Water

Investors add $10 trln activist wrench to H2O risk

22 Aug 2022

Water has long played second fiddle to emissions in battling climate change. Now Fidelity, DWS and 62 other money managers want big users from McDonalds to Microsoft to better manage and protect the resource. With droughts and floods set to inundate earnings, it’s past time.

Climate-change money will flow freely to Plan B

24 Dec 2021

COP26’s so-so outcome makes damaging temperature rises more likely. At some point, optimal portfolios may require guns and canned food. Until then investors will lean towards shares in Syngenta, Veolia and other companies that aid adaptation to global warming not just mitigation.

Sudan coup throws rock into choppy Nile waters

28 Oct 2021

The army has seized power in Khartoum, pushing it back into diplomatic isolation. Sudan and Egypt had existing gripes with Ethiopia over the damming of the mighty river. Removing Khartoum’s veneer of civilian rule risks future spats over Nile water use spiralling into conflict.

Guest view: Climate’s lessons for the water crisis

27 Aug 2021

Tackling carbon emissions is at last mainstream thanks to data, science, a clear message and plenty of capital. Martijn Wilder, co-founder of climate advisory and investment firm Pollination, argues that drawing on those can help alleviate worsening floods and water scarcity.

Capital Calls: Salmon, M&S, Sydney airport, BHP

20 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: SalMar places $1.3 bln order for Norway Royal Salmon; the UK retailer’s improving fortunes may ward off predators; the Australian firm provides scant evidence for rejection of a $16 bln takeover bid; Santiago dings the Aussie miner over water use.

Intel offers pointers to ease U.S. water crises

17 Aug 2021

A federal agency is for the first time slashing how much the Colorado River supplies to some states. Climate change means the problem may in time affect California. The chip giant’s efforts to save water in Arizona show how business can help mitigate problems caused by aridity.

Capital Calls: BlackRock/Exxon, Media deals, SPACs

25 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: The giant asset manager will vote for three dissident nominees for Exxon Mobil’s board; boutique adviser LionTree has benefited from a rash of media deals; Lordstown Motors show why blank-check merger projections can’t be relied upon.

French water fight ends in honourable $15 bln draw

12 Apr 2021

After months of feuding, Veolia is buying the 70% of rival Suez it doesn’t own for 20.5 euros a share. Target boss Bertrand Camus has squeezed a few extra euros from his suitor. Meanwhile Veolia gets to keep its big prize: 500 mln euros of cost savings in North and South America.

Capital Calls: Bling deal

6 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Signet, the owner of jewelers Zales and Kay, is buying rental firm Rocksbox.

Capital Calls: Sports versus the Trump slump

26 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Political news startup Axios may merge with sports site The Athletic.

Banks’ climate pledges suffer from water scarcity

22 Mar 2021

It barely gets a mention in Wall Street’s net-zero goals. Yet water accounts for a good slug of carbon emissions and 90% of global warming-related crises from U.S. droughts to Australia’s floods. Banks can speed toward sustainable finance by paying attention to the resource.

Suez brings water pistol to French sewage shootout

22 Mar 2021

CEO Bertrand Camus proposed carving up the group or swallowing an “irreversible” poison pill if Veolia doesn’t raise its 11.3 bln euro bid. Rival boss Antoine Frérot can afford to pay more. But in the absence of other bidders he can first try to kick out Suez’s board.

Veolia gambles on Suez shareholder showdown

11 Mar 2021

The French group sweetened its 11.3 bln euros bid by pledging not to dismantle its target’s domestic waste and water business. Handing the unit to infrastructure fund Meridiam should reassure politicians and unions. All Suez CEO Bertrand Camus can do is haggle for a higher price.

Capital Calls: Super Bowl, Poison pills, Experian

8 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: America’s game doesn’t benefit from scarcity value; Cubic’s poison pill serves a purpose; And Brazil’s cyberattack has a price for Experian.

Singapore’s bid for insolvency tourism is at risk

8 Oct 2020

The city-state picked elements of both U.S. and UK bankruptcy law to boost its attractiveness for hosting corporate workouts. But the glacial resolution of water treatment giant Hyflux could discourage the creditors the city needs to support its campaign to become a genuine hub.

Budging a little can win Veolia its trash crown

4 Sep 2020

Suez’s biggest shareholder Engie wants a higher offer from its waste rival. Veolia’s debt concerns give it only limited leeway. Still, a hike to 17 euros a share would give Suez investors a premium over pre-pandemic levels and still leave the buyer with an acceptable return.

Veolia’s trash dominance drive is worth the money

31 Aug 2020

The French water-and-waste group is at last pouncing on rival Suez. The 15.50 euros a share cash bid for Engie’s 30% stake is ballsy as a full takeover will face antitrust scrutiny. Yet the returns look attractive. Jumping on the green economy bandwagon should pay off over time.

Chinese beverage IPO turns water into beer

31 Aug 2020

Nongfu Spring, the country’s answer to Evian, is being valued at about $31 bln, or a bubbly 41 times profit. That’s less akin to its closest consumer peers and more like brewers such as Tsingtao. Markets and China are recovering, but there’s also some glass-half-full thinking.

Burst Michigan dams send pollution risk to surface

27 May 2020

Flooding after heavy rain almost reached a Dow chemical-storage site. That’s one crisis averted, but in general, companies pay too little attention to water contamination. Its effects are vast and are part of recent high-profile legal fights. But cleaning up won’t break the bank.

Earth Day’s 50th comes at just the right moment

22 Apr 2020

Half a century ago, Americans protested in droves for cleaner air and water. But progress has slowed, or been undone, while air pollution costs the global economy $3 trln a year. The pandemic has given a taste of a less smoggy world that could bolster efforts to cut emissions.