UK’s Facebook slap-down raises bar for US watchdog 1 Dec 2021 Britain’s antitrust body told the social media giant now named Meta to sell GIF maker Giphy. Its ruling hinges on a view of how the online ad market will evolve, not what it’s like now. CEO Mark Zuckerberg can appeal but the order still sets a punchy precedent for Big Tech deals.
Succession mess turns Orange into governance lemon 25 Nov 2021 The $30 bln French phone firm is seeking a new chairman and CEO after incumbent Stéphane Richard received a criminal conviction. A previous trial in 2019 should have prodded the board to line up a replacement. Splitting the top jobs is a first step to smoother future transitions.
Foreigners will get the best buzz off German weed 24 Nov 2021 Berlin is preparing to light up its recreational cannabis market. With potential sales taxes and savings of 5 bln euros a year, the move could give the economy added puff. But German players may at first have to play second fiddle to Canadians that dominate the medicinal market.
Viewsroom: European bank M&A, De-Dutching Shell 18 Nov 2021 Big lenders in the euro zone are doing deals, but not the kind investment bankers dream about. BNP Paribas is in U.S. retreat, BBVA bulks up in Turkey and KBC goes Bulgarian. Liam Proud explains. George Hay explains why the Anglo-Dutch oil major is dropping the Dutch bit.
Shell’s Dutch exit comes with legal side benefits 15 Nov 2021 Shifting its tax residency to the UK, along with its head office and CEO, simplifies the $170 bln oil major’s structure. It also makes it easier to reorganise for the energy transition. The implied snub to the Dutch court which ordered Shell to cut emissions is an added bonus.
Capital Calls: Philips, Chinese overseas IPOs 15 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Dutch electronics firm’s shares drop 11% as it faces new questions over a recall of faulty ventilators; the country’s cyberspace regulator makes clear that sensitive data questions for initial public offerings apply to Hong Kong too.
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.
Penguin’s big book deal gets a regulatory ice bath 2 Nov 2021 The claim that a $2.2 bln merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster will squeeze author pay and put fewer books on shelves is a twist on the usual antitrust plot. Deal watchdogs typically focus on prices instead. It looks like the prologue to a bigger anti-merger opus.
Capital Calls: Darktrace’s stock wobble 1 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: The UK cybersecurity group’s share plunge reflects both short- and longer-term problems.
Capital Calls: Fantasy-sports group M&A flop 26 Oct 2021 Concise views on global finance: DraftKings has walked away from Entain but the UK target may still attract interest.
Credit Suisse’s exorcism has only just begun 20 Oct 2021 Chair António Horta-Osório banished one demon by settling a Mozambican scandal for $475 mln. The Swiss bank also closed the book on a spying saga. Yet a U.S. deferred prosecution agreement prolongs the haunting. And the ghosts of clients Greensill and Archegos still linger.
Capital Calls: Green investors, ASOS, Renren 11 Oct 2021 Concise views on global finance: Al Gore’s asset manager finds listed equities can influence a larger chunk of global emissions; the online retailer parts company with its CEO; the startup investor’s $300 mln settlement with aggrieved investors is likely to be an exception.
Capital Calls: NatWest’s guilty-plea logic 7 Oct 2021 Concise views on global finance: The UK lender could receive a lower money-laundering fine for accepting culpability.
World Bank has a shareholder-engagement problem 17 Sep 2021 Leaders, including now-IMF head Kristalina Georgieva, pressured staff to boost China’s ease of doing business ranking, a probe said. This isn’t realpolitik mitigating inherent U.S. bias. Such tactics detract from the bank’s work, damage credibility and impair its future role.
Today’s Theranos would have gone public via a SPAC 8 Sep 2021 Elizabeth Holmes’ blood-testing outfit touted novel technology and big future sales. Holmes, on trial, blurred lines between marketing and fraud. Trevor Milton, founder of electric-truck firm Nikola, now faces similar charges. A key difference: Nikola is already publicly traded.
Capital Calls: SPACs’ defense, Zoom 31 Aug 2021 Concise views on global finance: Nearly 60 corporate law firms put their names to a rejection of recent suits against blank-check firms; the video-conferencing company reported slowing growth in the second quarter.
DWS greenwash probe could be ESG tipping point 26 Aug 2021 The German asset manager’s shares slumped 12% amid a U.S. investigation into alleged overstatement of its green credentials. A lack of consistent ESG metrics and terminology is a long-running, sector-wide problem. The desire to avoid similar attention could fast-track a cleanup.
Dating outscores gaming in app store showdown 25 Aug 2021 A U.S. judge is considering an antitrust suit against Apple’s online shop as lawmakers pile pressure on the iPhone maker and rival Google. Despite games dominating their outlets’ $111 bln in annual sales, a cut in the tech giants’ 30% fee may boost daters like Match more.
Bill Ackman’s SPAC is a treat that is going moldy 19 Aug 2021 A shareholder is suing the hedge fund manager, claiming his blank-check company acted like an investment company and should be governed as such. U.S. regulatory ambiguity creates scope for such disputes. Clearer guidelines would help, but for now, some managers will be deterred.
Chancellor: Bringing down the Red Curtain 4 Aug 2021 Recent shocks from Beijing are reminders that while investors in the West are protected by the rule of law, China’s markets are characterised by the “rule by law”. Investors shouldn’t forget Beijing has the final say on how capital is allocated and who gets paid and who doesn’t.