Jeffrey Goldfarb
ReutersBreakingviews
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Jeffrey:
Toshiba board rebel mainly helps governance cause – Breakingviews
Director and ex-hedgie Raymond Zage will vote for a proposal urging the company to consider buyout bids and share info with investors. He already backed a breakup, opposed by many funds. Even if offers underwhelm, listening to shareholders and opening up would be a good step. → Read More
Kidney transplant endangers healthy CSL – Breakingviews
The Australian flu-vaccine maker will buy Swiss nephrology specialist Vifor for about $12 bln in cash. It’s paying a 60% premium for a weaker peer and doesn’t expect much in the way of cost savings. The mid-pandemic diversification hardly justifies this elective M&A procedure. → Read More
CSL’s Swiss drug punt looks like a bad trip – Breakingviews
The $99 bln Aussie jab maker is in talks to buy iron-deficiency specialist Vifor for around $7 bln. CEO Paul Perreault has a track record of strong growth and winning M&A. The prospect of subpar returns and a looming patent expiry suggest his golden touch is losing its lustre. → Read More
Aussie telecom deal borrows from Beijing playbook – Breakingviews
Telstra is buying Digicel’s South Pacific arm in a deal designed to keep the business out of Chinese hands. Taxpayers Down Under will cover most of the $1.6 bln price tag. That helps protect shareholders, but it’s also a disconcerting mix of politics and private capital. → Read More
Aussie fiscal bazooka could use a safety feature – Breakingviews
The country’s flagship pandemic support programme distributed some A$70 bln in six months to save jobs. At least 20% of funds, however, wound up in businesses whose sales actually grew, a new Treasury report says. A clawback provision would make good policy even better. → Read More
Supersized Canva inspires financial creativity – Breakingviews
The Australian design-software firm more than doubled its valuation to $40 bln in five months after a fresh $200 mln investment. Its avant-garde approach includes co-founders intending to use most of their 30% stake to “do good”. Things get abstract, though, at 40 times revenue. → Read More
Surf ‘n’ turf is juicy ESG starter for M&A feast – Breakingviews
Brazilian meatpacker JBS made a curious second bid for Tasmanian salmon farmer Huon after mining billionaire Andrew Forrest raised environmental and animal-welfare concerns. Buyers often come ready to clash over price, not sustainability. Add a new chapter to the deal cookbook. → Read More
BHP boss goes a seismic three for three – Breakingviews
After paying a record dividend on the back of soaring iron ore, Mike Henry is boldly remaking the $178 bln miner. He’s selling oil and gas, charging into potash and collapsing the dual-listed structure. Even with fresh questions on capital use, a valuation uplift looks warranted. → Read More
Australian economy proves hard to wreck – Breakingviews
Fresh lockdowns are exposing Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s botched vaccine efforts. And yet business is upbeat, asset prices are rising and the central bank will curb support. Mounting fiscal and demographic costs have yet to faze a country conditioned to believe in miracles. → Read More
Rio Tinto CEO picks cash shower over kitchen sink – Breakingviews
Jakob Stausholm is spraying the miner’s shareholders with a hardy $9.1 bln in dividends after his first six months in the job. There’s also plenty to splash out on projects like Serbian lithium. Despite the mopping up required in ESG and beyond, the financial plumbing is sound. → Read More
Sydney Airport becomes Covid-19 rebound hub – Breakingviews
It rejected a $17 bln takeover proposal despite the hefty premium on offer. The airport operator reckons it can land post-pandemic value unaided. Any bid sweetener would require an even rosier view of travel, turning the deal into a stark proxy for fuzzy recovery prospects. → Read More
Software deal contains two-sided logic errors – Breakingviews
Sydney-listed Altium spurned a $3.9 bln takeover bid from larger U.S. peer Autodesk. It’s an odd response given recent struggles and the chunky 42% premium on offer. The maths don’t compute for the suitor either. In wild M&A markets, such behaviour is a feature rather than a bug. → Read More
Vaccine lollipops will give way to bitter medicine – Breakingviews
Qantas plans to award frequent flyer miles as Hong Kong waives quarantine for bankers, expanding a list of incentives to get immunised. Tougher tactics like denying the uninoculated entry to venues are also starting. It augurs an ugly divide between the jabbed and the jab-nots. → Read More
Star’s stack looks too short to win Crown deal – Breakingviews
The Aussie casino operator’s $7 bln offer interested its larger rival, unlike the Blackstone bid that was dubiously spurned. Star’s proposal is less than it’s cracked up to be, however, and there’s little wiggle room to improve it. Only gaming regulators can help its cause. → Read More
ValueAct takes a tastier second bite of 7-Eleven – Breakingviews
Five years after activist Dan Loeb nudged things along at $40 bln Seven & i, Mason Morfit is trying his more genteel approach to change the convenience store owner. The last shakeup delivered limited value, but Japan’s evolving corporate culture makes this effort more promising. → Read More
HSBC’s sparrow hardly makes it spring – Breakingviews
The UK bank hit a medium-term 10% return target after a big jump in quarterly profit. It was flattered, however, by the release of $400 mln set aside for bad loans. Growth in Asia also was sluggish. The steep discount to book value suggests there’s a lot of convincing yet to do. → Read More
Blackstone sale delivers small logistics message – Breakingviews
It’s offloading Australian warehouses it rolled up to ESR and Singapore’s GIC for nearly $3 bln. The buyout shop’s real estate timing is always worth watching. In this case, it probably says less about a peak in e-commerce property than finding value in other parts of the chain. → Read More
New Zealand’s diluted punch bowl may tempt others – Breakingviews
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is combatting a hot housing market by stopping property investors from deducting mortgage interest. This mitigates side effects of low rates and allows the central bank to defer policy tightening. The approach might appeal to governments elsewhere. → Read More
Review: When “Ocean’s Eleven” meets Chapter 11 – Breakingviews
“The Caesars Palace Coup” rolls a casino caper and legal thriller into one edifying book. Dense bankruptcy lingo sometimes bogs down the ruthless scrap over $18 bln of distressed debt. And it’s hard to find a Danny Ocean in a Wall Street dramatis personae full of Terry Benedicts. → Read More
Australia commits unforced tennis error – Breakingviews
Foreign players are flying in for the Grand Slam tournament even as strict pandemic policies have left citizens struggling to get home. Stars like Novak Djokovic complaining about quarantine don’t help. Flimsy economic considerations may be distorting risk assessments. → Read More