Conglomerates

At least Tencent can retreat into a virtual world

14 Nov 2024

The Chinese titan's hits like "Dungeon & Fighter Mobile" helped power a one-third rise in adjusted quarterly earnings to $8 bln. Outside of gaming, though, fintech and cloud services barely grew. Consumers and companies are holding back splurging in the real world.

Prosus catches a moment of relief in India

13 Nov 2024

The Mumbai listing of Swiggy, one half of a food delivery duopoly, crystallizes gains in a priority market for the $100 bln Dutch tech investor. The stock market debut of the startup is decent but Prosus' other bets in fintech and e-commerce in the country look harder to monetise.

Vodafone M&A spree leaves German problem untouched

12 Nov 2024

CEO Margherita Della Valle has spent the past 18 months remodelling the $23 bln telco by striking deals in Britain, Spain and Italy. But the shares have trailed European rivals’. To change that, the former finance chief will have to tell a better Teutonic growth story.

Vivendi activist’s critique falls on deaf ears

1 Nov 2024

Pushy fund CIAM reckons a planned carveup of the 10-bln-euro media empire favours the controlling Bolloré clan. That’s true. Yet the split at least eases a conglomerate discount. And since voting it down would be a leap into the unknown, investors will probably just stay in line.

Samsung’s diminishing tech edge is in full glare

31 Oct 2024

The South Korean giant has lost over $100 bln of market value this year as it falls behind rivals in making chips used for AI. The company may be paying the price for one giant distraction: Boss Jay Y. Lee's never-ending legal troubles. Shareholders are voting with their feet.

Bidders poke holes in Japan’s fair M&A push

21 Oct 2024

Seven & i and Fuji Soft have each dug in their heels against generous takeover approaches from Canada's Couche-Tard and buyout firm Bain Capital. New guidelines are reshaping the market for deals in the $4 trln economy, but reluctant targets retain power to simply say no.

What Masayoshi Son can teach us about investing

11 Oct 2024

The Japanese tech tycoon backed future giants like China’s Alibaba as well as spectacular flops like office-sharing startup WeWork. A new biography likens him to a high-stakes gambler. But Son’s chequered career also reveals some of the skills of a successful venture capitalist.

Weak 7-Eleven defense might embolden Couche-Tard

10 Oct 2024

Japan’s top convenience store owner will spin off its superstores and trim stakes in non-core assets to fend off a $47 bln takeover approach. It’s a disappointing strategy update. The Canadian suitor can consider taking its offer directly to the target’s long-suffering investors.

Couche-Tard clears price hurdle to Seven & i deal

9 Oct 2024

The Canadian suitor can cut enough costs to justify its revised 53% indicative premium, valuing its rival's enterprise at $55 bln. Though antitrust concerns in the US remain, it seriously raises the bar for the Japanese target's strategic update on its plans to unlock value.

Couche-Tard gives 7-Eleven owner easy defence path

6 Sep 2024

The Japanese company's board unanimously rejected its Canadian suitor's $39 bln takeover offer. The 21% premium is well short of Seven & i's breakup value. For this deal to be a real test of Japan's receptiveness to foreign M&A, Couche-Tard needs to work a whole lot harder.

Walmart’s JD sale displays derisking smarts

21 Aug 2024

The US retail giant has offloaded the stake held in its Chinese partner since 2016 for $3.6 bln. With 400 stores of its own in the People’s Republic, Walmart isn’t leaving. But the move reduces its exposure to a shifting economy and may put a cap on JD’s stock price turnaround.

Swire can afford to be optimistic about China

15 Aug 2024

The Anglo-Asian conglomerate is doubling down on airline and property investments in the country while others de-risk. While its options to diversify appear limited, $11 bln Swire Pacific is outperforming peers. Plus Beijing finally has a reason to embrace the trading house.

Apple loses China price battle, but will win war

12 Aug 2024

Big discounts by Huawei and other local rivals have eaten into the iPhone maker’s market share. Boss Tim Cook is fighting back, to preserve nearly a fifth of revenue. In a region that often beguiles tech outfits, the $3 trln company’s resilience is impressive – and sustainable.

Murdoch media galaxy would be better with one sun

25 Jul 2024

News mogul Rupert Murdoch reportedly wants to entrench his son Lachlan at Fox and News Corp, rather than spreading power among four siblings. For other shareholders, stability matters; Fox has beaten peers with Lachlan as CEO. Better an emperor than a squabbling committee.

Li clan take a tiny step to beat China value trap

12 Jul 2024

A plan for an additional listing, possibly in London, for their $15 bln infra company will allow investors shunning Hong Kong to buy the stock. As for CKI's larger parent, its revenue is globally diversified. The family faces a long slog to limit damage from its China roots.

Singapore’s Temasek has a sticky China problem

10 Jul 2024

The sovereign investor's $288 bln portfolio value is on the rise but its one fifth exposure to the world's second-largest economy is a drag. Temasek's private holdings and Singapore's close financial ties with Beijing make it hard for CEO Dilhan Pillay to make a big retreat.

India’s chase of foreign shorts hits close to home

3 Jul 2024

The regulator targeted Hindenburg Research for poor disclaimers in its attack on industrial giant Adani. Fresh details show the short seller and a Wall Street fund manager profited, but also how Indian lender Kotak facilitated the trade. Pursuing sceptical investors can backfire.

JAB’s Buffett impression is a work in progress

22 May 2024

The private European conglomerate, whose $50 bln portfolio includes Pret A Manger and Panera Bread, hired an executive for an insurance push. It makes sense as a funding source, as investors from Warren Buffett to KKR and Apollo proved. The snag is JAB’s patchy investment record.

Nestle’s royalty rebuke is a sign of the times

20 May 2024

Shareholders rejected a proposal by the food giant’s Indian unit to hike fees paid to its $280 bln Swiss parent. Scrutiny over payments to foreign affiliates for brands and know-how will grow. Domestic owners are increasingly assertive. New Delhi will be watching closely too.

China stock rally leaves Alibaba out in the cold

13 May 2024

The e-commerce giant’s shares are up less than 5% this year despite Tencent’s surging by a quarter. Boss Eddie Wu is promising stock buybacks and dividends. But investors are sceptical on Alibaba's growth prospects and whether it can unlock value after a botched restructuring.