Take-Two Acquires Playdots for $192M

Video game developer Take-Two Interactive has reached an agreement to buy mobile gaming studio Playdots for $192 million.“Our acquisition of Playdots will diversify and strengthen further Take-Two’s mobile game offerings, particularly within the casual, free-to-play segment,” Take-Two executive v...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 18, 2020

Building A Finance Full House

When revenue and profitability are on the up and up, the numbers aren’t met with as much scrutiny. Their accuracy and timeliness aren’t (overly) investigated, since the “whys” behind growth never seem as essential as the “whys” behind contraction and loss. And, even when a company is thriving, CF...

By Pamela Stern • Aug. 18, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from CFO.com

From CPA licensure changes to undergoing a digital transformation, these are the most popular stories CFOs are reading. 

By CFO.com staff

Chaparral Energy Files for Bankruptcy

Chaparral Energy has filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, three months after warning that a drop in commodity prices threatened its ability to remain in business.“While we have taken carefully measured and decisive action to address the challenges of 2020, the ove...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 17, 2020

Sexual Harassment Foreshadows Weak Stock Performance: Study

The news last week that McDonald’s is suing its former CEO Steve Easterbrook to recover severance pay he received when fired last fall is the latest reminder, if any is needed, of the pain companies undergo when top executives are exposed for alleged sexual misbehavior.Announcement of the firing ...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 17, 2020

Former Hertz CEO Settles SEC Charges

The former chief executive officer of Hertz, Mark Frissora, has agreed to pay $2.18 million to settle charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he aided and abetted the company’s filing of inaccurate financial statements and disclosures.Mark Frissora In a statement, the SEC sa...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 14, 2020

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending August 14

Paul Lundstrom Paul Lundstrom will join Flex as CFO on September 1. Most recently, Lundstrom has served as vice president of finance and chief financial officer at Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings. Previously, he held several division CFO positions as well as corporate finance roles during his 19 year...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 14, 2020

Revlon Accused of Fraud Over $1.8B Loan

Investors in Revlon have accused the struggling beauty company of “pillaging” intellectual property it had pledged as collateral for a $1.8 billion loan as part of a “brazen” scheme to raise new capital.In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, UMB Bank, the administrative agent for the lenders, said the col...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 13, 2020

FAT Brands to Buy Johnny Rockets

FAT Brands, the owner of Fatburger, has reached a deal to buy Johnny Rockets for about $25 million from its private equity firm owner Sun Capital Partners.“This acquisition is a transformative event for FAT Brands in terms of scale and brand awareness,” FAT Brands chief executive officer Andy Wie...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 13, 2020

Former Pinterest COO Alleges Gender Discrimination

The former chief operating officer of Pinterest, Françoise Brougher, is suing the company for gender discrimination and wrongful termination, alleging she was hired on unequal compensation terms, subjected to a hostile work environment, and fired by chief executive officer Ben Silbermann when she...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 12, 2020

‘High Potentials’ Are Not Putting Career Plans On Hold

Salveson Stetson Group recently conducted a survey of executive attitudes to making a job change in the midst of the pandemic. As you might imagine, the appetite for making a change has shrunken significantly given the uncertainty that the global health crisis has put on businesses. In fact, we e...

By John Touey • Aug. 12, 2020

McDonald’s Sues Ousted CEO

McDonald’s has filed a lawsuit against ousted chief executive officer Steve Easterbrook alleging he lied to the company about his sexual relationships with employees and misled investigators.In the filing Monday morning, the company said Easterbrook destroyed records and had physical sexual relat...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 10, 2020

How to Respond When Your Banker Requests a Visit

Lenders are nervous. Despite long-term institutional relationships with customers, many banks are seeking to reduce financial exposure to borrowers because of uncertainty in the current economic environment. This has been especially so with vendors to the retail, hospitality, and travel industrie...

By Kenneth A. Rosen • Aug. 10, 2020

Kodak’s $765M Federal Loan Paused Until Allegations Are Probed

The federal government is halting a $765 million loan to Eastman Kodak Company for its generic drug-making foray until the company is cleared of insider trading allegations.“On July 28, we signed a Letter of Interest with Eastman Kodak. Recent allegations of wrongdoing raise serious concerns,” th...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 10, 2020

Capital One Fined $80 Million Over 2019 Hack

Capital One has agreed to pay $80 million to settle charges stemming from the 2019 hacking incident that exposed data of more than 100 million customers, one of the largest attacks targeting financial data ever.In a consent order, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it assessed the...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 7, 2020

SEC Charges Consumer Loan Company With FCPA Violation

World Acceptance, a South Carolina-based consumer loan company, agreed on Thursday to pay $21.7 million to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).The Securities and Exchange Commission said that from at least December 2010 through June 2017, World Acceptance’s f...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 7, 2020

Trump Signs Executive Orders to Ban TikTok, WeChat

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders Thursday evening that would effectively ban TikTok and WeChat operations in the United States, if China-based parent companies ByteDance and Tencent Holdings fail to make sales within 45 days from now.The orders say that no U.S. citizen or compan...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 7, 2020

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending August 7

Stu Levy Domino’s Pizza promoted Stu Levy to chief financial officer. Levy, who was most recently executive vice president of supply chain services, joined the pizza chain in 2019 after serving as executive vice president and chief transformation officer at Republic Services. Since joining Domino...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 7, 2020

Rackspace Falls 20% After IPO

Shares of cloud-service provider Rackspace Technology fell 20% in trading after its initial public offering, opening at $16.85 on Wednesday.The company sold 33.5 million shares at $21 on Tuesday, pricing at the bottom of its range.The deal marks the worst opening performance on a U.S. exchange th...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 6, 2020

Shopify Rival BigCommerce Surges 292% On Debut After $216M IPO

BigCommerce Holdings shares skyrocketed on the first day of trading at Nasdaq Stock Market on Wednesday.The Austin, Texas-based company’s shares opened at $68 and soared as much as 292% to $93.99 in intraday trading on its debut.Trading had to be halted due to volatility when shares skyrocketed t...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 6, 2020

Virgin Atlantic Files for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Protection

Virgin Atlantic has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York as the company seeks approval for a $1.5 billion recapitalization plan.On Tuesday, before the Chapter 15 filing, the company won approval from a court in the United Kingdom to call a meeting of creditors on August 25 to vo...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 5, 2020

Lordstown Motors to List Shares Through SPAC

The electric automaker Lordstown Motors is planning to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), DiamondPeak Holdings, the companies announced.Under the deal, which implies a $1.6 billion valuation for the company, Lordstown Motors will receive $500 million in ...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 4, 2020

U.S. Banks Tighten Lending

It’s raining in the U.S. economy, and the bankers want their umbrellas back. Or, at least, they aren’t giving out any new ones.When the economy clouds over and bankers’ risk models start to look not so good, they do what they have to do for their own business’s survival: tighten the terms of lend...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 4, 2020

Men’s Wearhouse Owner Files for Bankruptcy

The parent company of Men’s Wearhouse filed for bankruptcy on Monday to restructure its $1.5 billion in debt after the coronavirus pandemic derailed its turnaround plan.Tailored Brands, which also owns Jos. A. Bank and K&G Fashion Superstore, is the latest of more than 20 private and public r...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 3, 2020

7-Eleven Parent to Buy Speedway for $21B

Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings, which owns 7-Eleven, has reached a deal to buy the gas station chain Speedway from Marathon Petroleum, the companies announced.In a statement, 7-Eleven said it would acquire approximately 3,900 Speedway stores in 35 states for $21 billion in cash. The...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 3, 2020

The Sustainable Financing Roadmap

Corporate issuers considering fixed-income and loan financings are in all probability exploring ESG-related options. Unquestionably, interest in green, social, and sustainable finance is increasing.To get started, let’s agree, for simplicity’s sake, to adopt the catch-all term “sustainable financ...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 3, 2020