Restaurants/Pubs

Pizza-oven takeover may offer extra toppings

1 June 2021

Italy’s Ali Group is barging into America’s fast-food kitchens with gusto, throwing down $3.3 bln in cash to upset Welbilt’s agreed sale to Middleby. It’s a spicy move for an unlisted, virtually unknown family firm without fancy corporate-finance tools. And it just may work.

Capital Calls: Uber union

26 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: UK union’s success in representing drivers may hit potholes in the United States.

Capital Calls: BlackRock/Exxon, Media deals, SPACs

25 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The giant asset manager will vote for three dissident nominees for Exxon Mobil’s board; boutique adviser LionTree has benefited from a rash of media deals; Lordstown Motors show why blank-check merger projections can’t be relied upon.

Capital Calls: Disney misses the mark

13 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: Walt Disney reported nearly 104 million subscribers for its streaming flagship service.

Germany becomes food delivery battleground, again

12 May 2021

Delivery Hero is returning to the market it exited in 2018, while Uber is also preparing to take a bite. The pandemic has given Germans a taste for home-delivered meals, boosting market leader Just Eat Takeaway. With big players piling back in, shareholders may go hungry.

AB InBev’s new CEO will inherit debt hangover

6 May 2021

The $120 bln brewer picked insider Michel Doukeris to replace Carlos Brito. He’ll lead a shift to investing in brands, away from the M&A and cost control that defined his predecessor’s 15-year tenure. Any stumbles will threaten AB InBev’s plan to halve net debt of 4 times EBITDA.

Rapid grocery delivery splurge will end with purge

30 April 2021

The business of bringing alcohol and ice cream to punters within minutes has attracted $8 bln from investors like SoftBank this year. The stage is set for a frantic fight between startups, takeout apps and supermarkets. They will burn much cash in pursuit of uncertain returns.

Capital Calls: U.S. antitrust, Dyal-Owl Rock

21 April 2021

Concise views on global finance: Would-be U.S. trustbuster nominee Lina Khan suggests it’s not just tech companies to blame for Big Tech’s dominance; two U.S. investment firms’ planned merger and sale to a blank-check company has cleared a legal hurdle.

Impossible Foods may outdo Beyond Meat’s recipe

16 April 2021

Shoppers already have two big alt-meat brands to choose from, and soon investors may too. Impossible is a latecomer, but may be less exposed to the supplier risks and sales swings that have troubled its rival. If Beyond’s IPO was a whopper, Impossible’s could be supersized.

Capital Calls: Delta Air Lines, L’Oreal

15 April 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. air carrier says it was cash-flow positive in March, signaling the beginning of the end of the pandemic; the French cosmetics group has too much cash, which could be useful for dealmaking.

Grab’s $40 bln debut comes with twin airbags

13 April 2021

The Southeast Asian taxi-to-fintech firm is going public at a sales multiple twice Uber’s. U.S. SPAC sponsor Altimeter is contributing to a $4 bln PIPE and signing a long lockup. It’s a smart way to underwrite an amped-up valuation and sets a template to speed others to market.

Deliveroo is unsavoury appetiser for UK IPO revamp

31 March 2021

The food delivery group’s shares dropped up to 30% on their stock market debut. Hefty losses, a punchy valuation and founder Will Shu’s super-voting stock proved a turnoff. The flop should prompt a rethink of the government’s rushed plans to lure more such companies to London.

Deliveroo’s IPO cash hunger leaves sour aftertaste

30 March 2021

The UK food delivery firm’s offering values it at 7.6 bln pounds, the bottom of the target price range. Despite its rapid growth and big ambitions, investors face post-pandemic uncertainty. Boss Will Shu’s order for 1 bln pounds of fresh cash suggests profitability is a way off.

Deliveroo’s main sustainability doubt is financial

25 March 2021

Some fund managers are shunning the food delivery group’s IPO over its treatment of workers. Unlike most ESG laggards, the $11 bln group is loss-making. Concern about labour rights and founder Will Shu’s super-voting stock are secondary to whether it can turn a consistent profit.

Capital Calls: Twitter time-wasting, News Corp

25 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Congressional hearings on Big Tech get ever less productive; meanwhile, the parent of the Wall Street Journal snaps up Investor’s Business Daily.

Capital Calls: Leon Black, Happiness index

22 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Apollo’s founder still has his imprint on the Museum of Modern Art and Dartmouth College; people are proving surprisingly resilient in the pandemic, a recent poll suggests.

Capital Calls: McKinsey, Celebrity SPACs

10 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: McKinsey’s new boss isn’t new enough; the SEC tells investors to be careful of celebrities bearing SPACs.

Capital Calls: American Airlines, Crypto PayPal

8 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The U.S. carrier is issuing new debt and hocking some airline miles to pay back the U.S. Treasury loan that carried restrictions on pay and dividends; PayPal investors give a shrug over another dive into bitcoin-land.

Pandemic speeds AB InBev’s necessary revamp

25 February 2021

More drinking at home and higher raw materials costs will pressure the $100 bln brewer’s margins in 2021. After years of zero-based budgets, it needs looser purse strings to revive sales. But with $83 bln of debt, its valuation discount to less profitable rivals will persist.

Capital Calls: Tribune, Shopify

17 February 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Chicago Tribune sells to a hedge fund known for stripping out newsroom costs; Shopify’s strong year doesn’t shield it from competition.