream Holdings for $3.25 billion

• Energy Capital Partners agreed to buy Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure for $2.56 billion

• ABN AMRO bought HAL, a private bank, for $731 million

• Bicycle Therapeutics, a cancer therapeutics developer, raised $555 million

• Infra.market, a construction materials procurement platform, raised $50 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Chatter

Tell a stranger that you talk to yourself, and you're likely to get written off as eccentric. But the truth is that we all have a voice in our head. When we talk to ourselves, we often hope to tap into our inner coach but find our inner critic instead. When we're facing a tough task, our inner coach can buoy us up: Focus—you can do this. But, just as often, our inner critic sinks us entirely: I'm going to fail. They'll all laugh at me. What's the use?

In Chatter, acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross explores the silent conversations we have with ourselves. Interweaving groundbreaking behavioral and brain research from his own lab with real-world case studies—from a pitcher who forgets how to pitch, to a Harvard undergrad negotiating her double life as a spy—Kross explains how these conversations shape our lives, work, and relationships.

He warns that giving in to negative and disorienting self-talk—what he calls "chatter"—can tank our health, sink our moods, strain our social connections, and cause us to fold under pressure.

But the good news is that we're already equipped with the tools we need to make our inner voice work in our favor. These tools are often hidden in plain sight—in the words we use to think about ourselves, the technologies we embrace, the diaries we keep in our drawers, the conversations we have with our loved ones, and the cultures we create in our schools and workplaces.

“A masterpiece that will change the way you think about human nature.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Market is Expecting Fewer Rate Cuts

_{PRESENTED BY MERCURY}

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Marc Randolph (Netflix Co-founder) on Definition of Success

Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix & 6 other companies, on his definition of success:

“I’ve worked hard, for my entire career, to keep my life balanced with my job. In my book, I write about my Tuesday date nights with my wife. For over thirty years, I had a hard cut-off on Tuesdays. Rain or shine, I left at exactly 5 pm and spent the evening with my best friend. We would go to a movie, have dinner, or just go window-shopping downtown together.

Nothing got in the way of that. No meeting, no conference call, no last-minute question or request. If you had something to say to me on Tuesday afternoon at 4:55, you had better say it on the way to the parking lot. If there was a crisis, we are going to wrap it up by 5:00.

Those Tuesday nights kept me sane. And they put the rest of my work in perspective.

I resolved a long time ago to not be one of those entrepreneurs on their 7th startup and their 7th wife. In fact, the thing I’m most proud of in my life is not the companies I started, it’s the fact that I was able to start them while staying married to the same woman; having my kids grow up knowing me and (best as I can tell) liking me, and being able to spend time pursuing the other passions in my life.

That’s my definition of success.”

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• When forming a new habit -  consider not starting small?

• How to boost your reputation at work

• 3 tips on picking the right adult friendships

• The joy of getting organized

• How to stay curious and committed

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day