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☆ Buyout barons will court the panicking masses
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Since they’ve already scoured traditional funding sources like pension funds and insurers, they’ll make a priority of tapping wealthy individuals in 2023. Even those slower to embrace the trend, like Carlyle (CG.O), are getting about 10% of inflows from individuals. Pension plans and other stalwarts have seen their stocks and bonds slump in value, potentially leaving them overexposed to buyout funds, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. These investors don’t always have the resources or stomach to lock up their money for half a decade or longer. Third-party platforms like Moonfare are proliferating, pooling retail capital into vehicles that buy stakes in buyout funds.

☆ Intrepid bankers will find Boutique Blvd jam-packed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The situation complicates things for rainmakers considering their next steps in a weaker environment for mergers and acquisitions. Making the well-trod move from Wall Street to Boutique Boulevard will be much harder in 2023. The entrepreneurial spirit often hits investment bankers when times get tough, and their mega-bank employers start cutting staff or restricting access to the balance sheet. It's easy to see how the likes of Blair Effron’s Centerview, Robey Warshaw and Ken Moelis’ eponymous firm established themselves. Absent those kinds of industry-specific or geographic relationships, idle investment bankers may find themselves just spending more time with their families.

☆ Satellites can fly higher in private
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Volatile revenue makes for a volatile share price. That’s one explanation for private equity firms Advent International and British Columbia Investment Management’s purchase of satellite firm Maxar Technologies (MAXR.N) for $6.4 billion, including debt. The chunky 129% premium suggests they think the company can fly higher off public markets. A decline in demand for construction of big projects, and the failure of a satellite Maxar built, hit the firm hard, as insurance only partly covered losses and customers shied away. Maxar plans to launch imaging satellites faster in private than it had when it was public.

☆ A solo Ticketmaster might attract financial fans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The drums are beating louder for a breakup of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV.N). For Live Nation, it’s not entirely clear that the flywheel is spinning smoothly. Live Nation says it is so dominant because it’s so much better than the competition. Putting the complicated legal and regulatory questions aside, there’s probably a financial case for Ticketmaster to become a solo act. Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010.

☆ Nuclear fusion triggers an overreaction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A fusion breakthrough unveiled on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Energy is a scientific tour de force, and a commercial irrelevancy. It’s a notable feat that researchers produced more energy from fusing atoms together than they used to start the process. Unless there are more breakthroughs, fusion probably would take place in massive facilities like today’s fission plants. The cost of power from a new nuclear plant runs about five times more expensive than a solar equivalent, Lazard analysts estimate. Making fusion cheaper and practical could be as big a challenge as fusion itself.

☆ Breakingviews: FTX sins don’t absolve its big-money enablers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants everyone to know that Sam Bankman-Fried was a bad actor. The financial watchdog and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday alleged that the founder of bankrupt currency exchange FTX committed fraud, while federal prosecutors made a criminal case. The U.S. government, meanwhile, has accused Bankman-Fried of eight criminal violations, ranging from wire fraud to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSU.S. federal prosecutors filed a criminal lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, alleging he committed fraud and violated campaign finance laws. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also alleged Bankman-Fried committed fraud in complaints filed on Dec. 13.

☆ FTX sins don’t absolve its big-money enablers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants everyone to know that Sam Bankman-Fried was a bad actor. The financial watchdog and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday alleged that the founder of bankrupt currency exchange FTX committed fraud, while federal prosecutors made a criminal case. The CFTC focused on customers, whose money it says FTX sent to Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research, which allegedly used it for venture investments and loans to FTX executives. loadingCONTEXT NEWSU.S. federal prosecutors filed a criminal lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, alleging he committed fraud and violated campaign finance laws. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also alleged Bankman-Fried committed fraud in complaints filed on Dec. 13.

☆ Deal whiz Byron Trott suffers minor grill burns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Weber (WEBR.N) is a rare miscue for dealmaker Byron Trott, who typically serves up deals just right. It’s a reputational blemish for Trott just as he embarks on a major expansion. BDT, which focuses on family-owned businesses, did not sell down its roughly 60% stake at the time of the IPO, or subsequently. Outside investors may nevertheless recall Trott buying low – 43% below the IPO price, valuing Weber at $3.7 billion – the next time the firm brings a portfolio company to market, and wonder if they’ll get burned. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Rio Tinto’s Mongolian purgatory is finally over
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Finally, something has gone right for Rio Tinto (RIO.L) in Mongolia. Rio boss Jakob Stausholm squeaked home with 60.5% of minority votes cast, just over the 50% threshold. It’s a massive win for Stausholm and Rio copper boss Bold Baatar. Oyu Tolgoi still needs more than $3.5 billion of funding. Instead, Rio is handing them C$43 per share in cash – a 70% premium to the price in March.

☆ Sinema widens gap between Democrats and Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Big finance has lost an ally in the U.S. Democratic Party. Some of the biggest names on Wall Street have similarly tied themselves to the Republican Party’s leaders. But the gap between Democrats and the financial sector has been growing for years. Sinema’s exit, while it won’t change much in Washington, gives Wall Street one more reason to come off the fence. Follow @BenWinck on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSSenator Kyrsten Sinema said on Dec. 9 that she will change her party registration from Democrat to political independent.

☆ Sinema widens gap between Democrats and Wall St
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ The ghost of Instagram haunts Microsoft’s future
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The FTC’s leader Lina Khan might be making up for regulators who waved through Mark Zuckerberg’s $1 billion purchase of Instagram. Though Microsoft’s deal is different, punishment under Khan’s regime seemed inevitable. Microsoft could try to corner the market by forcing consumers to not only buy the Activision games from Microsoft, but the platform as well. Microsoft’s rationale for buying Activision is to better compete in the gaming market against the likes of Tencent (0700.HK) and others. Streaming is the future, and in that way, Microsoft could easily be sidelined in the business if it doesn’t innovate.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File PhotoNEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A congressional grilling on cryptocurrency answered a lot of questions, but far more about the ignorance on Capitol Hill than digital currencies. More bizarrely, Roger Marshall, also a Republican, suggested a “pause in this cryptocurrency digital world” while Congress gets its “arms around it,” a process he said could take years. Marshall also referenced central bank digital currencies, but those will fall under the U.S. Federal Reserve’s purview if the central bank approves such a project. Bitcoin has been around for more than a decade, however, and Congress has failed to craft relevant laws to oversee crypto. The hearing was the first of several planned to examine FTX’s bankruptcy, cryptocurrency regulation, and agency jurisdiction over digital assets.

☆ Airbnb has promise as the quasi-immobility firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Airbnb (ABNB.O) is a boon to mobile travelers - but soon might benefit from immobile, old-school renters too. But the deal, which secures buy-in from large housing managers that should otherwise hate Airbnb, makes sense in a post-pandemic era. The agreement paves the way for some of America’s largest landlords to list their empty abodes for traditional long-term leases on Airbnb. Still, Covid-19 has fundamentally changed people’s habits in a way that could benefit both Airbnb and the apartment rental firms – if they innovate. In the past, that has enabled apartment companies to hold their tenants hostage to an extra couple of months’ rent.

☆ Musk’s Apple fight could be his Twitter legacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Elon Musk doesn’t just want to force changes at Twitter. Musk isn’t the first to complain that Apple acts as a gatekeeper for companies distributing apps through its platforms. Losing a chunk of every $8 that a user pays to become a Twitter Blue subscriber makes that harder. Second, Musk attacked Apple’s policy of asking developers to moderate content in apps sold through its App Store. Videogame developer Epic Games sued Apple in part over this very issue, a fight Apple won.

☆ Ticketmaster shares spotlight with Taylor Swift
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ticketmaster has a pretty bad seat for the Taylor Swift show. It also risks tempting Swift to turn the spotlight on Ticketmaster. In 2010, U.S. trustbusters allowed Ticketmaster to merge with Live Nation and create one of the largest event businesses in the world. Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen tried unsuccessfully to weaken Ticketmaster, but Swift might be able to move the needle. Taylor Swift and Uncle Sam would be a formidable duo.

☆ Murdoch deal will struggle to be fair and balanced
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

A decade ago, Murdoch split his movies-to-books empire because it had become too broad and complex. As it stands, both $16 billion Fox and $10 billion News Corp suffer from significant valuation discounts, partly due to their common owner’s grip. It owns roughly 62% of Australian housing portal REA, a stake worth $6.7 billion based on its Wednesday closing price in Sydney. On the same 16 times multiple as New York Times (NYT.N), it would be worth about $8 billion. Rupert Murdoch and his family trust control about 42% of Fox voting shares and 39% of News Corp voting shares.

☆ Target is hurting more than American consumers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The devil is in the details of Target’s (TGT.N)hellish run. Target is partly hostage to what’s on the shelves, including apparel, electronics and other discretionary items. Rival Walmart (WMT.N), which generates more than half its sales from food, delivered better results on Tuesday. The U.S. Commerce Department just reported that retail sales grew 1.3% in October from September because consumers were buying cars, furniture and clothes. Those numbers suggest that Target is hurting more than American shoppers.

☆ Crypto readies itself for a post-FTX hose-down: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire exposed the vulnerabilities of a vast, unregulated world of digital finance. Rivals like Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire hope to prove there’s a safer side of crypto worth saving. He presents his case in this episode of The Exchange podcast. Listen to the podcastFollow @johnsfoley on TwitterEditing by Sharon Lam and Amanda GomezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Twitter gives big advertisers the excuse they need
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk is making it too easy to hit the pause on ad spending. loadingSocial media companies are no stranger to ad boycotts. That’s because Facebook and Instagram rely more on small business advertising, which is a diverse scattered group. Twitter reaps almost all its revenue from big brands, and those big advertisers are already looking for an excuse to put the brakes on spending. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

TORONTO, Nov 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Some members of the shared economy are seeing a resurgence in the side hustle as inflation bites. People are becoming more interested in driving for Uber Technologies (UBER.N) and listing their abodes on Airbnb (ABNB.O) in order to make an extra buck. U.S. President Joe Biden last month proposed a new gig worker rule that could fundamentally change how companies classify their workers. But the shared economy seems to be holding up fine, even if the economy isn’t. Uber Technologies on Nov. 1 said revenue grew 72% year-on-year to $8.3 billion in the third quarter.

☆ Super-voters override self-driving truck controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - If only it weren’t so easy to see what’s behind the latest mess at TuSimple (TSP.O). The self-driving truck technology developer has descended into corporate governance chaos after the ousted chief executive, Xiaodi Hou, turned around and fired the entire board of directors. The situation was made possible by a dual-class share structure that gives Hou and his co-founder Mo Chen 59% voting control despite their far smaller economic stakes. TuSimple achieved a nearly $8.5 billion market value when it went public in April 2021; it’s now worth about $640 million. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ How Credit Suisse’s turnaround could work: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - CEO Ulrich Körner is raising $4 bln of fresh equity and shrinking the Zurich-based group’s trading business to put it on a steadier footing. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate the merits of the plan and what’s at stake if it fails. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterEditing by Amanda Gomez and Oliver TaslicOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

TORONTO, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. cannabis industry would do well to heed the lessons of Canada’s growing pains. Even as the United States becomes more pot-friendly, however, there’s no guarantee that financial success will follow. Approved cannabis growers destroyed a record quantity of unsold buds last year, the Financial Post reported. Fewer available licenses in the United States also mean barriers to entry are higher. The Canadian government on Sept. 22 announced the launch of the legislative review of the Cannabis Act, which came into force on Oct. 17, 2018.

☆ Peloton’s founders get a deserved do-over
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Peloton Interactive’s (PTON.O) founders are climbing back up on their bikes. With WeWork founder Adam Neumann also recently scoring funding for a new idea, second chances are in vogue. In that sense, it’s like Peloton’s take on home exercise gear: a fancier version of an existing product, with added convenience. Peloton’s shares cratered after the virtual fitness company was overambitious during the pandemic, but it grew admirably. It pegs the addressable market for rugs at $120 billion by 2030 versus the $4 trillion wellness market Peloton touted in its initial public offering documents.

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