DoorDash is entering the public markets fray today with hopes of “cash[ing] in on the frenzy in initial public offerings” of late. The food-delivery company is expected to price shares “at the high end of or above its already-increased target range of $90 to $95 a share” in hope of a valuation well north of $30 billion - WSJ and Bloomberg and TechCrunch and MarketWatch and NYTimes
Masa Son is discussing plans to initiate a “slow-burn” buyout in which he gradually buys back outstanding shares until he “can squeeze out the remaining investors” and take the company private again. The approach, if executed properly, could enable Masa to regain total control without paying a premium by buying SoftBank stock when it dips - Bloomberg
As hopes for a Brexit deal between the UK and EU slip away, businesses across the continent are “bracing for the economic disruption of Brexit, which threatens to clog ports and disrupt trade across the English Channel on Dec. 31 if leaders do not reach a compromise to settle their future trading relationship.” More on that and what it means for U.S. companies here - NYTimes
In presumably related news, the UK will “drop the tariffs that the EU had imposed on $4 billion of U.S. goods, part of the long-running dispute over illegal aid to aircraft manufacturers” in an effort to “reduce trade tensions” with the U.S. ahead of Britain’ charting its own tariff course in the coming years - Bloomberg
BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd, “once one of Europe’s biggest hedge-fund managers,” will fork over $170 million to the SEC to resolve claims “that it misled clients about an internal fund that invested its traders’ own money, while its flagship fund was managed by an underperforming algorithm” - WSJ and Law360
Goldman Sachs has reached a deal to buy out its minority partner in the firm’s “Chinese securities joint venture, which could make it the first global bank to assume full ownership of its securities business in mainland China since the Communist Party took control of foreign-owned enterprises in the country in the 1950s” - NYTimes and WSJ
Cybersecurity firm FireEye, a front-line company on the battle against online threat actors, revealed this week that “its own systems were pierced by what it called ‘a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities’” that used “’novel techniques’ to make off with its own tool kit, which could be useful in mounting new attacks around the world.” Yikes - NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch and TechCrunch and Law360
Uber’s been on a Kondo-ing tear this week. On Monday, it was the self-driving car project. On Tuesday, Dara and crew decided that the company’s flying car venture no longer sparked joy, and it will hand off the project to air taxi start-up Joby Aviation along with a $75 million investment - NYTimes and TechCrunch
U.S antitrust authorities are preparing to file a federal lawsuit aimed at blocking Procter & Gamble from acquiring body-care brand Billie Inc., the “second direct-to-consumer razor deal disrupted this year over competition concerns” - Bloomberg
More franchisor/franchisee drama from one of the biggest shops around, with a host of Mickey D’s franchisees announcing that they’d raise prices on Happy Meals “after the company revokes a longstanding rebate” that it pays each of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants “to subsidize the cost of toys included in children’s Happy Meals.” The dispute is the latest in a series of issues that have escalated “tensions between the fast-food giant and U.S. restaurant operators” - WSJ
Who’s to blame for Warner Bros.’ recent announcement that it will release its 2021 offerings in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time that has cinemas and Hollywood studios in a tizzy? Well, a telecom (that would be AT&T) running one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies would be good place to start - NYTimes and WSJ
The Times is digging this behind-the-scenes look at Dave Brubeck’s “masterpiece” “Time Out,” generally regarded as “among the most iconic records in jazz.” With “Time Outtakes,” we get a “collection of previously unheard recordings” from the “Time Out” sessions, including some studio banter from Brubeck and his collaborators - NYTimes
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