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Sony US arm to control 90% of EMI Music; Tapestry unit creative director departs

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Sony US arm to control 90% of EMI Music; Tapestry unit creative director departs

TOP NEWS

* Sony Corp.'s wholly owned subsidiary Sony Corp. of America will acquire a majority stake in EMI Music Publishing for about $1.9 billion. The consumer electronics maker signed a memorandum of understanding with Mubadala Investment Co. for the Sony unit to acquire all of Mubadala's 60% equity interest in DH Publishing LP, which owns and manages EMI Music. Nile Acquisition LLC, which is 74.9% controlled by Sony, holds 39.8% of EMI Music. Following the transaction, Sony will indirectly own approximately 90% of the equity interest in the music publishing firm.

* Tapestry Inc. said Giovanni Morelli, the creative director of the Stuart Weitzman footwear brand, is leaving the company after his behavior "fell short" of its standards. The company, formerly known as Coach Inc., said Morelli resigned after a little more than a year in the position. The multibrand accessories and fashion company said it has started a search for a new creative leader for the brand.

TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS

* Private equity firm L Catterton Asia will acquire an approximately 10% stake in Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd., which runs about 30 fashion brands and 400 stores in India, through a mix of preferential allotment and secondary share purchases. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In a same-day announcement, the company appointed Ravinder Singh Thakran, CEO and chairman of L Catterton Asia and group chairman for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE Asia-Pacific and Middle East unit, as an additional director to its board.

MULTILINE RETAIL

* Citigroup Inc. and department store operator Sears Holdings Corp. extended their co-brand and private label credit card partnership. The extended arrangement will offer Shop Your Way Mastercard holders new benefits that previously were only available on a promotional basis. As part of the deal, Citi will pay Sears $425 million, of which $400 million has been paid.

* Kohl's Corp. unveiled a new apparel collection targeted at millennials in collaboration with global media and technology company PopSugar Inc. POPSUGAR at Kohl's, which will launch in September, is expected to draw millennial customers and young families to the department store chain through relevant brands and personalized marketing.

E-COMMERCE

* Investment firm Permira Holdings Ltd., through a company backed by its funds, agreed to sell e-commerce software business Magento Inc., which it bought from online retailer eBay Inc. in 2015, to American software company Adobe Systems Inc. for $1.68 billion. As part of the transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of Adobe's fiscal year, subject to customary conditions, Hillhouse Capital Management Ltd. will also sell its stake in Magento to the software firm.

* CommerceHub Inc. said it will delist from trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange after a Delaware company owned by private equity firms GTCR LLC and Sycamore Partners Management LP completed its acquisition of the drop shipping company. On March 5, Great Dane Parent LLC, a company owned by GTCR and Sycamore Partners, agreed to combine its wholly owned subsidiary Great Dane Merger Sub Inc. with CommerceHub.

* E-commerce giant JD.com Inc. appointed China Europe International Business School accounting professor and associate dean Dingbo Xu to the company's board, replacing David Daokui Li, who is leaving JD after completing his second 2-year term on the board. Professor Xu was elected to serve on the audit committee of the Chinese company's board of directors, as well as become chairperson of the board's nominating and corporate governance committee, effective immediately.

HOUSEHOLD AND PERSONAL PRODUCTS

* Comvita Ltd. withdrew from a due diligence process with a third-party firm, which intended to buy the personal products company manufacturer, after the companies failed to agree on a purchase price. Comvita announced that it was in discussions with a potential acquirer April 16.

* Skincare products manufacturer BWX Ltd. received an offer from CEO John Humble and finance director Aaron Finlay, in partnership with private equity firm Bain Capital Pvt. Equity LP, to acquire the company for A$6.60 per share. In response, BMX formed an independent board committee, comprising Chairman Denis Shelly, Ian Campbell and David Fenlon, to review the proposal.

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL

* Pet supplies retailer PetSmart Inc. appointed former Academy Ltd. CEO J.K. Symancyk as its new CEO and director, effective the week commencing June 11.

HOMEBUILDERS

* Toll Brothers Inc. reported earnings that missed expectations as the luxury homebuilder incurred higher operating costs during its second quarter. For the three months ended April 30, the company reported that net income decreased 10.3% year over year to $111.8 million, or 72 cents per share, below the S&P Capital IQ consensus estimate of $119.4 million. The Horsham, Pa.-based company delivered revenues for the quarter of $1.60 billion, a 17.3% gain from $1.36 billion in the comparable 2017 period.

HOTELS, CASINOS AND GAMING

* International Game Technology PLC's majority shareholder De Agostini SpA proposed to enter into a variable forward transaction with Credit Suisse Group AG to rebalance the profile of its portfolio of assets. The U.K. gaming company said it will not receive any proceeds from the sale of up to 18 million IGT ordinary shares involved in the transaction. De Agostini said it will remain IGT's controlling shareholder and that it is not contemplating any additional transaction involving IGT shares.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* After months of heated rhetoric, tensions between the U.S. and China have simmered down as the two countries work to finalize an agreement that would increase the exports of American goods, a cornerstone of the Trump administration's policy goals. The countries agreed to drop their threatened tariffs on one another, the United States' additional 25% tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese imports and China's tariffs on $50 billion worth of U.S. exports, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC. China has also agreed to "immediately" increase its purchase of U.S. farm products by 35% to 40%, Mnuchin said.

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The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.18% to 22,960.34.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.20% to 7,874.50, and the Euronext 100 gained 0.12% to 1,087.44.

On the macro front

The Redbook Index and the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index are due out today.

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