Unibail activist riot leaves leaky roof exposed 15 Oct 2020 Telecom mogul Xavier Niel and the mall operator’s former CEO want to block its $4 bln rights issue. Their plan to sell the U.S. business instead would save money but is trickier if Covid-19 persists. Doubling down on Europe also leaves the group more at risk from online shopping.
Franco-Italian dance puts UniCredit on the spot 15 Oct 2020 Credit Agricole is in talks with 2 bln euro Milan-based lender Banco BPM. The French bank’s presence in Italy makes it a fitting partner. Yet political opposition to a foreign owner and the threat of a stronger rival may force the bank run by Jean Pierre Mustier to the table.
CICC seeks edge in increasingly cutthroat market 15 Oct 2020 The investment bank leading Ant’s IPO is planning a $1 bln secondary listing in Shanghai. It could fund mergers as officials push industry consolidation and help fend off Wall Street rivals. Local peers are also angling for super-broker status, making more capital essential.
Australia’s Crown trapped inside its gilded cage 15 Oct 2020 The $4 bln casino empire is facing intense regulatory scrutiny for allegedly dodgy dealings involving Chinese high-rollers. It puts a new resort licence in jeopardy. Billionaire James Packer also has conceded the ownership structure may need changing, but it could be a hard sell.
P&G learns climate rebuke is no longer glacial 14 Oct 2020 BlackRock joined other shareholders to reject the $359 bln firm’s claim that it does plenty to protect forests. Reporting on efforts to save trees is an easy ask that companies, like Exxon, have worked around. Still, it gives investors a launching pad to push for more.
Bank of America gets lemonade, makes lemons 14 Oct 2020 Volatility boosted profit across Wall Street. While Goldman Sachs made the most of it, Brian Moynihan’s bank missed the updraft. Trading securities is a minor part of the giant U.S. lender’s business. But as banks wrestle with low interest rates, keeping up with the pack matters.
VW bid for Tesla’s crown rests on shaky optimism 14 Oct 2020 The German carmaker has launched its first mass-market electric SUV to take on Elon Musk and hit CEO Herbert Diess’s goal of selling 3 mln EVs by 2025. VW has scale and is big in China. But Tesla has 15 years of battery know-how and no legacy auto business. It gives Musk an edge.
Corona Capital: Black Friday, JPMorgan’s new tower 14 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walmart’s Black Friday rejig makes for a curious experiment; JPMorgan goes all-in on New York real estate.
UniCredit spinoff offers a 3 bln euro reward 14 Oct 2020 CEO Jean Pierre Mustier may split the 16 bln euro bank’s German lender from its Italian business. A demerger could boost UniCredit’s stock by 20%, Breakingviews calculations show. In a deal with Commerzbank or outright sale to BNP or Santander, the returns could be even higher.
Aramco pipeline spinoff plan is born of necessity 14 Oct 2020 The $1.9 trln oil giant is echoing Abu Dhabi-based peer ADNOC by discussing a part-sale of its distribution network with BlackRock and others. Aramco’s foreign investors’ dividend is safe. But financing state payouts and other activities requires the $10 bln it could raise.
China Evergrande starts running low on options 14 Oct 2020 The property developer lost a fifth of its market value after a discounted stock sale raised only half the targeted $1.1 bln. Creditors also just cut the highly indebted company some slack. Boss Hui Ka Yan may be forced to accelerate asset sales to raise the capital he needs.
Bidders could bust G4S investors out of value jail 14 Oct 2020 Canada’s GardaWorld made a 3 bln pound hostile bid for the mishap-prone security group. U.S. rival Allied Universal is also interested. Either could pay over 4 bln pounds and earn a decent return, Breakingviews calculations show. Shareholders can hold out for a higher offer.
Ant’s IPO delay flags a recurring headache 14 Oct 2020 The Chinese fintech behemoth is being probed for using its Alipay app to collect subscriptions for mutual funds set up for its $35 bln listing. That’s unlikely to derail the process, but it’s a reminder of the risks Ant runs by constantly testing regulatory grey areas.
Chinese discount chain Miniso sells upscale IPO 14 Oct 2020 Now more than ever consumers should be attracted to the retailer’s fast-changing inventory of cheap-and-cheerful items. Overseas growth also looks promising despite the pandemic hit. A potential $6.2 billion valuation, however, would put a luxury price on designer dollar stores.
Disney cannibalizes its history to feed streaming 13 Oct 2020 The $226 bln entertainment giant is centralizing responsibility for the distribution and profitability of all content. That knocks powerful movie studios and sports channels down a few pegs. Theme parks will balance Disney's digital ambitions with a stake in the real world.
Investors’ J&J vaccine obsession looks misplaced 13 Oct 2020 The $390 bln firm paused its Covid-19 vaccine trial – and raised estimates amid rising demand for everything from Tylenol to oncology drugs. The shares fell. Whether the halt means anything is unclear. It’s also of little importance relative to J&J’s core business.
JPMorgan and Citi are sliding further apart 13 Oct 2020 Both banks’ earnings did better than expected in the third quarter. But while Mike Corbat leaves Citi stronger than he found it, his bank’s valuation is further behind Jamie Dimon’s than at any time under his watch. That reflects problems that will outlast his tenure.
Corona Capital: Oil, Delta, Hunger 13 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: OPEC and the International Energy Agency issue forecasts that bode ill for crude demand; the U.S. airline steers through turbulence; and a food crisis is exacerbating problems facing the most vulnerable in society.
Vision Fund SPAC is humbling downsize for SoftBank 13 Oct 2020 A planned blank-cheque vehicle seems a no-brainer given the rich rewards on offer. Yet investment boss Rajeev Misra probably wouldn’t be chasing public capital if he still had Gulf billions to play with. It’s actually a sign of SoftBank’s waning influence after flops like WeWork.
Banks only partly to blame for weak green targets 13 Oct 2020 HSBC and JPMorgan are among lenders pledging to align their financing with the Paris accord to cut carbon emissions. A general absence of detail might just be because they have big fossil fuel loan books. But it also reflects the problem with measuring financed emissions.