VillageMD, a subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance, is buying urgent care provider Summit Health in a deal valued at $9B. The move is the latest in a growing list of consolidations within the healthcare sector. Summit Health is the parent company of CityMD urgent care centers. More: - Summit Health is backed by private-equity firm Warburg Pincus and has more than 370 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Oregon.
- The combined entity will have more than 680 provider locations.
- As part of the deal, Walgreens will invest $3.5B in a mix of debt and equity and remain VillageMD’s largest shareholder.
- Walgreens has a 53% stake in VillageMD.
- Health insurance firm Cigna is also investing in the deal through its Evernorth unit and will be a minority owner.
- Walgreens shares rose more than 4% on news of the deal.
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The Justice Department recovered about $3.36B in Bitcoin stolen in 2013 following the shutdown of the illegal Silk Road marketplace. U.S. authorities seized about 50,676 bitcoins during an unannounced raid on Nov. 9, 2021, at the Gainesville, Georgia, residence of James Zhong. More: - It is the second-largest cryptocurrency seizure by the U.S. Justice Department.
- The largest was the February seizure of more than $3.6B in Bitcoin linked to the 2016 hack of the Bitfinex crypto exchange.
- On Friday, Zhong pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
- Zhong is accused of stealing the loot from the Silk Road marketplace, a dark web forum where drugs and other illicit items were bought and sold with cryptocurrency.
- The Silk Road was launched in 2011 and was shut down by the FBI in 2013.
- Its founder, Ross William Ulbricht, is serving a life sentence in prison.
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A message from CONSTRUCTOR It’s retail Q4… What are analysts predicting for commerce tech in 2023? How can retailers and brands leverage these findings to optimize the consumer experience amidst a recession? On Wednesday, November 9, at 11 a.m. ET, join Constructor, product search and discovery solution, and special guest Emily Pfeiffer, Principal Analyst for Commerce Technology at Forrester Research, to review her predictions for ecommerce tech in 2023. You will learn: - The top 5 tech trends Forrester predicts for 2023 that will impact bottom-line
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Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday evening that any Twitter account caught engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying it is a parody account would be permanently suspended. Musk added that in the past, Twitter issued a warning before suspending such accounts, but as the company is rolling out its new verification process, there would be no warning. More: - Musk said the new policy would be noted as a condition for signing up for Twitter Blue.
- The accounts of some comedians were suspended over the weekend when they changed the names on their Twitter profiles to Elon Musk.
- Sarah Silverman's account was temporarily suspended.
- Kathy Griffin and Rich Sommer's accounts were still suspended as of Monday.
- Musk had previously stated he did not believe in permanent bans and had referred to himself as a free speech absolutist.
- Twitter's new $7.99 verification Twitter Blue option began to roll on Saturday, though many users have not been able to access the feature yet.
In related news: - Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted an apology to Twitter's current and former employees, taking some responsibility for the recent layoffs at the company.
- Dorsey said he grew the company too quickly and was grateful for everyone who has ever worked at the social media company.
- On Friday, about 50% of Twitter's workforce, about 3,700 people, were laid off as part of cost-cutting measures.
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Berkshire Hathaway released its Q3 operating results over the weekend, reporting a 20% increase in operating profits to $7.76B. The company bought back about $1.05B worth of shares during the quarter, bringing its nine-month share repurchases total to $5.25B. More: - Berkshire Hathaway posted a net loss of $2.7B, down from a net income of $10.34B reported last year.
- The company pointed to a drop in its equity investments and current market conditions.
- Berkshire Hathaway’s Insurance-investment income was $1.4B, up from $1.16B reported last year.
- Its utilities and energy investments posted $1.59B in earnings, up from ~$1.5B reported last year.
- Berkshire Hathaway said it adopted the equity method of accounting for its 20.9% stake in Occidental, which is worth more than $14B.
- Berkshire Hathaway shares gained ~1.5% on Monday; the conglomerate is down ~3.5% YTD.
- The S&P 500 is down more than 20% YTD, the Nasdaq is down more than 30%, and the Dow is down more than 10%.
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Shares of used car retailer Carvana fell more than 15% on Monday, trading at $6.68 a share at some point, its lowest price on record. Carvana is down nearly 50% since Thursday following its Q3 earnings release, where it missed expectations across the board. The company is down almost 97% YTD. More: - Carvana posted $3.39B in revenue, down 3% YoY.
- The company sold 102,570 vehicles in Q3, down 8% YoY.
- Its gross profit per unit sold fell to $3,500, compared to $4,672 reported last year — a decrease of $1,172.
- Carvana reported a net loss of $283M or $2.67 a share, compared to a net loss of $32M reported over the same period last year.
- More than 52 million shares of Carvana were traded on Monday, including 9.2 million shares within the first 22 minutes of trading.
- Monday’s trading volume was the second-highest on record for the company.
- The first was on Friday, when more than 71 million shares were traded.
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Elliott Management is backing Philip Morris International’s proposed $15.7B takeover of smokeless tobacco company Swedish Match. Elliott is Swedish Match’s largest shareholder. As of Friday, PMI had received more than 80% of shareholders’ approval for the deal. More: - Elliot has a 10.5% stake in Swedish Match and stands to make a $150M profit from the deal.
- Under the terms of the deal, PMI made its offer conditional on receiving more than 90% of shareholders’ approval by a deadline of Nov. 4.
- PMI aims to add Swedish Match’s popular Zyn product to its products and take advantage of the company’s retail distribution channels to sell its IQOS heated tobacco sticks.
- Swedish Match’s Zyn has more than 60% of the U.S. nicotine pouch market.
- The company has owned America's Best Chew (formerly Red Man Chewing Tobacco) since 1985.
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- Tyson Foods CFO John Tyson was arrested on Sunday on charges of public intoxication and trespassing after he fell asleep in the wrong house. Tyson was named CFO of the company in September. He is the son of the company’s chairman, John H. Tyson, and the great-grandson of its founder, John W. Tyson.
- Dick’s Sporting Goods has launched an in-house $50M venture capital fund focused on sports products and technology for athletes. Dick’s said it would only invest in companies for which it can provide non-monetary support.
- China has become Russia’s leading trading partner following western sanctions. According to the Kiel Institute, Russian imports are down 24% YoY. Russia’s trade with China has increased by 23% YoY.
- The 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), the UN Climate Change Summit, began on Sunday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
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| | Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. | | 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 and 1972 Fords. | |
Constructor is the company building revenue-driving on-site search and discovery solutions for digital merchandisers. | |
Laika is a unified compliance platform that automates workflows for audits, infosec monitoring, and vendor due diligence in a single, collaborative space. | |