Telecommunications

China Tower debut reveals costs of tech leadership

8 August 2018

The newly listed towers firm trades at a low valuation like its telecom peers. Investors know that politics will come before profit as a costly build-out of 5G looms on the horizon. It’s a keen reminder of the price Beijing must pay to achieve cutting-edge tech dominance.

Sinclair dumbly punched a gift horse in the mouth

7 August 2018

The right-wing broadcaster needlessly endangered its $3.9 bln bid for Tribune Media by selling stations to questionable buyers. That put sympathetically inclined Trump regulators in a bind. The Chicago-based TV group is better off pulling the plug and selling to someone else.

Vivendi’s Universal sale offers cleaner fix to IPO

31 July 2018

The French media giant is looking to sell up to half of its music unit to new investors. Avoiding a listing, spares Vivendi Chairman Yannick Bolloré from the risk of an investor exodus to Universal. Uncertainty over valuation, and what he will do with the cash linger.

Orange and Telefonica tech credentials need proof

26 July 2018

The price of the pair’s shares have fallen this year despite rising cash flows. Plans to use automation to cut costs and make more money from customer’s spiralling data demands have yet to be reflected in their valuations. The companies only merit more credit if they deliver.

China Tower offering sends the right signals

25 July 2018

The phone-mast giant set a fair price range for its $9bln IPO. It also limited sales to cornerstone investors, attracting not just friends and family. It’s a welcome change to how SOEs are dumped in Hong Kong. A solid debut could inspire others to follow this friendlier approach.

UK takes space leap as it leaves EU orbit

20 July 2018

Exiting the European Union has cast a cloud over Britain’s membership of the Galileo satellite-navigation project. Going it alone could leave the government with a big bill. Building Europe’s first launch pad, though, taps into strong demand for new commercial satellites.

Comcast’s second loss to Disney is a victory

19 July 2018

Boss Brian Roberts decided not to top rival Bob Iger’s $71 bln bid for Fox assets, instead focusing on buying Sky. In 2004, Comcast also backed down after trying to buy the Mouse House. Given the eye-watering price Disney is paying, Roberts and his shareholders are the winners.

Old-school Chinese tech IPO bedeviled by startups

19 July 2018

Valuation expectations are falling for state-owned mobile mast operator China Tower, just as they did for smartphone maker Xiaomi. A $50 bln max may now be $35 bln, with a slug heading to cornerstone investors. The techlash is bringing at least some sense back to the market.

EU’s $5 bln fine is the least of Google’s worries

18 July 2018

The Alphabet unit can absorb another record European antitrust penalty. A companion order requiring it to stop forcing handset makers to pre-install its Google search app and Chrome browser may cause more damage – and curb the firm from expanding in areas like self-driving cars.

Nordic telecom mash-up gives might to challenger

17 July 2018

Sweden’s Telia is beefing up its Norwegian operations by buying rival TDC’s local business for $2.6 bln. That gives it a sturdier platform to challenge incumbent Telenor. Cost savings should help deliver a decent return – as long as it avoids price wars or a regulatory clampdown.

India Insight: Mukesh Ambani goes after Jeff Bezos

16 July 2018

The energy billionaire built an upstart telecoms data network into the world’s biggest. Now Ambani wants to redefine how Indians shop, pitting him against Amazon and Walmart. India’s e-commerce market is young enough – and his pockets deep enough – for him to be a real threat.

AT&T throws bone to antitrust watchdogs

13 July 2018

The U.S. Justice Dept faces high hurdles in appealing a harsh ruling that cleared the $85 bln purchase of Time Warner. But since the deal closed, AT&T is raising some customer prices. The hikes came after the DOJ lost its case, but could still sway the court of public opinion.

One number in Fox bid battle just gets smaller

12 July 2018

It’s the return on investment Comcast or Disney stands to make from buying parts of Rupert Murdoch’s empire. The price to beat is $71.3 billion, but the deal no longer looks as rational as when Disney made its first offer. As things heat up, the likely winner is whoever loses.

Comcast can save itself from M&A madness

11 July 2018

The U.S. media group upped its bid for Britain’s Sky to $34 bln, a level that defies financial logic. That could be bearable if it drops out of a bigger, parallel auction for Sky’s main shareholder, Fox – leaving rival Disney to overpay. Doubling down would be downright reckless.

Hutchison’s $3 bln Italian buyout is a good call

3 July 2018

The Hong Kong conglomerate is buying Russian-backed partner Veon out of their Italian mobile JV, Wind Tre. That is a bold step amid political instability and intensifying competition. But the deal looks cheap, and could prove shrewd for new CK Hutchison boss Victor Li.

U.S. veto on China Mobile could grow wider

3 July 2018

The Trump administration wants to deny the $180 bln carrier’s longstanding bid to offer overseas calls from America. The financial impact will be negligible. But this could herald a broader U.S. campaign to weaken Beijing’s control over Chinese people and companies abroad.

Australia’s ban on Huawei would be a costly call

29 June 2018

Having passed a law on foreign meddling in its politics, Canberra now looks set to block the Chinese telecom giant from working on its next-generation mobile network. There are valid concerns. But a ban carries costs: pricier 5G, and worsening ties with its best export customer.

Viewsroom: Disney, Comcast go from zero to berserk

21 June 2018

The Magic Kingdom and the cable company are driving up the price for parts of Twenty-First Century Fox in a global M&A battle that throws financial logic out the window. But does it make sense strategically? Plus: India’s cricket league takes a few pages from the NFL playbook.

Altice’s $2.9 bln towers sale locks in 5G premium

21 June 2018

Patrick Drahi’s telecoms group has secured a high price for the possible sale of stakes in its French and Portuguese mobile towers. It’s a vote of confidence from private investors like KKR in new superfast networks. But it only makes a modest dent in Altice’s $36 bln debt pile.

India will test Xiaomi’s two-pronged strategy

21 June 2018

The Chinese maker of affordable phones has scaled down its IPO with plans now to raise $6 bln. Much of the valuation hangs on internet services, which Xiaomi is starting to roll out in its top overseas market. Rivals in India are plentiful, though, and hungrier for content.