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☆ Bill Nygren buys this regional bank with strong deposits, says 'inappropriate role' of short selling contributing to fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Oakmark Funds' Bill Nygren scooped up shares of Truist Financial during the first-quarter banking rout that saw the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank . According to Nygren, investors are laser-focusing on Truist's mortgage portfolio and overlooking its insurance brokerage business. TFC 1D mountain Truist shares pop on Friday The bank recently sold 20% of its insurance brokerage business to private equity group Stone Point Capital . Beyond Truist, Nygren sees several opportunities in the sector. No 'spiraling fundamental problem' Despite some resurfacing bank fears, Nygren expects the sector to fair okay over the long haul.

☆ EBay forecasts upbeat revenue as sneakers, refurbished items drive growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Yuvraj Malik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The upbeat results soothed investor sentiment, which was hit after eBay earlier this year said that demand weakness will persist in the first half of 2023. EBay is expanding listings under refurbished electronics, luxury bags and watches, and the collectibles category. San Jose, California-based eBay now expects June-quarter revenue in the range $2.47 billion to $2.54 billion, higher than analysts' projection of $2.43 billion, according to Refinitiv. Revenue in the most recent March quarter grew 1% to $2.51 billion, also beating analysts' estimate of $2.48 billion. EBay's shares have gained 4.6% so far this year, compared with a 13.3% rise in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index (.IXIC).

☆ Check out the 18-page pitch deck that Hollywood-focused fintech FilmHedge used to raise tens of millions and help hot new movies and TV series get made
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

FilmHedge lends credit to movies and TV shows with budgetary needs between $1 million and $5 million. The 3-year-old fintech closed on a $5 million round in March and has a $100 million credit facility. FilmHedge, an Atlanta-based fintech launched in February 2020, provides liquidity to productions with budgets ranging from $1 million to $50 million. It follows a $100 million credit facility from Coromandel Capital and Fallbrook Capital in 2022, which helps FilmHedge finance projects. FilmHedge gave Insider a look at the 18-page pitch deck it used while raising its $5 million Series A round and $100 million credit facility — check it out here.

☆ People are right to revise their opinions in some AT1s and 'CoCo' bonds: Financial services firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPeople are right to revise their opinions in some AT1s and 'CoCo' bonds: Financial services firmMichael Ashley Schulman of Running Point Capital explains why it has not been active in AT1s and "CoCo" bonds.

FINMA, the Swiss regulator, said the decision would bolster the bank's capital. Engineered in the wake of the global financial crisis, AT1 bonds are a form of junior debt that counts towards banks' regulatory capital. "It's stunning and hard to understand how they can reverse the hierarchy between AT1 holders and shareholders," said Jerome Legras, head of research at Axiom Alternative Investments, an investor in Credit Suisse's AT1 debt. Credit Suisse's AT1 debt had rallied earlier on Sunday amid reports that shareholders would receive something in a deal with UBS, raising hopes that bondholders would be protected. The move by the Swiss regulator could make it harder for other lenders to raise new AT1 debt, investors said.

☆ 'Big Short' investor Danny Moses says the SVB crisis is speeding up the US economic slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Danny Moses sees trouble ahead for the US economy following the shocking collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. "It just accelerated that slowdown because banks have to really to pull back in their activities," the "Big Short" investor said. Moses also called out regulators for bailing out SVB, saying that should make people "nervous." Higher rates encourage saving over spending, which typically pulls down asset prices, saps demand, and increases the risk of an economic slowdown. But according to Moses, regulators don't have a clue of what's in front of them.

☆ Edmond de Rothschild to open advisory office in Dubai
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Edmond de Rothschild Group, which specialises in asset management and private banking, said on Tuesday it is expanding its presence in Dubai with an advisory office as it looks to the fast-growing Middle East hub to cater to an affluent pool of clients. It previously had a representative office in Dubai, but said the new office will "enhance" its ability to serve clients in the region. Edmond de Rothschild plans to hire about five people in Dubai next year, a spokesperson said. A growing number of hedge funds have set up shop in Dubai, attracted by lower licensing fees and capital requirements for the industry, including Millennium Management, ExodusPoint Capital Management and BlueCrest. French private equity firm Ardian said last month it was opening an office in neighbouring Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, while CVC opened an office in Dubai last year.

☆ CD&R to take Focus Financial private in over $7 bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Focus Financial Partners Inc (FOCS.O) has agreed to be taken private by affiliates of buyout firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in an all-cash transaction valued at more than $7 billion including debt, the companies said on Monday. The buyout firm's offer highlights how private equity firms are pouncing on the plunge in valuations to snap up companies. CD&R and Stone Point will fund the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, with fully-committed equity financing. Stone Point and fellow private equity firm KKR & Co (KKR.N) owned New York-based company Focus prior to its listing in 2018. Jefferies LLC and Goldman Sachs are financial advisers to Focus, while Moelis & Co, Truist Securities Inc and BofA Securities are among advisers to CD&R.

☆ Starboard Value wants Salesforce to hit over 30% profit margins, closer to Oracle and Microsoft. Salesforce is working on it, leaked draft of a planning document shows.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Activist investor Starboard Values wants Salesforce to grow its adjusted operating margins above 30%. In September, Salesforce announced a goal of 25% adjusted operating margins by fiscal 2026, up from a target of 20% for fiscal 2023. Starboard found Salesforce's mix of operating margins and revenue growth averaged much lower than its peers, including Microsoft and Oracle. Starboard showed Oracle at a 10.7% increase in revenue with adjusted operating margins of 43.3% for its current fiscal year. It showed Microsoft's at a 10.9% increase in revenue and 46.6% increase in operating margins, Starboard said.

☆ C3.ai's valuation is all based on speculation and hope, says Spruce Point Capital's Ben Axler
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | 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 EmailC3.ai's valuation is all based on speculation and hope, says Spruce Point Capital's Ben AxlerBen Axler from Spruce Point Capital Management joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss his reasons for shorting C3.ai, his concerns around C3.ai's product model and questions around how the company will make money.

☆ Salesforce engineers are about to be hit with new performance metrics, while some salespeople are being pressured to quit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Ellen Thomas | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Some Salesforce employees have been offered a "Prompt Exit Package" instead of a layoff, with less severance. Employees say the company is ratcheting up performance expectations as activist investors invade. "The company is pushing hard for productivity tracking and metrics on all facets," one employee told Insider. Salesforce cut a few hundred salespeople in November, a person familiar with the matter told Insider, and the company told Insider the cuts were made for "accountability," implying that performance was a consideration. In some cases, the company has presented employees with PEP offers in the same week it has executed mass layoffs, employees told Insider.

☆ As rivals surged in 2022, ExodusPoint shed assets and employees amid mixed performance. It reshuffled its business in November.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Alex Morrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

a hedge fund recruiter said, commenting on the calculus for hedge fund investors. At the end of 2021, the fund's exposure had been evenly split between fixed-income and equities, according to the investor documents. In all, more than 60 portfolio managers departed or were let go in 2022, according to the investor documents and people close to the matter. After the shakeup, ExodusPoint's income stream is now even more reliant on fixed-income trading — and that may not be such a bad thing. "The fixed income piece is doing incredibly well," another hedge fund recruiter said.

☆ Private equity giants are still racing to fill 2024 associate seats. See 8 firms — from Carlyle to Bain Capital — that have been recruiting first-year investment bankers for jobs that won't start for
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Last year's on-cycle recruiting kicked off earlier than ever, and many junior bankers weren't ready. In an effort to win the war for talent that was raging last year, private equity firms pushed their recruiting efforts earlier than in ever— to late summer. To be sure, not all private equity firms kicked off on-cycle recruiting in August. It usually involves an intense week-long period (although sometimes shorter or longer) where private equity firms rush in to snag the top talent. The bottom line shows the month and year analysts started their roles, and the yellow line indicated when on-cycle recruiting began that season.

☆ The private equity industry is racing to fill 2024 associate roles after last year's hyper competitive hiring tactics backfired
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

☆ Italy's Intesa convinces investors on payouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Investors fretted about the impact on earnings and the bank's ability to stick to generous capital distribution plans, starting with a pending 1.7 billion euro share buyback. Intesa has put the buyback on hold, despite receiving European Central Bank clearance, until approval of 2022 results on Feb. 3. In the fourth quarter, Intesa shed risks on 10.3 billion euros in loans through two so-called synthetic securitisation deals, including a jumbo 8 billion euro transaction. Market calculations put the cost of similar transaction at around 25 million-30 million euros a year for 2 billion euros in assets. Intesa also sold 4 billion euros in leasing contracts.

☆ RSA Security explores $2 bln-plus sale of Archer -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Milana Vinn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Clearlake Capital, another private equity firm, invested in RSA the following year. Last year, RSA sold a majority stake in its events business, RSA Conference, to private equity firm Crosspoint Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. Archer, headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, is a governance, risk and compliance software platform with over 15,000 users globally. RSA's other business divisions include identity and access management platform SecureID and threat detection and response software platform NetWitness. Archer is not the only risk management software vendor up for sale in the United States.

[1/3] The logo of the Times Square Disney store is seen in Times Square, New York City, U.S. December 5, 2019. Peltz, a billionaire activist who operates via his Trian Partners hedge fund, called for Disney to cut costs and turn a profit at its Disney+ streaming business, which has been losing money despite expanding at a fast clip. Its shares sank last year as losses deepened in its streaming business, and the price is now less than half the stock's 2021 high. Disney, Trian said, had overpaid for the assets of 21st Century Fox and bid aggressively for pay-TV giant Sky PLC. Disney said Trian would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to elect Peltz for a board seat in opposition to the company's nominees.

☆ Pitch Decks That Advertising Tech Startups Used to Raise Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Check out these pitch decks that they've used to sell their vision and raise millions from private equity and VC investors. Blocking ad fraudAdtech startup Lunio, announced a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. In May 2022, the software-as-a-service startup raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners. Marketing in the metaverseAnima, an augmented-reality startup, raised a $3 million funding round from investors in Janury. He raised $50 million in Series D after closing a $34 million Series C last year, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

☆ Here's what mattered in hedge funds and asset and wealth management in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Jeffrey Cane | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

To be sure, some big investors like macro hedge funds have been notable exceptions to the market gloom. As we do our own account settling for the year, here is some of our best reporting on the buy-side: hedge funds, asset managers, and wealth management. Tiger, Tiger burning bright. Four years later, the hedge fund, founded by two former Millennium executives, has yet to live up to the lofty expectations for it. Among the money managers benefiting from these political moves are Bank of New York Mellon and Federated Hermes.

☆ Analysis: European food delivery shapes up with Getir's Gorillas buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

QUICK COMMERCEThe Gorillas acquisition makes Getir Europe's largest quick commerce company. LESS CAPITAL, FEWER COUPONSMore than a dozen smaller European quick commerce companies failed or were acquired since mid-2021. While profits may still be distant for the privately-held quick commerce companies, Europe's listed meal delivery companies have all set formal targets for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Shares in the European delivery companies are down around 60% from a year ago, but have traded sideways since June. So to "all the naysayers saying 'quick commerce is over - No.

☆ Check out the 12-page pitch deck that raised $5 million for a live events startup backed by Mark Cuban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Recess, an experiential marketing platform, just raised $5 million in Series A funding. It matches marketers like DoorDash and Milk Bar with events and venues such as WeWork, SoulCycle, and concerts. Backed by Mark Cuban, Recess is trying to grow the market by automating what's traditionally been a manual process. Events and venues can list themselves on its platform for free, and marketers enter parameters like date, event type, and reach. Recess grew out of a media and events company, The Recess Music & Ideas Festival, started by Indiana University alums Jack Shannon and Deuce Thevenow.

☆ 'Easy to bully': A corporate landlord in Cincinnati is aggressive in trying to evict tenants, critics say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

“We had the exact same story and the exact same company — VineBrook Homes,” Allen told NBC News. VineBrook Homes Trust Inc., which owns over 3,000 single-family homes in the Cincinnati area, is one of the most aggressive landlords in bringing eviction proceedings against its residents, they say. A big institutional owner of over 24,000 single-family homes in mostly lower-income areas, VineBrook Homes is a real estate investment trust (REIT) with properties in 18 states, including Alabama, Indiana, Missouri and Mississippi. “I left in Dec. 2021,” Jenkins told NBC News. Vinebrook Homes owns over 3,000 single-family homes in the Cincinnati area, including many in suburbs like North College Hill.

☆ Check out the pitch deck that helped Recess, a Mark Cuban-backed startup that's disrupting live events, raise $5 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Recess, an experiential marketing platform, just raised $5 million in Series A funding. Recess, an experiential marketing platform, just raised $5 million in Series A funding led by Data Point Capital and Spring Mountain Capital, bringing its total fundraise to $11.5 million, the company said. Recess' pitch is that it takes the time and hassle out of a cumbersome process of researching and coordinating events sponsorships. Recess then matches marketers with events and handles logistics like contracts, insurance verification, and pre-event coordination. Recess grew out of a media and events company, The Recess Music & Ideas Festival, started by Indiana University alums Jack Shannon and Deuce Thevenow.

☆ Biogen hires former Sanofi head Viehbacher as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Manas Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The appointment of Viehbacher, who founded private equity firm Gurnet Point Capital after being ousted from French drugmaker Sanofi (SASY.PA) in 2014, concludes a months-long search for a successor to Michel Vounatsos. "The selection of a new CEO has been front-of-mind for Biogen investors since Mr. Vounatsos' announced departure," said Wedbush analyst Laura Chico. Investors and analysts are now pinning their hopes on the second Alzheimer's drug Biogen is developing with Japan's Eisai Co Ltd (4523.T) after it slowed the progress of the memory-robbing disease by 27% in a trial. Viehbacher served as chief executive of Sanofi for six years and was instrumental in the company's $20 billion deal for Genzyme in 2011. Viehbacher will step into his role on Nov. 14, Biogen said.

☆ PayPal's "prudent" revenue growth forecast cut sinks shares
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Mehnaz Yasmin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Online payments firm PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) cut its annual revenue growth forecast in anticipation of a broader economic downturn and said it did not expect much growth in its U.S. e-commerce business in the holiday quarter. The San Jose, California-based company cut its adjusted growth outlook for the year to 10% from 11% previously. Chief Executive Daniel Schulman blamed "a challenging macro environment, slowing e-commerce trends and an unpredictable holiday shopping season" for the company's prudent forecast. "We think that e-commerce is going to be pretty muted in the fourth quarter," Schulman said in a post-earnings call. Last week, payments giant Mastercard Inc (MA.N) also forecast weaker-than-expected revenue growth for the holiday quarter.

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