Being around since the 1990s, SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies) have become cool once again. SPACs are defined by some as a smart financial innovation that provides a cheaper and faster path to becoming a public company and as one of the hottest asset class in the markets. Others describe this model as a hazardousContinue reading “SPAC Mania 2020: No Free Lunch at Wall Street”
Nexi and Sia have agreed upon an all-share €15bn merger to create an Italian payment giant that can compete at European level. The Italian government played a crucial role in the deal through Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the government’s unit to implement public policy mandates and it is nonetheless Nexi’s largest shareholder. Furthermore, thisContinue reading “The Strategic Path Of The Italian Fintech Giant”
The week from November 2nd to November 8th was crucial for US politics and economic stability worldwide. As the United States were waiting for the presidential election results during the week, with Joe Biden and Donald Trump rallying for the White House, markets were waiting for the final polls. A. The US Presidential Election WeekContinue reading “The effects of the US Presidential Election 2020 on Global Markets”
SoftBank’s almost $100bn-sized Vision Fund was set to pave the way for new innovations and turn tech investing into alchemy. “If I am going to do a fund it has to be big enough to disrupt the whole technology world”, promised Son Masayoshi. So much for a vision. Despite prominent investments in Uber and ByteDance,Continue reading “So much for a Vision”
As of October 2nd, 2020, there were 2.824 billionaires in the world. The number now lies at 2.825. The reason for that change? A Carnegie Mellon engineer graduate. While growing up, Thomas Healy developed a strong interest in racing cars, bolstered by his fervent admiration for the complex racecar shipping process and for the balletContinue reading “The over-night SPAC miracle”
The expression money talks is particularly relevant for ESG. The confirmation about ESG being a solid value driver made ESG turn to center stage. Yet, although ESG is highly regarded and discussed, it remains difficult to establish what it corresponds to exactly within each company. When assessing companies and their competitors, ESG considerations are oftenContinue reading ““ESG rating – an arduous endeavour. Why ESG metrics still fail to provide a (single) source of truth””
“Sell in May and go away”: the typical finance adage didn’t work well this time, with stocks around the world rising over the summer, driven by major economies reopening around the world after the covid-19 lockdown. Investors kept buying the rebound as earnings from the first quarter were better than expected. Moreover, Covid-19 cases wereContinue reading “The Risks Ahead for Financial Markets”
European private equity in 2019 could not be described as anything other than a successful year for the industry. Post-financial crisis records were broken, and the industry overtook 2018 by 16% in terms of deal count, amounting to 2,151 deals at a combined deal value of €260bn. Our European Private Equity Landscape Map gives anContinue reading “European Private Equity Landscape”
Our European Private Equity Top 5 Map illustrates the 5 largest funds in 6 respective European regions, along with the largest US funds dedicated for European investments. We have focused on reporting the latest private equity buyout fund size, not taking total AUM into account. Funds are placed where their main investment focus is insteadContinue reading “The Leading European Private Equity Funds”
Mixed signals have been given throughout the COVID19 crisis; Larry Fink insists on the fact that ESG is a top priority yet 52% of investors in the USA deem that it is unnecessary to fully pursue ESG related objectives during such unprecedented and arduous times. All of this leads us to question where ESG standsContinue reading “Does ESG Shine In The Dark?”
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