Robinhood seeks $2bn capital rally ahead of summer Nasdaq IPO July 19, 2021 Trading platform Robinhood is eyeing a more than $2bn fundraise to accompany its initial public offering which is expected later this summer. The app, which rose to fame amid the Gamestop meme-stock rally at the beginning of the year, filed paperwork for the listing at the beginning of July. Robinhood is set to market 55m [...]
Over two-fifths of Hong Kong migrants plan to start business in the UK July 19, 2021 The UK could be set for an entrepreneurial boost from an unlikely source – with almost half of wealthy Hongkongers coming to the UK set to start their own businesses. According to UKHK.org, a charity supporting Hongkongers in the UK, a new survey of Hongkongers found more than half (52.1 per cent) have or intend [...]
KPMG settles lawsuit with $84m payout after failing to spot fraud at Chinese group July 19, 2021 KPMG has agreed to pay around $84m to settle legal claims after failing to identify fraud at a Chinese timber company. China Forestry’s IPO led to backlash against poor listing standards in Hong Kong. Its liquidators claimed the accounting giant was negligent in failing to detect serious false accounting by some of the company’s top [...]
Pegasus spyware investigation reveals scale of surveillance July 19, 2021 Human rights activists, journalists and lawyers have been targeted by spyware sold to authoritarian governments by the Israeli technology firm NSO Group, according to media reports. An investigation into a data leak by human rights group Amnesty International and NGO Forbidden Stories revealed a list of more than 50,000 phone numbers that may have been [...]
US shareholders in Grenfell Tower cladding firm Arconic given go ahead to sue own company July 19, 2021 US shareholders of the Grenfell Tower cladding firm Arconic have been given the green light to proceed with a lawsuit against the company, US District court in Manhattan has ruled. According to witness statements, the company did go ahead and use the controversial cladding material even though managers were aware that the material that was [...]
Zoom to buy Five9 for $15bn in largest acquisition yet July 19, 2021 Zoom announces a $14.7bn deal to buy a cloud-based call center operator in its largest-ever acquisition, as competition in the video conferencing sector intensifies. Synonymous with the pandemic, Zoom has been a clear winner since everything from business meetings, classroom lessons and even office ‘drinks’ went virtual via the video conferencing platform. The California-based company has [...]
Tencent pushes British gaming group Sumo to hit $1.27bn valuation in bid to buy July 19, 2021 Chinese tech giant Tencent has pushed the valuation of video game group Sumo to hit $1.27bn today in its bid to buy the British firm. Sumo’s shareholders will gain 513p per share, Tencent said, at a 43 per cent premium to Sumo’s last closing price of 358p. The British video game group, behind games like [...]
Scotch Malt Whisky Society owners enjoy sales growth despite Brexit export issues July 19, 2021 The Artisanal Spirits Company, the owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, has enjoyed a 28 per cent lift to online sales in the UK despite minor membership growth. Despite last year’s lockdown spurring on drinking habits, the spirits company pulled in £1.7m in the six months to 30 June, in comparison to £1.3m during [...]
Burberry stock drops as CEO departure spooks investors July 16, 2021 Shares sank 5.5 per cent in luxury fashion brand Burberry today, dragging its total share price to 1,955 as investors seemed uncertain about the company’s direction following its CEO’s exit. The brand pulled in £479m in revenue over the past three months despite over ten per cent of its stores remaining closed due to Covid [...]
Entire Scottish whisky distillery ships to China July 16, 2021 A Scottish whisky distillery, in its entirety, is being shipped out to China today. More than 35 tonnes of equipment, including flooring, control valves and pipework, is leaving Buckie in Moray for the port of Tianjin, according to a BBC report. It will be Inner Mongolia’s first whisky distillery when it opens towards the end [...]