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☆ TripActions raises equity at $9.2 bln valuation, gets Coatue's structured financing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S. corporate travel and expense company TripActions said it raised $304 million from investors in equity and debt-like structured financing on Wednesday, as the company gears up for expansion and a public listing. The company said the funding includes $154 million in equity financing from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Premji Invest, which valued the startup at $9.2 billion, up from its last round of $7.5 billion. The $150 million structured financing comes from Coatue Management’s new fund targeting late-stage startups as the IPO market remains shut. The company has filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO) that could land next year, sources told Reuters. “We are investing for the company to be ready to be a public company."

☆ Merck opts to develop, sell cancer vaccine with Moderna
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the Merck & Co campus in Rahway, New Jersey, U.S., July 12, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoOct 12 (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) opted to jointly develop and potentially sell a personalized mRNA vaccine with Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) for a $250 million upfront payment on Wednesday, sending the vaccine maker's shares up over 8%. In 2016, Merck and Moderna entered a strategic partnership to develop a personalized vaccine for treatment of various types of cancer. Merck in 2020 sold its equity investment in Moderna, benefiting from a surge in the vaccine-maker's stock price that year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Manas Mishra and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 14 top private equity firms investing in sports, as a swell of funding enters the sector and helps teams, leagues, and stadiums build businesses beyond game day
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Colin Salao | Claire Atkinson | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Private equity firms are investing more in sports teams, leagues, and other ancillary businesses. From Apollo to Sixth Street, here are 14 private equity firms betting on sports. A few factors are drawing private equity firms to the sector. And sports betting has hastily altered the landscape, opening a new sector for media, leagues, teams, and other businesses to tap. Below are 14 private equity firms — listed alphabetically by company — that have made prominent investments in sports through 2022.

☆ Volvo in Advanced Talks on Possible Lithium Mining
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-03 | by ( William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN— Volvo Car AB is in advanced talks with some of the biggest mining companies, including over potential stakes in lithium mining or processing operations, Chief Executive Jim Rowan said, joining the auto-industry-wide race to secure the minerals and metals needed to power electric vehicles. “Right now, we already have advanced conversations with some of the big miners, as well as the processing factories that process lithium,” Mr. Rowan said, adding that Volvo would decide in the coming months whether to engage in “long-term deals and long-term price negotiations for supply, or whether you want to make an equity investment.”

☆ Profitability matters more today than in years past, says Franklin Templeton's Mike LaBella
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailProfitability matters more today than in years past, says Franklin Templeton's Mike LaBellaMike LaBella, senior portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, joins 'Power Lunch' to suggest good plays for equity investments in a volatile market, emphasizing the value of staple goods and utilities.

☆ Private-equity salaries revealed: How much Blackstone, KKR, and Bain Capital employees earn at all levels
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bain Capital, Blackstone, and KKR are among the largest private-equity firms in the world. Private-equity employees often make six-figure salaries, even at the entry level. These private-equity firms, along with others, are accelerating their recruiting timelines to get ahead of their competitors, Insider previously reported. To woo promising junior talent, many private-equity firms are offering high salaries. Additionally, some private-equity employees earn carried interest, which is compensation based off a certain percent of a private-equity fund's earnings that is collected after the minimum return is met.

☆ Wall Street's biggest investors can't shake a nightmare about the US economy. And that fear is much worse than a recession.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Talk of a recession, rough inflation data, and the persistent increase in costs of certain staple goods has got Wall Street's biggest investors living in fear of an economic nightmare. Wall Street has been hit by a brutal market sell-off this year. Wall Street investors fear an economic nightmare. BMO Capital Markets is cutting jobs amid the broader downturn in dealmaking, according to Bloomberg. Private-equity investment firm Corsair has made an investment in Miracle Mile Advisors, a wealth advisory firm based in Los Angeles.

☆ Expedia Poaches CFO From Home-Retailer Williams-Sonoma
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Expedia Group Inc. hired a new finance chief, a move that comes as the online travel company works to build out its direct-to-consumer offering. He also plans to stay on as chair of the supervisory board of directors of Trivago N.V. , which is majority-owned by Expedia Group, the company said. Photo: Expedia Group Inc.Ms. Whalen most recently served as CFO at San Francisco-based home-products retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc., a role she has held since 2012. Also on Wednesday, Williams-Sonoma named Jeff Howie, the company’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer, as Ms. Whalen’s successor. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team.

☆ Inside the little-known team of engineering execs Google Cloud uses as its secret weapon to solve customers' toughest tech challenges
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-09 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Google Cloud's Office of the CTO is a group of former tech execs with engineering experience. Nestled inside Google's burgeoning cloud business is a small group of engineering pros who work on some of the tech giant's most ambitious projects. Finance is another sector target for Google Cloud, which is benefitting from the cloud revolution taking over Wall Street. While the group sits within the cloud business, OCTO can leverage all of Google's resources from research and development to engineering, Rowe said. Through OCTO, Google Cloud is able to keep a pulse on what its customers are thinking about and what they care about.

☆ In leaked memo, Google's controversial, visionary healthcare executive Andy Conrad lays out Verily's challenges and a path toward independence: 'I have drifted away from my true passion.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-09 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"Verily is increasingly becoming a more commercial-stage company," Conrad told employees. "I've come to realize that I have drifted away from my true passion — science," Conrad said in the memo. "So at the New Year I want to move away from running the company day to day to concentrate on projects for which I have a deep interest and can contribute in a meaningful way." Insider previously reported that Conrad had taken a step back from day-to-day responsibilities as Gillett had increasingly absorbed more leadership responsibilities. Conrad said the company would search for a new CFO "with a deep healthcare background for the next phase of our growth."

☆ Warren Buffett's stock shopping spree slows down even during market's big pullback. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-08 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Warren Buffett's stock-buying spree slowed down drastically in the second quarter even during the market's big correction, and analysts said the "Oracle of Omaha" could be preserving capital for other uses. Berkshire Hathaway 's net stock purchase fell to $3.8 billion in the second quarter, compared with more than $41 billion in the first quarter, the conglomerate's quarterly reports showed. Berkshire Hathaway Energy? Berkshire now owns 92% of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, with the rest belonging to the family of the late billionaire philanthropist Walter Scott who passed away last September at age 90. The bulk of the losses were within Berkshire's largest positions, including Apple ($34 billion loss on Berkshire's position during the second quarter), Bank of America ($10 billion loss) and American Express ($7 billion loss).

☆ Most of Warren Buffett's equity portfolio is tied up in just 5 stocks. Here’s what they are
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-06 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway just revealed that about 70% of its equity portfolio was concentrated up in just five names. While the conglomerate enjoyed a big rebound in operating earnings, it did post a $53 billion loss on its investments during the second quarter amid the overall market turmoil. The legendary investor again asked investors to not focus on the quarterly fluctuations in its equity investments. Apple was still Berkshire's largest common stock investment as of the end of the second quarter, with a market value of $125.1 billion. Longtime holdings Coca-Cola, American Express and Bank of America were also among Berkshire's biggest bets at the end of June.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway reports operating earnings surge, but posts big investment loss amid market rout
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-06 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An Andy Warhol-like print of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett hangs outside a clothing stand during the first in-person annual meeting since 2019 of Berkshire Hathaway Inc in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. April 30, 2022. Berkshire Hathaway 's operating profits jumped in the second quarter despite fears of slowing growth, but Warren Buffett's conglomerate was not immune to the overall market turmoil. Stocks tumbled into a bear market during the second quarter after aggressive rate hikes from the Federal Reserve to tame soaring inflation sparked fears of a recession. The S&P 500 posted a more than 16% quarterly loss – its biggest one-quarter fall since March 2020. The conglomerate's Class A stock fell more than 22% in the second quarter, and it's now down nearly 20% from an all-time high reached March 28.

☆ Earnings playbook: How to play the second half of the season with Starbucks and Caterpillar on deck
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-31 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Tuesday Caterpillar is set to report earnings before the bell, followed by a conference all with management at 8:30 a.m. What history shows: Caterpillar has reported a better-than-expected profit in each of the last eight earnings days, FactSet data shows. What history shows : FactSet data shows Airbnb has beaten analyst expectations in the last four quarters. What history shows: FactSet data shows Paramount has missed earnings expectations in two of the past four quarters. Block is set to report earnings after the close, with management set to hold a call at 5 p.m.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway's stock has gotten a lot cheaper since Warren Buffett's buyback binge
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-19 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A combination of factors have made Berkshire's stock cheaper. Besides the recent pullback in share prices, Berkshire's various assets have increased in value drastically in recent years, compressing the multiple of the stock. Record buybacks Warren Buffett has supported Berkshire's stock through an aggressive and consistent buyback program over the past few years. Slowdown began In the first quarter, however, Berkshire's stock buybacks slowed down to $3.2 billion from $6.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 as share prices skyrocketed to a record high. Buffett himself told shareholders at its annual meeting this year that he would prefer acquiring stakes in other companies to share repurchases.

☆ How to land a job in private equity, from Blackstone to Apollo, KRR, General Atlantic, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-03 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Private equity is a rewarding but challenging field to break into. Here is what we found about pay at private equity firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and Bain Capital. Private equity recruiting has been starting earlier than ever Getty ImagesPrivate equity firms like to recruit from investment banks. These days, the private equity recruiting process has started earlier than ever, and it's resulting in middle-of-the-night interviews with offers being made — and blown up — all before Labor Day. General Atlantic managing director Alex Crisses walked Insider through the growth-equity investment firm's elite summer souring internship.

Persons: Jeffrey Hamilton, Alyssa Powell, Blackstone, Samantha Lee, Drew Angerer, Skye Gould, Jon Gray, Grace Koo, Read, Sara Diniz, Carlyle, Alex Crisses, Thoma Bravo, —, Warburg Pincus, Wharton's, Axel Springer Organizations: Blackstone, KKR, Morning, Getty, Apax Partners, Oaktree, of Foreign Labor, Apollo, Bain Capital, Labor, KKR KKR, General Atlantic, PJT Partners, Partners, dealmakers, Wall, University of Michigan Locations: Carlyle, Blackstone, Axel

To retire early and live comfortably on investment income from a taxable investment account, you need millions. Although many early retirees continue to earn money after leaving their 9-to-5, these figures represent the minimum investment balance you would need to leave work and never turn back. It depends on several factors, including your lifestyle and how your money is invested, but generally you'll need millions. To figure out how much money someone would need to have invested when they retire in order to live comfortably on investment income until age 90, we consulted Brian Fry, a certified financial planner and the founder of Safe Landing Financial. Below, check out how much you need to invest the day you retire at 25, 35, 45, 55, or 65, if your target annual income is $100,000 or $65,000.

Persons: Brian Fry, Read, Fry, It's Organizations: Safe, Service, JPMorgan, Social Security, Monte Locations: Wall, Silicon

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