Rapid delivery needed in $7 bln online-postage bet 9 Jul 2021 Private equity firm Thoma Bravo is paying a stonking 67% premium for Stamps.com. That equates to a return on investment of less than 5% in the near term. A value so much higher than the market’s calls for exploiting e-commerce growth more aggressively and at priority-mail speed.
Biden’s antipathy to bank mergers misses the point 9 Jul 2021 The U.S. president wants to make dealmaking harder, to boost competition. For banking in particular, that logic is weak. With the three biggest lenders holding one-third of America’s deposits, consolidation among the other 5,000 or so is a necessity to compete and even survive.
Review: The dark side of stakeholder capitalism 9 Jul 2021 Arif Naqvi promised to make money while doing good in emerging markets. But he treated his Abraaj private equity group’s cash as his own, pocketing $780 mln. “The Key Man” tells how he hoodwinked the likes of Bill Gates and TPG. It’s an overdue reality check for impact investing.
Philip Morris takes a pricey toke in wellness push 9 Jul 2021 The tobacco giant is buying medical inhaler maker Vectura for 1 bln pounds to boost its expansion into pharmaceuticals. CEO Jacek Olczak is unlikely to make a decent return from the deal. But he has few other options to hit a goal of $1 bln in non-nicotine sales by 2025.
Capital Calls: China’s bank reserves 9 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: Beijing released more cash into its financial system as growth slows.
China puts tech founders on healthier capital diet 9 Jul 2021 Beijing is moving to curb access to U.S. equity markets and squeezing the M&A route too. Such restrictions could trickle down to deter earlier-stage investors. Yet easy money underpinned too many unprofitable business models. Less cash might produce leaner, meaner startups.
Bob Diamond SPAC takes aim at his former employer 8 Jul 2021 The former Barclays CEO’s blank-check firm is merging with digital-currency operator Circle. Its cheap transactions may one day threaten traditional banks' core business. But a $4.5 bln valuation is premised on breakneck growth, and regulators could easily spoil the party.
Viewsroom: Grocer buyouts, More China crackdowns 8 Jul 2021 Why are private equity firms clogging the aisles at Britain’s WM Morrison to pull off a near-$9 billion purchase of the supermarket chain? Aimee Donnellan and Peter Thal Larsen explain. And our Asia columnists discuss Beijing’s new attitude to U.S.-traded Chinese companies.
Combustion shift helps electrify Volvo IPO 8 Jul 2021 The Swedish carmaker is steering its petrol engine unit into a joint venture with parent Geely before a stock market listing. Focusing on future electric car sales helps drive Chairman Li Shufu closer to a racy valuation. Still, ongoing gas guzzler sales dent green bona fides.
Cairn and India have a third option in tax fight 8 Jul 2021 Freezing of the country’s Paris properties underscores frustration at New Delhi’s refusal to pay a $1.7 bln arbitration award. India can avoid further embarrassment and escape paying in full by letting Cairn invest in new projects. But that’s only possible if it concedes defeat.
UK credibility on China inward M&A gets wafer-thin 8 Jul 2021 Britain’s government initially declined to review Chinese-owned Nexperia’s $87 mln deal to buy the country’s largest semiconductor plant. It has now U-turned, which makes sense given the world chip shortage. But the mixed messages hardly inspire confidence in the process.
AirAsia super-app SPAC will require sick bag 8 Jul 2021 The Malaysian carrier led by Tony Fernandes is swapping a 4.8% stake in its fledgling e-commerce and fintech division for Gojek’s Thai business. The deal imputes a $1 bln valuation, and a sky-high multiple of sales. A planned spin into a public listing promises a dizzying ride.
Europe’s Zoom finds home-working boom has downside 8 Jul 2021 TeamViewer lost $1 bln of market value after it said customers who panic-bought last year are now paying less. The remote-software group’s shares have retraced to pre-Covid levels. The whole episode distracted from its real goal: connecting machines, rather than people.
Capital Calls: Gates split, Chinese IPOs, Telenor 8 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: Bill and Melinda Gates agree a post-divorce plan for their joint charitable organisation; medical data firm LinkDoc is among the first to pull its U.S. listing; the Norwegian telco gets just $105 mln for unit hobbled by Myanmar junta.
Chinese IPO detour benefits Hong Kong only so much 8 Jul 2021 Didi’s U.S. listing debacle has lifted expectations that more mainland companies will go public closer to home. New York’s star may be dimming, but Beijing’s crackdown on overseas market debuts sounds sweeping. Even the Asian financial hub’s $80 bln bourse faces fresh hurdles.
Cryptocurrency’s Wild West is in Wyoming 7 Jul 2021 The cowboy state has revamped financial rules to attract bitcoin businesses like Kraken Bank. That puts it ahead of the Fed and other D.C. regulators. But the measures for firms dealing in volatile digital currencies are untested, making it the venue for crypto’s first rodeo.
Brand IPO hinges on Elvis not leaving the building 7 Jul 2021 The Brooks Brothers owner is prepping a float with a mooted $10 bln valuation. Its model of scooping up retail roadkill and rights to dead icons like Elvis Presley is thriving, and fresh funds will let it snap up new bankruptcies. The risk is its brands fall out of favour again.
Satellite image IPO race is growing crowded 7 Jul 2021 Planet Labs’ merger with a blank-check firm values the Google-backed company at $2.8 bln. Making rapidly updated images of the planet searchable may unlock a big market and launch costs are falling. But these are the same reasons why multiple rivals are popping up on the radar.
Soho House IPO sets high price for entry 7 Jul 2021 The operator of private members’ clubs is listing at a $3 bln valuation. That depends on CEO Nick Jones pulling off a bold global expansion while reversing years of losses. Competition from hotels, doubts about its exclusive status and still-high debt are potential party poopers.
Capital Calls: U.S. jobs, Fitness IPO 7 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: U.S. employment vacancies tip scales towards workers; Mark Wahlberg-backed F45’s IPO values it at twice what an attempted SPAC deal did last year, justifiably.