Private equity pioneer Thomas Lee dies at 78

Thomas H. Lee, a privateequity investor famed for orchestrating the takeover of Snapple in the 1990s, has died, a family spokesperson said Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post reported he died by suicide.

The billionaire, 78, founded his namesake Boston firm in 1974, far before the heyday of leveraged buyouts. He and his contemporaries made their mark borrowing heavily and using the funds to push around — and acquire — midsize companies.

The Snapple deal in 1992 was emblematic of how lucrative the approach could be. Thomas H. Lee Partners bought the beverage company for $135 million and sold it to a competitor, Quaker Oats, just two years later for $1.7 billion.

A Harvard University graduate, Lee was first a securities analyst and later a banker before starting his company roughly a decade into his career. Though his firm never became as famous as rivals like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts or Drexel Burnham Lambert, Lee enjoyed an enviable track record. He invested some $15 billion through hundreds of transactions over his career, according to his family.

Holmes gives birth to second child

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has given birth to a second child as she seeks to delay her impending imprisonment for felony fraud, according to a court filing this week.

Holmes, 39, had a first child — a son — in July 2021, as she awaited trial on charges of defrauding investors and patients in connection with her now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup.

Between her conviction in January 2022 for defrauding investors out of more than $144 million, and her sentencing 10 months later to more than 11 years in prison, Holmes became pregnant again, according to a court filing.

Judge Edward Davila, in passing sentence, delayed her incarceration until April 27, with legal experts saying he likely imposed the delay so Holmes could give birth before imprisonment. Holmes has appealed her conviction and sentence.

The court record does not reveal when Holmes delivered her second child. Her legal team in a court filing Thursday said she now has “two young children.”

Markets end worst week of the year

Another cold reminder that inflation remains hotter than hoped sent Wall Street sinking Friday and stocks closed out their worst week since early December.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1% to cap its third consecutive weekly loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as many as 510 points before closing down 336 points, or 1%, while the Nasdaq composite lost 1.7%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.94% from 3.89% late Thursday. It helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, rose to 4.79% from 4.71% and is near its highest level since 2007.

Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Tesla all fell by at least 1.8% and were the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 because their immense size gives them more sway on the index.

Software company Autodesk fell to the largest loss in the index, down 12.9% despite reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Analysts said investors were disappointed with its forecasts for upcoming results.

Boeing lost 4.8% after it stopped deliveries of its 787 passenger jet because of questions about a supplier’s analysis of a part near the front of the plane.