Musk Rents Floor in Hotel Dupont, Plans Fall Foliage Trips in Northeast
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Judge Kathaleen McCormick, Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, has become a household name at Twitter headquarters—as well as across Wall Street arb shops.
This week, Judge McCormick set off alarm bots for Team Musk when she granted the impending trial an expedited start date in October, a clear win for Twitter’s Board and shareholders. Per DealBook, this news is interesting for a few reasons. By speeding up the trial, she signals that the Court doesn’t need extra time to review the “bots” argument (mentioned nowhere in the merger agreement btw). This trial will also be one of two appearances by Musk to the Delaware court this fall, as he is also set to appear before Judge McCormick in October to defend his pay package at Tesla.
Musk will first need to get past the Tesla Annual Meeting of Stockholders in August, where Musk himself, along with Tesla’s Board, is recommending shareholders vote against proposals such as annual reporting on board diversity, among other ESG-related matters.
As for the Twitter trial outcome in October, Columbia Law School professor Eric Talley speculated during a podcast interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang that Judge McCormick will be “unsympathetic to a buyer that wants to walk away.” Sort of like that bitcoin you bought six months ago that you wish didn’t clear.
Outside of MuskWorld, other news has been spinning. GSK completed its spinoff of its consumer healthcare business, and the FT reported Starbucks is looking into options for its UK business of about 1,000 stores. Lastly, EY has been exploring the potential separation of its auditing and advisory businesses due to conflicts of interest it faces in the tech sector. Interestingly, rival firm PwC has been defending its reasons not to break up its own audit and consulting businesses.
Have a great weekend,
GPP Team
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The New York Times DealBook: Twitter Takes Round 1
On Tuesday, Judge Kathaleen McCormick granted Twitter and Musk an expedited court hearing in October to move the trial along and relieve the “cloud of uncertainty” surrounding the company’s future. Read More
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Axios: Twitter’s Global Agenda, With or Without Musk
As the waging battle with Musk moves forward, Twitter is battling a few other global policy dilemmas in the U.S., the E.U. and India. Read More
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Bloomberg Technology Podcast: Netflix Earnings and Twitter Wins…For Now
Bloomberg’s Emily Chang and Kurt Wagner discuss Netflix earnings. Eric Talley of Columbia Law School joins to speak about what we could expect in the expedited Twitter case in October. Listen Here
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Financial Times: PwC Set For Record Revenues As It Rejects Audit and Consulting Split
Global Chairman of PwC, Bob Moritz, spoke to the FT about the advantages of keeping its audit and consulting services together as it sees rising revenues. All the while, EY explores a historic split. Read More
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Harvard Business Review: How Greenwashing Affects the Bottom Line
New research reveals that companies that overpromise or fail to meet their stated ESG goals risk losing customers and face a significant hit to their reputation – ultimately damaging the bottom line. Read More
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Bloomberg Opinion: Investors Deserve Better Disclosure on Climate Risk
Does the SEC’s proposal on climate change disclosure go too far? Not according to Michelle Leder at Bloomberg who argues investors ultimately benefit from increased transparency, despite the added burden on businesses. Read More
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Columbia Blue Sky Blog: Why Do Institutional Investors Request Climate-Related Disclosures?
This piece dissects a study that explores why institutional investors want access to climate disclosure data and concludes that it is for the purpose of “encouraging firms to reduce their carbon footprint.” This finding goes against the notion of greenwashing. Read More
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Hot Buttons: H&M’s Sustainability Deception
Quartz journalist Amanda Shendruk joins Hot Buttons to discuss H&M’s fast fashion problem and her recent investigation on their environmental impact, including faulty data from the brand. Listen Here
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CNBC: McDonald’s Franchisees Polled By An Owners Group Overwhelmingly Support No-Confidence Vote on CEO
Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald’s, is facing growing scrutiny among franchisees. An independent franchisee group of owners was recently polled, finding 87% of the owners lack confidence in Kempczinski’s leadership. Read More
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The Wall Street Journal: Broke Colleges Resort to Mergers for Survival
Taking a page out of Wall Street’s playbook, struggling colleges have resorted to M&A as a means for survival in the face of economic hardship. Read More
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Axios: Baby Boomers Most Likely to Boycott Activist Companies
A new customer loyalty survey shows how different age groups react to corporate activism – older generations want less, while younger generations demand more from companies on social issues. Read More
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The Deal: V&E’s Elbaum on M&A, Kohl's, Twitter
Lawrence Elbaum, co-head of Vinson & Elkins LLP's shareholder activism practice, joins Activist Investing Today podcast to give his take on the activism landscape and of course, his predictions for the Musk v. Twitter case. Listen Here
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Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance: SEC Proposed Reforms of SPACs: A Comment from Andrew Touch
Andrew Touch, Law Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses his comments in response to recent SPAC proposals, specifically in relation to de-SPACs. Read More
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FROM OUR DESK TO YOURS
While the Twitter/Musk saga continues to heat up, so did New York City this week. To combat the scorching temperatures, we compiled a short list of some fun ways to stay cool:
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Free Kayaking at Pier 26 in Tribeca can give you a relaxing afternoon on the water.
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NYC Restaurant Week kicked off this week and EATER New York has compiled 15 deals, including Chef Marc Forgione’s Peasant, a GPP team favorite.
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Enjoy a cool beverage and evening outside in the middle of the city at Rooftop Cinema Club Midtown, which screens a selection of movies all summer long.
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Pick your transport to Brighton Beach: subway, bus, bike or ferry. Nikita Richardson of The New York Times offers her tips on how to find yourself a spot on the sand, and where to eat.
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PEOPLE MOVES
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Lananh Nguyen, formerly covering Wall Street for The New York Times, has joined Reuters as U.S. Finance Editor. Read More
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Miguel Bustillo has been appointed as a U.S. News Editor at The Wall Street Journal. He was previously Global Energy and Climate Editor at the publication. Read More
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Paulina Likos will report for CNBC’s Investing Club, following her experience at U.S News & World Report. Read More
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Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia is stepping down from his full-time role to focus on other projects, which includes building a “complementary product to Airbnb”. Read More
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Leading impact investment firm Vistria hired Goldman alum Margaret Anadu as senior partner in New York to build a real estate practice. Read More
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