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☆ Elliott builds $2 billion position in SoftBank, pushes for buyback
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investment firm Elliott Management has rebuilt its position in Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and is pushing the Masayoshi Son-led firm to begin a $15 billion share buyback, according to a person familiar with the matter. The news, first reported by the Financial Times, sent SoftBank shares up as much as 6.3%. SoftBank shares have surged in recent months largely off the back of its Arm investment. SoftBank's Japanese shares trade at their highest level in decades. SoftBank launched a $20 billion share buyback and asset disposal program in 2020 during Elliott's initial campaign.

Persons: Son, Elliott, SoftBank, Elliot, Nabeel Bhanji, unfriendliness, WeWork Organizations: SoftBank Group Corp, University of Tokyo, Investment, Elliott Management, Financial Times, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Mitsubishi Fudosan, Toshiba, Dai Nippon Printing, Vision Locations: Tokyo, Japan, SoftBank, China

☆ Startup studio Fractal created 130 companies in 3 years. Founders say the deal structure has led VCs to 'blacklist' them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

www.fractalsoftware.comOf the dozens of Fractal startups that have raised a seed round of funding, about half had Bienville Capital lead the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Others say they knew what they were getting into with a venture studio, where a large ownership position is standard. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty ImagesThe biggest draw for some Fractal founders was its plug-and-play approach. The founder of one Fractal startup remembered a time when his company was struggling to grow its customer base. That firm is raising a new $325 million fund to provide additional funding to Fractal companies exclusively, according to a person familiar with the effort.

Persons: Fractal's, he'd, they'd, Andreessen Horowitz, Mike Furlong, Nate Baker, Bienville, —, Brendan Smialowski, Founders, Angela Lee, Furlong, Baker, Ezra Shaw, who'd, who's, It's, Lee, She's, 8VC, Bain, Jeff Greenberg, Omri Bloch, who've, didn't, Stephanie Palazzolo, Melia Russell Organizations: Flatiron Health, Bienville, Insight Partners, Bienville Capital, Getty, Columbia Business School, Alpha, Midwest, Science, Olympic Club, Tiger Global, Craft Ventures, Founders, Vertical Venture Partners, Zag, Crew Capital, Bain Capital, Universal, Foundation, Fifth Locations: Bienville Capital, New York, Bienville, Indio, AFP, Santa Monica , California, Miami, San Francisco, GreenSpark, Columbia, Barti, Aktos, Bessemer, 8VC

☆ How begpackers became some of the world’s least popular tourists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

James, a comedian, is one of the posters behind the Instagram page Chaotic Hong Kong Expats. But the age of social media has catapulted the activity into public consciousness with a wave of begpacking-shaming Instagram accounts and Facebook pages. “Hong Kong is a very expensive place to live and the average (monthly) wage is 15,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,915). Viral social media photos of begpackers in places like Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong have been appearing on social media in recent months, re-igniting debate over the issue. “I think it kind of represents the growing arena of location-independent tourists blurring boundaries between leisure and work,” says Bernstein.

Persons: Ashley James, “, James, ”, ” James, Stephen Pratt, He’s, Pratt, –, begpackers, Patrick Leigh Fermor, ’ ”, ” Will Hatton, “ you’ve, ” Joshua Bernstein, Bernstein, begpack, Raphael Pangalangan, Begpacking, ” Pangalangan, ” Hatton, Hatton, it’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong, Rosen, of Hospitality Management, University of Central, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Language Institute, Thamassat University, Michelin, European Union Locations: Hong Kong, Asia, Kong, Thailand, India, Indonesia, begpackers, University of Central Florida, Hong, Kowloon, Europe, begpacking, Bangkok, North America, Malaysia

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