Michael Rubin & SBF’s Bahamas bromance

One notice to begin: That is the ultimate DD of 2022. We’ll be again on Tuesday, January tenth after some R&R — however make sure you look out for a particular version of the e-newsletter in early January.

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Francesca Friday

Due Diligence reporter/producer

In as we speak’s e-newsletter:

Michael Rubin is not an FTX fanatic

Michael Rubin is the final word networker. The person behind the Fanatics sports activities merchandise empire has fairly the jet-setting life, as chronicled on this New York Times profile.

Rubin additionally frolicked final yr with the island nation’s most notorious resident, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. A disclosure from the fallen crypto alternate’s chapter counsel on Wednesday evening revealed that FTX is an investor in Fanatics, an organization that Sullivan & Cromwell represents.

DD has discovered some element in regards to the relationship between the 2. In keeping with an individual aware of the state of affairs, Rubin and SBF met in late 2021 whereas Rubin was constructing a trip home on the Albany Resort, the luxurious group the place FTX had arrange store.

Rubin put $10mn into FTX, a determine that has since been worn out. FTX, nonetheless, put in a reciprocal $10mn into Fanatics, in response to this individual. The latter funding has labored out significantly better.

FTX’s $10mn was invested in an early 2022 fundraising that valued Fanatics at $27bn. Simply weeks in the past, that valuation rose to $31bn in one other spherical that included the likes of Clearlake Capital, LionTree, SoftBank and Silver Lake Companions.

The crypto group’s Fanatics funding is now a part of the FTX chapter property that the corporate’s new boss John Ray III, Sullivan & Cromwell and bankers at Perella Weinberg Companions want to monetise so as to repay account holders.

Fanatics declined to touch upon its relationship with FTX.

Rubin could also be spending extra time within the Bahamas, but SBF won’t be. After arriving in New York and being taken into federal custody on Thursday, a choose set a $250mn bond for him that requires his presence at his dad and mom’ dwelling in Palo Alto, California.

Two of his closest associates, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, additionally received’t be returning anytime quickly. The pair have pleaded guilty to fraud fees and agreed to co-operate with US authorities.

How Adidas dropped the ball

The yr is 2016. Kanye West’s album Fade is dominating the airwaves and drops of the rapper-turned-designer’s Yeezy sneaker collaboration with Adidas are promoting so quick that retailers estimate solely 0.25 per cent of hopeful clients will get their fingers on a pair.

How the mighty have fallen. The rapper, who now goes by Ye, has come out as a Hitler apologist on an anti-Semitic tirade that has inspired different hateful language and acts. That prompted Adidas to cut ties with its most worthwhile enterprise associate.

The tip of the partnership has contributed to a 54 per cent drop in Adidas’ share value up to now yr. However the retailer had been confronting deep-seated issues inside its organisation lengthy earlier than its most up-to-date disaster, the FT’s Eleanor Olcott and Olaf Storbeck report.

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In interviews with 17 present and former executives, lots of whom have left the corporate, who stated outgoing chief Kasper Rørsted and its board had positioned Adidas poorly to climate the West storm, firing key personnel and changing into over-reliant on the Yeezy collaboration.

In addition they claimed the outgoing chief’s “administration by concern” had traumatised employees and led to an exodus of expertise.

Rørsted’s successor, longstanding Puma boss Björn Gulden, has now been tasked with confronting the widening hole between Adidas and its rivals.

The debacle has made clear the dangers of changing into too depending on a single associate. As Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet put it final month: “A complete Adidas model reset might be wanted.”

Job strikes

• Dan Berkovitz, common counsel of the US Securities and Alternate Fee, will depart the company on the finish of January. Megan Barbero, presently SEC principal deputy common counsel, will take his place.

• Stephanie Bruce, the chief monetary officer of Abrdn, is planning to leave the asset supervisor within the coming months, in response to Bloomberg, after what has been a challenging period for the group.

• Tesla has despatched its China boss Tom Zhu to the US to assist deal with manufacturing engineering challenges within the area, fuelling speculation that he’s being primed for an even bigger function as the electrical carmaker’s CEO Elon Musk has been distracted with Twitter, per Reuters.

Sensible reads

The ER elite A particular room in New York College’s busy Manhattan emergency division is devoted to 2 sorts of sufferers: these whose lives are on the road, and VIPs. The New York Occasions investigates allegations that the hospital gives preferential treatment to donors, trustees and their households.

India or bust As China’s as soon as red-hot wealth market cools within the face of geopolitical tensions, a brand new gold rush has kicked off world personal banks rush to hire advisers for India’s wealthy, Bloomberg studies.

Folks of curiosity From Sam Bankman-Fried to the crypto conwoman who glided by the rap identify “RAZZLEKAHN”, our colleagues at Alphaville look back on a year of fascinating characters.

And one FT movie: the straightforward cash period is over. FT journalists break down the next big threats to the worldwide monetary system.

Information round-up

Guggenheim Partners financier Scott Minerd dies aged 63 (FT)

Former Crédit Agricole trader alleges racial bias at bank (Bloomberg)

Deloitte fined by UK watchdog over SIG audit work (FT)

JPMorgan’s credit-trading loss hinged on internal valuations (Bloomberg)

Toshiba’s preferred bidder to seal $10.6bn loan deal (Reuters/Yomiuri)

German regulator rebukes Standard Chartered over European operations 

TikTok admits tracking FT journalist in leaks investigation (FT)

US banks: mind the $690bn bond valuation gap (Lex)

Porsche and the decline of the German stock market (FT Opinion)