Beverage jolt: Celsius (CELH) skyrockets after inking deal to acquire Alani Nu. (00:24) Nissan (NSANY) to seek investment from Tesla (TSLA) after fallout with Honda (HMC) - report. (01:34) YouTube (GOOGL) (GOOG) plans to roll out 'premium lite' in major markets - report. (02:46)Episode transcripts seekingalpha.com/wsb.Show links: Biggest stock movers Friday: MELI, CELH, XYZ, and moreNew No. 1: Amazon takes the quarterly revenue crown from WalmartWalgreens Boots drops amid report Sycamore bidding for Family Dollar chainLilly's next obesity drug serves up dramatic weight loss -- and side effects: reportSign up for our daily newsletter here and for full access to analyst ratings, stock quant scores, dividend grades, subscribe to Seeking Alpha Premium at seekingalpha.com/subscriptions.
Full Episode
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. Good morning. Today is Friday, February 21st. I'm Julie Morgan. Celsius buys Alani New. Japan pushes a Tesla-Nissan deal. And when it comes to streaming, YouTube is giving you another option.
Celsius Holdings skyrocketed in late trading on Thursday after the company announced an acquisition of Alani Nutrition LLC for $1.8 billion. Alani Nu was founded in 2018 and is a female-focused brand that offers functional beverages and wellness products targeting Gen Z and millennial consumers.
John Finley, the chairman and CEO of Celsius, expressed enthusiasm for the acquisition, highlighting the respect for Alani News' strong community of supporters and authentic brand partnerships. Financially, the acquisition is expected to enhance Celsius' top-line growth and be cash EPS accretive in the first year of ownership.
Notably, the company anticipates achieving $50 million in run rate cost synergies over two years post-close. The energy drink deal has implications for PepsiCo as a holder of a large stake in Celsius, as well as rivals Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Zevia, and Monster Beverage all competing for beverage market share. Celsius is up 35% in pre-market actions.
A high-level Japanese group, including a former prime minister, is proposing that Tesla invest in Nissan following the fallout of merger talks with Honda.
According to a Financial Times report that cites people with direct knowledge of the matter, this initiative, led by a former Tesla board member, aims to position Tesla as a strategic investor, particularly interested in acquiring Nissan's manufacturing plants in the U.S.
Merger talks with Honda were terminated last week, which has likely intensified Nissan's search for strategic alliances to bolster operations in the face of ongoing financial challenges. Nissan's stock jumped 10% on the Japanese stock exchange, after the news.
Separately, Moody's has downgraded Nissan's rating to junk, saying the decision reflects Nissan's weak profitability driven by slowing demand for its aging model portfolio. Moody's goes on to say that even if the company successfully executes its restructuring plan with cost reductions and new model releases, they don't expect free cash flow to turn positive until fiscal 2026 at the earliest.
YouTube is planning to introduce a new lower-priced version of its paid video service. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the service will target viewers who primarily want to watch programs other than music videos. The premium Lite YouTube plan will be announced soon in the U.S., Australia, Germany, and Thailand, the report said, citing a person familiar with the plans.
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