Americas

Zegna tailors elegant fix for BuzzFeed problem

6 Dec 2021

The Italian suit-maker and the millennial media group are both going public through SPACs. But Zegna has raised extra funds that kick in if investors extract money before the deal closes, as 96% of BuzzFeed’s did. With cash comes confidence; Buzzfeed ended up with less of both.

Boots exit may smooth way for Walgreens buyout

6 Dec 2021

The $40 bln drugstore operator may sell its UK chain, less than a decade after buying it. A sale could raise $8 bln for the U.S. group to beef up its own in-store clinics. And if Chairman Stefano Pessina wants one last big deal, a leaner Walgreens would be an easier target.

Capital Calls: Fund services M&A, Mattress mystery

6 Dec 2021

Concise views on global finance: Shareholders of Amsterdam-listed Intertrust dodge a regulatory crackdown with a 1.8 bln euro sale; the western man credited with Chinese retailer DeRucci’s success finally has his identity revealed.

Saint-Gobain’s U.S. deal will cement its Sika envy

6 Dec 2021

The $34 bln French construction firm tried and failed to buy its Swiss rival, which then went on a growth spurt. Saint-Gobain’s $2.3 bln offer for U.S. group GCP will help it decarbonise. The catch is that Sika made a similar move last month, and the returns on that look better.

Capital Calls: Zoom, U.S. jobs

3 Dec 2021

Concise views on global finance: The video-conferencing service is investing in Amex Global Business Travel as part of a $5.3 bln SPAC deal; in the United States, only 210,000 positions were added in November, but the unemployment rate fell.

DocuSign shows risk of investing along dotted line

3 Dec 2021

A slowdown in demand ripped $18 bln off the digital document-signing firm’s market value. The company’s response – spending more to revive sales – adds to the near-term pain. For profitless companies reliant on ambitious forecasts, sharp corrections are a signature move.

Review: An antidote to the cult of busyness

3 Dec 2021

The pandemic focused minds on life’s brevity. Oliver Burkeman delves into fruitful approaches to using that limited time in “Four Thousand Weeks”. It’s an articulate reflection on distraction, the joyless urgency of productivity hacks, and why keeping options open may be futile.

Transatlantic food delivery value gap will narrow

3 Dec 2021

DoorDash and Just Eat Takeaway have similar revenue and growth prospects, but the $57 bln U.S. firm is worth four times as much as its Dutch rival. Better profitability and an earlier move into groceries helps explain the gap. DoorDash’s push into Europe suggests it won’t last.

Didi faces long and perilous journey to Hong Kong

3 Dec 2021

The $38 bln ride-hailing group is eschewing its New York listing for one in the Asian hub amid pressure from Beijing. A take-private would be costly; migrating American depositary receipts could be tricky. Didi will have to navigate Hong Kong's tougher IPO requirements too.

Legal challenge affirms logic of Nvidia mega-deal

3 Dec 2021

U.S. trustbusters are suing to block the chipmaker’s controversial Arm acquisition. A growing price tag, from $40 bln to about $75 bln, undermines the financial value. At least the FTC is, in a way, buttressing the strategic rationale of buying the Switzerland of semiconductors.

Viewsroom: Omicron hits, Dorsey quits

2 Dec 2021

As the world gets to grips with a new coronavirus variant, Swaha Pattanaik looks ahead to how Omicron could frustrate attempts to rein in rising prices. Meanwhile, Gina Chon watches Twitter say goodbye to founder Jack Dorsey and usher in a new, still-quirky governance setup.

Disney meets low bar with new chair

2 Dec 2021

Susan Arnold gave up her job at Carlyle and will succeed Bob Iger as chair of the $260 bln firm. That’s a step better than Twitter. But her 14-year tenure is well above average and edges up to Disney’s parameters. It suggests the media giant could have planned succession better.

Lululemon-Peloton union makes more sense than feud

2 Dec 2021

The exercise firms are locked in legal tussles and each is encroaching on the other’s turf. Given the bike maker’s share price has fallen two-thirds this year and there are obvious costs to cut, the sporty clothing specialist’s better option is to make an offer for its adversary.

Capital Calls: Dan Loeb, Daily Mail

2 Dec 2021

Concise views on global finance: The billionaire activist swats away his own gadfly investor; the UK tabloid’s controlling Rothermere family sweetens its take-private offer, to the presumable delight of the campaigners on its news desk.

China’s VIE problem is resolving itself

2 Dec 2021

Beijing may try to tighten data oversight by banning companies from listing overseas using variable interest entities. U.S. regulators are already pushing back on the structures and companies rethinking IPO venues. Another heavy-handed crackdown risks being unnecessarily clumsy.

Exxon climate pledges pick low-hanging fruit

1 Dec 2021

The oil giant will meet its 2025 goal for cutting carbon emissions four years ahead of schedule. It now plans to cut company-wide output by 20% by 2030, without lowering returns on investment. New activist directors have more to do if Exxon is to catch up with European peers.

Jack Dorsey’s exit puts Twitter in play

1 Dec 2021

Dorsey’s departure sets up the social network as an attractive target for his other firm Square in the race to build a super-app. Even PayPal or Salesforce may take another stab. Regulators may get in the way but China’s WeChat shows why the effort may be worth the headache.

Fed facelift will provoke frowns on Wall Street

1 Dec 2021

Former CFPB boss Richard Cordray’s mooted candidacy to lead supervision at the U.S. central bank signals a tougher watchdog. A return to qualitative stress tests, which banks used to complain were too onerous, is likely. Lenders lobbying lawmakers have only least-bad choices.

Vaccinating the world is a worthy but elusive goal

1 Dec 2021

Ensuring all rich and poor countries are fully jabbed is the best way to stop Covid-19 variants. The cost of lockdowns makes it an economic necessity. The challenge, as South Africa shows, is getting needles to people, and persuading them of the benefits. That may take years.

UK’s Facebook slap-down raises bar for US watchdog

1 Dec 2021

Britain’s antitrust body told the social media giant now named Meta to sell GIF maker Giphy. Its ruling hinges on a view of how the online ad market will evolve, not what it’s like now. CEO Mark Zuckerberg can appeal but the order still sets a punchy precedent for Big Tech deals.