Robinhood founders eye big payday; LinkDoc scraps US IPO; White House targets bank M&A, and much more
Happy Friday!?
This week, Reuters scooped that Robinhood Markets is giving its billionaire founders four more years to hit share price targets that trigger stock awards worth $1.4 billion, according to a regulatory filing and four executive compensation experts who reviewed it.
The company had agreed to award CEO Vladimir Tenev and chief creative officer Baiju Bhatt 13.8 million shares contingent on its share price reaching certain price levels at the time of its initial public offering (IPO), the executive compensation experts who analyzed the filing told Reuters in interviews.
Robinhood tweaked the terms of the stock awards in late May so the founders will get a second chance to receive the shares if the IPO price does not meet the thresholds under the plan, according to the filing and the executive compensation experts.
The change could cost Robinhood roughly $569.1 million in accounting expenses over time, according to the filing and one of the compensation experts. The company made the change to "maintain the incentives" of the stock award program, the filing states.
Elsewhere, Reuters was first to report that Chinese medical data group LinkDoc Technology has shelved plans for an IPO in the United States due to Beijing's clampdown on overseas listings by domestic firms. LinkDoc later confirmed the development.
It is the first Chinese firm known to have pulled back from IPO plans since China's cybersecurity regulator toughened its approach to oversight last week with an investigation into ride-hailing giant Didi Global just two days after its New York debut. That was soon followed with an order for Didi's app be removed from app stores.
Beijing also said on Tuesday it would strengthen supervision of all Chinese firms listed offshore, a sweeping regulatory shift that triggered a sell-off in U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. (Full Story)
LinkDoc's decision to suspend its $211 million IPO is likely to be followed by others.
My brilliant colleagues in Washington also scooped that President Joe Biden's planned executive order to promote greater U.S. competition will target bank mergers by pushing the Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice to update merger guidelines and increase scrutiny of deals.
It will also ask the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to issue rules giving consumers full control of their financial data to make it easier for customers to switch banks, the source said.
The planned order, which was signed by Biden later on Friday, is likely to chill M&A in the banking sector after a rash of deals unleashed by the Trump administration's more industry-friendly regulatory policy.
We were also first to report that digital payments processor Stripe, the most valuable U.S. technology startup, has taken its first major step toward a stock market debut by hiring a law firm to help with preparations.
The 11-year-old company, which was valued by investors at $95 billion in a fundraising round in March, has sat out this year's red-hot market for initial public offerings (IPOs), using private tender offers to allow some of its existing investors and employees to cash out their holdings.
Remaining private has enabled Stripe to keep such financial details as revenue and profitability under wraps. Yet this has also deprived it of using its shares as a publicly traded currency to help finance acquisitions and to incentivize employees.
And finally, my colleague Krystal Hu and I scooped that Noom, the operator of the popular U.S. weight loss app, has hired Goldman Sachs to lead its preparations for an initial public offering (IPO).
The preparations for a stock market debut come as Noom has seen the popularity of its fitness platform soar during the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers turning to digital health apps to keep fit and build healthy habits.
The New York-based company aims to more than double its valuation from its May private fundraising round when investors led by buyout firm Silver Lake valued it at $3.7 billion. The IPO could come by early next year.
With that, here are the other main highlights of our deals coverage this week:
Nasdaq-listed Weibo Corp's chairman and a Chinese state investor plan to take China's answer to Twitter private, sending its shares as much as 50% higher on Tuesday. A deal could value Weibo at more than $20 billion, facilitate shareholder Alibaba's exit and see Weibo eventually relist in China to capitalise on higher valuations.
Cryptocurrency company Bullish announced it had agreed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with Far Peak Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a $9 billion deal.
Kraton Corp, a U.S. manufacturer of polymers used in adhesives, coatings and personal care products, is exploring options that include a potential sale of the company.
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Greek-yogurt maker Chobani could be valued at more than $10 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the company confidentially filed regulatory paperwork for its stock market listing.
Nextdoor, a social network that connects neighbors, will go public through a merger with a blank-check company backed by Khosla Ventures in a deal valued at $4.3 billion, the companies said.
Indian food delivery company Zomato's initial public offering (IPO) is priced at 72 to 76 rupees per share, giving it a valuation of as much as $7.98 billion, the company said.
Indian ride-hailing firm Ola, backed by Japan's SoftBank Group, said private equity firms Temasek and Warburg Pincus are investing $500 million in the startup ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO).
Circle, which provides payments infrastructure for digital currencies, said it would go public in a blank-check merger deal that values it at $4.5 billion.
Ottobock is preparing for a blockbuster stock market flotation in 2022 that could value the German artificial limb maker at more than 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion).
Stamps.com said private equity firm Thoma Bravo would take the e-commerce shipping solutions provider private for about $6 billion in cash, sending its shares nearly 64% higher.
Italy's Atlantia considers its 16% stake in German builder Hochtief non-strategic and may sell it in the future as it gears up to rejig its investment portfolio after agreeing to sell its Italian motorway unit.
EU antitrust regulators cleared with conditions Aon's $30 billion bid for Willis Towers Watson after it agreed to divest key parts of Willis' business to rival Arthur J. Gallagher in return for the EU green light.
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Warm regards,
Anirban?
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Anirban Sen
Editor in Charge, Finance
Thomson Reuters
Twitter: @asenjourno