Xiaomi IPO could plug into Internet of Things hype 22 Dec 2017 Sales at the Chinese tech company are booming, Reuters reports, probably thanks to a turnaround in smartphones. A mooted $100 billion valuation at listing sounds aggressive, but Xiaomi might be able to position itself as the first big consumer-facing play on the connected home.
Alphabet’s Eric Schmidt sails off before the storm 21 Dec 2017 The executive chairman of Google’s parent is stepping down as the $740 bln search giant heads into a showdown with EU regulators led by Margrethe Vestager worried by its dominance. Hiring a strong, independent chairwoman would reflect well on founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Domino’s Pizza is 2018’s most unlikely tech stock 21 Dec 2017 True, there’s nothing high-tech about pizza. But the take-out chain also dominates the “last mile” that delivery companies covet. Its app-to-infrastructure model makes Domino’s a little bit Uber, and a little bit Amazon. Investors are already baking in some futuristic assumptions.
Sun will be setting on Silicon Valley imperialism 21 Dec 2017 Expect tech firms to keep going public with lopsided share-class structures like Snap's that treat public investors as serfs. Rising pressure from fund managers and index creators, however, will bear fruit in 2018, mainly by imposing temporal limits to super-voting tendencies.
Tax cuts crystallize haves, wants, can’ts, won’ts 21 Dec 2017 AT&T, Comcast, Boeing and Wells Fargo are among companies sharing the wealth from lower levies with workers. Most have reason to curry favor with the White House. So such deals may be less than they seem – while others will struggle to hold on to any benefits at all.
Uber for everything will arrive in 2018 21 Dec 2017 The tech industry spent 2017 awash with cash and keen to disrupt the entire global economy. But loopy ideas, on everything from juice-making to how to treat co-workers, suggest a little hubris is creeping in. Breakingviews duly offers a few investment pitches for the year ahead.
Italy’s web tax is wrong solution to real problem 21 Dec 2017 Parliament is backing a 3 pct levy on web transactions to grab more from global U.S. tech titans. The digital economy requires new tax thinking. But an EU-wide approach would carry more force. And low projected revenue doesn’t justify the added burden on domestic internet firms.
SoftBank’s ride-hailing roadmap is unreadable 21 Dec 2017 The Japanese group invested yet more in China’s Didi, as part of a $4 bln fundraising, and wants to put billions into Uber. Yet as Didi expands abroad, fresh conflict with Uber is inevitable. SoftBank may envisage a merger, but for now it is funding both sides of an arms race.
China will plant a tech leadership flag with 5G 21 Dec 2017 The People's Republic will set many of the standards for ultra-fast mobile broadband. That will boost Huawei, ZTE, and others at the expense of foreign outfits like Nokia. This is a foretaste of the fights ahead for dominance of emerging technologies such as AI and electric cars.
The Exchange: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka 20 Dec 2017 Will Amazon choose New Jersey's largest city as the location for its second headquarters? That's what hometown native Baraka is hoping - and he's lobbying hard to make it happen, even trying to cajole neighboring New York City to play a role in swaying the e-commerce juggernaut's decision.
India’s e-commerce war to surface on U.S. shores 20 Dec 2017 Amazon's arch-enemy Flipkart has good reason to snub Mumbai and head to New York for an IPO in 2018. Its biggest global peers are listed stateside. With SoftBank and Alibaba as backers, the $12 bln retailer is primed to take its local fight against Jeff Bezos to global investors.
Can carmakers think outside the self-driving box? 19 Dec 2017 Renault is investing in a magazine publisher, targeting the extra leisure time people will have in driverless cars. Breakingviews imagines the pitch from an M&A banker eager to encourage auto executives to buy other autonomous-vehicle beneficiaries, from music to alcohol. Sincerely.
Thales’ 4.8 bln euro Gemalto bid puts jobs first 18 Dec 2017 The French defence firm has crashed Atos’ tilt at Gemalto, offering a higher price. The deal brings modest returns and leaves Thales exposed to a struggling payments business. Its biggest shareholder, France’s government, may care more about the temporary pledge to spare workers.
China’s shared bikes will merge into car lane 18 Dec 2017 A plague of two-wheeled startups has exhausted investor cash and municipal patience. After a cull, the biggest survivors, Mobike and Ofo, will resist calls to form a monopoly. Instead they will chain themselves to other shared-economy winners like taxi app Didi Chuxing.
Viewsroom: A Fox in the Mouse House 15 Dec 2017 Disney’s $66 bln deal for the bulk of Rupert Murdoch’s entertainment empire is a reaction to the rapid rise of streaming-content providers like Netflix, and lets CEO Bob Iger delay retirement again. Elsewhere: the Democrats win in Alabama, and Chinese bike-sharing rides towards M&A.
Dual-class Hong Kong will double-cross Wall Street 15 Dec 2017 To compete with New York for tech IPOs, the Asian financial centre's exchange is set to host companies with super-voting stock. Investment bankers will be degraded as much as investors. They stand to be paid less for the same deals and can expect to share fees more widely.
Which CEO will make a move for the White House? 14 Dec 2017 Disney's Bob Iger may be off the list now, but other corporate chiefs can consider parlaying their careers into politics thanks to Trump. Think Starbucks’ Howard Schultz or Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg. But shareholder approval isn't the same as voter awareness of business stardom.
Netflix can withstand $52 bln mouse-and-fox attack 14 Dec 2017 Disney is creating a direct-to-consumer entertainment giant with its Twenty-First Century Fox deal. That puts Reed Hastings’ streaming outfit in the crosshairs. But Netflix’s content investments are already paying off, and it's not distracted by integration or antitrust issues.
Target needs more than Shipt to fend off Amazon 14 Dec 2017 The $34 bln retailer said it would buy the grocery-delivery platform for $550 mln. That’s a step in the right direction to leverage its brick-and-mortar shops in an online world. But the Minneapolis-based company will need to do much more to escape the Walmart-and-Amazon squeeze.
Gemalto investors’ best call is the Atos helpline 14 Dec 2017 The digital-security group rejected its French suitor’s 4.3 bln euro offer. But Gemalto’s claim that the price is low looks iffy, and after four profit warnings a promised turnaround plan is unlikely to be persuasive. Shareholders are justified if they find Atos more convincing.