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☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy spurns regulators after failed iRobot deal: 'It's a sad story'
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Thursday took aim at regulators who are increasingly blocking mergers, including the company's planned acquisition of robotic vacuum maker iRobot , which fell apart earlier this year amid antitrust concerns. "I think it's really kind of a sad story," Jassy said in an interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on "Squawk Box." Jassy said the move showed that regulators "trust these two large Chinese companies with maps of the inside of U.S. consumers' homes more than they do Amazon." As megadeals have slowed to a crawl, tech companies have made a flurry of investments in artificial intelligence startups, seeking to gain a foothold in the burgeoning market. When asked how Amazon is tackling returns fraud, Jassy said the company has teams charged with examining returned goods to make sure they're "appropriate."

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, iRobot, Anker, Ecovacs, Biden Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Big Tech, Microsoft, Regulators, FTC, Amazon, CNBC, National Retail Federation, Appriss Locations: U.S, China, OpenAI

☆ Premarket stocks: Congress has bad news for Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —Dealmaking is the lifeblood of Wall Street. But analysts say that funding cuts in the plan could end up harming mergers and acquisitions on Wall Street, squashing hopes of a recovery in dealmaking. The bad news: Recent regulations and proposed budget cuts threaten to step on those green shoots before they’re able to flower. Why it matters: Dealmaking isn’t just good for Wall Street. Shares of the stock are down nearly 30% so far this year after its seemingly nonstop streak of bad luck.

Persons: New York CNN — Dealmaking, Joe Biden, squashing, It’s, Goldman Sachs, ”, Lucille Jones, Jones, Mitch Berlin, Biden, ’, ” Berlin, That’s, Hewlett Packard, “, TikTok —, Brian Fung, TikTok, Shou Chew, Nadya Okamoto, Okamoto, Teddy Siegel, Siegel, David Goldman, LATAM, it’s, Max Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Wall, LSEG, Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, Congressional, Office, CNN, Discover Financial Services, Hewlett, Juniper Networks, Target, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, The National Transportation Safety, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, NTSB Locations: New York, dealmaking, EY, Berlin, “, LSEG, Australia, New Zealand, Newark

☆ Big deals are back with a $53 billion bang
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. This week alone, Capital One agreed to acquire Discover for $35 billion, Truist Financial announced a $15.5 billion sale of its insurance arm, and Walmart shook hands to buy TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion. The trio of transactions, worth a combined $53 billion, have lifted the value of deals announced worldwide this year to $425 billion — a 55% increase from the same period in 2023, Bloomberg estimates. Transactions worth more than $5 billion plunged 60%, from nearly 150 deals in 2021 to fewer than 60 last year, LSE Group found. Potential headwinds include stubborn inflation, a surprise recession, escalating armed conflicts, regulatory crackdowns, and uncertainty over this year's presidential election.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Discover, Truist Financial, Walmart, Bloomberg, Business, London Stock Exchange, LSE Group, dealmaking, Federal Reserve

☆ This Real Estate Kingpin Maps Out the Path to Megadeals
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The best view of New York City might just be in a near-windowless conference room on the 12th floor of a Midtown Manhattan office building. Splayed across 10 folding tables, a map pieced together with paper, tape and sticky notes details every block and parcel — 27,649 properties — in Manhattan below 96th Street on the East Side and 110th Street on the West Side. The map is the work of Bob Knakal, who created it by walking every avenue and street during the desolate early months of the pandemic. Updated regularly, the lots are color-coded with highlighters and sticky notes to show which are for sale (green sticky notes), were recently sold (red sticky notes), are owned by the city (pink highlights) or are under construction (green highlights). Orange highlights means a lot is underutilized — and there is a possible deal to be made.

Persons: Bob Knakal Locations: New York City, Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan

☆ DocuSign, Zoom, and Twilio thrived in the pandemic-era stock market. In 2024, they're some of cloud software's most likely M&A targets.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

With the promise of generative AI fueling investment in technology, industry experts expect 2024 to be an active year for cloud software M&A. The market is right for buyers and sellers, as companies like Salesforce and Nvidia enter 2024 with cash on hand and mature startups face a slowed venture market. "There's so much demand for amazing talent in AI," Somasegar said. Deals in 2024 will likely be at smaller valuations, Jaluria noted. Jaluria expects that several companies that flourished during the pandemic — only to lose momentum with the rise in return-to-office mandates — are likely candidates for M&A in 2024.

Persons: Somasegar, Rishi Jaluria, Jaluria, Jaluria's Organizations: Business, Nvidia, Madrona Venture Group, RBC Capital Markets, Activision Locations: Seattle, Figma

☆ One health-insurance startup is bucking the industrywide funding slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-04 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThe insurance startup Devoted Health managed to raise another $175 million last week despite the venture-capital downturn. Devoted has raised more than $2 billion in funding to date. Funding raised by Devoted and other health-insurance startups isn't included in these figures. New funding follows rapid growthDevoted said the Series E funding round came after a year of fast growth. The round was led by a syndicate that included The Space Between, Highbury Holdings, GIC, Stardust Equity, Maverick Ventures, and Fearless Ventures, Devoted said.

Persons: —, Bill Evans, megadeals, Oscar, Andreessen Horowitz, Catalyst Organizations: Service, Business, Rock Health Capital, Rock Health, Bright, Clover Health, Oscar Health, Highbury Holdings, Stardust Equity, Maverick Ventures, Fearless Ventures, Socium Ventures, Emerson, Prime Capital Partners, GreatPoint Ventures Locations: Waltham , Massachusetts

☆ Exxon, Chevron Profits Surged Ahead of Megadeals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Collin Eaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Chevron refinery in Point Richmond, Calif. Executives at Chevron and Exxon must now turn to proving the value of their recent megadeals. Photo: Eric Risberg/Associated PressOn the heels of competing megadeals, Exxon Mobil and Chevron reported a combined $15.6 billion profits Friday, as oil and fuel prices climbed in the third quarter. Exxon’s quarterly earnings of $9.1 billion were less than half of last year’s quarterly record but rose 15% from the previous quarter. Margins for making fuel widened and the company’s oil refineries produced more than any third quarter since 1999.

Persons: Eric Risberg Organizations: Chevron, Exxon, Exxon Mobil Locations: Point Richmond, Calif

☆ Chevron and Exxon's latest buys could usher in a new era of oil megamergers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Energy heavyweights Chevron and Exxon Mobil announced shiny new acquisitions this month — and some industry watchers say it could be the start of more multibillion megadeals to come. Chevron on Monday said it's buying Hess for $53 billion in stock, allowing Chevron to take a 30% stake in Guyana's Stabroek Block — estimated to hold some 11 billion barrels of oil. The announcement comes just weeks after Exxon Mobil announced its purchase of shale rival Pioneer Natural Resources for $59.5 billion in an all-stock deal. While this marks Exxon's largest deal since its acquisition of Mobil, the merger would also double the oil giant's production volume in the largest U.S. oilfield, the Permian Basin. "The big-money acquisition of Hess by Chevron accelerates the trend of consolidation and big-money deals," energy consultancy Rystad Energy said in a note.

Persons: it's, Hess Organizations: Energy, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Natural Resources, Mobil, Hess, Rystad Energy, Exxon, Pioneer Locations: Guyana

☆ Stock Market Today: Dow Slides 250 Points; Amazon and Intel Stocks Rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

JPMorgan shares fell after Chief Executive Jamie Dimon announced plans to make his first substantial sale of the bank’s shares since taking over nearly two decades ago. Exxon Mobil and Chevron shares fell. The Fed's preferred gauge showed core prices rose by 0.3% from the previous month. Oil prices rose. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose more than 2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.3%.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Stocks, Brent Organizations: Nasdaq, JPMorgan, Dow, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Ford, United Auto Workers, Treasury, Nikkei Locations: America

But a couple of the world’s largest oil companies beg to differ – or at least for the future that extends out about three decades. This month, Exxon Mobil and Chevron have together bet heavily on a future their CEOs think will still need a lot of black gold. Hess also has considerable oil and gas assets in the U.S., including the Bakken area of western North Dakota, eastern Montana and southern Saskatchewan in Canada. But equally critical, the moves are important statements that the age of oil remains, despite the release on Tuesday of the annual world energy outlook from the International Energy Agency that forecasts global demand for fossil fuels will peak in 2030. Although he has championed many green energy policies, President Joe Biden also has done little to block the advancement of domestic oil and gas production.

Persons: Hess, ” Chevron, “ Hess, ”, Dan Pickering, we’re, it’s, ’ –, Fatih Birol, Mike Wirth, “, Pickering, Joe Biden Organizations: White, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Natural Resources, Republican Party, “ Investors, Pickering Energy Partners, Hamas, International Energy Agency, Financial Times, French, U.S . Energy, Administration, Republicans Locations: Brussels, Chevron, U.S, Guyana, North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan, Canada, Texas, New Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Israel, Iran, Europe

☆ Chevron and Exxon Might Have Kicked Off an Oil Land Grab
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The smell of mergers and acquisitions is in the air following more than $110 billion worth of oil megadeals this month— Chevron ’s agreement to buy Hess and Exxon Mobil’s deal for Permian giant Pioneer Natural Resources . Who’s next? Deal talks are already under way. Devon Energy , another top Permian producer, is said to be eyeing targets that include Marathon Oil and CrownRock , according to a report from Bloomberg. Gas producer Chesapeake Energy is reportedly considering an acquisition of Southwestern Energy , according to Reuters.

Persons: Who’s Organizations: Chevron, Hess, Exxon, Natural Resources, Devon Energy, Marathon, Bloomberg . Gas, Chesapeake Energy, Southwestern Energy, Reuters

Centerview Partners also advised Exxon, while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America secured advisory roles with Pioneer. A transaction of this size typically results in tens of millions of dollars worth of fees for advisory firms. The chairman of the firm, Tom Petrie, was a co-founder of Petrie Parkman and served a vice chairman at Bank of America before the current Petrie was created. Three of those - Andrew Rapp and Mike Bock in Denver, as well as Jon Hughes in Houston - have been with the firm since its days as Petrie Parkman. Reporting by Anirban Sen and David French in New York Editing by Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lucas Jackson, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Centerview, LSEG, Petrie Parkman, Merrill Lynch, Tom Petrie, Petrie, Andrew Rapp, Mike Bock, Jon Hughes, Anirban Sen, David French, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Exxon, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Petrie Partners, Natural Resources, Exxon Mobil, Goldman, Citigroup Inc, Pioneer, Centerview Partners, Bank of America, Seagen Inc, Pfizer Inc, Guggenheim Securities, Co, U.S . Department of Energy, Thomson, & $ Locations: New York, Dealogic . Denver, Bank, Saudi Arabia, Alaska, Denver, Houston ., Houston

☆ The Oil Patch Is Primed for an Era of Megadeals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Collin Eaton | Benoît Morenne | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

Deal negotiations between Exxon and Pioneer are advanced but have not yet led to an agreement, Reuters reported on Thursday. These transactions were eventually allowed to be completed, and the regulator has not sued to thwart an oil and gas production deal since 2000. The lawyers and experts interviewed said the FTC would face an uphill struggle in challenging Exxon's attempted acquisition of Pioneer. "The modern U.S. experience is that oil and gas deals of any notable size get a close look. It sued to block the merger and only agreed to drop its objections after BP offered to divest oil production acreage in Alaska.

Persons: Joe Biden, Janet Yellen, Leah Millis, producer's, Lina Khan, Andre Barlow, Doyle, Barlow, Mazard PLLC, Sheldon Whitehouse, William Kovacic, George Washington, consultancies Wood MacKenzie, David Kass, Diane Bartz, David French, Mike Stone, Greg Roumeliotis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Treasury, White, REUTERS, Exxon Mobil, Natural Resources, Exxon, Pioneer, Reuters, Federal Trade Commission, Democratic, George, Companies, Activision, FTC, Atlantic, BP, RBC Capital Markets, Chevron, PDC Energy, University of Maryland, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Atlantic Richfield, Alaska, West Texas, New Mexico, Rystad, Denver, Julesburg, Washington ,, Atlanta

☆ The media industry is in turmoil, and that's not changing anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

All of this turmoil will be on investors' minds as the media industry kicks off its earnings season this week, with Netflix up first on Wednesday. Netflix, with a new advertising model and push to stop password sharing, looks the best positioned compared with legacy media giants. At the top of the list is contending with Disney's TV networks, as that part of the business appears to be in a worse state than Iger had imagined. The labor fight blew up just as the industry has moved away from streaming growth at all costs. Last week's ruling from a federal judge that Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard should move forward serves as a rare piece of good news for the media industry.

Persons: Mike Blake, Bob Iger, Iger, Bob Iger's, Michael Nathanson, SVB, CNBC's David Faber, Nathanson, Producers –, Mark Boidman, Ross Benes, Benes, Comcast's NBCUniversal, Solomon, Boidman, Random, Paramount's Simon, Schuster, Tegna, Jason Anderson, Peter Liguori, Anderson, HBO Max, Homer, Marge Getty Organizations: Guild of America, Netflix, Alliance, Producers, Reuters, Disney, Disney's, Paramount Global, Comcast, Warner Bros, American Federation of Television, Radio Artists, Media, Solomon Partners, CNBC, Hollywood, Intelligence, ABC, Paramount, BET, NBC Sports, USA, Discovery, Activision, Federal Trade Commission, dealmaking, Microsoft, Tribune Media, Max, HBO, Amazon, MGM, Sky, Fox Corp, FOX Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, MoffettNathanson, Hulu

☆ See the CEOs arriving along with their luggage for the 'summer camp for billionaires' in scenic Idaho — from Tim Cook to ChatGPT boss Sam Altman
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Allen & Co.'s annual conference, aka "summer camp for billionaires," is expected to start Wednesday. Its ultrawealthy guests began landing this week for the summit at Sun Valley, Idaho. Tim Cook, Sam Altman, and Marc Benioff are among the tech elite in attendance. Morning Brew Insider recommends waking up with, a daily newsletter. Loading Something is loading.

Persons: Allen, Tim Cook, Sam Altman, Marc Benioff, who's Organizations: Co, Morning, Hollywood, Allen Locations: Sun Valley , Idaho, newsrooms

☆ Healthcare VCs are focusing their bets on a handful of top startups, forcing the rest to scramble to stay afloat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In the first half of 2023, healthcare investors have written big checks for their top startup picks. 2023 is on track to be the lowest year of healthcare funding since 2019, Rock Health says. Digital-health startups in the US raised $6.1 billion in the first half of 2023, Rock Health's H1 2023 funding report published on Monday found. Right now, 2023 is on track to be the lowest healthcare funding year since 2019, according to Rock Health. Krasniansky said Rock Health expects many of the impending shutdowns to impact healthcare startups that sell products and services to patients online and on-demand, especially direct-to-consumer companies like telemedicine or mail-order-pharmacy startups.

Persons: It's, haven't, Healthcare's, healthcare's, Adriana Krasniansky, Krasniansky, Ian Chiang, he's, Lynne Chou O'Keefe, it's, Corey McCann, Chou O'Keefe, — Organizations: Rock Health, megadeals, Monogram Health, Frist Cressey Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Define Ventures, Pear, Madison, Pear Therapeutics

☆ First Republic Advisors Are Fleeing to Firms Like Morgan Stanley
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

First Republic had raided Wall Street wirehouses including Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Wells Fargo for its top wealth advisor talent over the last several years. Now, the embattled bank is seeing an exodus of the talent it lured— and Morgan Stanley is emerging as a winner. Two sources familiar with hiring discussions at Morgan Stanley told Insider that the bank was not matching those top-of-market deals. Morgan Stanley was one of 11 banks to provide a combined $30 billion in uninsured deposits to First Republic. Morgan Stanley revealed in an earnings call that about $19.6 billion in net new assets were attributable to advisors and clients fleeing struggling banks like First Republic for Morgan Stanley.

These kind of megadeals are at the vanguard of billions of dollars of annual spending on classic cars globally in a wave of investment in this alternative asset. "The track record of the past 30 years tells us classic cars have become a financial asset class we want our clients to have in their portfolios." [1/5] A general view of the classic car collection of Florian Zimmermann, owner of over 300 classic cars, in a warehouse in Lindau, Germany, April 5, 2023. "Electrification will favour classic cars," said Cristiano Bolzoni, head of Maserati's vintage car unit Maserati Classiche. "The classic car community has changed tremendously over the past five to 10 years," Zimmermann said.

☆ 6 startups that have raised $100 million or more in 2023 to change healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The healthcare-staffing startup ShiftKey raised $300 million in a round led by its majority investor Lorient Capital. The clinical-trials-tech startup Paradigm raised a $203 million Series A round led by Arch Venture Partners and General Catalyst. The healthcare-staffing startup ShiftMed raised a $200 million round led by Panoramic Ventures. raised a $200 million round led by Panoramic Ventures. Vytalize Health, a startup that helps doctors provide value-based care, raised $100 million from Enhanced Healthcare Partners, Monroe Capital, and North Coast Ventures.

☆ See the 6 startups that have raised the most cash in 2023 to transform healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Startups in the industry raised $3.4 billion across 132 deals in the first three months of 2023. The healthcare-staffing startup ShiftKey raised $300 million in a round led by its majority investor Lorient Capital. The clinical-trials-tech startup Paradigm raised a $203 million Series A round led by Arch Venture Partners and General Catalyst. The healthcare-staffing startup ShiftMed raised a $200 million round led by Panoramic Ventures. raised a $200 million round led by Panoramic Ventures.

This is why we have seen less activity," said Dirk Albersmeier, co-head of global M&A at JPMorgan. In the fourth quarter, there has been a 56% contraction in global M&A to $641.2 billion, partly caused by a 66% drop in private equity activity. Top rainmakers expect a pickup in cross-border M&A activity. Going forward, private equity funds are expected to kickstart the recovery as they seek assets at a discount. We were probably more optimistic a year ago," said David DeNunzio, global head of M&A at Wells Fargo.

☆ See the 13-slide presentation that convinced Oak HC/FT and NEA to bet on a hot primary-care startup
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Oak HC/FT, NEA, and other investors backed Everside Health in its $164 million July funding round. Everside Health is one of the few startups that these trends don't apply to. Chris Miller, the CEO of Everside, and Dr. Stephen Wills at an Everside Health center in Denver, Colorado. Everside Health shared the presentation it used to bank $164 million in July with Insider. Here's the 13-slide presentation Everside Health used to raise a $164 million funding round led by NEA.

☆ Salesforce CFO Amy Weaver says the secret to managing the cloud giant's growth is to scale up efficiently but not to be afraid to make big bets
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-01 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Over the past year, Salesforce has been balancing investing in the future and managing risk. CFO Amy Weaver is spearheading Salesforce's efforts to spur innovation while spending wisely. For example, Weaver said much of Salesforce's sales and product marketing is now done virtually via apps like Zoom, reducing travel expenses. Finally, Weaver said, Salesforce must be willing to make big investments where it sees a real opportunity, as it did with Slack. Making smart bets now means more revenue later, which will allow it to invest even more in its own efficiencies.

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