Zoom kicks off expensive call centre M&A contest 19 Jul 2021 The videoconferencing star will pay $14.7 bln for software group Five9. Diversifying makes sense as economies reopen, but a thin 13% premium may invite counterbids, or prod rivals like Microsoft to partner up too. Rich prices and fuzzy synergies promise an uncertain payoff.
Chancellor: Robinhood is more sheriff than rebel 15 Jul 2021 Like its many antecedents during previous bubbles, the app-based stockbroker claims a mission to “democratise finance for all”. But the $40 bln startup is more a creature of Wall Street and Silicon Valley than its clients may understand. The long-term risk is a people’s revolt.
Norton UK cyber deal has many vulnerabilities 15 Jul 2021 The U.S. antivirus software group is in talks about a cash and stock offer for $7.2 bln London-listed rival Avast. But probable returns look low, and British investors may not want a large slug of American equity. If a private equity buyer gets involved, it will be even harder.
Europe’s Zoom finds home-working boom has downside 8 Jul 2021 TeamViewer lost $1 bln of market value after it said customers who panic-bought last year are now paying less. The remote-software group’s shares have retraced to pre-Covid levels. The whole episode distracted from its real goal: connecting machines, rather than people.
Capital Calls: JEDI’s demise, Toyota’s weird world 6 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: The cancelation of a $10 bln U.S. government cloud contract shows negotiating big projects is sometimes a matter of guesswork. Meanwhile, the auto firm that pioneered just-in-time manufacturing is cashing in on a chip stockpile and red-hot market.
How much is Wise worth? 5 Jul 2021 The money-changing app is listing in London without setting a price. Its worth depends largely on how much more foreign-exchange business CEO Kristo Käärmann can win from banks. A Breakingviews calculator shows Wise is due a roughly 20% upgrade from last year’s $5 bln price tag.
Wise’s FX land grab merits $6 bln valuation 5 Jul 2021 The money-changing app is listing in London without setting a price. Its worth depends largely on how much more foreign-exchange business CEO Kristo Käärmann can win from banks. A Breakingviews calculator shows Wise is due a roughly 20% upgrade from last year’s $5 bln price tag.
Capital Calls: It sure feels good to be a banker 1 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: Global deals in the first half of the year broke all records.
Capital Calls: Genetic gold rush 28 Jun 2021 Concise views on global finance: A company has shown biotechnology called CRISPR can precisely edit defective genes in humans, fueling investment and squabbles.
Review: Reining in the crypto-fanatics 25 Jun 2021 Ex-Swift executives Gottfried Leibbrandt and Natasha de Terán traverse the payments world in “The Pay Off”. Anecdotes and explanations lend pace and purpose. But despite warnings about central bank digital currencies and other novelties, they ask more questions than they answer.
Profitability makes Wise a true fintech unicorn 23 Jun 2021 Like financial-technology rivals, the UK money-changing group has a snazzy app and disruptive business model. What sets it apart is healthy earnings. Big banks can’t match its service without parting with fees worth $250 bln a year. Smaller ones may end up using Wise’s service.
Capital Calls: JPMorgan, French SPAC, Jessica Alba 17 Jun 2021 Concise views on global finance: Jamie Dimon bulks up his nascent UK digital banking offer by buying Nutmeg; France boosts its lowly SPAC league-table position with two blank-cheque vehicles; the Hollywood star’s consumer packaged goods company Honest encounters growing pains.
Data IPO is bet vs. Amazon, Google and Microsoft 16 Jun 2021 Confluent, which helps companies knit together streams of data, is seeking an $8 bln valuation. Revenue quadrupled from 2018 to 2020. But that's not enough to justify a toppy valuation multiple when cloud competitors include three of the four biggest tech groups on the planet.
Capital Calls: Platinum Equity, FTC chair, Tui 16 Jun 2021 Concise views on global finance: The buyout firm acquires textbook company McGraw Hill and the maker of Singer sewing machines; Joe Biden’s pick for the Federal Trade Commission brings swagger; and another capital hike will still leave the German holiday group heavily indebted.
Tech IPO gives bad SPAC deals run for their money 15 Jun 2021 Macquarie-sponsored Nuix’s CEO and CFO resigned after poor earnings and forecast revisions within six months of taking the Australian software maker public. Blank-cheque deals like Lordstown are known for hype and under-delivery, and now this ordinary listing has managed it too.
Software deal contains two-sided logic errors 7 Jun 2021 Sydney-listed Altium spurned a $3.9 bln takeover bid from larger U.S. peer Autodesk. It’s an odd response given recent struggles and the chunky 42% premium on offer. The maths doesn’t compute for the suitor either. In wild M&A markets, such behaviour is a feature rather than a bug.
Babylon’s $4 bln SPAC is big bet on U.S. pivot 3 Jun 2021 The healthcare app sealed a merger with blank-cheque company Alkuri Global Acquisition. Its roots are in the UK, where its artificial intelligence received a mixed welcome. Babylon’s future rests on managing similar blowback and rivals’ competition in the U.S.
Capital Calls: Russia and US, Clothing IPOs, Food 3 Jun 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Kremlin tells its national state fund to get out of greenback-denominated assets; Rent the Runway thinks about going public; the FAO’s global food index hits its highest level in nearly a decade.
Unloved Cloudera tries $5.3 bln revamp in private 1 Jun 2021 The cloud software company went public in 2017 when its hype was already fading, and competition from Amazon has only intensified. A low return on the current business for the private equity buyers suggests the upside is chasing bigger markets rather than cutting costs.
Capital Calls: Klarna, Dan Loeb, Fashion IPO 28 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Swedish “buy now, pay later” group’s possible $50 bln price tag may leapfrog rivals Afterpay and Affirm; the corporate agitator deserves a taste of his own medicine; About You’s mooted 3 bln euro valuation implies a discount to rivals.