Biotechnology

Capital Calls: Real estate distress is tricky call

15 October 2021

Concise views on global finance: Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital has raised a $10 bln fund to buy struggling buildings. With the pandemic's long-term effects unclear, the key will be avoiding those destined to remain empty.

Belgian biotech casualty defies Darwinian logic

15 October 2021

Galapagos has few drugs, a departing CEO and is worth just 3.1 bln euros, less than the cash on its books. It should be a takeover candidate, but the influence of key investor Gilead is a complication. It’s a cautionary tale of the challenges of drug discovery and creative M&A.

Capital Calls: Biodiversity, Email, Gene IPO

30 September 2021

Concise views on global finance: Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures gets a nature-based counterpart; Sweden’s Sinch clinches its fourth communication-software deal in seven months; a 40% bounce on Oxford Nanopore's market debut puts some life into London.

Illumina thumbs its nose at slowcoach trustbusters

24 September 2021

The gene sequencing firm closed a $7 bln deal without EU approval. Illumina is confident in approval, or at worst, forced divestment at a premium. Illumina may be right that antitrust moves slower than technology, but its insouciance isn’t necessarily great for shareholders.

Gene hunter IPO is missing link in British biotech

17 September 2021

DNA sequencer Oxford Nanopore is eyeing a UK float, worth perhaps $5 bln. Shunning the bigger U.S. market looks bold, but the company’s niche position in a hot sector will help. While that’s hard to repeat, a success would boost London’s appeal for other life science groups.

Today’s Theranos would have gone public via a SPAC

8 September 2021

Elizabeth Holmes’ blood-testing outfit touted novel technology and big future sales. Holmes, on trial, blurred lines between marketing and fraud. Trevor Milton, founder of electric-truck firm Nikola, now faces similar charges. A key difference: Nikola is already publicly traded.

Capital Calls: GM, Hugo Boss, NYT, Frontier tech

4 August 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. automaker finds inflation cuts both ways; the German-listed fashion brand hopes to double sales by 2025; advertising is a bright spot for the New York Times; Zymergen vaporized 75% of its value under four months after a $3 bln IPO.

Sanofi M&A punt soothes France’s Covid-19 shame

3 August 2021

The $131 bln drugmaker bought U.S-listed Translate Bio for $3 bln. CEO Paul Hudson gets a leg up in hot mRNA technology, which trounced the French group’s traditional vaccines during the pandemic. Shareholder returns look distant, but the cost of standing still may be higher.

Capital Calls: Grill makers cook their IPOs rare

27 July 2021

Concise views on global finance: Weber and Traeger set conservative prices for their market debuts, leaving something on the table for new investors.

Capital Calls: Volvo, Moderna, Mediobanca

21 July 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Swedish automaker boosts its appeal ahead of a possible IPO by buying out its Chinese joint venture partner; joining the S&P 500 will cut both ways for the vaccine maker; another Italian tycoon ups his stake in the Italian investment bank.

Airport security fast-tracker jumps the IPO line

18 June 2021

Clear, the U.S. firm that allows people to cut security lines for $179 a year, wants to go public. With vaccine checks on the horizon and the U.S. government as a new client, it has a promising path to fly as a public company, so long as its valuation stays in the $2 bln range.

Capital Calls: HSBC, MRNA scramble, Cable project

18 June 2021

Concise views on global finance: The UK bank’s France sale disappoints; Danaher snaps up Moderna supplier for $9.6 bln; geopolitics sinks internet cable.

CureVac’s pain may not yet have peaked

17 June 2021

The German drugmaker’s value halved to $10 bln after it said its Covid-19 vaccine may be only 47% effective. Investors’ concern is that its critical mRNA technology may not work as well. Separate trials on its cancer vaccine will be key to CureVac’s future health.

Alzheimer’s drug feeds U.S. healthcare cost spiral

7 June 2021

The approval of a treatment will bring hope to millions and might bring maker Biogen over $20 bln of revenue a year. But there’s little evidence it works. By taking a flier, regulators may be intensifying the trade-off between patients’ hope and Americans’ financial health.

Test-tube baby-making market is ready to pop

3 June 2021

Declining sperm counts, delayed fertility decisions and lower birth rates are trends fueling an investment segment casually known as “femtech.” Societal and governmental reluctance can get in the way of financial returns. But for investors, where there's a will, there’s a way.

Ginkgo’s $17.5 bln SPAC deal presupposes success

11 May 2021

Producing bespoke cells for manufacturing has potential, ranging from greener plastics to lab-produced cannabis compounds. Moderna’s valuation shows the potential of investing in a singular platform. But there are plenty of duds, and Ginkgo’s deal bakes in no room for error.

Vaccine fiasco casts long shadow over Oxford IPO

12 April 2021

A university spinoff behind the AstraZeneca jab is listing for a mooted $700 mln. Vaccitech’s technology might combat diseases from cancer to hepatitis. Yet lingering doubts over efficacy and side-effects on Covid-19 patients are a risky legacy in a highly competitive sector.

Capital Calls: TV’s royal boost, Shared offices

9 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan is a boon for ViacomCBS’s streaming ambitions; IWG’s revamp depends on a workplace revolution.

Son’s gene-sequencing goose may lay eggs elsewhere

10 February 2021

Pacific Biosciences has lagged goliath Illumina in selling DNA reading machines. A $900 mln investment from Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Group may give it a leg up. But competition will accelerate deflation in the price of gene sequencing, making users the biggest winners.

Corona Capital: Indian banks, LBOs, Stellantis

18 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Indian banking guru Aditya Puri gives reasons to be bullish about New Delhi’s lenders at a Breakingviews predictions event; the ECB cracks down on risky loans; carmaker Stellantis gets a boost from passive funds.