Just four months after stepping down in a cloud of scandal thick enough to make your average HR rep consider early retirement, Richard White is back at the helm of WiseTech Global… and like most rich men who get back power, he's not wasting time. In classic billionaire fashion, he walked in, cracked his knuckles, and dropped $2.1 billion on a U.S.-based cloud software company like he was adding something to his Amazon cart.

The target is E2open, a Texas-based cloud logistics firm you’ve probably never heard of (but it’s a big deal, just trust me). The deal is worth $3.30 per share (a 28% premium over E2open’s last closing price) which is either a generous offer or a classic “I’ve got something to prove” play. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Let’s rewind for a second… because unless you’re currently throwing shrimp on the barbie or calling someone “mate,” you might’ve missed how Richard White became a big deal. Back in 1994, he founded WiseTech Global, and over the next three decades, quietly turned it into one of Australia’s biggest tech success stories. His logistics software now powers over 16,500 providers worldwide, including 41 of the top 50 third-party logistics companies.

By 2024, White had built a personal fortune north of $10 billion, earned a reputation as one of Australia’s richest men… and then, seemingly out of nowhere, boom. Scandal.

Allegations of inappropriate relationships with employees and supplier connections forced White to step down. Four board members even rage-quit over it. But like a software-obsessed Tom Brady, White un-retired just months later (this time as executive chairman) and now he’s back, to conduct more scandals (I mean, business deals).

White called the deal “a step up in capability, a step up in global reach.” He even dropped this line: “We have more canvas to paint on, and more paint to paint.” Not very eloquent, but you get the point. He wants to grow, and he wants to grow fast. WiseTech will fund the deal through a $3 billion syndicated loan. And yes, that’s a lot of debt… but hey, when your new toy connects over 500,000 partners and tracks 18 billion transactions a year, you pony up. For context: this is the biggest acquisition in WiseTech’s 30-year history. Their last largest deal before this was a $414 million acquisition of Blume Global. So yeah, this one’s nearly 5x bigger.

Strategically, the deal makes sense. WiseTech has long wanted to become “the operating system for global trade,” and E2open fast-tracks that goal. The acquisition nearly doubles WiseTech’s revenue base, combining its $683.7 million with E2open’s $607.7 million… a major step toward becoming a logistics software superpower.

They’re also expecting $50M in annual cost synergies within two years, thanks to consolidations, eliminating duplicate systems, and stripping away their public company costs. Oh, and they’ve already secured support from shareholders representing over 50% of the vote, so this deal is practically inevitable.

Despite the “holy overpay” vibes, Wall Street likes the move considering WiseTech stock popped 4.7% after the announcement. But let’s not pretend a fresh acquisition wipes the slate clean. Richard White may have brought the checkbook, but he also brought the baggage. The board’s still recovering from a game of musical chairs that saw four members change their LinkedIn bios earlier this year, and the whole “leadership transparency” thing, if you’re naive enough to buy that, I’ve got a bridge in Antarctica to sell you.

If this $2.1B swing pans out, WiseTech becomes the logistics leader of the modern world. If it doesn’t? Well, we’ll probably get a Netflix or Hulu docuseries out of it (either way, it’s a win if you ask me).

PS: It’s a mess out there.

One day the market’s ripping, the next day it’s Black Monday all over again. Recent earning’s reports have been a total coin flip. One stock beats and explodes 30%… the next misses by a penny and gets sent to the Shadow Realm. And through it all, everyone’s begging for Jerome Powell to finally cave and cut rates.

But underneath all the panic headlines (“Inflation too sticky!” “Recession imminent!” “Tariffs round 4 incoming!”) something wild is happening…

We’re seeing violent price action. Especially in the small-cap space, where low floats and high anxiety are creating the perfect recipe for 100%+ pops before lunchtime. Some of these names are moving 200%+ in under 24 hours… and to our knowledge, NO ONE else is covering them.

Except us.

Stocks.News Premium members are getting first dibs on these stealth explosions… thanks to our squeeze signal scanner and real-time insider trading tracker that zeroes in on the money before the momentum shows up.

If you’ve been whiplashed by this market or feel like your strategy is stuck in 2022, it’s time to flip the script.

Premium gets you:

• Two breaking trade alerts per week
   
• Access to the same scanners we use to track CEO buys and Capitol Hill moves
   
• Our custom market sentiment tool (that actually works)
   
• Premium stock writeups packed with actual analysis (that’s not boring)

Go here to become a Stocks.News Premium member now.

Stocks.News has positions in Amazon and Netflix.