Social Media

Musk blasts tech bro club at his own risk

30 Aug 2022

The Tesla boss has enlisted a whistleblower complaint in a new effort to ditch his $44 bln deal with Twitter. That complicates matters for the social network. But by dragging Silicon Valley buds into the mess, he puts future funding on the line.

TikTok wannabes dance out of step

26 Aug 2022

Amazon is joining the race to copy the app’s popular short-video format. Influencer Kim Kardashian gave Instagram’s effort a thumbs-down. Acquisitions work best when chasing new audiences, but trustbusters have narrowed that option. Wooing users with aped features is far harder.

Tencent is running in two different directions

17 Aug 2022

The Chinese video game giant suffered a 43% plunge in operating profit from falling markets and a weak economy. Boss Pony Ma is cutting costs and promising buybacks, but he also is pushing on overseas expansion and new businesses like cloud. The message on discipline is garbled.

Twitter investors may yet boot Elon Musk and win

11 Aug 2022

The entrepreneur has sold more Tesla stock in the “hopefully unlikely” event his $44 bln offer for the social network closes. Letting its flaky, unwilling buyer walk would free Twitter up to find a more reliable owner. The break fee might even cover any discount to Musk’s bid.

ByteDance relapses to unhealthy tech deal habit

10 Aug 2022

TikTok's Chinese parent has taken over a hospital chain for $1.5 bln. Peers like Alibaba have made similar forays into healthcare, with underwhelming results. Amid falling valuations and Beijing crackdowns, such off-piste bets look even more ill-advised.

It’s not so bad being a bubble stock after all

3 Aug 2022

GameStop, Microstrategy, AMC, and even Robinhood all attracted irrationally exuberant investors. Now an obscure Hong Kong company has caught a similar wind. Sure, the air has come out of most of the hype. But companies have ended up better off than they would have been otherwise.

Antitrust watchdogs go big on drama, light on plot

1 Aug 2022

Penguin’s merger with fellow publisher Simon & Schuster is going to trial; Facebook owner Meta faces a battle over its deal with a virtual fitness firm. Both cases test out new storylines crafted by the U.S. competition watchdogs. But by getting creative they risk missing meatier targets.

Hard tech fad leaves Chinese apps out in the cold

26 Jul 2022

Tencent-backed Soulgate is among the country's startups rushing to list in Hong Kong as investors pile into chips and robotics. Ballooning losses at the $2 bln social network will be a tough sell. For larger peers like TikTok-owner ByteDance, the clock to go public is ticking.

Tech investors may be overvaluing moats

25 Jul 2022

Meta and Netflix valuations have been pounded, but Microsoft and Apple are holding up, relatively speaking, partly because they are less vulnerable to competitors. The trouble is the latter two are now premium compared to historical prices, and their buffers aren’t unassailable.

Twitter-Musk divorce court favors the kids

19 Jul 2022

A Delaware judge set a speedier October trial for the deal fight with Tesla’s boss. That leans towards Twitter’s wishes, but only because Musk was asking for the house, the dog, and his in-law’s silver. A quick resolution is in everyone’s interest, but mostly shareholders’.

Elliott’s Pinterest vision board has Twitter pins

15 Jul 2022

The activist has a 9% stake in the $13 bln company after investing in its rival in March 2020, then stepping back a year later. Twitter’s returns while Elliott was active outperformed competitors. A similar outcome, including a sale, is possible but without the Elon Musk circus.

Twitter may be target for non-Musk deal

12 Jul 2022

The arrangement that the social media firm struck with Tesla’s boss for $54.20 a share was just too expensive – and with the wrong person. Based on its bankers’ own approach, the stock is worth closer to $32, and it’s near that price. Other private buyers might be interested.

Twitter shakes Musk down with Delaware muscle

11 Jul 2022

The social network has hired big legal guns to work through a case that would force Tesla’s boss to buy the firm. But Musk has inflicted damage since he offered $44 bln to buy the firm – then regret the deal. A lawsuit is the best way to induce him to pay more to back out.

Capital Calls: SoftBank Arm-twisting

22 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: The UK government may be eyeing desperate measures to keep SoftBank-owned chip group Arm's IPO in London.

ByteDance schools old order in new online moves

21 Jun 2022

E-commerce sales growth is slowing at big players like Alibaba and JD.com. TikTok’s parent, though, is benefitting from consumers spending more on entertainment and education. The meteoric rise of an online English-teaching venture hosted by its Douyin app is a case in point.

Facebook sans Sandberg is more vision than company

1 Jun 2022

While the social network had problems under its departing COO, it at least had a business model and a top-tier executive who could sell it to investors. Amid slowing ad sales and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot to the metaverse, Sheryl Sandberg’s exit comes at a poor time.

Big Tech braces for bipartisan midterm punches

1 Jun 2022

Facebook and peers got a pass from the U.S. Supreme Court over a Texas social media law. But if Republicans win Congress in November, they will be deluged with hearings and subpoenas. Democratic critics already lead industry watchdogs. Strife comes from both sides of the aisle.

Snap! Elon Musk has another Twitter excuse

24 May 2022

The disappearing message app abruptly slashed its quarterly profit forecast, sending shares spiraling nearly 40%. That’s an ominous sign for Twitter, which like Snap, relies on brand advertisers. It also gives the Tesla boss another reason to bail on buying the social platform.

Musk’s get-out-of-Twitter card is worth $5 bln

20 May 2022

Their $44 bln deal looks shaky but both parties risk a protracted fight if they go to court. That would distract both Tesla and Twitter when neither company needs it. Instead, Elon Musk can free himself by paying a break fee plus some. And the social network could use the cash.

Deal odds in the face of market pain

19 May 2022

Market pain is changing the math for arbitrageurs, as targets' shares may drop further if mergers fail. A Breakingviews calculator shows the odds of a deal going through. Run the numbers here.