Conglomerates

Jack Ma is Beijing’s prodigal entrepreneur

28 Mar 2023

The Alibaba founder is back in China, prompting an ephemeral Alibaba stock rally. His rehabilitation appears part of an official campaign to revive business confidence, and has a whiff of desperation. It highlights Beijing's love-hate relationship with the private sector.

Perfection is enemy of $15 bln Toshiba buyout

24 Mar 2023

A group led by Japan Industrial Partners will offer less than two times what foreign activists paid per share to bail out the firm in 2017. It’s not the dream deal outsiders hoped for, but markets are uneasy and geopolitics fast-changing. If it goes through, it’ll be a win.

Bolloré buyback delays possible Vivendi M&A action

15 Mar 2023

The French tycoon’s eponymous holding company is buying back 10% of its shares, potentially boosting the family’s control. The outlay drains cash that could have been used to boost its stake in media group Vivendi. But that’s still a logical endpoint for Bolloré and his children.

Adani contrarian is a win for Hindenburg, too

3 Mar 2023

GQG’s $1.9 bln investment is a fillip for the tycoon. But shares of his firms are close to the short-seller’s target. And a court has ordered India’s securities watchdog to probe its allegations. Even if cleared, Adani may struggle to secure the backing of mainstream financiers.

Capital Calls: Buffett’s greatest hits lose verve

27 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: The ageing financial rockstar’s annual shareholder missive is stacked with some of his fans’ favorite themes, in the latest sign that he may have run out of new material.

Walmart’s ho-hum is the new fabulous

21 Feb 2023

The $390 bln retailing giant said its next fiscal year isn’t going to be great. Low growth and slim margins would typically be concerning. But it turns a profit, which can’t be said for Amazon’s retail business. Plus, Walmart doesn’t have tech stink attached to its name.

MSCI’s Adani cut signals fat tail risks for India

10 Feb 2023

The global index provider cut its determined free floats of four Adani firms, undermining the efforts of local officials to downplay concerns about the group’s governance. Though India can manage the fallout at home, foreign scrutiny represents a lingering threat.

Gautam Adani’s woes were in banks’ plain sight

8 Feb 2023

Barclays, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and others helped the Indian tycoon supersize his empire. A $110 bln share rout exposes their willingness to ignore warnings and take a narrow view of risk on lucrative relationships. As Adani struggles, the questions will get louder.

Gautam Adani’s crisis will hit India hard

2 Feb 2023

The Indian magnate’s sprawling empire has lost over $100 bln of market value after a short-seller made accusations of fraud. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why the situation will narrow Adani’s financing options, limiting his infrastructure ambitions.

Adani’s share sale U-turn spares only some blushes

2 Feb 2023

It nixed a $2.4 bln offer after a near-30% fall in Adani Enterprises’ stock. But big funds, including from Abu Dhabi, still face hard questions for participating. Ditto the banking advisers. The dead deal shows support for Gautam Adani has limits, and the controversy will run on.

Adani’s financing safety-net rests on Indian banks

30 Jan 2023

Gautam Adani looks locked out of capital markets after a short-seller attack wiped $48 bln off the market value of his companies and caused bonds to tumble. Indian lenders have capacity to step in. What they do next will reveal the extent of state support for the tycoon.

Adani’s buy now, pay later fundraise could sting

26 Jan 2023

The world’s third-richest man Gautam Adani won anchor investor backing for a $2.4 bln share sale by his flagship company, including from Abu Dhabi’s wealth fund. Yet an Adani group selloff resulting from a short attack means terms that were meant to reward buyers could hurt them.

Short-seller attack raises Gautam Adani stakes

25 Jan 2023

Hindenburg reinforces how the $230 bln empire of the world’s third richest man is closely held, overvalued, and dismissed by Wall St. The upstart’s record of exposing U.S. fraud will make India sit up. But Adani is a giant target, and too many powerbrokers have a lot to lose.

Toshiba buyout heralds a big step back for Japan

20 Jan 2023

A deal for the $15 bln conglomerate is finally in sight. Foreign investors, who agitated for years, are likely to sell control back to local owners less inclined to shake up a national icon. Domestic policy shifts may also stifle local private equity before it can get rolling.

LVMH has smarter way to tackle succession dilemma

11 Jan 2023

Bernard Arnault picked his daughter Delphine to run the luxury giant’s Dior brand. If she proves her mettle, she may win the race among her siblings to eventually replace the 73-year-old tycoon. Naming one heir would help LVMH extend its success to the next generation.

Singapore looks boxed in with Li Ka-shing

9 Jan 2023

Co-investing with Hong Kong’s top tycoon once seemed like a no-brainer but sovereign fund Temasek may sell its 20% of CK Hutchison’s ports business. It owns a hefty slug of the company’s retail unit too. Geopolitics complicate any exit from these bold private investments.

GE healthcare spinoff gets unduly glum prognosis

4 Jan 2023

The industrial giant’s newly listed MRI-to-ultrasound division flatlined on its debut as a $25 bln listed company, trading 40% below what peer valuations would suggest it’s worth. A discount plagues parent GE too. The apple hasn’t yet fallen far enough from the tree.

Flu-remedy shortages sap investor misperceptions

21 Dec 2022

Drugmaker GSK spun off $35 bln Haleon in July with legal issues, high debt and low expectations, but strong demand for children’s Advil and other medicines are providing a salve. Similar splits in media, oil and tech have defied the odds, too. Contrarian bets can be therapeutic.

Vietnam’s Tesla faces daunting Nasdaq road test

7 Dec 2022

Electric-car maker VinFast has filed for a U.S. IPO. It is unprofitable, has only just gone all-in on battery power, and its dependency on parent Vingroup may be a turnoff, too. The young marque could make a case for a $5 bln valuation, but investors will kick the tires hard.

Mukesh Ambani will take credit where it’s due

6 Dec 2022

The Reliance boss is pushing into consumer lending and might trim his stake in the $220 bln conglomerate to fund the move. A star-banker hire, and huge customer base are pluses. Still, there’s good reason for the tycoon to play down his ambition in this booming corner of finance.