Intercontinental Exchangeâs Cryptocurrency Venture to Go Public Through a SPAC
ICEâs Bakkt crypto venture plans to roll out an app for trading and making payments with digital assets The price of bitcoin is skyrocketing, driving a rally of momentum trading that s pushed its value higher than it s ever been before. WSJ explains how bitcoin trading works, and why the volatile digital currency is reaching all-time highs. Illustration: Jacob Reynolds/WSJ By Jan. 11, 2021 8:00 am ET Intercontinental Exchange Inc., or ICE, will take its cryptocurrency venture public by merging it with a special-purpose acquisition company, a deal that will further its goal of launching a consumer app for trading and making payments with digital assets.
Jan. 11, 2021 5:30 am ET Bluebird Bio Inc., a biotech pioneer in the field of gene therapies, plans to split itself in two later this year, spinning off its cancer-drug unit into a new, publicly traded company so it can focus on rare diseases.
Bluebird Chief Executive Nick Leschly will helm the new cancer company and assume a new position as executive chairman of Bluebird. Andrew Obenshain, currently Bluebird’s president of severe genetic diseases, will become its chief executive, the company said.
The separation is expected to close in the fourth quarter, the company said.
“We built this powerful product engine, and the question is: ‘What is the best way to think about the next five to 10 years?’ ” Mr. Leschly said in an interview. “We don’t believe the past is the best way to head into the future.”
The independent broker-dealer is counting on two relatively new affiliation channels to appeal to wirehouse advisors who either want help running their businesses or don’t want to run a business at all.
Shares of the gene-therapy biotech bluebird bio have tumbled in recent months, with the stock dropping 46.4% over the past year as the S&P 500 Health Care sector index has climbed 14.2%.
Now, the company is trying something entirely different in an effort to stop the downward spiral. In a move announced Monday morning, bluebird (ticker: BLUE) said it planned to split into two public companies by the end of the year. One will focus on rare diseases and the other will work on treating cancer.
“After careful strategic review, it is clear to us that the two businesses are best served by independent leadership and teams to drive distinct strategic and operational objectives,” said the company’s CEO, Nick Leschly, in a statement.
Roku Acquires Rights to Quibiâs Content
Maker of the biggest U.S. streaming video-player plans to put the content in its ad-supported channel
Joelle Uzyel and Mikel Welch in Quibiâs âMurder House Flip.â Roku will have the global distribution rights to the streaming serviceâs content for the rest of 2021. Photo: QUIBI By Updated Jan. 8, 2021 10:27 am ET Roku Inc. agreed to acquire the rights to content from Quibi, a deal that will make the defunct short-form streaming serviceâs shows available on the biggest streaming-media player in the U.S.
Roku paid less than $100 million to acquire the shows, according to people familiar with the matter. One person said it was âsignificantly lessâ than $100 million.