Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In a surprise announcement, online jeweler Blue Nile said Monday that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by an investor group comprised of funds managed by Bain Capital Private Equity and Bow Street LLC . The all-cash deal is valued at $500 million. The announcement came at the same time the Seattle-based company released its third quarter earnings report that disclosed a 4.3 percent drop in net sales. The report was issued without comment and a conference call scheduled for Monday was abruptly canceled. Bain Capital and Bow Street will acquire 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Blue Nile common stock. Blue Nile stockholders will receive $40.75 in cash per share, representing a premium of approximately 34 percent over Blue Nile's closing price on November 4. The deal, which requires customary closing conditions, including the approval of Blue Nile's stockholders and regulatory approvals, is expected … [Read more...] about Blue Nile To Be Acquired By Bain Capital and Bow Street, Goes Private, Q3 Sales Down 4.3%
Non cash working capital valuation
Signet Jewelers To Acquire Blue Nile For $360 Million In Cash
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Signet Jewelers, one of the world's largest fine jewelry retailers, said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to acquire online fine jewelry retailer, Blue Nile, Inc., for $360 million in an all-cash transaction. Signet, in a statement, says Blue Nile delivered revenue of more than $500 million in calendar year 2021. Signet Jewelers , based in Akron, Ohio, currently owns the jewelry brands, Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, Diamonds Direct, JamesAllen.com, in the U.S.; Peoples, H. Samuel, Ernest Jones in the U.K.; and the jewelry subscription service, Rocksbox Calling it a “strategic acquisition,” Signet in its statement says that adding Blue Nile to its portfolio “accelerates Signet's efforts to expand its bridal offerings and grow its ‘Accessible Luxury’ portfolio while extending its digital leadership in the jewelry category.” The company adds that Blue Nile’s customer base is younger, more … [Read more...] about Signet Jewelers To Acquire Blue Nile For $360 Million In Cash
Hong Leong Bank seen as attractive but are there any buyers?
Quek's Hong Leong Bank stake seen as attractive despite premium valuation - A + A Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan (Photo by Bloomberg) KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 10): Hong Leong Bank Bhd chairman Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan's reported attempt to pare down his controlling stake in the bank may not be an easy task, given the size of his shareholding and the premium valuation, whose share price is hovering near the historic high of RM21.20 it reached in May. Hong Leong Bank, with a market capitalisation of RM45.26 billion, is a screaming buy among analysts tracking the banking stock because of its attractive return-on-equity (ROE) and asset quality. There is not a single sell call on Hong Leong Bank. Nonetheless, this raises the question whether its rivals will pay a premium for it? Quek controls 62% of Hong Leong Bank via Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG), which is way above the 10% limit that any individual is allowed to hold in a financial institution, according to the … [Read more...] about Hong Leong Bank seen as attractive but are there any buyers?
Live from InvestFest with Downtown Josh Brown, BitBoy Crypto, and Lamar Wilson
U.S. stocks continued to claw their way back last week, especially growth stocks . For the week, the Nasdaq posted a gain of 2.2% and the S&P 500 rose 0.4%. The Dow? Not so much, sliding just 0.1%. A blowout jobs report for July offered up another dose of good news for the economy and not-so-good news for the stock market, but equity investors hung in there. U.S. employers added 528,000 jobs to their payrolls last month , which was more than twice what was expected, and that added credence to the Federal Reserve 's stance that the U.S. economy is not in a recession given the continued strength of the labor market. So, the thinking goes, the Fed will continue to be aggressive in raising interest rates to cool down inflation, because it's not impacting companies' willingness to hire. That led to a steep selloff in U.S. Treasurys, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note ending the week at 2.83%. Oil prices continue to tumble, hitting their lowest level since early … [Read more...] about Live from InvestFest with Downtown Josh Brown, BitBoy Crypto, and Lamar Wilson
Korean House Cleaning App Miso Wants To Become The Amazon Of Home Services
Miso head Victor Ching is aiming to replicate his app’s success in home cleaning to sweep up new business at home and overseas. O ver the past seven years, Victor Ching has carved out a niche in the home cleaning space in South Korea with an app called Miso. Though it’s a relatively small market compared to online payments or food delivery, the app, which connects cleaners with clients, is the category leader in the country by users. Miso, which means “smile” in Korean, has handled more than 5 million bookings since its founding in 2015. Of those, almost 90% have come from repeat customers, the Seoul-based company says. Top startup investors including Silicon Valley incubator Y Combinator and Los Angeles-based Strong Ventures have backed Miso, which has raised over $11 million to date. After years of steady growth in South Korea’s home cleaning market, cofounder and CEO Ching is taking Miso to the next stage. He’s aiming to replicate Miso’s success with the 70 other … [Read more...] about Korean House Cleaning App Miso Wants To Become The Amazon Of Home Services
How Blue Nile Delivered A Million Pieces Of Bridal Jewelry
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It hides in plain sight in a Seattle neighborhood. A building that would not attract even a hint of curiosity. Inside it’s a bit of a different story as this seemingly bare-bones structure serves as the fulfillment center for Blue Nile , the world’s largest Internet retailer of diamond jewelry. It’s easy to view Blue Nile solely as an early eCommerce success story but perhaps its greatest feat is the ability to produce and ship jewels in a highly efficient manner based on the individual requirements of an online order. This efficiency is one of the ways it earns the trusts of customers making a highly emotional purchase. The nondescript nature of the facility is due to security concerns. The merchandise is highly valuable, consisting of diamonds, colored gems and precious metals. Inside, multiple doors are used to enter and leave certain areas for security purposes. Workers were not identified in the story for the same … [Read more...] about How Blue Nile Delivered A Million Pieces Of Bridal Jewelry
Blue Nile Acquisition Completed, Company To Go Private
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin An investor group comprised of Bain Capital Private Equity, Bow Street and Adama Partners completed the acquisition of online diamond and jewelry retailer, Blue Nile, Friday for $40.75 per share in cash, the Seattle-based company said in a statement. A Securities and Exchange Commission 8-K document said the “total amount of funds used to complete the merger and related transactions and pay related fees and expenses was approximately $520 million.” The transaction was first announced on Nov. 7, 2016 , and was approved by Blue Nile's shareholders on February 2. Trading in Blue Nile’s common stock on NASDAQ will end February 21. “Blue Nile has disrupted and transformed the way consumers shop for and purchase diamonds and fine jewelry by creating price transparency while simultaneously providing value to suppliers,” said Blue Nile chairman, CEO and president Harvey Kanter. “As we enter the next phase of growth, Blue Nile will … [Read more...] about Blue Nile Acquisition Completed, Company To Go Private
H1 trade deficit widens to $29.79B
The country’s trade deficit widened to $29.79 billion at the end of the first half of the year from $17.95 billion last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, with the gap hitting another monthly high in June. National Statistician Dennis Mapa on Tuesday confirmed that the June trade deficit amounting to $5.84 billion was the biggest monthly gap on record. Last June, imports climbed 26 percent year-on-year to $12.49 billion, while exports growth slowed to just 1 percent as sales of Philippine-made goods overseas reached $6.64 billion. The country’s chief economist, however, is not worried about the yawning trade deficit, as long as the growth in imports supported domestic investments and infrastructure. President Marcos’ economic managers had projected 18-percent merchandise imports growth exceeding a 7-percent increase in exports this year. The wide trade gap had resulted in a current account deficit as the country had to shell out more dollars to pay for … [Read more...] about H1 trade deficit widens to $29.79B
Promoting The Free Economy In Brazil
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Latin America is going bad – very bad. Many of the region's large economies have lurched toward leftist populism in recent years. With the election of former guerrilla leader Gustavo Petro to the presidency, Colombia seems to be another victim of the trend. But for such leftists, the big prize is still to be captured: Brazil. With almost half of South America's economy and population and bordering ten countries, what happens in Brazil is always relevant for the Americas and the world. The country's upcoming presidential election is a case in point. The two leading candidates, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro, both have plenty of detractors. Local and foreign media cover their campaigns and road to the election. There is seldom coverage of those who work outside the political party system to try to influence Brazil's future. I want to highlight some of them here. I will only focus on non-religious organizations … [Read more...] about Promoting The Free Economy In Brazil
Soaring inflation cools PH Q2 GDP growth to 7.4%
Accelerating inflation has cooled the Philippines’ second-quarter economic growth to 7.4 percent, below market expectations, the government reported on Tuesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) expansion during the April-to-June period was lower than 8.2 percent a quarter ago and 12.1 percent a year ago, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a press briefing. The majority of economists watching the Philippines had projected a sustained above 8-percent growth for the second quarter. Also, Mapa said second-quarter GDP or the total goods and services produced in the country was smaller than the first-quarter output by 0.1 percent. “Transportation and storage, manufacturing, human health and social work activities were the top contributors to the [quarter-on-quarter] decline,” the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a statement. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan nonetheless noted that the Philippines was the second-fastest growing economy in emerging … [Read more...] about Soaring inflation cools PH Q2 GDP growth to 7.4%