Bill Gates' private-public fund, Breakthrough Energy Catalyst (BEC), plans to invest in clean-tech ventures in the U.S., EU, and the U.K. The fund has so far accumulated $1.5B in private capital from philanthropies and corporations, with a goal of mobilizing $15B through novel financial structures and partnerships. More: - The fund will focus on investments in direct air capture, green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, and energy storage technology startups and assist countries in achieving net-zero emissions by deploying large-scale technologies.
- Three types of capital will be available from the new fund: philanthropic donations, sub-market equity investments, and product offtake agreements.
- BEC hopes to initiate long-term offtake agreements with customers interested in sustainable products.
- Microsoft, BlackRock, General Motors, American Airlines, Boston Consulting Group, Bank of America, and ArcelorMittal are investors in the firm founded by Gates in 2015.
- BEC's mission includes lowering the "green premium," the added cost of producing the sustainable alternative — for example, the cost of sustainable aviation fuel compared to that of regular jet fuel.
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AT&T’s WarnerMedia plans to invest over $18B on content to compete with rivals Disney and Netflix. WarnerMedia reported reaching 74 million subscribers combined on the HBO Max and HBO platforms in 2021; however, the exact figures for the digital streaming platform were not disclosed. The media company previously had 61 million subscribers in 2020. More: - Hit shows such as Succession and Insecure have helped add up to 13 million customers on the HBO Max platform, launched in 2020 by Warner.
- HBO’s subscriber counts still lag in comparison with Netflix’s 214 million and Disney’s 118 million subscribers, reported at the start of Oct. 2021. The two streaming giants are expected to spend $33B and $17B respectively on content programming in 2022.
- In less than three years since acquiring WarnerMedia, its parent organization, AT&T, decided to spin off the media company and merge it with Discovery, with the deal likely to be finalized this year.
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 Pfizer vaccine U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced three new deals to expand the use of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology on which its COVID-19 vaccine is based. The company expects to capitalize on its global efforts and technology deployed during the pandemic to advance the development of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics. More: - Pfizer will form a $1.3B partnership with Beam Therapeutics, dedicating $300M of the investment initially to develop treatments for rare genetic diseases of the liver, muscle, and central nervous system.
- The investment during the four-year deal is expected to increase to over $1B, subject to research, regulatory, and commercial milestones.
- The American pharmaceutical company will also collaborate with Canada-based Acuitas Therapeutics.
- As part of the deal, Pfizer may license its COVID-19 vaccine’s delivery mechanism called lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for up to 10 vaccines or therapies.
- Codex DNA’s Pfizer partnership will enable the latter to apply synthetic genome technology in the development of mRNA vaccines and other therapeutics.
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 Qraft CEO Marcus Hyung-Sik Kim at the NYSE Qraft Technologies Inc., an AI-assisted asset management tool, is set to receive $146M in funding from SoftBank Group Corp to fuel its expansion into key regions, including the U.S. Qraft’s proprietary AI software platform mines data to generate key insights that help drive its four U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds. More: - The Seoul, South Korea-based asset management startup currently manages $1.7B of funds invested by Asian banks and insurance companies.
- Qraft, founded by chief executive Marcus Hyung-Sik Kim in 2016, built its own AI platform specifically customized for investments to derive alpha factors and an accurate value for securities.
- Former BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group executive Robert Nestor was hired by the startup to pitch its AI-investing engine to other asset managers.
- With a portfolio of over $100B, Tokyo’s SoftBank, along with its subsidiaries, is one of the largest technology investors in the world.
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 Zynga Take-Two Interactive, the gaming company best known for its “Grand Theft Auto” game franchise, is buying Zynga in a bid to expand its mobile gaming portfolio. The deal will see Take-Two acquiring all outstanding shares of Zynga for $9.86 per share, split between $3.50 in cash and $6.36 worth of Take-Two stock. More: - Take-Two is acquiring the shares at a 64% premium to Zynga’s shares closing price as of Friday, giving the latter an implied enterprise value of $12.7B.
- Zynga is currently valued at $11B on an equity basis.
- The cash and stock acquisition will be funded by a $2.7B loan from JPMorgan, while the remainder will be paid with cash and debt issuance proceeds.
- Take-Two, which reported $6.1B in fiscal yearly net bookings, expects the acquisition to generate $100M savings in cost synergies in the first two years, increasing to $500M over the long run.
- The PC-game producer expects mobile gaming to contribute to 50% of net bookings in the 2022 fiscal year.
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BHP will invest $100M in U.K. private mining company Kabanga Nickel’s Tanzania-based mining field. The world’s largest deposit of nickel sulfide is found in Kabanga, which is forecasted to produce 40,000 tons of battery-grade nickel over the next 30 years, along with 4,000 tons of cobalt. More: - BHP will initially invest $40M to accelerate Kabanga deposit development and $10M to refine the hydrometallurgy process used to extract the deposits.
- The remaining $50M investment, which will increase BHP’s stake to 18%, is set to be received subject to conditions and milestone achievements.
- The incoming investments and deposits are said to value the project at $650M.
- The first production from the mine is expected in 2025.
- The demand for nickel used in batteries in EVs is expected to grow 19x by 2040 from the current 2.7 million tons annual demand, as demand for EV vehicles ramps up worldwide.
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- Crocs Inc. expects its 2021 revenues to have grown 67% compared to 2020, with Q4 sales up 42%.
- Moderna has updated its 2022 revenue forecasts, with COVID-19 vaccine contracts now expected to contribute $18.5B and booster shots purchases to potentially account for $3.5B in revenue.
- General Motors Co. launched its My GM Rewards credit card with Goldman Sachs. The automaker hopes customers will redeem points toward new or used car purchases or on purchase of car parts and accessories.
- Ford has hired Martin Sander, previously Audi's senior vice-president of Europe Sales, to lead its European division as the chair of Ford-Werke GmbH and General Manager of passenger vehicles in Europe.
- China's largest after-school tutoring company, New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., laid off 60,000 employees in 2021, as income dropped 71% YoY to $117M on revenue of $4.28B.
- L Catterton-backed online beauty products seller Il Makiage's valuation rose to $1.5B following a new investment of $130M led by Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Investments, and billionaire Thomas Tull.
- Malaysia-based online used car marketplace Carsome raised $290M in Series E funding at a $1.7B valuation.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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