Internet

Telecom Italia breakup can please all its masters

15 Feb 2023

The sickly telco needs to cut its 25.4 bln euro debt pile. Selling its fixed-line grid to KKR offers a fix, provided the government gets a stake in the strategic asset. For major investor Vivendi, the upside would be a chance to sell Telecom Italia’s revamped service business.

Malone’s Vodafone bet may take years to pay off

14 Feb 2023

Liberty Global bought 4.9% of the telco conglomerate, joining industry rivals Abu Dhabi’s e& and Xavier Niel. Chairman John Malone knows the $31 bln company well and may hope to influence any breakup. A 2015 investment in UK broadcaster ITV shows he’s willing to sit and wait.

Capital Calls: Cryptocurrency, Chelsea FC

1 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Britain delivers a blow to digital assets by aiming to regulate them the same way as traditional ones, while the UK soccer team’s new owner Todd Boehly splashes the cash.

Capital Calls: AstraZeneca

9 Jan 2023

Concise views on global finance: The drug giant is to pay up to $1.8 bln for U.S. group CinCor Pharma to beef up its kidney and heart businesses.

Yandex split marks end of Russian tech hopes

1 Dec 2022

The group once known as the “Russian Google” may split its international and Russian businesses. Ex-finance minister Alexei Kudrin will head the shrunken local arm. The company’s founders can start anew, but investors in the former Nasdaq darling will likely remain bereft.

Naspers swaps one Tencent headache for another

17 Nov 2022

The South African investor’s valuation discount to its $100 bln stake in the Chinese tech giant has narrowed since it started selling the shares to fund buybacks. But Tencent's plunging value is another factor. Though Naspers' prized asset has become a drag, exiting is tough.

Tencent’s investor giveaway buys welcome respite

16 Nov 2022

The Chinese web giant is handing a $20 bln stake in food delivery firm Meituan to shareholders. The second such move in a year comes on top of increased share buybacks. The focus on boosting returns goes a long way to make up for slowing growth in Tencent’s video-game business.

Capital Calls: American shoppers

16 Nov 2022

Concise views on global finance: Target blamed its ugly quarterly results on consumers pulling back on discretionary items even as fresh government data shows they keep buying loads of stuff.

Vodafone’s misery strengthens Xavier Niel’s hand

15 Nov 2022

The 26 bln pound group’s shares sank 8% after it cut its profit forecast. CEO Nick Read’s efforts to streamline the sprawling telco are getting bogged down by rising costs and weak growth. His new shareholder, the Iliad founder, may push for faster disposals and deeper cost cuts.

Kakao has plenty more data fires to put out

20 Oct 2022

The $16 bln South Korean superapp owner's co-CEO has stepped down following a massive outage. Given how dependent the country is on the company's online services, that's unlikely to quell a rising public backlash. The costs of added rules and regulatory scrutiny will add up.

There’s method to Saudi’s $38 bln gaming madness

11 Oct 2022

Riyadh says it will splash out to become “the ultimate global hub” for gaming by 2030. Saudi and the freewheeling sector are peculiar bedfellows. But with a petrodollar windfall and falling valuations, the kingdom has a good opportunity to make its unlikely vision happen.

Vodafone’s UK merger plan has cost-of-living catch

3 Oct 2022

The $32 bln telecoms group and Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison are in talks to merge their British operations. A deal could unlock cost savings, but shareholders so far seem unenthused. It may be harder for watchdogs to accept lower competition while customers reel from higher prices.

Capital Calls: Tesla greases supply-chain fears

3 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $760 bln electric-car maker manufactured more vehicles in the third quarter but delivered fewer than analysts were expecting, raising fresh concerns about the industry’s ability to get production running smoothly again.

Capital Calls: Google and gaming

30 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The search giant is binning “cloud gaming” service Stadia three years after its launch.

Vodafone’s new activist is mixed investor blessing

21 Sep 2022

French tycoon Xavier Niel bought 2.5% of the $34 bln telecoms company. That will cheer fellow shareholders, like Cevian Capital, who are pushing CEO Nick Read to simplify the group. Yet the risk is that Niel is more interested in getting hold of its Italian assets on the cheap.

Capital Calls: Richemont’s activist spat

7 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: Shareholders at the Cartier owner rejected investor Bluebell’s attempt to install former Bulgari CEO Francesco Trapani on the board.

Big American dreams mark peak China e-commerce

30 Aug 2022

Shares of Alibaba challenger Pinduoduo jumped 15% after smashing earnings expectations. It is doing well chasing down its rival but the company’s march to U.S. shores, inspired by the success of mysterious fast-fashion retailer Shein, is a telling sign of a limited runway at home.

Capital Calls: Paytm protest vote

22 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: A majority of the Indian fintech posterchild’s public institutional investors voted against the pay of founder and boss Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Capital Calls: Cineworld needed AMC’s apes

19 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The U.K.-based cinema chain is preparing for bankruptcy, according to the Wall Street Journal, while similarly debt-beleaguered AMC is still standing – an object lesson in the power of becoming a favorite of retail traders.

Alibaba offers false ray of China’s economic dawn

4 Aug 2022

Quarterly revenue at the $260 bln e-commerce giant was flat, beating horrid expectations. As lockdowns ease, the hope is that consumers will spend more. But online advertisers, Alibaba’s core customers, are cutting budgets, suggesting a protracted slowdown is on its way.