Plus, TikTok will shut down its music-streaming service. And Smartsheet will be taken private by private equity firms in an $8.4 billion deal. Zoe Thomas hosts.
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[00:00:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Tuesday, September 24.
[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Zoe Thomas for The Wall Street Journal.
[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Former crypto executive Caroline Ellison has been sentenced to two years in prison
[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_00]: for her role in what prosecutors called one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history.
[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Ellison is the former head of Alameda Research, the sister investment firm of FTX.
[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_00]: She pleaded guilty in late 2022 to seven fraud and money laundering offenses related to the crypto exchange's collapse.
[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_00]: She was the star witness in FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial.
[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Ellison testified that she assisted Bankman-Fried in siphoning billions of dollars of customer funds to cover Alameda's risky bets.
[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_00]: The judge praised Ellison's cooperation but said jail time was needed to deter others from committing financial fraud.
[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: TikTok is closing its music streaming service, ending its efforts to take on streaming giants Spotify and Apple Music.
[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: TikTok's parent company ByteDance set its sights on competing with the industry leaders two years ago.
[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_00]: The company says TikTok Music will close in November and account information and personal data will be automatically deleted after that.
[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And work management software company Smartsheet has agreed to be acquired and taken private by private equity firms Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners.
[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: The all-cash transaction is valued at about $8.4 billion and represents a premium over Smartsheet's share closing price yesterday.
[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_00]: The agreement includes a 45-day so-called GoShop provision.
[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_00]: This allows Smartsheet to solicit competing bins.
[00:02:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Smartsheet's board has unanimously approved the purchase and the deal is expected to close in the company's fourth quarter.
[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_00]: For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Wednesday's Tech News Briefing podcast.