Agriculture

Syngenta’s bumper IPO will test Chinese appetite

1 Jun 2023

The seeds-to-pesticides group is planning a $9 bln stock market float in Shanghai this year. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how investors need to get comfortable with its high debt levels and use of toxic chemicals that could hurt its valuation.

Olam’s Saudi-Singapore IPO is food for the future

31 May 2023

A $1 bln dual listing of its agri unit is delayed. A pause may help Saudi justify what it paid for a 35% stake. Yet the float will improve the company’s financial strength and its ability to shore up food security in the Gulf, so there’s good reason to get this complex deal done.

Glencore’s Bunge redux may yield Teck benefits

26 May 2023

The Swiss commodity giant could merge the agri-trader it part-owns with its $14 bln US-listed peer. A Bunge deal would be oddly timed, and Glencore has other ways to raise cash. But the bid may offer a way to spur Glencore’s share price as it mulls a new offer for Canada’s Teck.

Syngenta’s China listing tweak seems a demotion

18 May 2023

The agrichemical giant scrapped a $9 bln IPO on the Nasdaq-like STAR Market to list on Shanghai’s main trading board instead. Beijing probably hopes to make Syngenta a poster child for the venue’s revamp without downsizing the offering. Valuations would suffer regardless.

Capital Calls: AT&T’s magic number falls short

20 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: The $140 billion telecom giant, now free from its tangled M&A past, has one metric to deliver on: cash to support its dividend. But that figure fell 64% in its first-quarter results.

War on cow farts is stinky but necessary job

24 Mar 2023

Cattle’s digestion is a big driver of harmful gas emissions. To curb them, New Zealand is taxing farmers and Europe may shrink livestock numbers. Both steps have angered harvesters and may inflate food prices. The noise will teach consumers to treat beef like fossil fuels.

Capital Calls: Nike, Stablecoins, Meme stocks

22 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Air Jordan maker grew quarterly revenue 14% despite inventory woes and China’s slow reopening; diverging demand for Circle and Tether cryptocurrencies raises questions about how investors are assessing risk; and GameStop’s shares surged 40%.

Bayer’s sunk boss leaves high water mark

21 Mar 2023

In one of his last acts before bowing to activist pressure, Werner Baumann is pledging the $60 bln drugs-to-seeds company will slash rice’s H2O needs by 25%. Leaving aside his legacy as the architect of the Monsanto deal, his ambition is worth emulating.

Syngenta jumbo IPO will sow seeds of doubt

14 Feb 2023

A Shanghai listing this year may value the pesticides and seeds maker at a chunky $66 bln. The group’s role in feeding a growing global population will please investors. But its reliance on toxic weedkillers that are losing favour in Europe poses a long-term threat.

Capital Calls: Adidas kitchen sink

10 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Shares in the sportswear maker fell 11% amid forecasts of a high-single-digit decline in sales in 2023.

Bayer’s new CEO plants seed of future breakup

9 Feb 2023

Bowing to pressure from activist investor Jeff Ubben, the $66 bln drugs-to-seeds maker is replacing embattled boss Werner Baumann. Ditching the architect of the ill-advised Monsanto deal makes sense. Hiring pharma expert Bill Anderson suggests the crop division may be spun off.

Capital Calls: AI lessons, Robots, Streaming wars

8 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Textbook rental company Chegg becomes an early victim of ChatGPT fears; a short supply of U.S. workers makes automation look even more appealing; Warner Bros Discovery flips the script on its deal logic and will keep HBO Max as a separate service.

Bayer’s rude health lays better path for breakup

11 Jan 2023

Activists including Jeff Ubben are piling into the $58 bln German seed and drug maker. Its cheap share price, thanks to the dire Monsanto deal, has for years dangled the promise of a lucrative carve-up. Improvements in the pharma unit and a CEO change make it more likely now.

Capital Calls: California flooding

11 Jan 2023

Concise views on global finance: Heavy rainfalls have revealed the cracks in California lawmakers’ disaster spending measures, that have helped to prepare for fires and earthquakes.

Capital Calls: Transatlantic chemicals deal

28 Nov 2022

Concise views on global finance: A potential acquisition of Univar by $10 bln German chemical distributor Brenntag makes sense, but investors may fear a bidding war.

Energy crisis gives beermakers a lasting hangover

26 Oct 2022

Heineken’s shares fell 10% after reporting weaker-than-expected sales. Inflation is eroding punters’ disposable income, making it harder for brewers to raise prices like in previous crises. Soaring costs for fuel and wheat, which bite next year, pose a further threat to margins.

Capital Calls: Food fight

23 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: Retailers like E-Mart are cutting food prices amid surging costs, risking a sector-wide race to the bottom.

Wine IPO is a very rich toast to affluent India

12 Aug 2022

The country’s largest producer Sula has plenty to cheer but more competition from Australia and sluggish growth are some reasons not to pop the cork at 86 times earnings. With a growing crowd of massively overpriced stocks targeting India’s wealthy, investors can be picky.

Global food crisis demands urgent Western response

25 Jul 2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed up food and energy costs around the globe. The most urgent problems are in poorer countries, write William Rhodes and Stuart Mackintosh. Rich nations offered insufficient help for Covid-19. International bodies can do better this time.

Russian grain deal gives food crisis a partial fix

22 Jul 2022

Moscow has agreed to lift a blockade on 20 mln tonnes of Ukrainian grain. That should reduce the scale of a Middle East food crisis, and ease prices which remain high versus 2021. Still, Russia could always renege on the new deal.