Transportation

UK shunts Trainline into financial slow track

20 May 2021

The 1.5 billion pound rail ticket website’s shares fell 30% on concerns that a state-backed app will topple its dominance. They are likely to fall further as greater competition squeezes profitability. KKR’s decision to IPO the business two years ago looks all the more timely.

Capital Calls: JPMorgan, FirstGroup, Break fees

18 May 2021

Concise insights on global finance: Jamie Dimon is shuffling his deputies; the UK bus-to-rail group’s sale of its U.S. businesses to EQT has hit an investor revolt; deals involving AT&T and Canadian National Railway highlight the fees due for walking away.

Capital Calls: Train bidding war

14 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: Canadian National increases its bid for U.S.-based Kansas City Southern.

Hertz Robinhood squad is right for wrong reasons

13 May 2021

The rental-car firm’s shares retained value through a restructuring process, partly thanks to retail investors' enthusiasm. After a bankruptcy-exit auction, shareholders are set to collect cash, shares and such worth over $1 billion. Next time, disappointment is more likely.

Capital Calls: Amazon EU tax win, Scooter SPAC

21 Jan 2022

Concise views on global finance: Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce giant wins a victory over the European Union, but the battle has already moved on; Bird’s $2.3 billion price tag is relatively high but less pie-in-the-sky than some recent deals.

Uber’s path to profitability runs through rides

5 May 2021

Food-delivery sales helped plug holes left by a 65% decline in revenue for the rides division. Yet carting people has been profitable through the pandemic while delivering food has not. As the recovery takes hold, the app’s core business will put it in the black.

Customers can win, too, in big U.S. mergers

4 May 2021

It’s easy to doubt trustbusters’ ability to hold giant companies to account. But as railroads have shown, consolidation doesn’t mean that end users are gouged. Shareholders have won out, too, suggesting there is give-and-take. That’s the best regulators can hope for.

EQT pays an electrifying price for U.S. bus ride

23 Apr 2021

The Swedish buyout group is acquiring two of travel operator FirstGroup’s North American units for $4.6 bln. It’s a punchy valuation. To earn a decent return, EQT will have to boost growth by converting the iconic yellow school bus network into a fleet of clean electric vehicles.

Trains counterbid has reasons to go off the rails

20 Apr 2021

Canadian National’s $34 bln offer for railroad operator Kansas City Southern thumps rival Canadian Pacific’s bid. Both offers push financial and regulatory limits. In a sector chugging towards consolidation, the interloper has little to lose by trying to thwart its competitor.

Grab’s $40 bln debut comes with twin airbags

13 Apr 2021

The Southeast Asian taxi-to-fintech firm is going public at a sales multiple twice Uber’s. U.S. SPAC sponsor Altimeter is contributing to a $4 bln PIPE and signing a long lockup. It’s a smart way to underwrite an amped-up valuation and sets a template to speed others to market.

TuSimple $8 bln IPO destination looks out of range

8 Apr 2021

It values the self-driving truck firm run by financiers and a gamer at 4,260 times 2020 sales. Volkswagen’s Traton, UPS and others are partners. But autonomous vehicles are years off, TuSimple is hauling a load of governance issues and has an investor in a U.S. regulatory probe.

Didi’s IPO could be as bumpy as Dida’s

7 Apr 2021

The Chinese ride-hailing firm is navigating toward public markets and a $100 bln valuation. Its smaller, similarly named rival's listing effort has stalled in Hong Kong after hitting regulatory, legal, and operational potholes. Didi will have to buckle up for a comparable ride.

Trains deal takes regulatory risk on a round trip

1 Apr 2021

Canadian Pacific can effectively close its $25 bln takeover of Kansas City Southern before watchdogs approve the deal, because of a quirk of U.S. rail regulation. Sellers’ shareholders get paid out. But the combined company shoulders regulatory risk in a more complicated way.

Biden’s $2 trln road trip can’t start soon enough

31 Mar 2021

Republicans think the president’s infrastructure plan is too big; progressive Democrats think it’s too small. The cost is deceptive because projects still have to surmount local politics and red tape. The main thing is to agree something so that investment and jobs can follow.

Capital Calls: New York, Allegro exit

17 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The Big Apple reigns in a new ranking of global cities, but the prize isn’t what it was; shareholders in Polish e-commerce group Allegro sell down early.

Capital Calls: WeWork, HSBC offices, Wells Fargo

23 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Co-founder Adam Neumann may get a big payment for failure after all; The bank’s plan to shrink its property footprint recalls an earlier effort; And the scandal-plagued lender takes another small step towards rehabilitation.

Europe is now the main front in gig economy war

19 Feb 2021

Britain’s top court ruled that a group of Uber drivers are entitled to worker rights. Spain is also cracking down. It’s a stark contrast to America, where a California ballot win gave the sector hope. Tougher rules mean a longer path to profit – and higher prices for consumers.

Uber’s valuation requires both hands on the wheel

10 Feb 2021

Its food delivery unit helped keep it to a 16% drop in quarterly revenue but that service is losing money. Experience from rideshare could help. But its valuation is fully baked relative to peers that operate in one market or the other. That leaves Uber little room for error.

Capital Calls: Jay vs. Larry

10 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Jerome Powell takes on Larry Summers in the inflation debate.

Corona Capital: Indian banks, LBOs, Stellantis

18 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Indian banking guru Aditya Puri gives reasons to be bullish about New Delhi’s lenders at a Breakingviews predictions event; the ECB cracks down on risky loans; carmaker Stellantis gets a boost from passive funds.