Transportation

Capital Calls: Pet retail scrap, Chubb, Czech IPO

8 October 2021

Concise views on global finance: Buyout firm Hellman & Friedman matches EQT’s 3.4 bln euro bid for Germany’s Zooplus, putting the onus on its rival; the U.S. insurer buys the Asian assets of Cigna for $5.8 bln; haulage-fleet manager Eurowag makes a chaotic market debut.

Rivian risks reckless run onto public markets

4 October 2021

The electric-vehicle maker backed by Amazon and BlackRock only just started selling its first model. It’s also burning cash fast and Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce empire has the upper hand as a big customer for delivery vans. A mooted $80 bln valuation sounds like a runaway IPO.

Viewsroom: Basket-case Britain; Gambling in Macau

30 September 2021

Trucker shortages, partly thanks to Brexit, have been blamed for all manner of UK economic hardships, from toilet paper scarcities to long queues at petrol stations. Ed Cropley and Peter Thal Larsen explain. And our columnists in Hong Kong discuss casinos and investment banking.

Trucker shortage turbocharges haulage payments IPO

28 September 2021

Eurowag has built a lucrative business planning routes and handling payments for haulage firms. A dearth of drivers makes it more important to minimise empty trucks. Even a top-gear 1.7 bln euro valuation leaves mileage for investors in the Czech company’s upcoming London float.

UK trucker shortage tows inflation in its wake

27 September 2021

The government is recruiting foreign drivers, suspending competition rules and may use the army to ease a fuel crunch which triggered panic buying. That should limit the hit to Britain’s road-dependent economy. But sharply higher wages will accelerate annual inflation towards 4%.

UK bus groups bet on future bumps in the road

21 September 2021

National Express, the 1.4 bln pound transport company, is in talks to buy rival Stagecoach for over 400 mln pounds. An 18% premium in shares isn’t particularly attractive. But given rising labour costs and a potential slow recovery of traffic, neither is the alternative.

Road to COP: Hydrogen comes faster than you think

14 September 2021

At this fall’s United Nations climate summit, world leaders will seek to take concrete steps to fight global warming. Green hydrogen could help, but it’s still too expensive. Snam CEO Marco Alvera tells Lisa Jucca why the hydrogen energy revolution is likely to surprise us all.

Railroad suitor’s graceful exit depends on rival

1 September 2021

America’s train regulator has derailed Canadian National’s roughly $30 bln agreed deal for Kansas City Southern. To avoid further uphill effort and hefty fees, the suitor needs peer Canadian Pacific to persuade their mutual target to let it off the hook by jumping tracks again.

Capital Calls: Oatly, Sonos/Google

16 August 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Swedish oat milk producer’s decent results are only good in parts; Sonos gets a boost with a preliminary trade ruling that Google infringed its patents.

Canadian Pacific has edge in great U.S. train race

10 August 2021

The original bidder for Kansas City Southern has returned with a $27 bln offer to challenge rival Canadian National. While the price is lower and changing railroads mid-journey for a second time isn’t free, reduced regulatory risk makes it a better deal for KCS shareholders.

IPO U-turn is probably Didi’s most sensible route

29 July 2021

The beleaguered $40 bln Chinese ride-hailing group denied a report that it plans to go private a month after its U.S. debut. Changing course would be embarrassing and quite costly. But it may be the best way to get back in Beijing’s good graces amid a continuing crackdown.

Volkswagen makes timid bet on brave new car world

29 July 2021

A group led by the German carmaker will pay $3.4 bln for Europcar. The rental company’s city sites may help CEO Herbert Diess sell new services like subscriptions and self-driving taxis. But keeping the unit at arm’s length suggests caution at odds with the optimistic vision.

Capital Calls: Bank mergers, GlaxoSmithKline

28 July 2021

Concise views on global finance: U.S. lender Citizens helps make the case for consolidation with its $3.5 billion acquisition of New Jersey-based Investors Bancorp. A pandemic drug bounty may help the UK pharma group’s CEO Emma Walmsley see off activist Elliott.

Capital Calls: Grill makers cook their IPOs rare

27 July 2021

Concise views on global finance: Weber and Traeger set conservative prices for their market debuts, leaving something on the table for new investors.

Branson space caper may have airline economics

16 July 2021

The British tycoon has lined up punters paying $250,000 each for his sub-orbital joyride. To hit profit targets, though, his Virgin Galactic needs to hike prices as rivals lift off. If it can’t, the $8 bln firm’s financial trajectory may resemble loss-making Virgin Atlantic.

Wall Street ignores China meddling at own peril

6 July 2021

Didi’s shares fell by as much as 25% after app stores in the People’s Republic had to delete it, following Beijing’s crackdown last week. Investors may continue to be overly optimistic. But now the risk is that China and the United States try to one-up each other on restrictions.

Capital Calls: JEDI’s demise, Toyota’s weird world

6 July 2021

Concise views on global finance: The cancelation of a $10 bln U.S. government cloud contract shows negotiating big projects is sometimes a matter of guesswork. Meanwhile, the auto firm that pioneered just-in-time manufacturing is cashing in on a chip stockpile and red-hot market.

Getlink’s Brexit blues may have happier M&A ending

25 June 2021

The $9 bln Channel Tunnel operator has been hit by travel curbs and reduced UK-France trade. Shares a fifth below pre-Covid peaks don’t reflect recovering traffic flows or duty-free sales. A decades-long concession increases the appeal to yield-hungry infrastructure funds.

Self-driving truck race suffers from major traffic

23 June 2021

Embark, which automates big rigs, is worth $5.2 bln in a SPAC deal with smart-money PIPE investors and Trump’s former transport boss on the board. Its strategy might please shippers and truck-makers. The valuation isn’t bad. But competitive and regulatory roadblocks lie ahead.

Didi IPO runs into flashing regulatory yield sign

17 June 2021

Beijing trustbusters are probing the ride-hailing giant as it readies a market debut. Its dominance at home depends less on the anticompetitive tactics used by tech peers. Abrupt crackdowns on Ant and other industries, however, mean investors have been warned of the risks.