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Intel Gets Multibillion-Dollar Apollo Offer as Qualcomm Circles [Bloomberg]
The alternative asset manager has indicated in recent days that it would be willing to make an equity-like investment in Intel of as much as $5 billion…. The development comes after San Diego-based Qualcomm floated a friendly takeover of Intel, which has been working to reinvent itself amid the most difficult period in its 56-year history. Qualcomm’s move has raised the prospect of one of the biggest-ever M&A deals, as well as other bidders entering the fray.
UniCredit Ups Ante in Pursuit of Germany’s Commerzbank [WSJ]
UniCredit, led by experienced financial dealmaker Andrea Orcel, on Monday said it bought financial contracts that could raise its stake to 21%…. UniCredit’s new move signals Orcel’s determination to plow through German opposition to pull off the biggest cross-border European banking acquisition in years. The Italian bank already has a big German operation, which it bought before the financial crisis and centers on the southern region of Bavaria.
Why Private Equity Is Rushing To Buy Up Accounting Firms [Forbes]
Jeff Ferro, chief executive of Baker Tilly, the nation’s 10th largest accounting firm, had reached an uncomfortable conclusion: To stay competitive, his firm had to invest more in technology, mergers and new hires than its 570 partners, many nearing retirement, could or would cough up…. So in late 2022, Baker Tilly hired investment banker William Blair & Co, which arranged meetings with 25 potential private equity investors–sessions that Ferro likens to first dates….
Five of the largest 25 U.S. accounting firms, ranked by revenue, have taken private equity money.
Anthony Scaramucci says he is ‘working alongside’ Kamala Harris on her campaign’s crypto policies [CNBC]
“There’s a group of cryptocurrency advocates, bitcoin advocates etc. that are working alongside her to distance the Democratic Party away from Elizabeth Warren and [Gary Gensler],” he told a panel on Thursday at the annual TOKEN2049 event, one of the world’s largest crypto conferences….
Harris has been hearing out crypto proponents and we are pushing her to back industry-friendly policies, he said, adding that the vice president even has some of these talks lined up for this week.
JetBlue’s First Woman CEO on Hedge Fund Activism: ‘I Don’t Wish It on Anybody’ [Observer]
Joanna Geraghty… is staying positive amid the airline’s ongoing engagement with the activist investor Carl Icahn, who earlier this year took a 10 percent stake in the company and appointed two of his representatives to JetBlue’s board….
Despite JetBlue’s optimism, Geraghty expressed sympathy for similar challenges at Southwest Airlines…. “It can be distracting at times,” Geraghty said.
Steve Eisman Placed on Leave After Post ‘Celebrating’ Attack in Gaza [Bloomberg via Yahoo!]
A user on [X] lamented that “the world is silent” about the devastation in Gaza, to which Eisman replied: “You must be kidding. We are not silent. We are celebrating.”
Eisman, who rose to fame betting against the US housing market, later wrote that the post was a “mistake” and that he had meant to comment on Israel’s actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
