Diversity Goals Can Be Achieved When Businesses Implement Plans As the old adage goes, “actions speak louder than words.” Companies have devoted significant time, energy and resources into diversity and inclusion initiatives with the ultimate objective of improving representation. However, without concrete steps to make these goals actionable, diversity [...]
Fintech Acquisitions Focus of Payment Companies Visa and Mastercard Top payment companies Visa and Mastercard both made major fintech acquisitions in 2020. These fintech acquisitions are a sign that traditional financial institutions are embracing the need for technology-focused payment solutions. Visa’s Acquisition of Plaid Visa announced it is acquiring [...]
Qumulo Reaches Unicorn Status Amid Demand for Cloud Data Storage Cloud data startup Qumulo raised $125 million in its latest Series E round, putting it in unicorn territory at a $1.2 billion valuation. Led by BlackRock and backed by Kleiner Perkins, Highland Capital Partners, Madrona Venture Group and Amity [...]
Chevron Acquisition of Noble Energy May Signal End of M&A Downturn Chevron Corp. reported recently that it had arrived at a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Noble Energy, Inc. The all-stock transaction is valued at $5 billion, or $10.38 per share. Assuming Chevron’s July 17th closing price [...]
Packaged Food and Beverage M&A Activity Rebounds Undoubtedly, the global outbreak of the coronavirus has had a dramatic and negative impact on the daily lives of all people. COVID-19 has also had a significant effect M&A activity in the United States. Another outstanding year of M&A volume through February [...]
B Corps vs. Benefit Corporations: Understanding the Key Distinctions The terms “B Corp” and “Benefit Corporation” are often used interchangeably in common parlance, but they have distinct legal meanings. A number of prominent brands including Patagonia, Lemonade, Ben & Jerry’s, Warby Parker and Kickstarter have attained B Corp status. [...]
Wealth Management Industry Shows Decline in Pandemic Like Others The wealth management industry saw one of its most extraordinary periods for M&A activity in its history in Q2 2020. The most-recent Echelon RIA M&A Deal Report finds that there were 35 recorded deals in Q2. That is a 20% decline [...]
Cancer Drug Partnership Between AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo AstraZeneca PLC has announced that it has agreed to pay an estimated $6 billion to acquire Daiichi Sankyo Co., the manufacturer of a promising lung and breast cancer drug. It’s AstraZeneca’s second potential blockbuster oncology deal in the past two years. [...]
Global M&A Activity Down in Q2 Because of Coronavirus Global M&A activity dropped to its lowest point in over a decade in the second quarter of this year, according to data provider Refinitiv. Companies retreated from their growth and expansion plans to concentrate on protecting their operations and employees [...]
Western Union and MoneyGram Might Need to Merge to Survive The COVID-19 pandemic has literally made paper money a dirty word, making consumers choose electronic forms of payment, rather than handling bills. In fact, a 2002 report in the Southern Medical Journal showed pathogens, including staphylococcus, were found on 94% of [...]
Corporate Divestiture Plans Placed on Hold During Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed or stopped most every type of business transaction for the past five months. Nearly every industry’s M&A activity has been impacted by the coronavirus. And like many areas that were expected to surge in 2020, the corporate divestiture sector [...]
Accounts Receivable Management M&A: Rate of Closed Deals Collapsed Like so many industries and sectors of business, the beginning of 2020 held much promise for U.S. accounts receivable management companies. The M&A markets were attractive for buyers and sellers, but now in the middle of the pandemic, what does [...]
The Browser Company Raises $5M Seed Round to Compete with Chrome The Browser Company, a New York-based software startup being considered a potential competitor to the popular Google Chrome browser, recently raised a $5 million seed round from a number of Silicon Valley heavyweights. This group of high-profile investors [...]
Installment Payment Providers See Strong Activity Despite COVID-19 Installment payment providers have gained a significant hold in the US market in the past year-and-a-half. Some of this traction has been a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created uniquely favorable conditions for accelerated growth. Experts believe that the [...]
Aerospace M&A During the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Has it Fared? Even before the upheaval of the global economy with the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the aerospace industry was trying to recover from the 737MAX suspension at the end of last year by Boeing. Boeing selected numerous dates for the plane’s [...]
Auth0 Raises $120M Series F Round: Rising Demand for ID Management The identity management platform Auth0 recently raised $120M in a Series F round led by Salesforce Ventures and backed by Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP), Bessemer Venture Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Meritech Capital, Trinity Ventures, World Innovation Lab, Telstra [...]
Government Contracting M&A Could Make "Slow and Cautious" Return With the global economy continuing to suffer from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the news has been bereft of M&A activity. However, federal government vendors saw some government contracting deals getting done inside the Beltway in the Washington, DC [...]
Acquiring Banks: Bankers Respond to Credit Unions’ Proposed Rule The American Bankers Association (ABA) issued a terse response to the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) proposal for new rules concerning credit unions acquiring banks. The NCUA’s plan would expand an already swift expansion of credit unions, says a letter [...]
Insurance Brokerages and Agencies May Be Prime Acquisition TargetsLike many sectors that enjoyed a strong start in January, insurance M&A activity in the first quarter abated quickly as COVID-19 became a growing concern.At the beginning of 2020, well-capitalized acquiring companies signaled that they were ready to spend their money. But [...]
National Instruments to Acquire Israeli Data-Analytics Software Company National Instruments in Austin, Texas has announced its plans to acquire OptimalPlus Ltd., an Israeli company that makes data-analytics software for semiconductor, automotive and electronics companies. The deal is for $365 million, which will come from both cash on hand and [...]
