VMware spin would repair Dell’s complexity damage 24 Jun 2020 The $36 bln IT group may off-load its $50 bln majority stake in separately listed VMware. Logic suggests first extracting cash to reduce debt and then spinning VMware off to Dell’s shareholders. That would clean up balance sheets and governance, probably boosting both valuations.
VW’s Europcar takeover would be a rough round trip 24 Jun 2020 The German carmaker is considering buying the $500 mln French car-rental firm, which it sold in 2006. Beleaguered boss Herbert Diess could use its airport and city locations to launch ride-sharing services. Plummeting rentals and high debt will make bumpy economic returns ahead.
Camera sale puts Olympus value into clearer view 24 Jun 2020 The $25 bln Japanese company is offloading its historic but unprofitable imaging division 18 months after pushy investor ValueAct prompted a shakeup. A new focus on medical equipment has helped send Olympus shares soaring. The question now is whether expectations are too rosy.
Corona Capital: A tax on martinis 24 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Uncle Sam has bad news for those enjoying the libation during lockdown as it’s putting up import duties on gin, vodka and olives.
Yandex picks good time to untangle from Sberbank 24 Jun 2020 The Russian search engine will pay $600 mln for the bank’s stake in their e-commerce tie-up and exit their payments unit. With shares up, funding this with $800 mln from investors like Roman Abramovich makes sense. Sadly, immunity from Kremlin meddling isn’t part of the deal.
Bill Ackman bests Goldman Sachs in SPAC race 23 Jun 2020 Both are launching blank-check companies designed to buy private firms. Goldman’s is smaller, and rides on its contacts and cachet. Ackman’s could reach $6 bln, and adds some governance-friendly tweaks. Short-term investors will probably prefer Goldman’s; Ackman may hope they do.
Cerberus bags more waiting for Albertsons checkout 23 Jun 2020 Stephen Feinberg’s buyout firm has tried several times to exit the U.S. grocer it has owned for 14 years. But the pandemic has been a boon for both supermarkets and capital markets. That means Cerberus can get a better deal than was on offer when it last tried to leave the store.
Amazon’s climate fund is a worthy sideshow 23 Jun 2020 The $1.3 trln e-commerce giant’s new $2 bln fund could invest in everything from energy storage to farms. Google’s green-energy experience shows even better focused bets often don’t pay off. Investing to deploy existing technology does. Jeff Bezos’ outfit will do that too.
The Exchange: Pehr Gyllenhammar 23 Jun 2020 Long-time Volvo CEO Pehr Gyllenhammar was pushing radical environmental and social changes at the carmaker long before they became fashionable. One of Sweden’s most admired businessmen argues why CEOs should be paid less and how it felt to become a father again at 81.
Lufthansa bailout rebel has jobs trump card 23 Jun 2020 Billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele may nix the airline’s $10 bln rescue if Berlin doesn’t sweeten its terms. It looks rash: blocking the deal would crash the 79-year-old’s 16% stake. Yet insolvency could cost jobs and dent Germany’s reputation. The government may be first to fold.
Corona Capital: SpongeBob, Cirque du Soleil 23 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Cinema chains raring to reopen may find that movie studios have already made other plans. Meanwhile, Cirque du Soleil may get new financing, but with strings.
Chinese gay dating IPO makes rainbow connection 23 Jun 2020 BlueCity, valued at $300 mln in 2014, wants to go public in New York. Its Grindr-meets-Facebook app caters to low-key but thriving LGBTQ communities. Fast growth has enabled founder Ma Baoli to expand in Asia. Sustained success depends on shifting political and social attitudes.
Bad omens for U.S. mall owners come in threes 22 Jun 2020 Brookfield is pushing back on tenants and skipping mortgage payments. Simon Property is ditching its merger with a rival. Both mall owners are suing the Gap for rent and may team up to bid for bankrupt J.C. Penney. Taken together, it looks like landlords are in for a reckoning.
Wirecard’s bankers might as well keep it alive 22 Jun 2020 ABN Amro, Commerzbank and others could tip the payments group into insolvency by calling in 2 bln euros of loans. Given Wirecard’s lack of cash and tangible assets, they might not get their money back. Better to see if new CEO James Freis can salvage something from the wreckage.
New City watchdog head fits UK’s Brexit challenge 22 Jun 2020 The financial regulator’s next CEO will be Nikhil Rathi, an ex-Treasury official who runs London’s stock exchange. His background suggests PM Boris Johnson sees the need to help Britain’s hub after the EU exit. That may also make it harder to resist pressure for lower standards.
GE’s audit switch wipes away another layer of dust 22 Jun 2020 The company is switching to Deloitte after a century with KPMG, exiting a club of audit lifers that includes U.S. Steel and P&G. It took too long and a radical new approach is unlikely given auditing remains an oligopoly. Still, fresh eyes should make for sharper housekeeping.
PG&E’s $58 bln bankruptcy exit is no clean sheet 22 Jun 2020 America’s largest utility emerged from Chapter 11 for the second time with about $16 bln more debt, a torched reputation, continuing political demands, and reduced but not eliminated wildfire liabilities. PG&E is out of court, but not necessarily out of trouble.
Corona Capital: Payments systems, Shale 22 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Payments systems get some good news, shale oil drilling’s double whammy.
Wirecard could prove a nail in BaFin’s coffin 22 Jun 2020 Despite repeated allegations of fraud at the payments group, the German watchdog until recently focused on short-sellers and journalists. The scandal poses big questions about its oversight of Wirecard’s bank unit - and about financial regulation in Europe’s largest economy.
Breakup pledge will keep Unilever boss on his toes 22 Jun 2020 Alan Jope promised to list the consumer giant’s food and drink unit in Amsterdam if it’s spun off. That’s not happening now: Unilever shares largely reflect the division’s 50 bln euro value. But the hypothetical vow gives investors ammunition if the Dove maker underperforms.