Deliveroo’s IPO is a dish best served soon 7 Oct 2020 The UK food delivery app is mulling a float in the public market next year. Using its peers’ multiples, Amazon-backed Deliveroo could fetch more than $5 bln. But with the pandemic-induced boost to its top line not guaranteed to last, it can’t afford to dawdle.
Evergrande’s debt scares creditors into submission 7 Oct 2020 The stressed property giant persuaded investors owed nearly $15 bln to convert their obligations to unlisted shares. Details are scant, but it’s another miraculous escape for founder Hui Ka Yan. The deal looks crummy, and it highlights how real estate has trapped policymakers.
Politics may turn bankruptcy wave into a tsunami 6 Oct 2020 U.S. Chapter 11 filings are up by a third this year, with small firms flailing and billion-dollar bankruptcies above 2009 levels. But total filings – including personal and business – are down almost 30%. Stimulus has kept many afloat. Political gridlock may open the floodgates.
Clover Health takes knife to two sick systems 6 Oct 2020 The insurer reckons if doctors had better data, Americans’ medical bills would be lower. So its job of cutting the fat in a market stuffed with middlemen has promise. It’s apt, too, that Clover is listing via a so-called SPAC, a structure that takes the same approach to finance.
Daimler drives into faster lane with luxury refit 6 Oct 2020 The German automaker plans to cut costs by 20% at its Mercedes brand by 2025 and double sales of Maybach luxury cars. Hitting the goals could grow operating profit by nearly two-thirds. Even so, boss Ola Kaellenius may at best catch up with, rather than overtake, rival BMW.
Corona Capital: Fiscal stimulus, Fitness riches 6 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Central bankers including the Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell urge more fiscal help as Covid-19 cases rise again; and the owner of NordicTrack treadmills raises cash at a $7 billion-plus valuation.
Big Oil’s green rush needn’t inflate a big bubble 6 Oct 2020 Total has joined BP in promising more investment in renewable energy. The risk is that deep-pocketed interlopers push up prices of wind farms and solar parks, eroding returns. Luckily for transitioning oil majors, the scale of new capacity needed to replace fossil fuels is vast.
North Sea drillers find mutually acceptable Plan B 6 Oct 2020 Private equity-owned Chrysaor and listed Premier Oil are uniting in a $7 bln merger. Ideally, the former would have gone public via an IPO, not a reverse takeover, and the latter’s creditors would have avoided a haircut. But the oil price rout left both with second-best choices.
LG Chem will get a charge from battery spinoff 6 Oct 2020 The $40 bln South Korean conglomerate’s separation plan failed to energise investors. Although it’ll take time for the structure to take shape, it’s fairly clear the Tesla-supplying division’s true value is lost inside a chemical maker. There’s an electric-car spark yet to come.
French sewage M&A battle takes messy twist 5 Oct 2020 Engie agreed to sell its 30% stake in Suez to waste rival Veolia for $4 bln, despite opposition from the French state, its largest shareholder. That may embolden CEO Bertrand Camus to resist a takeover. Wringing out a higher offer for the rest would allow him to exit honourably.
Wall Street can’t keep its finger off the trigger 5 Oct 2020 Credit Suisse and JPMorgan led the IPO of Academy Sports, a retailer of assault-style rifles that supplied the perpetrator of a 2017 mass shooting. Like Academy owner KKR, their part in America’s gun violence problem is relatively small. Still, it’s one they have taken willingly.
SPACs are one good scrub away from respectability 5 Oct 2020 Blank check companies have many qualities of an investment mania. There’s even an ETF that lets everyday investors take a punt on these complex, insider-friendly acquisition vehicles. With a cleanup, though, they could shed their shady image. The IPO world could use disruption.
Guest view: CEOs learn value of long-term vision 5 Oct 2020 The disruption of the pandemic underscores the importance of planning ahead, write Mark Machin of Canada’s CPP and McKinsey’s Kevin Sneader. Long-term management not only creates more jobs and greater value. It’s also embedded in behaviors that CEOs and board members can learn.
Corona Capital: Donald Trump, Kenzo Takada 5 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. President Donald Trump’s fight with the coronavirus could lead to a less fiercely contested election result; the death of Japanese designer Kenzo Takada comes at a bad time for the global fashion industry.
Italy payments deal trades value for state power 5 Oct 2020 Nexi is buying government-controlled Sia to create a 15 bln euro national champion ready to expand in the fast-consolidating sector. State investor CDP will own 25% but appoint nearly half of the board. It’s another market test for Rome’s push for influence over key industries.
Duty-free group bags the ultimate Chinese shopper 5 Oct 2020 Dufry struck a joint venture with Alibaba, while the e-commerce giant will pump up to $273 mln into the pandemic-struck Swiss travel retailer. CEO Julián González has secured a powerful local partner at a small price. It’s a good deal, assuming the duty-free business recovers.
Altice’s vexed minorities may have a trump card 5 Oct 2020 Minority investors are livid at Patrick Drahi’s lowball 4.9 bln euro take-private offer for the European telco. On the face of it, the Franco-Israeli billionaire can use his 78% voting rights to steamroller their views. But a new piece of Dutch law may give them the last laugh.
Warburg Pincus enjoys Japanese Suga rush 5 Oct 2020 IT conglomerate NEC will splash out $2.2 bln on private equity-backed Swiss fintech firm Avaloq. At 21 times adjusted EBITDA, it’s not cheap. But with new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowing to digitise ministries and banks, the deal is well-timed for both sides.
Face mask boom has unhealthy side effects 5 Oct 2020 Companies from Chinese carmaker BYD to retailer Gap have cashed in on demand for masks. Entrepreneurs and crooks have also piled in, leading to quality problems and fraud. As panic-buying winds down, dealing with excess capacity and used-mask trash could be a headache.
India’s gold jeweller IPO peddles platinum quality 5 Oct 2020 Demand for bling has some resilience against shocks in a wedding-obsessed nation that sees the yellow metal as an investment. That will help the Warburg Pincus-backed Kalyan’s market debut. Next to hotly-valued rival, Tata’s $14 bln Titan, though, it looks a touch less shiny.