Capital Calls: Hedge fund fine 22 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: Britain’s FCA fines BlueCrest Capital 41 mln pounds, a third of the fund’s U.S. penalty.
Capital Calls: McDonald’s makes ex-CEO pay 16 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: The fast-food chain settled its lawsuit with ousted boss Steve Easterbrook, recovering compensation now worth $105 million.
Big Wall Street bonus pools may be hard to drain 15 Dec 2021 As revenue has rocketed amid friendly markets, so has banker pay this year at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and peers. Big payouts will help them compete not just with each other but with fintech and crypto firms. The catch is that the talent may start to expect it every year.
Capital Calls: 3M is a banker’s idea of no fun 15 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: The industrial giant has paid investment bankers 95% less in fees than General Electric. The company may have a hard time getting Wall Street’s best advice, even though deals might not help it.
Kidney transplant endangers healthy CSL 14 Dec 2021 The Australian flu-vaccine maker will buy Swiss nephrology specialist Vifor for about $12 bln in cash. It’s paying a 60% premium for a weaker peer and doesn’t expect much in the way of cost savings. The mid-pandemic diversification hardly justifies this elective M&A procedure.
Andrea Orcel’s UniCredit shoots for the moon 9 Dec 2021 The new CEO wants to return a whopping 16 bln euros by 2024, some 60% of the Italian bank’s market cap. Such bold pledges will delight long-suffering investors. Buoyant European growth should help, but if the pandemic recovery falters, Orcel’s M&A instincts will start kicking in.
Capital Calls: Deutsche and DWS, Big Four 9 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: The German bank’s ownership of the asset manager looks less appealing after an ESG reporting scandal riled U.S. regulators; a record $167 bln in revenue will soothe the accountancy giants’ breakup pains.
LG’s $11 bln battery spinoff is fully charged 8 Dec 2021 The South Korean group is eyeing a $60 bln valuation for its crown jewel in what could be the country's biggest IPO. The hot play on electric vehicles hopes to entice investors by offering a discount to peer CATL. LG's track record of recalls, though, warrants caution.
The Exchange: The deal market takes a turn 7 Dec 2021 After a year of record activity, global antitrust watchdogs are becoming more scrupulous of big deals, Morgan Stanley’s Rob Kindler and Paul, Weiss’s Scott Barshay agree. But they disagree about what that means for the deal market in general.
Cox: French finance will take an electoral pause 30 Nov 2021 Parisian executives who want President Emmanuel Macron to win another term will avoid deals that could become political hot potatoes for the former M&A banker. Shopping abroad is chic but domestic takeovers and synergy-squeezers are out for now. After the election, le déluge.
Telecom Italia will keep bankers busy in 2022 29 Nov 2021 KKR’s $12 bln proposal has put the telco in play. The process is likely to involve multiple bidders and key actors including French shareholder Vivendi and the Italian government. As with Telecom Italia’s 1999 leveraged takeover, it’s a boon for bankers, lawyers and consultants.
Capital Calls: Remy Cointreau, African petrol 25 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: With profits soaring, the cognac maker will face mounting pressure for M&A; commodity trader Vitol buys out minority shareholders in London-listed fuel distributor Vivo.
Jamie Dimon sets his bank up to be China punchline 24 Nov 2021 JPMorgan’s boss was looking for chuckles when he said he’d wager that his employer would outlast the country’s Communist Party. Beijing is unlikely to appreciate the humour. As UBS and others can attest, the business blowback from perceived slights is often no laughing matter.
Japanese golf buyout plays like a long par-4 22 Nov 2021 SoftBank-backed Fortress is paying $3.5 bln for Accordia’s collection of courses. The sport’s Covid-19 resurgence probably isn’t sustainable, so a valuation of over 10 times EBITDA adds some hazards. A few solid strategic shots, however, could make the investment green reachable.
Goldman’s cosy Japan deal is ripe for rival bid 15 Nov 2021 The Wall Street bank and refiner Eneos are forging ahead with a contested plan to take full control of $4 bln roadbuilder Nippo. Even with a richer premium, a leveraged buyout would deliver a healthy return, Breakingviews calculates. It’s a fresh test of Japan Inc’s dozy ways.
India’s brutal tech churn washes out Paytm 10 Nov 2021 The one-time fintech star has struggled to sell its $2.5 bln IPO, a contrast to beauty shop Nykaa’s red hot offer and 80% first-day pop. The commoditisation of payments makes it harder for Paytm to profit and easy for competitors to rise. Its ragbag of businesses doesn’t help.
Capital Calls: Couch-potato habits help Roblox 9 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: The video game app’s shares surged 36% on Tuesday after it said sales nearly doubled in the quarter.
Carlyle turns wrench on Aussie financial plumber 8 Nov 2021 The buyout shop is back with a solo $2.1 bln bid for Link, 13 months after a joint effort. The shareholder registry and pension services provider has dodged multiple entreaties for all or parts of the company, but failed so far to deliver much value. It’s time to let others try.
Credit Suisse bland revamp has a valuation penalty 4 Nov 2021 Chair António Horta-Osório is moving $3 bln of capital from the investment bank to wealth management. But he’s keeping most of the error-prone unit, which chews up capital and has few synergies with the rest of the bank. The clunky structure cements a share price discount to UBS.
Capital Calls: BT’s fibre, Ford vs. Toyota, SocGen 4 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: Leaner broadband rollout boosts the UK telco’s defences against uppity investor Patrick Drahi; the two carmakers trade at similar multiples despite the Japanese outfit’s racier performance; the next leg of the French bank’s revamp will be harder.