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☆ Goldman Sachs faces big writedown on CEO David Solomon’s ill-fated GreenSky deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon speaks during the 2023 Forbes Iconoclast Summit at Pier 60 on June 12, 2023 in New York City. Goldman Sachs is likely to take a large write-down for its 2021 acquisition of fintech lender GreenSky after seeking to unload the business, CNBC has learned. Bids for the installment loan business are coming in well below what Goldman had hoped for, according to people with knowledge of the sale process. Under CEO David Solomon, Goldman bought Atlanta-based GreenSky for $2.24 billion to help accelerate its push into consumer finance. "Everybody's been coming in low, and the Goldman team keeps pushing back, pounding the table about the value of it," said one of the bidders.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Goldman, Solomon, Warburg Pincus, Everybody's Organizations: Forbes, CNBC, KKR, Apollo Global Management, Sixth Street Partners, Synchrony Bank, Goldman Locations: New York City, Atlanta

☆ Fortress Investment Group Set to Acquire Vice Out of Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Lokhandwala and Mr. Dixon said in their note that they expected the sale to close in July; the company would then begin operating under new ownership. In the past, bidders sought to acquire Vice Studios, the film and TV production business; Virtue, its ad agency; and i-D, one of the company’s magazines. Vice, which had unsuccessfully sought to sell itself for years, filed for bankruptcy in May, with Fortress, as one of its lenders, in pole position to take over the company. It had since sought run a sale of the business in bankruptcy to see if it could kick up further interest. As the sale process proceeds, Vice has some pressing issues to sort out.

Persons: ”, Lokhandwala, Dixon, “ Organizations: Fortress, Vice, “ Bama, American Gladiators, ESPN

☆ Overstock.com wins auction for Bed Bath & Beyond's intellectual property, digital assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is displayed outside a permanently closed Bed Bath & Beyond retail store in Hawthorne, California, on May 1, 2023. Bed Bath & Beyond will live on in name only after Overstock.com won an auction for the failed home goods retailer's intellectual property and digital assets, according to court records filed early Thursday. In a rare move, Bed Bath chose to run a separate sale process for its Buy Buy Baby chain, considered the crown jewel of its assets. Buy Buy Baby assets garnered interest from buyers even before Bed Bath filed for bankruptcy in April. The auction for Buy Buy Baby's assets is slated to take place on Wednesday.

Persons: Overstock.com, Overstock, JOWA Brands Organizations: JOWA, Bed, CNBC Locations: Hawthorne , California

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond schedules separate auction for Buy Buy Baby assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Buy Buy Baby store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. The retailer said in court papers it will run a separate sale process for Buy Buy Baby — considered the crown jewel of its assets — as it moves forward with the auction of its Bed Bath & Beyond chain. The separate sale process gives the retailer more breathing room to nab a bid from a buyer that could be willing to keep Buy Buy Baby stores open, or at least maximize an offer price. Buy Buy Baby assets garnered interest from buyers even before its parent company filed for bankruptcy in April. The auction for Buy Buy Baby's assets is slated to take place on June 28.

Persons: —, Overstock.com Organizations: nab, CNBC, Bed Locations: Brooklyn, New York

☆ Sweden to move ahead with 2030 Winter Games bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 17 (Reuters) - The Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) intends to move ahead with a bid to host the Winter Olympics for the first time after a four-month feasibility study showed there was interest in staging the Games in Stockholm. Sweden, a winter sports powerhouse, has unsuccessfully bid eight times for the Winter Games, including the 2026 edition which was awarded to Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo. Stockholm staged the Summer Olympics in 1912. "Our preliminary study shows that Sweden has the opportunity, know-how and will to arrange the Winter Games in 2030," SOK president Hans von Uthmann said in a statement. The Japanese city of Sapporo, which hosted the 1972 Winter Games, was considered the favourite but has put its bid on hold in the wake of a widening corruption scandal over the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Persons: Hans von Uthmann, Hritika Sharma, Lincoln Organizations: Swedish Olympic, Winter, Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Games, Committee, Tokyo, IOC, Thomson Locations: Stockholm . Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden, Mumbai, Sapporo, Salt Lake City, United States, Los Angeles, Hyderabad

☆ US banking regulator seeks bids for Silicon Valley Bank's German assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. banking regulator is seeking bids for the sale of collapsed Silicon Valley Bank's German assets, according to a Thursday notice posted on its website. The regulator said it will open the German branch's data room to eligible bidders on June 20, adding that participants must hold lending authorization in Germany. This comes in the wake of reports last week from local German media, which said that SVB's German branch was in search of a potential buyer. In March, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank was granted permission by German financial regulator BaFin to conduct its lending business through its SVB Germany branch. HSBC (HSBA.L), which acquired the UK arm of SVB, has been floated as a potential buyer, according to media reports.

Persons: BaFin, Niket Nishant, Akriti Sharma, Krishna Chandra Eluri Organizations: U.S, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Bank, HSBC, Financial, Thomson Locations: U.S, Frankfurt, Berlin, Germany, Silicon, Bengaluru

☆ Cargill enters dispute for Brazil soy crusher's assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Ana Mano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In court documents seen by Reuters, Cargill expressed interest in bidding for the assets but sought clarification about the liabilities attached to the plants. Geraldo Gouveia Jr, Imcopa's attorney, told Reuters the bankruptcy judge has made no decision yet related to the request to suspend the court-supervised auction. Bunge, which has long sought to acquire Imcopa's assets, signed a contract to buy the Araucaria and Cambe plants in May 2020. Citing bankruptcy court filings, Imcopa's Gouveia Jr said Bunge has publicly reiterated interest in buying Imcopa's plants. The assets remain attractive because they produce high value soy byproducts for export and the domestic market.

Persons: Cargill, Bunge, Geraldo Gouveia Jr, Imcopa's Gouveia Jr, Ana Mano, David Evans Organizations: SAO PAULO, Reuters, Bunge, Imcopa, Thomson Locations: Parana, Paranagua, Brazil

☆ HarperCollins, KKR Emerge as Bidders for Book Publisher Simon & Schuster
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Jessica Toonkel | Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/harpercollins-and-kkr-emerge-as-bidders-for-book-publisher-simon-schuster-9e2a7fc5

Persons: Dow Jones, simon, schuster, 9e2a7fc5 Organizations: harpercollins, kkr

☆ Harper Collins, KKR bidding for Simon & Schuster, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - HarperCollins Publishers and KKR & Co (KKR.N) are among the bidders for book publisher Simon & Schuster as it pursues a sale for the second time in less than three years, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters had in February reported that Paramount Global (PARA.O), the owner of Simon & Schuster, was again seeking to sell the publisher, months after the media company's $2.2 billion deal to sell the book publisher to Penguin Random House collapsed. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department sued to stop the tie-up of Penguin and Simon & Schuster, as a combined group would have accounted for nearly half of the market for publishing rights to blockbuster books. HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment, while KKR declined to comment. Paramount is exploring a sale that could value Simon & Schuster between $2 billion and $2.5 billion and was also courting private equity buyers, Reuters reported in February, citing sources.

Persons: Simon, Schuster, Simon & Schuster, Chavi Mehta, Pooja Desai Organizations: HarperCollins Publishers, KKR, Co, Wall Street, Reuters, Paramount, Simon &, Penguin Random, U.S . Justice Department, HarperCollins, News Corp, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Overstock.com bids $21.5 million for Bed Bath & Beyond intellectual property assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The home goods chain, which also owns Buy Buy Baby stores, received a $21.5 million offer from online retailer Overstock.com for some of its assets, including its intellectual property, according to court papers filed Tuesday. The offer doesn't include Bed Bath & Beyond or Buy Buy Baby's store locations, which are running going-out-of-business sales. In recent weeks discussions have centered around the assets for Buy Buy Baby, often considered the crown jewel of the Bed Bath & Beyond portfolio. The Buy Buy Baby assets in particular had attracted interested bidders. Bed Bath & Beyond had sought chapter 11 protection in April, following months of numerous failed turnaround efforts and bankruptcy warnings.

Persons: Harmon Organizations: CNBC, Bed, Beyond Locations: Farmingdale , New York

☆ Latest 'deadline' looms in Man Utd takeover saga
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Manchester United fans can be forgiven if they refrain from eagerly checking the news on Friday as the latest "deadline" looms in the meandering seven-month saga of the club's sale that is beginning to resemble the final series of TV's Succession. That comes two months after a "third and final offer" was said to have been tabled. Media reports in the UK suggested that the Glazers are seeking six billion pounds ($7.5 billion), which would be a world record for any sports club or franchise, but that neither bid is that high. Further bids followed, up to the Qatari's earlier this week, which is said to include clearing nearly a billion pounds of club debt and a commitment to a major redevelopment of Old Trafford. Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jassim bin Hamad, Briton Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim, Glazer, Todd, Ratcliffe, Joel, Avram Glazer, Glazers, Erik ten Hag, United's, Mitch Phillips, Toby Davis Organizations: Manchester United, Daily Mail, Reuters, Guardian, United, Media, Premier League club Chelsea, Washington Commanders NFL, Raine Group, Ineos Grenadiers, Britain's Times, Group, Champions League, Manchester, Inter Milan, Premier League, FA Cup, Thomson Locations: Thani, Briton, Qatar, Old Trafford, Old Trafford . Manchester, France, Switzerland

☆ Here's where a possible sale of Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby stands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Everything on Sale" signs at a Buy Buy Baby store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. The auction process for Bed Bath & Beyond and its assets was extended once again as discussions progress with potential bidders, namely for its Buy Buy Baby chain of stores. In court papers filed Thursday, Bed Bath & Beyond said it would delay its sale timeline by a few days "to ensure the most value maximizing transaction is achieved." The assets of the baby gear retailer Buy Buy Baby had earlier attracted interest from at least two bidders, including Babylist, CNBC previously reported. Buy Buy Baby has been considered the crown jewel of the assets, reportedly attracting interest in 2022 and in the months ahead of the bankruptcy filing.

Persons: Janie, Jack Organizations: Babylist, CNBC, Street Locations: Brooklyn, New York, Bath

☆ Exclusive: Russia's VTB may pull out of running for Yandex stake - CEO Kostin
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovMOSCOW, June 9 (Reuters) - Russian state-owned lender VTB (VTBR.MM) may pull out of the running to acquire a stake in internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O), the bank's CEO, Andrei Kostin, told Reuters, as discussions are now centered around higher prices than the bank's initial offer. Kostin said he was not sure VTB would continue with its bid. "I am not sure that we will go into Yandex," Kostin told Reuters when asked about plans. "It was announced at $7 billion recently, we submitted our application at a different price level, lower," Kostin said. VTB was hit hard with Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine, something that limits its ability to front a consortium bid, Kostin said.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Andrei Kostin, Kostin, –, Arkady Volozh, VTB, Vladimir Potanin, Vagit Alekperov, Guy Faulconbridge, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow Organizations: Moscow International Business Center, REUTERS, VTB, Reuters, Kostin, Yandex NV, Thomson Locations: Moscow, City, Russia, Maxim Shemetov MOSCOW, Yandex, Ukraine, Yandex's

☆ Golf’s new Saudi deal presents questionable political, business and sporting realities
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

And the deal is also undeniably a great piece of business, assuming PGA Tour players accept it. And all pending litigation between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was also mutually ended under the new agreement. He “co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA’s unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sports washing of Saudi Arabia’s reputation,” the group said in a statement. Unresolved sporting conundrumsThere are as many sporting questions about the PGA Tour/LIV Golf partnership that remain unanswered. Then there is the question of how current PGA Tour members will respond.

Persons: LIV Golf, Arnold Palmer, Jamal Khashoggi, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, –, LIV –, Jay Monahan, Monahan, ”, “, Saudi LIV, ” Monahan, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Cam Smith, Donald Trump, LIV, Trump, Khashoggi, ” Trump, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Tuesday’s LIV, Qataris, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, ” Yasir Al, Rumayyan, of Famer Greg Norman, Collin Morikawa, Mickelson, Alan Shipnuck, Shipnuck Organizations: CNN, PGA, Saudi, Post, Premier League, Global, Families United, Saudi shills, Crown, Formula One, NBA, Tour, Qatar, Soccer, Manchester City, United, Newcastle, Indian Premier League, Al, Real, Saudi Public Investment, “, Saudi Public Investment Fund, CNBC, of Famer, Open, Twitter Locations: Washington, Saudi, Qaeda, Riyadh, China, Western Europe, East, India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Ittihad, Real Madrid, French

☆ Buy Buy Baby draws sale interest in Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy, one bidder looks to save stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

A Buy Buy Baby store in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. That's where Buy Buy Baby – and its long-held name recognition – would come in. "We have tremendous trust with new and expecting parents but Buy Buy Baby is much better known with kind of that older generation," she said. The crown jewel of Bed Bath & BeyondThis is not the first time Buy Buy Baby has seen sale interest. Buy Buy Baby has remained a bright spot in Bed Bath & Beyond's otherwise dismal earnings reports in recent years.

Persons: Stephanie Keith, Natalie Gordon, It's, Gordon, Babylist, it's, –, Ryan Cohen, Chewy, Cohen Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Bed, CNBC, Capital Advisors, GameStop, & $ Locations: Brooklyn, New York, Bed Bath, Beverly Hills , California, Bath

☆ Desperate for cash, the Treasury will sell one-day bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Cash management bills mature in a relatively short time frame, ranging from a few days to a year, according to the Treasury. Unlike Treasury bill auctions that occur on a weekly and monthly basis, cash management bill auctions are irregular, though not uncommon. Over the past 25 years, the Treasury held six one-day cash management bill auctions. Yields on cash management bills, which are determined by the auction process, tend to be higher than regular fixed maturity bills. On Thursday, the Treasury auctioned $25 billion of three-day cash management bills yielding 6.15%.

Persons: Treasury hasn’t, Janet Yellen, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, Biden, Cash, They’re, ”, Charlie Ripley Organizations: CNN, Treasury Department, Treasury, Senate, Allianz Investment Management

☆ The debt ceiling drama may feel like it’s over, but it may have only just begun
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

There could be an even more dramatic second act to the debt ceiling drama. This time around, one of the top credit rating agencies, Fitch, has already placed US debt on rating watch negative. As of Wednesday, the other two major sovereign debt credit rating agencies, S&P and Moody’s, have not placed US debt under review. If Fitch downgrades US debt, it could cause yields on Treasury notes to spike, underscoring the increased risks associated with holding US debt. However, the opposite occurred after S&P downgraded US debt in 2011 — investors shrugged it off and bought more bonds, sending yields lower.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, Biden, It’s, Fitch, McCarthy, Chip Somodevilla, Michael Reynolds, ”, George Catrambone Organizations: New, New York CNN, Senate, AAA, US Treasury, U.S . Department of Treasury, Treasury Department, DWS, Treasury Locations: New York, States, US, Washington ,, Americas

☆ An 'unliveable shack that must be demolished' just sold for $1.1 million in Sydney after a bidding war. It shows how messed up Australia's housing market has become.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Nidhi Pandurangi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An "unliveable shack that must be demolished" in a Sydney suburb just sold for $1.1 million. The Australian property market has been on a red-hot streak — home prices rose for a second straight month in April. The pricing guide was AU$1.2 million, and bidding started at AU$1.25 million, according to a video of the bidding posted on YouTube. On May 18, a "dilapidated" home in Paddington, an upscale suburb in eastern Sydney, sold for AU$1.53 million, according to a news.com.au report. There were ten bidders for the "unliveable" three-bedroom house, which had been deemed too dangerous for inspections, per the report.

☆ Brazil's Americanas to seek bidders for fruit and vegetable unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, May 18 (Reuters) - Brazil retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) said on Thursday it will next week start to seek potential bidders for the acquisition of its Hortifruti Natural da Terra (HNT) business unit. In a securities filing, Americanas said it has hired Citigroup Global Markets Brazil as the financial adviser for conducting the process to sell the unit, which markets fruits and vegetables. Americanas noted, however, it has started "evaluating strategic alternatives for the business, which may involve preliminary contacts with potential interested parties." Co and HNT," Americanas said in the filing. Reporting by Carolina Pulice and Peter Frontini; Editing by David Alire GarciaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Federal employee pleads guilty to steering millions in contracts to family-connected firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The OPM worker, 54-year-old Sheron Spann, is due to be sentenced Sept. 21. When Enlightened was incorporated in Maryland and Washington in 1997, Sheron Spann signed documents as a witness for its articles of incorporation, documents show. Enlightened won that contract, which had a funding ceiling of $4.5 million, with Sheron Spann serving as OPM's point of contact on the deal, the court filing said. Work under that contract ended up surpassing the original funding ceiling, "to exceed $25 million," according to the filing. Enlightened won a $1.5 million contract from OPM in April 2017 without having to compete with other bidders, the filing said.

☆ Vice Media's bankruptcy has 'killed the ad pipeline' for the company, sources say, as questions about its future roil staffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vice Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, leaving current and laid-off staffers anxious over what's next. One advertising source told Insider, "The bankruptcy has killed the ad pipeline." Employees who were laid off in recent weeks are demanding answers about how the company's bankruptcy will affect the terms of their departure. One of the former execs told Insider they were just keeping their fingers crossed that payments come through. A person close to the company said Vice Media intends to pay severance and COBRA, subject to court approval.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is questioning federal bank regulators on their decision to sell First Republic Bank to the nation's largest bank, JP Morgan Chase. In a letter sent to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Wednesday, Warren said the deal was "deeply troubling," and sought details on how the agencies decided to arrange that particular sale, allowing JPM to grow even larger. This is a troubling outcome, leaving me with numerous questions," she wrote. The FDIC announced this month it had seized First Republic and sold it to JPM in a deal that it estimated would cost its deposit insurance fund $13 billion. Warren also pressed the matter with Michael Hsu, the acting Comptroller of the Currency, at a hearing Thursday.

☆ Tractor maker Deere's future in precision agriculture hinges on space-based connectivity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Morgan Brennan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

But the farm equipment maker has been planting the seeds for an increasingly high-tech and autonomous future – one that critically hinges on space. But connectivity is the linchpin of this vision, and space fills a void left by fiber and traditional cellular signals. "We think satellite communications is a really intriguing, interesting technology to pursue to sort of solve that communications gap." Last fall the company put out a request for proposal to the satellite communications industry to partner on space-based connectivity services. "We had this opportunity to bring two industries together — satellite space communications and agriculture — and say, 'What kind of value could we create?'"

☆ Sen. Elizabeth Warren presses regulators for answers on First Republic takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., greets Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, during the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Dirksen Building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking federal financial regulators for answers over what she called a "deeply troubling" deal that saw JPMorgan Chase take over First Republic Bank. "Our financial strength, capabilities and business model allowed us to develop a bid to execute the transaction in a way to minimize costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund." Instead, the insurance fund was allowed to take a multibillion-dollar loss after billions of dollars worth of the bank's uninsured deposits were rescued during the deal, Warren said. "The FDIC appeared to prioritize First Republic's uninsured deposits at the bank before the Insurance Fund," she said.

☆ North America Got the 2026 World Cup. Which City Will Get the Final?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At most other World Cups, there is an obvious choice for the final game. Moscow, Rio de Janeiro and Paris were always going to be chosen when their countries hosted the tournament. But there are several attractive candidates for the 2026 final, to be played July 19. The only previous time the United States hosted the World Cup, in 1994, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., got the final. This time, SoFi Stadium is the Los Angeles-area site on the list of stadiums for 2026.

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