Singtel can dial up long distance call 18 Mar 2024 The Temasek-controlled firm denies it is selling Australia's Optus to Brookfield for up to $12 billion, twice what some analysts reckon the business is worth. If done right, a deal Down Under could help CEO Yuen Kuan Moon narrow the extreme discount Singtel suffers.
Swisscom’s Italy foray works best as a first step 15 Mar 2024 The $30 bln Alpine telco predicts 600 mln euros of annual savings from its 8 bln euro Vodafone Italia buy. Yet investors don’t yet seem to be assuming a big windfall. Revamping mobile services in the highly competitive Italian market to drive returns requires further M&A.
Liberty Global’s buyback has grounds to go large 8 Mar 2024 Shares in the $7 bln telco conglomerate are down 12% since it announced a restructuring of its scattered units last month. After flagging new buybacks for 10% of the stock, CEO Mike Fries joked he was taking the group private very slowly. Maybe he should – but fast.
China’s new tastes will spit out more than Apple 6 Mar 2024 The iPhone maker is losing share in the People’s Republic to domestic champion Huawei. American companies in the giant market face both weakening demand and a move to homegrown brands. Chinese consumers’ shifting attitudes suggest the woes will worsen.
European telcos’ new deal hopes face reality check 1 Mar 2024 Executives gathered in Barcelona this week to plead for lighter regulation, cheaper spectrum and some financial help. Policymakers are unlikely to agree. Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and others will have to convince investors that future growth requires more investment today.
Apple picks a better road to AI dominance 28 Feb 2024 The $2.8 trln tech giant has ditched a decade-long quest to build a car. Though huge, the auto market is cutthroat. Besides, making cars would have mostly been a new way to capture customers’ data and brainspace. The iPhone maker has more effective ways to achieve that goal.
Vodafone’s Italy exit puts speed before valuation 28 Feb 2024 The UK telco looks poised to sell its hard-pressed local business to Swisscom for 8 bln euros in cash. The price tag is lower than a previous Iliad offer. But it’s a cleaner exit, and advances boss Margherita Della Valle’s goal of prompt M&A to make her company less sprawling.
Capital Calls: Charter and Altice 27 Feb 2024 Concise views on global finance: Tying up Charter, the cable giant backed by the media mogul, with rival Altice USA would form the country’s largest broadband player. That isn’t worth bearing the burden of regulatory hurdles, Altice’s mountain of debt, or its over-rich valuation.
Capital Calls: Lyft 14 Feb 2024 Concise views on global finance: The US ride-hailing firm mistakenly forecast 500 basis points of margin improvement for 2024, causing its stock to surge some 60% before it came back to earth.
Apple’s AI absence may be its advantage 1 Feb 2024 Microsoft and Alphabet pepper quarterly results with the promise of artificial intelligence. The $2.9 trln Apple barely mentions it. The risk is a giant missed opportunity. But its gadgets may indirectly benefit, and without the ballooning capital expenditure at peers like Meta.
Iliad rebuff raises the bar for Vodafone in Italy 31 Jan 2024 The UK telco rejected its French rival’s 10 bln euro offer to merge operations in the tough southern European market, a fresh snub to Xavier Niel. CEO Margherita Della Valle needs to quickly plan another deal. Tie-ups with Telecom Italia, Swisscom or Wind all have complications.
Venture capital’s facelift shows modest scars 24 Jan 2024 Growth-company investors are paying higher prices, new data suggests, even if dealmaking overall is still muted. Interest is shifting to areas like AI and manufacturing. The result is a new look for the recovering startup ecosystem, albeit with a little less youthful vigor.
Samsung may finally listen to pushy shareholders 24 Jan 2024 Palliser and other outsiders want the South Korean conglomerate’s defacto holding firm, Samsung C&T, to boost returns. It’s underperformed for years but if a court ruling goes in the favour of group leader Jay Y Lee next month, he’ll have a new reason to listen to agitators.
Samsung is primed to seize AI chipmaking crown 9 Jan 2024 The $390 bln Korean giant could become a one-stop shop for AI semiconductors. Losses in its memory chip unit are probably shrinking, and it is bulking up in logic chips and packaging. Samsung is rapidly moving towards a level of integration that could give it an edge over TSMC.
T-Mobile’s climb to top dog risks winner’s curse 8 Jan 2024 The US telecom’s decade-long rise, sealed by 2020’s Sprint merger, has lapped rivals AT&T and Verizon and triggered an $8 bln payout for backer SoftBank. The tie-up threatened unshakable dominance. But now, newer cable entrants may wrench open the market much as T-Mobile did.
Capital Calls: Telefonica cutbacks 4 Jan 2024 Concise views on global finance: The telecoms group and unions have agreed a plan to lay off more than 3,400 staff at a cost of 1.3 bln euros. The number looks high but it’s lower than expected cost savings and a previous accord. Labour representatives could have done better.
Microsoft will finally make its mark in mobile 29 Dec 2023 The software giant has famously tripped itself up in smartphones for years, but boss Satya Nadella is primed to play catchup. His Activision and OpenAI deals pave the way with ‘Candy Crush’, Xbox and ChatGPT. Bruising app wars at Apple and Google may exact a high price, however.
Spain’s Saudi telecoms shield is pricey and futile 20 Dec 2023 Madrid is buying 10% of Telefonica to protect it from the kingdom’s stake-building. But Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez already has tools to block the Gulf investor taking a board seat or a bigger share. Splurging taxpayer money unnecessarily looks risky for a new government.
Vodafone may have to answer Iliad’s Italian call 18 Dec 2023 French tycoon Xavier Niel’s new bid for his UK rival’s business in Italy values it at a chunky 10.5 bln euros. That’s near what he offered last year despite falling earnings at Vodafone’s local arm. CEO Margherita Della Valle may struggle to find a more attractive exit strategy.
Altice’s best hope will be a Middle East lifeline 18 Dec 2023 Telecoms tycoon Patrick Drahi is dismantling his empire to cope with a $60 bln debt wall. Attracting new investors may be tricky given low growth and a corruption scandal. Luckily Gulf states like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are flush with cash and keen to grab Western assets.