Updated Jan. 13, 2021 9:35 am ET
Europeâs antitrust watchdog on Wednesday approved London Stock Exchange Group PLCâs $15 billion deal to acquire Refinitiv Holdings Ltd. with conditions, removing a key hurdle in the companyâs bid to challenge Bloomberg LP, S&P Global Inc. and other industry heavyweights offering financial data.
The decision by the European Commission ends a monthslong probe into the risks of the deal. The probe centered on concerns the deal could give the LSE undue market power over trading and clearing government bonds, interest rate derivatives, and the sale of financial data such as stock- and bond-price quotes.
Affirm Stock Skyrockets After IPO
Point-of-sale lender’s stock briefly exceeded $100 in early trading and closed at almost double its initial offering price
Affirm Holdings started trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol AFRM. Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg News By
Shares of Affirm Holdings Inc. surged in the company’s trading debut Wednesday.
The buy-now, pay-later fintech firm, trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol AFRM, jumped as high as $103 shortly after it began trading around midday, far above its initial offering price of $49. The shares closed at $97.24.
The enthusiastic reception for Affirm shares could indicate that 2021 will be similar to 2020. That was the most lucrative year on record for public offerings in terms of money raised, driven in part by the success of companies like DoorDash Inc. that have benefited during the pandemic from the stay-at-home economy.
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Just Eat Takeaways results show just how much the Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the food delivery sector. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in Europe helped JustEat Takeaway.com’s growth accelerate dramatically in the final quarter of 2020 especially in the key U.K. market, where it has doubled down on increasing its footprint.
But shares in the company fell 4.5% in London trading, as investors eyed full-year guidance indicating smaller-than-expected margins.
The back story. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has proved to be rocket fuel for the food-delivery sector. With millions of people housebound, Just Eat Takeaway formed out of the merger between the Danish JustEat and Dutch
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Zoom Video Communications shares are on the mend after the company priced an offering of 5.15 million shares at $340 each, generating proceeds of $1.75 billion before expenses. That is a little larger than the $1.5 billion originally targeted.
The offering will nearly double the company’s holdings in cash and marketable securities, which stood at $1.87 billion as of the end of the October quarter. Zoom (ticker: ZM) has no long-term debt.
Stifel analyst Tom Roderick says the deal adds financial flexibility, but that he thinks the total would have to be higher in order for the company to achieve substantial growth via acquisitions. “While [the company now has] a sizable war chest, the cash alone doesn’t necessarily put potential targets like