India prize for U.S. tech grows with Chinese wall 14 Jul 2020 Google will invest $10 bln in India over five years or so. A chunk might follow Facebook into Mukesh Ambani’s Jio. The showy confidence in an iffy economy can help to ease regulatory headwinds. When new rules have crippled Chinese-capital dependent rivals, it is extra helpful.
BlackRock warrants a spot on its climate watchlist 14 Jul 2020 The $6.5 trln asset manager voted against 53 companies for environmental missteps in the past 12 months and put 191 more on notice. It’s much better than the previous year, and necessary after CEO Larry Fink’s call to climate arms. But BlackRock’s own role needs monitoring too.
Corona Capital: Lockdown diets, Beating the Fed 14 Jul 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Covid-19 is prompting diets for both animal and human; and the Fed takes a hit on a garbage deal.
SoftBank will struggle to find equal love of Arm 14 Jul 2020 The Japanese conglomerate paid $32 bln for the chip designer in 2016. Businesses have been hived off, while sales growth and operating profit have underwhelmed. As boss Masayoshi Son contemplates floating a piece of Arm, under pressure, it could be hard to avoid a markdown.
India’s banks peddle bad-loan black holes 14 Jul 2020 ICICI wants to raise some $2 bln, joining peers seeking capital as customers take advantage of interest holidays on a huge one-third of borrowings. Defaults system-wide could double to a whopping 20%, or worse. Amid so much disarray, the strong will inevitably get stronger.
U.S. stock investors look past Covid-19 nadir 13 Jul 2020 The second-quarter reporting season is kicking off. Analysts expect a 44% year-on-year decline for S&P 500 earnings. With the index roughly flat for 2020 and tech stocks riding high, for some the coronavirus is in the rearview mirror. Whether it stays there is another question.
U.S. buyer can take advantage of TikTok’s problems 13 Jul 2020 Donald Trump is considering a ban on the video-sharing app because of its Chinese roots. Selling to an American suitor, whether it’s Disney, Twitter or another firm, would normally trigger regulatory watchdogs. They may turn a blind eye, though, leaving an open door.
Sirius XM follows Spotify quest for fool’s gold 13 Jul 2020 The $25 bln audio entertainment firm could end up paying more than $300 mln to buy podcast platform Stitcher. That’s roughly in line with what music-streamer Spotify paid for Gimlet. While the podcast format is popular, the financial opportunity is still tiny and unproven.
MultiPlan pays up for alternative IPO medicine 13 Jul 2020 Merging with a cash-shell run by former Citi banker Michael Klein gives the healthcare payment company a quick listing, $2 bln of cash and a partial exit for buyout firm Hellman & Friedman. It’s more expensive than a conventional IPO, but improves on that process in several ways.
Chipmaker puts history over price in $21 bln deal 13 Jul 2020 Cost savings come nowhere near covering the premium Analog Devices is offering for rival Maxim after years of flirting with the idea. The hope is that finally putting them together will increase sway over customers enough to justify it. Analog’s past suggests that’s possible.
Virus binge gives hedgies easy prey in testing M&A 13 Jul 2020 Davidson Kempner wants Thermo Fisher Scientific to up its $11.5 bln bid for peer Qiagen. The German group’s business is improving as governments use its kits to fight the coronavirus. The recent rally in diagnostic stocks, and potential counterbids, mean there is little to lose.
Ubisoft’s #MeToo blindness leaves it in M&A bind 13 Jul 2020 Shares in the $10 bln French video game developer tumbled after senior managers left amid allegations of harassment. In 2017, other shareholders helped CEO Yves Guillemot ward off suitor Vivendi. Recent underperformance means the “Assassin's Creed” maker has fewer lives left.
Corona Capital: Ice hockey 13 Jul 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The National Hockey League and its players make the kind of deal Major League Baseball sluggers and owners should have been pitching for.
Benettons face only bad options in Italy road row 13 Jul 2020 Premier Giuseppe Conte wants the family to exit their motorway unit to end a dispute over a collapsed bridge. A cut-price deal would shrink indebted owner Atlantia’s EBITDA by nearly a third. But failure to comply would likely cost the 10 bln euro group its Italian concession.
Alfa Laval’s $2 bln Finnish deal assumes a lot 13 Jul 2020 The Swedish industrial group’s cash offer for valve maker Neles raises its exposure to carbon-heavy markets. In the absence of as-yet-unquantified synergies, the return on investment looks paltry at less than 4%. Alfa investors who hailed the purchase are taking a lot on trust.
Sweden chips away at fintech star’s foundations 13 Jul 2020 A new law by the Nordic state requires Klarna to reduce the prominence of so-called “buy now, pay later” options on e-commerce platforms. It could check a key growth area for the domestic financial group. That might be a problem if other governments decide to clip its wings too.
Yum China can fill a pricier bucket in Hong Kong 13 Jul 2020 The $19 bln KFC operator is mulling a secondary float in the city. Its New York shares have been whipsawed by Sino-American tensions. An outsize base of U.S.-centric investors, a legacy of its spinoff, could be to blame. Heading East will fetch a more finger lickin’ valuation.
Takeda feeling uncomfortable Shire side effects 13 Jul 2020 The Japanese drugmaker is near a deal that would get it to a $10 bln divestiture target 18 months after buying its Irish rival for $62 bln. Promised cost savings are materialising and debt slowly shrinking. Weak stock performance under boss Christophe Weber suggests he overpaid.
American Airlines has jumbo-sized seating dilemma 10 Jul 2020 The Dallas-based carrier’s un-socially distanced cabins have displeased passengers and health officials. But a look at its finances suggests the alternative would be big losses. It’s hard to see how American can please the many people who have stumped up to keep it airborne.
Covid will drag on Boeing profit for years 10 Jul 2020 Certification flights for the 737 MAX are a step toward putting the $100 bln plane maker’s cash cow back in service. But monthly production next year will be about half what was planned before the pandemic. That alone probably means at least a 20% hit to profit.