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IPO

Richard Li’s insurer offers geopolitical cover

22 Mar 2023

The tycoon is trying a fourth time to list his $9 bln upstart. Delays were helpful: the business is hitting its stride, and a Southeast Asia focus is a draw against Hong Kong-listed peers, including China-focused AIA and Prudential. Disadvantages are becoming selling points.

Capital Calls: Maserati

21 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Italian sports car maker owned by Stellantis wants to lift its operating margin to 20% before considering a spinoff.

Capital Calls: Ritchie Bros founder regret

13 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The industrial equipment auction company’s $7 bln deal for scrap-yard operator IAA has drawn one last opponent: the company’s own co-founder.

Fintech darling Stripe has first-world problems

2 Mar 2023

The payment startup is raising new cash at a valuation roughly half its previous worth of $95 billion. A solid business model and rapid growth allowed Stripe to stay private. But slowing revenue and the need to retain employees have forced it to acknowledge financial gravity.

Instacart could do worse than incinerating $32 bln

1 Mar 2023

That’s about how much the company’s value could fall in an IPO compared to its last fundraising. But public market prices have fallen considerably, and Instacart insiders might be getting antsy. If it doesn’t take a valuation reckoning, it could miss the chance.

Capital Calls: World Bank, Bumble, Wood Group

23 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. picks ex-Mastercard boss Ajay Banga to run the multilateral development bank; while the dating app’s shares are down, private equity owner Blackstone is still in the money; the UK oil services group has turned down three bids from Apollo.

UAE gas IPO’s $50 bln valuation looks like a floor

22 Feb 2023

The Emirates’ energy giant ADNOC is selling at least 4% of its gas processing arm via an Abu Dhabi listing. As with Saudi Aramco, buyers will have to put up with minimal say on strategy. Unlike Aramco’s IPO, the mooted $50 bln valuation may be an underestimate.

Capital Calls: Shein’s ambition looks a stretch

20 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: The privately held Chinese fast-fashion clothing company is trying to entice investors with projections it can double revenue in three years.

Syngenta jumbo IPO will sow seeds of doubt

14 Feb 2023

A Shanghai listing this year may value the pesticides and seeds maker at a chunky $66 bln. The group’s role in feeding a growing global population will please investors. But its reliance on toxic weedkillers that are losing favour in Europe poses a long-term threat.

Credit Suisse overcooks First Boston sales pitch

6 Feb 2023

The Swiss bank wants to sell $500 mln of debt, with a twist: it will be repaid with shares in its dealmaking business when that gets spun off, Reuters reported. It’s potentially a cheap way of raising funds. But it assumes investors will want those shares when the time comes.

China’s IPO reform is boon for VIPs

3 Feb 2023

The securities watchdog will introduce a U.S.-style registration system and other tweaks on the main exchanges. That should help thin out the queue of over 800 firms waiting to go public. Yet Beijing's preference for high-tech sectors implies only certain companies will benefit.

IPO bankers may as well hit the beach until autumn

26 Jan 2023

A handful of mid-sized European companies are working on stock market debuts. But the upcoming share offerings are too small to reopen Europe’s drowsy equity capital markets. Regional ECM bankers may as well take to their sun loungers until things pick up in the third quarter.

Virgin Australia IPO relies on Qantas flight path

20 Jan 2023

Bain Capital may relist the carrier it bought in 2020 as travel revives and rivals’ shares rally. Virgin could be worth $800 mln if it replicates the projected juicy margins and growth rates of its larger rival. If not, the private equity firm might wait in the departure lounge.

Capital Calls: California flooding

11 Jan 2023

Concise views on global finance: Heavy rainfalls have revealed the cracks in California lawmakers’ disaster spending measures, that have helped to prepare for fires and earthquakes.

Interlopers may yet crash the Gulf bank fee party

22 Dec 2022

The Middle East is one of the globe’s few healthy IPO markets. To relative outsiders like Barclays, it may look like big U.S. and domestic banks will grab the best mandates. Yet Saudi Arabia’s insistence that foreign banks base themselves in Riyadh presents an opportunity.

Vietnam’s Elon Musk challenger turns heads in 2023

21 Dec 2022

Le Thi Thu Thuy is steering VinFast onto Western roads to race the entrepreneur’s premium marque, Tesla. She’ll have to convince investors in its New York IPO to look past niggles at its powerful parent. It’s a complex route, and puts the former Lehman banker in the spotlight.

Hong Kong IPOs go back to a less luminous future

12 Dec 2022

Bankers and officials see the end of China’s Covid-19 restrictions as crucial to reviving the hub’s once-booming IPO market. That understates the city’s challenges. After vying for the hottest listings, the way investors and companies traverse the gateway to China is changing.

Vietnam’s Tesla faces daunting Nasdaq road test

7 Dec 2022

Electric-car maker VinFast has filed for a U.S. IPO. It is unprofitable, has only just gone all-in on battery power, and its dependency on parent Vingroup may be a turnoff, too. The young marque could make a case for a $5 bln valuation, but investors will kick the tires hard.

Chinese insurer bets on IPO clouds parting

7 Dec 2022

Sunshine has raised $863 mln in its Hong Kong debut despite volatile markets, low interest rates and Covid disruptions to its business. The group may have navigated all three relatively well, but a valuation premium suggests investors expect brighter days ahead.