UK web star ingeniously adds $1 bln to war chest 11 May 2021 That’s how much THG raised from SoftBank and others. The Japanese company also gets an option to buy 20% of the e-commerce group’s yet-to-be-created Ingenuity unit for $1.6 bln. That may never happen. But CEO Matthew Moulding has boosted the share price and raised cash for deals.
Jeff Bezos hands successor post-pandemic pivot 29 Apr 2021 Amazon’s 44% jump in quarterly revenue rounds out a year of locked-down consumers and panic buying. The stock is up only 9% this year as the pandemic effect wanes. Still, Bezos’s company is growing in online ads and cloud. Managing the shift will fall to incoming boss Andy Jassy.
U.S. ruins Japan Inc’s flirt with China 23 Apr 2021 A 3.7% stake sale by e-commerce group Rakuten to Shenzhen-based Tencent is under joint scrutiny by Tokyo and Washington. As Japan’s stance against China hardens under American pressure, a nascent rising trend in Chinese investment in the country may be cut short.
Meituan loads cash bazooka for e-commerce fight 20 Apr 2021 The $220 bln Chinese delivery app has raised $10 bln to take on larger Alibaba. Investors are sceptical of boss Wang Xing's money-losing bets; shares are down 36% since mid-February. Replenishing the war chest eases financial stress but raises pressure to deliver quick results.
Jack Ma discounts value of tech-boss charisma 19 Apr 2021 Fintech giant Ant is exploring ways for its founder to divest, to end the pressure from Beijing and salvage what it can of a onetime $300 bln valuation. As outspoken and larger-than-life leaders become bigger liabilities in China, investors have good reason to be more discerning.
China’s Alibaba slap offers clues to hit Amazon 12 Apr 2021 Jeff Bezos’s firm has reason to worry about the $2.8 bln fine for Jack Ma’s e-commerce giant. Beijing’s definition of the appropriate market and focus on data may provide helpful tips to U.S. watchdogs. Still, Amazon has something Alibaba lacks: recourse to American courts.
Capital Calls: U.S. CEO pay 12 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance: The median big-company boss is ending up with $13.7 mln for the 2020 pandemic year, a payout that's heading for a record.
Fine leaves sharp sword hanging over Alibaba 12 Apr 2021 A $2.8 bln penalty for preventing sellers from using rival sites is manageable but sweeping orders to develop healthy competition raises the prospect of further changes that may do serious damage. The message is clear: Beijing wants a bigger say in how tech giants are run.
Amazon win over union pits Bezos against Biden 9 Apr 2021 The $1.7 trln e-commerce giant’s aggressive campaign to stymie organized labor in Alabama paid off. But it puts the founder at odds with the U.S. president, who backed the effort to form a union. Biden’s broader employee-friendly plans may keep Amazon on the back foot.
Capital Calls: Cellebrite good times 8 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The Israeli cracker of mobile-phone encryption is going public via a SPAC at a $2.4 billion valuation.
India’s shopping aisle cleanup risks bigger mess 1 Apr 2021 Amazon and Walmart would have to treat small and large vendors alike and could be forced to shed stakes in their wholesale arms. The leaked draft rules overlook e-commerce realities. And targeting foreigners sits especially uneasily after Reliance’s international cash call.
Capital Calls: BlackRock’s Archegos angle, SPACs 30 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The fallout from the collapse of Bill Hwang’s family office gives regulators reasons to focus on funds, not fund managers; and bosses of blank-check companies don’t take investor questions.
Pinduoduo governance cleanup misses some spots 26 Mar 2021 The $156 bln e-commerce company’s departing founder Colin Huang has given up his supervoting stock. But it’s not clear he’s relinquishing other holds on power. Insiders can exert outsize influence on the board. And Pinduoduo still lacks a finance chief. There’s more work to do.
Founder move confirms Pinduoduo’s coming of age 17 Mar 2021 Colin Huang is stepping back from the $197 bln e-commerce upstart and relinquishing special voting rights three years after taking it public. It’s a bold move by a Chinese tech tycoon as Pinduoduo nips at rivals’ heels. But it leaves a shortage of top talent as rising costs bite.
Capital Calls: New York, Allegro exit 17 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The Big Apple reigns in a new ranking of global cities, but the prize isn’t what it was; shareholders in Polish e-commerce group Allegro sell down early.
Capital Calls: Netflix, ECB, Glass Lewis, Zalando 16 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The streaming service’s password-sharing crackdown twists the knife; the central bank worries about identifying bad loans; the proxy adviser’s sale underscores its place on Wall Street; the online fashion giant’s bold targets.
Stripe’s $95 bln pop raises bar for payments hype 15 Mar 2021 The privately held group run by the Collison brothers raised money at almost triple its last valuation. It seems rich even next to listed peer Adyen. Investors in the companies are betting on a decade of breakneck growth. Rising competition means they can’t all be winners.
Capital Calls: Elon Musk, AstraZeneca 15 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The electric-vehicle maker’s jocular new title of “Technoking of Tesla” tests the theory that deeds matter more than words; fears over the drugmaker’s vaccine risk further delaying the re-opening of Europe’s economy.
Grab listing offers up an uber Uber 15 Mar 2021 Merging with a U.S. SPAC might value Singapore’s ride-hailing-to-food delivery giant at $40 bln. New bets on fintech expand its range beyond its U.S. peer and backer, and put it on a bumpier path to profit. But founder Anthony Tan can count on a Southeast Asian scarcity premium.
Coupang and Roblox fuel anti-IPO fire 12 Mar 2021 Two stock-market debuts support the notion that initial public offerings leave too much on the table. South Korean retailer Coupang’s huge initial price pop is Exhibit A. Games platform Roblox’s steadier first day suggests direct listings are better for finding a market price.