Corona Capital: M&A boost, Purell 22 Jan 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 Jan 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 Dec 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 Dec 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.
Heathrow expansion faces long Covid-19 quarantine 16 Dec 2020 Britain’s Supreme Court cleared the way for the London airport to build a third runway, boosting its capacity by two-thirds. The pandemic-induced collapse in air travel makes passenger forecasts obsolete. Even if demand recovers, airlines will struggle to cover the extra costs.
Corona Capital: Vaccines 11 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. regulators prep to rubber-stamp the approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca will partner with Russia and its Sputnik V jab in a possible combination that could ease jitters.
Cellnex M&A machine scales top of valuation tower 7 Dec 2020 After two years of frenetic dealmaking, the telecom-mast firm’s market value has hit 25 bln euros. With cash flow from existing contracts accounting for maybe 90% of that worth, it’s getting little credit for future M&A. As rivals belatedly muscle in, that may be just as well.
Corona Capital: Merck sells Moderna stake 2 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The U.S. drugmaker is banking its winnings on an investment in Covid-19 vaccine producer Moderna that dates back to 2015.
Viewsroom: What Biden bodes for money and markets 7 Nov 2020 Without a clear Senate majority, the former vice president will need to tack to the center when he occupies the White House. For Wall Street that’s a bullet dodged. For other industries, it’s a mixed bag. For multilateral institutions, it’s an improvement from Donald Trump.
Corporate America prepares for life in purple 7 Nov 2020 From finance to tech to weed to transport, companies have had plenty of time to consider what a Joe Biden presidency means. Without a clear Senate shift one way or the other, legislative gridlock appears likely. Here is what the 2020 election will mean industry by industry.
Corona Capital: Black Friday, JPMorgan’s new tower 14 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Walmart’s Black Friday rejig makes for a curious experiment; JPMorgan goes all-in on New York real estate.
Suez uses leaky defence against hostile bid 24 Sep 2020 The 9 bln euro utility put its water unit in a non-profit foundation. That frustrates bidder Veolia, which wants to sell the business to allay competition issues, but may not stop it. Even if the ploy works, adding complexity dents CEO Bertrand Camus’ pledge to be more efficient.
Breakup could remove Benettons’ Italian roadblock 24 Sep 2020 Atlantia, the clan’s infrastructure group, is at loggerheads with Rome over the sale of its crisis-hit motorway unit. Spinning off the division could end the dispute by establishing a fair market price. It’s a risky manoeuvre, but the threat may bring the government to the table.
Corona Capital: Coca-Cola, Viral inequality 22 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Coca-Cola, once an icon of temperance, is diving into the hard seltzer market; and California is considering using the disparity in numbers of Covid cases between neighborhoods to steer its response.
Sewage keeps Parisian banking elite in Hermès ties 15 Sep 2020 Veolia’s hostile approach to rival Suez is providing utility-like returns to some 16 banks and M&A boutiques. Not bad for a 2.9 bln euro bid. But as private equity eyes a potential entrée, the fees may add up to more than wastewater and put an end to a pandemic-induced drought.
Italy road saga hands Benettons life-saving finale 15 Jul 2020 The clan’s infrastructure group Atlantia could end a government dispute over a bridge disaster by letting state actors invest in its motorway unit, and list it. The shakedown may leave the group with a stake worth just 5 bln euros, but it’s better than a threatened expropriation.
Benettons face only bad options in Italy road row 13 Jul 2020 Premier Giuseppe Conte wants the family to exit their motorway unit to end a dispute over a collapsed bridge. A cut-price deal would shrink indebted owner Atlantia’s EBITDA by nearly a third. But failure to comply would likely cost the 10 bln euro group its Italian concession.
Biden task force lacks sense of dollars 9 Jul 2020 A wish list from the U.S. presidential candidate’s advisers runs the gamut from universal healthcare and zero emissions to racial equity and infrastructure spending, plus tax increases. Missing is much, if any, clarity on the financial equation. Trillions of dollars are at stake.
Virus inflates allure of Abu Dhabi gas pipelines 23 Jun 2020 The emirate’s oil giant ADNOC has sold 49% of its infrastructure arm to investors including GIC and Brookfield. A $21 bln valuation is higher than mooted before Covid-19. That’s probably because the virus has made a combination of secure assets and leverage even more appealing.
Corona Capital: Goldman, Vroom, Deutsche Bank 9 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Goldman does too well in Britain; shares in online used-car sales outfit Vroom double on their market debut; and Deutsche Bank gets another shot at redemption in the U.S. market.