Gates Bets on Mobile, Box IPO, and Dollar Tree

A few news items are worth noting today.

First up is Bill Gates' bet on mobile banking:

http://www.mobilepaymentsinsider.com/2015/01/23/bill-gates-bets-on-mobile-banking/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“In the next 15 years, digital banking will give the poor more control over their assets and help them transform their lives,”Bill and Melinda Gates wrote in the Gates Foundation’s annual letter. A bold statement, but one that has been supported by the success of mobile money services over the last few years.

Next up is the cloud services company Box going public:

http://recode.net/2015/01/23/box-shares-open-at-20-20-a-share/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Cloud storage and collaboration company Box debuted for trading as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange this morning, capping a 10-month process during which the offering was delayed at least twice.

Box officially priced 12.5 million shares at $14 each late Thursday, above a previously announced range of $11 to $13. The shares opened for trading at $20.20, then rose as high as $21.66 within the first few minutes of trading.

Finally is news of Dollar Tree finally nearing completion of their acquisition of Family Dollar:

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2015/01/23/dollar-tree-outlines-steps-to-finalize-8-7b-family.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is mapping out the final steps to complete its $8.7 billion acquisition of Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO).

Family Dollar's shareholders voted Thursday in favor of the deal, rejecting a hostile takeover bid by Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG).

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant