Category: Companies

Snap Inc, the parent company of Snapchat, is currently undergoing a love in with institutional investors as it pushes ahead with an ambitious IPO. Initially there were suggestions that the company would be floated with a valuation of between $20 billion and $25 billion. However, the company has since cut this price range to between $19.5 billion and $22.3 billion amid suggestions that the investor roadshow may not be going as well as planned. So, does Snapchat lack ambition or is reality starting to hit home with technology shares?

Definite interest in technology shares

There is most certainly growing interest in technology IPOs and depending upon how the Snapchat deal progresses there could be more to follow. The company announced its plans to float on the stock market in a blaze of glory suggesting it had a higher activity rate amongst its members than other prominent social media channels. This obviously caught the attention of investors because there is no point having millions upon millions of members if they are inactive with no chance of spending. Continue reading “Does Snapchat lack ambition?”

The very fact that he changed his name from Kim Schmitz to Kim Dotcom says everything about the life and times of well, Kim Dotcom. This is a man who has attracted the attention of US authorities for the last five years after his Megaupload filesharing website was closed down. The US authorities filed charges of conspiracy, racketeering and money laundering against Kim Dotcom and three of his colleagues. The fact that he lives in New Zealand has frustrated the US authorities and the extradition process has been painfully slow to say the least. However, is Kim Dotcom now on his way to the US to finally face the music?

Extradition request granted

There have been many court cases over the years and indeed at one point Kim Dotcom was arrested by the New Zealand authorities only to be released on bail. The array of charges which Kim Dotcom and his colleagues face could see them facing decades in prison if they were proven in the US. Therefore, it is no surprise to learn that the party are fighting tooth and nail to avoid extradition to the US where their case already seems to be a done deal. Continue reading “Is Kim Dotcom going to the US to face the music?”

Anglo Dutch giant Unilever has today rejected an indicative takeover offer from US group Kraft Heinz which is believed to be between £100 billion and £115 billion. The company’s share price increased by 12% on the stock market today as investors woke up to this surprising news. So, where does this leave Unilever and will Kraft Heinz actually make a firm offer?

Friendly merger

While Unilever has been talking the talk, by rejecting the approach, Kraft Heinz still seems fairly confident it can sit down with Unilever and agreed terms in due course. At this moment in time there is no certainty that an offer will be made but many analysts believe that Unilever is now in play with an array of other companies potentially interested. The merger of Unilever and Kraft Heinz would create a group worth in excess of £200 billion. It is also worth noting that many analysts see significant cost savings if the two groups were to merge. Continue reading “Unilever rejects shock Kraft Heinz offer”

If you look back over the years Apple has been extremely successful in controlling the media and building momentum before the release of new products and new services. We only need to look back at the launch of various iPhones over the years and the mass hysteria on launch night. While the company has been quiet so far, unwilling to officially confirm or deny, it seems certain that the next array of iPhones will have wireless charging.

Deal with chip giant Broadcom

We know that Apple is already working towards a wireless charging product with Broadcom. This was announced some time ago and the companies have been fairly active together over the years. It now seems as though the company is on the verge of delivering a wireless recharging service for the next generation of iPhones and this could be a game changer. Continue reading “Apple working on wireless charging for iPhone”

When Bernie Ecclestone put in motion the wheels of a takeover of his Formula One empire by US giant Liberty Media, many became concerned at the eventual outcome. In the early days Bernie Ecclestone worked hand-in-hand with his new partners although there was always the intention of selling the whole company to the US giant. Ecclestone is no longer a young man at 86 years of age and with nearly 40 years behind him in charge of Formula One perhaps it is time to hang up his car keys. However, history will dictate that Bernie Ecclestone took Formula One from a by-product to an enormous and extremely valuable sporting legacy.

Takeover by Liberty Media

The $8 billion takeover has now been approved and completed and the first action by the new owners was to strip Bernie Ecclestone of all control giving him a role as “chairman”. In effect he will be an adviser to the main board but just last week one of the main shareholders suggested “don’t call us, we will call you”. What started as a friendly takeover is now in danger of becoming extremely hostile which will not do the sport any good. Continue reading “Bernie Ecclestone forced out of Formula One”

Experts predict a flurry of IPOs over the next few months as the US market hits new highs. The latest to announce plans to list on the stock market is communications darling Snapchat which has a growing fan base and a rumoured $20 billion valuation. Like so many high-value/loss-making technology companies of years gone by it has polarised views. So, why are technology IPOs better off loss-making when they launch on the stock market?

Hope value springs eternal

If you think about it, if a company has a massive fan base, such as Snapchat, which has yet to be monetised what kind of value would you put on the company? Would you value it at $1 million, $10 million, $100 million or $20 billion? Continue reading “Why technology IPOs are better off loss-making”

Whether you watch the Shark Tank, Dragons Den or the array of other extremely popular business investment programmes on the TV, very often it is not quite what it seems. Research in previous years has shown that a significant number of deals agreed on the TV are never followed through in practice. Dragons Den in the UK is rumoured to have a 50% success rate which means that only one in two of those agreed in front of the cameras actually happen. So, do these programs simply play up to the television cameras or are there valid reasons why investments might not occur?

Due diligence

The whole concept of Dragons Den is that business experts are presented with business ideas about which they have no background information. They are given limited time to ask questions about trading, operations, the future, etc and then offered the opportunity to negotiate a potential investment. You only need to look at the faces of some of the “contestants” who secure investment on the programme to see how important it can be to them.

Continue reading “Not all Dragons Den investments actually happen”

While Mark Zuckerberg is a well-known multi billionaire his business career has not always been straightforward and smooth. The initial creation of Facebook was well covered in a recent movie, suggesting he learnt his aggressive business skills at an early age, and the flotation of the company was a PR disaster. However, as quickly as they try to knock the Facebook CEO down he bounces back with new ideas and new investments. So, what does Mark Zuckerberg think about Facebook’s investment in virtual reality?

Oculus and Facebook

When Facebook acquired virtual reality headset maker Oculus back in 2014 for $2 billion many saw this as an income stream which would come online in the short to medium term. After all, virtual reality was the way forward for technology-based companies and a $2 billion investment put down a significant market. However, only this week the company has lost a lawsuit claiming it used stolen computer code and parent company Facebook has been ordered to pay $500 million in damages. Zuckerberg will probably appeal the judgement but the announcement did slightly overshadow Wednesday’s figures from Facebook. Continue reading “Mark Zuckerberg answers questions on Facebook’s virtual reality investment”

Real estate investment trust Invitation Homes Inc is rumoured to have sold 77 million shares at $20 each in its initial public offering. While we await confirmation of the IPO, which would be the largest for more than 12 months, it does show a growing appetite for fundraising. Over the last few days we have seen communications app Snapchat announcing plans for an IPO which would value the company at in excess of $20 billion. So, what does the Invitation Homes Inc fundraising exercise say about the market and the real estate sector?

Priced towards the top end

A regulatory filing by Invitation Homes Inc shows that the company planned to price shares at between $18 and $21. The very fact that this price is towards the higher end of this range would suggest good demand from institutional investors. It has been rumoured for some time that many other large companies are waiting to see how other IPOs perform and whether indeed the much heralded demand for new equity proves correct. When you bear in mind the apparent appetite for the Snapchat IPO and todays rumoured IPO from Invitation Homes Inc surely we can expect a flurry of new companies coming to the market very soon? Continue reading “Invitation Homes Inc raises $1.54 billion in IPO”

When we look back in years to come Tesla will go down as a groundbreaking technology/automobile company which literally changed the world for electric cars. That tends to be the case for groundbreaking companies which are not necessarily appreciated at the time but only on reflection. However, while Tesla has raised billions of dollars from shareholders (and is likely to need more in the future) Elon Musk continues to pull rabbits out of the hat.

The Gigafactory is open for business

Tesla’s much heralded Gigafactory opened for business earlier this month creating yet another business stream for the company. This project, with partner Panasonic Corporation, will roll out an array of technologically groundbreaking lithium ion batteries in Sparks, Nevada. It is sometimes easy to forget that Tesla has the main car manufacturing business, a newly acquired solar power business and the battery production operation is now online. Continue reading “How does Tesla keep pulling rabbits out of the hat?”