Real Estate

Corona Capital: Indian banks, LBOs, Stellantis

18 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Indian banking guru Aditya Puri gives reasons to be bullish about New Delhi’s lenders at a Breakingviews predictions event; the ECB cracks down on risky loans; carmaker Stellantis gets a boost from passive funds.

China plugs big loopholes in real estate crackdown

8 January 2021

Beijing has capped bank property loans as a percentage of total credit, a blunter, harsher approach than previous efforts. Indebted developers will suffer, as will lenders. It’s a sign of official confidence that the economic cost of restraining housing speculation is bearable.

Corona Capital: Commercial real estate, IBM

5 January 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Commercial office real estate is Zoom’s mirror image; IBM taps former Goldman-exec Gary Cohn.

Brookfield picks up a $5.9 bln new year bargain

4 January 2021

The Canadian investment firm’s bid to take its commercial real estate arm private is cheap by its own admission. That suggests there’s room for a small bump. Yet investors may have little appetite to fight a determined majority shareholder, or an uncertain real estate market.

Corona Capital: Poverty, Beer cans, Budget hotels

24 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Hong Kong’s poverty problem was getting worse even before the virus struck; AB InBev sells the family aluminium to cut debt; Whitbread, owner of hotel chain Premier Inn, tries to get its landlords to share the pain.

Thoma Bravo digs deep in $10 bln rental data LBO

21 December 2020

Online rent collector RealPage is a big target for the private equity group’s massive war chest. It’s growing, and data aggregators are highly prized. But the deal looks dependent on hearty growth, without which Thoma Bravo might struggle to make a good return.

Corona Capital: Holiday Zoom

18 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The video call company is removing the 40-minute time limit on free calls for the holidays – a gift it can easily afford, and one that may not be appreciated.

China rental woes show excess creative destruction

15 December 2020

New York-listed Danke is the latest property middleman to implode, embarrassing Beijing in more ways than one. It’s a problem for President Xi Jinping's affordable housing push, and yet another good business idea warped by price wars, financial engineering and vague regulation.

Elliott can clean house in Public Storage

14 December 2020

Paul Singer’s fund wants the U.S.’s largest self-storage provider to junk its ultra-cautious debt strategy, plow cash into the business, and shape up governance. It’s an activist trifecta. But changes are needed to keep pace with the industry. Elliott has found easy pickings.

Corona Capital: Merck sells Moderna stake

2 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The U.S. drugmaker is banking its winnings on an investment in Covid-19 vaccine producer Moderna that dates back to 2015.

Corona Capital: Bitcoin, Lonely Planet

1 December 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Bitcoin hit a record, buoyed by inflationary fears, new fans and plain old speculation. Meanwhile Lonely Planet has found a new owner, as it wrestles with an anything-but-lonely market for travel information.

Norway’s offices are prize in $3.4 bln bidding war

26 November 2020

Sweden’s Castellum launched an offer for Entra days after the Oslo-based group rebuffed a bid from real estate rival SBB. Reliable government tenants and a relatively stable economy are alluring in a sector ravaged by the pandemic. But the bidders will struggle to create value.

China property IPOs face a problem of plenty

12 November 2020

Developers from Sunac to Evergrande are listing management units in Hong Kong, offering exposure to real estate without the usual policy risk. That only goes so far to justify towering valuations as the scarcity value of these asset-light, fast-growth businesses is fading fast.

Corona Capital: Lyft, Vaccine minefield, Peru

11 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The U.S. ride-hailing company is tempted by food delivery; Pfizer could face high demand for its coronavirus vaccine; and Peru gets another leadership shuffle just as Covid-19 cases soar.

Corona Capital: Salvatore Ferragamo

10 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Faded heels-and-loafers brand Salvatore Ferragamo could benefit from a coronavirus vaccine-induced return to airport shopping, but the Florentine fashion house would still need a makeover.

Activists shove Unibail towards chastening Plan B

10 November 2020

French mogul Xavier Niel blocked the mall owner’s planned $4 bln rights issue. That’s embarrassing enough for Unibail boss Christophe Cuvillier. But the only realistic way to fix the balance sheet holes from the Westfield acquisition he masterminded is to sell valued U.S. assets.

Corona Capital: Warren Buffett, Burger boost

9 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Rising share prices take the sting out of Berkshire Hathaway’s Covid-19 profit hit; and McDonald’s reports a good quarter for American nugget-lovers.

Corona Capital: Cars, Kalashnikovs, Houses

6 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Japanese carmakers put their feet down thanks to China’s bounceback; Russia’s Kalashnikov gets a new owner; and rich-country housing markets look surprisingly cheery.

Corona Capital: Ferrari, E-commerce, Fox

3 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Ferrari leaves its auto rivals in the dust; Russia’s online marketplace Ozon heads for a New York IPO; and Fox avoids the virus-induced advertising drought.

Corona Capital: Friendly’s and Dunkin’ Donuts

2 November 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Two Massachusetts casual-dining chains change hands, one in bankruptcy. Friendly's found Covid-19 even more unfriendly than did Dunkin' Brands.