Tag Archives: acquire

Technology

Microsoft Is in Exclusive Talks to Acquire Discord

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Microsoft Corp. is in advanced talks to acquire messaging platform Discord Inc. for $10 billion or more, according to people familiar with the matter, as the software giant seeks to deepen its consumer offerings.

Microsoft and Discord are in exclusive talks and could complete a deal next month, assuming the negotiations don’t fall apart, the people said.

Originally favored by gamers, San Francisco-based Discord offers voice, text and video chatting. The platform’s popularity has surged since the pandemic took hold as people stay home and connect online—as has that of other chat services, like Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp and Signal Messenger LLC. Discord has been considering an IPO.

Microsoft, which has a market value of more than $1.7 trillion, has been on the hunt for an acquisition that would help it reach more consumers. Last summer, it held talks to buy the popular video-sharing app TikTok amid a high-profile geopolitical standoff prompted by the Trump administration, before abandoning the effort.

VentureBeat reported this week that Discord was exploring a sale and had entered exclusive discussions with an unnamed suitor.

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Sports

Seahawks Acquire Guard Gabe Jackson In Trade With Raiders

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In his end-of-season press conference, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll singled out the interior offensive line as an area where the team can “grow and get better,” and following the start of the new league year, Seattle wasted little time in taking a step to get better there, acquiring guard Gabe Jackson in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders that became official over the weekend with all trade conditions being satisfied. 

To acquire Jackson, the Seahawks are sending their fifth-round pick in this year’s draft to Las Vegas.

Jackson, 29, has started 99 of 100 games played over his seven-year career with the Raiders, including all 16 games last season. He played left guard his first two seasons, then moved to right guard for the past five years.

With Mike Iupati, Seattle’s starting left guard the past two seasons, retiring earlier this offseason, Jackson would seem a likely candidate to take over that job unless the Seahawks think the better guard combination involves moving Damien Lewis from right guard to left guard in order to keep Jackson at the position he has played more recently in his career.

Jackson figures to help bolster Seattle’s pass protection in particular, having not allowed a sack in 2020, according to Pro Football Focus. In four of Jackson’s seven seasons, the Raiders have finished in the top 10 in the NFL for fewest sacks allowed, including a 2016 season in which the Raiders gave up a league-low 18 sacks, with Jackson being named a Pro-Bowl alternate.

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Sports

Fenway Sports Group adds LeBron James as partner, approves deal to jump-start plan to acquire more teams

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The other development introduced another new FSG partner who needs no introduction: LeBron James.

James, one of the most recognizable, influential, and richest athletes on the global stage, now owns an undisclosed amount of FSG shares after previously holding an approximately 2 percent share of the Liverpool soccer franchise since 2011.

By becoming a partner in FSG, the Los Angeles Lakers star also will become a part-owner of the Red Sox as well as other FSG subsidiaries, including NESN, Roush Fenway Racing, and Fenway Sports Management.

James’s potential to enhance the brand value of FSG properties is significant, and even more so given that RedBird’s investment will help give FSG the spending power it needs to expand its portfolio and begin adding to its list of properties.

Also joining James as a new FSG partner is Maverick Carter, James’s longtime business partner and friend. Carter and James become the first Black partners in FSG’s history.

On FSG’s shopping wish list are NFL and NBA franchises, another European soccer club, NHL, MLS, WNBA, and NWSL teams, plus sports betting, esports, and data analytics companies.

The RedBird cash infusion will give the New York-based firm an 11 percent stake of FSG, which will have an enterprise value of approximately $7.35 billion. FSG will have $600 million-$700 million in debt, with more than $600 million cash going out to existing partners.

FSG principal owner John Henry (who also owns the Boston Globe) will retain control of the Boston-based sports conglomerate, with governance remaining unchanged among FSG chairman Tom Werner and FSG president Michael Gordon. Werner’s FSG stake remains second-largest, while Gordon’s shares will drop to fourth.

FSM, the consulting and marketing arm of FSG, has worked with James for more than a decade on assorted marketing and endorsement ventures.

Much of the RedBird Capital Partners investment will be earmarked for FSM, the latest signal that James is about to play a more prominent role in FSG operations. In the fall of 2019, FSG successfully switched Liverpool’s uniform sponsorship to Nike after ending a long relationship with Boston-based New Balance shoe and apparel company.

James is a Nike client and in 2015 inked a lifetime deal with the world’s leading shoe and sports apparel company believed to be in excess of $1 billion.

In the past year, FSG received an undisclosed investment from one of its newer partners, the Dallas-based Arctos Sports Partners.

According to the source, FSG views the RedBird investment as a first step in its pursuit of new acquisitions and partnerships.

Forbes’s most recent valuation of FSG placed it at $6.6 billion, good for a fourth-place spot on the sports empire list, one spot ahead of the Yankees’ parent company ($6.4 billion). At that valuation, FSG was behind Jerry Jones’s holdings (Dallas Cowboys plus real estate, hospitality service, esports) worth $6.98 billion, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment ($8.73 billion), owner of the Los Angeles Rams, Arsenal FC (Premier League), Denver Nuggets, and Colorado Avalanche, and Liberty Media ($13 billion), owner of Formula 1, Atlanta Braves, and the Drone Racing League.

FSG, then known as New England Sports Ventures, started with its $700 million purchase of the Red Sox in 2002. Forbes last valued the Red Sox at $3.3 billion.

FSG’s second significant splash came in 2010, when it snatched up Liverpool for $493 million soon after a global recession had left its previous owners cash-strapped.

KPMG recently valued Liverpool at $2.6 billion, which would mean James’s reported initial 2 percent investment of $6.5 million has grown to some $52 million.

RedBird Capital is led by investor Gerry Cardinale.

Last fall, Cardinale and Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s executive of “Moneyball” fame, launched RedBall Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company that seeks a company to invest in and take public, that reportedly had its eyes on a $1.5 billion investment in FSG that would have taken FSG public at a valuation worth more than $8 billion.

The RedBall-FSG public-company gambit did not work out after FSG decided to remain a private company when the SPAC met price resistance from public investors.

Still of the belief that they shared similar visions of growth opportunities in the sports industry, FSG and Cardinale, who also sits on the boards of both the Yankees’ parent company and their YES network, switched to a private tack that led to the current investment.

According to SEC filings last year, one of Fenway Sports Group’s limited partners, Seth Klarman, and his Baupost Group hedge fund recently invested $52 million in RedBall.

Last July, Cardinale and RedBird purchased 85 percent of the French second-division Toulouse FC soccer team. Cardinale has spoken since of the multiple investment opportunities to be found in European soccer leagues.

Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeSilvermanBB.



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Sports

Rays To Acquire Chris Mazza, Jeffrey Springs From Red Sox

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9:00am: The two sides have agreed to the trade of Mazza and Springs for Hernandez and Sogard, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

8:09am: The Rays and Red Sox are moving toward a trade that would send recently designated-for-assignment pitchers Chris Mazza and Jeffrey Springs from Boston to Tampa Bay in exchange for minor league catcher Ronaldo Hernandez and another Rays farmhand, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter thread). MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets that 23-year-old Nick Sogard, the Rays’ 12th-round pick in 2019, is the other player going to Boston in the deal.

Hernandez ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects as recently as the 2018-19 offseason, so it’s a bit of a surprise to see the Rays deal him and another minor leaguer in exchange for a pair of recently DFA’ed arms. Hernandez’s prospect stock has tumbled in recent seasons, however, and the Rays are likely aiming to stockpile as much optionable pitching depth as possible to get them through a 2021 season when most pitchers will be on limited workloads.

Mazza, 31, has spent time in the Majors with the Mets and Red Sox across the past two seasons but hasn’t matched his strong Triple-A results. In 46 1/3 big league innings, he’s posted a 5.05 ERA and 4.96 SIERA with sub-par strikeout (21.3), walk (11.0) and ground-ball (35.4) percentages. Mazza does carry a 3.72 ERA in 92 Triple-A frames and a 3.24 mark in 283 2/3 Double-A innings, but he’s been with five MLB organizations (Twins, Marlins, Mariners, Mets, Red Sox) and hasn’t carried those results to the big leagues yet.

The 2020 season was Springs’ first with the Red Sox, and it proved to be a struggle. In 20 1/3 frames, the former Rangers southpaw was tagged for a 7.08 ERA. He struck out 28 percent of his opponents against just a seven percent walk rate, but five of the 99 opponents Springs faced took him deep. He has a 5.42 ERA and 4.66 FIP in 84 2/3 innings at the Major League level between the Texas and Boston organizations.

Mazza limited hard contact reasonably well in 2020, while Springs showed plenty of aptitude for missing bats even if he yielded too many long balls. Both figure to be shuttled back and forth between the Rays’ Triple-A club in Durham and their MLB roster throughout the season. The Rays surely believe they can coax more out of both players as well, either by tinkering with their pitch mixes or altering their approach with the existing arsenals of Mazza and Springs.

The trade also illustrates the volatility of prospects and serves as a reminder not to be too beholden to prospect lists, which are typically just a snapshot in time anyhow. Hernandez posted big numbers in Rookie ball and had a strong full-season debut in 2018 when he slashed .284/.339/.494 with 21 homers in 109 games. His 2019 season in Class-A Advanced, however, resulted in a lackluster .265/.299/.397 showing, though he did rebound with a good showing during 11 games of Arizona Fall League action.

Hernandez still ranked 13th among Tampa Bay prospects, per Baseball America, but perhaps the Rays’ internal evaluations vary. It’s tougher than ever to evaluate prospects right now after they didn’t have a minor league season in 2020 and weren’t as widely accessible for scouts. The Rays may feel that Hernandez’s stock is more diminished than the general public consensus. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, meanwhile, knows Hernandez quite well from his time as a Rays vice president and was likely more than content to roll the dice on a prospect at an organizational position of need when the cost was a pair of arms the Sox determined to be fringe 40-man contributors.

Boston will also pick up Sogard, a utility-infield type who is devoid of any power but can move around the diamond with a contact-driven skill set at the plate. Sogard hit all of two home runs in his NCAA career and slashed .290/.405/.313 in 63 games for the Rays’ short-season Class-A affiliate following the draft. He walked nearly as often as he struck out that year — a trend which aligns with his college days at Loyola Marymount.



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Sports

Mets acquire Khalil Lee in Royals-Red Sox Benintendi trade

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The Mets are fighting battles on multiple fronts this winter, in an attempt to win in 2021 while replenishing the farm system.

On the latter front, the organization added a piece Wednesday night, acquiring outfielder Khalil Lee from the Royals in a three-way trade that also included the Red Sox.

In the deal, the Mets surrendered (to Boston) pitcher Josh Winckowski, who arrived in the recent trade that sent Steven Matz to Toronto. The Mets will also surrender a player to be named later to complete the deal. Kansas City acquired Andrew Benintendi from Boston in the trade. Franchy Cordero went from Kansas City to Boston.

Lee, 22, was rated as the Royals’ No. 8 prospect by MLB pipeline. In 2019 he stole 53 bases at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he slashed .264/.363/.372 and played center field. He was selected by the Royals in the third round of the 2016 draft from Flint Hill School in Oakton, Va.

The trade fills a need for the Mets, who are thin on outfield prospects at the upper levels of the minor leagues. Outfielder Jarred Kelenic, whom the Mets selected in the first round of the 2018 draft, was dealt to the Mariners in the trade that brought Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano to New York. Last summer, the Mets used their first-round pick on high school outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

In the trade for Matz last month, the Mets acquired minor league pitchers Sean Reid-Foley and Yennsy Diaz from Toronto, in addition to Winckowski.

The Mets officially announced the signing of Albert Almora Jr. to a one-year contract. To create space on the 40-man roster, Corey Oswalt was designated for assignment. Once Jonathan Villar’s signing becomes official, the Mets will need to open another roster space.

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Business

Klobuchar antitrust legislation would make it harder for big companies to acquire small ones

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Fox Business Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Thursday is introducing legislation that would make it harder for big companies displaying anticompetitive behavior to acquire smaller companies.

The Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act aims to make it easier for lawmakers to push back against anticompetitive conduct and mergers and improve enforcement actions.

“Competition and effective antitrust enforcement are critical to protecting workers and consumers, spurring innovation, and promoting economic equity,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “While the United States once had some of the most effective antitrust laws in the world, our economy today faces a massive competition problem. We can no longer sweep this issue under the rug and hope our existing laws are adequate.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, speaks during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee confirmation hearing for Denis McDonough. (Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via AP)

She added that the new legislation “is the first step to overhauling and modernizing our laws so we can effectively promote competition and protect American consumers.”

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Klobuchar is a staunch critic of big tech and has pressed the country’s largest companies on what appears to be anti-competitive behavior, such as Facebook’s purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp, which were approved by the U.S. government. She has also criticized Google’s use of customer data to strengthen its leading position in the search engine and digital advertising markets.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
FB FACEBOOK INC. 265.80 -0.85 -0.32%
GOOGL ALPHABET INC. 2,046.02 -12.86 -0.62%

The Minnesota senator and other big tech critics have argued that big companies use their dominant positions to purchase smaller companies and drive out marketplace competition.

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Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Ed Markey of Massachusetts are cosponsoring the bill.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., wears a protective mask during a confirmation hearing for Transportation Secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg. (Stefani Reynolds/Pool via AP)

The Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act seeks to increase the annual budget for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission; stop anticompetitive mergers by updating Section 7 of the Clayton Act; create a new provision in the Clayton Act to stop “exclusionary conduct” that could lead to “appreciable risk of harming competition”; establish a new FTC division; and introduce reforms implement a series of reforms to prevent anticompetitive behavior.

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Consumer Reports senior policy counsel George Slover commended Klobuchar for the bill.

“Consumer Reports appreciates Senator Klobuchar’s steady leadership in working to strengthen our antitrust laws to equip them to protect a competitive marketplace and the benefits that consumers, small businesses, and workers receive from it,” Slover said. “This legislation gives our antitrust laws an important re-set. It ensures that harmful merger trends and exclusionary conduct can be stopped before it is too late and the harm is locked in.”

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He added that the bill “extends the reach of the law so that blocking others from a fair chance to compete is a violation, even before a monopoly results” and “gives our government the enforcement authority and resources needed for effective deterrence.”

The Minnesota senator is expected to formally introduce the bill later on Thursday.

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Business

UPDATE: Jazz Pharmaceuticals to acquire GW Pharma for $7.2 billion in cash and stock, GW soars 46% premarket

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Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc
JAZZ,
+1.32%
said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire GW Pharmaceuticals Plc
GWPH,
+1.51%
in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $7.2 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Jazz Pharma will pay $200 per share in cash and $20 in stock for each share owned, or a premium of about 50% over GW’s closing price on Tuesday, and 60% over its 30-day volume weighted average price. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, to boost profit in the first year after close and to drive double-digit revenue growth. GW is a leader in therapies based on its proprietary cannabinoid product platform to treat a number of diseases. The company was the first to receive FDA approval for a CBD-based treatment for severe forms of childhood epilepsy in its Epidiolex lead product. Jazz makes sleep medications and has a growing oncology business. GW Pharma shares soared 46% premarket after resuming trade following a halt for the news. Jazz shares were down 2.7% premarket, but have gained 11% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+1.39%
has gained 18%.

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Sports

Los Angeles Angels acquire veteran pitcher Alex Cobb from Baltimore Orioles

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The Los Angeles Angels announced their acquisition of veteran right-hander Alex Cobb from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night in a deal that might solidify the team’s starting-pitching depth for 2021.

The Angels will part with young utility player Jahmai Jones as part of the deal. They will pay only a third of the $15 million owed to Cobb in 2021, some of which is deferred, according to The Athletic.

Cobb, 33, established himself early on with the Tampa Bay Rays, going 32-21 with a 3.19 ERA in 446 innings in his mid-20s from 2012 to 2014, then spent most of the next two years recovering from Tommy John surgery. He compiled 331⅔ innings and a 4.23 ERA from 2017 to 2018 and was named the Orioles’ Opening Day starter to begin 2019, but he was limited to only three starts that year and underwent hip surgery.

Cobb remained healthy for most of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, posting a 4.30 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 18 walks in 52⅓ innings. He joins an Angels rotation that is also expected to include Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning and Shohei Ohtani, who will return to a two-way role.

All of the players acquired by first-year general manager Perry Minasian — Cobb, Quintana, shortstop Jose Iglesias, closer Raisel Iglesias, catcher Kurt Suzuki and lefty reliever Alex Claudio — will be free agents at season’s end.

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