Viewsroom: Predictions and prescriptions (Part 2) 31 Dec 2020 A Joe Biden-Xi Jinping reset will be unsatisfying; China’s economic revival will frustrate critics; Southeast Asia will be the next tech hot spot; HSBC will retreat from America; and Hong Kong’s exchange will rethink deals. Pete Sweeney, Jennifer Hughes and Robyn Mak discuss.
Data centres will become green activists’ target 24 Dec 2020 Server farms and networks each use around 1% of the world’s electricity – more, for now, than electric vehicles. That could hit double-digits by 2030 thanks to 5G and other trends, making related emissions a problem. Poor disclosures put Amazon and peers in ESG investors’ sights.
Viewsroom: Predictions and prescriptions (Part 1) 23 Dec 2020 Governments will become activist investors; U.S. airlines will merge; data centres will be the new ESG target; energy giants to consider renewable spinoffs; Tesla will buy Daimler; European soccer gets more American and more. Rob Cox, Peter Thal Larsen and Lauren Silva weigh in.
EU’s Google-Fitbit approval sets risky precedent 17 Dec 2020 Antitrust tsar Margrethe Vestager approved the $2.1 bln deal with conditions. The buyer’s pledges, like giving rival fitness trackers equal access to the Android operating system, are great in theory but hard to monitor. Vestager may only spot the loopholes once the harm is done.
S&P’s IHS swoop opens door to messy bidding war 30 Nov 2020 The U.S. index giant has offered to buy its domestic rival for $44 billion including debt. The deal brings synergies and scale in the hot area of financial data, but the returns look skinny. And the premium is not big enough to see off a counter bid from the likes of ICE.
Could Bill Ackman’s SPAC buy Bloomberg or Airbnb? 21 Oct 2020 The media firm and the home-sharing app have both been reported as possible targets for the activist hedge fund manager’s blank-check company. His $5 billion hook could land a big fish by taking a small stake. But large, well-known private firms don't need a SPAC to go public.
Everyone looks like a deal amateur in TikTok mess 25 Sep 2020 U.S. orders to divest assets are often straightforward. But dizzying contradictions from both dealmakers and the White House have given ByteDance a free pass around rules to sell TikTok. The resulting chaos obscures the stakes: handling data security and foreign takeover laws.
Palantir float marks peak investor apathy 23 Sep 2020 The cryptic data-analytics company is setting a guide valuation of $20 billion for its direct listing next week. Its novel governance means the three founders are in control indefinitely. Incoming shareholders should assume their views won’t count.
U.S. WeChat ban adopts China’s Great Firewall 22 Sep 2020 A U.S. judge gave WeChat a break from an order barring downloads to protect national security. But the White House still wants to push out Chinese tech, echoing Beijing bans of American internet firms. It’s a road map for more censorship and ups the ante on online protectionism.
Trump writes cliffhanger into TikTok reality show 18 Sep 2020 The White House will stop Americans from downloading the video app and WeChat, both Chinese-owned. The plot centers on national-security worries but the immediate drama is of the U.S. president's making. Shifting a TikTok deadline past election day adds to the political intrigue.
Snowflake-led IPO boomlet puts hope over profit 14 Sep 2020 The cloud-data firm’s $3 bln public debut will be the largest IPO this year, in the busiest week for new listings since 2014. The glut of tech-heavy deals will keep investment bankers happy. But with many of the candidates losing money, investors are betting big on fast growth.
Palantir investor day is direct-listing bonus 8 Sep 2020 The data-analytics firm is making its big pitch this week. There is plenty to cover, like the rationale for variable-voting shares. Unlike an IPO, at least it’s a public event. Work-management outfit Asana is next. Future candidates for direct listings may raise capital, too.
Viewsroom: Silicon Valley spotlight 30 Jul 2020 The CEOs of Big Tech companies faced off against U.S. lawmakers during an antitrust hearing that raised new evidence about past acquisitions. Meanwhile, Japan’s Ootoya and Colowide engage in a food M&A fight. And: SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s next steps.
Big Tech bosses face hot air and hard truths 29 Jul 2020 Bosses of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google faced a predictable array of silly questions during their Washington hearing. But they also faced some pointed examples of their firms throwing their weight around. Cook, Bezos, Zuckerberg and Pichai have some self-examination to do.
TikTok deal depends on how, not how much 29 Jul 2020 Some of the social network’s investors have proposed buying it at $50 bln, or 50 times sales. That would suggest growth that vastly outpaces rivals like Snap. It’s possible, but with bans in places like India, TikTok’s worth depends on how cleanly it can cut ties with China.
Bezos’s D.C. delivery hangs on lawmaker wish lists 28 Jul 2020 Amazon’s CEO faces his first congressional hearing, joining peers from Apple, Google and Facebook who have sat in the hot seat before. Those grillings were mostly grandstanding by ill-prepared politicians. If they have upped their game, Bezos and Co face more of a challenge.
Apple and peers could lose “when in China” shield 16 Jul 2020 The iPhone maker is one of many firms that tailors products to suit China’s demands, recently deleting an app used by Hong Kong protesters. Such decisions could soon be treated by U.S. authorities as foreign lobbying. That would curtail a delicate – and profitable – dance.
EU data ruling opens new front in tech’s cold war 16 Jul 2020 The bloc’s highest court blew up the legal basis on which companies transfer data to America. Privacy evangelists would have Facebook and others store personal information locally. A better solution would be a new U.S.-EU data protection deal, but Washington won’t like the terms.
Google strengthens as U.S. antitrust case weakens 14 Jul 2020 The Justice Dept may soon make its case against the unit of Alphabet, which is back to its pre-pandemic $1 trillion market value. With 90% market share in some areas, Google is a legitimate target. But by mixing political and economic aims, the DOJ risks tripping itself up.
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.