Twitter Stock, like NY Mets, Surges on View that Musk is No Mr. October
|
|
Twitter’s stock had fallen sharply earlier this summer when Elon Musk tried to un-acquire Twitter. But the stock is up a sizzling 40% from the lows in mid-July, largely on the view by investors that Twitter’s legal case is strong and the Delaware Court is unlikely to let Mr. Big flout its corporate law—the state’s biggest export other than the President— when others who attempted to wrestle out of deals were forced to close. And finally, Musk, whose friends are all enjoying receiving a Wachtell subpoena, is actually acknowledging that, yes, he may have to buy Twitter for $54.20. The little 4.20 pot joke is blowing up in his face.
|
|
Bots Another $7 billion
This week, Musk sold more of his Tesla stake, stockpiling nearly $7 billion in cash and planning for a reality in which he is forced to buy the company. In a possible attempt at reverse psychology and his infamous Bots argument, Musk said that the deal should move forward if the company can provide methodology on its bot data. According to FT Lex, “the richest man in the world understands that he needs cash, pronto.”
Meantime, Musk, who famously waived due diligence around bots (or anything else), challenged Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to a public debate about bots, realizing it may be a better forum than a Delaware courtroom.
Stirrings of M&A
As the stock market showed stirrings of a rebound, so did the M&A market. According to data from Bloomberg, the week started with takeovers totaling $22.2 billion on a Merger Monday, including Why it matters: Cox Enterprises’ bet on local news—and short sentences—with its $525 million acquisition of Axios; Pfizer’s acquisition of Global Bond Therapeutics, the maker of an FDA-approved sickle cell disease drug; and more movement in the gaming industry with AppLovin’s offer for Unity, among others.
Have a great weekend,
GPP Team
|
|
Bloomberg: Goldman Sees Global M&A Volumes Defying Souring Credit Conditions
Despite fears of a recession and global market volatility, M&A is proving resilient. While still off 2021 highs, dealmakers are holding their own, opting to deploy cash raised during the pandemic to fund more deals instead of debt. Read More
|
|
The New York Times: Axios Agrees to Sell Itself to Cox Enterprises for $525 Million
The digital media company known for its succinct, bulleted articles has agreed to sell itself to Cox Enterprises at a $525 million valuation. Jim VandeHei, Roy Schwartz and Mike Allen, who founded the company in 2017, will remain minority shareholders, while Alex Taylor, CEO of Cox, will join Axios’ board. Read More
|
|
Bloomberg: N.Y. Times Is Targeted by Activist Investor Pushing for Subscriber-Only Bundles
Activist investor ValueAct Capital Management revealed a stake in the New York Times Co., whose stock has fallen 32% this year. The activist claimed in a letter to investors that the company could increase digital sales and margins through “an aggressive rollout of its subscriber-only bundles” like The Athletic, games, cooking and news. Read More
|
|
Axios: AppLovin Bids $17.5 Billion to Acquire Game Engine Company Unity
Mobile technology company AppLovin has offered to acquire video game software company Unity for $17.54 billion. The all-stock deal comes on the heels of recent consolidation in the video game space following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Take-Two’s acquisition of Zynga, and Netflix’s plans to invest in the sector. Read More
|
|
Bloomberg: All the Banks, Billionaires and VCs Sucked Into Twitter v. Musk
Twitter v. Elon Musk has transformed into a war of subpoenas. Twitter has subpoenaed some of the most prominent figures and investors across Wall Street and Silicon Valley. The social media company is on the prowl for evidence that Musk is reneging on the deal over bot accounts as false pretense. Read More
|
|
FT Lex: Elon Musk/Tesla: Defiant CEO’s Share Sale is Pragmatic Move
While the public battle over the Twitter/Musk acquisition drags on, Musk focuses on his defense while preparing the necessary cash should he be forced the move forward with buying the company. Read More
|
|
CNBC: Elon Musk sells 7.92 Million Tesla Shares Worth $6.88 billion
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold $6.9bn worth of the EV company’s stock, according to financial filings, to increase his cash position in the event Twitter is victorious in its legal campaign against him and forces the deal for him to acquire the platform to close. Read More
|
|
Reuters: Musk Seeks to Question Twitter Employees Who Count Bots – Source
Elon Musk’s legal team is focusing its attention on specific Twitter employees responsible for calculating the percentage of the platform’s bot users, a foundational issue in Musk’s legal claim in backing out of the deal. Read More
|
|
The Verge: Elon Musk Challenges Twitter CEO to a ‘Public Debate’ About Bots
In a Tweet, Elon Musk challenged Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to a public debate surrounding the platform’s percentage of bot users. Musk polled his more than 102 million followers to gauge if they believe Twitter’s position that less than 5% of users are bots. 67% of respondents do not. Read More
|
|
ADDITIONAL READINGS AND LISTENINGS
|
|
Columbia Law School’s Blue Sky Blog: Revisiting Corporate Bylaws for the Universal Proxy Era
Eduardo Gallardo of Paul Hastings discusses potential changes to public company bylaws to address issues likely to arise from universal proxy changes, beginning August 31st. Read More
|
|
JP Morgan Making Sense Podcast: What’s the Deal? Unpacking 2022 Shareholder Activism Trends
With global shareholder activism returning to levels not seen since before COVID, experts from JP Morgan discuss developing activist trends and strategies for boards and management. Listen Here
|
|
Addison County Independent: Shakin’ Bacon Outpaces the Pack at Field Days
For mid-August reading pleasure, over in Addison County, VT, read about the always popular hog races at the county’s Fair & Field Days, where Snoop Hoggy Hog takes on Justin Bieberque. Sam Lipin reports! Read More
|
|
Fortune’s CEO Daily: Does the Shift to a Stakeholder Focus Mean Shareholders Get Less?
While higher ESG ratings don’t always translate to higher financial returns, a new report from McKinsey concludes that “companies must approach externalities as a core strategic challenge, not only to help future-proof their organizations but to deliver meaningful impact over the long term.” Read More
|
|
Wall Street Journal: Data Show Gender Pay Gap Opens Early
New analysis of federal wage data by the Wall Street Journal found evidence that suggests pay discrepancies between men and women begin as early as three years into a career. Read More
|
|
FROM OUR DESK TO YOURS
Hot off the press this week is Boundless: The Rise, Fall, and Escape of Carlos Ghosn, a tell-all chronicle of the ascent and downfall of former Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn. Through deep investigative reporting and an interview with Ghosn himself, Wall Street Journal reporters Nick Kostov and Sean McLain detail the forging of a global business icon and his legacy’s unraveling following accusations of financial misconduct, forcing him to flee authorities in a made-for-TV escape plot. Wherever you plan to endure the scorching summer heat this weekend, consider diving into the story that Fortune’s Alan Murray describes as “brilliantly told” and “highly engaging.”
|
|
PEOPLE MOVES
-
Kewsong Lee, CEO of private equity firm Carlyle, has stepped down from the position, effective immediately, and will be leaving the firm at the end of the year. Co-founder Bill Conway will serve as interim CEO while the firm searches for a replacement. Read More
-
FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips announced plans to depart the regulatory agency this fall, bringing the board down from five members to four, leaving one remaining Republican and three Democrats. Read More
-
Alex Ossola has joined The Wall Street Journal as a reporter and producer for the “Future of Everything” podcast. Previously, Ossola served as membership editor at Quartz. Read More
-
Declan Harty has been hired by Politico as a reporter covering U.S. capital markets and regulation of Wall Street. He joins from Fortune where he was a finance and markets writer. Read More
|
|
Let us know if you have any comments or suggestions for our newsletter format.
|
|
Please feel free to forward this along.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|