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☆ Sony in Talks to Join a Bid to Buy Paramount
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even as Paramount, the home of the “Top Gun” movie franchise and “SpongeBob SquarePants,” continues its talks to merge with another media company, Skydance, a new suitor has emerged. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management, an investment firm, have been in discussions about teaming up for a joint bid to acquire Paramount, two people familiar with the situation said Thursday. The two companies have not submitted an official bid, as Paramount is still in exclusive conversations with Skydance, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss delicate negotiations. Apollo previously reached out to Paramount about buying the company for at least $26 billion, including debt. A joint bid with Sony would almost certainly reduce those concerns, adding operational experience and additional capital to Apollo’s already significant war chest.

Persons: SpongeBob, ”, Skydance, Paramount’s Organizations: Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Apollo Global Management, Sony Locations: Apollo’s

☆ How an Obscure Chinese Real Estate Start-Up Paved the Way to TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Mara Hvistendahl | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2009, long before Jeff Yass became a Republican megadonor, his firm, Susquehanna International Group, invested in a Chinese real estate start-up that boasted a sophisticated search algorithm. Behind the scenes, employees of a Chinese subsidiary of Mr. Yass’s firm were so deeply involved, records show, that they conceived the idea for the company and handpicked its chief executive. They said in one email that he was not the company’s “real founder.”As a real estate venture, 99Fang ultimately fizzled. They say that 99Fang’s chief executive — and the search technology — resurfaced at another Susquehanna venture: ByteDance. ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is now one of the world’s most highly valued start-ups, worth $225 billion, according to CB Insights, a firm that tracks venture capital.

Persons: Jeff Yass, Republican megadonor, 99Fang, Yass’s, —, Zhang Yiming Organizations: Republican, Susquehanna International Group, Mr, Susquehanna Locations: ByteDance

Tesla tries again on Musk’s record pay packageNearly three months ago, a Delaware court voided Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package that Tesla’s board — and most shareholders — had given him in 2018, contending that the process to decide it was “deeply flawed” and that the company didn’t properly disclose it to investors. On Wednesday, Tesla said that it would ask shareholders to vote again on that same pay package, now valued at about $47 billion, at its annual meeting on June 13. The company’s board is effectively asking shareholders, now armed with all of the information that was revealed about the negotiations in court, to make the court’s ruling moot. The vote is likely to set off a bitter battle among investors and governance experts over whether shareholders should provide Musk with the richest pay package in U.S. corporate history. It comes as Tesla faces new challenges, especially slumping sales that have erased billions off its market value in recent months.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk’s, — Locations: Delaware

☆ F.T.C. Said to Consider Blocking Major Fashion Merger
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | More About Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to sue to block a luxury fashion mega merger, Tapestry’s $8.5 billion takeover of Capri Holdings, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The F.T.C.’s five commissioners are expected to meet next week to discuss the case, a move that could precede a formal vote on whether to file a lawsuit, the people said. The people, who were not authorized to discuss the deliberations, said that it was still possible that the agency could opt not to sue. Monopoly cases in the fashion industry are rare, because there is no shortage of new labels looking to undercut legacy brands. “It is the paradigmatic part of the economy where there is ample competition,” said Howard Hogan, the chair of the fashion, retail and consumer practice at the law firm Gibson Dunn.

Persons: ’, Kate Spade, Capri’s Versace, Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton’s, ”, Howard Hogan, Gibson Dunn Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Capri Holdings, Gucci, Monopoly Locations: American

deal as a diplomatic weaponA relatively small deal — by Microsoft’s standards, anyway — is leading to big geopolitical ripples on Tuesday. The tech giant is investing $1.5 billion in G42, an Emirati artificial intelligence company. On its face, that may appear to be just another effort by the tech giant to claim a foothold in a fast-growing A.I. The terms of the deal: G42 will be able to sell Microsoft services that use powerful A.I. chips; in return, it will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud services for its A.I.

Persons: OpenAI, Biden Organizations: Microsoft Locations: Beijing, China

☆ Market is recognizing a zero rate environment is a thing of the past: Hamilton Lane's Erik Hirsch
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | 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 EmailMarket is recognizing a zero rate environment is a thing of the past: Hamilton Lane's Erik HirschErik Hirsch, Hamilton Lane co-CEO, joins 'Closing Bell Overtime' to talk recent market action, how much Middle East turmoil is impacting markets, and the impact of interest rates on the markets.

Persons: Hamilton Lane's Erik Hirsch Erik Hirsch, Hamilton Lane

But the calm could be short lived, as world leaders and markets focus on Israel’s response. Military clashes don’t always sink the markets, as was the case when Hamas attacked Israel in October and Israel retaliated. “We may be entering one of the most treacherous geopolitical eras since World War II,” Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s C.E.O., warned last week. “Take the win,” President Biden reportedly told Israel’s embattled prime minister after the attack was rebuffed with American help. Iran has signaled that the attack was a one-and-done, but Israel’s war cabinet hasn’t indicated its next move.

Persons: Israel, ” Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, hasn’t, Helima Croft Organizations: JPMorgan, ”, RBC Capital Markets Locations: Israel, Ukraine, United States, Iran

But this week’s dinner was overshadowed by the fight between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series that has split the sport. The only certainties, according to insiders who have spoken to DealBook, are that a final agreement isn’t imminent after a series of deadlines have come and gone. And whatever happens between the PGA and LIV may permanently shape the future of professional sports. The 2023 winner, Jon Rahm, designed a menu that reflected his roots in the Basque region of northern Spain. There was, however, a bitter taste to his triumphant return: He quit the PGA Tour for LIV almost four months ago.

Persons: LIV, Jon Rahm Organizations: Augusta National Golf Club, PGA Tour, PGA Locations: Saudi, Basque, Spain

Housing gloomThe higher-for-longer inflation predicament has hit the U.S. housing market like a thunderbolt. More economists are paring their bets that the Fed will cut rates after the latest Consumer Price Index report. They all argue that sticky inflation will force the Fed to keep borrowing costs higher for longer. The country is growing faster than many peers, but voters are zeroing in on inflation to explain their disapproval of President Biden’s handling of the economy. (Some DealBook readers in recent days have emailed to say that they’re strongly feeling the pain of housing inflation.)

Persons: Goldman Sachs, ” Lawrence Yun, Biden’s Organizations: Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, National Association of Realtors

The dollar spiked overnight and traders slashed their bets on when — or whether — the Fed would cut interest rates this year. Such uncertainty could last for months and complicate President Biden’s bid for a second term. Traders this morning were pricing in less than two rate cuts for 2024 — down from more than six at the start of the year — possibly starting in July. The growing view on Wall Street is that inflation will need to get closer to the Fed’s 2 percent target before the central bank makes a move. Some are going even further: Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary and a critic of the Fed’s handling of inflation, told Bloomberg that a rate increase can’t be ruled out.

Persons: Biden’s, Larry Summers Organizations: Fed, Biden U.S, Treasury, Bloomberg

Deal making runs into presidential politicsPresident Biden holds talks on Wednesday for Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, part of a state visit designed to show the U.S.’s commitment to a staunch ally. Despite the pomp and ceremony, the presidential election will loom over the meetings, with Biden’s opposition to Nippon Steel’s bid for U.S. Steel showing how the chase for votes is affecting deal making and economic policy. The summit will be just the fifth state visit of his administration, and reflects a different approach to that of his predecessor, Donald Trump. Both Biden and Trump have courted union workers, notably during the auto industry strike last year. Biden is the first sitting president to visit a picket line.

Persons: Biden, Fumio, Donald Trump, It’s, Trump Organizations: Nippon, U.S, Steel, Nippon Steel’s, Pennsylvania, Biden Locations: U.S, Japan, China, South Korea, India, Europe, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

What next on inflation and rate cuts? The mood music on rate cuts has changed again. All eyes now are focused on the upcoming Consumer Price Index data for clues on when the Fed might finally start cutting interest rates. Economists on Tuesday are forecasting higher growth but also higher-for-longer inflation and rates. Traders are penciling in fewer than three cuts this year — lower than the Fed’s own projection — with the first coming not before July.

Persons: That’s

☆ AI fever is triggering a new hunt for tech talent on Wall Street. 5 recruiters outline in-demand tech roles that can pay from $250,000 to $2 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewWall Street firms are switching into hiring gear. Banks, hedge funds, and private equity firms are back on the hunt for tech talent, several recruiters told Business Insider. Across the Street, finance firms are witnessing the AI transformation being led by tech giants like OpenAI and Nvidia. Hodzic added that, on average, the technology business at Selby Jennings is registering 25% more job orders a week compared to this time last year.

Persons: —, Giancarlo Hirsch, Deepali Vyas, she's, Vyas, Ben Hodzic, Selby Jennings, Hodzic, Glocomms, Hirsch, whittle, Banks, Andy Legg, Dennis Baden, Baden, Korn Ferry's Vyas Organizations: Service, Finance, Business, Blackstone, JPMorgan, Vyas, Nvidia, They're, Wall, Riviera Partners, Google, Banks Locations: Selby

☆ Fed isn’t getting rates wrong, says Hamilton Lane Co-CEO Erik Hirsch
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | 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 EmailFed isn’t getting rates wrong, says Hamilton Lane Co-CEO Erik HirschHamilton Lane Co-CEO Erik Hirsch joins 'Fast Money' to talk what's ahead for the federal reserve and this rate hiking cycle.

Persons: Hamilton Lane, Erik Hirsch Hamilton Lane, Erik Hirsch Organizations: Fed

Jamie Dimon sees America at a ‘Pivotal Moment’Jamie Dimon’s annual letter to JPMorgan Chase shareholders has just been published. The economy is resilient but the government underpinning it is a red flag. Consumers are spending and investors expect a soft landing. But Dimon warns that the economy is being fueled by government spending and rising deficits. “These markets seem to be pricing in at a 70% to 80% chance of a soft landing — modest growth along with declining inflation and interest rates,” Dimon writes, adding that the odds are actually a lot lower.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Jamie Dimon’s, Dimon, ”, ” Dimon Organizations: JPMorgan Chase Locations: America, Ukraine

Oil spike ripples through global marketsThe price of Brent crude rose again on Friday, at one point topping $91 a barrel. Growing tensions in the Middle East have pushed the global benchmark to levels last reached in October. Some analysts believe the oil rally is just beginning, creating a fresh inflation risk for central bankers who are struggling to keep price-increases in check. JPMorgan Chase forecast last week that oil would climb above $100 by September. And, in a bad sign for motorists, gasoline prices in the U.S. have climbed 6 percent in the past month just ahead of the North American summer driving season.

Persons: Brent, Biden Organizations: JPMorgan Chase Locations: U.S

☆ A Looming Question for Paramount’s Board: How to Navigate Shari Redstone
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Shari Redstone won control over her media empire in 2018 after a hard-fought struggle with CBS. Now, Ms. Redstone has decided to sell her controlling stake in Paramount, a decision that could put her in conflict with some of the company’s shareholders. The question that Paramount’s board has to answer — and may eventually have to defend in a courtroom: Is the deal under consideration good for all shareholders, or just Ms. Redstone? “Are these decisions that are being made in the best interest of Paramount generally?” said Eric Talley, a law professor at Columbia. “Or are they basically the types of decisions that are only going to give Shari Redstone a nice nut but pretty much stick it to the other minority shareholders?”

Persons: Shari Redstone, ”, Eric Talley, Shari Organizations: CBS, Viacom, Paramount, Columbia

Disney fended off the activist investor Nelson Peltz for the second time in two years, as its shareholders rejected his effort to win two seats on its board. The House of Mouse claimed a “substantial” margin of victory, after a bitterly fought contest with Peltz and his major backer, the former Marvel chair Ike Perlmutter. Based on preliminary results from Wednesday’s annual investor meeting, Disney’s board candidates won the backing of 75 percent of individual shareholders, an outsize investor base. But like any good Disney tale, the board fight provided a series of lessons for the future — for companies and activists alike. That included cost-cutting efforts, an investment in the video game giant Epic Games and a shake-up in the struggling movie division.

Persons: Iger, Nelson Peltz, Mouse, Peltz, Ike Perlmutter, Bob Iger Organizations: Disney, Marvel, Wall Street

Tesla’s woes prompt an E.V. reassessmentWall Street has sounded the alarm for weeks that the transition to electric vehicles may be stalling, despite billions in government subsidies and huge investments by auto giants. Tesla’s latest sales figures suggest that the pullback may be worse than thought — and beyond one company’s ability to fix. Tesla’s numbers undershot forecasts. That has contributed to a more than 30 percent decline in Tesla’s stock, which has made it one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 this year.

As Paramount, the media company that’s the home of the “Top Gun” franchise and Nickelodeon, was preparing to enter exclusive talks to sell itself to the media company Skydance, another suitor emerged. Apollo Global Management, the investment firm, told Paramount over the weekend that it was interested in acquiring the entire company for more than $26 billion, including the value of Paramount’s debt, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. It had previously submitted an $11 billion offer to acquire just the Paramount movie studio. Paramount decided not to engage with Apollo’s overture, the people said, with one person explaining that doing so could have derailed its advancing negotiations with Skydance, which became exclusive this week. Apollo said in a letter to Paramount that it was interested in buying out all the company’s shareholders in cash, which could be enticing as the board seeks to strike a deal that not only pleases Shari Redstone, who controls Paramount, but also the company’s common shareholders.

Persons: Apollo’s, Apollo, Shari Redstone Organizations: Paramount, Nickelodeon, Apollo Global Management, CBS, Skydance

Microsoft unbundles, againMicrosoft is separating Teams, its popular video and chat app, from its Office software suite in markets around the world, broadening a split that began in the European Union last fall. It appears to be the latest effort by the software giant to head off investigations by global antitrust enforcers as regulators examine the power of Big Tech. Microsoft first added the video and document collaboration program to its business software suite in 2017, and saw Teams’s popularity soar after the coronavirus pandemic unleashed a boom in hybrid and remote working. At the height of the lockdown in 2020, Slack filed a complaint with the European Commission accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior by bundling Teams with Office. (Three months later, Slack agreed to sell itself to Salesforce for $27.7 billion.)

Persons: Microsoft unbundles, Slack, Eric Yuan Organizations: Microsoft, European Union, Big Tech, Rivals, Commission

Paramount, home to one of Hollywood’s most storied movie studios as well as CBS and cable networks like Nickelodeon, has been discussing entering into exclusive talks with the media company Skydance for a potential deal, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions. Apollo Global Management, an investment firm with more than $500 billion under management, has submitted an $11 billion offer to acquire the Paramount movie studio. Byron Allen, whose Entertainment Studios owns the Weather Channel, has also expressed interest in acquiring Paramount. Ms. Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount, began negotiating with Skydance to sell her stake in the company last year. She controls Paramount through National Amusements, a holding company that owns her voting stock in Paramount.

Persons: Shari Redstone, Byron Allen Organizations: Paramount, CBS, Nickelodeon, Apollo Global Management, Entertainment Studios, Weather, Skydance, National

Politicians and auto executives on both sides of the Atlantic are calling for more protectionist measures. After Tesla lost its crown to BYD as the world’s biggest E.V. Otherwise, the Tesla C.E.O. said, Chinese E.V. The continent’s auto sector employs 13 million people and generates 8 percent of the bloc’s G.D.P.

Persons: China Tesla, —, Warren Buffett, Tesla, Elon Musk, ” Luca de Meo, Vivienne Walt, DealBook, ”, June’s E.U Organizations: Renault Group’s, Airbus Locations: China, Europe, June’s

☆ Sports Leagues Bet on Gambling. Now They’re Facing Its Risks.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | Ephrat Livni | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The incidents have highlighted a trade-off that professional sports leagues made when they embraced gambling. Leagues have signed lucrative marketing deals with betting apps like FanDuel and DraftKings and use gambling to amp up fan engagement. “The risk is that the game becomes like professional wrestling — which is rigged. And nobody bets on professional wrestling,” said Fay Vincent, the M.L.B. “And if baseball becomes professional entertainment the way wrestling is, it’s dead.”

Persons: ”, Fay Vincent Organizations: Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Leagues

☆ For Disney, Small Shareholders Loom Large in Boardroom Fight
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Brooks Barnes | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gavin Doyle used allowance money in 2009, when he was 11, to buy a few shares of Disney stock. He now owns a little over 400 shares — barely enough to be a speck of dust in the Disney investor galaxy. “I guess every vote matters,” said Mr. Doyle, 26, who runs MickeyVisit, a blog unaffiliated with Disney that focuses on theme park vacation planning. Powerful institutional investors like mutual funds and index funds typically run the show. But Disney finds itself in an atypical situation as it scrambles to thwart Nelson Peltz, an activist investor who is seeking two board seats, including one for himself.

Persons: Gavin Doyle, ”, Doyle, Nelson Peltz Organizations: Disney

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