Coal clearout puts Rio on path to greener deals 28 Mar 2018 The Anglo-Australian miner has raised $4.2 bln this month getting out of coal. That implies more buybacks and fewer environmental concerns, helping lift Rio Tinto’s modest valuation. It can also focus on future growth, including investments in battery ingredients like lithium.
Chinese banks healthy enough for stronger medicine 28 Mar 2018 Stable real estate and solid corporate profits helped boost annual earnings at AgBank, CCB, ICBC and others. Manic asset growth slowed and risk buffers thickened. The way is clear for reformers to tolerate more defaults and address flaws in China’s debt-for-equity swap programme.
Cox: A beneficent billionaire should buy Remington 27 Mar 2018 The AR-15 maker filed bankruptcy papers a day after millions of Americans marched in favor of banning its products. Owners and creditors just want out in a hurry. But Bloomberg, Gates or Bezos could turn Remington into a force for sensible gun policies with mere pocket change.
Deutsche CEO quest will be hard work 27 Mar 2018 The German lender has begun looking for a new boss. Replacing John Cryan may prove difficult until the company figures out whether to be a global investment bank or return to its more modest corporate lending roots. Nor are there obvious fixes for an ailing business model.
Drug companies take the anti-Amazon pill 27 Mar 2018 Novartis is selling its consumer health assets to GSK for $13 bln. It makes sense for the former to focus on traditional drugs given the threat from e-commerce. For the latter, the purchase is less risky than a Pfizer deal and may still allow investment in its core business.
Carlyle’s $12.6 bln Akzo deal has good chemistry 27 Mar 2018 The U.S. private equity group is buying a speciality chemical unit that the Dutch company put on the block after a failed PPG bid. Carlyle knows the industry and has slashed costs at Axalta. While there may be less scope for huge cuts this time, decent returns are still on offer.
Cancelled Swiss IPO is a bearable blow for HNA 27 Mar 2018 The embattled Chinese conglomerate wanted to raise up to $1.4 billion from Gategroup, but pulled the deal over pricing. Listing is harder than selling property or existing shares, but by holding firm on price, HNA avoids looking desperate. That could help with other disposals.
Mukesh Ambani’s music deal could get a remix 27 Mar 2018 India's richest man is merging two music-streaming services into a $1 bln group. That will help attract users to the telecoms arm of his Reliance Industries. With the conglomerate poised to start throwing off cash again, Ambani could take his content ambitions to another level.
China’s Gen Z app has a lot of growing up to do 27 Mar 2018 Bilibili, a popular video site for anime-obsessed teens, wants to list at a $3 bln-plus valuation. That’s hefty considering a single mobile game accounts for 60 pct of sales. Losses may be narrowing, but Bilibili's amateur business plan doesn't warrant a premium price tag.
Spotify’s growth outlook makes a morose playlist 26 Mar 2018 The streaming-music service expects revenue to increase at most 30 pct this year, a slowdown. And although it’s adding subscribers, Spotify is collecting less money from each of them. That makes future price hikes riskier. The trends are worrisome ahead of its public listing.
Dana keeps GKN defence hopes alive 26 Mar 2018 The U.S. car parts maker raised its cash and shares offer for GKN’s auto unit by $140 million to thwart Melrose’s bid for the whole UK engineering group. The extra cash only compensates for recent falls in Dana’s share price. But given how tight the race is, any increase helps.
Smurfit Kappa is boxed in by sweetened bid 26 Mar 2018 The Irish packaging group rejected International Paper’s improved 8.9 bln euro approach. A heftier cash component is largely offset by the U.S. bidder’s falling share price. That makes the offer easier to snub but adds to pressure on Smurfit to cut costs and roll out automation.
Japan steels itself for worse on trade 26 Mar 2018 U.S. metals tariffs won’t hurt Tokyo much. But trade tensions can cause indirect harm too, since Japan is a big supplier to China, and market jitters unhelpfully boost the yen. President Trump’s scorn for a close ally hints at pressure to come over cars, agriculture and currency.
Uber races towards IPO with Southeast Asian deal 26 Mar 2018 The U.S. ride-hailing giant is exiting another cut-throat market. It will hand its regional business to Grab, a $6 bln local rival, and take 27.5 pct of the enlarged group. This is a sensible step to prepare Uber for public life – provided Grab can hold onto its leading position.
Dropbox stores good news for tech IPOs 23 Mar 2018 The online-storage firm’s shares rocketed about 50 pct in its first few hours as a public company. The rousing welcome for a $12 bln tech firm aimed at consumers is heartening for Spotify. And it could accelerate IPO plans for firms like Airbnb and Lyft.
Facebook crisis could bust digital-ad duopoly 23 Mar 2018 Advertisers may pull money from the social network, which together with Google sucked up 84 pct of digital ad spending in 2017. That cash is likely to stay with data-rich platforms rather than older media. Amazon could benefit if CEO Jeff Bezos can avoid raising antitrust fears.
GKN owners should stick with the devil they know 23 Mar 2018 The UK engineer’s shareholders must choose whether to accept Melrose Industries’ $11 bln hostile cash-and-share bid. The buyer has a record for turnarounds, while GKN has missed targets. But Melrose’s plans are vague and riskier. GKN deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Elliott forced to play long game at Telecom Italia 23 Mar 2018 The sudden resignation of eight Vivendi-backed directors triggers a full board reshuffle at the Italian telecom. The move makes it harder for Elliott to install its preferred candidates. But the activist could still get some of what it wants by aligning with Italian funds.
Aviva fumble leaves no room to miss targets 23 Mar 2018 Chief Executive Mark Wilson has been forced to scrap a plan to cancel 450 million pounds of preference shares after a row with institutional and retail investors. He can start winning back their trust by doing more to boost the insurer’s sales and by reducing debt.
Steve Wynn’s casinos make best of bad hand 23 Mar 2018 After resigning as CEO of Wynn Resorts amid scandal, he has found buyers for his entire stake. New boss Matthew Maddox is playing terrible cards fast and well. He settled a big lawsuit and just brought in Macau rival Galaxy as a backer, which could lead to fresh opportunities.