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Last month, Atlas Crest Investment Corp., chaired by founder of Moelis & Company Ken Moelis, agreed to merge with electric aircraft company Archer Aviation, in a deal that values the company at around $3.8bn. Despite Archer having not generated any revenues or created a commercially viable product as of yet, Continue Reading -
On Friday February 19th, following a lengthy legal fight, Uber lost a momentous battle at the Supreme Court in one of the most significant employment cases in recent decades. The UK’s highest court ruled against the firm, concluding that its drivers should be classed as workers rather than independent third-party Continue Reading -
With the huge amounts of government spending that have taken place throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it is no surprise the question of how it will be paid for has arisen. For the month of January 2021, the UK government budget was £8.8bn in the red; the first time there has Continue Reading -
Italy is a country that has faced numerous economic and social problems in the past decade, and has been struggling to integrate into the world economy. These problems include political volatility and excessive bureaucratism for firms, and have hindered economic progress for numerous decades as the country fell behind its Continue Reading -
The biotech industry has stolen the limelight after being pushed to the forefront of people’s minds as the world races to manufacture vaccines and restore a sense of normality. Early this month, we passed a historic milestone – the number of Covid-19 vaccinations globally finally surpassed the total number of Continue Reading -
On February 11th 2021, Kraft Heinz agreed to sell its Planters peanuts and snacks business to rival Hormel Foods, owner of Spam, for $3.35bn in an all-cash deal. The transaction, expected to close in the first half of this year, follows Kraft Heinz’s $3.2bn sale of its cheese business to Continue Reading -
In October 2020, billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, owners of EG Group, together with TDR Capital, announced the purchase of a majority stake in Asda, the UK’s third largest supermarket, that valued the company at £6.8bn. Rishi Sunak was quick to praise the buyers for “returning ASDA to majority Continue Reading -
China’s Property Bubble: Will it Stabilise or Burst? Long-sustained housing investment has been consistently observed in China over the last decade, which has prompted both fear and trepidation amongst economists, analysts and governments globally. The signs of overbuilding are apparent. The debt levels are high. At the peak of the Continue Reading -
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta is taking his restaurant and casino empire public by merging with Fast Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that raised $200m in its IPO in August 2020, taking advantage of recent investor enthusiasm for SPAC deals. After a difficult period for the company due to Continue Reading -
On February 1st 2021, private space enterprise Astra announced its merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Holicity. The deal, which values Astra at $2.1bn, aims to see the company go public in Q2 of 2021 and represents a raise of $500m in capital for the space enterprise. The company Continue Reading -
On September 10th 2020, Citigroup announced Jane Fraser is set to take over from current CEO Michael Corbat when he steps down in February 2021. This makes them the first big Wall Street bank to be run by a female CEO, a great achievement for the bank despite being long Continue Reading -
The events of the past week (beginning 25th of January), have challenged the role that retail traders in the global financial markets have traditionally played. The demographic has never had as much influence as it currently does, as it disrupts spaces previously dominated by large institutions such as hedge funds, Continue Reading -
Matchmaking is a lucrative business. On January 15th 2021, Bumble — the women-centric dating app — filed for its initial public offering (IPO). This filing is set to be yet another successful listing in the booming US consumer tech-led IPO market. Despite Bumble’s niche user base and growing popularity within Continue Reading -
As of the time of writing, the current valuation of GameStop stands at 8.94bn USD with a closing price on January 28th of $193.60 per common unit — this is after a one-day drop of 44%. It truly is a sign of the times when in a short few days Continue Reading -
Around the world, sports organising bodies, teams, and leagues have been hugely impacted financially by the pandemic, suspended for a period of time and deprived of vital ticket revenues. In 2020, it’s estimated that the three big US sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB) lost $13bn in revenue, the English Premier Continue Reading -
With the inauguration of the 46th US President on Wednesday January 20th, a new page turned for the US economy. Stocks opened higher on Wall Street ahead of the inauguration ceremony. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 1% shortly after the open, while the Dow Jones Index (^DJI) was up Continue Reading -
On 23rd April 2020, the CMA, a government regulatory body charged with promoting domestic competition, announced their approval of the prospective £6.2 billion merger of Just Eat and Takeaway.com. Following the exit of Takeaway.com from the UK online food delivery market in 2016, the CMA concluded the firm would be unlikely to re-enter Continue Reading -
A fortnight ago, I had the pleasure of speaking to Raja Palaniappan, CEO of Origin Markets. Origin Markets is one of the hottest fintech start-ups operating out of London, the fintech capital of the world. The hour spent with Raja provided a unique insight as to his inspiration behind the Continue Reading -
With the start of 2021 ushering in a new era for Britain, having left the EU’s single market, the agreed trade deal continues to be debated and questioned. But with a deal on financial services to be negotiated separately in the coming months, there is uncertainty surrounding the sector which Continue Reading -
On November 9th 2020, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced preliminary results of a medical study suggesting the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, with an efficacy of 90% in preventing COVID-19 in candidates facing exposure to the virus for the first time. The study comprised 43,538 participants, with those receiving the active Continue Reading -
To cap off an extraordinary year for businesses worldwide, Salesforce has officially announced on the 1st of December, 2020 that it would be acquiring collaboration software developer Slack for $27.7 billion USD. This acquisition would go down as the second largest software transaction in history, the price of which represents Continue Reading -
On 14th December 2020, AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire one of the biotech giants, Alexion, for $39 billion in cash and stock. The offer price was $175 per share with a 45% premium on top of its last trading price. AstraZeneca, the acquirer, is a red-hot global pharmaceutical company with its Continue Reading -
On November 30 2020, financial data provider S&P Global decided to buy financial analytics company IHS Markit for $44bn. The deal will create a financial data and analytics giant, well-positioned to compete with Bloomberg — the current market-leader in the financial data provider space. The takeover follows a series of Continue Reading -
Bitcoin hit an all-time high again. Of course, not before slumping shortly afterwards. It peaked at an intraday all-time high of $19,510, more than 300% above its low point in March earlier this year. It last attained such numbers in December 2017, a year which saw its value skyrocket nearly Continue Reading
