Science

Icahn reacts audaciously to Illumina’s audacity

14 Mar 2023

The mouthy billionaire wants three board seats at the $36 bln biotech company and for it to spin off Grail. Boss Francis deSouza overpaid to buy back the cancer detection business and took on too much regulatory risk. Some oversight is warranted, but a 1% stake only buys so much.

The fog in the English Channel is clearing a bit

16 Jan 2023

Britain won’t rejoin the EU soon, despite voters’ regrets over Brexit. But if the two sides resolve a Northern Ireland dispute there could be progress on topics such as climate, foreign policy and financial services. Much may have to wait for a new UK government, says Hugo Dixon.

Capital Calls: AstraZeneca

9 Jan 2023

Concise views on global finance: The drug giant is to pay up to $1.8 bln for U.S. group CinCor Pharma to beef up its kidney and heart businesses.

Danish $22 bln enzyme M&A is costly bet on growth

12 Dec 2022

Novozymes will absorb smaller domestic rival Chr. Hansen. The 38% premium dwarfs expected synergies from the deal. And Novo Holdings, the biggest shareholder in both groups, will retain majority voting rights. Novozymes investors look to be paying too much for future growth.

Capital Calls: Funky debt shock

29 Nov 2022

Concise views on global finance: Germany property group Aroundtown won’t be the last to flout bond market convention on hybrid debt.

Big Pharma should brace for worst cancer outcome

18 Aug 2022

Investors have wiped $36 bln off Sanofi, GSK and its consumer spinoff on fears heartburn remedies cause cancer. The science implies an overreaction. But the scope for U.S. juries to see the saga as akin to Bayer’s Roundup weedkiller debacle could actually make the hit bigger.

Bulking up in baby food is far from child’s play

17 May 2022

Reckitt and Nestlé’s U.S. sales of infant formula food are surging after market leader Abbott recalled its lines on safety fears. It looks an ideal time for Reckitt especially to flog a weak business line. Unfortunately, state regulations mean its market share gains may not last.

Super chemo will be Big Pharma’s next tussle

16 May 2022

AstraZeneca and Sanofi are among peers developing drugs that attack tumours more efficiently than traditional chemotherapy. The treatments, dubbed ADCs, may fight diseases from breast to blood cancer and make $60 bln of annual sales. Laggards, like Novartis, may need to catch up.

U.N. climate report takes aim at net-zero 2050

28 Feb 2022

The world is moving too slowly to stop global warming, per the multinational body’s latest study. Ditching fossil fuels will reduce natural and man-made disasters. But too many governments and companies use the mid-century emissions targets to delay action. That’s unsustainable.

Big Meat will channel VW-Tesla in alt-protein war

20 Dec 2021

Elon Musk stole a march on automakers, forcing them to play catchup on electric cars. A similar dynamic could play out in real and plant-based meat. The likes of Impossible Foods have a Tesla-like lead, but old hands like Tyson and JBS can use M&A to play tortoise to their hare.

Capital Calls: SEC turns tables on vote advice

18 Nov 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. watchdog wants to reverse Trump-era rules restricting firms that advise investors how to vote on corporate matters.

Capital Calls: Philips, Chinese overseas IPOs

15 Nov 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Dutch electronics firm’s shares drop 11% as it faces new questions over a recall of faulty ventilators; the country’s cyberspace regulator makes clear that sensitive data questions for initial public offerings apply to Hong Kong too.

AstraZeneca’s virus fix becomes awkward appendage

10 Nov 2021

The $195 billion drug group is moving its Covid-19 jab and related treatments into a new unit. That could open the door to a sale to a peer like Johnson & Johnson. But the drug’s uncertain future and messy political history make any deal tricky and unlikely to deliver much value.

Covid testers’ messy union would lure lab crashers

3 Nov 2021

German diagnostic group Qiagen and French peer BioMerieux may merge, Bloomberg says. A $28 bln deal would allow both companies to offer more products and better cope with the end of the pandemic boom. But few synergies and integration risks open the door to other predators.

Capital Calls: Klarna, French vaccine, Philips

18 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: The $46 bln Swedish buy-now-pay-later company tries to outrun Britain’s financial watchdogs; Valneva’s Covid-19 shot may prove better than the UK’s home-grown version; the industrial giant sees light at the end of the supply-chain tunnel.

Capital Calls: Real estate distress is tricky call

15 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital has raised a $10 bln fund to buy struggling buildings. With the pandemic's long-term effects unclear, the key will be avoiding those destined to remain empty.

Belgian biotech casualty defies Darwinian logic

15 Oct 2021

Galapagos has few drugs, a departing CEO and is worth just 3.1 bln euros, less than the cash on its books. It should be a takeover candidate, but the influence of key investor Gilead is a complication. It’s a cautionary tale of the challenges of drug discovery and creative M&A.

Capital Calls: Biodiversity, Email, Gene IPO

30 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures gets a nature-based counterpart; Sweden’s Sinch clinches its fourth communication-software deal in seven months; a 40% bounce on Oxford Nanopore's market debut puts some life into London.

Capital Calls: Moderna, Qualcomm, US tax, ViacomCBS

5 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Covid-19 vaccine maker is looking past the pandemic; the telecoms group is offering $4.6 bln for Veoneer; U.S. Democrats are trying to close the carried-interest loophole; ViacomCBS is betting "South Park" can boost its streaming service.

Capital Calls: Grill makers cook their IPOs rare

27 Jul 2021

Concise views on global finance: Weber and Traeger set conservative prices for their market debuts, leaving something on the table for new investors.