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The logo of Universal Entertainment Corp. is seen at the company's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsWILMINGTON, Del., Sept 7 (Reuters) - A Delaware judge ruled on Thursday that an affiliate of Japan's Universal Entertainment Corp (6425.T) does not have to complete a SPAC merger deal with 26 Capital Acquisition Corp that related to the largest casino in the Philippines. Vice Chancellor Travis Laster said the Universal Entertainment affiliate did not have to complete the 2021 merger agreement in part because 26 Capital Acquisition "engaged in conduct that should not be rewarded" by ordering the deal to close. Laster said 26 Capital could still seek damages, which he would address at a later date. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toru Hanai, Chancellor Travis Laster, Laster, Tom Hals, Jonathan Stempel, Leslie Adler Organizations: Universal Entertainment Corp, REUTERS, Rights, Japan's Universal Entertainment Corp, Corp, Universal Entertainment, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights WILMINGTON, Del, Delaware, Philippines, Wilmington , Delaware

Executive Producer Reese Witherspoon attends a premiere for the television series "The Last Thing He Told Me" in Los Angeles, U.S, April 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Acquire Licensing RightsTORONTO, Sept 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Reese Witherspoon is putting her star power – and business acumen – to the takeover test again. Private equity firm Consortium Brand Partners said on Wednesday it had bought 70% of Witherspoon’s “steeped in Southern charm” apparel company for an undisclosed sum. For all the attention A-listers now command in deal-making, however, the financial stars often don’t align. Follow @sharonlam_ on XCONTEXT NEWSPrivate equity firm Consortium Brand Partners said on Sept. 6 that it had acquired a 70% stake in Draper James, the fashion and lifestyle brand started by Hollywood actor Reese Witherspoon.

Persons: Reese Witherspoon, Mario Anzuoni, –, Blackstone, Draper James, George Clooney’s, Dre’s, Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Jessica Simpson, Jessica Alba, ”, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Sunshine, Brand Partners, Diageo, Apple, Bloomberg, Honest Company, Jay, Hollywood, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles, U.S, North America, Coty, Delaware, Draper

☆ AMC shares crater as investors brace for stock conversion
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

AMC Entertainment shares plummeted more than 20% on Tuesday, slipping to a new 52-week low of $2.46 per share, as investors brace for a stock conversion later this week. On Friday, the movie theater chain's preferred equity units, dubbed APE shares, are set to be transformed into common stock just one year after they began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. These preferred equity units are a workaround, of sorts, and free AMC up to sell additional units of stock after investors who feared dilution rejected the company's efforts to issue additional stock last year. AMC also is planning a 10-to-1 reverse stock split of its common stock on Thursday. Shares of the company have nearly halved since it was announced on Aug. 14 that the APE shares would be converted.

Persons: Eric Handler, Roth MKM Organizations: AMC Entertainment, New York Stock Exchange, AMC Locations: Delaware

The rally in the chipmaker's stock pushed the information technology index (.SPLRCT) 1.85% higher, making it the strongest of 11 S&P 500 sector indexes. The S&P 500 climbed 0.58% to end the session at 4,489.72 points. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 19, 2023. Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) by a 1.1-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 8 new highs and 11 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 50 new highs and 192 new lows.

Persons: Tesla, Morgan Stanley, Jay Hatfield, Brendan McDermid, Goldman Sachs, Alex Chriss, Amruta Khandekar, Saeed Azhar, Arun Koyyur, Maju Samuel, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Nvidia, China AMC, Nasdaq, Dow, Chipmaker Micron Technology, Dow Jones, Infrastructure Capital Advisors, NVIDIA, Walmart, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Traders, Fed, PayPal Holdings, Intuit, AMC Entertainment, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Thomson Locations: China, New York, New York City, U.S, Delaware, Maui, Lahaina, Bengaluru

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 19, 2023. Nvidia's (NVDA.O) gain pushed the information technology index (.SPLRCT) higher, making it the strongest of 11 S&P 500 sector indexes. Other megacap growth stocks including Alphabet (GOOGL.O), and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) also posted gains, as did chipmaker Micron Technology (MU.O). According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 26.28 points, or 0.59%, to end at 4,490.33 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) gained 143.81 points, or 1.05%, to 13,788.66. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell last week after hotter-than-expected U.S. producer prices data fanned concerns that the Federal Reserve could keep U.S. interest rates higher for longer.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Tesla, Morgan Stanley, Jay Hatfield, Goldman Sachs, Alex Chriss, Amruta Khandekar, Saeed Azhar, Arun Koyyur, Maju Samuel, David Gregorio Our Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, China AMC, Nasdaq, Nvidia, Micron Technology, Dow Jones, Infrastructure Capital Advisors, NVIDIA, Federal Reserve, Walmart, Traders, Fed, PayPal Holdings, Intuit, AMC Entertainment, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, New York, Delaware, Maui, Lahaina, Bengaluru

☆ AMC Entertainment to effect 10:1 reverse split on Aug. 24
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniAug 14 (Reuters) - AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC.N) said on Monday its 10-to-1 reverse stock split will take place on Aug. 24 and its preferred shares "APE" will be converted to common stock on Aug. 25. The common shares of the theatre chain operator fell 38% to $3.25 in premarket trading, while its preferred shares rose 18% to $2.09. AMC aims to increase its Class A common stock to 550 million from about 524 million, it said in a regulatory filing. The company would make a settlement payment of one Class A common stock for every 7.5 Class A shares to the entitled shareholders after the reverse stock split. AMC was sued in February for allegedly rigging a shareholder vote that would allow it to convert preferred stock to common stock and issue hundreds of millions of new shares.

Persons: Mario Anzuoni, Chavi Mehta, Arun Koyyur Organizations: AMC, REUTERS, AMC Entertainment Holdings, Thomson Locations: Burbank , California, U.S, Delaware, Bengaluru

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 19, 2023. Hotter-than-expected U.S. producer prices data last week fanned concerns that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates higher for longer, driving up U.S. Treasury yields and weighing on rate-sensitive big technology and growth stocks. Market focus will be on quarterly earnings from major U.S. retailers including Walmart (WMT.N) and Target (TGT.N) this week. Economic data expected includes retail sales for July as well as industrial production and jobless claims numbers. ET, Dow e-minis were up 59 points, or 0.17%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 8 points, or 0.18%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 41.5 points, or 0.27%.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Tesla, We've, Peter Cardillo, treasuries, Goldman Sachs, Amruta Khandekar, Arun Koyyur, Maju Samuel Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, China AMC, Dow, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, U.S, Treasury, Investors, Spartan Capital Securities, Microsoft, Apple Inc, Fed, Walmart, Dow e, AMC Entertainment, Nikola, U.S . Steel, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Delaware, Cleveland, Bengaluru

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies also fell, with Alibaba , Baidu Inc and Nio Inc down between 2% and 6%. Economic data expected includes retail sales for July as well as industrial production and jobless claims numbers to gauge the direction for U.S. interest rates. Investors are basically staying on the sidelines until we get the economic news of the week," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. AMC Entertainment common shares (AMC.N) fell 39.2% after a Delaware judge approved the theater chain's revised stockholder settlement on Friday. The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and 93 new lows.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Tesla, We've, Peter Cardillo, Alex Chriss, advancers, Amruta Khandekar, Arun Koyyur, Maju Samuel Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, China AMC, Dow, Nasdaq, Tesla, Alibaba, Baidu Inc, Nio Inc, Walmart, Federal Reserve, U.S, Treasury, Investors, Spartan Capital Securities, Traders, Dow Jones, PayPal Holdings, Intuit, AMC Entertainment, U.S . Steel, NYSE, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Delaware, Cleveland, Bengaluru

The ruling sent the shares of the company's preferred stock soaring 27%. The company's common stock fell 27%. Under the approved class action settlement, AMC will provide stock worth an estimated $129 million to holders of its common stock to settle potential legal claims related to a stock conversion plan. Without the proposed settlement, common stockholders and preferred shareholders would end up owning 34.28% and 65.72% of AMC, respectively. Under the proposed settlement, common stockholders and preferred shareholders would own 37.15% and 62.85%, respectively.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Chancellor Morgan Zurn, Zurn, Tom Hals, Deepa Babington Organizations: AMC Theatre, REUTERS, AMC Entertainment Holdings, AMC, Delaware, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, Chancery, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, WILMINGTON , Delaware, Delaware, Wilmington , Delaware

☆ The 'Barbenheimer' box office success can help a range of stocks, analysts say. Here are some of them
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The opening weekend success of Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast and Paramount in 2023 Wolfe Research managing director Peter Supino said Warner Bros. Given the box office numbers, Nispel said the weekend will likely be positive for Warner Bros. B. Riley's Eric Wold noted IMAX screens were able to "completely dominate" this weekend for "Oppenheimer" showings.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Rosenblatt, Steve Frankel, WBD, Peter Supino, Brandon Nispel, Nispel, Barbie, Gordon Haskett, Don Bilson, They're, Roth, David Bellinger, Bellinger, it's, Eric Wold, It's, Wold, Alicia Reese, — CNBC's Michael Bloom, NBCUniversal Organizations: Warner Bros, Discovery, Universal, Comcast, Paramount, Wolfe Research, Mattel, Hollywood, MAT, AMC Entertainment, AMC, CNBC Locations: Delaware, NBCUniversal

Companies Walt Disney Co FollowWILMINGTON, Delaware, June 27 (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) board did not act negligently when it criticized a sexual identity bill signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Delaware judge ruled on Tuesday, in a case the judge said was improperly directed by a conservative legal group. The ruling by Lori Will of Delaware's Court of Chancery means that Disney will not have to turn over internal records including years of board members' emails sought by shareholder Kenneth Simeone, who sued Disney in December. Disney's criticism touched off a war of words with DeSantis and led to the state removing the company's control of a special administrative district that promotes development around the Walt Disney World resort. DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has used his battle against what he calls "woke Disney" to raise his national profile. Simeone, Jonna and Disney did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Lori Will, Kenneth Simeone, Will, Disney, Paul Jonna, Tom Hals, Jamie Freed Organizations: Walt Disney Co, Florida, Delaware's, Disney, Walt Disney, Thomas More Society, Thomson Locations: WILMINGTON , Delaware, Delaware, Wilmington , Delaware

Dorsey questioned the value of a Bahamian court ruling during a Thursday court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, saying that he would retain authority over the $7 billion in assets recovered by the U.S. debtors no matter what the Bahamian court rules. "It doesn't go to FTX Digital until I say it goes to FTX Digital," Dorsey said. The sides offered very different descriptions of how important FTX Digital was to the crypto exchange's operations. A court ruling in their favor could place the Bahamian company, and not the U.S. debtors, in charge of collecting assets and deciding how to distribute them to FTX customers. The case is FTX Trading, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, No.

Persons: John Dorsey, Dorsey, Chris Shore, Sam Bankman, Bankman, Fried's, Andy Dietderich, Brian Glueckstein, James Bromley of Sullivan, Cromwell, Chris Shore of, FTX, Dietrich Knauth Organizations: U.S, FTX's U.S, FTX Digital, FTX, Bahamian, Bankruptcy, District of, Chris Shore of White, Thomson, & & $ Locations: Delaware, Bahamas, Wilmington , Delaware, U.S, Hong Kong, District of Delaware

☆ Delaware Judge Targets Secret Funding of Lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jacob Gershman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Once known as Square, Block agreed in March 2021 to pay $306 million for an 87.5% stake in Tidal. The pension fund also said Dorsey, a co-founder of Block and Twitter, was Block's only top executive who supported the purchase, and bought Tidal because he and Jay-Z were friends. But in concluding that Block directors did not breach their fiduciary duties, McCormick said she could not "presume bad faith based on the merits of the deal alone." Jay-Z, the rapper and music mogul whose real name is Shawn Carter, joined San Francisco-based Block's board after the Tidal purchase and remains a director. The Delaware case was a derivative lawsuit that sought to have Block's directors or their insurers pay damages to the company for shareholders' benefit.

☆ Fox’s Costs From Defamation Suit Lead to a Quarterly Net Loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Michael M. Grynbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lachlan Murdoch, the executive chairman of the Fox Corporation, conceded on Tuesday that a Delaware judge’s pretrial rulings against the company “severely limited our defense at trial” and contributed to his decision to settle the landmark defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems. Mr. Murdoch, on a call with investors and analysts, called the $787.5 million settlement — believed to be the largest in the history of defamation law — “a decision clearly in the best interest of the company and its shareholders.”In a remark that echoed the trademark defiance of his father, Rupert Murdoch, he also defended the conduct of Fox News personnel, saying the settlement “in no way alters Fox’s commitment to the highest journalistic standards across our networks, or our passion for unabashedly reporting the news of the day.”His remarks came after Fox revealed a real-world consequence of the landmark settlement: The company swung to a net loss in the first three months of the year, its quarterly revenue erased — and then some — by payments associated with resolving the lawsuit with Dominion, an election technology firm.

A Delaware judge delayed the start of the widely anticipated trial on a voting-machine company’s defamation claims against Fox News, an announcement that came as the network is looking for a possible way to settle the case. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said late Sunday that he was delaying the start of the trial by one day, moving it from Monday to Tuesday. He didn’t explain the reasons for the move.

April 16 (Reuters) - A judge in Delaware on Sunday delayed by one day the start of trial in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp (FOXA.O), a courthouse spokesperson said. "The Court has decided to continue the start of the trial, including jury selection, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. I will make such an announcement tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7E," said Judge Eric Davis, according to the statement. Davis had said on Thursday he expected to conclude jury selection on Monday and proceed to opening statements. The trial is one of the most closely watched U.S. defamation cases in years, involving a leading cable news outlet with numerous conservative commentators.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Charles Schwab, Dell, Alphabet, HP Inc. & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Charles Schwab — Shares of Charles Schwab gained 3% on better-than-expected earnings. The company posted a profit of 93 cents per share, beating a Refinitiv forecast of 90 cents per share. M&T Bank — The regional bank stock jumped 3% after the company posted its latest quarterly figures. Lumentum — The optical fiber manufacturer rose slightly after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral. Ollie's Bargain Outlet — The discount retail rose 3% in premarket trading after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to neutral from overweight.

A Delaware judge delayed the start of the eagerly anticipated trial on a voting-machine company’s defamation claims against Fox News, an announcement that came as the network is looking for a possible way to settle the case. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said late Sunday that he was delaying the start of the trial by one day, moving it from Monday to Tuesday. He didn’t explain the reasons for the move.

☆ Fox News apologizes to judge in defamation case for failing to disclose Rupert Murdoch's role at the network
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Fox News apologized to the Delaware judge presiding over the Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit for failing to properly define Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's formal role at the network, according to a letter filed with the court. "We understand the Court's concerns, apologize, and are committed to clear and full communication with the Court moving forward," Fox attorney Blake Rohrbacher wrote in the letter Friday. Dominion Voting Systems brought its defamation lawsuit against Fox and its TV networks, Fox News and Fox Business, in March 2021, arguing its hosts pushed false claims that Dominion's voting machines were rigged in the 2020 presidential election that saw President Joe Biden triumph over former President Donald Trump. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis expressed frustration with the network Tuesday for its failure to accurately disclose Murdoch's leadership role there. Fox lawyers had repeatedly claimed Murdoch did not have an official title at Fox News, only to later reveal that he serves as the Fox News Executive Chair.

☆ Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch survived the phone-hacking scandal. Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit will test whether he can do it again.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Now, two voting-technology companies, Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, want to make another Murdoch media property pay even more for Fox News's role in spreading election denial. But the phone-hacking scandal showed how Murdoch has weathered challenges to his power before. Another key difference from the phone-hacking scandal is the presence of written records that show Fox execs knew exactly what was going on. In the last quarter of 2022, Fox Corp. netted $321 million on $4.6 billion in revenue. And during the phone-hacking scandal, Murdoch showed fierce loyalty.

☆ What Dominion's lawsuit could mean for Fox and its cable TV networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesDominion Voting System's defamation lawsuit against Fox Corp . and its cable TV networks will go to trial in the coming days, but the jury is still out on what, exactly, the lawsuit means for Fox and its business. Dominion brought its lawsuit against Fox and its TV networks, Fox News and Fox Business, in March 2021, arguing their hosts pushed false claims that Dominion's voting machines were rigged in the 2020 presidential election that saw Joe Biden triumph over Donald Trump. Worsen [Fox Corp. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Fox Corp.'s stock has remained stable in recent months as evidence implicating its TV hosts and executives have come to light in Dominion's defamation lawsuit. Oftentimes, companies will pull their ads when TV networks are embroiled in controversy.

☆ Dominion can’t bring up January 6 at Fox News defamation trial, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —Dominion Voting Systems can’t bring up the January 6 insurrection during its upcoming defamation trial against Fox News, a Delaware judge ruled Tuesday, who also revealed at a hearing that he has been receiving death threats. The judge ruled that Fox can’t bring up broadcasts where reporters accurately fact-checked Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, to prove that other broadcasts that amplified those lies weren’t defamatory. The judge also ruled that Fox can’t use internal Dominion emails where its staffers said their products “suck” and were “riddled with bugs,” to prove that there were real concerns about Dominion machines, and therefore Fox didn’t defame Dominion. The judge overseeing Dominion’s case against Fox News also revealed Tuesday that he has received death threats. If Dominion wins, it wants Fox to pay for the beefed-up security measures that it implemented after 2020.

☆ Judge in Fox News Defamation Trial Says He Would Require Rupert Murdoch to Testify
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Delaware judge said Wednesday that Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch can’t avoid testifying in person in a looming defamation trial about false election-fraud claims that aired on Fox News. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said during a pretrial hearing that if plaintiff Dominion Voting Systems issues a trial subpoena for Mr. Murdoch to testify, he “would not quash it.” The same goes for Fox Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch , Fox chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh and former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan , who sits on the Fox board, Judge Davis said.

☆ Dominion urges judge to compel Murdochs to testify live in Fox trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dominion Voting Systems urged a Delaware judge to compel Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, and his son, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, to appear live in court during the upcoming trial over its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox and its networks. In a letter to Judge Eric Davis on Wednesday, Dominion urged the judge to compel both Murdochs to appear live. In earlier court papers Dominion did not included the Murdochs on its list for live testimony, although it had been earlier discussed in court. Fox had opposed Murdoch, as well as the other Fox Corp. executives, giving their testimony live in court. They had also pointed to the elder Murdoch's age, 92, as a reason for why he couldn't appear live in court.

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