Internet

Reverse takeover gives New Zealand a Mega headache

25 Mar 2014

The cloud storage company founded by Kim Dotcom is planning a $179 mln backdoor IPO. The internet entrepreneur, who is fighting extradition for online piracy, has already caused much embarrassment for local authorities. A stock market listing for Mega would add a financial sore.

GrubHub IPO includes needless flavor enhancers

24 Mar 2014

Investors are surely working up an appetite for the $1.7 bln U.S. online takeout service, as well as for its European peer Just Eat. Mobile device use should feed healthy expansion. But GrubHub’s prospectus flatters its growth. There’s the latest in not-so-tasty new metrics, too.

Google co-founder’s will may go Elon Musk’s way

20 Mar 2014

Larry Page is considering leaving his money to the Tesla and SpaceX boss. Musk doesn’t need the cash, of course, but his companies pursue green power, space colonization and other projects that Page cares about. It’s a reminder that doing well can be one path to doing good.

Valuing Tencent’s chat app remains an act of faith

20 Mar 2014

The Chinese web giant has finally shed some light on its popular messaging platform. Revenue figures show WeChat is morphing from an app into a business. But sparse details on costs and regulatory risks make future earnings anyone’s guess. Valuations are based largely on hope.

Weibo IPO sets low bar for Alibaba

17 Mar 2014

The Chinese microblog, which has filed for a listing, combines rapid growth with a trail of legal risks. Like Silicon Valley peers, dual-class shares restrict meddling by public investors. It’s a troubling omen for the looming Alibaba IPO, where the stakes will be even higher.

China’s bureaucrats flex muscles at Tencent

14 Mar 2014

The central bank has unexpectedly halted a mobile payment system used by the tech giant, knocking its shares 4 pct. Tencent’s soaring market value suggests investors have been more focused on growth potential than regulatory risks. The episode is a much needed wake-up call.

Amazon Prime is about locking in, not loading up

13 Mar 2014

The internet retailer is upping the cost of its free shipping program. That could add $400 mln to its skinny bottom line. But that’s not the point. The increase barely covers inflation since Prime started. The bigger goal is to boost the top line by changing customer behavior.

Alibaba film deal adds to China internet frenzy

13 Mar 2014

The e-commerce giant bought 60 pct of Hong-Kong listed ChinaVision for $804 mln. Now the film group’s market value has soared to $5 bln. Being owned by Alibaba may be good for business, but details are scant. Star-struck investors are too easily excited by China’s internet hype.

China internet duo join forces against common foe

10 Mar 2014

Tencent is injecting its also-ran e-commerce units and $215 million into online retailer JD.com for a 15 percent pre-IPO stake. More importantly, the two will collaborate on mobile commerce. Both companies have the same objective: erode rival Alibaba’s dominant market share.

When denials can be as instructive as the truth

7 Mar 2014

Goldman’s elevator annotator failed for a denial of identity. Bitcoin’s fingered father rejects founding the crypto-currency. From this shadowy world, such confusion is expected. Not so among systemically important insurers, where Pimco’s “Bond King” Bill Gross reigns supreme.

EBay could have it both ways with PayPal

6 Mar 2014

The online merchant thinks owning a payments unit is symbiotic. But activist Carl Icahn says the businesses would be worth more separated. EMC garnered some of the best of both worlds by partially spinning off VMware. The same approach at eBay could defuse the tension.

China’s internet still has room for the little guy

5 Mar 2014

Shares of YY, a lesser known social network, rose 14.9 pct after it beat estimates. YY has two things going for it: some unusual technology, and positive earnings. That may not be enough to elbow aside China’s tech giants, but down the line it might help it get bought by one.

PayPal has outgrown eBay’s warm embrace

27 Feb 2014

The online merchant’s ownership provided rich soil for the payments system to thrive. But PayPal is now mature enough to grow faster on its own. Separating the two businesses could send eBay’s stock up 15 percent or more.

SoftBank’s Alibaba stake both blessing and burden

27 Feb 2014

Billionaire chief Masayoshi Son is expanding the Japanese internet firm through M&A. But its 37 pct stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant dominates its valuation, according to a Breakingviews calculator. When Alibaba goes public, SoftBank may come under pressure to let it go.

Bubbly AO float shows craving for tech hits

26 Feb 2014

Selling fridges online isn’t quite Twitter. Yet Britain’s AO popped 40 pct after floating at 1.2 bln stg. The valuation takes breakneck future expansion for granted. Investors like new stock and entrepreneurs, and will pay up for growth based on disrupting existing industries.

Target $1 bln breach rings bell for Luddite bosses

26 Feb 2014

Combine lost Q4 sales and possible future costs, and that could be the U.S. retailer’s minimum tab for the theft of up to 110 mln customer records, Breakingviews estimates. It’s a meaningful sum for any company. There’s no excuse now for CEOs and boards to dally on cybercrime.

China internet Godzilla moment is in the making

26 Feb 2014

Like the nuclear waste that spawned the fictional monster, China’s peculiar conditions – from scale to censorship – have allowed tech behemoths to grow. Can they run rampage outside their home market? Tencent has a good chance; e-commerce group Alibaba may find it harder going.

Who bails out bitcoin depositors?

25 Feb 2014

The pseudo-currency’s main exchange has disappeared from cyberspace, leaving customers at least temporarily bereft. Bitcoin’s supposed attraction is being government-free. When things go awry, users learn why conventional finance has expensive regulation and political backstops.

Weibo IPO plan stretches financial logic

25 Feb 2014

Listing a $500 million stake in China’s version of Twitter looks like a response to sky-high tech valuations. But investors can already buy shares in parent Sina, whose value is mostly made up of Weibo already. They should be skeptical about the idea that two plus two is five.

Icahn’s eBay rant also targets Silicon Valley club

24 Feb 2014

The activist is taking aim at board conflicts at the online auctioneer as he agitates for a spinoff of PayPal. It’s true that VC honcho Marc Andreessen, for one, is omnipresent in tech and hasn’t proved a great director at HP. But Icahn is taking on a culture bigger than eBay’s.