Cybersecurity

Eleven-digit cyber LBO looks sober in crazy world

26 Apr 2021

Thoma Bravo is paying $12 bln for Proofpoint, a 34% premium. It’s the largest U.S. buyout this year, and the biggest software LBO on record. The target boasts low debt and strong growth, and the multiple isn’t crazy. Even in toppy markets, good deals still exist.

Capital Calls: U.S. CEO pay

12 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: The median big-company boss is ending up with $13.7 mln for the 2020 pandemic year, a payout that's heading for a record.

Darktrace is ultimate test of IPO risk appetite

17 Feb 2021

The cyber group’s top investor, Autonomy founder Mike Lynch, is facing U.S. extradition on fraud charges. Its top ranks are packed with his former colleagues. UBS has dropped out of the $5 bln listing. Pushing ahead despite such red flags suggests investors may pinch their noses.

Capital Calls: KKR, the investment bank

9 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The private equity firm run by Henry Kravis is building a useful capital-markets business, with almost half its deals last year for outside clients.

Sensitive U.S. hack is one more problem for Biden

14 Dec 2020

Network software used by America’s armed forces and big companies was compromised for months, possibly by Russia. The maker, Texas-based SolarWinds, has egg on its face. For users in D.C. and elsewhere, it’s a reminder that cybersecurity can’t be ignored, even in a pandemic.

Nokia makes a meal of its Huawei free lunch

29 Oct 2020

The $19 bln telecom giant’s shares slumped after it slashed operating margins. New boss Pekka Lundmark is right to beef up investment to improve its 5G offering as China’s Huawei battles U.S. hostility. But right now Nokia is losing out on new business rather than snapping it up.

Corona Capital: U.S. tests, UK loans, Man U groans

21 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Abbott Laboratories has a bumper third quarter; UK banks look at a workaround for their Covid-19 loan problem; and Manchester United reveals a predictably ropey set of annual results.

TPG rides IPO wave with McAfee deal

29 Sep 2020

A bubbly public reception to software firms like Snowflake has left an opening for the buyout shop to float the cybersecurity company at three times its 2016 takeover valuation. McAfee has improved, but its owners have bonkers investors rather than better performance to thank.

Garmin’s cyber-attack lesson: sprint don’t jog

29 Jul 2020

The maker of sports watches and navigation tools fell prey to a hack less than a week before reporting earnings, and for days left users mostly clueless. There’s no one-size-fits-all way to handle complex cyber-incursions, but for future victims, being fleet of foot is a must.

Apple and peers could lose “when in China” shield

16 Jul 2020

The iPhone maker is one of many firms that tailors products to suit China’s demands, recently deleting an app used by Hong Kong protesters. Such decisions could soon be treated by U.S. authorities as foreign lobbying. That would curtail a delicate – and profitable – dance.

UK’s Huawei red card has visible and hidden costs

14 Jul 2020

Removing the Chinese tech giant from mobile phone networks by 2027 gives operators BT and Vodafone time to adapt their kit. That said, the ban will still cost 2 billion pounds. It also makes Britain’s 5G communications even more dependent on rival suppliers Ericsson and Nokia.

U.S. buyer can take advantage of TikTok’s problems

13 Jul 2020

Donald Trump is considering a ban on the video-sharing app because of its Chinese roots. Selling to an American suitor, whether it’s Disney, Twitter or another firm, would normally trigger regulatory watchdogs. They may turn a blind eye, though, leaving an open door.

British public would end up paying for Huawei ban

8 Jul 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is mulling whether to bar the Chinese group from the country’s 5G mobile network. Ripping out existing Huawei kit could cost operators BT and Vodafone an extra 1 bln pounds. The bill for a U-turn forced by U.S. sanctions will end up with taxpayers.

Britain has more to lose from a Huawei U-turn

10 Jun 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson may block the Chinese tech giant from 5G phone networks, reversing a January decision. That would play well in Washington but carry big costs and possible retaliation by Beijing. With antes rising, Johnson is better off demonstrating his independence.

Phones will restore freedom at the cost of privacy

30 Apr 2020

Contact-tracing apps like Apple-Google’s will allow more public mobility but only if related testing is quick and easy, and everybody plays ball. That means democracies will wave sticks, disguised as carrots, to encourage use. Good results would outweigh the Orwellian overtones.

Equifax hack shows China aims wide as well as high

10 Feb 2020

The U.S. government blamed China’s military for 2017’s giant credit-reporting breach. It contends Beijing seeks not just kompromat and trade secrets, but also material to hone its own AI tools. That potentially makes any company with large data troves an espionage target.

Uncle Sam’s 5G telecom fantasy is M&A nightmare

7 Feb 2020

Attorney General William Barr thinks the U.S. could buy Nokia or Ericsson to counter China’s Huawei. But making private firms do the state’s bidding is not how America works. Wrapping suppliers in the flag would also destroy value. Selling shareholders would be the only winners.

Bezos-Saudi spat has e-commerce proxy war

3 Feb 2020

Tensions between Riyadh and the Amazon boss may seem a stateside phenomenon. Yet Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Jeff Bezos have backed different horses in the battle for the $34 billion Middle East e-commerce market. That implies risks for both sides.

UK’s Huawei call is anti-Trump parting gift to EU

28 Jan 2020

Britain has granted the Chinese telecom-kit maker a limited role in 5G networks. The U.S. president, who had pushed for a ban, will be as miffed as mobile operators will be relieved. On the eve of Brexit, London has also shown Europe how to balance Washington and Beijing.

Finablr faces tricky reboot after Travelex hack

14 Jan 2020

Shares in the London-listed fintech group have fallen 23% after a cyberattack on its bureau de change unit. The $350 mln decline probably overstates the immediate damage. The bigger risk is whether the mess deters corporate clients from Finablr’s faster-growing payments business.