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☆ 7. Anduril Industries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Anduril Industries operates in an increasingly complex security environment, where science and technology innovation are needed for the U.S. military to keep an edge. Throughout 2022, defense technology specialist Anduril Industries supplied drones, artificial intelligence software and training to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions. With a recent round of venture financing directed toward cutting-edge autonomous militaristic products, Anduril Industries stands to help fill this gap and scale it up. Building on that acquisition, last year Anduril Industries partnered with the U.S. Special Operations Command on a 10-year, $967 million contract to provide systems for shooting down drones. Anduril also bought startup Dive Technologies, a maker of underwater vehicles, to expand its suite of autonomous vehicles.

☆ How 2 longtime Warner Bros. execs and a veteran media banker plan to invest $360 million in sports, live experiences, and proven IP
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Alex Iosilevich, Kevin Tsujihara, and Jeff Bewkes raised $360 million to invest in media, entertainment, and gaming. "Today it's television, tomorrow it's virtual reality," Alex Iosilevich, a longtime media banker and investor, told Insider. The trio announced April 27 that they raised $360 million for their first private equity fund to invest in media, entertainment, and gaming companies. Bewkes was chairman and CEO of Time Warner; he left as part of AT&T's 2016 acquisition of the company. With the market for subscription-based streaming services getting saturated, streaming companies will have to look more aggressively for new audiences through overseas expansion, ad-supported tiers, and new entertainment content.

☆ Three media veterans just raised $360 million to invest in sports, live experiences, and proven IP — trends that are 'permanent' even as streamers struggle for profits and consumers churn
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Alex Iosilevich, Kevin Tsujihara, and Jeff Bewkes raised $360 million to invest in media, entertainment, and gaming. "Today it's television, tomorrow it's virtual reality," Alex Iosilevich, a longtime media banker and investor, told Insider. The trio announced April 27 that they raised $360 million for their first private equity fund to invest in media, entertainment, and gaming companies. And Iosilevich's resume includes more than a decade of media dealmaking at UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays. With the market for subscription-based streaming services getting saturated, streaming companies will have to look more aggressively for new audiences through overseas expansion, ad-supported tiers, and new entertainment content.

☆ A solid start to earnings season will be put to the test in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The biggest week of this earnings season showed us that things aren't as bad as many feared. The week ahead of earnings, including several more Club names, should tell us more. The results are always important, but it's the guidance and management commentary we will really hone in on to better understand the path ahead. In Amazon's case, a solid first quarter for its AWS cloud business was overshadowed by management seeing a material slowdown in April. ET: Nonfarm Payrolls Looking back It was the biggest week of this earnings season for the Club as several of our mega-cap holdings and industry bellwethers reported results.

☆ Check out the 9-slide pitch deck Quantexa, a data intelligence startup, used to raise $129 million at a $1.8 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Quantexa, a data intelligence startup, has become a unicorn following its latest funding round. The London-based company has raised $129 million in a round led by GIC. The startup positions itself as a "decision-making" platform that provides companies with the best data available to help reduce costs and optimize growth. The new investment values the business at $1.9 billion, bringing Quantexa's total funds raised to $370 million. The company had seen a lot of inbound interest from investors leading into this funding round, Marria added.

☆ How First Republic's courtship of the wealthy led to meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Lawrence Delevingne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

March 27 (Reuters) - First Republic Bank (FRC.N) became the epicenter of the U.S. regional banking crisis after the wealthy clients it courted to fuel its breakneck growth started withdrawing deposits and left the bank reeling. Reuters GraphicsFor years, First Republic lured high net-worth customers with preferential rates on mortgages and loans. Morgan Stanley analysts estimated a deposit outflow of nearly half of total deposits according to a March 20 note. First Republic's loan book and investment portfolio also became less valuable as interest rates rose, which is hampering a capital raise. "Wealthy customers were drawn to First Republic in part because they could get large mortgages at rock-bottom interest rates," said McCoy.

The remainder was equity checks by the private equity firms. Typically, debt accounts for between 60% and 80% of the deal consideration, allowing the buyout firms to juice returns. REFINANCING RISKTo be sure, a handful of private equity firms have already been accustomed to this kind of refinancing risk. An upside to the shift toward equity financing, dealmakers say, is that the companies owned by the private equity firms have more cushion to absorb losses if their business deteriorates. Many of the leveraged buyouts that became bankruptcies in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis were the result of private equity firms saddling companies with debt to the hilt.

☆ A leading fund manager warns that regional banks could cause 'financial Armageddon' — unless the government makes 2 crucial moves immediately
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Financial stress stemming from Silicon Valley Bank's collapse could spread, a top fund manager said. But that in itself is becoming an under-the-radar issue, he noted, as large banks' strength is now coming at the expense of regional banks — even those without issues. Since most regional banks aren't classified as "systemically important," their clients would be out of luck in the event of a bank failure, Hatfield noted. Unless the FDIC insures all deposits at all banks, Hatfield said that there will be no reason to put money in a non-protected regional bank. So they'll have a negative interest margin, they'll lose money, they'll get downgraded, and they'll go out of business."

[1/2] Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 11, 2022. Stock sales reached $4.97 billion in the United States last week, the highest tally since the second week in 2022, according to data provider Dealogic. Globally, stock sales reached $12.3 billion, the most in more than 30 weeks. "Equity markets have regained some momentum and volatility has decreased, driving animal spirits on the buy side," said Santiago Gilfond, co-head of Americas equity capital markets at Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S). A busy week for initial public offerings in early February offered some hope to stock market hopefuls, but advisors remain cautious as stocks sold off in recent weeks.

☆ Private equity firms lend less as demand cools
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The amount of loans disbursed by direct lenders so far in 2023 has not shown any pickup, the Refinitiv data shows. Also weighing on deal volumes is the cost of borrowing from private equity firms. This has dampened demand for loans from private equity firms. For their part, private equity firms have also become more risk-averse when it comes to lending, as the economic slowdown and sticky price inflation erode the credit worthiness of some borrowers. To be sure, major deals using private equity firms as lenders are still getting done as banks have continued their retrenchment from risky debt.

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - European buyout houses Montagu Private Equity and Astorg Partners are preparing to hang the "for sale" sign on their UK insurance software investments, hoping to woo insurers and fellow private capital funds with their technology. Acturis, Astorg and Open GI did not respond to requests for comment. It last attempted to sell the business in 2018 and has since strived to transform it into a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, which could attract fellow private equity funds with existing investments in the insurance industry, sources said. Open GI could be worth up to 12 times its expected core earnings of more than 30 million pounds ($35.96 million) expected for 2023, two sources said. Revenue rose to 111.9 million pounds from 102.4 million pounds the previous year, as the company added new brokers and insurers to its eponymous SaaS platform.

☆ 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.

☆ How a new $300 million private equity fund plans to invest and compete in sports media, 'the most valuable last commodity standing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NBA vet Bobby Sharma and partner Kyle Charters just raised $300 million for sports-related investments. It's led by NBA and IMG vet Bobby Sharma and investment banking vet Kyle Charters, and it just announced it closed a $300 million fund to invest in sports-related media and entertainment. "And there are some sports media, entertainment, business executives who are learning private equities through their fundraising. Sports is "essentially the most valuable last commodity standing in the media landscape," Sharma said. You've got the incumbent media companies that are ensuring their survival by heavily investing as well.

☆ Thomas H. Lee, pioneer of leveraged buyouts, is dead at 78
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Thomas H. Lee, a private equity financier who pioneered the use of leveraged buyouts that helped to reshape corporate America, has passed away, according to a notice from his former firm that still bears his name. “We are profoundly saddened by the unexpected passing of our good friend and former partner, Thomas H. Lee,” said THL in a statement. “Tom was an iconic figure in private equity. One of Thomas Lee’s most famous, and lucrative, leveraged buyouts was his purchase of Snapple for $135 million in 1992. Lee left THL in 2006 and started another private equity firm, Lee Equity Partners.

☆ Exclusive: Events software vendor Cvent rebuffs $3.9 bln Blackstone bid-sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Milana Vinn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Cvent Holding Corp (CVT.O), a U.S. software provider that facilitates in-person and virtual meetings, has rejected a $3.9 billion acquisition offer from buyout firm Blackstone Inc (BX.N), people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Blackstone is taking a break from the negotiations after Cvent rejected its $8-per-share offer as too low, the sources said. Shares of Cvent, which is controlled by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners Management LLC, had ended trading on Thursday at $7.64. Cvent, Blackstone and Vista Equity declined to comment. Cvent shares have since dropped due to concerns that an economic slowdown, brought about by the U.S. Federal Reserve's higher interest rates to fight inflation, will lower demand for conferences and events that drive the company's business.

☆ Here's who's keeping top payment players like Stripe, PayPal, and Square ahead of the competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fun fact Friday: The only letter of the alphabet that doesn't appear in a US state name is "Q." There are plenty of reasons to want to get in (money changes hands A LOT, whether it's between people, companies, or both). This list from Insider's Bianca Chan and Paige Hagy looks at the people pushing top payment companies to stay ahead of the innovation curve. Bianca and Paige spoke to more than a dozen industry insiders to identify executives who are making sure companies like PayPal, Stripe, Apple, and Visa are keeping the competition at bay. Click here to check out eight executives ensuring the top payment players stay ahead of the competition.

☆ An NBA and IMG veteran breaks down how he raised a $300 million private equity fund in a bleak market and how he plans to invest in all things sports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NBA vet Bobby Sharma and partner Kyle Charters just raised $300 million for sports-related investments. It's led by NBA and IMG vet Bobby Sharma and investment banking vet Kyle Charters and just announced it closed a $300 million fund to invest in sports-related media and entertainment. "And there are some sports media, entertainment, business executives who are learning private equities through their fundraising. There's been a wave of private equity interest in sports by giants like Blackstone to new entrants like Dynasty Equity Partners. You've got the incumbent media companies that are ensuring their survival by heavily investing as well.

☆ 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.

"The company has received a proposal from the JIP consortium," Toshiba said in a statement. Two of the sources said major Japanese banks, including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T), had issued letters of commitment to provide 1.4 trillion yen ($10.6 billion) in loans to the group. The final buyout proposal would also include an equity portion of about 1 trillion yen, they said. The Nikkei business daily reported the total value of the buyout proposal was around 2 trillion yen. JIP was then asked by Toshiba to provide commitment letters from banks by Nov. 7, something it was unable to do.

Major Japanese banks, including Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T), had issued letters of commitment to provide the loans to the JIP-led group, said two of the sources, who declined to be identified because the information has not been made public. The 1.4 trillion yen of loans included a commitment line of 200 billion yen for working capital, the sources said. The final buyout proposal would also include an equity portion of about 1 trillion yen, they said. The Nikkei business daily reported a final buyout proposal worth around 2 trillion yen. The banks asked Toshiba to promise the sale of underperforming businesses if earnings deteriorated after a buyout was concluded, sources, including those who spoke on Thursday, have previously said.

☆ Snow Software owners explore $1 billion sale -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Milana Vinn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 8 (Reuters) - The private equity owners of Snow Software are exploring a sale that could value the software management solutions company at about $1 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. Sumeru Equity Partners, Ontario Pension Board, Vitruvian Partners and other investors behind Snow Software have hired investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) to explore options for the company, the sources said. Based in Stockholm, Sweden and Austin, Texas, Snow Software builds software tools and solutions that help companies obtain the proper licensing for the software they use. Snow Software currently generates annual revenue of about $175 million, according to the sources. Sumeru and Ontario Pension Board joined Vitruvian as shareholders in Snow Software in 2017 with a $120 million investment.

☆ Harvey Schwartz has his work cut out for him at Carlyle. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But first, a Wall Street firm finally finds its CEO. Harvey Schwartz Goldman Sachs1. In many ways, Carlyle and Harvey Schwartz are perfectly imperfect for each other. Might as well call it "Carefree Carlyle," because that's the vibes I'm getting under the soon-to-be Schwartz era. Click here to read more about what'll be expected of Harvey Schwartz as CEO of Carlyle.

☆ Ojo, a home-listings site aiming to rival Zillow, sells its Canadian operations to Royal Bank of Canada and raises funds from Vista Equity Partners in combined deal of nearly $200 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Home-listings company Ojo Labs sold its Canadian operations to the Royal Bank of Canada. The transactions, totaling nearly $200 million, will help Ojo navigate a bumpy housing market. "We put the company in an extremely healthy cash position, while others are having to retrench," Berkowitz told Insider. These services can differentiate Ojo from Zillow and Realtor.com, which are most intently focused on the home transaction. CoStar, the real estate data giant that's reached a dominant position in commercial real estate data, has recently trained its eye on residential listing platforms.

☆ AMC Leaves Saudi Arabia After Falling Behind Local Competitors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Rory Jones | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AMC’s exit from Saudi Arabia illustrates how the kingdom remains a difficult place for international companies to operate. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. will exit its equity partnership in Saudi Arabia, the cinema giant said Tuesday, leaving a market that was once considered the world’s final frontier for cinema but proved hard to dominate. A subsidiary of the Saudi sovereign-wealth fund will acquire AMC’s equity stake in their joint venture, giving it 100% ownership, according to a joint statement from the subsidiary, Saudi Entertainment Ventures, and the American movie-theater chain. The Saudi firm will take over AMC’s operation in the kingdom and franchise it.

☆ Want to quit your job and run your side hustle full time? Start by working at one of these 5 companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In the case of many a successful startup founder, that means working a day job before they're ready to strike out and start their own new business. Multiple big-name companies top the list, according to a new report from small-business lending platform OnDeck, which examined large U.S. companies with high rates of former employees launching their own businesses. The top four companies on OnDeck's list all hail from the consulting world, which isn't surprising: Consultants at those companies are often tasked with helping clients hone their management and business strategies. Goldman Sachs leads the way among financial services companies on OnDeck's rankings, with 5.92% of former employees becoming founders. By focusing primarily on large companies, OnDeck's report doesn't provide a comprehensive list.

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