Fastly outage is a reminder to take life slower 8 Jun 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 Jun 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.
Bolloré makes tactical retreat in Italian foray 4 May 2021 The French billionaire has buried the hatchet with Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset, ending a wasteful five-year row. Bolloré’s Vivendi may not fully recoup its 1.2 bln euro investment in the broadcaster. At least the tycoon now has a freer hand to pursue his Italian telecom bet.
Capital Calls: Pfizer, ConocoPhillips 4 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: About $6 bln of additional earnings from Covid vaccines at the U.S. drug giant should mean more capital returned to investors; the independent oil group is offloading stock in Canada-based Cenovus it collected as part of a deal four years ago.
KPN LBO looks doomed by arithmetic, nationalism 3 May 2021 The 12 bln euro Dutch phone company flatly rejected takeover approaches by buyout shops EQT and KKR, smacking its share price. Paying more would curb so-so prospective returns. Overcoming potential Dutch government resistance to a debt-laden bid is another challenge entirely.
Capital Calls: Robinhood vs. Munger, Meredith deal 3 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: Warren Buffett and his investing sidekick takes on Robinhood, and vice versa; and the U.S. media company is selling its local TV stations to Gray Television for $2.7 bln.