The Daily Chase: Big changes at Shopify; Musk not joining Twitter's board

Shopify is making some high-level changes to its share structure as it aims to empower Tobi Lutke for long-term thinking and position the company to capitalize on growth opportunities.

Shopify is making some high-level changes to its share structure as it aims to empower Tobi Lutke for long-term thinking and position the company to capitalize on growth opportunities. In short, here’s what it boils down to: a new “founder share” is being created that will effectively ensure Lutke has 40 per cent of all voting power among Shopify’s shareholders. As well, Shopify announced its board wants to split the company’s Class A and B shares on a 10-for-1 basis.  

BANK OF CANADA DECISION LOOMS

Our focus is flipping from fiscal to monetary policy this week, as we gear up for what’s expected to be the Bank of Canada’s first half-point rate hike in almost 22 years. We know there’s a broad consensus among economists that the central bank should raise its main policy rate by 50 basis points, and market is showing a 77-per-cent probability of that happening. We’ll tee up the stakes for the currency, housing markets across the country, and highly indebted consumers.

NOW WHAT FOR MUSK?

Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter’s board of directors. The company’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, announced the abrupt change in plans in a tweet late last night. “I believe this is for the best,” he wrote, adding Twitter will “remain open” to Musk’s input as a shareholder, while also acknowledging “there will be distractions ahead.” So now the simple question: What’s Musk’s next move? Keep in mind that the agreement appointing Musk to the board came with a commitment to not raise his stake in Twitter to more than 14.9 per cent; presumably, that commitment is now toast.

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