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☆ Tupperware Brands boxes itself into a corner
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TORONTO, April 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tupperware Brands’ (TUP.N) options are looking less airtight. As with other direct selling companies, it casts doubt over its business model, as well as how speedily it can remake itself as consumer habits shift. An earnings misstatement, which has left it late in filing its annual report, could cause creditors to declare Tupperware has violated its debt covenants. Even if Tupperware can appease its creditors or find new investors, the rise of e-commerce has dented the fortunes of companies that lean on direct selling. Compared with the company’s heyday, customers have more options for food storage, more places to buy from, and less time for Tupperware parties.

☆ Reader mailbag: From M&A and MBAs to Elon Musk and bitcoin, all your questions answered
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's easier to leverage misinformation for personal gain within the world of finance than perhaps any other industry. I'm not the type to suggest the only real information you can get on the markets is from established news outlets. Do you think the legacy media is fearful of Elon Musk's new Twitter? I just think the discourse on Twitter is very different from what you'd find on a media website. My position on bitcoin, and the wider digital-currency ecosystem, is that it's too often a solution looking for a problem.

Credit Suisse's investment bankers are not waiting around to find out if UBS will give them jobs. UBS executives have pulled no punches when discussing the future of Credit Suisse's investment banking teams and trading desks. Jeff CohenA two-decade Credit Suisse veteran, Cohen heads up Credit Suisse's leveraged and acquisition finance business from New York. Previously, Cohen was Credit Suisse's head of global credit products and global head of leveraged finance capital markets. Marco SuperinaA Credit Suisse veteran since 1997, Superina heads Credit Suisse's M&A efforts in the firm's native Switzerland.

Some senior dealmakers at China's third-largest brokerage by market value will see an even steeper cut of two-thirds to their 2022 bonuses, said one of the people. The trend has accelerated as employers cut pay and perks in response to the government's "common prosperity" rhetoric. MILDER CUTSA senior investment banker in China could earn three million to 10 million yuan ($445,000 to $1.48 million) a year in total remuneration, excluding stock incentives, industry sources have said. By way of comparison, Wall Street bonuses fell 26% last year to average $176,700, versus a record 2021, showed a report last month from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Besides remuneration cuts, some investment banks have asked staff to avoid displays of wealth such as by uploading photographs to social media of expensive meals or overseas trips, industry sources said.

☆ Saudi $5 bln gaming play only works on some levels
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Saudi Arabia is defriending read more Uncle Sam on oil, while deploying its video-game war chest in his backyard. Savvy Games, owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund, announced on Wednesday that it was buying U.S. mobile games specialist Scopely for $4.9 billion. Though privately held Scopely doesn’t disclose its financials, Savvy looks to be getting a good price. Less clear is how Scopely contributes to Saudi’s aims of becoming the “ultimate global hub” for gaming and pivoting its economy away from fossil fuels. If Saudi wants to create jobs from the rapid growth of domestic game consumption, it needs to turn its games M&A into gaming boots on the ground.

☆ Dealmaker Raine Group bucks the M&A blues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Amid a dealmaking drought, The Raine Group’s rainmakers are creating some flow themselves. And now it has unveiled an acquisition of its own, buying Code Advisors, a technology-focused boutique M&A firm co-founded by former CBS executives Quincy Smith and Michael Marquez. It is the first purchase for Raine since it was co-founded by a group including Joe Ravitch and Brandon Gardner in 2009 in the aftermath of the last big downturn. Since then, Raine has ballooned to 170 people with about 20 partners advising on transactions such as last year’s 4.25 billion pound ($5.3 billion) sale of Chelsea Football Club. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ China Renaissance suspends trading, delays results after founder Bao Fan goes missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Bao Fan, 52, started the boutique investment bank in 2005 and has been unreachable since the middle of February, according to the company. Shares in China Renaissance have plunged since Bao went missing, at one point dropping as much as 50%. China Renaissance said in late February that it had learned Bao was “cooperating in an investigation” being carried out by certain authorities in the country. Chinese media have reported Bao might be assisting in an investigation related to a former executive at China Renaissance. In a filing on Sunday, China Renaissance said auditors couldn’t complete their work or sign off on their report because of Bao’s absence.

☆ China Renaissance delays results, halts trade citing star dealmaker's disappearance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Late in February 2023, China Renaissance said in an exchange filing that Bao Fan, its star dealmaker, was co-operating with authorities in their investigation. Boutique investment bank China Renaissance Holdings said it would delay its audited annual results and suspend its stock trading from Monday, after mainland authorities took away its chairman, Bao Fan, to co-operate with an investigation. "While the company has used its best efforts to facilitate the requests of the auditors," those requests are not matters within the control of China Renaissance, the bank said in the filing, adding that the board "was not able to reasonably estimate when it would meet to approve" the 2022 annual results. Bao, who is also CEO, started the bank in 2005 with a two-person team, seeking to match capital-hungry startups with venture capitalist and private equity investors. The bank had an unaudited loss of 563.8 million yuan ($81.8 million) for 2022, compared with 1.6 billion yuan worth of net income for the year earlier, Sunday's filing showed.

☆ Up to 30% of jobs to be cut by enlarged UBS, Tages-Anzeiger reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen in Zurich, Switzerland, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoGENEVA, April 2 (Reuters) - The bank created by the UBS (UBSG.S) takeover of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) is poised to reduce its workforce by 20-30%, Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed senior UBS manager. The report said the bank could cut about 11,000 jobs in Switzerland. Jobs in its U.S. investment banking arm will also be affected, the report said, with UBS set for talks to terminate a deal that would have given Wall Street dealmaker Michael Klein control of much of Credit Suisse's investment bank. Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - In the biblical parable of the prodigal son, a repentant wastrel returns home to a forgiving and beneficent father. In China, Alibaba (9988.HK) founder Jack Ma's homecoming and rehabilitation appears to be part of an official campaign to revive flagging private sector investment. However, if officials believe the mere sight of Ma in public will revive business confidence, that hope has a whiff of desperation. Ma the prodigal entrepreneur has returned, but perhaps not for long. Shares of Alibaba rallied as much as 4% in Hong Kong following the SCMP report before closing flat at HK$85.25 on March 27.

☆ UBS set for talks with Michael Klein to terminate Credit Suisse investment bank deal - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 21 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) is set to enter talks with Michael Klein to terminate a deal that would have seen the Wall Street dealmaker take control of much of Credit Suisse's (CSGN.S) investment bank, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. UBS on Sunday agreed to buy rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) in stock and agreed to assume up to 5 billion francs ($5.4 billion) in losses, in a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities to avoid more market-shaking turmoil in global banking. Klein, a veteran dealmaker, was merging his eponymous advisory boutique into Credit Suisse's investment banking operations to create CS First Boston as a standalone business which he would have led from New York. UBS has now assigned a legal team to examine how to void the contract Credit Suisse signed with Klein in the cheapest way possible, according to the FT report, which cited people with direct knowledge of the matter. UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment, while Klein could not be immediately reached for comment.

☆ Credit Suisse's investment bankers are so concerned about cuts, employees are being told to look for new jobs. 'They encouraged it.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Carter Johnson | Casey Sullivan | Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The fate of Credit Suisse's investment bank hangs in the balance after being sold to UBS. The investment bank's planned spinoff has been put on hold and bankers are bracing for job cuts. People said they expect Credit Suisse's planned spinoff of its investment banking operations, announced last year, to be scuttled. Over at 11 Madison Ave., where Credit Suisse's NY operations are headquartered, emotions were running hot on Monday. Now, the proposed CS First Boston deal hangs in the balance, with both industry experts and Credit Suisse employees uncertain whether it will go through.

It would help organize a $2.25 billion stock sale for SVB to fill the funding gap caused by the bond portfolio sale, two of the sources said. It is unclear whether Goldman has held onto all or part of the bond portfolio or sold it. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, SVB said its bond portfolio sales to Goldman were done at "negotiated prices". Goldman was not paid the underwriting fee it had agreed for the stock sale because that deal fell through, two of the sources said. UNDISCLOSED ROLESVB did not disclose in its stock sale prospectus to investors that Goldman was the acquirer of the bond portfolio it sold at a loss.

☆ Leaked email: Ex-Tiger Global dealmaker John Curtius offered to mortgage home to provide cash to founders fearful of missing payroll during SVB crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former Tiger Global partner John Curtius offered to mortgage his house during the SVB crisis. Curtius offered founders interest-free loans to help them meet payroll before depositors were guaranteed. Former Tiger Global partner John Curtius offered to mortgage his home to help portfolio founders meet payroll at the height of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, according to a leaked email seen by Insider. The investor didn't give further detail about the mortgage or his house on the email seen by Insider. Since leaving the New York-based hedge fund, Curtius has spent time trying to secure capital for his new fund Cedar Investment Management.

☆ UniCredit finds costly fix for faulty CEO pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UniCredit shares are up 75% over the last twelve months, against 22% for the STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index. To give Orcel an incentive to beat his goals again, and to keep the pay-conscious dealmaker happy, UniCredit tweaked the package. It hiked his fixed pay to 3.25 million euros but changed the way the bonus will be allocated. If Orcel hits new and more challenging targets he will earn a bonus of 4.25 million euros, lower than last year’s payout, paid all in stock. But if he overshoots again, he could get up to 9.75 million euros.

☆ MediaMath seemed destined for a $1B fairy-tale exit. Instead, most early investors got nothing.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

At its Halloween party in 2015, the adtech startup MediaMath seemed on the brink of greatness. The machine-learning revolution that took over the financial industry was finally happening in marketing, and many industry insiders considered MediaMath to be the hottest adtech company of the time. "We never came close to consummating such a deal with MediaMath nor entertained the purported valuation," said a representative for Singtel. The Trade Desk, the most comparable independent DSP company to MediaMath, was riding high after its 2016 initial public offering. The quasi-equity agreement was structured to protect Searchlight if MediaMath didn't perform to certain quotas or if things went south financially.

☆ Chinese bank says missing chairman is cooperating with Chinese authorities in an investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Feb 26 (Reuters) - China Renaissance Holdings (1911.HK) said in an exchange filing on Sunday that its missing chairman and star dealmaker Bao Fan was currently cooperating with relevant Chinese authorities conducting an investigation. This is the first time the mainland China-based boutique bank has given a reason for the disappearance of its founder -- who was reported missing 10 days ago -- though no details about the investigation were shared. "The Board would like to reiterate that the business and operations of the Group are continuing normally," the bank said in the exchange filing. Reuters previously reported, citing sources, that authorities took Bao away earlier this month to assist in an investigation into a former colleague, Cong Lin, the company's former president. read moreBao's disappearance also comes against the backdrop of more than two years of sweeping regulatory crackdown on technology companies.

☆ Meet the ex-Goldman banker who relaunched the XFL with The Rock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Dealmaker Gerry Cardinale is betting on it, along with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and the star's business partner Dany Garcia. The XFL, previously owned by Vince McMahon, had been forced to cancel its season – its first in 19 years – due to the pandemic. In order to deliver NFL-quality football, the XFL inked an exclusive partnership with the NFL Alumni Academy to find top players. "Dwayne, Dany, and I think we can do that in five." READ THE FULL PROFILE: How Gerry Cardinale became the go-to dealmaker for the Yankees, AC Milan, and Ben Affleck

☆ Take Five: Strap in for no landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

1/ FED VS STOCKSReports on U.S. durable goods orders, home prices as well as manufacturing and consumer confidence threaten to cement expectations of more Fed rate hikes and to deal a knockout punch to the early-year stocks rally. Evidence of a stronger-than-expected economy has forced investors to recalibrate projections for Fed hawkishness, lifting bond yields and weighing on stock gains. Tuesday's consumer confidence data may be of particular interest, offering a glimpse into households' views on economic prospects and inflation expectations. The idea of "no landing," which upends a host of popular trades based on a the scenario of the global economy entering recession is gaining traction thanks to surprisingly upbeat data. A soft landing could still happen.

This would help its investment bankers in their pitches to clients, especially for IPOs, one of the sources added. Klein is selling his business to Credit Suisse for $175 million, the two said earlier this month. Credit Suisse will focus on managing money for the wealthy after the carve-out. A spokesman for Credit Suisse declined to comment, as did a representative for Klein. Credit Suisse reported its biggest annual loss last year since the financial crisis and cut its bonus pool by 50% for 2022.

Though the reasons for Bao's disappearance are unclear, his case follows a series of incidents in which high-profile executives in China have gone missing with little explanation during a sweeping anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by President Xi Jinping. China Renaissance said on Thursday in a stock exchange filing that it had no information that Bao's "unavailability" was related to its business, and that its operations were continuing normally. A spokesperson for Beijing-based China Renaissance declined to comment on specific details and referred Reuters to its exchange filing made on Thursday. "What happened to China Renaissance highlighted the key man risk with some Chinese companies," Li Nan, professor of Finance at Shanghai Jiaotong University, said. key man risk generally refers to the threat posed to a company from over-reliance on a limited number of personnel for decision making.

☆ Factbox: Chinese business tycoons, executives who disappeared from public view
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Following is a list of some other high-profile Chinese executives who have abruptly gone missing from public view in recent years. Three months later, On Nov. 27, the company said Yang had resumed his duties after assisting an investigation in China. Shares and bonds related to CEFC China Energy plunged on the news, which was first reported by Chinese magazine Caixin. Chinese financial regulators in 2020 took over brokerages, trust companies and insurers linked to the group. Reporting by Brenda Goh and Xie Yu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd (1911.HK), has gone missing in the latest disappearance of a top business executive, unnerving investors and sending its stock down as much as 50% on Friday. A China Renaissance spokesperson referred Reuters request for comment on Friday to the investment bank's public filing. The firm earned $20.6 million in Chinese related investment banking fees in 2022, down from $43.13 million a year earlier, the data showed. Bao started China Renaissance in 2005 as a two-person team, seeking to match capital-hungry startups with venture capitalist and private equity investors. China Renaissance is also an active investor in the tech sector.

☆ Factbox-Five facts about missing star Chinese dealmaker and his firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Xie Yu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Well-known Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd, has gone missing in the latest disappearance of a top business executive in the country, unnerving investors. FILE PHOTO: Fan Bao founder and CEO of China Renaissance speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 25, 2016. Here are five facts about Bao and his firm --* Bao entered China’s prestigious Fudan University in 1989, and later received his master’s degree from the BI Norwegian School of Management. Its investment management business has assets worth around 48.6 billion yuan by the end of last June. It earned $20.6 million in Chinese related investment banking fees in 2022, down from $43.13 million a year earlier.

☆ Factbox: Five facts about missing star Chinese dealmaker and his firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Xie Yu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Well-known Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings Ltd (1911.HK), has gone missing in the latest disappearance of a top business executive in the country, unnerving investors. Here are five facts about Bao and his firm --* Bao entered China's prestigious Fudan University in 1989, and later received his master's degree from the BI Norwegian School of Management. Its investment management business has assets worth around 48.6 billion yuan by the end of last June. * The firm is currently ranked ninth on China's equity capital markets league table for 2023, according to Refinitiv. It earned $20.6 million in Chinese related investment banking fees in 2022, down from $43.13 million a year earlier.

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