Good morning! Dunkin’ Brands is in talks to sell itself and go private. Pfizer’s late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial has enrolled more than 42,000 participants. Meanwhile, Ant Group raised $34 billion in the world’s largest IPO and Las Vegas Sands Corp. is in talks to sell its two hotel-casinos on The Strip. 

 

FINANCE

 

Dunkin’ Brands in Talks to Go Private

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Is Baskin Robbins’ new flavor “Going Private”? Sure seems like so. Dunkin’ Brands, the parent company of Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins is negotiating with a private equity-backed company — Inspire Brands — for a takeover. 

 

Here’s what we know so far: 

• The deal could be announced as early as Monday. 

• It would take Dunkin’ Brands private at $106.50/share.

• The price would be a 20% premium over the company’s closing price on Friday — which implies a company valuation of $8.8 billion. 

• The deal would add Dunkin’ Brands to Inspire Brands’ impressive portfolio — which includes Arby’s, Sonic, and Jimmy John’s. 

A Dunkin’ Success

Dunkin’ is doing surprisingly well despite the pandemic. In fact, its share price has more than doubled since March and is up about 18% from a year ago. 

A large part of it is courtesy of its successful drive-through and online ordering systems. 

 

 

 

 

CORONAVIRUS

 

Pfizer Enrolled 42,000 in Late-Stage COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

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Pfizer’s late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial has enrolled more than 42,000 patients. According to the company, nearly 36,000 of them have already received the second of its two-dose vaccine. 

The phase three trials are pretty much the last critical step needed to get the vaccines cleared for distribution. The company is expected to apply for an emergency use authorization with the FDA next month.

Meanwhile, Pfizer’s peers — Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson — are also racing against time. All three companies are in phase three. 

On the business front, Pfizer reported a mixed quarter. Q3 sales dropped by 4.3% and fell to $12.13 billion — down from $12.68 billion a year earlier. However, the company’s profits were slightly better than expected at 72 cents per share. 

 

 

 

FINANCE

 

Ant Group Raised $34 billion in World’s Biggest IPO

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Small in name but not in, um, pretty much everything else. Jack Ma’s fintech giant Ant Group now has the world’s biggest IPO after raising $34 billion. 

 

Some numbers, please

The titan priced its dual listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai’s Star Market at 80HKD (US$10.32) and 68.80 yuan (US$10.26) per share respectively. 

You know what that means? Well, it means that the IPO will raise about $34.4 billion and value the company at more than $310 billion — making it the biggest IPO… ever.  

As for the previous record, it was held by Saudi state oil company Aramco, which raised $29.4 billion, when it issued shares last December. 

 

All in a day’s work

Ant is closing its Hong Kong institutional book building today, a day earlier than scheduled, because of the strong demand. The Hong Kong shares were oversubscribed within the first hour of pricing. 

 

 

FINANCE

 

Where the Sand Turns To Gold

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Viva Las Vegas no more? Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. is in talks to sell its two hotel-casinos on The Strip. If successful, the deal could be worth $6 billion for the Venetian and Palazzo resorts. 

While nothing has been finalized, the sale is unsurprising considering that the company is bleeding money and struggling to attract visitors due to the pandemic and subsequent travel fallout. 

Las Vegas Sands reported a Q2 loss of $985 million — down a whopping 97.1% from last year. Meanwhile, the company recorded a net income of $1.11 billion in the Q2 of 2019. 

According to the company, the pandemic has “essentially transformed Las Vegas from a global destination to a regional gambling hub dependent on “drive-in” business.” It truly is the end of an era. For now, anyway.

 

 

 

APPENDIX

• Watch your back, Intel! Intel’s longtime rival AMD has agreed to pay $35 billion in stock for Xilinx. 

• Rolling to the bank. Rolls-Royce gets shareholder backing for a $2.6 billion fund raise.

• AIG has a new CEO and brand spanking new plans to separate the life and retirement business from the rest of the company. 

• Tinder’s video chat feature, Face to Face, is now rolling out globally. So… less swiping, more connecting? 

• Instagram is expanding its time limit for live stream today — from one hour to four hours.