Corona Capital: Bumble IPO, SPACs 2 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The Blackstone-backed dating site may be eyeing an $8 bln valuation if it goes public next year, more than twice its pre-virus price tag. Ex-MGM exec Harry Sloan adds online gaming to his blank-check company empire.
Quirky governance puts blemish on beauty tech IPO 2 Sep 2020 The Hut Group’s 4.5 bln pound London market debut is riding a pandemic-fuelled boost in online sales for own-brand products like Myprotein. But baking in a semi super-vote for founder Matthew Moulding, which effectively allows him to block takeovers, may dull future successes.
Apollo and Abu Dhabi scratch each other’s backs 2 Sep 2020 A consortium led by the private equity titan has struck a $2.7 billion deal for a 49% stake in a real estate company held by the emirate’s energy group ADNOC. Apollo-linked insurers snap up long-term secure assets. Abu Dhabi gets a cash injection from selling the family silver.
Giants risk overloading China’s growth boards 2 Sep 2020 Carmaker Geely wants to raise $3 bln on Shanghai’s hot STAR exchange. Deep-pocketed Dongfeng Motor and Ant are also chasing stratospheric valuations on venues built for earlier-stage innovative firms. This dilutes Beijing’s goal of providing much-needed capital to startups.
Fight for Mumbai airport is cattle-class affair 2 Sep 2020 Tycoon Gautam Adani is taking over India’s second busiest airport. It tramples over a stalled $1 bln deal the seller had with Abu Dhabi’s ADIA and Canada’s PSP. By acquiring debt, Adani is offering a quick out for lenders including Goldman Sachs. But it sets a worrying precedent.
Tesla shows rare modesty with $5 bln share sale 1 Sep 2020 Elon Musk’s $464 bln carmaker is set to raise more equity in one shot than it ever has. But it will only just tip the firm’s balance sheet into net cash, while the pandemic has made sales more erratic. With Tesla’s market value up almost sixfold this year, Musk could raise more.
Corona Capital: Zooming through Covid 1 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Zoom Video Communications, the ubiquitous video-calling outfit, reports another blowout quarter.
SoftBank divestitures set stage to shop again soon 1 Sep 2020 Offloading a 22% stake in the Japanese telecom arm will help reach a $41 bln fundraising target set in March. Chip designer Arm may go too. Prodding from Elliott has helped SoftBank shares more than double, but boss Masayoshi Son is a buyer at heart. He must be getting itchy.
Telecom Italia network spinoff is imperfect 1 Sep 2020 Selling a chunk of its grid to KKR for 1.8 bln euros should help the operator fund investment in faster connections. Other indebted European telcos may follow. But a messy merger with state-backed rival Open Fiber risks choking competition and stalling Italy’s broadband upgrade.
Rocket’s $3 bln delisting leaves investors adrift 1 Sep 2020 Even as tech stocks surge, Oliver Samwer’s German investment vehicle has concluded it doesn’t belong on the public market. His plan to take Rocket Internet private gives small shareholders two unappealing options: cash out with no premium or hang on with little hope of liquidity.
Corona Capital: TikTok, India’s GDP 31 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Video app Triller says it has offered $20 bln for parts of its much larger rival, but the bid makes no sense; India’s virus-hit economy is probably hurting more than the latest figures suggest.
Distressed debt cash flood could sink returns 31 Aug 2020 Investors are pouring billions into funds that take advantage of credit carnage. Brookfield's Oaktree unit just raised a whopping $12 bln. But assets chasing these bets have ballooned since 2008, and stimulus limits the opportunities. Many managers may fall short of expectations.
AT&T could turn DirecTV sale into a two-parter 31 Aug 2020 The U.S. telecom may ditch its shrinking satellite pay-TV unit. The most logical outcome is a merger with rival Dish, but AT&T boss John Stankey already has his hands full without taking on a new antitrust battle. A sale to private equity could be a smart way to bridge the gap.
Nestlé’s $2.6 bln peanut hedge boosts health creds 31 Aug 2020 The $348 bln Swiss giant is buying allergy treatment firm Aimmune. It makes the first approved product for food allergies to the nut. The ingredient isn’t prominent in its portfolio, so CEO Mark Schneider will essentially get a lift from making rivals’ products more accessible.
Buffett’s cheap yen buys Japanese doppelgangers 31 Aug 2020 Berkshire Hathaway invested in Japan’s five big trading houses, an atypical move exploiting the country’s cheap borrowing costs to buy stakes in discounted, unloved conglomerates. The thesis is clever, if narcissistic. But it could lock Berkshire in Japan’s infamous value trap.
Veolia’s trash dominance drive is worth the money 31 Aug 2020 The French water-and-waste group is at last pouncing on rival Suez. The 15.50 euros a share cash bid for Engie’s 30% stake is ballsy as a full takeover will face antitrust scrutiny. Yet the returns look attractive. Jumping on the green economy bandwagon should pay off over time.
Reliance ties golden bow onto its shopping deal 31 Aug 2020 Mukesh Ambani is bulking up in a fight against Amazon by acquiring retail businesses from Future for $3.4 bln. Kishore Biyani’s outfit first needs shareholder approvals to consolidate assets. His terms are only so-so, but Reliance buying into the rump should help secure checkout.
Chinese beverage IPO turns water into beer 31 Aug 2020 Nongfu Spring, the country’s answer to Evian, is being valued at about $31 bln, or a bubbly 41 times profit. That’s less akin to its closest consumer peers and more like brewers such as Tsingtao. Markets and China are recovering, but there’s also some glass-half-full thinking.
Snowflake IPO may test cloud heights 28 Aug 2020 The data-warehouse firm is more than doubling revenue, but sports big losses, too. Sticky corporate IT spending and customers’ fear of having no alternative to giants like Amazon bolsters Snowflake’s potential. But rivals’ valuations mean its IPO price is likely to hit thin air.
Corona Capital: Pools, Dell 28 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Pool firm’s dive into public markets, Dell’s hardware resilience.