Exclusive: BlackRock in talks to take over Cofense after U.S. security concerns - sources - Reuters

(Reuters) - BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), an investor in Cofense Inc, is in advanced talks to take over the U.S. cyber security firm, after a U.S. national security panel asked buyout firm Pamplona Capital Management LLP to sell its stake, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

FILE PHOTO: A sign for BlackRock Inc hangs above their building in New York U.S., July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which scrutinizes deals by foreign acquirers for potential national security concerns, has not disclosed why it asked Pamplona to sell its 47% stake in Leesburg, Virginia-based Cofense, which helps protect email users from phishing attacks.

The development represents one of the rare, high-profile examples of CFIUS undoing a deal that had already been completed.

A major investor in Pamplona’s private equity funds is Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, who was included in an “oligarchs’ watchlist” by the U.S. Treasury Department that could have resulted in sanctions against him because of his potential ties to the Kremlin.

However, unlike other Russian oligarchs such as Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, Fridman has not been hit by U.S. sanctions.

“The process remains ongoing and we are working diligently towards a solution,” Pamplona said in a statement, declining to comment further.

Representatives for BlackRock, Cofense, Fridman and the U.S. Treasury, which chairs CFIUS, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pamplona decided last October to launch an auction process to sell its stake after CFIUS approached it. Pamplona took the decision 10 months after acquiring Cofense with BlackRock, and other investors, including Adam Street Partners and Telstra Ventures, in a $400 million deal.

BlackRock, which owns a 30% stake in Cofense, is the front-runner to buy Pamplona’s stake in a deal that could be reached as early as this week, the sources said. However, it is still possible that another bidder prevails or that negotiations will fall through, the sources added, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.

A July 19 deadline agreed with CFIUS to reach a deal for Cofense has already lapsed. Complicating negotiations is the involvement of the U.S. government, which has formed a trustee with the company to oversee the sale, the sources said.

The protracted process is also weighing on price negotiations. Pamplona is negotiating with BlackRock a mechanism of deferred payments that will be based on the future financial performance of Cofense, which it hopes will eventually lead to a deal value higher than last year’s investment, the sources said.

It is also possible, however, that the deal ends up valuing Cofense, which was previously known as Phishme, lower than last year’s $400 million valuation, the sources added.

Pamplona and BlackRock did not seek CFIUS approval when they completed their deal for Cofense last year, because the review system is voluntary and the firms thought there would be no national security concerns raised, according to the sources.

The firms relied on Cofense’s management team, which also has an equity stake in the company, to run the business, the sources added.

CFIUS has made cyber security and the protection of personal data its top priority in recent months. The U.S. intelligence community’s 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment report cited Russia’s efforts to interfere in the U.S. political system.

In another example this year of CFIUS seeking to untangle an acquisition, it asked Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd earlier to sell Grindr LLC, the popular gay dating app it has owned since 2016. Grindr collects personal information submitted by its users, including a person’s location, messages, and in some cases even someone’s HIV status.

Last year, CFIUS launched a pilot program under which filings for review for certain types of investments in some U.S. technology companies it deems to be of critical importance are no longer optional.

ALFA GROUP TIES

Fridman and his partners control Alfa Group, which includes top Russian private bank Alfa Bank, its biggest food retailer X5 Retail Group and other assets.

Fridman, whose net worth is pegged by Forbes at $15.9 billion, is also a principal shareholder in LetterOne, which invests in energy, telecoms, technology and other areas.

Pamplona was founded in 2005 in London by Moscow-born British dealmaker Alexander Knaster, who had previously served as CEO of Alfa Bank from 1998 until 2004. Last year, Knaster passed on day-to-day management of Pamplona to co-managing partners Martin Schwab and William Pruellage.

FILE PHOTO: Mikhail Fridman, chairman of the supervisory board of Alfa Group Consortium and a member of the supervisory board of X5 Retail Group, attends a ceremony as X5 Retail Group starts trading on Moscow Exchange in the city of Moscow, Russia February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo

Knaster remains chairman of Pamplona, which manages over $12 billion in assets across a number of funds.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is best known as a provider of mutual funds, but has also invested in private equity since 1999. This year it has raised $2.75 billion for a long-term private capital fund that has a provisional fundraising target of $10 billion.

(The story corrects spelling of Fridman in paragraph seven)

Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cofense-m-a-blackrock-exclusive/exclusive-blackrock-in-talks-to-take-over-cofense-after-u-s-security-concerns-sources-idUSKCN1UN0QM

2019-07-28 18:53:00Z
CAIiENPl7CRCj1KLQHGQTWqwn4UqFAgEKg0IACoGCAowt6AMMLAmMOpn

Equifax breach: see if you’re eligible, how to file a claim and see what you’ll get - CNET

James Martin/CNET

If you were among the 147 million people whose data was exposed in the 2017 Equifax data breach, you now can see if you are eligible to submit a claim and then file one to recover money you spent or lost as a result of the massive hack. The Federal Trade Commission said last week that Equifax has agreed to pay at least $575 million and up to $700 million to help compensate victims of hackers who stole personal data from Equifax servers. Payments as part of the settlement can cover the costs to recover from the security breach of the free credit report company -- including recovering from the theft of your identity and freezing and unfreezing accounts -- and unauthorized charges to your account. You can also submit a claim to cover the cost of protecting yourself from identity theft, following the Equifax data breach.

The breach resulted in hackers stealing Social Security numbers, addresses, credit card and driver's license information, birthdates and other personal data stored on Equifax's servers. As part of its investigation, the FTC alleged that the free credit bureau failed to take reasonable steps to secure its network. 

To get started, you can check if you and your information were exposed as part of the breach. Then, if your data was exposed, gather receipts and other documents related to the hack that show losses and out-of-pocket expenses. And finally, submit your claim for compensation. You have until January 22, 2020, to file as part of the class-action settlement.

Now playing: Watch this: Equifax breach: Find out if you can claim part of the...

1:33

Even if you weren't part of the breach and don't qualify to file a claim, you can get free credit reports for seven years as part of the settlement.

Taking part in the Equifax settlement isn't completely straightforward. The exact amount that Equifax will pay out is undetermined. The proposed settlement will start with a $300 million fund to compensate affected consumers who bought credit-monitoring services. Equifax will also pay $175 million to state and districts -- and $100 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in civil penalties. 

If the initial $300 million infusion doesn't adequately compensate consumers, according to the FTC, Equifax has agreed to kick in $125 million more to the fund, for a total possible settlement payout of $700 million. If you're a claimant, your share of the settlement could include free credit-monitoring and identity-theft protection services. You might also be eligible for cash payments to cover expenses as a result of the breach -- such as legal fees and credit monitoring -- free help recovering from identity theft and free credit reports for 10 years.

Here's how to take part in the settlement.

Find out if you were affected by the breach

If you want to check if your data was exposed, the FTC and official settlement site has an online tool you can use to check if you were part of the Equifax breach.

You'll need to enter your last name and last six digits of your social security number to see if your data was part of the hack.

To get started, enter your last name and last six digits of your social.

Screenshot Clifford Colby/CNET

Prepare and file your claim

On the Equifax Data Breach Settlement website, you can now file a claim to get back money you lost or spent as a result of the wide-ranging hack. Here's how to prepare for and then submit a claim.

• To support your claim, you'll need to gather any documents and receipts you have related to the breach to show expenses you had to recover from identity theft, for example, and money lost because of the breach.
• To follow the settlement, the FTC suggests you sign up to receive email updates.
• You can also check the FTC's Equifax Data Breach Settlement page and the official data breach settlement page for updates.
• And the FTC has a number you can call -- (833) 759-2982 -- for updates.
• On the official settlement site, you file a claim online.
• You can also follow the instructions on the site to mail your claim or have a claim form mailed to you.
• As part of the claim process, you'll select which benefits you are eligible for and review which documents you need to submit to support your claim. Supporting documents include statements showing unauthorized charges, costs of freezing your account, fees paid to professionals to help with the theft, and other associated expenses.
  

To start the claims process, provide some information.

Screenshot Clifford Colby/CNET

What the settlement payments can cover

The proposed agreement caps payouts at $20,000 per person to help cover what you spent to recover from the breach. Here are costs and expenses you may be able to recover.

• Expenses related to unauthorized charges to your accounts
• Costs of freezing a credit report and credit monitoring
• Fees paid to accountants, attorneys and other professionals
• Expenses for postage, mileage, notary and other services
• Fees related to credit monitoring, up to $125.
  
• Cost of Equifax credit monitoring and other services for a year prior to the breach.

In addition, beginning in 2020, Equifax will provide all US consumers -- whether part of the settlement or not -- with six additional free credit reports per year for seven years, from its website.

When do I need to file a claim

The FTC said you must submit your claim by Jan. 22, 2020. The soonest you will receive benefits you qualify for is Jan. 23, 2020, the FTC said.

This is the information we know right now, with a lot of details still to come. We'll update this story as we learn more.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/equifax-breach-see-if-youre-eligible-how-to-file-a-claim-and-see-what-youll-get/

2019-07-28 12:39:45Z
CAIiEF9IzlhmXbYMc19r3ty4gacqFQgEKgwIACoFCAow4GowoAgwhuCMBg

Get Ready for the World Economy’s Biggest Week of 2019 - Bloomberg

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Get Ready for the World Economy’s Biggest Week of 2019  Bloomberg

There will be no chance of a summer break for investors or policy makers in coming days as they brace for what might be the busiest week for the world ...

View full coverage on Google News
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-28/the-world-economy-s-biggest-week-of-2019-as-fed-prepares-cut

2019-07-28 02:00:00Z
CAIiECpIZsSypQo8kQcAjkOFpgIqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow4uzwCjCF3bsCMIrOrwM

3 Dividend Aristocrats to Buy and Hold Forever - Motley Fool

There are thousands of publicly traded companies, but the stock market is anchored by large, established businesses. They can anchor your portfolio, too. Many of these businesses have reliable sources of revenue and do well exerting control over the factors within reach. That allows them to return value to shareholders through short-term stock buybacks or long-term dividend streams. And that can go a long way toward helping you build wealth.

We recently asked three Motley Fool contributors for a leading Dividend Aristocrat on their radars. Here's why they chose energy major Air Products & Chemicals (NYSE:APD), water and hygiene conglomerate Ecolab (NYSE:ECL), and spice and flavor house McCormick (NYSE:MKC).

Image source: Getty Images.

Hydrogen, helium, and cash flow

Maxx Chatsko (Air Products & Chemicals): They're easy to overlook, but industrial gases drive a lot of the goods and services that make everyday life possible, from scientific research in universities to massive silicon wafer factories. Extracting, processing, compressing, and shipping all of those gases -- whether carbon dioxide and oxygen or more exotic gases like xenon and krypton -- takes a special type of expertise. Air Products & Chemicals is all too happy to serve that niche. 

The $50 billion supplier of gases and equipment has been on an impressive streak lately. In the fiscal third quarter of 2019, the business delivered record adjusted earnings per share. In the nine months ended June 30, it reported flat revenue versus the year-ago period, but managed to grow operating income over 7% to $1.54 billion in that span. It enjoyed a significant boost to gross margin and managed to slash selling and administrative costs. In fact, profits could have been even higher if not for $54 million in one-time costs related to a facility closure and cost reductions.  

While currency headwinds and a strong U.S. dollar have weighed on the business periodically in recent years, investors have been pleased with the overall trajectory. It has aggressively pursued and won new contracts without jeopardizing its long-term financial targets, benefited from the ongoing global helium shortage, and brought on new production capacity to meet customer needs.

The company increased research and development investment nearly 14% in the last year. It's also aggressively pursuing hydrogen infrastructure for refueling ground transportation vehicles, which may or may not pan out, but you can't fault the business for trying.

Most important of all, investors will find comfort in the company's long track record of beating the returns of the S&P 500 when dividends are included. Shares of Air Products & Chemicals might yield just 2%, but as a Dividend Aristocrat, it has raised its payout annually for over 25 consecutive years. Investors with a long-term mind-set might want to give it a closer look.

Image source: Getty Images.

Trending

Slow and steady wins the race

Brian Feroldi (Ecolab): Ecolab is a steady-eddy business that I've long admired. The company sells a variety of sanitation and cleaning solutions to a diverse customer base. This might not be an exciting business, but it's highly predictable since its customers must always maintain basic cleanliness standards to keep their employees and customers healthy. That fact allows Ecolab to crank out consistent revenue and profit growth, which Wall Street has rewarded with an ever-increasing stock price.

ECL Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.

So how can Ecolab keep these trends intact? Management has numerous levers that it can pull to ensure that everything continues to move in the right direction.

First, the company has a long history of investing in research and development to help launch new products. Second, management uses its financial strength to buy complementary businesses. Third, Ecolab pushes through modest price increases. Fourth, management wrings out operational efficiencies to improve margins. Finally, steady stock buybacks help to lower the share count over time.

Wall Street believes that these low-risk strategies will enable profitable growth in excess of 13% annually over the next five years.That's an impressive figure for a mature business. The net income growth should allow it to continue its long history of raising its dividend, too. The payout has grown each year since 1986, which easily qualifies it as a dividend aristocrat.

The stock isn't an incredible bargain right now -- shares trade for about 30 times next year's earnings estimates -- but I think that Ecolab is such a high-quality business that investors can still earn good returns from here even though they have to pay a premium to get in.

Image source: Getty Images.

---

Related Articles

Spicy but stable

Demitri Kalogeropoulos (McCormick): Thanks to a long period of rising incomes, Americans are now spending more on food at restaurants than they are on food that they prepare at home. That long-term trend has hurt many packaged-food specialists, but not the spice and flavorings giant McCormick. In fact, the company posted double-digit sales growth and surging profitability in its most recent fiscal year.

Sure, most of those gains came from McCormick's recent acquisition of new brands like French's condiments and Frank's hot sauces. But the dividend giant, which owns dozens of spices, herbs, seasonings, and flavorings franchises, is still outgrowing the industry with its core brands. 

McCormick aims for organic sales growth of around 5% each year, and is on pace to modestly underperform on that goal in 2019. Yet executives are predicting faster gains ahead thanks in part to aggressive marketing spending this year.

Meanwhile, income investors can expect bigger dividend increases given McCormick's rising profit margins and its falling debt burden. Those financial wins set the company up for many more dividend boosts ahead beyond 2018, which marked this Dividend Aristocrat's 33rd consecutive year of annual raises.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/07/27/3-dividend-aristocrats-to-buy-and-hold-forever.aspx

2019-07-27 16:23:00Z
CBMiXWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvb2wuY29tL2ludmVzdGluZy8yMDE5LzA3LzI3LzMtZGl2aWRlbmQtYXJpc3RvY3JhdHMtdG8tYnV5LWFuZC1ob2xkLWZvcmV2ZXIuYXNweNIBYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvb2wuY29tL2FtcC9pbnZlc3RpbmcvMjAxOS8wNy8yNy8zLWRpdmlkZW5kLWFyaXN0b2NyYXRzLXRvLWJ1eS1hbmQtaG9sZC1mb3JldmVyLmFzcHg

Sorry AOC, but Equifax probably won't be paying people $125 apiece - New York Post

Those hoping to cash in on the massive Equifax settlement might be out of luck, thanks to AOC.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a call for those affected by the 2017 data leak to make a claim, saying they could get $125 — “a nice chunk of change.”

But only $31 million has been earmarked for the payments, and the more who file claims, the less each person gets.

If all 147 million entitled to money request it, they would get just 21 cents apiece.

The freshman Democratic Socialist tweeted out a link Friday to a page where anyone affected by the breach from the credit reporting agency could file a claim.

“Everyone: go get your check from Equifax! $125 is a nice chunk of change,” she said. “Get that money and pay off a bill, sock it away, take a day off, treat yourself, whatever you’d like – but cash 👏🏿 that 👏🏽 check! 👏🏻 💸 It takes one minute.”

Earlier this week Equifax reached a settlement with the FTC which included an agreement to create a fund with at least $575 million, though only a small percent of that will go to cash payouts.

The lion’s share of the settlement will go into free credit monitoring services or larger awards for individuals who can prove that they suffered identity theft as a result of the breach, according to The Verge.

In fact, if all 147 million people entitled to the $125 actually file for it, they can each expect to get just 21 cents apiece as developer Rufo Sanchez pointed out on Twitter.

“Okay everyone UPDATE on Equifax: for most people the better deal is 10 years of free credit monitoring,” AOC said in a follow-up tweet, urging her followers to pass on the cash payment and instead take another offer from the company.

“There’s apparently a run on settlements so there’s anxiety people are going to get 16 cent checks. But if you choose 10 years of credit monitoring, Equifax *must* cover it.”

Share this:

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://nypost.com/2019/07/27/sorry-aoc-but-equifax-probably-wont-be-paying-people-125-apiece/

2019-07-27 15:28:00Z
CAIiEP_abX51GlimXQqNxHPr3jMqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowhK-LAjD4ySww-9S0BQ

Warren Buffett Is Now Betting $29 Billion on This Bank Stock -- Here's Why - Yahoo Finance

There are quite a few bank stocks in Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) portfolio, and most were chosen by Warren Buffett himself. At the end of the first quarter, Berkshire owned shares of 10 different banks, and these positions have a current market value of more than $91 billion.

However, we just learned that Buffett and his team have added even more to the company's largest bank-stock investment, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). In fact, Berkshire's latest Bank of America stock purchase pushes the stake past the 10% ownership threshold. Here's why that's such a big deal.

Warren Buffett smiling with a crowd of people behind him.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Berkshire's latest Bank of America purchase and why it's so significant

In a recent SEC filing, Bank of America disclosed that Berkshire Hathaway owns 950 million shares of the bank. This is significantly higher than the approximately 896.2 million shares it owned at the end of the first quarter.

At the current stock price, the additional 53.8 million shares Berkshire has purchased translates to an additional $1.64 billion invested in what was already the company's largest bank-stock investment. Berkshire's Bank of America stake is now worth about $29 billion, still well behind tech giant Apple, Berkshire's largest investment with a $51.7 billion market value, but a firm second place in front of Coca-Cola, a $21.2 billion investment.

Here's why this is so important. Thanks to a combination of the increased Berkshire investment and Bank of America's aggressive share buybacks, Berkshire Hathaway now owns 10.4% of the bank's outstanding shares.

The 10% ownership level is significant, especially when it comes to banks. In the past, Buffett has actively avoided owning more than 10% of most of his bank stocks -- even selling significant amounts of Wells Fargo stock to remain under this threshold. Without going too deep into the implications of owning more than 10% of a bank, the point is that Buffett's willingness to deal with additional regulatory headaches in order to own a bigger piece of Bank of America shows extreme confidence in the stock.

Why might Buffett be so confident in Bank of America?

A look at Bank of America's recent results shows why Buffett might be especially eager to invest. For one thing, Bank of America is doing a better job of growing than the rest of the big banks.

Bank of America's loan portfolio and deposit base grew by 4% and 6%, respectively, in the second quarter of 2019 on a year-over-year basis. The second-highest loan growth among the "big four" U.S. banks was just 2%.

Furthermore, Bank of America has done a fantastic job of improving efficiency and continues to increase its profitability. The bank's 11.6% return on equity (ROE) and 1.23% return on assets (ROA) would have seemed ludicrous just a few years ago.

From a value-investor's standpoint, Bank of America looks like a bargain. At just 1.15 times book value and 10.8 times trailing-12-month earnings, Bank of America is performing well and continues to improve, but the improvements haven't been reflected in the stock price.

Is Buffett buying other bank stocks, as well?

To be clear, the only reason we know about Berkshire's latest Bank of America investment is because it caused the 10% ownership threshold to be exceeded. In recent quarters, Berkshire has added to several of its bank stock investments, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, just to name a couple.

Since Berkshire isn't even close to a 10% ownership stake with these and several other bank investments, when Berkshire's next 13-F filing is available in mid-August, it's entirely possible that we'll discover that Bank of America isn't the only bank stock Warren Buffett has been buying recently.

More From The Motley Fool

• 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today
• The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss
• 20 of the Top Stocks to Buy (Including the Two Every Investor Should Own)
• What Is an ETF?
• 5 Recession-Proof Stocks
• How to Beat the Market

Matthew Frankel, CFP owns shares of Apple, Bank of America, and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has the following options: short January 2021 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), long January 2021 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple, long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple, short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple, and long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-buffett-now-betting-29-113300403.html

2019-07-27 11:33:00Z
52780340056018

Affect by the Equifax data breach? Here's how to find out if you're part of the settlement - WPSD Local 6

July 26, 2019

One way to look at the Equifax data breach is if you weren’t affected, your neighbor probably was. Almost half the U.S. population can file a claim to receive part of the $700 million attempt to make things right. Here’s what you need to do to find out if you’re part of the settlement.

The stolen information included names, birth dates and social security numbers. If you were affected, you should have received an e-mail but that was a couple of years ago. If you don’t remember, search your email for the name “Equifax”. If you don’t see anything you could still be affected and eligible for the payment.

There will be other emails sent to people part of the class-action lawsuit in the coming weeks plus full-page advertisements and announcements on social media.

There’s also the website, www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com where you can check for your name or email address. At the moment it isn’t active but will be when a judge approves the settlement.

You can also call this number 1-833-759-2982. When I did, I spoke to a real person in a matter of seconds who told me I should check back with that website Thursday or Friday. When I told her I had not signed up to be part of the class-action lawsuit, I was told it was not too late to make a claim and that I should call back later this week.

What could you get out of this? At the very least, free credit monitoring for at least 3 years. If you’ve already paid for credit monitoring, you can get $125 cash payment. If you’ve spent time dealing with stolen information or identity theft, Equifax will reimburse you $25 an hour up to $500 total. You’ll have to jump through hoops to prove your work.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2019/07/26/affect-by-the-equifax-data-breach-heres-how-to-find-out-if-youre-part-of-the-settlement/

2019-07-27 04:18:30Z
52780339356380