Capital Calls: Medline’s money machine 7 Jun 2021 Concise views on global finance: Blackstone and partners’ purchase of a majority stake in the $34 bln medical equipment maker could generate a big windfall for its founding family, without the clan members handing over the keys to their empire.
Credit Suisse fantasy M&A roads all lead to UBS 4 Jun 2021 The embattled $26 bln bank is a hypothetical takeout target. HSBC, JPMorgan or Morgan Stanley make strategic sense. But international interest would pile pressure on UBS to come up with an all-Swiss solution. An already-mooted Zurich mashup would also yield the most cost savings.
GSK’s radical surgery is only a partial fix 3 Jun 2021 GlaxoSmithKline CEO Emma Walmsley is breaking up the $96 bln drugmaker. Spinning off the consumer unit may unlock value and give what’s left firepower for deals and drugs. Yet the split carries risks and will still leave the embattled pharma group facing a lengthy turnaround.
China’s Zillow can clean up its dual-class house 3 Jun 2021 The late founder of $59 bln Ke left behind a 39% economic stake in his online real estate broker with 81% of the voting rights. There’s no good reason for a trust to wield such feudal control over a company. Converting the shares to common ones would be the right thing to do.
Capital Calls: Russia and US, Clothing IPOs, Food 3 Jun 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Kremlin tells its national state fund to get out of greenback-denominated assets; Rent the Runway thinks about going public; the FAO’s global food index hits its highest level in nearly a decade.
BlackRock’s green activism fires on some cylinders 2 Jun 2021 The $9 trln asset manager voted with a hedge fund against Exxon Mobil and for tougher emissions targets at Chevron. That’s progress. Still, its voting record with other oil majors like Royal Dutch Shell suggests it sometimes gives polluters a pat rather than the required shove.
Porsche family applies some gas to VW untangling 1 Jun 2021 The 135 bln euro carmaker’s controlling shareholder could take a direct stake in the eponymous luxury marque if it listed. Getting the Porsche-Piech family, VW bosses and public investors to play ball could be tricky, but they could all get something out of a deal.
D.Telekom’s U.S. call is mixed investor blessing 1 Jun 2021 CEO Tim Hoettges may splash $12 bln to take majority control of T-Mobile. Option contracts allow him to keep would-be rivals away at a discount price. But since the big U.S. holding gets scant credit in the German parent’s valuation, it may not be money well spent.
Capital Calls: Greensill/Bluestone 1 Jun 2021 Concise views on global finance: The collapse of the supply-chain finance group may have left the governor of West Virginia personally on the hook for $700 million.
Capital Calls: Klarna, Dan Loeb, Fashion IPO 28 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Swedish “buy now, pay later” group’s possible $50 bln price tag may leapfrog rivals Afterpay and Affirm; the corporate agitator deserves a taste of his own medicine; About You’s mooted 3 bln euro valuation implies a discount to rivals.
Italy sovereign wealth fund gets market friendlier 27 May 2021 Dario Scannapieco will run state investor Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. Under Fabrizio Palermo the $500 bln fund intervened boldly in M&A and hoovered up stakes in assets like Euronext. A change of the guard, under liberal Premier Mario Draghi, suggests a welcome recalibration.
Capital Calls: Airbus signals liftoff, Bill Gates 27 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: The global aircraft industrial complex got a boost after the European plane maker said it hopes to churn out more of its A320 short-haul workhorses per month than expected; Microsoft founder’s huge private investment vehicle under scrutiny.
The Exchange: South Africa’s prospects 25 May 2021 Johannesburg Stock Exchange CEO Leila Fourie tells Swaha Pattanaik how South Africa’s economy has coped with Covid-19. In an interview recorded for the International Economic Forum of the Americas, she also flags sectors that will rebound fastest and discusses ESG investing.
Ray-Ban maker may finally live up to merger vision 24 May 2021 EssilorLuxottica has ditched a power-sharing pact that ushered in the 2018 deal but led to infighting. Axing duplication should allow the 63 bln euro group to deliver long-promised cost savings. Erasing the governance discount to listed peers could unlock 10 bln euros of value.
North Sea oil IPOs had best take the plunge soon 24 May 2021 Ex-Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw is mulling a float that may see his Neptune Energy group valued at $10 bln. Equity markets are skittish and rival driller Wintershall Dea also wants to list. But question marks over gas demand make it riskier for owners CVC, Carlyle and CIC to wait.
Capital Calls: “Friends” reunion, SPACs in D.C. 24 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: AT&T's HBO Max is streaming a delayed 25-year reunion of the popular sitcom cast just as the company ditches its media assets; busybody U.S. Congress is taking a hands-off approach to blank-check firms.
Capital Calls: Bitcoin, Procore 20 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: Getting paid in cryptocurrencies loses allure in U.S. President Joe Biden's tax plan; the $11 bln building software firm is a bargain compared to peers.
Ke founder bequeaths a governance mess 20 May 2021 Zuo Hui, the chairman of China’s $60 bln answer to Zillow, has died unexpectedly at 50. A “worsening of illness” was blamed, but the company never indicated he was sick. It is an investor’s worst nightmare from signing onto the concentrated power of dual-class shares.
Viewsroom: AT&T’s second breakup, Asian super-apps 20 May 2021 The telephone company’s deal with Discovery, the reversal of a failed strategy to become a media juggernaut, opens a window into streaming warfare; and the creation of Southeast Asia do-everything internet group GoTo is a prelude of more to come. Plus, no Davos in Singapore.
ByteDance boss live-streams new risk factors 20 May 2021 Zhang Yiming is the latest high-profile boss to step down amid Beijing's tech crackdown. It's a prudent move to ensure a smoother market debut for the $300 bln owner of TikTok and Douyin. The company’s broader executive shakeup also means it would be smarter to take its time.