Facebook will have to grow the hard way 16 Sep 2020 U.S. regulators may file an antitrust lawsuit against the $775 bln firm. The threat has a chilling effect on Facebook’s ability to snap up the next hot thing in social media. To keep up with changing tastes, Mark Zuckerberg is going to have to transform the company from within.
Beauty IPO is risky test for UK governance retreat 16 Sep 2020 The Hut Group’s shares soared after a $7 bln float. The skincare and clothing retailer’s fast growth meant investors shrugged off shaky voting rights and a watered-down listing. Its success opens the door for others, if founder Matthew Moulding can grow into his rich valuation.
Corona Capital: Fed’s optimism, Package holidays 16 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Jay Powell and crew at the U.S. central bank reckon the nation’s economy is doing better, just, than they expected; Anglo-German travel company TUI may raise 1 bln euros as the virus whacks new bookings.
Unity Software diversifies its IPO options 15 Sep 2020 The maker of software for creating video games is floating this week at a valuation up to $11 bln. It is trying an unusual auction process which could mean less money is left on the table than is typical and Unity has more control. The idea may only work for big-name issuers.
Klarna’s new $11 bln valuation looks a stretch 15 Sep 2020 The Swedish buy-now-pay-later startup’s new funding round means it has doubled its worth in a year. That looks reasonable relative to rival Afterpay’s market valuation. It looks less so once you use multiples that better reflect competition and regulatory risks.
Big Tech eases Ant’s march into public markets 15 Sep 2020 A long who’s who list, including Thailand’s richest man and China’s national pension fund, stand to clean up from Jack Ma’s fintech titan. Not long ago, a $200 bln IPO might have made public investors look like suckers. This number is less scary thanks to Apple and others.
Snowflake-led IPO boomlet puts hope over profit 14 Sep 2020 The cloud-data firm’s $3 bln public debut will be the largest IPO this year, in the busiest week for new listings since 2014. The glut of tech-heavy deals will keep investment bankers happy. But with many of the candidates losing money, investors are betting big on fast growth.
Corona Capital: Amazon, NYC and Trump 14 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Amazon’s hiring boom highlights its weakness, and U.S. President Donald Trump could throw New York City a bone.
Son’s largesse may finally help SoftBank investors 14 Sep 2020 The CEO is selling chip group Arm to Nvidia for little more than he paid in 2016. It’s a poor return for the Japanese group’s investors during a tech boom. Yet if Son decides to take SoftBank private, as news reports suggest, shareholders could cash out while valuations are high.
Polish e-commerce IPO requires anti-Amazon defence 14 Sep 2020 Cinven-backed Allegro may be worth as much as $12 bln when it lists in Warsaw. Covid-19 helped boost net revenue more than 50% in the first half. And with only 8% of Polish retail sales online, there’s more room for growth. The danger is that global giants flood the market.
Nvidia’s $40 bln Arm deal is risky chess move 14 Sep 2020 The chip specialist led by Jensen Huang will buy the UK company from SoftBank in the industry's biggest deal. It gives Nvidia a boost in the data centre business. But Arm's customers and regulators may baulk, and the chunky price tag presupposes huge growth and market share gains.
India grips too tight to keep tech IPOs at home 14 Sep 2020 New Delhi is considering forcing domestic companies that list shares overseas to do so at home as well. China has wooed Alibaba and others back to Hong Kong and Shanghai, but by making it easier not by fiat. A heavy-handed approach risks pushing Indian startups away even sooner.
TikTok-Oracle deal leaves room for surprises 13 Sep 2020 ByteDance has chosen Larry Ellison’s firm as the “tech partner” for its video-app unit but any deal that stops short of a full sale will raise national security worries. With raging anti-China rhetoric and elections, Oracle’s ties to U.S. President Donald Trump are no cure-all.
IPO rush is mix of carrot and stick 11 Sep 2020 Money raised in U.S. floats is near a 10-year high, and bankers’ pipelines are full. Partly it’s venture capitalists exiting aging investments while speculative juices are flowing. But there's also urgency: The upcoming election may be chaotic, limiting the window of opportunity.
Corona Capital: Peloton, New York City 11 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Peloton is on a tear with earnings exceeding expectations but it may burn out soon; more than 150 business leaders write to Mayor Bill de Blasio over the Big Apple’s deteriorating conditions.
Drahi’s Altice debt pile may hinder cheeky buyout 11 Sep 2020 The Franco-Israeli billionaire wants to take his European telco private. His offer, which values Altice’s equity at 4.9 bln euros, looks low. But the company’s eye-watering leverage, with 30 bln euros of debt, makes it hard for Drahi to pay a more respectable valuation multiple.
Snowflake’s $2.7 bln IPO is so hot it could melt 9 Sep 2020 The data-warehouse firm is growing astonishingly fast and offers clients an alternative to Amazon. But the Zoom-like valuation it’s chasing of nearly 60 times trailing sales takes it close to the sun. The imprimatur of Berkshire Hathaway and Salesforce could lift it even nearer.
Corona Capital: Palantir presents 9 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Potential shareholders have had their first look at the data company ahead of its planned direct listing later this month. One of the more memorable moments was boss Alex Karp making his pitch from a nature trail.
What is Ant really worth? 9 Sep 2020 Key to the Chinese fintech giant’s success is its cut from lining up credit, insurance and wealth customers. Rivals could eat into those take rates and regulators loom large. For now, though, a Breakingviews calculator suggests a reasonable starting point would be about $275 bln.
Ant’s valuation hill 9 Sep 2020 The Chinese fintech giant could raise up to $30 bln in what would be the world's largest IPO. Its value is largely predicated on fees for matching customers to financial services providers. At current rates, $275 bln is possible, but even small changes could make a big difference.