NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walt Disney (DIS.N) has pulled a rabbit out of its hat when it comes to streaming. The Mouse House on Wednesday reported that it now has as many subscribers to its video services – Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ – as Netflix (NFLX.O), totaling 221 million customers. Additionally, Disney rolled out its pricing strategy for its forthcoming ad model for Disney+. Starting Dec. 8, the $205 billion company run by Bob Chapek will offer a service with ads at $7.99 per month. It is hiking the ad-free price by $3 monthly.

Chapek also lowered the company’s forecast for the service, emphasizing a renewed focus on margins. Though Disney will charge less than Netflix, which costs about $15 a month in North America, it has more to lose with a price war. That may be one reason why it’s jumping the gun, releasing a strategy ahead of Netflix revealing its own ad-supported tier. Still, Netflix can probably lower its prices, too. And with widening...

MILAN, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Italy’s likely next government has some big spending plans. A coalition of rightist parties looks poised to win general elections in September, making Giorgia Meloni of the nationalist Brothers of Italy party prime minister. High public debt and European Union vigilance will puncture the group’s wildest trial balloons.

The abrupt fall of Mario Draghi’s executive last month paves the way for yet another Italian government. An alliance including Brothers of Italy, the anti-immigration League and ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia would command 49% of votes, opinion polls show, well ahead of its divided political rivals. Meloni’s party, which has roots in post-war neo-fascism, opposed Draghi’s agenda and has a eurosceptic past, may capture 24% of the vote.

High on the alliance’s agenda is slashing taxes to boost consumer demand. While the group has yet to publish an official manifesto, its plans include extending a flat...

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Masayoshi Son is thinking the unthinkable at SoftBank Group (9984.T). His $63 billion technology and telecom empire will slash its stake in Alibaba (9988.HK) to 15% from 24%. The long-overdue shrinkage offers a blueprint for what to do next: break up the conglomerate.

This year’s tech selloff has punished the Japanese holding company, pushing it to a $23 billion net loss last quarter read more . Son’s new watchword is discipline: His Vision Funds, effectively giant venture-capital vehicles, invested just $600 million in the three-month stretch ending in June, compared with some $21 billion a year earlier.

The same focus on cash preservation seems to have informed the decision unveiled on Wednesday to cut the Alibaba holding, which has a totemic significance at SoftBank as one of the world’s most lucrative tech investments. Through derivatives deals with banks, Son could have retained the Alibaba stake by settling so-called...

LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Entain (ENT.L) is on a dealmaking spree. Jette Nygaard-Andersen, chief executive of the $10 billion UK bookie, has bought five companies this year for over $1 billion in total. Her swoop for Croatia’s SuperSport, announced on Thursday, exemplifies the logic. Entain wants to plant flags across the map so that a regulatory crackdown in one country, like the United Kingdom, makes less overall difference. There are also savings in switching smaller bookies’ systems for Entain’s. Investors bid the Ladbrokes owner’s shares up by more than 5%.

The question is what this all means for Entain’s M&A dance with perennial $14 billion suitor MGM Resorts International (MGM.N), with which it has a U.S. sports-betting joint venture. MGM would like to control its own destiny in that burgeoning market and get its hands on Entain’s technology. But the UK group rebuffed its advances last year. At current market prices, and assuming MGM paid a 20%...

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Masayoshi Son is thinking the unthinkable at SoftBank Group (9984.T). His $63 billion technology and telecom empire will slash its stake in Alibaba (9988.HK) to 15% from 24%. The long-overdue shrinkage offers a blueprint for what to do next: break up the conglomerate.

This year’s tech selloff has punished the Japanese holding company, pushing it to a $23 billion net loss last quarter read more . Son’s new watchword is discipline: His Vision Funds, effectively giant venture-capital vehicles, invested just $600 million in the three-month stretch ending in June, compared with some $21 billion a year earlier.

The same focus on cash preservation seems to have informed the decision unveiled on Wednesday to cut the Alibaba holding, which has a totemic significance at SoftBank as one of the world’s most lucrative tech investments. Through derivatives deals with banks, Son could have retained the Alibaba stake by settling so-called...

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walt Disney (DIS.N) has pulled a rabbit out of its hat when it comes to streaming. The Mouse House on Wednesday reported that it now has as many subscribers to its video services – Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ – as Netflix (NFLX.O), totaling 221 million customers. Additionally, Disney rolled out its pricing strategy for its forthcoming ad model for Disney+. Starting Dec. 8, the $205 billion company run by Bob Chapek will offer a service with ads at $7.99 per month. It is hiking the ad-free price by $3 monthly.

Chapek also lowered the company’s forecast for the service, emphasizing a renewed focus on margins. Though Disney will charge less than Netflix, which costs about $15 a month in North America, it has more to lose with a price war. That may be one reason why it’s jumping the gun, releasing a strategy ahead of Netflix revealing its own ad-supported tier. Still, Netflix can probably lower its prices, too. And with widening...

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A tweak to an archaic takeover rule in the Caribbean will help Thomas Lau to succeed where his sibling did not. The Hong Kong billionaire is offering $240 million to buy out minority shareholders in Caymans-registered Lifestyle International (1212.HK), his department store chain. His timing means the deal won’t have to pass the so-called headcount test that ended a similar tilt at developer Chinese Estates (0127.HK) by the family of his brother Joseph. Dropping the rule makes governance sense, although it removes one means for small shareholders to scupper poor offers.

Several Hong Kong tycoons have fallen foul of the notorious tests, which the Cayman Islands will scrap at the end of this month. The rule stipulates that a deal needs to be approved by a majority of voting shareholders present, as well as by ownership. Joseph Lau’s family failed to buy the 25% it didn’t own in developer Chinese Estates, valuing it at $979 million,...

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A tweak to an archaic takeover rule in the Caribbean will help Thomas Lau to succeed where his sibling did not. The Hong Kong billionaire is offering $240 million to buy out minority shareholders in Caymans-registered Lifestyle International (1212.HK), his department store chain. His timing means the deal won’t have to pass the so-called headcount test that ended a similar tilt at developer Chinese Estates (0127.HK) by the family of his brother Joseph. Dropping the rule makes governance sense, although it removes one means for small shareholders to scupper poor offers.

Several Hong Kong tycoons have fallen foul of the notorious tests, which the Cayman Islands will scrap at the end of this month. The rule stipulates that a deal needs to be approved by a majority of voting shareholders present, as well as by ownership. Joseph Lau’s family failed to buy the 25% it didn’t own in developer Chinese Estates, valuing it at $979 million,...

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A tweak to an archaic takeover rule in the Caribbean will help Thomas Lau to succeed where his sibling did not. The Hong Kong billionaire is offering $240 million to buy out minority shareholders in Caymans-registered Lifestyle International (1212.HK), his department store chain. His timing means the deal won’t have to pass the so-called headcount test that ended a similar tilt at developer Chinese Estates (0127.HK) by the family of his brother Joseph. Dropping the rule makes governance sense, although it removes one means for small shareholders to scupper poor offers.

Several Hong Kong tycoons have fallen foul of the notorious tests, which the Cayman Islands will scrap at the end of this month. The rule stipulates that a deal needs to be approved by a majority of voting shareholders present, as well as by ownership. Joseph Lau’s family failed to buy the 25% it didn’t own in developer Chinese Estates, valuing it at $979 million,...

Posted

Gautam Adani, the world’s fourth-richest man, is using his $220 bln empire to amass critical energy and infrastructure assets. Financial profligacy broke many of his Indian rivals. Opacity is a bigger concern for the billionaire becoming too big to fail, says Una Galani.

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walt Disney (DIS.N) has pulled a rabbit out of its hat when it comes to streaming. The Mouse House on Wednesday reported that it now has as many subscribers to its video services – Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ – as Netflix (NFLX.O), totaling 221 million customers. Additionally, Disney rolled out its pricing strategy for its forthcoming ad model for Disney+. Starting Dec. 8, the $205 billion company run by Bob Chapek will offer a service with ads at $7.99 per month. It is hiking the ad-free price by $3 monthly.

Chapek also lowered the company’s forecast for the service, emphasizing a renewed focus on margins. Though Disney will charge less than Netflix, which costs about $15 a month in North America, it has more to lose with a price war. That may be one reason why it’s jumping the gun, releasing a strategy ahead of Netflix revealing its own ad-supported tier. Still, Netflix can probably lower its prices, too. And with widening...

Posted

Gautam Adani, the world’s fourth-richest man, is using his $220 bln empire to amass critical energy and infrastructure assets. Financial profligacy broke many of his Indian rivals. Opacity is a bigger concern for the billionaire becoming too big to fail, says Una Galani.

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walt Disney (DIS.N) has pulled a rabbit out of its hat when it comes to streaming. The Mouse House on Wednesday reported that it now has as many subscribers to its video services – Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ – as Netflix (NFLX.O), totaling 221 million customers. Additionally, Disney rolled out its pricing strategy for its forthcoming ad model for Disney+. Starting Dec. 8, the $205 billion company run by Bob Chapek will offer a service with ads at $7.99 per month. It is hiking the ad-free price by $3 monthly.

Chapek also lowered the company’s forecast for the service, emphasizing a renewed focus on margins. Though Disney will charge less than Netflix, which costs about $15 a month in North America, it has more to lose with a price war. That may be one reason why it’s jumping the gun, releasing a strategy ahead of Netflix revealing its own ad-supported tier. Still, Netflix can probably lower its prices, too. And with widening...

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Masayoshi Son is thinking the unthinkable at SoftBank Group (9984.T). His $63 billion technology and telecom empire will slash its stake in Alibaba (9988.HK) to 15% from 24%. The long-overdue shrinkage offers a blueprint for what to do next: break up the conglomerate.

This year’s tech selloff has punished the Japanese holding company, pushing it to a $23 billion net loss last quarter. Son’s new watchword is discipline: His Vision Funds, effectively giant venture-capital vehicles, invested just $600 million in the three-month stretch ending in June, compared with some $21 billion a year earlier.

The same focus on cash preservation seems to have informed the decision unveiled on Wednesday to cut the Alibaba holding, which has a totemic significance at SoftBank as one of the world’s most lucrative tech investments. Through derivatives deals with banks, Son could have retained the Alibaba stake by settling so-called prepaid...

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Masayoshi Son is thinking the unthinkable at SoftBank Group (9984.T). His $63 billion technology and telecom empire will slash its stake in Alibaba (9988.HK) to 15% from 24%. The long-overdue shrinkage offers a blueprint for what to do next: break up the conglomerate.

This year’s tech selloff has punished the Japanese holding company, pushing it to a $23 billion net loss last quarter read more . Son’s new watchword is discipline: His Vision Funds, effectively giant venture-capital vehicles, invested just $600 million in the three-month stretch ending in June, compared with some $21 billion a year earlier.

The same focus on cash preservation seems to have informed the decision unveiled on Wednesday to cut the Alibaba holding, which has a totemic significance at SoftBank as one of the world’s most lucrative tech investments. Through derivatives deals with banks, Son could have retained the Alibaba stake by settling so-called...