Intel offers pointers to ease U.S. water crises 17 Aug 2021 A federal agency is for the first time slashing how much the Colorado River supplies to some states. Climate change means the problem may in time affect California. The chip giant’s efforts to save water in Arizona show how business can help mitigate problems caused by aridity.
Capital Calls: BlackRock/Exxon, Media deals, SPACs 25 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: The giant asset manager will vote for three dissident nominees for Exxon Mobil’s board; boutique adviser LionTree has benefited from a rash of media deals; Lordstown Motors show why blank-check merger projections can’t be relied upon.
French water fight ends in honourable $15 bln draw 12 Apr 2021 After months of feuding, Veolia is buying the 70% of rival Suez it doesn’t own for 20.5 euros a share. Target boss Bertrand Camus has squeezed a few extra euros from his suitor. Meanwhile Veolia gets to keep its big prize: 500 mln euros of cost savings in North and South America.
Capital Calls: Bling deal 6 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Signet, the owner of jewelers Zales and Kay, is buying rental firm Rocksbox.
Capital Calls: Sports versus the Trump slump 26 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Political news startup Axios may merge with sports site The Athletic.
Banks’ climate pledges suffer from water scarcity 22 Mar 2021 It barely gets a mention in Wall Street’s net-zero goals. Yet water accounts for a good slug of carbon emissions and 90% of global warming-related crises from U.S. droughts to Australia’s floods. Banks can speed toward sustainable finance by paying attention to the resource.
Suez brings water pistol to French sewage shootout 22 Mar 2021 CEO Bertrand Camus proposed carving up the group or swallowing an “irreversible” poison pill if Veolia doesn’t raise its 11.3 bln euro bid. Rival boss Antoine Frérot can afford to pay more. But in the absence of other bidders he can first try to kick out Suez’s board.
Veolia gambles on Suez shareholder showdown 11 Mar 2021 The French group sweetened its 11.3 bln euros bid by pledging not to dismantle its target’s domestic waste and water business. Handing the unit to infrastructure fund Meridiam should reassure politicians and unions. All Suez CEO Bertrand Camus can do is haggle for a higher price.
Capital Calls: Super Bowl, Poison pills, Experian 8 Feb 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: America’s game doesn’t benefit from scarcity value; Cubic’s poison pill serves a purpose; And Brazil’s cyberattack has a price for Experian.
Singapore’s bid for insolvency tourism is at risk 8 Oct 2020 The city-state picked elements of both U.S. and UK bankruptcy law to boost its attractiveness for hosting corporate workouts. But the glacial resolution of water treatment giant Hyflux could discourage the creditors the city needs to support its campaign to become a genuine hub.
Budging a little can win Veolia its trash crown 4 Sep 2020 Suez’s biggest shareholder Engie wants a higher offer from its waste rival. Veolia’s debt concerns give it only limited leeway. Still, a hike to 17 euros a share would give Suez investors a premium over pre-pandemic levels and still leave the buyer with an acceptable return.
Veolia’s trash dominance drive is worth the money 31 Aug 2020 The French water-and-waste group is at last pouncing on rival Suez. The 15.50 euros a share cash bid for Engie’s 30% stake is ballsy as a full takeover will face antitrust scrutiny. Yet the returns look attractive. Jumping on the green economy bandwagon should pay off over time.
Chinese beverage IPO turns water into beer 31 Aug 2020 Nongfu Spring, the country’s answer to Evian, is being valued at about $31 bln, or a bubbly 41 times profit. That’s less akin to its closest consumer peers and more like brewers such as Tsingtao. Markets and China are recovering, but there’s also some glass-half-full thinking.
Burst Michigan dams send pollution risk to surface 27 May 2020 Flooding after heavy rain almost reached a Dow chemical-storage site. That’s one crisis averted, but in general, companies pay too little attention to water contamination. Its effects are vast and are part of recent high-profile legal fights. But cleaning up won’t break the bank.
Earth Day’s 50th comes at just the right moment 22 Apr 2020 Half a century ago, Americans protested in droves for cleaner air and water. But progress has slowed, or been undone, while air pollution costs the global economy $3 trln a year. The pandemic has given a taste of a less smoggy world that could bolster efforts to cut emissions.
Virus makes water shortages everyone’s problem 26 Mar 2020 The quest to protect clean water supplies has lacked the snappy targets and big corporate backers of the climate-change movement. A global obsession with handwashing amid the Covid-19 pandemic may change that. When one region can’t take simple steps to sanitize, all are at risk.
An ever-drier world will unleash investment flood 6 Jan 2020 By 2030 humans will be using 56% more water than is sustainable, a new report shows. Closing the gap may cost $1 trln a year. But companies and investors are showing more interest in preventing a global water crisis. That bodes well for finding solutions – and making a profit.
The Exchange: India’s water crisis 6 Jan 2020 Kicking off Predictions 2020, Amit Chandra of Bain, Reshma Anand of Hindustan Unilever Foundation and Mridula Ramesh of the Sundaram Climate Institute come together in Mumbai to discuss who should pay for the scarce resource, and how the private sector can map out its true cost.
India Insight: Onion prices add to nation’s tears 23 Dec 2019 Amid violent protests over a citizenship law, Indians are also having to deal with poor harvests for this staple of the curry dish. It’s a glimpse into how changing climate patterns will exacerbate inefficiencies and create more of the volatility famous for toppling governments.
M&A bankers will turn climate risk into clients 19 Dec 2019 The financial impact of global warming is one of the biggest strategic issues CEOs face, yet it plays a small role in dealmaking. That might change in 2020 as shifting regulation and consumer habits start to affect the bottom line, giving climate-conscious advisers an edge.