Internet

Capital Calls: Microsoft’s Russian hacker

22 Jan 2024

Concise views on global finance: The $3 trln tech firm disclosed that a nation-state hack accessed leaders’ email, saying it showed the need for potentially “disruptive” measures. It’s a worrying acknowledgement of the still-vague costs of geopolitical tensions for tech giants.

Ola IPO will drive Indian EVs back to the future

19 Jan 2024

The SoftBank-backed e-scooter maker is revving up to go public at a mooted $8 bln valuation. The deal, plus a burgeoning home market, marks a moment reminiscent of an earlier mania for Chinese upstarts like Nio. Investors hoping for a similar ride, though, may be disappointed.

HPE’s Juniper deal magnifies power of competition

10 Jan 2024

Buying the networking-gear maker for $14 bln is designed to cash in on AI growth. Despite riding the internet boom, however, Juniper has generated less than half the return of the S&P 500 Index since its IPO 24 years ago. It’s a timely lesson on how robust rivalries erode profit.

Samsung is primed to seize AI chipmaking crown

9 Jan 2024

The $390 bln Korean giant could become a one-stop shop for AI semiconductors. Losses in its memory chip unit are probably shrinking, and it is bulking up in logic chips and packaging. Samsung is rapidly moving towards a level of integration that could give it an edge over TSMC.

T-Mobile’s climb to top dog risks winner’s curse

8 Jan 2024

The US telecom’s decade-long rise, sealed by 2020’s Sprint merger, has lapped rivals AT&T and Verizon and triggered an $8 bln payout for backer SoftBank. The tie-up threatened unshakable dominance. But now, newer cable entrants may wrench open the market much as T-Mobile did.

Temu hurts Amazon more than it helps

4 Jan 2024

The $1.5 trln e-commerce giant is defending itself against FTC Chair Lina Khan. The Chinese retailer and rival Shein’s quick seizure of market share could keep her happy. Less thrilled will be Amazon’s own shareholders, who have added some $660 bln to its market cap in a year.

Dead power deal shows limits of M&A futurology

2 Jan 2024

Avangrid and PNM have given up on a $8 bln merger after three years of waiting for regulatory approval. Yet investors repeatedly priced the target as if the tie-up were in the bag. Political twists can easily wrong-foot arbitrageurs. Trouble is, such twists may get more common.

China policy risk returns as stock market grinch

22 Dec 2023

Shares in Tencent and NetEase plunged after surprise new curbs from Beijing on video-game spending and rewards. It smacks of President Xi Jinping’s crackdowns on private tutoring, tech and other sectors – and gives overseas investors another reason to be wary jumping back in.

EU payments tie-up would build wider M&A defence

11 Dec 2023

Worldline’s market value has shrunk by 60% to $5 bln in a year, making it vulnerable to a takeover by US rivals. Teaming up with Italian peer Nexi is a worthy alternative. While sorting out the ownership structure looks tricky, the reward is greater regional clout and savings.

Fourth is with Jana in communications-space wars

8 Dec 2023

The pushy hedge fund wants $5 bln fiber-network builder Frontier to auction itself. Three of its other recent campaigns in the industry – at CyrusOne, Vonage and Zayo – all led to deals. This one’s a tougher sell, but there’s probably a buyer willing to pay a modest premium.

AI investments carry whiff of vicious circles past

29 Nov 2023

Turmoil at Microsoft-backed OpenAI lays bare governance risks for such tie-ups. A linked, and equally concerning, problem is tech titans injecting capital in exchange for revenue, inflating valuations in the process. The mutual back-scratching evokes dangers of the dot-com era.

Richemont digital strategy goes back to square one

29 Nov 2023

The Swiss group’s sale of its YNAP online platform is in doubt due to troubles at US-listed buyer Farfetch. Extracting itself from the deal, though potentially messy, looks the best option for the Cartier owner. Yet that still leaves Chairman Johann Rupert with an old problem.

Capital Calls: Goodyear, Target

15 Nov 2023

Concise views on global finance: By offloading assets, the 125-year-old tire maker is succumbing to a similar overhaul as many other iconic US industrial centenarians; the $60 bln retailer has finally taken aim at what it can control – keeping watch over inventory and costs.

Vodafone CEO M&A job boosts Italy deal confidence

14 Nov 2023

After successfully offloading the telco’s UK and Spanish arms, Margherita Della Valle may sell all or part of its slowing Italian business. Rival Iliad is the top contender. But the division is now worth perhaps 2 bln euros less than what tycoon Xavier Niel offered last year.

Lina Khan’s spirit haunts T-Mobile deal ghost

10 Nov 2023

Consumers are suing the $170 bln telecom company for its deal with Sprint. Given government watchdogs can’t bust up big tech, it seems ambitious. But recent jury verdicts illustrate rising movements against companies. Plus the hassle creates yet another deal impediment.

Telecom Italia rival plan has too many pitfalls

3 Nov 2023

An ex-executive and a fund say the telco could raise 16 bln euros by offloading a Brazilian unit and other assets to slash its debt pile. That would spare it from selling its prized network to KKR. Yet bagging such valuations while executing a multi-step project looks tricky.

Netflix’s future is gaming, not streaming

19 Oct 2023

The $155 bln company’s jump in subscribers helped revenue growth pick up pace. But tweaks to its business model will only get tougher with cash-rich rivals Apple and Amazon. Netflix’s shift to gaming is a better bet. Warner Bros Discovery shows it can be a golden goose.

Elon Musk could use X to settle old PayPal spat

18 Oct 2023

The site formerly known as Twitter is testing a $1 fee for users. Its billionaire owner says it’s to fight spam, but customer credit card information also could help turn it into a super-app. Adding payments would challenge a company that unceremoniously dismissed him long ago.

Stolen genetic data points to mutating cyber risk

17 Oct 2023

Biotech firm 23andMe may have fallen victim to hackers, joining other sabotage targets Clorox and MGM. Companies can strengthen their systems, but human error plays a role too – with customers and employees as potential vulnerabilities. That adds a new front to an ongoing battle.

Amazon’s space dreams deserve to be grounded

16 Oct 2023

The tech giant's $10 bln internet-in-the-sky venture is years late and thousands of satellites short in rivaling SpaceX. It may appeal to founder Jeff Bezos and his rocket-maker Blue Origin. But Amazon risks a costly rerun of prior telecom booms that led to painful busts.