Marygold Companies Inc

Simplify Asset Management has presented an alternative proposal to acquire The Marygold Companies, offering $2.25 per share in cash for 100% of the outstanding common stock. The firm said it shared the proposal with Marygold's Board of Directors on September 27th, and that it is the second offer Simplify has submitted for the full acquisition of Marygold in recent days. The $2.25 per-share price is more than 12% higher than the purchase price announced by Madison Dearborn and Marygold on September 25th. Simplify said its proposal is all-cash and not subject to any financing contingencies, which it said would provide immediate, certain value to Marygold stockholders upon completion. Paul Kim, co-founder and CEO of Simplify Asset Management, said Marygold's USCF ETF lineup is a natural complement to Simplify's alternatives- and income-focused ETF platform, and that the firm looks forward to continued engagement with the Marygold Board.

A wave of deal activity spanned multiple sectors this week, led by Qualcomm's acquisition of robotics software firm PickNik to boost its presence in physical AI and robotics. Smurfit Westrock agreed to acquire Empresas CMPC's Chilean containerboard and corrugated business for $420M, including a paper machine in Santiago that produces roughly 250K tons per year. Madison Dearborn Partners agreed to acquire holding firm The Marygold Companies in an all-cash transaction valuing it at $2.00 per share, a 100% premium over its September 24, 2026 closing price. Brookfield is in exclusive talks to buy fraud detection business Actimize from Nice for $2 billion, while Goldman Sachs emerged as the lead bidder for Palmer Square Capital Management, a credit manager overseeing more than $37 billion. Elsewhere, Capri Holdings soared 10% on a report it has connected with potential acquirers, Evonik rose 7.2% in German trading after a report that BASF approached it about a takeover, RPM International agreed to acquire Italy-based Volteco S.p.A. for its Tremco Construction Products Group, and Superstar Platforms agreed to acquire fintech company TitlePal in an all-stock transaction.

Madison Dearborn Partners has agreed to acquire holding firm The Marygold Companies in an all-cash transaction valuing the company at $2.00 per share, a 100% premium over its closing price on September 24, 2026. Upon completion, Marygold will become privately held and cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange. After the close, Madison Dearborn and incoming leadership plan to execute Marygold's previously announced transformation strategy, refocusing the core business entirely on its wholly-owned subsidiary USCF, a commodity-focused ETF manager overseeing approximately $6B in assets under management across crude oil, natural gas, copper, broad commodity indices, and equity income strategies. ETF industry veteran Tim Rotolo will become Chief Executive Officer of Marygold, succeeding outgoing President, CEO, and Chairman Nicholas Gerber. The Marygold Board of Directors has unanimously approved the deal, and key shareholders including Nicholas Gerber, who holds approximately 75% of Marygold's outstanding voting shares, have signed voting and support agreements in favor of the merger, which is expected to close in the first half of 2027 or earlier.