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☆ Here's what went wrong with Virgin Orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The deal, facilitated by a so-called blank check company, gave Virgin Orbit a valuation of nearly $4 billion. That debt gives the flashy British billionaire first priority of Virgin Orbit assets in the event of the now-impending bankruptcy. And Chief Strategy Officer Jim Simpson had also spent more than eight years in Boeing's satellite division before joining Virgin Orbit. That frustration continued after the pause, with employees confused by the lack of specifics about which investors were speaking to Virgin Orbit leadership. Virgin Orbit

☆ Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson's rocket company, to lay off 85% of staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Virgin Orbit — the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson — is laying off the vast majority of its workforce as company leadership struggles to secure additional funding. Virgin Orbit spokespeople declined to comment beyond the filing. Virgin Orbit was founded in 2017 after spinning off from its sister company, Virgin Galactic, which is focused on using supersonic planes to vault high-paying tourists on joy rides to the edge of space. Virgin Orbit, on the other hand, has been developing an air-launched rocket, dubbed LauncherOne, for hauling small satellites to orbit. Virgin Orbit announced it was going public — via a reverse merger agreement called a SPAC — in the fall of 2021.

☆ Trump-backed SPAC Digital World regains compliance with Nasdaq listing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.O), a blank-check firm that is to merge with former U.S. President Donald Trump's social media platform, said on Wednesday it had been cleared by the Nasdaq over non-payment of certain dues. Earlier this month, Digital World revealed that it had received a notice from the exchange over non-payment of some dues which could lead to a potential de-listing. Digital World has already been facing delays in closing the deal to take Truth Social public due to investigations on whether the Trump-backed company broke securities regulations. The deal was inked in October 2021 and late last year shareholders approved extending the deadline to close the deal to September 2023. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Space companies Spire and Momentus get stock exchange delisting warnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Spire Global at the New York Stock Exchange, August 17, 2021. A pair of space companies received delisting warnings on Friday, according to securities filings, as both ventures' stock prices stood below $1 a share. Small satellite builder and data specialist Spire Global received a notice from the New York Stock Exchange, while spacecraft delivery company Momentus received a notice from the Nasdaq. Momentus' stock closed at 63 cents a share, slipping below $1 a share on Feb. 7. The warnings come as fellow space company Astra seeks an extension from the Nasdaq to regain compliance after it received a delisting warning last year.

☆ A 27-page report breaks down where the money is flowing in sports tech and the investors to watch. Here were 5 key takeaways.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Investment bank Drake Star broke down dealmaking in 2022 and what it means for the year ahead. Sports tech M&A activity in 2022, from Drake Star's Global Sports Tech Report 2022. Drake Star Global Sports Tech Report 2022The fourth quarter saw a surge in M&A volume with 67 deals, the most in the sector's recent history. More sports tech companies could explore public listings in the second half of the year. "Some of the IPO ready sports tech companies are expected to explore IPO/SPAC listings."

☆ SVB collapse is double-whammy for tech startups already navigating brutal market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

He'd started the process six months earlier during a brutal period for tech stocks and a plunge in venture funding. Investors were just pulling in their horns, the SPAC market had fallen apart, valuations for tech companies were collapsing." In the absence of venture funding, money-losing startups have had to cut their burn rates in order to extend their cash runway. Since the beginning of 2022, roughly 1,500 tech companies have laid off a total of close to 300,000 people, according to the website Layoffs.fyi. Kruze Consulting provides accounting and other back-end services to hundreds of tech startups.

☆ Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit rocket company ceases operations for a week, seeks additional funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Virgin Orbit told nearly all of its staff to cease operations until at least next week as the rocket company, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, works to secure additional funding. Though no deal for additional funding has been solidified, the source said the company is in “talks” to secure additional money. Virgin Orbit was founded in 2017 after spinning off from its sister company, Virgin Galactic, which is focused on using supersonic planes to vault high-paying tourists on joy rides to the edge of space. Virgin Orbit, on the other hand, has been developing an air-launched rocket for hauling small satellites to orbit, dubbed LauncherOne. Virgin Orbit announced it was going public — via a reverse merger agreement called a SPAC — in the fall of 2021.

☆ Donald Trump's media company lays off some employees while waiting for regulators to approve SPAC merger, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Trump Media has laid off about half a dozen employees, sources told Bloomberg. It comes as Trump Media awaits SEC approval for its merger with the Digital World SPAC. The people told Bloomberg it was projected that Trump Media could fund itself through September at current spending levels. Trump Media and Lawson didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal US operating hours. Trump Media, founded in 2021, is waiting for the SEC to approve the merger deal.

☆ Who Killed Silicon Valley Bank?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Andy Kessler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

That giant slurping sound on Friday was Silicon Valley Bank imploding. America’s 16th-largest bank had some $175 billion in deposits and disappeared by breakfast. This was a 21st-century bank run—customers tried to withdraw about $42 billion, a quarter of all deposits. In January 2020, SVB had $55 billion in customer deposits on its balance sheet. Yes, SVB was a victim of its own success.

☆ A housing downturn is causing a reckoning in the once-hot cluster of proptech startups that let homebuyers pay all cash and win bidding wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

In that market, all-cash offers were king to sellers because they ensured quicker, stress-free closings. According to Redfin, all-cash offers quadrupled the chances that a homebuyer would win a bidding war. Ribbon has since paused its all-cash offering, but some of the other firms that Insider featured last year are still making all-cash offers. FlyhomesFlyhomes is a real-estate brokerage that featured all-cash-offer services for years and distinguished itself in December 2021 with a free all-cash-offer product. "The value to the buyer is different than in a seller's market," Garg said in the email.

☆ Fintech firms may struggle to find investor love in rebounding U.S. IPO market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Manya Saini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationMarch 8 (Reuters) - The once high-flying fintech startups looking to go public will have a hard time attracting investor attention, even though a freeze that has gripped the market for new listings is starting to thaw. "I don't think it would surprise anyone if they all sat out the 2023 IPO market," Kennedy added. In the IPO boom of 2021, 20 fintech companies raised a combined $10.93 billion, vastly overshadowing the $144 million that was raised by a lone offering in the following year, according to data from Dealogic. "The IPO market is not closed, but it's certainly more valuation and profitability focused," said David Ethridge, U.S. co-IPO leader at global consulting giant PwC. Reuters GraphicsLACKLUSTRE LISTINGSListed fintech companies have failed to largely live up to their shareholders' expectations as they have steadily booked losses, leading to a string of routs in their shares.

☆ Bank of America stock chief Savita Subramanian told us why she thinks investors are using the exact wrong playbook for the oncoming recession, and what they should do instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Savita Subramanian says investors need to update their approaches as the economy slows down. Bank of America's US stock chief told Insider she's very wary of tech stocks and long-term bonds. In a recent interview with Insider, however, Subramanian pushed back on the idea that she's a bear. She's telling investors to overweight materials, energy, consumer staples, and financials in their stock portfolios. Stocks have outperformed bonds dramatically since that last high, and investors might start dumping bonds if they're disappointed by their returns again.

☆ Embark shares tank as autonomous trucking firm mulls 'shutting down completely'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Investors and industry watchers have also been concerned about billions of dollars that have been poured into the self-driving technology sector in a short span of time to commercialize it. "Over the next handful of weeks, we will work closely with the Embark Board of Directors to evaluate our options, including selling assets, restructuring the company or shutting down completely." Embark went public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal and is backed by Mubadala Capital, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management. The company expects to incur charges of $7 million to $11 million related to the workforce reduction, which spans about 230 employees. Shares of Embark closed down 32.8% lower at $2.56 on Monday, giving the firm a market capitalization of $60 million, compared with the over $5 billion in market value when it went public.

☆ Chief of Digital Freight Startup Transfix Steps Down
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Digital freight startup Transfix Inc. said on Thursday that Chief Executive Lily Shen was stepping down and would be succeeded by the company’s co-founder and chief technology officer, Jonathan Salama. “I understand the challenges, and Lily and I have a strong plan for the future.”Lily Shen has resigned as chief executive of digital freight broker Transfix. Jonathan Salama is a co-founder and the new chief executive of Transfix. In place of the SPAC, G Squared and another Transfix backer, New Enterprise Associates Inc., led a private funding round. She became chief operating officer the same year and in 2020 took over as chief executive.

☆ Trump-backed SPAC Digital World to appeal Nasdaq delisting notice
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 1 (Reuters) - Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.O), a blank-check firm that is to merge with former U.S. President Donald Trump's social media platform, said on Wednesday it will file an appeal against a Nasdaq de-listing notice due to the non-payment of some dues. "The company has elected to file an appeal of this matter, pay the corresponding fee, and plans to pay any fees the Hearing Department determines are due," Digital World said in a filing. Digital World has already been facing delays in closing the deal to take Truth Social public due to investigations on whether the Trump-backed company broke securities regulations and the departure of top executives. The deal was inked in October 2021 and late last year, shareholders approved extending the deadline to close the deal to September 2023. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 3 big questions about the state of Goldman Sachs heading into its second-ever investor day
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

All eyes are on 200 West Street in lower Manhattan today, the global headquarters of Goldman Sachs and site of the bank's second-ever investor day. Goldman's first investor day, in 2020, included plenty of discussion about the importance of building out its consumer bank. Will new details emerge regarding the asset and wealth management division that show the business is heading in the right direction? Goldman's asset and wealth management division will likely get plenty of attention today. Speaking of David Solomon... Goldman's CEO appeared on a recent episode of the bank's podcast, "Exchanges at Goldman Sachs."

☆ Michael Klausner, the SPAC boom's chief naysayer, is trying to prevent another frenzy for good
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Stanford Law professor Michael Klausner is suing a SPAC sponsor, claiming it misled investors. Michael Klausner, the Stanford Law professor who has become the chief critic of the SPAC boom, remembers the exact moment he realized SPACs were broken. It was 2017 – way before the investment vehicles took off in 2020 – and he was teaching a class on business transactions at Stanford Law School. In addition to getting all their money back with interest, they also get 20% of the final public company. Klausner was thrust into the role of being the SPAC boom's resident Cassandra, warning of calamity but never taken seriously.

☆ Bowlero one of the rare SPAC plays Cramer's willing to endorse and here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBowlero one of the rare SPAC plays Cramer's willing to endorse and here's whyMad Money host Jim Cramer explains why he's willing to endorse a SPAC called Bowlero, and discusses it with Thomas Shannon, Bowlero's founder, chairman and CEO.

☆ Lithium-ion battery recycling company Li-Cycle scores $375 million conditional loan from Energy Department for Rochester plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Pippa Stevens | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Battery recycling company Li-Cycle said Monday it's secured a conditional $375 million loan from the Department of Energy to develop a recycling facility for key battery materials near Rochester, New York. The Rochester facility will significantly expand Li-Cycle's reach. "I think of course we need both primary, meaning mine sources, and secondary…every unit counts of lithium, nickel, cobalt. I think with the overlay of the IRA and the overlay of the corporate targets around sourcing for these materials, recycling is going to be very important." Li-Cycle said it expects the loan to close during the second quarter, with the company planning to initiate commissioning of the Rochester facility late this year.

☆ Speculative bets are cool again and Reddit's army of retail investors is partying like it's 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

And yet, despite the dip this week, markets right now are brimming with bullishness — and Reddit-loving retail investors are partying like it's 2021. Retail investors are rebuffing Jerome Powell in piling into speculative assets. Remember, at the start of the pandemic, government stimulus and near-zero interest rates gave retail investors the perfect opportunity to lay down speculative bets. "With all of these headwinds, retail investors are jumping in on maybe some ill-conceived optimism," Goldman said. But economic data be damned, retail investors are still piling into the riskiest corners of the market.

☆ Crypto Company Circle Focuses on Growth After Canceled SPAC Merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Circle is still hiring even as many crypto companies are laying off staff and some have filed for bankruptcy following the run on the stablecoin TerraUSD last spring. The crypto company had been preparing to go public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, a move to access the capital market, enhance its transparency and further expand operations internationally. A SPAC typically has as long as two years to find its merger partner, clear the SEC’s review process and complete the deal. Circle, which was founded in 2013, intends to make another bid to go public, though likely not this year, Mr. Fox-Geen said. Circle in 2021 said that Poloniex LLC, its discontinued crypto exchange business, paid $10.4 million to settle a case brought by the SEC.

☆ Space exploration company Intuitive Machines soars 259% following SPAC merger as investors revive 2021 playbook
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Intuitive Machines soared as much as 259% on Wednesday in a move reminiscent of 2021's SPAC mania. The space exploration company has soared as much as 1,260% since it completed its SPAC merger last week. Intuitive Machines is developing different services for space exploration has already won contracts with NASA. Since Intuitive Machines completed its $1 billion SPAC merger last week, the stock has soared as much as 1,260%. And to be sure, Intuitive Machines is a speculative stock.

FaZe Clan has laid off 20% of its staff as it found itself with less capital than expected. Esports organization FaZe Clan has laid off roughly 20% of its employees in a restructuring that began in December, a company spokesperson confirmed. In the memo to staffers, FaZe CEO Lee Trink wrote that the company expects to report a year-over-year revenue increase of more than 25% for 2022. As I described, I'm extremely proud that we expect to report the revenue growth for 2022 will show an increase of over 25% from 2021. As we embark on 2023 with a more streamlined, nimbler organization, our key focus is on the core aspects of what makes FaZe FaZe, and what has allowed the brand and the business to grow at an incredible pace over the past five years.

☆ Buyout barons reach deep into their bags of tricks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Debt necessity is proving to be the mother of private equity invention. With the cheap borrowing that fueled record-breaking years of leveraged buyouts gone, firms are digging deeper into their bags of tricks. Private equity firm Silver Lake, which bought a stake alongside the IPO, said it might take control. Besides putting private equity firms into weaker negotiating positions, the competing incentives also threaten conflicts of interest with limited partners. ...THERE’S A WAYIf the U.S. Federal Reserve avoids engineering a recession, private equity should be able to revert to its tried-and-true formula soon enough.

☆ Insurance-tech firm Roadzen to go public via $965 mln SPAC deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Insurance tech firm Roadzen Inc has agreed to go public in the United States with a blank-check vehicle in a deal valued at about $965 million, the companies said on Monday. The deal with special purpose acquisition company Vahanna Tech Edge Acquisition I Corp (VHNA.O) values Roadzen at a pre-money equity value of $683 million and the combined company will be listed on the Nasdaq exchange, according to their joint statement. After the deal is completed, existing Roadzen shareholders are expected to own 73.2% of the combined entity, assuming none of the blank check firm's shareholders elect to redeem their shares. Roadzen, which uses advanced AI to provide data that helps insurers build auto insurance products, is expected to generate about $59 million and $118 million in total consolidated revenues for the fiscal years ending March 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively, the statement added. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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