What You Need To Know This Week — November 16th, 2019
What You Need To Know This Week
A weekly recap to keep you informed on the most important events this week impacting markets, business, tech and the global economy.
CANNABIS BOOM GOES BUST AS ECONOMIC REALITY BITES AND POT STOCK PRICES PLUMMET
Cannabis shares are stuffing the new 52-week low list as third quarter operating performance of major producers came in far below expectations. Canopy Growth saw its sales drop -15% last quarter while competitor Aurora Cannabis’ revenue dropped -24%. Both companies lost a combined $2 billion in market capitalization on Thursday as investors threw in the towel.
APOLLO TEES UP THE LARGEST LEVERAGED BUYOUT OF THE YEAR WITH $5.4 BILLION TECH DATA ACQUISITION
Private equity firm Apollo Global Management announced the friendly acquisition of technology distributor Tech Data for $130 per share, representing a deal value of $5.4 billion and a premium of 17%. This deal represents the largest leveraged buyout of 2019.
CANADA’S OPEN TEXT CONTINUES ITS CONSOLIDATION STRATEGY WITH ACQUISITION OF DATA-PROTECTION FIRM CARBONITE
Software consolidator Open Text announced the acquisition of Boston-based data-protection company Carbonite for $23.00 per share in cash, representing a transaction value of $1.4 billion and a premium of 78%. Before the deal was announced, Carbonite shares were down -38% over the past year.
APARTMENT REIT CONTINUUM SCRAPS IPO AND SELLS TO STARLIGHT INSTEAD FOR $1.7 BILLION
Despite heavy investor demand, apartment REIT Continuum decided to scrap its IPO and sell to private investment firm Starlight instead for $1.7 billion. The REIT was planning on going public on the TSX at $15.50 — $16.50 per unit, but ended up being acquired for $20.10, representing a premium of 22% — 30%.
Recommended Articles, Podcasts, Books and Tweets
Listen to Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman on how he took his upstart private equity firm from a small, two-person operation to a leading alternative investment firm managing a half trillion dollars.
Apple’s market cap of $1.17 trillion now exceeds the entire U.S. energy sector at $1.13 trillion.
Canada’s largest pension plan, CPPIB, sold its entire stake in TMX Group for $465 million.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed a new stake in furniture retailer RH Corp.
Under Armour engaged in channel stuffing to boost quarterly sales figures. Now there’s a criminal probe and securities fraud investigation.
Another study shows that “in a true apples-to-apples comparison, private-equity firms do not outperform public equities”.
Many institutional investors are blind to how risky private equity investments are.
A profile on Goldman Sachs CEO, and part-time nightclub DJ (under the moniker DJ D-Sol), David Solomon.
China’s great venture capital boom has fizzled, with VC fundraising at its lowest since 2013.
Despite the Vision Fund’s recent troubles, investment firms are rushing to launch late stage private growth (pre-IPO) equity funds.
Students as a new asset class? Funding education for a cut of future income of graduates gains steam as investors pursue yield.
Mining royalty company Triple Flag, founded by former Barrick Gold Corp. chief financial officer Shaun Usmar, is looking to complete a $350 million Canadian mining IPO.
Drake gets into the cannabis business through a partnership with Canopy Growth.
The best predictor of future stock price performance? Free cash flow divided by enterprise value.
Here are Bank of America’s top 10 investment themes to watch over the next decade.
Sweden’s central bank plans on ending its experiment with negative interest rates, with the market expecting a rate hike from -0.25% to 0.0% in December.
AbbVie sells $30 billion of investment grade bonds to fund its acquisition of Allergan.
Hedge fund Citadel names James Yeh as Co-CIO.
Toronto-based startup 1Password raised $200 million in venture capital.
Pop star Taylor Swift is caught up in a fight with private equity firm Carlyle Group over the rights to her music.
How an investment from SoftBank’s vision fund destroyed some companies and hurt workers.
