Drahi drags satellite M&A into near-earth orbit 4 Oct 2021 France’s Eutelsat rejected the telecom billionaire’s $3.2 bln bid. If a follow-up offer succeeds, Drahi could pursue a cost-saving merger with rival SES, whose TV-signal business is also succumbing to gravity. A chunky spectrum refund from the U.S. government makes a deal easier.
Three’s a good crowd in Indonesia telecoms deal 17 Sep 2021 Combining CK Hutchison’s local 3 unit with Ooredoo’s Indosat produces a $6 bln No. 2 player and synergies of $400 mln. If past industry tie-ups in similar markets are a guide, the Hong Kong and Qatari groups’ deal will also lift rivals’ revenue and cut their costs too.
Apple can skip past Epic court slap 10 Sep 2021 A judge ruled the iPhone maker needs to ease its App Store rules and make it more open. But habits are hard to change. And with $194 bln in cash, Apple can still hire the best developers and marketers, not to mention lawyers. It will take a bigger punch to crack its dominance.
D.Telekom finds good route to poor destination 7 Sep 2021 The 85 bln euro German carrier is upping its stake in T-Mobile US by 5% to near-majority ownership. Doing so via a share swap with Japan’s SoftBank is better than handing over $8 bln in cash. Yet it exacerbates the problem of DT investors valuing U.S. assets at a discount.
South Korea’s app-store sandbox is worth watching 1 Sep 2021 A new bill stops Apple and Google from forcing local developers to use their payment systems, which carry hefty commissions. It’s good for the country’s tech champions, like the $60 bln Kakao. But it’s only worth copying elsewhere if users end up with cheaper or better services.
Capital Calls: SPACs’ defense, Zoom 31 Aug 2021 Concise views on global finance: Nearly 60 corporate law firms put their names to a rejection of recent suits against blank-check firms; the video-conferencing company reported slowing growth in the second quarter.
Telecom floor price threatens toppy Indian tech 20 Aug 2021 Mobile operators want regulators to impose minimum rates to help ease financial stress. Without higher charges, Vodafone’s local unit might struggle to repay debt. Rational tariffs, however, would hurt the voracious data consumption underpinning soaring tech valuations.
China Telecom’s U.S. exile is a boon for investors 12 Aug 2021 The mobile network’s $7.3 bln Shanghai share sale is the world’s largest this year. The listing comes with a buyback pledge and higher dividends as China’s watchdogs push those kicked off U.S. bourses to bolster payouts. It’s almost a pity Washington didn’t ban more companies.
Capital Calls: Olympics on TV, Abrdn 10 Aug 2021 Concise views on global finance: NBC Universal's prime-time viewers for the Tokyo games were only half as many as for London 2012, boding ill for traditional U.S. TV; the British asset manager formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen may be turning the corner.
Capital Calls: Moderna, Qualcomm, US tax, ViacomCBS 5 Aug 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Covid-19 vaccine maker is looking past the pandemic; the telecoms group is offering $4.6 bln for Veoneer; U.S. Democrats are trying to close the carried-interest loophole; ViacomCBS is betting "South Park" can boost its streaming service.
Xavier Niel makes virtue of Iliad investor myopia 30 Jul 2021 The French tycoon offered to buy the 29% of the telecom group he doesn’t already own at an 11 bln euro equity valuation. It’s well-timed: dividend-hungry investors have been spooked by Iliad’s rising 5G investments. Lowly valued rivals like Bouygues may look to do the same.
Capital Calls: Chinese hacking, Tencent 19 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: When the only response to China hacks is harsh words, companies will pay the price; the $680 billion technology giant places a heavyweight bet on UK gaming group Sumo.
Capital Calls: Intel, SPAC lobby 16 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: Buying GlobalFoundries would boost Intel’s ambitions to make chips for other firms, but spinning it off afterward might please investors more; a new D.C. group sets up shop to defend the blank-check craze.
Capital Calls: Gates split, Chinese IPOs, Telenor 8 Jul 2021 Concise views on global finance: Bill and Melinda Gates agree a post-divorce plan for their joint charitable organisation; medical data firm LinkDoc is among the first to pull its U.S. listing; the Norwegian telco gets just $105 mln for unit hobbled by Myanmar junta.
Drahi’s mystery pounce gives BT plenty to ponder 28 Jun 2021 The Franco-Israeli tycoon may have used derivatives to collar 12% of the British telco. Such deals typically cap an investor’s economic exposure. Buying the underlying shares would align his interests with those of other holders and let him benefit from a BT broadband shakeup.
Malaysia’s $11 bln telco deal rings a softer tone 21 Jun 2021 Axiata and Norway’s Telenor are combining their local units after their bigger pan-Asian combo failed on nationalist sentiment. Some of that is still on display but the logic of a smaller tie-up is compelling and synergies ample. Equal ownership creates a fresh complication.
Data IPO is bet vs. Amazon, Google and Microsoft 16 Jun 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 Jun 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 Jun 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 Jun 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.