Articles

On October 7th, a £300m takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) was completed. A Saudi-led consortium completed the deal for the Tyneside football club, almost two years after political and commercial controversies put an end to original talks. The takeover marks a key turning Continue Reading

Recently the world’s largest and most indebted real estate developer, China’s Evergrande, has been on the verge of defaulting. In the midst of China’s attempts to move its economy towards a more free market model, free from heavy government intervention, this crisis presents the Chinese government with a challenging decision: Continue Reading

Private Equity is back in the news again, and more specifically back in the sporting news. Throughout the past COVID-19-stricken year, PE firms have made multiple inroads into some of the largest sporting markets in Europe, with the Spanish top-flight football division of La Liga being the latest in a Continue Reading

September saw record-high green bond issuance as both sovereigns and corporates raised over US$40bn in debt capital markets for sustainable projects. This makes September the strongest month for green bond issuance in a year that has seen record-breaking issuances in every month so far. Green bonds are a type of Continue Reading

For a brief period in the 1980s, Reebok was metaphorically the MVP of the all-star team of sneaker brands. It had designed the highly popular first fitness shoe targeted solely at women, the Freestyle Sneaker; it was repped by cultural icons like 50 Cent, David Bowie, Jane Fonda and Shaquille Continue Reading

Online broker eToro has agreed to go public at a $10.4bn valuation by merging with Fintech Acquisition Corp V, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up by banking veteran Betsy Cohen, in one of the largest SPAC deals so far this year. The Israeli stockbroking and spread betting platform Continue Reading

With my time as CIBS Research Group Director coming to an end, I thought the most fitting way to write my last article would be to reflect back on my first. 2021 has marked the busiest-ever start to a year for M&A activity in China, with a record pace of Continue Reading

Often referred to as the “Korean” Amazon, South Korean e-commerce retailer Coupang saw its share price pop — peaking at $69 a share, up 84% — after originally listing at $35/share on the NYSE last Thursday. With its IPO, Coupang raised $4.6bn in an enlarged offering after raising its share Continue Reading

Alongside the Budget announcement on March 3rd, Rishi Sunak published the findings of a 5-month independent review into the UK public listing regime, headed by ex-financial services commissioner for the EU, Jonathan Hill. The review has called for an overhaul of the UK’s listing rules to enable London to compete Continue Reading

We have seen an enormous amount of volatility within the bond market recently, inflicting fear onto investors who were preparing for a steady recovery from the pandemic. Most have taken it as a given that we will soon be able to return to normal with the rapid rollout of vaccines Continue Reading

As organisations continue to transition to online working and shift towards cloud computing, it is imperative to invest in robust identity verification systems to help protect against cyber attacks. It is no wonder, then, that the total addressable market for cyber identity management is estimated to be $55bn. On March Continue Reading

The travel industry has been one of the worst-hit during the pandemic, with lockdowns grounding flights, keeping cruises in docks, and tourists at home. A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, travel companies have made huge losses and they are yet to see revenues flooding back in. However, the success of Continue Reading

In 2009, a mysterious and anonymous whitepaper was published under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, which described the principle of a peer-to-peer and purely digital currency. It described advantages such as lower transaction fees than traditional online payment infrastructure and a shift to a decentralised authority, unlike government-issued currencies. Since Bitcoin Continue Reading

Last month, Atlas Crest Investment Corp., chaired by founder of Moelis & Company Ken Moelis, agreed to merge with electric aircraft company Archer Aviation, in a deal that values the company at around $3.8bn. Despite Archer having not generated any revenues or created a commercially viable product as of yet, Continue Reading

On Friday February 19th, following a lengthy legal fight, Uber lost a momentous battle at the Supreme Court in one of the most significant employment cases in recent decades. The UK’s highest court ruled against the firm, concluding that its drivers should be classed as workers rather than independent third-party Continue Reading

With the huge amounts of government spending that have taken place throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it is no surprise the question of how it will be paid for has arisen. For the month of January 2021, the UK government budget was £8.8bn in the red; the first time there has Continue Reading

Italy is a country that has faced numerous economic and social problems in the past decade, and has been struggling to integrate into the world economy. These problems include political volatility and excessive bureaucratism for firms, and have hindered economic progress for numerous decades as the country fell behind its Continue Reading

The biotech industry has stolen the limelight after being pushed to the forefront of people’s minds as the world races to manufacture vaccines and restore a sense of normality. Early this month, we passed a historic milestone – the number of Covid-19 vaccinations globally finally surpassed the total number of Continue Reading

On February 11th 2021, Kraft Heinz agreed to sell its Planters peanuts and snacks business to rival Hormel Foods, owner of Spam, for $3.35bn in an all-cash deal. The transaction, expected to close in the first half of this year, follows Kraft Heinz’s $3.2bn sale of its cheese business to Continue Reading

In October 2020, billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, owners of EG Group, together with TDR Capital, announced the purchase of a majority stake in Asda, the UK’s third largest supermarket, that valued the company at £6.8bn. Rishi Sunak was quick to praise the buyers for “returning ASDA to majority Continue Reading

China’s Property Bubble: Will it Stabilise or Burst? Long-sustained housing investment has been consistently observed in China over the last decade, which has prompted both fear and trepidation amongst economists, analysts and governments globally. The signs of overbuilding are apparent. The debt levels are high. At the peak of the Continue Reading

Billionaire Tilman Fertitta is taking his restaurant and casino empire public by merging with Fast Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that raised $200m in its IPO in August 2020, taking advantage of recent investor enthusiasm for SPAC deals. After a difficult period for the company due to Continue Reading

On February 1st 2021, private space enterprise Astra announced its merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Holicity. The deal, which values Astra at $2.1bn, aims to see the company go public in Q2 of 2021 and represents a raise of $500m in capital for the space enterprise. The company Continue Reading

On September 10th 2020, Citigroup announced Jane Fraser is set to take over from current CEO Michael Corbat when he steps down in February 2021. This makes them the first big Wall Street bank to be run by a female CEO, a great achievement for the bank despite being long Continue Reading