Sydney Airport sensibly clears deal for takeoff 13 Sep 2021 The board is finally ready to back a takeover bid after the suitors sweetened their offer to more than $17 bln. An extra 4% helps, but extended travel delays also make the decision easier. With so much financially up in the air, it’s best to take the cash and hand over the risk.
China’s new wealth plan slow to make connections 13 Sep 2021 HSBC and other banks in Hong Kong will soon be able to sell products direct to the Greater Bay Area’s 70 mln citizens and vice versa. Financiers hiring furiously in anticipation have cheered. But real benefits will emerge only gradually if past schemes are anything to go by.
Apple can skip past Epic court slap 10 Sep 2021 A judge ruled the iPhone maker needs to ease its App Store rules and make it more open. But habits are hard to change. And with $194 bln in cash, Apple can still hire the best developers and marketers, not to mention lawyers. It will take a bigger punch to crack its dominance.
Brad Pitt watchmaker warrants celebrity valuation 10 Sep 2021 Breitling, the Swiss maker of aviator timepieces touted by the actor and Charlize Theron, nearly doubled sales on CVC’s four-year watch. Now the buyout firm may flog a 20% chunk. The luxury label merits a $3 bln-plus price tag although buyers will want a minority-stake discount.
Hong Kong market downs much-needed Friday drink 10 Sep 2021 Chinese bar operator Helens popped 22% on its debut. There are good reasons for investors to be wary of pub listings. But Helens’ proletarian, low-tech nature insulates it from Beijing’s crackdowns. And in a jittery year it’s no surprise local traders started happy hour early.
RWE makes for a good coal wind-down guinea pig 10 Sep 2021 The 22 bln euro German utility’s new activist wants it to ditch carbon-intensive lignite assets faster. If the government wants to hit tougher CO2 emissions targets, RWE will have to. The least-bad way forward may be for Berlin to assume the offending power plants itself.
Capital Calls: Vaccine mandates, U.S. debt ceiling 10 Sep 2021 Concise views on global finance: New White House requirements for Covid-19 injections will provide cover for businesses while Washington lawmakers arguing about borrowing limits make themselves look foolish.
Domestic Shinsei siege blooms from J.C. Flowers 10 Sep 2021 Japanese financial group SBI initiated an unsolicited $1.1 bln bid to lift a stake in its rival to 48%. When the buyout baron rescued it 21 years ago, he was branded a vulture. Locals are now daring to shake up boardrooms, and the country’s sluggish banks could use the prodding.
Chinese banks may yet slough off market disfavour 10 Sep 2021 The country’s lenders get little love from investors. They bail out zombies, prop up falling markets and are overexposed to real estate. Yet they pay sweet dividends, and their fintech rivals are being suborned. As local traders seek safe havens, banks deserve more attention.
Texas abortion law shows limit of company advocacy 9 Sep 2021 Shar Dubey, CEO of dating group Match, is starting a fund to help staff who need abortions now that Match’s home state bans most of them. Dubey’s proposal raises legal and other issues. But financial realities make it hard for her company, or others, to go much further.
Elliott returns to haunt backsliding Citrix 9 Sep 2021 The investor sold out in 2020. Since then, the enterprise-software group's shares have slipped 25% despite a pandemic tailwind. Now Elliott is back with a stake worth more than $1 bln and a similar list of gripes. If it worked once, the rare activist double-dip could work again.
Chancellor: Tech growth comes at irrational price 9 Sep 2021 So overwhelming is the desire to find the next Alphabet, Amazon or Facebook that investors are giving nosebleed valuations to just about any software firm offering cloud-based services. The discount rates by which these enterprises are valued make no sense. Caveat speculator.
Bill Gates bets luxury hotels are plague resistant 9 Sep 2021 The billionaire who predicted a pandemic snagged half of Saudi Prince Alwaleed’s stake in the Four Seasons chain, valuing it at $10 bln. That’s a big price since Gates helped take the group private in 2007 and a sign one of the richest guys thinks fancy suites offer protection.
Viewsroom: Bitcoin, El Salvador and Roger Federer 9 Sep 2021 As the Central American country adopts the cryptocurrency as a coin of the realm, Richard Beales and Gina Chon discuss the merits of stablecoins and the scramble by regulators to catch up with the market. Karen Kwok takes a slice at Roger Federer-backed running shoe outfit On.
Capital Calls: Lagarde channels Thatcher 9 Sep 2021 Concise views on global finance: The ECB boss will buy fewer bonds but tells markets: “The lady isn’t tapering.” A tough decision on whether to scale back bond purchases more decisively will come later.
Goldman smartly snaps up McKinsey cast-off 9 Sep 2021 The Wall Street firm hired Kevin Sneader, the consultant’s former managing partner, as co-head in Asia. Installing the person who agreed a $573 mln opioid settlement looks odd for a bank still smarting from the Malaysian 1MDB scandal. In fact, it shows an openness to fresh ideas.
EasyJet packs M&A reserve chute into safety plans 9 Sep 2021 The low-cost carrier is raising $1.7 bln from shareholders after another virus-hit summer. That, plus a $400 mln loan facility, gives CEO Johan Lundgren a plump cushion if the recovery stalls again. If all else fails, ambitious budget rivals like Wizz Air are poised to pounce.
Betting minnow turns high roller with $3 bln wager 9 Sep 2021 London-listed 888 is paying more than its current market value for William Hill’s non-U.S. assets. It’s a quick way to gain scale but pushes debt to a hairy 5 times EBITDA. Ample savings and the chance to diversify into licensed online games and sport make it a calculated punt.
Morrisons has a nuclear way to keep suitors honest 9 Sep 2021 The battle for the UK grocery chain looks set to end in an auction. The big danger is that Fortress or CD&R bid too much and then break pledges in areas like employee rights. The board has a way to make these promises legally binding, but the risk is both bidders walk away.
SenseTime IPO success rests on overseas investors 9 Sep 2021 The Chinese AI dragon has filed for a mooted $2 bln Hong Kong IPO despite being on a U.S. trade blacklist. There’s plenty of local appetite if regulators sign off. The real test is foreign funds’ ESG standards and if they share a desire to curb the country’s cutting-edge tech.