Breakingviews
Neymar buyout is new peak for fantasy soccer M&A;
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Neymar da Silva Santos Junior achieved several milestones this week. The Brazilian forward became the world’s most expensive footballer following his 222 million euro ($263 million) move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. He also entered the mergers and acquisitions league tables. His transfer ranks among the 30 largest ever purchases of a Brazilian asset by a French buyer, according to Thomson Reuters data. Both feats are a sign soccer M&A; has reached a new
Robust retail bank helps RBS profit from atonement
London 2017 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Bible admonishes the unfairly smitten to turn the other cheek in order to reach paradise. Royal Bank of Scotland shareholders, who have borne repeated slaps in the face in the form of heavy and recurring losses since the financial crisis, are no strangers to pain in pursuit of salvation. On Friday there was evidence that deliverance, in the form of dividends, may be nearer at hand.
Sydney meets Shandong in $2.5 bln share sale
HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - The commodity business is often about blending different grades of coal, iron ore or crude oil. Yancoal Australia’s $2.5 billion share sale is a more exotic alloy, mixing Australian public company procedure and Chinese state capitalism.
Viewsroom: Venezuela's downward spiral
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Questionable elections for a rubber-stamping new assembly may give President Nicolas Maduro more power. But the country’s people, economy - and some U.S. companies - will suffer. Also: Sprint, under a ton of debt yet overvalued, weighs up its M&A; options.
UK CEO pay cut exposes compensation guesswork
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - A pay cut for Britain’s top corporate leaders shows how setting compensation for chief executives is more of an exercise in guesswork than an exact science. The average CEO of a FTSE 100 company took home 17 percent less last year despite buoyant markets. Cutting their remuneration assuages public opinion but also underscores the problems companies face when trying to link pay with boardroom performance.
U.S.-China spat casts doubt on MoneyGram payoff
HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Rising political tensions could derail a Chinese bid for MoneyGram International. Markets are pricing in an increasing risk that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration will stymie a $1.2 billion takeover by Ant Financial, the payments firm controlled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma. That would send a nasty message to Beijing at the expense of MoneyGram investors.
Sprint: Choose from the following M&A; options
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sprint is busy working the lines. Chief Executive Marcelo Claure signaled on Tuesday that an announcement about a merger is coming soon. The company’s stock price jumped 11 percent on the prospect. News reports have run the gamut of possible partners for the No. 4 U.S. cellular carrier. What’s less certain is if any of them will pick up the phone.
Trading pains handicap fitter European banks
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Even strong athletes can be hobbled by unexpected twinges of pain. All the more so European banks, which are still on the path to recovery. Société Générale and Commerzbank on Wednesday became the latest to say that they had been hurt by difficult trading conditions in the second quarter. The volatility of revenues from this business risks masking banks’ improving fitness.
Search engine IPO depends on Tencent for results
HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Baidu rival Sogou is planning an initial public offering in the United States. But convincing investors to back a distant number two in China’s mobile-search market could be tricky. Sogou’s relationship with backer Tencent will be key.
Cox: Snap's IPO may benefit investors after all
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Snap's messages may disappear, but one thing could yet endure from its calamitous initial public offering: an incentive to treat shareholders more fairly. Inspired by investor discomfort over founder Evan Spiegel's decision to hoard all his company's voting rights for himself and a few of his bros, the compilers of America's most influential stock benchmark will henceforth bar multiple share classes. It's a victory for democratic capitalism.
About Breakingviews
Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time. Sign up for a free trial of our full service at http://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.