Technology

Facebook could do with more Sheryl Sandberg

12 Oct 2017

Mark Zuckerberg's right-hand woman deftly fielded questions about Russia-backed ads and the social network's broader role in society. It was a notable contrast to the bumbling way her boss handles the limelight. Sandberg may be better placed to oversee Facebook's next phase.

KKR sets a collision course with Elliott in Japan

12 Oct 2017

The buyout firm raised its bid for a Hitachi subsidiary, offering outside investors $1.3 bln. That price might not satisfy activist shareholder Elliott. KKR may need to sweeten the deal, within reason - its reputation in Tokyo for disciplined buying is worth preserving.

Beijing’s closer embrace is bad news for Big Tech

12 Oct 2017

China wants stakes and board seats at web giants like Tencent, the WSJ says. Beijing is already influential behind the scenes in technology, and given its tightening grip elsewhere, a power grab in this vital sector was all but inevitable. This will nonetheless cost investors.

Honeywell puts Dan Loeb in his place

10 Oct 2017

The conglomerate is spinning off two small, low-margin risky businesses rather than the aerospace unit the activist had targeted. It’s a smarter way for new CEO Darius Adamczyk to improve returns without much pain, especially on top of the better margins he’s already producing.

New Ericsson chair half-solves governance problems

9 Oct 2017

Ronnie Leten had a successful eight-year run at Atlas Copco. His arrival as chairman of the embattled Swedish telecom group will help make up for the CEO’s relative lack of experience. But both men’s links to long-term shareholder Investor AB make a radical overhaul less likely.

China’s oil giants brace for electric car crash

9 Oct 2017

Beijing's move against gasoline means tough times ahead for the country's oil majors. The rapid push into new energy vehicles will curb demand for imported hydrocarbons, but at the expense of state giants like Sinopec and PetroChina. It might also pressure crude prices.

Server-farm growth fuels hot IPO mumbo jumbo

6 Oct 2017

Rocketing data-storage demand is creating winners – witness the 46 pct rise in Switch in its first day of trading. It also encourages silliness such as the company crediting its performance on CEO and “inventrepreneur” Rob Roy’s practice of “Switchful Thinking.”

Buyout giants break through the ice in Japan

6 Oct 2017

Western private equity firms are no longer getting a frosty reception in Tokyo. Bain’s $18 bln deal for Toshiba’s chip unit is a special case, but rival KKR has notched up big deals with Nissan, Hitachi and Panasonic. Patience helps. So does a sense of crisis among sellers.

Viewsroom: Building the car for the future

5 Oct 2017

Ford boss Jim Hackett’s plan to catch up with rival GM on electric and self-driving vehicles starts with $14 bln of cost cuts. China may be in pole position as it considers banning gasoline cars entirely. But plenty of factors could delay mass adoption of new technology.

Office Depot photocopies M&A flop

4 Oct 2017

The chain store is jumping into IT services by forking over $1 bln for CompuCom. But its attempt to diversify has a bad track record: Dell, HP and Xerox tried it and failed. The 16 pct drop in Office Depot’s value implies investors reckon the deal won’t stop flagging sales.

Europe faces bigger tax foe than Amazon and Apple

4 Oct 2017

The bloc’s antitrust chief ordered Luxembourg to collect 250 mln euros from the e-commerce giant. She is also pursuing Ireland over a 13 bln euro Apple case. The EU is winning the loophole battle. But a bigger war to level the global tax playing field may meet U.S. intransigence.

Ford is playing catch-up with General Motors

3 Oct 2017

GM’s stock hit a record high after the largest U.S. automaker detailed plans for robotaxis and 20 new electric cars. It raises the bar for Ford CEO Jim Hackett. His new strategy needs concrete goals, especially on driverless vehicles and cost controls, to protect its premium to GM.

Anil Ambani’s telecoms empire is slipping away

3 Oct 2017

Now that a merger of its mobile unit has failed, the Indian tycoon is running out of options to keep control of his flagship Reliance Communications while reducing its $7 bln of debt. One creditor has already petitioned for insolvency. Others may soon run out of patience too.

Rivals circle Taiwan’s TSMC in new chip era

3 Oct 2017

Morris Chang, father of Taiwan's chip sector, is retiring at 86. His successors were groomed for years to take over the $189 bln behemoth Chang founded three decades ago. They'll need to work hard to defend TSMC's dominance against Samsung and rising mainland competitors.

Review: Ellen Pao cracked door for women in tech

29 Sep 2017

In "Reset," the venture capitalist recounts her decision to fight Kleiner Perkins in court over sexism, rather than settling. She lost, but several women have since publicly confronted the bro-culture of Silicon Valley at Uber, SoFi and beyond, yielding more promising results.

Expect buybacks but not M&A from China’s Sina

29 Sep 2017

An activist wants the $8 bln web group to consider a sale or a merger with subsidiary Weibo. The former would never get past boss Charles Chao, and the latter is a bad idea. But Chao could compromise by expanding the board, stepping up buybacks and handing out more Weibo shares.

TaskRabbit deal reveals what even IKEA can’t build

28 Sep 2017

The Swedish furniture giant has bought the odd-job app. Though the price is undisclosed, it's a rare tech acquisition that makes sense given how much of TaskRabbit's business must be assembling Billy bookcases and such. By contrast, most startup M&A has been poorly constructed.

Lyft IPO would amplify Uber’s troubles

28 Sep 2017

The ride-hailing firm is readying to go public as early as next year, Reuters reports. It would be an opportunistic way to capitalize on its larger rival’s self-inflicted damage. Additional capital for the No. 2 U.S. player would merely compound the frontrunner’s injuries.

Rocket Internet rejig exposes valuation mismatch

28 Sep 2017

The German tech investor is jettisoning half its stake in Delivery Hero for 660 mln euros. That’s welcome, but investors still don’t trust boss Oliver Samwer with the cash. Unless he pledges to return more of it to shareholders, Rocket’s stratospheric discount will persist.

Toshiba swaps electronic for financial engineering

28 Sep 2017

A bizarre $18 bln buyout of its memory unit keeps voting control in Japan, while customers and rivals from Apple to SK Hynix provide cash. The deal could also be re-cut thanks to a spat with JV partner Western Digital. The confusion means the risk of a Toshiba delisting persists.