By Davit Kirakosyan
Here is your Pro Recap of 6 head-turning deal dispatches and insider trades you may have missed last week: deals at Hasbro and Lions Gate, KKR and Paramount Global, and New Relic and Francisco Partners/TPG, and top brass buys at Exxon Mobil , Yellow, and NASDAQ.
InvestingPro subscribers got this news first. Never miss another market-moving headline.
Hasbro to sell its eOne Film & TV business to Lions Gate
Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) announced on Thursday that it agreed to sell its eOne film and TV business to Lions Gate (NYSE:LGFb) for approximately $500 million, as reported in real time on InvestingPro.
The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of this year, is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals.
Hasbro plans to utilize the proceeds to retire at least $400M of floating rate debt before the year-end, in addition to fulfilling other general corporate purposes.
KKR in talks to buy Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global
KKR (NYSE:KKR) is currently in advanced discussions to purchase book publisher Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) for $1.65 billion, according to a Reuters report on Thursday, which cited people familiar with the matter.
KKR faced competition from other bidders, including HarperCollins Publishers, which is owned by News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), and investor Richard Hurowitz, as per the same sources. If the ongoing talks reach a successful conclusion, an official announcement of the deal is expected to be made in the next few days.
Paramount attempted to sell Simon & Schuster for the second time after its previous $2.2B agreement with Penguin Random House collapsed last year as a federal judge blocked the deal.
The acquisition of Simon & Schuster by KKR is not anticipated to raise competition concerns with U.S. regulators, which were a significant factor leading to the collapse of the previous Penguin deal, according to the sources.
New Relic to be acquired by Francisco Partners and TPG for $6.5B
Last Monday, New Relic (NYSE:NEWR) shares jumped more than 13% following the company's announcement of a definite agreement for its acquisition by Francisco Partners and TPG (NASDAQ:TPG). The agreed-upon price for the acquisition is $87.00 per share in cash, resulting in an overall equity valuation of approximately $6.5B for New Relic.
ExxonMobil director Ubben buys $20M in stock
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) director, Jeffrey Ubben of In-Cap Funds, purchased 192,000 common shares, worth over $20M, at $106.26-$106.82.
Ubben owns 1,827,000 shares indirectly via In-Cap Funds and another 13,000 shares directly following the latest purchases.
Yellow insider MFN Partners buys another 9M shares
MFN Partners bought 9,295,852 shares of Yellow (NASDAQ:YELL) at $0.83-$1.49. The firm's total ownership in Yellow now stands at 22,067,795 shares, accounting for approximately 42.5% of the outstanding shares.
The news comes as Yellow reportedly shut down operations over the weekend and is preparing to file for bankruptcy.
NASDAQ CEO buys over $500,000 in stock
Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Chair and CEO, Adena Friedman, bought 10,000 common shares, worth over $500,000, at $51.
Friedman owns 1,672,318 shares directly and 147,000 shares indirectly following the latest purchase.
Get ready to supercharge your investment strategy with our exclusive discounts.
Don't miss out on this limited-time opportunity to access cutting-edge tools, real-time market analysis, and expert insights. Join InvestingPro today and unlock your investing potential. Hurry, the Summer Sale won't last forever!
