Telecommunications

Data IPO is bet vs. Amazon, Google and Microsoft

16 June 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.

Disney has enough magic without Hulu

15 June 2021

The Mouse House is rocketing ahead with its video service, Disney+. So it’s odd that it still owns two-thirds of the less successful Hulu. While Disney can buy the rest of Hulu from rival Comcast from 2024, it might make more sense to sell, and spend the money closer to home.

Drahi can lend BT some financial-engineering nous

10 June 2021

The tycoon has bought 12% of the 19 bln pound UK telco. His track record of selling chunks of fibre-broadband networks to fund faster building is instructive. Doing the same with BT’s investment-hungry Openreach unit would ease cash flow strains and head off competitive threats.

Italian fibre network deal has mountain to climb

9 June 2021

PM Mario Draghi is no longer pushing a marriage of superfast broadband providers. That leaves a deal reliant on market forces. A Macquarie bid inflated Open Fiber’s value to 7 bln euros, near that of more profitable Telecom Italia unit FiberCop. Agreeing a dowry will be tough.

Fastly outage is a reminder to take life slower

8 June 2021

A glitch at the $6 bln digital content distributor took Reddit, Amazon and others offline. The internet is like a banking system without the government oversight, seemingly simple but really a complex patchwork. Users need to know instant online gratification is not guaranteed.

D.Telekom’s U.S. call is mixed investor blessing

1 June 2021

CEO Tim Hoettges may splash $12 bln to take majority control of T-Mobile. Option contracts allow him to keep would-be rivals away at a discount price. But since the big U.S. holding gets scant credit in the German parent’s valuation, it may not be money well spent.

Smaller AT&T is lighter for mobile battle

28 May 2021

Cutthroat phone wars probably pushed boss John Stankey to suddenly exit the media business – a distraction that sucked up resources and cash. Proceeds from the deal will reduce its $169 bln debt load in line with rivals. That gives AT&T a fighting chance.

Xiaomi makes smartphones trendy again

27 May 2021

Quarterly handset sales rocketed up 70% to $8 bln, underscoring how the Chinese group has exploited rival Huawei’s woes. Xiaomi's successful overseas expansion and move to more premium models also stand out in the low-margin sector. Sustaining momentum will be the next challenge.

Huawei gets pushed toward collision with Alibaba

26 May 2021

Founder Ren Zhengfei wants his embattled hardware company to shift focus to cloud computing and software. That will pit him against the $570 bln e-commerce giant, which is also moving into IT services. Huawei's scale and resources make it a formidable threat.

Difference between AT&T and Comcast: deal hubris

21 May 2021

Both the U.S. telecom firm and cable company used M&A to somersault into media and distribution. Now AT&T is U-turning by ditching Time Warner, yet Comcast is humming along with NBC Universal. For all AT&T’s labors, it’s hard to come back from an expensive, ill-timed acquisition.

Viewsroom: AT&T’s second breakup, Asian super-apps

20 May 2021

The telephone company’s deal with Discovery, the reversal of a failed strategy to become a media juggernaut, opens a window into streaming warfare; and the creation of Southeast Asia do-everything internet group GoTo is a prelude of more to come. Plus, no Davos in Singapore.

AT&T’s value gap

19 May 2021

The telecom giant ditched its content ambitions, merging assets with Discovery. That has crystalized the amount of value that the new company has to increase before AT&T shareholders can get their money back.

AT&T shareholders need Discovery deal to shine

19 May 2021

Ex-CEO Randall Stephenson in 2016 agreed to spend over $100 bln on Time Warner. Monday’s deal to offload the assets and merge them with Discovery recoups most of that, on paper. But the S&P 500 has doubled since. Owners will be hoping the new group can add as much value again.

John Malone is a flawed ambassador for Discovery

18 May 2021

The cable cowboy is giving up supervoting shares so the Food Network owner can merge with AT&T’s WarnerMedia. It’s a vote of confidence from a shrewd investor. Yet Malone and other insiders stand to get extra benefits that might leave other shareholders feeling less than loved.

Capital Calls: JPMorgan, FirstGroup, Break fees

18 May 2021

Concise insights on global finance: Jamie Dimon is shuffling his deputies; the UK bus-to-rail group’s sale of its U.S. businesses to EQT has hit an investor revolt; deals involving AT&T and Canadian National Railway highlight the fees due for walking away.

AT&T shows breaking up can be worth it

17 May 2021

The telecom firm’s $43 bln deal with Discovery to shed media assets has a fair valuation. AT&T’s investors even like it, which is a rarity for a somewhat complicated transaction that underscores destroyed value. It shows that humility isn’t necessarily the same as weakness.

AT&T hits on smart strategy: be kind, unwind

16 May 2021

Merging its media assets with Discovery, in a reversal of AT&T’s looney-tunes merger with Time Warner, could give the U.S. telecom the cash and focus it needs to build a 5G network. Meanwhile, AT&T boss John Stankey can right his predecessor’s wrongs, which are partly his too.

BT pries open door to broadband stake sale

13 May 2021

The UK telecom group may bring in an outside investor to help fund an extra 3 bln pound expansion of its fibre network. Dutch peer KPN has done something similar. For CEO Philip Jansen it’s the first step towards a bigger prize: flogging off a chunk of BT’s main Openreach unit.

Capital Calls: KKR

6 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The private equity firm is investing in Charter Next Generation in an employee-friendly deal.

Africa’s digital payments race becomes a scramble

5 May 2021

The pandemic has brought the region’s mobile-based money networks and their 159 mln users to a crossroads. Airtel and MTN may spin off their payment arms. Banks and card giants like Mastercard are joining in. The victors will hold sway over an increasingly cashless continent.