Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. said Tuesday that it's mapping out a "turnaround plan" as it attempts to avoid bankruptcy after raising hundreds of millions of dollars.
The company, which had about 950 locations as of November, said it's closing more locations and hopes to keep about 480 open, including 360 of its namesake stores.
Carlyle Group is in talks to buy health tech giant Cotiviti for nearly $15 billion, including debt, from Veritas Capital, as reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by Axios.
Why it matters: The deal would include a stunning $5.5 billion private loan, one of the largest-ever direct loans in the private credit market.
Details: Goldman Sachs is providing sell-side advice to Veritas, sources tell Axios.
A deal will depend on Carlyle's ability to secure financing, Bloomberg reports.
Flashback: Veritas took Cotiviti private in 2018 for about 4.9 billion, only to test its public market readiness three years later, when it reportedly explored a dual process for the asset.
Cotiviti's software solutions are designed to improve the financial and quality performance of health care providers.
The bottom line: If the deal is done at the terms being discussed, it may be a harbinger for structures to come, especially as the syndicated financing markets remain cool.
Carlyle declined comment. Veritas and Goldman did not return requests for comment.
Jimmy Finkelstein, a longtime media investor and entrepreneur who formerly owned The Hill, has raised $50 million for his new venture called The Messenger, sources told Axios.
By the numbers: In total, he's hired roughly 35 people, with the goal of hiring several hundred more throughout the year. He's already brought on most of the company's senior leadership team, including a top editor, as he readies for a launch in the second quarter.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the stronger-than-expected jobs report shows that the process of bringing inflation down won't be smooth and will take "quite a bit of time."
Why it matters: Powell did not signal that the hot jobs report would prompt the Fed to act more aggressively than previously thought. But he repeated that further interest rate increases would be necessary to contain inflation.
Bed Bath & Beyond could receive a little more than $1 billion in gross proceeds from a stock offering in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, the company announced today.
Why it matters: Without the funding the retailer would have likely had to file for bankruptcy protection, but has now bought itself some time to work out its next steps.
Not everyone in crypto is white knuckles about the eventual crypto regulatory regime to come out of Washington, D.C.
What they're saying: "I do think the worst-case scenario was avoided. The worst-case scenario is a massive regulatory overreaction that sets crypto back to low lows," BEW, a founding member of Yunt Capital, tells Axios in a phone call.
The big picture: The Seattle-based coffee giant will update its popular Starbucks Rewards program starting Feb. 13 and will change how many “stars” are needed to get certain items, meaning you’ll need to spend more money to earn that free drink.
America's safe harbor could be closing for "unicorn" companies, which currently aren't required to provide investors with audited financial statements.
Driving the news: SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, a Democrat nominated by former President Trump, said in a speech that regulators haven't kept up with the private markets' dizzying growth.
A group of investors led by India-based Sun Group is trying to lure tech billionaires and Hollywood types to join its bid for Forbes, which values the firm at $800 million, sources told Axios.
Why it matters: The group is projecting that with investments in new growth areas, like a venture investing platform and an education services arm, parts of Forbes' business could be worth billions of dollars in five years.
They look like the fancy aerial cable cars that shuttle tourists to Instagram-worthy mountaintops in the Alps. But they’re actually part of Medellín, Colombia’s mass transit system, moving tens of thousands of people a day to and from some of the poorest neighborhoods of the city.
Why it matters: Mobility is the engine that powered Medellín’s economic and social transformation from the most dangerous city on the globe in the 1990s, to the world's “most innovative city” in 2013. That's according to Jorge Pérez-Jaramillo, urbanist, author, and a lead planner for Medellín from 2012 to 2015.
The sale of the National Enquirer, a storied gossip rag that became engulfed in scandals in recent years, represents the latest American tabloid giant to change hands as the era of print gossip fades away.
Why it matters: A small group of powerful voices has been replaced by hundreds of digital influencers and gossip sites that run the same rumors, often with even less accountability.
Ohio crews conducted the controlled release of toxic chemicals into the air on Monday from five train cars involved in a derailment in East Palestine.
The latest: "The controlled breach of several rail cars has been completed successfully under the supervision of experts and first responders," per a Monday night statement from Norfolk Southern Railroad, which was overseeing the release.
Team Biden is convinced that its State of the Union challenge tomorrow is as much about perception as reality.
Why it matters: Economic indicators are heading in the exact direction the White House predicted, but voters are deeply skeptical that the economy is working for them.
At least 12.4 million people tuned into the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, marking a much-needed bounce-back from pandemic-era viewership lows, according to early estimates from Nielsen.
Why it matters: The show, which aired live on CBS and Paramount+, "did not aspire to reinvent the wheel of the Grammys in any way," Variety chief music critic Chris Willman, noted. But a number of upbeat performances and "firsts" helped put the show back on the radar of millions of Americans.
Disney removed an episode of '"The Simpsons" from its streaming platform in Hong Kong that mentions "forced labor camps" in China, the Financial Times first reported Monday and Axios has confirmed.
Why it matters: It comes at a critical time for relations between Disney and the ruling Chinese Communist Party, and it's the latest sign of deteriorating freedoms in Hong Kong as Beijing tightens its grip on the former British colony.
