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German $6 bln non-LBO is sign of lean buyout times

15 February 2019

Hellman & Friedman and Blackstone are buying classifieds group Scout24. They can’t pile much debt on it, and the return looks way off the level investors usually expect. With buckets of cash, private equity needs to do deals. Buying fast-growing targets offer a little security.

Foreign IPO tide flows back into Hong Kong

14 February 2019

Global Switch and Home Credit are eyeing $1 bln floats in a city which has struggled to attract interest offshore. AB InBev might list its Asia operations too. Rule changes letting the benchmark index include overseas-based firms are one incentive. A thin China pipeline is another.

Amazon primes delivery of its vehicular future

13 February 2019

The $820 bln retailer may take a stake in electric-truck maker Rivian. That’d be its third mobility play this year. It’s unlikely Amazon aims to build cars. Instead, along with its robotics and cloud efforts, such investments should allow it to tackle mounting logistics concerns.

Apple tests appetite for a not-Facebook of news

13 February 2019

A new Netflix-like service would help news publishers get onto millions of smartphones, but at high cost, according to the WSJ. It helps that Facebook has set a low bar for content quality and treatment of media partners. Even so, boss Tim Cook risks overplaying his hand.

Uber steers around its Asian innovation conundrum

13 February 2019

After exits from China and Southeast Asia, the ride-hailing giant's eastern footprint hinges on India and promising spots, like Taiwan. Emerging market problems force a rapid pace of change. Safety buttons and a "lite" app are encouraging, but local rivals are moving faster.

Pinduoduo’s bid for calm has its limits

12 February 2019

Even by Chinese tech company standards, the $31 bln e-commerce outfit has had a volatile start to public life. A $1 bln follow-on will up the float and help to ease wild price swings. But ballooning losses, competition with Alibaba, and legal woes will continue to create a stir.

Artificial intelligence push lacks intelligence

11 February 2019

A U.S. plan to add oomph to AI research reflects anxiety about Chinese advances, and may give firms confidence to invest in smart systems. But it’s mostly symbolic without funding on basic research and openness to foreign talent. That jars with President Trump’s other priorities.

Amazon can afford to give Big Apple one more shot

11 February 2019

The e-commerce giant’s plan for a second HQ is in jeopardy over local opposition. One idea would be to give up half of the $3 bln in incentives. Amazon can afford it, and rival Google created jobs for less. If that doesn’t quiet the critics, Amazon may be better off elsewhere.

The Exchange: Huawei’s U.S. security chief

11 February 2019

Andy Purdy, who previously worked in academia and for the U.S. government, talks about the geopolitical edge to allegations about Beijing’s influence at Chinese tech group Huawei, and how communications equipment needs global standards and better testing across the board.

India’s tech rules are taking on a Chinese quality

11 February 2019

New Delhi's plan to compel the likes of Facebook and Google to police their content threatens free speech. Coming after edicts that limit foreign e-commerce giants, there is a touch of the People's Republic that will worry global players relying on the subcontinent for growth.

Sony’s record share splurge misses the big picture

8 February 2019

Fresh from reporting lacklustre earnings, the electronics giant says it will buy back nearly $1 bln worth of stock. It’s a sign of boss Kenichiro Yoshida’s confidence. To boost longer-term returns, though, he needs to convince investors a much-needed overhaul is also underway.

Apple departure points to wider mystery

6 February 2019

Retail chief Angela Ahrendts was one of the firm’s best-paid executives. Was she worth it? It’s impossible to know, because Apple doesn’t say how its stores are doing. It’s one of several important data points the company holds back. Opacity weighs on Apple’s valuation.

Spotify hitches its wagon to a mule

6 February 2019

The Swedish music service is buying two podcast companies and warned it will crank up spending - including up to $500 mln scooping up other similar talk radio-esqe firms, in the name of growth. Yet sales are slowing and the market for non-music audio is small and speculative.

SoftBank’s Einstein pitch fails relativity test

6 February 2019

Masayoshi Son invoked the Nobel Prize winner’s theories to argue the Japanese group is worth $110 bln more. But adjust his sums for low liquidity and the possibility of squandered cash, and the black hole is small. Massive objects like the Vision Fund distort the laws of physics.

The Exchange: How Facebook takes away our humanity

5 February 2019

That’s the way early investor Roger McNamee describes what the social network – and Google – is doing without proper oversight. In discussing his book, “Zucked,” he explains why just changing Facebook management won’t solve its problems and why he remains hopeful of a solution.

Holding: Boards miss message about personal email

5 February 2019

Until recently, directors and officers could chat on individual accounts with near impunity. Now courts are forcing bosses at Uber, Facebook, Papa John's and elsewhere to cough up private and often incriminating texts. Think twice before sending that smiley-face emoticon.

Apple’s Austrian roadkill looks like an M&A target

5 February 2019

Chipmaker AMS is being squeezed by the U.S. tech giant, its biggest customer. A heavy debt pile and rising investment needs have scuppered its dividend. With shares down 70 pct in six months, investors’ best hope may be a sale to a fellow Apple supplier, like STM.

Software M&A makes LBO shops click on club deals

4 February 2019

A group led by Hellman & Friedman is paying more than 30 times EBITDA for its $11 bln buyout of Ultimate Software. Private equity is targeting the tech cloud. But such lofty valuations require big equity checks few can or want to write. That means teaming up, despite the risks.

Japanese carmakers can find trade-war refuges

4 February 2019

A stronger yen docked some $390 mln from Honda's revenue last quarter, adding to other blows. It's been tough to juggle a safe-haven domestic currency and growth that comes largely from overseas. Rival Mitsubishi's stellar results, built on emerging markets, show it can be done.