Industrials

Co-pilot Bill Gates can swing private-jet dogfight

8 Jan 2021

The Microsoft founder has checked in with Blackstone to offer $4.3 bln for Signature Aviation, which runs small airports for the mega-rich. Rival Carlyle may trump that. But Gates’s 19% stake and the already-high price makes it harder for a counter-bid to get off the ground.

LafargeHolcim’s U.S. deal is an overdue Plan B

7 Jan 2021

The $36 bln Swiss cement maker’s 2015 merger hasn’t really worked. Branching out into roofing by acquiring the U.S. division of Japan’s Bridgestone for $3.4 bln could pay off if a stateside stimulus spurs infrastructure spending. But LafargeHolcim’s bet looks relatively pricey.

Corona Capital: Icahn, Productivity, Natixis

4 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Carl Icahn sells half his Herbalife Nutrition stake; an ECB survey suggests Covid-19 will make big firms more productive, but that may not be all good news; and Natixis fast-tracks its overhaul.

GE accounting isn’t only thing that’s too complex

10 Dec 2020

A $200 mln fine for bean-counting tricks shows what happens when companies are driven by a desire to hit big numbers at any cost. Larry Culp has moved GE away from that obsession. But the dishonest accounting was made easier by GE’s sprawl. Culp has yet to grasp that nettle.

Corona Capital: Gaming M&A, Beauty’s bold face

9 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Consolidation in video games reaches the next level as Sweden’s MTG buys Hutch Games for $375 million; and Spanish cosmetics, fashion and perfume group Puig predicts revenue will double by 2023.

Corona Capital: U.S. imports

8 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. consumers’ demand for products used at home help boost China’s shipments.

Thyssenkrupp is acid test of German green resolve

19 Nov 2020

The ailing giant’s steel arm lost 950 mln euros last year and is a major carbon dioxide polluter. Right now it would cost a bomb to convert the division into a hydrogen-powered, low-carbon star. Still, extending subsidies would chime with Berlin’s commitment to a green recovery.

Corona Capital: DraftKings, Palantir Technologies

13 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: DraftKings gets lucky; Palantir needs to hike faster.

Vaccine is inexact bonus for freight and freezers

13 Nov 2020

Pfizer’s Covid-19 shots must be kept at ultra-low temperatures. Distributing billions of doses is therefore a big opportunity for makers of super-freezers and delivery groups like DHL and UPS. The size of the windfall depends on whether the jabs bring long-lasting immunity.

Siemens’ slow-moving trains are puzzle for new CEO

12 Nov 2020

Joe Kaeser is departing after seven years at the controls of the 96 bln euro German engineer. Following several big spinoffs, new boss Roland Busch may want to pause. Yet a strong performance from high-tech robotics bolsters the case for cutting the train unit loose as well.

Corona Capital: Warren Buffett, Burger boost

9 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Rising share prices take the sting out of Berkshire Hathaway’s Covid-19 profit hit; and McDonald’s reports a good quarter for American nugget-lovers.

Corona Capital: Cars, Kalashnikovs, Houses

6 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Japanese carmakers put their feet down thanks to China’s bounceback; Russia’s Kalashnikov gets a new owner; and rich-country housing markets look surprisingly cheery.

GE boss reaches milestone in Sisyphean trial

28 Oct 2020

Larry Culp managed to offset damage from grounded planes and declining power-sector demand with helpfully timed payments to report positive cash flow in the third quarter. Other challenges remain, from debt to GE’s insurance business. Then there’s the existential part.

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.

Boeing has got a bigger than MAX problem

16 Oct 2020

Europe’s aviation regulator said the troubled 737 is safe to fly, sending the $92 bln aircraft producer’s shares up 5%. Even when sales return, ongoing reductions of flight schedules due to Covid-19 will make Boeing’s woes linger. There’s a chance they become permanent.

Thyssenkrupp has strong hand in European steel M&A

16 Oct 2020

The $3 bln German conglomerate received an offer from Liberty Steel, with no price divulged. The good news for Thyssenkrupp investors is that the bid may prompt rival offers. Even better, the cash from a recent elevator sale gives it the time to wait for the best price.

GE’s accounting monster still lurks under the bed

8 Oct 2020

As if the conglomerate’s weak cash flows weren’t problem enough, boss Larry Culp may soon have to field an SEC lawsuit over GE’s misadventures in insurance, which long predate his arrival. A bigger problem, though, is GE Capital’s potential for creating bigger, nastier surprises.

UK plc puts its money where Rolls-Royce’s mouth is

1 Oct 2020

Boris Johnson’s government is backstopping the struggling jet-engine maker with nearly 1 bln pounds in loan guarantees. Yet the support hinges on shareholders coughing up double that. It’s a reasonable way to prop up a vital British business while minimising taxpayers’ exposure.

Rare creature spotted in Finland: merger of equals

1 Oct 2020

Industrial groups Konecranes and Cargotec are crunching together. Shareholders of each will own half of the new 4 bln euro entity, equally feast on 100 mln euros in annual cost savings, and split the board evenly. Jointly picking the CEO makes for an unusually balanced alliance.

Veolia raises the tension in French sewage spat

30 Sep 2020

The water-to-waste group upped its bid for Engie’s 30% stake in rival Suez to 3.4 billion euros, a 16% increase. If the state-backed company accepts, it will pile pressure on Suez CEO Bertrand Camus to negotiate a full takeover. If he resists, investors could replace him.