Meta Platforms on Tuesday granted restricted stock units and stock options for some of its senior executives, including CFO Susan Li and Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, tying them to performance and aggressive share price targets as it looks to retain top talent. Stock awards are typically issued to reward employees, retain top talent, and align their interests with the company...
Meta Platforms on Tuesday granted restricted stock units and stock options for some of its senior executives, including CFO Susan Li and Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, tying them to performance and aggressive share price targets as it looks to retain top talent. Stock awards are typically issued to reward employees, retain top talent, and align their interests with the company's long-term success. A Meta spokesperson said the pay packages represent a "big bet" and that they "will not be realized unless Meta achieves massive future success, benefiting all of our shareholders".
The hospitality unit of Vingroup JSC is seeking a private credit loan of as much as $300 million for refinancing, people familiar with the matter said, the latest in a series of borrowings raised by the Vietnamese conglomerate. The proposed four-year debt for Vinpearl JSC is structured as convertible preferred shares that offer dividends, with the potential for upside in returns when certain miles...
The hospitality unit of Vingroup JSC is seeking a private credit loan of as much as $300 million for refinancing, people familiar with the matter said, the latest in a series of borrowings raised by the Vietnamese conglomerate. The proposed four-year debt for Vinpearl JSC is structured as convertible preferred shares that offer dividends, with the potential for upside in returns when certain milestones are achieved, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. Discussions are ongoing and terms could change, the people added. Vinpearl has “attracted interests from international institutions” that are bullish on the industry and the firm’s ecosystem, a representative for the company said. The Vietnamese entity has also been exploring opportunities tied to future investments, they added. Vinpearl’s fundraising comes as private credit markets in the US reel from a series of high profile setbacks, with lenders marking down investments and funds capping redemptions. Asia, however, remains more insulated from such concerns given its limited exposure to the software sector, more conservative lending practices and reliance on closed-ended vehicles. Asia Avoids US-Style Crowding in Private Credit, Says Lighthouse Sumitomo Life Plans to Invest $1.9 Billion in Private Credit Apollo Makes First Hire for Singapore’s $1 Billion Private Fund Vingroup, which has businesses ranging from real estate to private education , has tapped the private credit market previously. In September, the conglomerate’s EV unit VinFast Auto Ltd. secured a $150 million loan for working capital, after raising $510 million in private debt two months prior. Some of Vingroup’s loans deals are backed by so-called standby letters of credit — a promise by lenders to repay debt if the client borrower can’t. These form of guarantees, provided by Vietnamese banks, can carry hidden risks . Vinpearl, which listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange last year, owns 35 hotels and resorts acr...
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro hasn’t even been been in his new job for one week and he’s already seen two, billion-dollar technology bets falter —- with one of them unraveling entirely. On Tuesday Epic Games Inc. announced that it was laying off 1,000 employees after new versions of its hit video game Fortnite failed to connect with fans. Disney announced a $1.5 billion inve...
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro hasn’t even been been in his new job for one week and he’s already seen two, billion-dollar technology bets falter —- with one of them unraveling entirely. On Tuesday Epic Games Inc. announced that it was laying off 1,000 employees after new versions of its hit video game Fortnite failed to connect with fans. Disney announced a $1.5 billion investment in Epic two years ago that involved creation of a whole new digital universe tied to Disney characters and stories. It has yet to be launched. Just hours later, OpenAI announced it was shutting down Sora, its AI video generator. The company said it was ending a partnership with Disney that would have seen the entertainment giant make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI and use its technology for content creation. The move to shutter Sora coincides with a push by OpenAI to streamline its product lineup. D’Amaro took over as CEO from Bob Iger on March 18. At the company’s annual meeting that day, D’Amaro sketched out his vision for a Disney that would be more connected with fans, in part by harnessing new technologies. The company’s Disney+ streaming service, he said, will be a portal to engage with not just movies and TV shows, but games and experiences. His goal was to “deliver a more connected, personalized, and immerse experience to our consumers – wherever they are and whenever they would like to engage with us.” The Epic deal was led by D’Amaro, who ran Disney’s theme parks consumer products and gaming businesses. In announcing the partnership, Disney showed off illustrations of an online Fortnite world that looked a lot like a theme park. D’Amaro joined Epic’s board as an observer. In a memo to staff and fans on Tuesday, Epic founder Tim Sweeney said a downturn in Fortnite engagement had left the company spending more than it was making. Some $500 million in cost cuts should position the company for “huge launch plans towards the end of the year,” Sweeney s...
SmartNews Inc. , a Japanese news aggregation app operator, is considering a Tokyo listing as soon as October for its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. The valuation could be lower than its most recent major funding round in 2021, when the company was valued at $2 billion, the people said, asking to not be identified because the information is private. Deliberat...
SmartNews Inc. , a Japanese news aggregation app operator, is considering a Tokyo listing as soon as October for its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. The valuation could be lower than its most recent major funding round in 2021, when the company was valued at $2 billion, the people said, asking to not be identified because the information is private. Deliberations are ongoing, and details of the potential IPO — including timing and valuation — could change, particularly given recent market volatility, the people said. SmartNews reviews its capital strategy as appropriate, but no decisions have been made at this time, a representative at the company said. Investor sentiment toward newly listed stocks remains fragile after Japan’s benchmark Topix fell into a technical correction on Monday as the Iran war boosted oil prices. Japan imports most of its energy needs. The weak sentiment is already weighing on Japan’s IPO market, with the number of first-time share sales priced in the first quarter hitting the lowest since 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. SmartNews has been working with Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. and Nomura Holdings Inc. for its listing, and has met global investors to gauge interest, Bloomberg News reported in July. Founded in 2012, SmartNews uses algorithms to sift through global content and provides access to news from more than 3,000 media sources. The company also has a user base in the US as the app operator entered the nation’s market in 2014. The company has been bolstering its advertisement business and expanding to a subscription service of selected stories to diversify revenue streams.