Private Equity

Corona Capital: Davos relocation, Kraft

3 Feb 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Davos plans its annual meeting in Singapore; Kraft ditches Mr. Peanut.

Corona Capital: GDP, Corruption, Norway

28 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. output growth slows from a surge to a gentle trot; Transparency International flags that corruption and pandemic-fighting don’t mix; and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund sees its tech bets pay off.

Corona Capital: UK’s quarantine, U.S. prisons

27 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Britain’s new quarantine rules are weak, but will still hurt the travel industry; and for-profit prisons lose business to the U.S. government.

Leon Black report shoves Apollo in right direction

26 Jan 2021

The private equity firm unveiled shareholder-friendly changes following an investigation into its co-founder’s ties with Jeffrey Epstein. Plans to eliminate supervoting rights and separate Black’s CEO and chairman roles boosted shares. His full retirement would be better still.

Corona Capital: Music deals

26 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Warner Music may take a stake in the music business owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

EQT puts runaway share price to good use

26 Jan 2021

The $28 bln Swedish private equity firm linked to the Wallenbergs is issuing $800 mln of equity to the founders of Exeter, an American property investor. The deal expands its U.S. presence and helps diversify away from lumpy buyouts. While risky and expensive, it may just work.

Corona Capital: Intel, Run on guns

21 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Intel’s new boss gets closer to his big debut. Meanwhile, gunmakers are riding high on social tensions and pandemic angst, but could soon find they have fewer friends in high places.

Birkenstock buyout calls for heavy buffing

20 Jan 2021

CVC may buy the maker of strappy sandals worn by Hollywood stars and monks. Private equity has a good history with niche footwear brands, but the German group is already well-run. To justify a mooted 4 bln euro price tag, the new owner would have to target luxury-style margins.

Elliott’s HK exit reflects Asia activist reality

20 Jan 2021

The hedge fund is closing its Hong Kong base and will run its Asian campaigns from Tokyo and London. Moving amid the city’s political strife raises eyebrows, but the region’s rapid growth in shareholder shake-ups is passing China by. Paul Singer’s group is following the money.

KKR owes $1.3 bln debt of gratitude to China

15 Jan 2021

Applied Materials will pay the buyout shop $3.5 bln for smaller peer Kokusai instead of the $2.2 bln agreed in 2019. Beijing has delayed giving its blessing so long that the microchip sector improved. The rare upward price negotiation should help even if the deal falls through.

Xi rewrites China’s rags to riches tale

15 Jan 2021

Zhong Shanshan sits atop Asia’s largest fortune, at $84 bln, thanks to bets in bottled water and vaccines. His rise reflects a new economy, where property and tech bosses have fallen out of favour. But as Beijing frets over stock bubbles, new wealth can be just as easily lost.

Corona Capital: Inflation, Poshmark

14 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Breakingviews panel predicts the end of the free-money era; and Poshmark’s IPO looks overdressed.

Buyout captains’ animal spirits will trump reason

13 Jan 2021

Last year marked a record number of LBOs and $580 billion in total value. Warning shots are ringing: leverage levels are high, bankruptcies are rising and aggressive tactics recently took a hit in U.S. courts. But with coffers filled and low borrowing costs, signs flash go.

Casual-chic fad polishes Permira’s Dr. Martens bet

11 Jan 2021

The buyout firm will list the UK bootmaker after a seven-year turnaround. The IPO will also benefit from rising demand for informal wear, as workers stay home. Valued between peer Deckers and Moncler, the punk icon may be worth 3 bln pounds, roughly 10 times Permira’s investment.

Corona Capital: KKR/music, IMF

11 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Private equity giant KKR buys a stake in hip OneRepublic music royalties; and the International Monetary Fund half-heartedly bumps up its target lending cushion.

Infrastructure funds get case of private jet envy

11 Jan 2021

GIP has outgunned rival Blackstone with a $4.6 bln bid for Signature Aviation, offering a 51% premium for the aircraft servicer. Catering to the flying habits of the mega-rich is hardly a stable business, though, and private aviation faces climate-change clouds on the horizon.

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.

Cleanup peeks through India’s distressed deal mess

7 Jan 2021

Competing $5 bln bids from Oaktree and Piramal for collapsed housing lender DHFL look closely matched on a mix of criteria. Missed deadlines and mudslinging have marred the process. And yet better recovery rates and a jailed tycoon are good signs for the young insolvency regime.

Corona Capital: Poverty, Beer cans, Budget hotels

24 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Hong Kong’s poverty problem was getting worse even before the virus struck; AB InBev sells the family aluminium to cut debt; Whitbread, owner of hotel chain Premier Inn, tries to get its landlords to share the pain.

Thoma Bravo digs deep in $10 bln rental data LBO

21 Dec 2020

Online rent collector RealPage is a big target for the private equity group’s massive war chest. It’s growing, and data aggregators are highly prized. But the deal looks dependent on hearty growth, without which Thoma Bravo might struggle to make a good return.