What You Need To Know For September 26th

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The Main Stories 🔍

September consumer confidence falls the most in three years. Consumers’ view on the economy tumbled in September, falling by the largest level in more than three years as fear grew about jobs and business conditions. The board’s consumer confidence index slid to 98.7, down from 105.6 in August.

Each of the five components the organization samples fared worse on the month, with the biggest fall coming among those aged 35-54 and earning less than $50K. In addition to the drop in confidence index, the present situation measure worsened by 10.3 points to 124.3 and the expectations index was off 4.6 points to 81.7. A reading below 80 on the expectations measure is consistent with a recession.

Respondents concerns focused mostly on jobs and inflation. “The proportion of consumers anticipating a recession over the next 12 months remained low but there was a slight uptick in the percentage of consumers believing the economy was already in recession,” Peterson said.

More Headlines 🍿 

• Qualcomm’s potential bid for Intel turns the spotlight on their products. A deal would unite Qualcomm’s mobile focused Snapdragon line with Intel’s dominant PC and server chip divisions, creating a semiconductor powerhouse. The conversations with Intel are at an early stage. The San Diego-based company has not made a formal offer for Intel.

• What Goldman’s old HQ tells us about the real estate market. The storied lender’s former HQ in New York has been converted to apartments. According to Bloomberg News, the building, which acted as Goldman’s base from the 1960s to the 1980s, is now offering apartments that can be rented from about $4,000 per month.

• US seeks to ban Chinese software from cars, citing national security concerns. The Biden administration is looking to ban Chinese-made software from care because of national security concerns. “Cars today have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking, and other technologies connected to the internet. It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of U.S. citizens,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

• Marques Brownlee says “I hear you” after fans criticize his new wallpaper app. Brownlee revealed the new app as part of his iPhone 16 review on Monday - a video that’s usually among his biggest of the year. A flood of criticism about the Panels app quickly overshadowed comments about the new iPhone.

• Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years in prison for her tole in FTX scandal. Ellison arguably was the most important witness in the prosecution of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and her relatively lenient sentence reflected her cooperation.

• US justice department accuses Visa of illegal monopoly that adds to the price of ‘nearly everything’. The US Justice department filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing Visa of illegally monopolizing the debit card market. For more than a decade the department alleges, Visa has abused its dominant position in the debit card market.

• Two in three shoppers won’t buy products in locked display cases. Upon discovering that an item they want to buy is in a locked case, less than one in three shoppers (32%) get a store employee to unlock the case.

• Nancy Pelosi’s husband sold more than $500k worth of Visa stock - just weeks before DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit. Visa was hit with a lawsuit on Tuesday that alleged the company has illegally monopolized the debit cards market.

• US Labor Department reaches out to employer group amid possible port strike. the U.S. Department of Labor has reached out to the United States Maritime Alliance ahead of a threatened Oct. 1 port strike on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico by the International Longshoremen’s Association.

• Report: Friedkin Group agrees to Everton takeover. Series A club AS Roma owner Dan Friedkin has agreed to a takeover of Premier League club Everton FC, which has “struggled to find a buyer,” according to sources.

• Invitation Homes settles 3-year FTC investigation for $48M. The FTC announced on Tuesday that it is taking punitive action against the Dallas-based single-family home rental company.

• OpenAI CTO Mira Murati departs. Murati wrote in a memo to the company that she’s “stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration.”

• OpenAI is abandoning their non-profit structure and are planning to give Sam Altman equity. OpenAI is working on a plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation that will no longer be controlled by its non-profit board. The OpenAI non-profit will continue to exist and own a minority stake in the for-profit company.

• Goldman’s Marcus trims savings account yields to 4.25% following the Fed’s rate cut.

Earnings Corner 📜 

Micron (MU) reported earnings that beat estimates. Revenue of $7.75B was up 93% y/y (vs. $7.66B expected), and EPS was $1.18 (vs. $1.11 expected). Micron’s memory chip segment, which supplies components for Nvidia’s highly-demanded GPUs, was responsible for the surge in sales.  Mgmt. projected Q1 revenue of $8.5B-$8.8B (vs. $8.3B expected). The stock rose 14% after Wednesday’s close.

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M&A Transactions💭 

RLS Radiopharmacies, operator of a radiopharmacy network, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $250.0M by Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: TLX).

Point Energy Partners, operator of an oil and gas exploration company, was acquired for $1.1B by Norther Oil & Gas (NYS: NOG) and Vital Energy (NYS: VTLE). Jefferies advised on the sale.

Lumus Imaging, operator of a medical clinic, has entered a definitive agreement to be acquired for $965.0M by Affinity Equity Partners.

The Merchant Services Business Division of i3 Verticals was acquired for $440.0M Payroc. Raymond James advised on the sale.

Global Resources International, provider of comprehensive manufacturing and value-added services, was acquired for $120.0M by Tianjian Development.

Oaktree Capital Management reached a definitive agreement to acquire the Wealth Management Unit of Close Brother Group (LON: CBG). Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.

The Ansan Plant of AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired for $405.0M by SOMACIS.

Saeta Yield, operator of a renewable energy firm, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired for $1.55B by Masdar Capital. Banco Santander and Societe Generale advised on the sale.

Polar Semiconductor, manufacturer of automotive grade semiconductors, was acquired for $175.0M by Niobrara Capital Partners. The transaction values the company at $296.11M.

IQGeo (PINX: IQGLF), provider of mobile geospatial software, was acquired for $438.54M by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (NYS: KKR). Evercore Group and Cavendish Financial advised on the sale.

Equipment Transport, provider of logistics services, was acquired for $120.0M by Vivakor (NAS: VIVK).

Smartsheet (NYS: SMAR), provider of a collaborative work management software, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired for $7.9B by Blackstone (NYS: BX) and Vista Equity Partners. Qatalyst Partners advised on the sale.

Markforged (NYS: MKFG), 3D manufacturing company, has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired for $115.0M by Nano Dimension (NAS: NNDM).

Groupe HMY, manufacturer of furniture, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired for $355.2M by ITAB Shop Concept. Macquarie Capital advised on the sale.

Private Placement Transactions💭 

ViceBio, developer of innovative vaccines, raised $100.0M of Series B venture funding led by TCG Crossover Management, The Goldman Sachs Group, Avoro Ventures, and venBio.

D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments has reached a definitive agreement to receive approximately $1.725B of development capital from Macquarie Asset Management. Goldman Sachs advised on the transaction.

Celestia, developer of a modular consensus and data network platform, raised $100.0M of venture funding led by Bain Capital at a pre-money valuation of $3.4B.

EGYM, developer of professional fitness equipment platform, raised $200.0M of Series G venture funding led by L Catterton and Meritech Capital Partners at a pre-money valuation of $1.0B.

Zing Health, operator of a tech-enabled insurance company, raised $140.0M of venture funding led by Newlight Partners, Leavitt Equity Partners, and First Trust Capital Partners.

Crisp, developer of an open-data-based SaaS platform, raised $101.33M of Series B venture funding led by 3L capital.

Noteworthy Chart 🧭

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