Infrastructure

Michigan plows pragmatic path on infrastructure

21 April 2021

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has started rebuilding the U.S. state’s crumbling roads despite political opposition. Employment is up, and her popularity is solid. Infrastructure spend shouldn’t hinge on short-term political gains, but without them long-term gains won’t happen either.

Biden’s offshore tax push may undo a Trump success

15 April 2021

The U.S. president's predecessor discouraged companies from moving – and keeping – profit overseas. Biden's plan to boost corporate taxes includes a higher levy on foreign income. The package would help federal coffers but risks eroding incentives to bring money home.

French water fight ends in honourable $15 bln draw

12 April 2021

After months of feuding, Veolia is buying the 70% of rival Suez it doesn’t own for 20.5 euros a share. Target boss Bertrand Camus has squeezed a few extra euros from his suitor. Meanwhile Veolia gets to keep its big prize: 500 mln euros of cost savings in North and South America.

Viewsroom: Asia’s E-car mania, U.S. infrastructure

8 April 2021

Huawei makes telecoms, Haier dishwashers, Xiaomi phones, Evergrande condos. Now, these Chinese companies all want to make battery-powered vehicles too. And while on the subject of building, U.S. President Joe Biden is going big. Maybe too big for the bean counters in the Senate.

Capital Calls: Trucking IPO

7 April 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Startup TuSimple will be listing shares via a traditional initial public offering.

Capital Calls: Bling deal

6 April 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Signet, the owner of jewelers Zales and Kay, is buying rental firm Rocksbox.

Infrastructure profit takes many diverging paths

5 April 2021

America’s decrepit hardware needs an upgrade, but not all will create the kind of rewards that lure capital providers. Water treatment is one example. President Biden’s first task will be to separate the publicly desirable from the privately investable. There’s room for both.

Benettons avoid crash at end of Italian road feud

1 April 2021

Atlantia, part-owned by the clothing-to-infrastructure clan, looks set to sell its motorway unit for 9 bln euros to a group led by state investor CDP. The sale should end a row with Rome and cut debt. For the new owners, rising investment means the returns will hardly be racy.

Draghi’s corporate inbox will keep flashing red

31 March 2021

Rome’s to-do list, left over from the last government, includes selling dud bank MPS, resurrecting carrier Alitalia, expanding broadband and ending a motorway row. With vaccinations and recovery his legacy, these secondary tasks will slip to the bottom of Mario Draghi’s pile.

Messy Singapore deal strains to lay new foundation

24 March 2021

CapitaLand wants to sell its property development arm to backer Temasek and list the rest. Even if investors are willing to embrace a carve-up of the $15 bln company, achieving a desired valuation closer to peers such as Lendlease will be hard in a yield-focused market.

Capital Calls: Chubb/Hartford, Son of Kozmo

23 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Insurer Hartford rebuffs an offer from rival Chubb without breaking a sweat; snack-delivery outfit GoPuff raises capital at an $8.9 billion valuation, giving new life to an old Silicon Valley idea.

Suez brings water pistol to French sewage shootout

22 March 2021

CEO Bertrand Camus proposed carving up the group or swallowing an “irreversible” poison pill if Veolia doesn’t raise its 11.3 bln euro bid. Rival boss Antoine Frérot can afford to pay more. But in the absence of other bidders he can first try to kick out Suez’s board.

Mega-train deal warrants long Washington layover

22 March 2021

Canadian Pacific’s $25 bln takeover of Kansas City Southern would be the second transcontinental railway controlled north of the U.S. border. The price can be justified by a big expected uplift in revenue growth. That’s also the type of thing that merits close regulatory scrutiny.

National Grid’s $11 bln green switch looks smart

18 March 2021

The UK infrastructure operator is buying a big chunk of the local electricity distribution network, paid for by selling some of its U.S. arm and UK gas assets. CEO John Pettigrew is betting power assets will grow faster as the energy transition speeds up. It’s worth paying for.

Veolia gambles on Suez shareholder showdown

11 March 2021

The French group sweetened its 11.3 bln euros bid by pledging not to dismantle its target’s domestic waste and water business. Handing the unit to infrastructure fund Meridiam should reassure politicians and unions. All Suez CEO Bertrand Camus can do is haggle for a higher price.

Corona Capital: Food delivery, Video games

25 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Hedge fund Tiger Global gets a taste for food-delivery investments; and Jagex, developer of fantasy game “RuneScape,” is flipped to Carlyle less than a year after its last sale.

Corona Capital: M&A boost, Purell

22 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and other banks collectively reaped billions in fees related to advice on transactions with the expectation the money will keep rolling in; hand sanitizer makers hope good habits linger.

Leaky Suez defence only enhances takeover appeal

18 January 2021

CEO Bertrand Camus, under siege by would-be acquirer Veolia, wants a compromise. Details are scant, but it could mean infrastructure funds taking a stake in the $13 bln French waste company. The lack of synergies and added complexity makes rival Antoine Frérot’s bid look cleaner.

5G will zoom from myth to mass-market reality

23 December 2020

The mobile technology is much debated and little used. But falling prices mean most handsets sold in 2021 will work on new networks. Post-pandemic consumers may happily pay for extra reliability and speedier downloads. Commercial uses remain vague, but phone envy will kick in.

Corona Capital: Holiday Zoom

18 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The video call company is removing the 40-minute time limit on free calls for the holidays – a gift it can easily afford, and one that may not be appreciated.