Online learning company Pluralsight raised $311 million in its IPO at a valuation just north of $2 billion, and began trading on the Nasdaq above its IPO price.
Why it matters: Pluralsight is the first company from Utah’s “Silicon Slopes” (its local tech and startup hub) to go public, with expectations that neighbors like Domo and Qualtrics could soon follow.
BJ's Wholesale Club on Thursday filed for an IPO, disclosing around $50 million in profit on $12.5 billion in revenue for its most recent fiscal year.
Why it matters: It's been a tough year for private equity-backed retailers, with some using examples like Toys "R" Us to argue that the model itself is flawed. BJ's — taken private in 2011 — could become a counter-narrative, showing that it is possible to increase both the top and bottom lines.
Staples, which was taken private last year by Sycamore Partners for $6.9 billion, yesterday disclosed a 9.9% stake in workplace supplies wholesaler Esesendant and offered to buy the rest for $11.50 per share in cash ($940m enterprise value, including debt).
Why it's a big deal: Because it's highly unusual for private equity sponsors to use their portfolio companies to put equity hooks into listed acquisition targets. Sycamore, however, has been known to use this strategy on its own.
The Trump administration is putting pressure on Germany to stop a multimillion gas pipeline project with Russia in order to avoid a trade war between the U.S. and Europe, according to the Wall Street Journal. President Trump reportedly told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that dropping support for the project would be the price for a new trade deal between the US and Europe.
The big picture: The Nord Stream 2 project would transport gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Its construction could cause Ukraine and other European allies to fall victim to Russian pressure via the energy sector — and threaten American hopes to become a major provider of gas to Europe.
A Delaware judge has just ruled against CBS, in its effort to strip company control from Shari Redstone's National Amusements Inc.
Why it matters: This could pave the way for a merger with Viacom, and also lead to major management changes at CBS (whose stock is down more than 6% on the ruling).
ZTE isn't the only Chinese tech manufacturer trying to navigate a volatile trans-Pacific trade climate. Of course, there's Huawei, another giant that, like ZTE, has long faced charges of assisting Chinese intelligence efforts. Then there's Coolpad, a phone maker that's hoping U.S. consumers won't judge every firm by its nation of origin.
Why it matters: Chinese companies are sending a loud "we're not all the same" message to the world. Despite the cloud over ZTE and the looming threat of a wider U.S.-China trade war, Coolpad hopes to break the perception of cheap products made with fealty to Beijing, and insists its business is different.
President Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani told CNN and Fox News Wednesday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team told Trump's legal team that they have acknowledged — "after some battling" — that they cannot indict a sitting president.
Be smart: The Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department has long taken the position that they do not have the power to indict a sitting president. However, as CNN pointed out, Mueller still has the power to "issue a report making referrals or recommendations to the House of Representatives."
In the future of automation, the crisis in the advanced economies may be flat wages and not a lack of jobs. That future appears already to be here: In April, unemployment fell to 3.9%, but two-thirds of U.S. jobs pay less than $20 an hour. And the three most-common jobs, held by 11.5 million people, pay much less.
Retail sales ($13.07 an hour)
Cashier ($10.43)
Food-preparer ($9.84)
Why it matters: In the first technological cycle of the Industrial Age, in the beginning of the 19th century, we got the Luddite uprising. Over the subsequent decades, jobs were destroyed and new jobs created, roiling millions of people's lives. But the biggest crisis was low wages — Americans could not afford the basics.
CBS is bringing its majority shareholder, National Amusements, to court Wednesday to fight for independence and stop a merger with cable network Viacom, also owned by National Amusements. At the same time, it’s also hosting its annual UpFront advertising presentation in New York Wednesday evening to convince advertisers that everything is fine.
Why it matters: It’s a historic split-screen moment for CBS. In one state it's fighting to lure marketers to save its linear TV business, and in another it's fighting a merger that would expand its linear TV business.
Pro-Trump media is spreading across the U.S., disseminating Trumpian rhetoric about fake news and mainstream media bias through every medium.
The big picture, from Rodney Benson, chair of NYU's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication: "Many of the media moving toward subscriptions have disproportionately left-liberal audiences. ... While liberal media draw their circles ever tighter around themselves (via paywalls, high-level content, etc.), conservatives are fighting to extend their mass reach."
At a time of rock-bottom joblessness, high corporate profits and a booming stock market, more than 40% of U.S. households cannot pay the basics of a middle-class lifestyle — rent, transportation, child care and a cellphone, according to a new study.
Quick take: The study, conducted by United Way, found a wide band of working U.S. households that live above the official poverty line, but below the cost of paying ordinary expenses. Based on 2016 data, there were 34.7 million households in that group — double the 16.1 million that are in actual poverty, project director Stephanie Hoopes tells Axios.
