Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Roche To Acquire Telavant

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Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) to acquire Telavant (ROIV) (PFE) for $7.1B, adds new bowel disease therapy to pipeline. (00:22) Stonepeak agrees to buy shipping-container firm Textainer (TGH) for $50/share (update). (01:23) Japan antitrust watchdog to investigate Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) over search dominance – report. (02:32)

This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.

Roivant Sciences (NASDAQ:ROIV) said Monday Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) will acquire Telavant Holdings.

Telavant is developing a new treatment for inflammatory bowel diseases.

The deal is for $7.1B upfront and a near-term milestone payment of $150M.

The deal includes the development, manufacturing and commercialization rights in the U.S. and Japan for a new therapy that is being tested to treat inflammatory bowel disease, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Since the antibody targets both inflammation and fibrosis, it has the potential to be applied in multiple other diseases.

Telavant was formed by Roivant (ROIV) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) to develop and commercialize the treatment in the U.S. and Japan. Roivant (ROIV) owns a 75% stake in the company, while Pfizer owns 25%.

The deal, which is subject to a waiting period, is expected to take place in Q4 2023 or in Q1 2024.

Infrastructure fund Stonepeak has agreed to purchase Textainer Group (NYSE:TGH) for $2.1 billion.

Textainer (TGH) is a company that leases shipping containers.

Textainer will receive $50 a share in cash, according to a statement late Sunday. Including Textainer’s debt, the deal is worth about $7.4 billion. The deal represents a 46% premium to Textainer’s (TGH) closing price on Friday.

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 and is not subject to a financing condition. The merger agreement includes a 30-day “go-shop” period that expires on Nov. 22, which permits Textainer (TGH) and its financial advisor to continue to actively solicit and consider alternative acquisition proposals.

Following the completion of the transaction, Textainer (TGH) will continue to be led by its current President and CEO and will continue to be headquartered in Bermuda.

Prior to closing, Textainer (TGH) intends to maintain its current quarterly dividend on both the Textainer common and preference shares.

Japan’s competition watchdog will investigate whether Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) violated antimonopoly laws to block rival services.

This would make it the latest regulatory body to scrutinize the search giant over its monopolistic practices.

According to Nikkei, the Japan Fair Trade Commission’s investigation will look into Google’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) practice of asking Android smartphone makers to prioritize its search services on their devices.

Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) is already facing scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe over its monopoly of the web search market, with Google owning more than 98% of the market.

Other articles to look out for on Seeking Alpha:

Earnings week ahead: Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Ford, GM and more

New titles drive 10% jump in U.S. video game sales for September

Foxconn said to face tax investigation in China, stock falls 2%

On our catalyst watch for the day,

• Stellantis (STLA) will introduce a fully renewed van lineup for each brand as part of its increased focus on the commercial business. The new lineup will feature second-generation zero-emission powertrains, a unique hydrogen solution, full connectivity, and top-level autonomous driving assistance systems.

U.S. stocks on Friday limped their way to the end of a week clouded by geopolitical concerns, a relentless bond sell-off, hotter-than-expected economic data and mixed comments from Federal Reserve speakers, chief among them chair Jerome Powell.

The Nasdaq (COMP.IND) fell 1.53%. The S&P (SP500) slumped 1.26%, while the Dow (DJI) slipped 0.86%.

For the week, the Nasdaq (COMP.IND) led losses, falling 3.16%. The S&P (SP500) fell 2.39% and the Dow (DJI) fell 1.61%.

All 11 S&P sectors closed in negative territory on Friday, led by Tech and Energy.

Now let’s take a look at the markets as of 6 am. Ahead of the opening bell today, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the red. The Dow is down 0.7%, the S&P 500 is down 0.7% and the Nasdaq is down 0.8%. Crude oil is down 0.25% at more than $87 a barrel. Bitcoin is up 2% and above 30,000 on hopes that the Bitcoin Spot ETF will finally be approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 0.7% and the DAX is down 1%. In Hong Kong the market is closed for a holiday.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) is down 18% after terminating its merger agreement with fellow REIT Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC), which had been announced on July 3. The two companies intend to continue to work together on mortgage loan opportunities.

On today’s economic calendar,

• 8:30 am the Chicago Fed National Activity Index

• As a reminder, we won’t hear from Fed speakers again until next month. This is the blackout period ahead of the next two day meeting that begins on October 31.

Editor’s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.