Stocks & Equities

Musk defends Tesla’s $2.6 bln deal for SolarCity

Posted by Tom Hals , Sierra Jackson, Reuters

on Monday, 12 July 2021 7:07

Elon Musk took the stand on Monday to defend Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) 2016 acquisition of SolarCity against a lawsuit by shareholders seeking to recoup the $2.6 billion the company paid for the ailing solar panel maker.

Soon after taking the stand, Musk denied the deal was a bailout of SolarCity as Tesla shareholders have alleged.

“Since it was a stock-for-stock transaction and I owned almost exactly the same percentage of both there was no financial gain,” he said, responding to questions from his attorney.

Musk’s testimony kicks off a two-week trial in Wilmington, Delaware, before Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights, who will decide whether the SolarCity deal was fair to Tesla stockholders.

The lawsuit by union pension funds and asset managers alleges the celebrity CEO strong-armed Tesla’s board to buy SolarCity, just as it was about to run out of cash. Musk owned a 22% stake in SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins.

Shareholders asked the court to order Musk, one of world’s richest people, to repay to Tesla what it spent on the deal, which would represent one of the largest judgments ever against an individual. However, even if the judge finds the deal was unfair, he could award a much lower amount of damages…read more.

The World’s Tech Giants, Compared to the Size of Economies

Posted by Omri Wallach, visualcapitalist.com

on Friday, 9 July 2021 7:22

It’s no secret that tech giants have exploded in value over the last few years, but the scale can be hard to comprehend.

Through wide-scaling market penetration, smart diversification, and the transformation of products into services, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have reached market capitalizations well above $1.5 trillion.

To help us better understand these staggering numbers, a recent study at Mackeeper took the market capitalization of multiple tech giants and compared them with the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of countries. Click to see full article.

Electric Dodge muscle car and Ram pickup part of Stellantis’ $35.5 billion EV plans

Posted by Michael Wayland, CNBC.com

on Friday, 9 July 2021 7:07

Stellantis – the merged automaker between Fiat Chrysler and French automaker PSA Groupe – plans to invest at least $35.5 billion (30 billion euros) in electric vehicles and supporting technologies through 2025.

The world’s fourth-largest automaker announced the plans Thursday during an electrification strategy event. Stellantis joins automakers such as Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford Motor in announcing investments of tens of billions of dollars in EVs.

The company said it expects to have 55 electrified vehicles in the U.S. and Europe by 2025. That includes 40 all-electric models and 15 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. It’s a different strategy from other automakers such as GM that have announced plans to eventually only offer offer all-electric vehicles.

Most notably, for the U.S., Stellantis said it would offer an electric Dodge muscle car by 2024 and Jeep would offer an all-electric SUV in every vehicle segment by 2025. The company also plans to launch a Ram full-size electric pickup by 2024, which would put it at least two years behind American rivals Ford and GM.

The event did little for the company’s stock. Stellantis shares on the New York Stock Exchange closed Thursday at $18.99 a share, down by 3.2%…read more.

British Fintech Companies Attract A Record $5.3 Billion In Funding

Posted by Baystreet Staff, baystreet.ca

on Friday, 9 July 2021 6:54

Fintech companies based in London, England raised more funding from venture capital investors in the first six months of 2021 than in any other year.

Investors poured $5.3 billion U.S. into London fintech start-up companies in the first half of 2021, compared to $2.1 billion in the same period in 2020, new research from Dealroom has found.

London’s boom tracked soaring fintech investment levels globally as coronavirus lockdowns drove adoption of digital financial services, including payments and trading. Fintech companies globally raised $54.1 billion between January and June of this year, overtaking the total amount secured in the two previous years, the research showed.

London-based fintech start-ups accounted for a large share of Europe’s growth, representing over a third of the region’s funding. Globally, the city of London ranks second behind San Francisco and slightly ahead of New York, the research found…read more.

Upgrading your Portfolio with Private Equity Real Estate – Live Webinar

on Friday, 9 July 2021 3:30

Justin Smith of Hawkeye Wealth will be hosting a live webinar on Tuesday, July 13th @ 11:00am to expand on the opportunities for investing in real estate using limited partnerships, a structure that can generate higher returns, and offers access to custom and bespoke deals that meet your specific preferences.

To learn more about these type of opportunities, hear detailed examples and learn about upcoming deals CLICK HERE to register. Access is limited so reserve your spot now.