Unibail activist riot leaves leaky roof exposed 15 Oct 2020 Telecom mogul Xavier Niel and the mall operator’s former CEO want to block its $4 bln rights issue. Their plan to sell the U.S. business instead would save money but is trickier if Covid-19 persists. Doubling down on Europe also leaves the group more at risk from online shopping.
China Evergrande starts running low on options 14 Oct 2020 The property developer lost a fifth of its market value after a discounted stock sale raised only half the targeted $1.1 bln. Creditors also just cut the highly indebted company some slack. Boss Hui Ka Yan may be forced to accelerate asset sales to raise the capital he needs.
Corona Capital: NBA, Polish e-commerce, Tesco 12 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A major basketball bake-off fails to pull in the online crowds; Poland’s biggest e-commerce company flies from the shelves; and UK grocer Tesco wrestles with supply chain problems.
China tensions reach skyscraper heights in Sydney 12 Oct 2020 Sovereign fund CIC wants to take control of office tower Grosvenor Place at a $1.4 bln valuation. Canberra’s recent intervention in a dairy sale suggests Chinese investment cannot be taken for granted. Blocking this property deal would make a splintering relationship worse.
Canary Wharf’s Plan B: turn workers into dwellers 9 Oct 2020 Four-fifths of the 120,000 workers usually based in London’s financial hub are at home, and tenants like Morgan Stanley may jump ship. Its owners plan to turn a third of the estate into residential apartments. Even if they can pull it off, there could be bumps in the road.
Corona Capital: Bankers, Virus vices, Student digs 8 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Japan’s Mizuho tries to get its employees to take it easy; smokers and gamblers struggle to kick the habit during lockdown; UK landlord Unite Group finds even student property is not immune to Covid-19.
Evergrande can charge up its car fantasy, and more 30 Sep 2020 The property giant’s $22 bln electric-car unit plans to add a Shanghai listing. Acquisitive boss Hui Ke Yan is accelerating plans to build a vertically integrated auto group. It’s the quirkiest of China’s Tesla-wannabes. It’s daring for investors too, given the parent’s debt woes.
KKR takes risky punt on 20th century office life 28 Sep 2020 The buyout giant has taken a 5% stake in landlord Great Portland Estates. Investors are pricing in a 30% virus-linked drop in rents or asset values. For KKR to be on the winning side, a shift in working patterns will need to be distinctly cyclical, not structural.
Evergrande’s too-big-to-fail bind comes to a head 25 Sep 2020 The indebted Chinese property developer beseeched officials to approve its reverse merger plan. Although the company claims the letter is fake, the questions in it regarding systemic risk are real for investors and Beijing. A $21 bln payment due soon will force a reckoning.
Corona Capital: Vaccines, Olive Garden, Oil 24 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine concerns are bad for the economy; cravings for never-ending pasta bowls return; and oil practitioners tell sad truths.
Corona Capital: Newspaper rivals, College football 17 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: the Wall Street Journal hits up the New York Times’ printing presses; U.S. college football’s Big Ten makes a comeback.
Unibail’s self-bailout highlights property dilemma 17 Sep 2020 The shopping mall owner plans to raise $4 bln from investors and flog buildings worth nearly $5 bln. Bolstering its balance sheet protects its credit rating even if real estate values fall further. But the rescue depends on buyers and shareholders taking a less gloomy view.
E-commerce is a life raft for sinking real estate 10 Sep 2020 The surge in digital sales from the likes of Walmart, Target and Amazon is driving up demand for warehouses. No wonder mall owner Simon is after the likes of J.C. Penney. Creating a fall back plan to turn malls into industrial space with higher rents has a decent payoff.
Corona Capital: Movies, Magazines 7 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: the U.S. opening weekend of Christopher Nolan’s time travel epic “Tenet” suggests punters aren’t hurrying back to cinemas; Future, publisher of “Metal Hammer” and “Horse & Hound” rocks its way through the crisis.
Pumped-up UK housing market faces slow puncture 4 Sep 2020 Property prices reached a record high in August, helped by pent-up demand. Rock-bottom interest rates, tax breaks and a rush to the countryside are propping up valuations. But with unemployment set to soar and banks culling the riskiest loans, buyers may be in shorter supply.
Apollo and Abu Dhabi scratch each other’s backs 2 Sep 2020 A consortium led by the private equity titan has struck a $2.7 billion deal for a 49% stake in a real estate company held by the emirate’s energy group ADNOC. Apollo-linked insurers snap up long-term secure assets. Abu Dhabi gets a cash injection from selling the family silver.
Home working will delay not kill office recovery 26 Aug 2020 Some big firms have declared remote working to be new normal. Such fervour is making big city property a buyers’ market, with shorter and cheaper leases and less new construction. But there are still good reasons to work in offices – more spacious ones than in pre-Covid days.
China Evergrande pawns the family silver 17 Aug 2020 The country’s largest developer is again taking a quirky approach to a trend. As rivals float property management arms, Evergrande sold 28% of its own to 14 investors at a $10.7 bln valuation. They have a put option if there’s no IPO, but boss Hui Ka Yan now has options too.
Corona Capital: Telemedicine, Outdated movie rules 10 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Men’s wellness outfit Hims matches the online medical consultation trend with a financial one, namely blank-check companies; and Washington finally scraps a “Gone with the Wind”-era regulation.
Hammerson asks investors to catch a falling knife 6 Aug 2020 The UK mall operator will raise 825 mln pounds through a deeply discounted rights issue and sale. That should keep debt under control. However, the group must still sell assets when Covid-19 and online shopping are hurting stores and property values remain in flux.