Food & Beverages

Coke’s slip raises stakes in battle of bubbles

21 Jul 2020

The sugary drinks maker’s revenue fell 28% in the second quarter, whereas selling snacks helped rival PepsiCo weather Covid-19 lockdowns. Coca-Cola has traditionally been the more highly valued of the two, but the gap is now the lowest in a decade.

Corona Capital: Movies, Basketball, Tech optimism

21 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Warner Bros’ indefinite delay of its blockbuster movie “Tenet” spells bad news for the industry; healthy players and good social-media stats give the NBA a boost; Silicon Valley shows a hint of pessimism.

Sweden’s $2 bln oat milk startup has watery moat

16 Jul 2020

Oatly, which makes the dairy substitute loved by hipsters and baristas, raised capital from Blackstone and celebrities including Oprah Winfrey. Sales reached $200 mln in 2019 and are expected to double again this year. But its lead could sour as bigger groups like Danone wade in.

Corona Capital: Lockdown diets, Beating the Fed

14 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Covid-19 is prompting diets for both animal and human; and the Fed takes a hit on a garbage deal.

Corona Capital: Ice hockey

13 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The National Hockey League and its players make the kind of deal Major League Baseball sluggers and owners should have been pitching for.

Yum China can fill a pricier bucket in Hong Kong

13 Jul 2020

The $19 bln KFC operator is mulling a secondary float in the city. Its New York shares have been whipsawed by Sino-American tensions. An outsize base of U.S.-centric investors, a legacy of its spinoff, could be to blame. Heading East will fetch a more finger lickin’ valuation.

Corona Capital: Mets star bidders, Robot slayers

10 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Power couple J. Lo and A-Rod are giving hedge fund manager Steve Cohen competition for the New York Mets baseball team; Covid-19 is accelerating automation of the meat industry.

Sugar war divides food group fitties from fatties

10 Jul 2020

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to ban junk food promotions, the Times reported. The pandemic is spurring a new crackdown on unhealthy snacks. Giants like Nestlé were already curbing their sweet cravings. Others like Cadbury-owner Mondelez have less room to shape up.

Food rations point to India’s fiscal poverty

8 Jul 2020

New Delhi is handing out free grains to 800 mln people, a frugal way to support households. Two-thirds of citizens in the world’s fifth-largest economy are vulnerable to income shocks, but the small tax base constrains redistribution options.

Uber’s Postmates deal will barely touch the sides

6 Jul 2020

Boss Dara Khosrowshahi is removing a food delivery competitor at a cheap price. More than half of the deal’s $2.7 bln value will be recouped through cost savings. It’s also an amuse-bouche sized test of how regulators will respond to the ride-hailing firm’s future acquisitions.

Corona Capital: Disney/“Hamilton”, U.S. housing

6 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: “Hamilton” reinvigorates Walt Disney’s digital-download challenge, and America’s stay-at-home rules may mean there’s pent-up demand for real estate and home improvement.

Review: The callous roots of caffeine capitalism

3 Jul 2020

“Coffeeland” recounts Englishman James Hill’s rise from travelling salesman to king of El Salvador’s coffee industry. Though his farms brought wealth to some, they made the country less equal and heavily reliant on one resource. Many African nations face a similar dilemma today.

Tencent’s hot sauce fraud exposes expired tech

3 Jul 2020

The Chinese video-games titan appears to have been taken by crooks pretending to work for Lao Gan Ma, a popular spicy condiment, using a forged company seal to ink an advertising deal. Such old-fashioned methods have embroiled others including SoftBank. Digitisation is overdue.

Uber tries for bigger meal ticket with small fry

30 Jun 2020

Boss Dara Khosrowshahi may strike a deal with Postmates after failing to bag Grubhub. The food-delivery service is tiny compared to rivals with outsized valuations, so the mooted $2.6 bln price is easier to stomach. Yet benefits are as questionable as risk, and Uber could wait.

Albertsons owners take shopping cart to the ankles

26 Jun 2020

The supermarket chain’s IPO raised 40% less than it hoped, pricing below the range set just a week earlier. The final valuation looks fair, suggesting the market is working as it should. It's a good outcome for investors, though not so much for Albertsons backers and advisers.

Corona Capital: A tax on martinis

24 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Uncle Sam has bad news for those enjoying the libation during lockdown as it’s putting up import duties on gin, vodka and olives.

Corona Capital: Payments systems, Shale

22 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Payments systems get some good news, shale oil drilling’s double whammy.

Breakup pledge will keep Unilever boss on his toes

22 Jun 2020

Alan Jope promised to list the consumer giant’s food and drink unit in Amsterdam if it’s spun off. That’s not happening now: Unilever shares largely reflect the division’s 50 bln euro value. But the hypothetical vow gives investors ammunition if the Dove maker underperforms.

Uber’s M&A plans thumped by inflated values

16 Jun 2020

DoorDash and other food delivery services are basking in higher multiples as the pandemic helps business. That puts a damper on Uber’s deal plans. Its valuation is muted because of shared rides. But fortunes can change quickly when lockdowns ease, putting Uber in a better spot.

Uber has two good options: wait or wait longer

11 Jun 2020

The market's poor reaction to Just Eat's deal with food-delivery rival Grubhub leaves the door open for losing bidder Uber to return. It doesn't have to rush, though. Just Eat's plans may come unstuck. And even if they don't, both it and Grubhub could emerge as weaker competitors.