—— BlackRock Acquires Preqin for $3.2bn; BYD Sales Break New Record in Second Quarter; Robinhood Acquires AI-Driven Advisory Firm; Boeing Acquires Spirit AeroSystems; Boeing Acquires Spirit AeroSystems; Keith Gill Discloses $260mn Stake in Chewy; Millennium Management Returns 6.9% in 2024; Ownership to Sell Boston Celtics
1. BlackRock Acquires Preqin for $3.2bn
BlackRock Inc.’s expansion into private markets is set to make Preqin founder Mark O’Hare wealthier than his new boss, Larry Fink.
The world’s largest money manager is acquiring Preqin for £2.55 billion ($3.2 billion) in an all-cash deal. O’Hare, who owns nearly 80% of the data firm through his holding company Valhalla Ventures, is expected to net roughly $2 billion after taxes, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In a statement announcing the deal, O’Hare, 65, said, “Together with BlackRock, we can accelerate our efforts to deliver better private-markets data and analytics to all of our clients at scale.” He will join New York-based BlackRock as a vice chair.
Larry Fink, BlackRock’s founder, has a net worth of $1.7 billion, as per the index. BlackRock had $10.5 trillion in client assets at the end of March.
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2. BYD Sales Break New Record in Second Quarter
BYD Co. achieved record-breaking sales of electric and hybrid cars in the second quarter, according to sales data compiled by Bloomberg News. Price cuts and new technology spurred consumers into purchases, propelling China’s top-selling car brand to nearly 1 million units sold during this period. This strong performance solidifies a rebound after a sluggish start to the year.
BYD’s strategic decision to reduce prices across most models earlier this year, targeting gasoline models made by foreign brands, contributed significantly to this sales surge, even at the expense of profitability.
In terms of purely electric vehicles, the Shenzhen-based auto giant sold 426,000 units in the second quarter, putting it close to overtaking Tesla Inc. as the world’s largest EV seller. Analysts project Tesla to sell 441,019 EVs in the same period, but the company is facing a sales slump in key markets such as China and Europe.
In the period between April and June, BYD sold a record 982,747 passenger vehicles. In June alone, the company sold 340,211 electric and hybrid passenger vehicles, marking a new monthly record. Additionally, exports exceeded 100,000 units for the first time in a quarter, despite rising trade tensions.
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3. Robinhood Acquires AI-Driven Advisory Firm
Robinhood Markets Inc. has agreed to acquire the artificial-intelligence research platform Pluto Capital Inc., aiming to enhance its tailored investment strategies and analysis for retail brokerage users.
Pluto, founded by 24-year-old Jacob Sansbury, is renowned for its AI-driven personalized investment advice and real-time analytics. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“They have built an impressive platform that is highly regarded in the financial-services industry,” Mayank Agarwal, Robinhood’s vice president of engineering, said in a statement on Monday. “Their expertise in artificial intelligence, coupled with a mission-aligned passion to democratize finance, will complement our team’s effort to bring AI-powered tools to our customers.”
In recent years, Robinhood has expanded its services to include cryptocurrency, retirement products, and credit cards. Despite this growth, the company remains focused on serving average retail traders.
Pluto’s capabilities in analyzing market information and individual portfolios will help Robinhood make more precise investment recommendations for its users.
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4. Boeing Acquires Spirit AeroSystems
Boeing has agreed to acquire Spirit AeroSystems in a deal valuing the airline supplier at $4.7 billion, following months of negotiations involving both Boeing and its European rival, Airbus.
The total transaction value is approximately $8.3 billion, including Spirit’s last reported net debt, Boeing announced on Monday. The deal, which values Spirit at about $37.25 per share, will reunite the supplier with Boeing after two decades of separation.
Spirit reached an agreement with Boeing after securing a separate deal with Airbus. Under this arrangement, Airbus will take over parts of Spirit’s work on some of its key aircraft programs.
As part of the agreement, Airbus will assume the work that Spirit performs for its A220 and A350 aircraft programs at various sites around the world, including in Northern Ireland, the US, France, and Morocco.
Airbus will receive $559 million in compensation from Spirit for taking over the loss-making work, with the European plane maker paying a symbolic $1 for the assets.
Spirit also announced plans to sell some businesses, including those in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that are not related to Airbus, as well as operations in Prestwick, Scotland, and Malaysia.
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5. Keith Gill Discloses $260mn Stake in Chewy
Chewy Inc. shares surged as much as 10% on Monday after Keith Gill, known online as “Roaring Kitty,” disclosed a 6.6% passive stake in the online pet food and product retailer.
According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Gill owns roughly 9 million Class A shares, valued at approximately $260 million based on Monday’s trading. This disclosure follows a brief spike in the shares of Chewy and Petco Health and Wellness Co. last week after Gill posted a cartoon image of a dog on X. Since the start of May, Chewy’s stock has jumped more than 90%, although it remains 76% below its 2021 peak.
“This is a game changer,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. “Having a position sizable enough to justify a filing is very different than signaling moves via cryptic memes.”
Keith Gill, who gained fame in 2021 by rallying retail traders around GameStop Corp., returned to social media earlier this year, triggering a volatile period for the shares of GameStop as well as other so-called meme stocks. His recent disclosure of a significant stake in Chewy Inc. has similarly influenced market activity, showcasing his continued impact on retail trading dynamics.
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6. Millennium Management Returns 6.9% in 2024
Millennium Management, one of the world’s largest and most well-known hedge funds, achieved a 6.9% return by the end of June, according to a source familiar with the matter. The New York-headquartered hedge fund, which manages over $67.7 billion in investor assets, had a 10% return the previous year.
Millennium operates as a multi-manager hedge fund, employing hundreds of trading teams across various asset classes and strategies. This structure is controlled by a centralized risk system to prevent significant losses.
The multi-manager hedge fund sector, which includes competitors like Ken Griffin’s Citadel and Steve Cohen’s Point72, has been the fastest-growing segment of the hedge fund market.
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7. Ownership to Sell Boston Celtics
The owners of the Boston Celtics announced on Monday that they plan to sell the team, just weeks after winning their league-record 18th national basketball championship.
The Celtics are anticipated to set a record price for an NBA team, having been valued by Forbes at $4.7 billion in October. The team was purchased for $360 million in 2002 by a group led by Massachusetts native and venture capitalist Wyc Grousbeck, Bain Capital’s Stephen Pagliuca, and real estate developer Robert Epstein. Pagliuca also owns Italian football team Atalanta, the 2024 Europa League champions.
In a statement, the team said that the board of the ownership group, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, “expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028” and that Grousbeck will remain as team governor until 2028. The decision to sell the Celtics was made by the Grousbecks “for estate and family planning considerations” as the controlling family.
The Celtics recently defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, solidifying their status as the most successful club in league history and earning their second championship under the current ownership.
The NBA is currently negotiating its next round of broadcast media rights, with fees expected to roughly double from their current average of $2.7 billion per year.
Source: Financial Times – NBA champion Boston Celtics to be put up for sale by ownership group
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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。