Social Media

Italian Insta-star IPO to test influencer model

12 Oct 2020

Fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni wants to monetise her lifestyle brand with a market debut worth nearly $100 mln. The social media celeb counts 21 mln fans and links to Dior and Lancôme. A deal would test investor faith that digital-inspired businesses are more than skin-deep.

Everyone looks like a deal amateur in TikTok mess

25 Sep 2020

U.S. orders to divest assets are often straightforward. But dizzying contradictions from both dealmakers and the White House have given ByteDance a free pass around rules to sell TikTok. The resulting chaos obscures the stakes: handling data security and foreign takeover laws.

U.S. WeChat ban adopts China’s Great Firewall

22 Sep 2020

A U.S. judge gave WeChat a break from an order barring downloads to protect national security. But the White House still wants to push out Chinese tech, echoing Beijing bans of American internet firms. It’s a road map for more censorship and ups the ante on online protectionism.

Mulan flounder previews Hollywood’s next red scare

22 Sep 2020

Disney was slammed for shooting the $200 mln movie in restive Xinjiang, yet the release was widely panned in China too. Despite the pandering, Hollywood can’t get what it wants from the film market. Beijing is also unhappy. Studios are next in line for a trade-war screening.

Trump writes cliffhanger into TikTok reality show

18 Sep 2020

The White House will stop Americans from downloading the video app and WeChat, both Chinese-owned. The plot centers on national-security worries but the immediate drama is of the U.S. president's making. Shifting a TikTok deadline past election day adds to the political intrigue.

TikTok deal rings alarm on M&A reviews

16 Sep 2020

The ByteDance unit hopes to avoid a sale by partnering with Oracle. It hardly amounts to the clean break Donald Trump demanded. The politicking muddies the already challenging process for investments with foreign involvement. It makes cross-border deals that much more difficult.

Facebook will have to grow the hard way

16 Sep 2020

U.S. regulators may file an antitrust lawsuit against the $775 bln firm. The threat has a chilling effect on Facebook’s ability to snap up the next hot thing in social media. To keep up with changing tastes, Mark Zuckerberg is going to have to transform the company from within.

TikTok-Oracle deal leaves room for surprises

13 Sep 2020

ByteDance has chosen Larry Ellison’s firm as the “tech partner” for its video-app unit but any deal that stops short of a full sale will raise national security worries. With raging anti-China rhetoric and elections, Oracle’s ties to U.S. President Donald Trump are no cure-all.

Corona Capital: Bumble IPO, SPACs

2 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The Blackstone-backed dating site may be eyeing an $8 bln valuation if it goes public next year, more than twice its pre-virus price tag. Ex-MGM exec Harry Sloan adds online gaming to his blank-check company empire.

Corona Capital: TikTok, India’s GDP

31 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Video app Triller says it has offered $20 bln for parts of its much larger rival, but the bid makes no sense; India’s virus-hit economy is probably hurting more than the latest figures suggest.

TikTok starts to attract a FOMO premium

27 Aug 2020

Walmart’s interest in teaming up with Microsoft to buy the China-backed video app makes sense only in that TikTok is one of a kind, and ByteDance is a forced seller. Like rival bidder Oracle, Walmart is taking a strategic detour. History offers sad examples of how that can end.

TikTok CEO exit makes chaos even harder to tame

27 Aug 2020

Kevin Mayer is leaving after three months. It's no surprise with the video app owned by China's ByteDance facing a split and sale or a U.S. ban. But a buyer, be it Microsoft, Oracle or otherwise, could have used his help – after all, he has 100 days more experience than they do.

TikTok could find a new home on Wall Street

21 Aug 2020

Potential suitors for the Chinese-backed video app go from logical – such as Twitter – to downright odd, like Oracle. But owner ByteDance could do worse than try a buyout firm like Blackstone. Private equity could bridge financial gaps and push the right political buttons.

Tencent’s D.C. lobbying is too little, too late

19 Aug 2020

WeChat's owner made its first hire to influence Washington amid a threat to ban the Chinese app. Huawei boosted government efforts after its finance chief was arrested. TikTok was less flat-footed but still tardy. Courting politicians works better before their help is needed.

TikTok sale is ultimate Silicon Valley hackathon

14 Aug 2020

The White House wants the U.S. app to make a clean break from China’s ByteDance. But it is messy. Tech footprints are hard to unwind. ByteDance’s investors – some American – aren’t pushovers. And politics are tricky, from weighing a cash Microsoft bid to a Twitter stock deal.

U.S.-China tech spat is less costly than tariffs

14 Aug 2020

The two nations will review their trade deal as the White House refocuses on a purge of Chinese apps. The economic damage is more limited than tariffs, which upended companies and hurt consumers on both sides. Containing the trade fight is more important than saving TikTok.

India is the neglected elephant in TikTok’s room

10 Aug 2020

Microsoft and Twitter want pieces of the Chinese video app, but seem uninterested in its largest market by users. There may be practical reasons, given Western tech giants remain welcome in India. But they might also fear New Delhi will give local copycats a helping hand.

Joe Biden would grapple with Big Tech, too

5 Aug 2020

Donald Trump’s interventions over the TikTok app are unusual. But national security worries are bipartisan. Both candidates are also suspicious of tech giants, for different reasons. Though Silicon Valley donors have more in common with Biden, they can expect friction either way.

China tech will double-down in Southeast Asia

5 Aug 2020

As Washington and New Delhi block Chinese apps, fast-growing markets like Indonesia and Vietnam have gained importance for mainland technology firms. Early movers like Alibaba found limited traction in the region, but the next wave is nimbler, and may enjoy more success.

Staid Microsoft gets a viral gift from TikTok

4 Aug 2020

The least cool tech giant has outperformed most of its rivals to reach a $1.6 trln value. Owning the popular video app could finally bring buzz and ad dollars. There are political risks, and buying only part of TikTok may be messy. But potential financial gains make up for it.