22/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | DEC 22, 2025

17

Bridgewater expands equity ownership for staff

Medtronic’s diabetes unit MiniMed files for US IPO NEW YORK: Medtronic’s MiniMed Group filed for a US initial public offering, as the medical device maker moves ahead with the spin-off of its diabetes business. With capital markets set for a slowdown through the year-end holidays, corporate issuers are laying the groundwork for a potential roadshow launch in early 2026 when the IPO market kicks back into action. Fuel distributor ARKO Petroleum and drug developer Aktis Oncology also publicly filed paperwork for a New York IPO on Friday. US-listed IPOs have raised US$75.3 billion as of Dec 17, the biggest yearly haul since 2021, according to data from Dealogic. “We expect the rebound to continue in 2026, in part because there’s a lot of recent news of private companies planning 2026 IPOs,” said Nicholas Einhorn, director of research at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. Northridge, California-based MiniMed, whose offerings range from insulin delivery devices to glucose monitors, was founded in 1983 by Alfred Mann and bought by Medtronic in a nearly US$3.3 billion deal in 2001. The diabetes unit has grappled with regulatory concerns over quality management and cybersecurity issues related to its certain devices in the recent years, but has since returned to growth. In May, Medtronic said it planned to spin off its diabetes unit through an IPO, followed by a subsequent split-off. MiniMed reported a net loss of US$21 million on net sales of US$1.48 billion in the six months ended Oct 24, compared with net loss of US$23 million on net sales of US$1.3 billion a year earlier. Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are the lead underwriters for the IPO. MiniMed, which has tapped more than 10 underwriters for the offering, will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “MMED”. MiniMed plans to use IPO proceeds to repay debt owed to Medtronic and for other purposes. – Reuters Avoid international travel, Google and Apple warn workers with US visas SAN FRANCISCO: Alphabet’s Google and Apple have advised some employees on US work visas to avoid international travel due to delays of up to 12 months for visa stamping appointments at embassies, Business Insider reported last week citing internal memos. Immigration law firms representing the companies said the delays stem from new social media screening requirements, warning that staff risk being stranded outside the US if appointments are postponed, the report said. The advisory applies to holders of H-1B, H-4, F, J and M visas, according to Google’s memo, which said some US embassies and consulates face appointment delays of up to a year, according to the report. The administration of President Donald Trump this month announced increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, including screening social media accounts. The H-1B visa programme, widely used by the US technology sector to hire skilled workers from India and China, has been under the spotlight after the Trump administration imposed a US$100,000 fee for new applications this year. In September, Google’s parent company Alphabet urged H-1B visa holders to remain in the US, according to an e-mail seen by Reuters.

Bridgewater’s other main macro funds. It posted a return of about 6.5% for the first nine months of the year and has made similar gains since then, according to the source cited above. In a recent note to clients, Jensen cautioned that the AI spending boom is entering a dangerous phase as Big Tech firms increasingly tap external investors to cover mounting costs. “Going forward, there is a reasonable probability that we will soon find ourselves in a bubble,” Jensen said in the note. The Westport, Connecticut-based hedge fund was founded by billionaire Ray Dalio in his two-bedroom apartment in New York in 1975. Bar Dea took over as CEO in 2022. Dalio has exited the firm, after selling his remaining stake in Bridgewater and stepping down from its board of directors this year. Bridgewater’s transition to new leadership has been in the works since Dalio moved out of investment decision-making and into a mentorship role in 2020. In 2023, Bar Dea unveiled a strategic overhaul by restricting new inflows into Pure Alpha and returning some assets to clients, betting that a smaller pool of money would allow the firm to better explore trading opportunities. Bridgewater’s other top executives include co-chief investment officers Karen Karniol-Tambour, Jensen, and Bob Prince. In January, Bridgewater promoted macro trader Ben Melkman to deputy chief investment officer, alongside David Trinh and Blake Cecil. Global hedge funds, including stock pickers, generated returns of nearly 15% in 2025 to the end of November. – Reuters

Reuters reported in October that Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha fund posted returns of more than 26% for the first nine months of the year, far exceeding the comparable 14% gain for the S&P 500. “I’m happy for them and I’m happy for us,” Bar Dea said in his letter. “Because this creates so many builder-owners and ensures that incentives are aligned to each other and to the value of the company – that when Bridgewater does well, we all do well, with no daylight between different groups because of different instruments.” The letter said the changes are “essential for making sure Bridgewater is set up well for the future”. Bridgewater currently has a headcount of between 1,200 and 1,300 employees. Reuters could not determine how much of the company would be handed to employees or the terms of the offer. The firm, which had about US$92 billion of assets under management as of Sept 30, has recently bet on new strategies, including a US$5 billion fund that uses artificial intelligence to make investment decisions and an exchange-traded fund that it launched with State Street Global Advisors. Bridgewater’s move towards the AI strategy came in 2018 after co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen played a key role in hiring chief scientist Jas Sekhon. It rolled out its Artificial Investor tool in 2024. The Artificial Investor team is currently led by Jensen, who also serves as managing CIO for the Pure Alpha fund, and by Sekhon. Since its launch, the AIA fund has complemented the performance of

NEW YORK: Hedge fund Bridgewater Associates plans to expand its employee ownership initiative next year which will see more than 60% of staff own equity in the firm, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The initiative, timed with Bridgewater’s 50th anniversary, marks a dramatic increase in employee ownership, as only about 1% of employees currently own stakes in the firm, according to a source familiar with the situation. The move was announced in an internal memo sent to employees by chief executive Nir Bar Dea, according to the source, and comes as Bridgewater’s flagship macro fund Pure Alpha is on track for its best performance since 2010. “We are going to make more than half the company real owners of Bridgewater,” Bar Dea said in the memo. “This is something we have dreamed of for years. I know many in our community have long aspired to own a part of Bridgewater.” Such a broad employee ownership model is typically seen at large technology companies and startups in Silicon Valley but is less common at top multi-strat funds, which typically prefer programmes encouraging employees to invest part of their compensation packages into in-house money pools that grow with a fund’s success. o Over 60% of employees to own stake in hedge fund next year

Musk attends the Breakthrough Prize awards in Los Angeles. – REUTERSPIC

Musk becomes first person to cross US$700 billion in net worth NEW YORK: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s net worth surged to US$749 billion (RM3.05 trillion) last week after the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Tesla stock options worth US$139 billion that were voided last year, according to Forbes’ billionaires index. lower court struck down the compensation deal as “unfathomable”. The Supreme Court said that a 2024 ruling that rescinded the pay package had been improper and inequitable to Musk. In November, Tesla shareholders separately approved a US$1 trillion pay plan for Musk, the largest corporate pay package in history, as investors endorsed his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut. Musk’s fortune now exceeds that of

Earlier this week, Musk became the first person ever to surpass US$600 billion in net worth on the heels of reports that his aerospace startup SpaceX was likely to go public.

Google co-founder Larry Page, the world’s second-richest person, by nearly US$500 billion, according to Forbes’ billionaires list. – Reuters

Musk’s 2018 pay package, once worth US$56 billion, was restored by the Delaware Supreme Court on Friday, two years after a