Luca Toscani

Activist Catalysts Ignite Global Payments: Elliott's Stake Signals Strategic Turnaround Global Payments (GPN) has entered a new phase of investor scrutiny after activist hedge fund Elliott Management disclosed a “sizeable” stake in the company, driving its stock up 5.5% in early July 2025. This move comes amid lingering concerns over GPN's $24.2 billion acquisition of Worldpay—a deal that sent its shares to a 10-year low and exposed systemic challenges in post-merger integration. Strategic Leverage Points for Elliott Cost-Cutting Aggressively: The Worldpay deal created redundancies in global operations, technology platforms, and sales teams. Elliott could demand a $500–$750 million annual cost-savings target, similar to its playbook at companies like Sears. Streamlining IT systems and consolidating regional offices could free capital for shareholder returns or growth investments. Non-Core Asset Divestiture: GPN's portfolio includes legacy businesses like payment terminals and merchant acquiring in low-growth regions. Selling these could generate $2–3 billion in proceeds, which could be deployed to repurchase shares or fund high-margin segments like cross-border e-commerce payments or embedded finance platforms. Focus on High-Growth Verticals: The company's $10 billion+ in annual revenue from cross-border transactions and its digital payment API platform represent untapped opportunities. Redirecting resources to these areas—while exiting commoditized markets—could boost margins and valuation multiples. #shareholderactivism #m&a #mergersgondbad #corporategovernance #boardsofdirectors #catalyst https://lnkd.in/gdB8iu72

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I’ve known David Meister for years and backed him at Sydecar, so I’ve seen his ability to build through complexity. Axiom Trust is taking on one of the most outdated parts of wealth infrastructure, trust administration, by pairing a regulated trust company with AI-native workflows. We're proud to invest again and congrats to the team on the launch!

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Honored and excited to partner with Drew Baglino and the incredible team at Heron Power as they re-imagine the electric grid for the modern world. Power in America is not zero sum. We deserve access to cheap and abundant electricity and we should win the AI race. And we must build the capacity to manufacture critical technology here at home. When faced with existential challenges, we deploy technology against them. And we win.

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**LMArena Achieves $1.7B Valuation in Just Four Months** LMArena's rapid ascent from a UC Berkeley research initiative to a $1.7B valuation underscores the incredible potential of innovative ideas backed by solid execution. In a mere seven months, the company has attracted approximately $250 million in funding, achieving unicorn status. At ElevenX Capital, we recognize the importance of agility and vision in transforming research into market-ready solutions. What lessons can we draw from LMArena's journey for future venture investments? #investing #innovation #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

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I’ve long believed that LP liquidity is one of the most critical yet under-discussed parts of Israel’s venture ecosystem - so I was excited to put it in writing for CTech by Calcalist. When LP distributions are delayed, capital stays locked for longer, pacing slows, new funds raise in tighter conditions, and the venture cycle - from LP to GP to founder - feels the strain. Like we have become more comfortable with employee secondaries, so should we with all of our ecosystem players. Give it a read, and as always, I’d be glad to continue the conversation. Thank you Ctech, for giving space to this important topic!  https://lnkd.in/dyCAuNWC

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This is great news for early venture investors: Angels, GPs, LPs alike. Shorter time to exit with partial QSBS benefits is an all-around win for the industry in a time where exits through IPOs are rare and M&As are heating up. 🔥🔥

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tokenization might be eating the world, but we'll only realize its full benefits when the 'illliquidity' issue is fixed it requires 24/7 instant settlement and deep liquid markets to swap tokenized assets (RWAs) and tokenized money (stablecoins) at any time seamlessly Will Beeson, CFA is building Multiliquid by Uniform Labs to make this a reality

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The announcement of Lila Sciences’ $235M Series A and $1B+ valuation marks a significant milestone, and it’s only the beginning. Lila is building a new model for discovery by combining AI and automated labs to accelerate breakthroughs in life sciences, chemistry, and materials. They are tackling some of the most significant opportunities in science and technology, and I couldn’t be more confident in Geoff and his team as they scale what’s ahead. I have had the privilege of knowing Geoffrey von Maltzahn for many years, and backing him once again through March Capital is both a professional and personal highlight. His leadership, vision, and ability to execute on transformational science give us great conviction in Lila’s future. Congratulations to Geoff and the entire Lila team on reaching this next chapter. I am honored to continue this partnership and look forward to what’s to come. Read more about Lila here: https://lnkd.in/gQfk6msT

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Cboe Global Markets is rolling out an innovative approach to prediction markets. "Today's event contracts only offer two binary outcomes: "yes or no," "all or nothing." Cboe's prediction markets will introduce a third dimension – a new middle ground – enabling customers to engage with defined risk, while gaining the opportunity to earn a partial payout when they are directionally correct, even if the result is not precisely on their target." Polymarket & Kalshi have sprinted to integrate and become part of all retail trading apps and media. The large exchanges are coming and likely bringing a lot of liquidity and ultimately institutional traders.

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