Good Morning! GM is returning billions to investors in buybacks and dividends, after its EV game fell short. Goldman got raided in Wall Street’s fight for AI talent. Cigna and Humana are in talks for an insurance mega-merger. The U.S. economy was hotter than economists expected in Q3. And Apple officially ended its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs.

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_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Cuban Shakeup

Mark Cuban is making big moves this week. First, he announced he’s out of Shark Tank after 16 seasons. 

And now he's planning on selling the Dallas Mavericks to the Adelson family, the casino moguls behind Las Vegas Sands.

But Cuban's not bowing out. He's keeping a minority stake and still running the team’s operations (which we haven’t really seen before from billionaires selling their teams).

Cuban bought the Mavs for $285 million in 2000, and now the team is valued at $3.5 billion (~12% IRR). And it’s wild - a decade ago, professional sports wanted nothing to do with gambling. But now, it’s likely the Mavs will be owned by one of the most powerful Vegas titans. 

Takeaway: Some are wondering if Cuban’s sale means he’s preparing a run for public office. He’s hinted at Presidential or Senate ambitions before. But it sounds like the sale is contingent on Cuban still running the show - and the Adelsons keeping the team in Dallas. But you gotta hand it to Cuban - his investment in the Mavs is looking very lucrative. 

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• U.S. economy was hotter than previously thought (Axios)

• GM announces $10B share buyback program, hikes dividend by 33% (CNBC)

• Nobody wants U.S. Treasury bonds (YF)

• Goldman raided by recruiters in Wall Street fight for AI talent (BB)

• Family offices move money out of stocks and into private markets (CNBC)

• JPMorgan, Citi scrap over wealthy New York lawyers (BB)

• What Munger’s death means for Berkshire’s succession (YF) 

• Apple ended its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs (Reuters)

• KKR and Apollo will pay rainmakers less from fees, more from gains (BB)

• Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan Chase would exit China if ordered to (CNBC)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed lower because Q3 economic growth was stronger than expected.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Rover Group ($ROVR) +29% after the dog-walking company was acquired by Blackstone.

• (+) Workday ($WDAY) +11% after posting strong Q3 results.

• (–) Petco ($WOOF) -29% after a Q3 sales miss, lowering guidance.

Private Dealmaking

• Ferrovial sold its 25% stake in London’s Heathrow Airport for $3 billion

• KKR bought the remaining stake in Global Atlantic for $2.7 billion 

• Blackstone bought Rover Group for $2.3 billion 

• Oxford Quantum Circuits, a compute-as-a-service startup, raised $100 million

• Braincube, a data software manufacturer, raised $91 million 

• Candex, a procurement management platform, raised $45 million

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

The LEGO Story

It’s estimated that each year between eighty and ninety million children around the globe are given a box of LEGO, while up to ten million adults buy sets for themselves. Yet LEGO is much more than a dizzying number of plastic bricks that can be put together and combined in countless ways. LEGO is also a vision of the significance of what play can mean for humanity.

This book tells the extraordinary story of a global company and a Danish family who for ninety years have defended children’s right to play—and who believe grown-ups, too, should make the time to nurture their inner child.

The LEGO Story is built on Jens Andersen’s unique access to LEGO’s own archives, as well as on Andersen’s extensive conversations with Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, former president and CEO of the LEGO group and grandson of its founder, Ole Kirk Christiansen.

A riveting cultural history of changing generations’ views of childhood and the importance of play, The LEGO Story also a fascinating case study of how innovation and creativity helped leaders transform LEGO from a small carpentry business into the world’s largest producer of play materials and one of the most beloved brands in the world.

Richly illustrated with never-before-seen photos from the family’s private archive, this is the ultimate book for fans of LEGO, revealing everything you ever wanted to know about the brand.

“Absolutely essential reading for every LEGO fan.”

_{HEARD AROUND THE STREET}

Wall Street Corner

_{DEAL OF THE MONTH - ROYALTY RICHES}

A consortium led by New Mountain Capital agreed to acquire Broadcast Music Inc. (“BMI”), which represents Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and Rihanna, among others.

So what exactly is New Mountain acquiring for some undisclosed price? BMI owns the public performance rights of 20+ million musical works created by over 1.3 million songwriters, publishers and composers.

Essentially, this means New Mountain will own the rights to collect royalties whenever these songs are played publicly, rights which BMI has previously obtained from the artists themselves in exchange for an initial payment.

Royalties of any kinds are great sources of cashflow given there is limited variability, and typically no costs associated with them. All of the costs associated with a royalty business are basically overhead costs to keep the business running and capital to acquire new royalties, making it a high margin business.

The flip side of these high margin businesses is they typically sell for high multiples. This could explain why New Mountain has chosen not to reveal the sale price, as the valuation multiple might be quite substantial.

Following the closing of the deal - expected in Q1’24 - BMI’s current shareholders will set aside $100 million of the proceeds from the sale for its songwriters and partners. This payout is structured as an earnout and will be based on performance over a set timeframe.

This deal has been met with some concern from songwriters and publishers, BMI has acknowledged that this is inline with their existing growth plans: (1) to grow distribution; (2) invest in new technologies to improve royalty collections; (3) add new revenue streams through organic growth and M&A opportunities.

Goldman Sachs advised BMI and Moelis advised New Mountain. Additionally, CapitalG (affiliated with Alphabet) will also pick up a passive minority stake in the business as a co-investor.

For more content like this, check out our deals newsletter Buysiders:

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Americans' Savings Are Dwindling

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Diversify Your Sense Of Self

"One of the most important parts of developing an identity that can thrive, persist, and endure change is to diversify your sense of self. You can think of identity like a house. You want the house to have multiple rooms.

Perhaps there is a "parent" room; an "athlete" room; an "employee," "entrepreneur," or "executive" room; a "community member" room, and so on.

It's okay to spend a lot of time in just one room, but you've got to ensure you keep the others in good enough shape.

This way, when you experience a massive change or disorder event in one area of your life, in one room of your identity, you can step into other areas to gain your footing and stability.

Like a diversified portfolio in investing, diversifying your sense of self makes you more rugged and flexible in the face of change."

Source: Brad Stulberg

_{JOB BOARD}

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• NHL - Finance Manager - New York, NY

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_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• The college degrees of the world’s richest people 

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• How to rewire the story you tell yourself about stress

• Manage your capacity, not your time

• 3 words highly successful and likable people use

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day