Divestment

Nestlé, private equity find riches in water flush

17 Feb 2021

The $325 bln group is selling U.S. brands like Poland Spring to One Rock Capital and Metropoulos for $4.3 bln. The buyers get the assets on the cheap, at just 1 times 2019 sales. But the disposal helps Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider’s green goals and protects his premium valuation.

Capital Calls: Deloitte castoff, Banks and Brexit

15 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The UK auditor chooses an unfortunate moment to offload its lucrative restructuring practice; The Bank of England pours cold water on the idea of a regulatory bonfire after Britain leaves the European Union.

Engie’s timid breakup needs green boost

11 Feb 2021

The $39 bln French utility’s shares have lagged peers for years. New CEO Catherine MacGregor is simplifying the rambling group by selling part of its services unit. Spinning off the renewables division could give the stock a roughly 50% bump, and enable more climate-friendly M&A.

BNP’s American bank is the joker in its M&A deck

9 Feb 2021

A middling California lender worth $14 bln jars with CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé’s Europe focus. But BancWest gives BNP options. Like BBVA, it could raise cash in a sale to fund a pop at SocGen or UniCredit. More radically, it offers cost savings for a deal with Santander or HSBC.

Anglo takes quick, dirty route to greener pastures

8 Feb 2021

The miner may dump its African coal unit, worth maybe $1 bln. A spinoff could add six times that sum to the $45 bln group’s value by luring eco-conscious investors. Yet it doesn’t cut global emissions, and Anglo American’s iron ore assets may soon feel the environmental heat.

Truck spinoff can shift Daimler into higher gear

3 Feb 2021

The German automaker plans to list a majority stake in its truck and bus unit in Frankfurt. On a similar multiple as rivals Volvo and Volkswagen-owned Traton, it could be worth 20 bln euros. Consolidation in the sector gives Daimler an extra reason to have its own M&A currency.

Prudential’s shortcut adds pace to Asia pivot

28 Jan 2021

The $46 bln insurer is demerging its American unit and raising up to $3 bln in equity as it focuses on Asia. Investors expecting a capital bonus will now worry about its ability to fund future growth. But if the move helps Pru achieve an AIA-like multiple, it’s worth the trouble.

U.S. intruder cranks up European phone mast party

13 Jan 2021

American Tower is paying 7.7 bln euros for Telefonica’s 31,000 sites in Europe and Latin America. The rich price tag makes the Spanish firm a clear winner. By creating a new rival to leader Cellnex, the deal may also help peers like Orange or Deutsche Telekom sell their assets.

Corona Capital: Poverty, Beer cans, Budget hotels

24 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Hong Kong’s poverty problem was getting worse even before the virus struck; AB InBev sells the family aluminium to cut debt; Whitbread, owner of hotel chain Premier Inn, tries to get its landlords to share the pain.

Repsol stake sale could speed up green shift

16 Dec 2020

The 13 bln euro Spanish oil group may offload 25% of its gas stations arm. Flogging a chunk of what is a relatively highly valued business could raise 2.5 billion euros. That would provide critical firepower to get Repsol’s renewable energy capacity closer to rivals like Total.

Payments is a wrinkly bow on Walmart’s India deal

3 Dec 2020

PhonePe was an afterthought when the U.S. retailer bought it with Flipkart in 2018. Now the star money-transfer app is being partially spun out of the e-tailer at a $5.5 bln price tag. It’s a deliberately conservative valuation for a business with enormous potential.

Gatecrashers join Europe’s telecom tower M&A bash

17 Nov 2020

Vodafone’s mobile mast unit might be worth 14 bln euros when it lists. Telefonica, Orange and Deutsche Telekom are carving out their businesses. With half of Europe’s 700,000 towers still potentially up for grabs, acquisitive Spanish operator Cellnex faces some stiff competition.

Controversial museum sales set messy precedent

16 Nov 2020

The Baltimore Museum of Art is one of many institutions that has considered flogging art amid Covid-19 upheaval. Goals to diversify collections and clean out staid archives are laudable. Still, museums aren’t as good at selling art as curating it.

Private equity can sprint ahead in Adidas castoffs

11 Nov 2020

Buyout groups are considering buying Reebok from the German sportswear group, the FT says. Chunky returns are possible despite the brand’s dismal growth. But after a failed turnaround, the maker of Kanye West Yeezy trainers will need to accept much less than the $3.8 bln it paid.

Corona Capital: GM earnings, Third-quarter readout

5 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: General Motors swerves around Covid-19 potholes; and U.S. companies look to have emerged from a difficult three months in better shape than expected.

Corona Capital: Quibi

22 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Video streaming company Quibi’s failure is in spite of – not because of – the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nestlé without KitKats is logical next step

21 Oct 2020

The $340 bln Swiss giant’s food and drink business is shrinking, while CEO Mark Schneider is bulking up in pet care and health science. Covid-19 is accelerating the shift. Selling or spinning off confectionery, worth say $30 bln, could unlock value and sidestep a sugar backlash.

UniCredit spinoff offers a 3 bln euro reward

14 Oct 2020

CEO Jean Pierre Mustier may split the 16 bln euro bank’s German lender from its Italian business. A demerger could boost UniCredit’s stock by 20%, Breakingviews calculations show. In a deal with Commerzbank or outright sale to BNP or Santander, the returns could be even higher.

IBM drops weight for tough race to the cloud

8 Oct 2020

The $110 billion Big Blue is spinning off its legacy infrastructure services unit to zero in on high-margin, fast-growing cloud computing. New CEO Arvind Krishna is clearly not shackled by history. Even a more focused IBM will struggle to overhaul powerful rivals like Microsoft.

Europe’s banks smother their fund offspring

8 Oct 2020

Asset management units at Deutsche, UBS and Natixis risk being squashed by low-cost U.S. giants like $90 bln BlackRock. M&A may help, but no banks want to sell one of the few businesses that’s resilient to low interest rates. It’s a recipe for stasis and continued low valuations.