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Technology

Activist adds teeth to Ericsson’s turnaround

31 May 2017

Cevian has taken a 5 pct stake in the Swedish telecoms-kit maker. Boss Borje Ekholm’s strategy of slimming down and boosting margins is sound, but lacks credibility as he was on the board when things turned sour. It can’t hurt to have a big investor breathing down his neck.

Samsung gambles on an heirless future

31 May 2017

The South Korean giant will keep a structure that lets Jay Y. Lee keep control with a small stake. But a new left-leaning government might make it harder for the de facto leader to rule this way. Samsung looks unprepared for a future without its scion.

Ravenous investors wolf down fintech IPO scraps

26 May 2017

Financial software group Alfa Financial is floating in the biggest UK offering this year by company value. The pricing looked rich to start with, but investors have since bid it up even higher. Blame a general lack of big listings of late, especially for the fintech-enthused.

French telecoms merit a Macron premium

25 May 2017

The new president has indicated he might sell some of France’s corporate shareholdings. A 23 pct stake in telco Orange looks a logical selloff candidate, which could spark domestic market consolidation. That would give peers like Bouygues, SFR and Iliad a boost as well.

Twin aims push Toshiba, Western Digital to a deal

24 May 2017

The Japanese firm needs cash quickly while its U.S. partner hopes to buy its chip unit on the cheap. Yet Toshiba wants certainty and Western can’t afford to see a rival steal the prize. An $18 bln bid by Western shows the forces pushing the two sides toward an agreement.

Nokia-Apple spat lays bare tech law of the jungle

23 May 2017

The two groups settled a patent row with a deal that includes the U.S. giant buying extra kit, and selling Nokia products in Apple stores. Patent wars may appear to be about legal rights and wrongs. They’re really just a fight over who gets what share of the value chain.

Clarity missing from SoftBank’s $100 bln Vision

22 May 2017

Japanese maverick Masayoshi Son has closed the first round of his huge tech fund. If he can find more gems like Alibaba, this could be a bonanza for SoftBank investors. For now, he has kept them in the dark without crucial details on everything from fees to profit sharing.

Elliott turns activist hose on burning Bush

18 May 2017

Medical-software firm Athenahealth trades at a big discount to rivals after expanding poorly and often missing estimates. Elliott’s 9 pct stake in the $5 bln company should allow it to douse colorful and erratic founder Jonathan Bush’s role as boss or force an outright sale.

SoftBank tests India’s taste for foreign finance

18 May 2017

The Japanese company is investing $1.4 bln into the parent of Paytm, India's top digital payments provider. The trick will be to square it with rules requiring local control of such businesses. Luckily, China's Jack Ma, an existing investor, is an expert in pushing boundaries.

Alibaba’s $6bln buyback disrupts financial reality

18 May 2017

Repurchasing shares will offset dilution from paying staff in equity, the Chinese e-commerce giant says. Only, buybacks don’t do that as they leave companies with less cash. Alibaba is replacing one pretence – that investors should ignore stock-based compensation – with another.

SoftBank’s $100 bln fund looms over satellite deal

18 May 2017

The Japanese telco's OneWeb unit is offering creditors in rival Intelsat slightly better terms, while giving its shareholders less. Boss Masayoshi Son had to find a way to get this merger done, without making it so costly it could not be folded into his new mega-fund.

Elliott leaves slim Citrix pickings for LBO shops

16 May 2017

Private equity has tons of cash and loves software. So targeting the $13 bln remote-desktop-access company seems smart. Yet activist Elliott’s push for cuts and new execs has already paid off. Making Citrix an acquisition machine may mark a return to an inglorious past.

IPO hopeful YayYo must think investors are on dope

16 May 2017

A ride-sharing aggregation firm touts itself as the next Uber in TV ads promoting its $50 mln stock sale. YayYo's lack of technology and experience, and its SEC-sanctioned boss, suggest dimmer prospects. Huckster tactics like this risk undermining confidence in public offerings.

WannaCry exposes glitch in tech business model

15 May 2017

Britain’s health service was among users of Microsoft Windows hit by a virus because they hadn’t installed an update. This is, in theory, the user’s fault. But when customers are big, or the result of their negligence is grave, it’s the company that’s likely to end up bearing the cost.

EU could spoil Uber’s cross-country road trip

12 May 2017

Travis Kalanick’s ride-hailing service can be regulated like any other transport firm, according to an EU legal opinion. That actually changes little – many member states already do. The big difference is that it would puncture Uber’s fantasy of European single-market protections.

BT valuation gap will outlast post-scandal reset

11 May 2017

The 30 bln pound UK telco is cutting jobs and executive bonuses after an accounting mess and a profit warning tanked its shares. The moves clean up the past, but BT's future depends heavily on regulators. That should keep the incumbent trading at a discount to nimbler rivals.

Snap lays an egg worthy of Twitter nest

10 May 2017

The messaging app reported its first quarterly results showing a slowdown in user growth. That’s a worrisome trend since its lofty $27 bln value hinges on attracting more people. Meanwhile, rivals are co-opting features. The sheen of being the next new thing is fading fast.

China’s green push will drive out weaker carmakers

10 May 2017

Beijing wants to quadruple annual sales of "new energy" cars to 2 mln by 2020, but is scaling back subsidies. Manufacturers will thus have to boost sales and slash costs. Big companies like BYD, backed by Warren Buffett, can ride out the crunch. Smaller outfits may be less lucky.