All posts tagged: investors

FTX investors to get their money back – plus interest | Business News

FTX investors to get their money back – plus interest | Business News

People who lost their money in FTX, once one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, are to be paid back, with interest. Billions were lost when the cryptocurrency exchange headed by convicted fraudster Sam Bankman Fried went bust in November 2022, with an estimated one million customers losing funds. Money latest: Struggling iconic tea brand spends £12m on ad But now the company has recouped more than enough to repay those customers and its creditors, it said. Paying people back If plans are approved by a US bankruptcy court, people who held cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, with the exchange will be able to get the sums back. Some will be able to get up to 9% more in interest. Between $14.5 (£11.6bn) and $16.3bn (£13.04bn) is available to be distributed, FTX said, the combined value of property collected and converted to cash. Its debts, however, only add up to about $11bn (£8.81bn). FTX has been able to monetise “an extraordinarily diverse collection of assets”, most of which were investments made by FTX or …

Investor’s Lawsuit Accuses 777 Partners of 0 Million Fraud

Investor’s Lawsuit Accuses 777 Partners of $600 Million Fraud

The American investment firm 777 Partners, whose bid to buy the English Premier League soccer team Everton has been on hold for months amid doubts about the company’s finances, was accused by one of its lenders on Friday of running a yearslong fraud scheme worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The accusation came in a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in New York by Leadenhall Capital Partners, a London-based asset management company. It said that it had provided 777 Partners with more than $600 million in financing, only to discover that roughly $350 million in assets serving as collateral for the loans either were not in 777’s control or had already been pledged to other lenders. The lawsuit is the latest, most serious claim against 777 Partners, which has for years made bold assertions about its financial health — it has previously claimed $10 billion in assets — even as it was trailed by a string of lawsuits, corporate failures and unpaid bills. The suit could have immediate implications for 777’s stalled bid to …

From Connie Chan to Ethan Kurzweil, venture capitalists continue to play musical chairs

From Connie Chan to Ethan Kurzweil, venture capitalists continue to play musical chairs

When Keith Rabois announced he was leaving Founders Fund to return to Khosla Ventures in January, it came as a shock to many in the venture capital ecosystem — and not just because Rabois is a big name in the industry. It was surprising because unlike in many other fields, venture capitalists don’t traditionally move around very much — especially those that reach the partner or general partner level as Rabois had. VC funds have 10-year life cycles and partners have good reason to stay that course. In some instances, they may be a “key man” on a firm’s fund, meaning that if they leave, the fund’s LPs have the right to pull their capital out if they choose. Many partners and GPs also have some of their own money invested in their firms’ funds, which gives them further reason to stick around. So, while big-name investor moves in venture capital aren’t common, they seem to have become so in recent months. So far this year, there have been notable instances of investors returning to …

Investors scour the globe for shelter as Wall Street shakes

Investors scour the globe for shelter as Wall Street shakes

LONDON : Global investors are eyeing European and emerging market assets to protect themselves from further turbulence in U.S. stocks and bonds as stubborn inflation causes bets on the timing of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts to be revised. April was a washout on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 share index and U.S. Treasuries posting their biggest monthly loss since September. Money managers are now looking for ways to limit losses if the trend does not reverse. That could entail the restructuring of portfolios that had been lifted for years by richly-valued U.S. equities, said Sonja Laud, CIO at Legal & General Investment Management, which manages roughly $1.5 trillion. “Diversification will be a lot more important going forward,” she said, adding that LGIM was not expecting superior returns from global stocks but now preferred European shares to those from the United States. Amelie Derambure, senior multi-asset manager at Amundi, Europe’s biggest asset manager, said she still expected long-term gains from U.S. stocks but had bought put options to protect against a 10 per cent …

Investors Trying to Take Control of Norfolk Southern Railroad Pick up Key Support

Investors Trying to Take Control of Norfolk Southern Railroad Pick up Key Support

The activist investors trying to take control of Norfolk Southern’s board are picking up key support, but the railroad’s CEO promised Monday to fight the takeover attempt until a May 9 shareholder vote because he believes his strategy is the best in the long run for investors, customers and workers. Ancora Holdings’ bid to elect seven new directors and replace management at the Atlanta-based railroad has gained the backing of one of the major proxy advisory firms, one of the railroad’s biggest customers and two of its largest labor unions in recent days. But CEO Alan Shaw said he believes he still has the support of most of the railroad’s workers, investors and customers. “The choice really couldn’t be any more clear for our shareholders,” Shaw said an interview with The Associated Press. “We make promises and we’ve continued to keep our promises, and we will continue to deliver. And we’ve got a long-term vision for Norfolk Southern where shareholders win, as opposed to the activists who’ve got a short-term and erratic approach where shareholders …

Backflip raises  million to help real estate investors flip houses

Backflip raises $15 million to help real estate investors flip houses

Flipping houses is not for the faint of heart, no matter how fun or easy HGTV might make it seem. One startup wants to make the process less complicated by offering a different way to borrow money to fund such a purchase. Founded in late 2020, Backflip offers a service to real estate investors for securing short-term loans. Beyond helping users secure financing, Backflip’s tech also helps investors source, track, comp and evaluate potential investments. Think of it as a cross between Zillow and Shopify.  Backflip originates loans through its subsidiary, Double Backflip, LLC. Interestingly, among its processing team are former employees of Better.com, a digital mortgage lender that has had its shares of ups and downs mostly related to its management and market conditions, but was lauded for its technology.  “We help investors source properties and curate their pipeline, analyze the deals that they might want to invest in, and hopefully make lower risk, better buying decisions,” CEO and co-founder Josh Ernst told TechCrunch in an interview.   Backflip launched a stealth private beta in …

Investors won’t give you the real reason they are passing on your startup

Investors won’t give you the real reason they are passing on your startup

“When an investor passes on you, they will not tell you the real reason,” said Tom Blomfield, group partner at Y Combinator. “At seed stage, frankly, no one knows what’s going to fucking happen. The future is so uncertain. All they’re judging is the perceived quality of the founder. When they pass, what they’re thinking in their head is that this person is not impressive enough. Not formidable. Not smart enough. Not hardworking enough. Whatever it is, ‘I am not convinced this person is a winner.’ And they will never say that to you, because you would get upset. And then you would never want to pitch them again.” Blomfield should know – he was the founder of Monzo Bank, one of the brightest-shining stars in the UK startup sky. For the past three years or so, he’s been a partner at Y Combinator. He joined me on stage at TechCrunch Early Stage in Boston on Thursday, in a session titled “How to Raise Money and Come Out Alive.” There were no minced words or …

Tesla Q1 Preview: Investors Brace For “Worst Results In 7 Years” With Short Interest At 3-Year-High

Tesla Q1 Preview: Investors Brace For “Worst Results In 7 Years” With Short Interest At 3-Year-High

Tesla is slated to report earnings tomorrow and, as FT notes, investors are bracing for the “worst results in 7 years” from the EV manufacturer.  Analysts predict that Tesla will post revenues of $22.3 billion for Q1, representing a year-over-year decline of 4.4%. This anticipated drop in revenue aligns with poor Q1 delivery data, where deliveries decreased by 8.5% year-over-year, marking the first annual decline in deliveries since 2020. Expectations for Tesla’s 2024 full year earnings are lower than those of 2023. Current forecasts by FactSet suggest Tesla’s EPS will be $2.67 for 2024, reflecting a decrease of over 14% from the previous year’s $3.12. Furthermore, since the close of 2023, consensus estimates for Tesla’s 2024 EPS have decreased by 30%. As we’ve noted, Tesla missed its Q1 delivery guidance and, so far in 2024, its stock has been decimated. For Q1 2024, Tesla produced over 433,000 vehicles and delivered 387,000. Tesla’s exact delivery number for the quarter was 386,810 vehicles, far below Bloomberg estimates at the time of 449,080. The company blamed the delivery miss on “the early …

Watch: How Headspin’s founder fraudsters almost get away with lying to investors

Watch: How Headspin’s founder fraudsters almost get away with lying to investors

News that the former founder of HeadSpin is headed to prison for fraud was further evidence that the last boom in the paired worlds of startup and venture capital led to more than just a little bit of fraud. Manish Lachwani, founder in question, is getting prison time and a massive fine for lying to investors, lies that allowed his company to raise nine-figures worth of funding. The company persists, and would likely prefer to let the entire situation fade from the public eye. Fair enough, but the tale of Lachwani — the New York Times reports that Lachwani inflated “HeadSpin’s revenue nearly fourfold, making false claims about its customers and creating fake invoices to cover it up” — is not an isolated case. Even past the somewhat dated frauds at Theranos and Rothenberg Ventures, there’s been a lot to cover lately. From investor complaints about Bolt’s fundraising, to BloomTech, Nikola, Binance, and FTX, we’ve seen a lot of financial shenanigans. Why are we seeing so much fraud and related behavior from upstart tech companies? …