Cure for U.S. healthcare malady isn’t capitalism 4 Jan 2021 Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan took on America’s medical dysfunction and failed, disbanding their joint venture Haven after three years. Big as the three are, they’re dwarfed by the vested interests that keep healthcare expensive. Now it’s the government’s turn.
Corona Capital: Icahn, Productivity, Natixis 4 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Carl Icahn sells half his Herbalife Nutrition stake; an ECB survey suggests Covid-19 will make big firms more productive, but that may not be all good news; and Natixis fast-tracks its overhaul.
Corona Capital: Peloton, BioNTech 22 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Peloton shareholders are getting a little too pumped up; BioNTech’s boss gives two reasons not to panic about the latest Covid-19 strain.
The Exchange: American banks and the urge to merge 21 Dec 2020 U.S. financial institutions have increasingly been teaming up to take on the big four: JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Bruce Van Saun, chief executive of Citizens Financial, one of the top regional lenders, discusses post-pandemic banking with Rob Cox.
Corona Capital: Vaccine dibs 21 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine prioritization is about to get competitive.
Grab CEO will step into 2021’s tech limelight 21 Dec 2020 Anthony Tan has steered his $15 bln super-app through the pandemic. With growth in digital payments booming across Southeast Asia, Grab is now charging into wealth management and digital banking. A mooted merger with rival Gojek will only cement Tan’s rising star status.
Corona Capital: Private jet deal 17 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Blackstone bets that plutocrats will be back in the air before the rest of us.
Rio’s new CEO reflects its lack of wiggle room 17 Dec 2020 Finance director Jakob Stausholm is the surprise choice to lead the $126 bln miner. Rio’s self-imposed difficulties in Mongolia and Australia meant an outsider might have been preferable. But given Rio may feel the need to soon replace its chairman, continuity is also important.
Biden’s Cabinet picks can lean into free markets 16 Dec 2020 Investors are flooding into companies that could bring both energy and transportation into a greener and more efficient future. That should help the president-elect’s picks, Jennifer Granholm and Pete Buttigieg, in their roles, assuming they can lift – not implement – red tape.
Drahi’s hedge fund spat ends in acceptable defeat 16 Dec 2020 The telecoms mogul raised his lowball offer to buy out shareholders in his group Altice to 6.4 bln euros. That has won support from activists including Elliott, avoiding a legal tussle. Still, a final valuation below some peers suggests the gambit has partially succeeded.
Credit Suisse growth plan is refreshingly utopian 15 Dec 2020 CEO Thomas Gottstein will invest up to 200 mln Swiss francs in new initiatives to juice revenues in wealth management and investment banking. It’ll be hard to achieve that without taking more risk. At least he’s trying to buck the prevailing mood of declinism across the sector.
Volkswagen pact helps CEO more than returns 15 Dec 2020 The German carmaker has made a statement in support of boss Herbert Diess, allowing him to appoint key allies and cut some costs as it moves to electric cars. The agreement should end a long-running dispute with unions. Investors hoping for higher returns face a lengthier wait.
Ferrari’s next boss will need luxury credentials 14 Dec 2020 The race is on to replace CEO Louis Camilleri, who suddenly quit. Fiat boss Mike Manley ticks many boxes, but John Elkann, chair of both groups, needs him to smooth a merger with Peugeot. Leading $42 bln Ferrari will be as much about enhancing its bling status as engine parts.
Zurich CEO adds feather to cap with MetLife buy 11 Dec 2020 Mario Greco struck a shrewd, if somewhat complicated, $4 bln deal to buy MetLife’s U.S. property and casualty businesses. These should generate a 10% return on the minimal capital invested. Zurich’s greater American tilt should ensure its outperformance against European rivals.
Del Vecchio channels Arnault spirit on eyewear bid 10 Dec 2020 Like the LVMH founder, the Ray-Ban billionaire is suffering from buyer’s remorse. His EssilorLuxottica may rethink its pre-pandemic 7 bln euro bid for GrandVision. The glasses retailer won’t easily find another buyer. As with Tiffany, a lower price is the most likely outcome.
Corona Capital: Supercars, Cooking, Home working 10 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Debt-laden carmaker McLaren tries to hitch a ride on the SPAC bandwagon; meal-kit deliverer HelloFresh’s virus feast only goes so far; and America’s working-from-home boom survives the crisis.
Corona Capital: Gaming M&A, Beauty’s bold face 9 Dec 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Consolidation in video games reaches the next level as Sweden’s MTG buys Hutch Games for $375 million; and Spanish cosmetics, fashion and perfume group Puig predicts revenue will double by 2023.
UK security M&A battle will get bloodier 9 Dec 2020 Allied Universal agreed to pay 3.8 bln pounds for prison operator G4S. Canadian rival GardaWorld now faces getting drawn into a lengthy bidding war. Yet the U.S. group’s 245 pence per share price offers a high 10% return. That means the target’s shareholders can hope for more.
Activist minnow needs bigger fish to fry Exxon 7 Dec 2020 The $176 bln oil major has rarely listened to past investor pleas, so demands from a $40 mln stakeholder seems a non-starter. Yet its recent record of capital destruction may be enough for bigger funds to join in. Taking on the oil giant is a way to justify ESG lip service, too.
Glasenberg-less Glencore is surprise green champ 4 Dec 2020 Gary Nagle is the miner’s new CEO. The South African inherits a different firm to the one compatriot Ivan Glasenberg led. Running down coal mines to hit zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and boosting copper and cobalt pitches Glencore as an unlikely centrepiece of the green transition.