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☆ X-energy to go public via $2 billion blank-check deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - X-energy has agreed to merge with blank-check firm Ares Acquisition Corporation (AAC.N) in a deal valued at around $2 billion, the companies said on Tuesday. Founded in 2009, X-energy develops small modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation. The deal is expected to generate cash proceeds of about $1 billion for X-energy from the trust account of the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Ares, assuming no redemptions. A SPAC is a listed shell company that merges with a private company, taking it public in the process. After the deal closes, which is expected in the second quarter of 2023, the combined entity will be named X-Energy Inc.

☆ Jim Cramer says he expects 'many layoffs' at companies after Christmas
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday predicted that more companies will trim their workforces after the holiday season. "I'm sure there'll be many layoffs after Christmas. Tech companies, whose astronomic growth in recent years has been derailed by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, led last month's layoffs. Yet the total number of layoffs this year is the second lowest since the company started tracking the metrics in 1993. Cramer attributed the lack of job cuts to the fact that many companies have managed to stay afloat — a fact that could change next year.

☆ One of the best bets in real estate is no longer a sure thing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The sure thing that's no longer a sure thing. But the shine is starting to come off what is considered one of the safest, and smartest, bets in real estate. The two largest single-family rental REITs — Invitation Homes and American Homes for Rent — have recently seen their ratings downgraded by Wall Street analysts, Insider's Alex Nicoll reports. More on the potential deal, which also might have participation from a former Wall Street CEO. If you want to leave Wall Street but don't know where to start, read this.

☆ Circle’s SPAC flop does the public market a favor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The firm run by Jeremy Allaire planned to go public through a marriage with a special-purpose acquisition company, valuing it at $9 billion. USD Coin is regulated by a New York financial watchdog, unlike rival Tether, but lacks the secure trust-company structure of peers Gemini and Paxos. Concord, a listed special-purpose acquisition company chaired by former Barclays chief Bob Diamond, agreed to buy Circle in July 2021. The circulating supply of USD Coin was $43 billion on Dec. 5, according to CoinMarketCap, compared with $53 billion in February. At that time, Circle estimated there would be $110 billion of USD Coin in circulation by the end of 2022.

☆ Fintech Circle terminates $9 bln deal with Bob Diamond-backed SPAC
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 5 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency operator Circle Internet Financial said on Monday it has decided to end a $9 billion deal with blank-check firm Concord Acquisition Corp (CND.N), nearly ten months after an earlier agreement was amended. Circle is the principal operator of stablecoin USDC and reported a net income of $43 million and nearly $400 million in cash in the third quarter. Earlier valued at $4.5 billion, Boston-based Circle had amended its agreement with Concord, which is backed by former Barclays (BARC.L) boss Bob Diamond, in February and doubled its valuation. Blank-check vehicle 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp II (VCXA.O) said in August it mutually ended its $1.25 billion merger deal with crypto mining and infrastructure company Prime Blockchain. loadingReporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire discusses $9 billion SPAC deal termination
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | 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 EmailCircle CEO Jeremy Allaire discusses $9 billion SPAC deal terminationJeremy Allaire, Circle CEO, joins 'TechCheck' to discuss the hangup over Circle's SEC registration, if Circle's profitability is sustainable and the outstanding questions the SEC decided not to approve Circle.

☆ Newsmax CEO reveals how he's challenging Fox News for right-leaning viewers, why his network won't endorse candidates, and why his friend Trump shouldn't run in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy says it challenges Fox News for conservative viewers but also wants Democrats. Ruddy said Donald Trump shouldn't run in 2024 because "he's a guy that doesn't need the presidency." Here's why a media CEO who considers Donald Trump a good friend doesn't think his good friend should run for president again. Let's talk about the Arizona call[during the 2020 election]: Fox News called that election within 20 minutes. I would prefer Trump not run because I don't think it's good for him personally.

☆ Investing in Space: Moon rising
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The view of the moon and the Earth from the Orion capsule on Nov. 28, 2022..CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Even one of the more difficult stories of this year – the bankruptcy of Masten – was largely about the moon. With NASA's Orion beaming back stunning images of our planet as it whipped by the moon, I spoke to Airbus Ventures partner Lewis Pinault. The next couple years should see a variety of spacecraft and robots sent to the moon. However the future shakes out, it's clear a lunar economy is no longer fiction.

☆ SPAC Sponsors Used to Win at Investors’ Expense. Now Both Are Losing.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jon Sindreu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Buying stock in a firm going public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company is usually a terrible idea. But, in a damning development, SPACs may not be great for those launching them either. So far in 2022, there have been 48 SPAC liquidations, and another 40 are planned for before the end of the year, fresh data by SPAC Research shows. Buyout stars such as Alec Gores and Chamath Palihapitiya have recently said they would return billions to investors. Until recently, liquidations were rare.

☆ How to play the beaten-up EV stocks from here — Evercore ISI sees one doubling next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Electric vehicle stocks have had a tough year, but don't count them out just yet, according to Evercore ISI. Analyst Chris McNally said the past year has been a much-needed expectation reset for nascent EV players, such as Fisker , Rivian Automotive , and Lucid Group . Each has separate, premium "go-to-market" niches within the growing EV market, he said. "Then we would begin to see vertical integration & branding advantages take charge," McNally wrote. Lucid Lucid epitomizes an aspirational EV, McNally said.

☆ Health-insurance upstart Clover touted enormous revenues from a new federal program to boost its Chamath Palihapitiya-backed SPAC deal. Now it's slashing its participation after results that one analy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Clover Health bet big on a controversial new Medicare program with a huge revenue opportunity. Clover Health is slashing its footprint in a key federal program that the health-insurance upstart has bet big on since 2021. The direct-contracting program aims to lower costs for Medicare by changing up how doctors caring for traditional Medicare patients are paid. But Clover lost money during the first year of the program. This article was initially published on November 8 and has been updated with information about Clover's performance in the direct-contracting program in 2021.

☆ Idealab founder Bill Gross started selling solar energy kits in 1973 at 15 years old. Now he's leading solar tech company Heliogen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Idealab and Heliogen Founder Bill Gross speaks onstage during Vox Media's 2022 Code Conference on September 08, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. "Because I was reading Popular Science magazine, I saw people used to take out little ads in the back," Gross told CNBC. One limiting factor for solar energy is its intermittency, which means it only delivers power when the sun is shining. But we're delivering the energy continuously because the energy is coming out of the rock bed," Gross told CNBC. The price of fossil fuels after Russia invaded Ukraine is a game changer," Gross told CNBC.

☆ Tech's reality check: How the industry lost $7.4 trillion in one year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Not one of the 15 most valuable U.S. tech companies has generated positive returns in 2021. In total, investors have lost roughly $7.4 trillion, based on the 12-month drop in the Nasdaq. In the war for talent and the free flow of capital, tech pay reached new heights. Loading chart...SPACs allowed companies that didn't quite have the profile to satisfy traditional IPO investors to backdoor their way onto the public market. A slowing IPO market informs how earlier-stage investors behave, said David Golden, managing partner at Revolution Ventures in San Francisco.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Apple, Manchester United, Activision Blizzard and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft logo is seen on a smartphone placed on displayed Activision Blizzard logo in this illustration taken January 18, 2022. Apple — Apple's stock shed 2% on Friday after protests occurred at the iPhone maker's major Foxconn supplier in China earlier this week. Activision Blizzard – Shares of the video game company slid more than 4% after Politico reported the Federal Trade Commission is likely to sue to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Manchester United — Manchester United's stock surged 12.8%, building on this week's earlier gains following news that the soccer team's owners are weighing a potential sale. Canoo – The electric vehicle company's stock price traded 4.6% higher after a Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed that CEO Tony Aquila purchased shares.

☆ Trump-Tied SPAC DWAC wins shareholder support for one year extension
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DWAC shares jumped on news of the approval and were trading at $23.42, up 8.60% after the meeting was ended. Tuesday's meeting was scheduled after Orlando extended the Nov. 3 meeting to give investors more time. On Sept. 26, DWAC had only 43% of shareholders' approval, according to a document seen by Reuters. At stake is a $1.3 billion cash infusion that Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) which operates Trump's Truth Social app, stands to receive from DWAC. Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss with additional reporting by Echo Wang Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ HyperloopTT to go public via SPAC led by former Disney execs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 22 (Reuters) - High-speed transportation systems maker Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) said on Tuesday it would list its shares in the United States through a deal with a blank-check firm at a pre-money valuation of $600 million. The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Forest Road Acquisition Corp II (FRXB.N), which is led by former Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, is expected to provide the combined company $330 million in net proceeds if the SPAC shareholders do not withdraw their money before the deal closes. HyperloopTT, which makes vacuum tube-based ground transportation systems with airplane speeds, has agreed to a SPAC merger at a time when the market's appetite for such deals have fizzled, as the economic outlook worsens with rising interest rates and inflation. The current shareholders and convertible note holders of HyperloopTT will hold $289 million worth of common shares in the company after the deal closes, the company said. A SPAC is a listed company without any business operations, formed to solely raise money and merge with other companies.

☆ This crypto cold storage stock could more than double following the FTX collapse, JPMorgan says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of CompoSecure could more than double from here as the FTX debacle spells a buying opportunity in crypto cold storage providers, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Reginald L. Smith has an overweight rating on CompoSecure, saying the crypto cold storage provider allows traders to take their cryptocurrencies offline and protect them in a digital wallet. It's an alternative more investors are turning to after the recent collapse of FTX highlighted the drawbacks involved in holding digital assets on an exchange. "Crypto exchanges offer limited recourse if digital assets are hacked, stolen or mismanaged while held on an exchange," Smith wrote in a Monday note. "Moreover, CMPO recently launched Arculus, a consumer crypto cold storage wallet solution, a wildcard, in our view, that could become a meaningful revenue contributor over time," Smith added.

☆ Komodo Health is putting off its IPO after a rocky market shot down the startup's plans for a summer exit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Komodo Health has ditched its plans for an initial public offering in the near future. Digital health's IPO desertGlobally, only six digital health companies have gone public via IPO in 2022 so far, according to a report by Galen Growth and Finn Partners. Besides Komodo, two other digital health companies were said to be pursuing an IPO earlier this year before the market slipped. "The IPO market is shut right now, for all intents and purposes," said Jon Swope, who leads SVB Securities' digital health and healthtech business. "How soon will we see the return of that for the IPO market?"

☆ LGBTQ+ app Grindr goes public in SPAC deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | 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 EmailLGBTQ+ app Grindr goes public in SPAC dealGrindr CEO George Arison joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss going public in a SPAC deal, the market expansion opportunities available to the app and the ability to grow ad profits and paid subscriptions.

☆ Grindr shares soar in post-SPAC debut as advocates weigh progress of LGBTQ inclusion within finance world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The group of performers, some known for appearances on the competition show "RuPaul's Drag Race," performed on a rainbow stage set in the front of the New York Stock Exchange. It was part of a celebration of LGBTQ dating app Grindr's public-markets debut following a merger with blank-check company Tiga Acquisition. The New York Stock Exchange was lined with rainbow markers and pride flags in recognition of the event. Before the opening bell, New York Stock Exchange President Lynn Martin spoke about the importance of an LGBTQ-centered company's place in the equities market. watch now'The power of the app'The excitement around Grindr's debut does not diminish the difficulties of the current bear market.

☆ Grindr Plans to Focus on Monetization, Subscription Prices After Going Public
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The company will list on the New York Stock Exchange under a new name, Grindr Inc.Vanna Krantz, Grindr CFO. Ms. Krantz said she plans to review subscription prices, which currently start at $19.99 a month for paid accounts. Once the company is public, Ms. Krantz will be responsible for further building out Grindr’s finance function. Ms. Krantz said she would focus on further improvement when it comes to forecasting. The year-over-year loss was largely driven by one-time costs associated with going public, such as legal, consulting and audit fees, Ms. Krantz said.

The valuations of listed financial technology firms have plunged 70% in 2022, analysts at Jefferies Group said in a note last week. The Columbus, Ohio regional bank is scouring for more targets after it bought Torana, a payments fintech, in May. PNC Financial Services Inc (PNC.N) in September bought Linga, a fintech focused on restaurant operations and sales. The slide in fintech valuations coincides with banks earning more from traditional lending businesses as interest rates rise. Fintech deals enable banks to buy new technology or products instead of developing them in-house.

☆ France's Digital Virgo to list in U.S. in $513 mln SPAC deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Joyce Lee | Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Digital Virgo said on Thursday it would list in the United States in a blank-check deal that values the French mobile payments platform at $513 million, including debt. Digital Virgo is among a few companies that have opted to list in the United States at a time of severe market turbulence. read moreGoal Acquisitions Corp (PUCK.O) will acquire Digital Virgo shares at $10 apiece, with the deal providing the latter at least $100 million. A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a listed company lacking an inherent business model, formed solely to take other firms public via mergers. Goal is led by sports executives including Harvey Schiller, Bill Duffy and basketball star Michael Jordan's former agent, David Falk.

☆ Surf Air confidentially files for direct listing after ending SPAC deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Electric aviation and regional air travel company Surf Air Mobility said on Wednesday it had confidentially filed for a direct listing in the United States after terminating its $1.42 billion merger deal with a blank check firm. This comes as shares of several companies that listed through special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), including Grab Holdings Ltd (GRAB.O) and BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD.O), have slumped this year as economic conditions worsen. The deal with SPAC Tuscan Holdings Corp II (THCA.O), which would have fetched Surf Air $467 million in cash proceeds, was called off mutually, the companies said. A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a listed company lacking an inherent business model, formed solely to take other companies public via mergers. Reporting by Anirban Chakroborti and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Carnival, Advance Auto Parts and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In an aerial view, the Carnival Miracle cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Lines sits docked at Pier 27 on September 30, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Carnival announced a private offering of $1 billion in convertible senior notes due in 2027. Shares of rival cruise operators Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line fell about 2% and 3.3%, respectively, on the news. Advance Auto Parts — Shares of the auto parts provider shed 9.9% after the company missed Wall Street's earning per shares estimates and lowered its adjusted EPS outlooks for the year. Ginkgo Bioworks — The stock — created during the SPAC boom — slipped 6.4% in extended trading after Gingko announced a $100 million common stock offering.

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