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(03-21-2021, 11:23 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: (03-20-2021, 10:22 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: This is actually a really interesting distinction, that I hadn't explicitly seen in words before. And it's an important one. It's much broader than just newspapers.
So my question is, why are these super profit seekers still in the newspaper business if it isn’t profitable enough for them? Find some other business to manage to death.
"find some other business to manage to death"...
This is literally how they ended up managing newspapers.
Ultimately, this is why we have such a backlash against capitalism. While it is not all capitalism (small businesses like you describe are still part of capitalism), it is creating significant hate of capitalism.
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(03-21-2021, 01:10 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: (03-21-2021, 11:23 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: So my question is, why are these super profit seekers still in the newspaper business if it isn’t profitable enough for them? Find some other business to manage to death.
"find some other business to manage to death"...
This is literally how they ended up managing newspapers.
Ultimately, this is why we have such a backlash against capitalism. While it is not all capitalism (small businesses like you describe are still part of capitalism), it is creating significant hate of capitalism.
They can still do the USA Toys R Us play where they borrow money and then go bankrupt...
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I will note here that the private equity model is not an issue for the Record. Torstar is a newspaper company -- yes, it's owned by Nordstar, but the Nordstar principals are newspaper guys, who specifically want to be in the newspaper business. So, I don't think excessive profit-seeking is the issue here.
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https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...egion.html
https://outline.com/Vgcfje
The headline is a little doom and gloom, with the statement "Kitchener’s vacant office space is the highest in the region" but I thought it contained this interesting bit of news:
Quote:KITCHENER — Downtown Kitchener looks like a wasteland of vacant office space as people continue to work from home during another lockdown, but there are hopes for a flurry of activity with three “significant” companies setting up shop in the core in 2021.
Tony LaMantia, chief executive officer of the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation, said the three companies are not located in the region but soon will be in Kitchener.
The businesses will create jobs, lease office space in the downtown area and “help with our community brand because they are important names,” said LaMantia, who added that he couldn’t provide further information until the final deals are reached.
Likely tech companies, but I'm very curious to hear which ones.
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Time to start a pool (or a wishlist)? What big global tech companies might want either a satellite office here or to expand one that is already hear? Looking at the FAANG list (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google), who would you wager might be next?
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I'm familiar with the companies they're talking about. They are pretty big names though I can't reveal who they are on here. I'm not sure how much office space they'll be using since this pandemic is nowhere near over but there's always room for growth.
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(04-10-2021, 10:55 AM)ac3r Wrote: I'm familiar with the companies they're talking about. They are pretty big names though I can't reveal who they are on here. I'm not sure how much office space they'll be using since this pandemic is nowhere near over but there's always room for growth.
Wow...what a tease!
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04-16-2021, 03:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-16-2021, 03:52 PM by taylortbb.)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business...-15-years/
Quote:Magnet Forensics Inc., a cybersecurity company based in Waterloo, Ont., and staffed with a slew of former BlackBerry executives, has formally filed to go public in a $90-million offering that could be the first new issue from the tech-heavy region in 15 years.
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04-20-2021, 02:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-20-2021, 02:17 PM by taylortbb.)
https://betakit.com/us-private-equity-fi...llion-cad/
Quote:United States-based private equity firm Luminate Capital Partners is set to acquire a controlling stake in Axonify for $313 million CAD ($250 million USD).
A spokesperson for Axonify confirmed the controlling stake and size of the investment to BetaKit, adding that it gives the startup a valuation of $438 million CAD ($350 million USD).
Axonify, which provides communications and training software to frontline employees, said the new investment will help the Kitchener-Waterloo-based startup accelerate product innovation and pursue “other key growth initiatives.” The transaction, which is designed to fuel Axonify’s “next phase of growth,” is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, pending customary approvals and closing conditions.
Given it's a controlling stake I'd call this basically an exit. Combined with the Magnet news that's two high profile exits in a couple weeks for KW tech. Combined with how well some other startups (Faire, Apply Board, Arctic Wolf) are doing I feel like local tech is having a pretty phenomenal year. The labour market for tech is going to get really tight with all the hiring (Google playing a big role here too).
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06-12-2021, 02:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2021, 02:20 PM by taylortbb.)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business...-waterloo/
Quote:Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has led a US$230-million financing of ApplyBoard Inc., one of the fastest-growing startups to emerge from the Waterloo, Ont., area in years.
Two sources familiar with the as-yet-undisclosed transaction said the pension giant’s Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP) unit led the deal with participation from past investor Fidelity Investments Inc. and other backers, valuing ApplyBoard at more than US$3-billion.
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https://www.communitech.ca/technews/faire-soars-to-us$7b-valuation-on-latest-round-report.html
Quote:Faire, an online wholesale marketplace for small independent retailers, has soared to a valuation of US$7 billion on its latest funding round of US$260 million, the company's CEO announced today.
[...]
CTO Marcelo Cortes said Faire is continuing to expand its Canadian operations and will be moving its local workforce – 165 and growing – into 60,000 square feet of space in the former Shopify building at 85 Willis Way in uptown Waterloo.
“We have the whole second and third floor,” said Cortes. “We’re very excited.”
[...]
Cortes said he and his co-founders intentionally structured Faire from the start to have joint headquarters in Waterloo Region and San Francisco. [...] “We have always been committed to Waterloo from day zero,” said Cortes. “We're a Canadian company just as much as we are a U.S. company, and eventually we're going to become a global company.”
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A shared coffee roasting facility is coming to the building on Charles between Borden and Ottawa (where City Cafe is located). https://www.instagram.com/p/CTatx7WLtcW/
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(04-10-2021, 01:14 AM)nms Wrote: Time to start a pool (or a wishlist)? What big global tech companies might want either a satellite office here or to expand one that is already hear? Looking at the FAANG list (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google), who would you wager might be next?
Is there any update on this. Is this a legitimate comment about FAANG . Does the Amazon warehouse in Blair count as a part of this.
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I don't think an Amazon warehouse counts, personally. I would personally be surprised to see any of them expand here unless one of them acquired a local company (as Google originally did).
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09-05-2021, 05:35 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2021, 05:35 PM by taylortbb.)
(09-05-2021, 01:56 PM)jamincan Wrote: I would personally be surprised to see any of them expand here unless one of them acquired a local company (as Google originally did).
Facebook has been pretty aggressively recruiting remote employees in KW during Covid. If it hit critical mass they might open an office.
I also heard a reliable rumour that pre-Covid Microsoft was looking around. They've been really growing their Canadian engineering org.
Both seem plausible, without requiring an acquisition.
That said, KW is also probably now the tightest tech labour market in Canada. A relatively recent study showed us as having the top tech salaries in Canada, and it's only gotten tighter. Companies may not be looking for another bay area where they're constantly at war for expensive talent, when Toronto has similar talent quality at lower salaries. So I'm not sure just how much significant activity we'll see.
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