Feb 24, 2024

Today, I read about the potential strategic convergence across the Malaysia-Singapore border and its significance amid U.S.-China competition. ASEAN Wonk spoke with Malaysia’s former deputy minister of international trade and industry and member of parliament Dr. Ong Kian Ming. They discussed the geoeconomic dynamics behind cross-border Malaysia-Singapore cooperation and the implications for the wider region, emphasizing the need for cooperation to attract foreign direct investment and catalyze value-added economic growth.

In another news, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner recently sold the last remaining part of Topps, a gift card unit called TDS, to digital media and marketing firm Ziff Davis, following prior sales of Topps’ trading cards and collectibles business to Fanatics and of its candy unit to Apax Partners. The total sales amounted to $1.37 billion, or a 3.55x multiple on the original investment.

Capital One will not pay a termination fee to Discover Financial if regulators block their proposed $35.3 billion merger. Additionally, several venture capital deals were reported, including Antora Energy raising $150m in Series B funding, Frontier Medicines raising $80m in Series C funding, and Napier AI receiving £45m from Crestline Investors.

Several companies have recently secured significant funding, and in the private equity space, several acquisitions have taken place. In other news, Reddit has officially filed its S-1, reporting nearly a $91 million net loss for 2023 on $804 million in revenue. Car Tech, a U.S. stamped auto-body parts maker and subsidiary of South Korea’s Shinyoung Co., agreed to merge with AltEnergy Acquisition, while Williams Rowland Acquisition announced it will redeem shares and liquidate after failing to strike a merger. Additionally, EQT and CPPIB are in talks about a sale or IPO for Nord Anglia, an international private school operator that could be valued at around $15 billion. Delivery Hero ended talks to sell its Foodpanda business in several Southeast Asia countries, and Newmont, the world’s largest gold miner, said it wants to generate around $2 billion via the sale of six mines and two projects.

Stay Well!