Food & Beverages

Viewsroom: Vaccine carrots and sticks, plus donuts

3 Jun 2021

Governments and companies are dangling incentives for people to get jabbed against Covid-19. But it will take more than free weed, lottery tickets and beer to reach herd immunity, Jeff Goldfarb explains. And Dasha Afanasieva says take the pastries, leave the Krispy Kreme shares.

Capital Calls: Russia and US, Clothing IPOs, Food

3 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Kremlin tells its national state fund to get out of greenback-denominated assets; Rent the Runway thinks about going public; the FAO’s global food index hits its highest level in nearly a decade.

Krispy Kreme IPO looks half-baked

2 Jun 2021

Five years after buying it, JAB is listing the doughnut maker. In that time, it’s opened shops and developed new treats. But growth and profitability are patchy, and demand for sugary pastries may ease as punters become more health-conscious. A mooted $4 bln valuation looks bold.

Capital Calls: AMC craziness, Pro lacrosse

2 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The movie-theater chain raised $230 million from a hedge fund, which promptly sold the shares at a profit; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Alibaba's Joe Tsai are betting on the latest U.S. effort to professionalize the preppy sport.

Pizza-oven takeover may offer extra toppings

1 Jun 2021

Italy’s Ali Group is barging into America’s fast-food kitchens with gusto, throwing down $3.3 bln in cash to upset Welbilt’s agreed sale to Middleby. It’s a spicy move for an unlisted, virtually unknown family firm without fancy corporate-finance tools. And it just may work.

Capital Calls: Greensill/Bluestone

1 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The collapse of the supply-chain finance group may have left the governor of West Virginia personally on the hook for $700 million.

Meituan delivers strong dish with weak sides

31 May 2021

The $207 bln company’s main food delivery business more than doubled quarterly sales. But new bets including e-groceries and community group buying helped serve up a $1 bln operating loss. An antitrust probe and rules on insuring drivers threaten to spoil the whole package.

Oatly IPO pumps fresh air into plant-based stocks

20 May 2021

The Swedish group that makes dairy substitutes out of oats surged 30% on its debut, valuing it at $13 bln. Despite heavy losses and growing competition, investors clearly believe the shift in consumption habits is more than a fad. It bodes well for other stock market hopefuls.

Capital Calls: Apollo, Microsoft

20 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The second of the asset manager’s three founders moves on; the software firm is pulling the plug on Internet Explorer.

Capital Calls: JPMorgan, FirstGroup, Break fees

18 May 2021

Concise insights on global finance: Jamie Dimon is shuffling his deputies; the UK bus-to-rail group’s sale of its U.S. businesses to EQT has hit an investor revolt; deals involving AT&T and Canadian National Railway highlight the fees due for walking away.

Indonesian super-app merger grabs at Grab

17 May 2021

Combining Gojek and Tokopedia creates a delivery, mobility, shopping and payments powerhouse barely a month after their Singapore rival’s $40 bln SPAC deal. The first transaction offers clues to the value of the second but ahead of an IPO GoTo must demonstrate bigger is better.

New Danone CEO sweetens shift to financial metrics

17 May 2021

The French dairy giant is poised to make Barry Callebaut CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique its new boss. He boosted the chocolate maker’s sales and doubled investor returns, though his record on cocoa’s ethical issues is less stellar. Still, Danone investors will welcome the change.

Germany becomes food delivery battleground, again

12 May 2021

Delivery Hero is returning to the market it exited in 2018, while Uber is also preparing to take a bite. The pandemic has given Germans a taste for home-delivered meals, boosting market leader Just Eat Takeaway. With big players piling back in, shareholders may go hungry.

Capital Calls: Uber, Roblox

11 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: Free rides for Covid jabs won’t help the ride-hailing app’s labor battle with Washington; the online games platform’s year-on-year growth decelerated sharply in April.

India’s food delivery IPO arrives lukewarm

10 May 2021

Unprofitable Zomato is charging higher delivery fees and cutting discounts. At the same time, the pandemic hasn’t catalysed fortunes for the Ant-backed firm the way it did for peers such as U.S.-based DoorDash. That makes a $5.4 bln valuation from February look stuffed full.

AB InBev’s new CEO will inherit debt hangover

6 May 2021

The $120 bln brewer picked insider Michel Doukeris to replace Carlos Brito. He’ll lead a shift to investing in brands, away from the M&A and cost control that defined his predecessor’s 15-year tenure. Any stumbles will threaten AB InBev’s plan to halve net debt of 4 times EBITDA.

Capital Calls: Peloton, Honest Co, Office Depot

5 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: Treadmill recall leaves investors in the workout app stranded; shares in Jessica Alba’s consumer packaged goods company opened more than 30% above their IPO price; the office-supply company paper-shuffles its way to a higher valuation.

Capital Calls: Pfizer, ConocoPhillips

4 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: About $6 bln of additional earnings from Covid vaccines at the U.S. drug giant should mean more capital returned to investors; the independent oil group is offloading stock in Canada-based Cenovus it collected as part of a deal four years ago.

Nestlé’s vitamin push is $5.8 bln placebo

30 Apr 2021

The Swiss food giant is buying brands such as Solgar from KKR-owned supplement maker Bountiful. The wish to boost immunity during Covid-19 pepped up sales. To make a healthy return, CEO Mark Schneider needs consumers to keep swallowing pills, and the hype that they actually work.

Rapid grocery delivery splurge will end with purge

30 Apr 2021

The business of bringing alcohol and ice cream to punters within minutes has attracted $8 bln from investors like SoftBank this year. The stage is set for a frantic fight between startups, takeout apps and supermarkets. They will burn much cash in pursuit of uncertain returns.