Corona Capital: Newspaper rivals, College football 17 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: the Wall Street Journal hits up the New York Times’ printing presses; U.S. college football’s Big Ten makes a comeback.
Beauty IPO is risky test for UK governance retreat 16 Sep 2020 The Hut Group’s shares soared after a $7 bln float. The skincare and clothing retailer’s fast growth meant investors shrugged off shaky voting rights and a watered-down listing. Its success opens the door for others, if founder Matthew Moulding can grow into his rich valuation.
Corona Capital: Fed’s optimism, Package holidays 16 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Jay Powell and crew at the U.S. central bank reckon the nation’s economy is doing better, just, than they expected; Anglo-German travel company TUI may raise 1 bln euros as the virus whacks new bookings.
Klarna’s new $11 bln valuation looks a stretch 15 Sep 2020 The Swedish buy-now-pay-later startup’s new funding round means it has doubled its worth in a year. That looks reasonable relative to rival Afterpay’s market valuation. It looks less so once you use multiples that better reflect competition and regulatory risks.
Corona Capital: Amazon, NYC and Trump 14 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Amazon’s hiring boom highlights its weakness, and U.S. President Donald Trump could throw New York City a bone.
Polish e-commerce IPO requires anti-Amazon defence 14 Sep 2020 Cinven-backed Allegro may be worth as much as $12 bln when it lists in Warsaw. Covid-19 helped boost net revenue more than 50% in the first half. And with only 8% of Polish retail sales online, there’s more room for growth. The danger is that global giants flood the market.
Corona Capital: Testing, Flights, Football 10 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. lab-testing group Quest announces speedy growth; IAG’s gloomy horizons have a silver lining; and NFL football comes charging back.
Reliance becoming the envy of big conglomerates 9 Sep 2020 Silver Lake’s purchase of a 1.75% stake values the shopping arm of Mukesh Ambani’s empire at $57 bln. KKR wants in too. It prices up the third pillar, after the core energy unit and digital platform Jio, without a discount. The tycoon’s challenge will be to keep it that way.
Unilever’s latest race row shows drawbacks of size 8 Sep 2020 An ad for the $156 bln group’s TRESemmé line that appeared to denigrate Black people’s hair sparked protests in South Africa. After a similar firestorm in June over skin cream, the error suggests a lack of focus. Repeated blunders may expose CEO Alan Jope to calls for a breakup.
Corona Capital: Vaccine politics, Peloton 8 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Pharma firms like Merck and Pfizer are putting long-term profit first by promising to wait for full approvals for Covid-19 treatments; Peloton cycles towards more profit by cutting the price of its high-cost bikes.
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.
Delivery Hero M&A feast is DAX-doubtful 27 Aug 2020 The $18 billion food delivery company is buying its way into new, unproven businesses. It just replaced the fraudulent Wirecard in the German blue-chip index, not usually the home of unprofitable and highly acquisitive startups. Expect some adventures.
Xiaomi is next Apple of China’s eye 27 Aug 2020 The $65 bln smartphone maker has exploited Washington's attacks on Huawei to take overseas market share. Its suite of gadgets look similar to the Cupertino giant's, and Xiaomi has maintained a bland political profile at home and abroad. That’s about to pay off.
Corona Capital: KFC ditches finger lickin’ 25 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The Yum Brands’ fast-food chain made eating fried chicken synonymous with cleaning your digits with your mouth. KFC has at last realized that’s a no-no in a pandemic.
Corona Capital: Europe’s recovery, Indian selloffs 21 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The latest economic reports from Britain, France and Germany paint a patchy picture; and why the virus will hinder New Delhi’s asset-sale programme.
Alibaba polishes its crown and half-hidden jewels 20 Aug 2020 Quarterly sales at its shopping business rose 34%, in line with rival JD. But the cloud computing unit is growing nearly twice as fast and fintech affiliate Ant is on track for an epic IPO. The pair account for a fifth of Alibaba’s value. Boss Daniel Zhang has plenty to tout.
Blotches appear on Kirin’s skincare deal 19 Aug 2020 A year after the Japanese brewer paid $1.2 bln for a 30% stake in Fancl, the facial cream maker’s profitable but frustrated overseas distributor is up for sale. That could deepen the rift between Fancl and its partner, and force Kirin to protect its pricey investment.
Hong Kong speculators should read China Literature 19 Aug 2020 The fan-fiction startup leaped 86% on its first trading day in 2017, but is now underwater, alongside peers that enjoyed similarly oversubscribed floats. Low interest rates have the city’s retail investors back at playing IPOs, so another round of unsustainable pops is underway.
Long-shot Dutch exit tax is warning for Unilever 13 Aug 2020 Lawmakers in the Netherlands want to charge the Dove maker an exit fee for unifying its head office in London. The proposal, which would cost Unilever 11 bln euros, may not be legally or politically viable. Still, it’s a reminder that chasing efficiency risks a public backlash.