EMEA

Turkish lira hits record low: Erdogan fires central bank head - 01 December, 2020
After that a recent record slump in the lira raised in Turkey the threat of a currency crisis, last Sunday president Erdogan decided to dismiss the governor of country’s central bank, replacing him with former finance minister Naci Agbal. One of the key questions in the short term might be: how will the new head manage on one hand demands from Erdogan for lower rates and on the other hand investors’ expectations for more stable currency?

Disagreements on rule of law block EU’s 7-year budget deal - 29 November, 2020
Europe has been hit by a second wave of coronavirus’ cases after summer ended, and this is derailing governments’ hopes of an economic recovery in the last quarter of 2020. To make the situation even more complicated, the EU 7-year budget, worth a total of €1.8 trillion, hasn’t been finalized yet due to ongoing rebuttals from Hungary and Poland, concerned about the rule of law’s clause.

Nexi-Sia-Nets: the digital payments blockbuster - 18 November, 2020
On November 2, 2020, Nexi announced to have entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Danish operator Nets, active in the markets of Northern Europe. Less than two weeks later – on November 15, 2020 – it signed the agreement to acquire Nets at an enterprise value of €7.8 billion with an equity value of €6 billion.

A current evaluation of the stock market- 17 November, 2020
The financial impact caused by COVID-19 on global markets has gone both ways for investors and businesses. From one aspect, big companies, such as, Apple, Nvidia, Facebook and Amazon have boomed since the virus outbreak. From another, transportation, tourism, and clothing industries have experienced detrimental losses.

Allegro goes public - 16 November, 2020
Almost two decades after its funding the Polish e-commerce firm, Allegro, has gone public. On the 12th of October, the firm was listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, where its shares opened at 65 zł a piece, significantly above its initial IPO price of 43 zł. This is a groundbreaking IPO in the history of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which has struggled with acquiring new stimulus due to the dominance of state-controlled businesses.

ECB is ready to announce additional stimulus in December - 16 November, 2020
As Europe finds itself at the epicenter of a second Covid-19 crisis, with two of the major economies of the Eurozone that are imposing imminent national lockdowns, European Central Bank’s president Christine Lagarde has indicated the necessity of providing additional stimulus in December.

Iberdrola continues shopping: it is PNM’s turn - 15 November, 2020
On October 21st, Iberdrola, the Spanish utility giant, announced a $8.3bn (debt included) deal for the acquisition of PNM Resources. The deal will enhance Iberdrola position in the US. Moreover, after the acquisition, PNM Resources will become part of Avangrid (i.e., Iberdrola North America branch in which the Spanish company holds an 81.5% stake) giving birth to the third largest renewable energy operator.

The Italian non-performing market - 14 November, 2020
In 2016, the NPL market was one of the most appealing topics in the financial news: in the EU, it constituted a burden amounting to 9% of total GDP. From then on, a huge stimulus to the secondary market of these products has been developed: as an example, Italy has halved its outstanding level to 115.5€ bn together with an organizational action on the management procedures of NPLs.

Nexi – SIA: A Crucial Merger for a New European Leader in the PayTech Industry - 11 November, 2020
On 05 October, Nexi S.p.A. and SIA S.p.A. issued a joint press release to report the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the integration of the two groups. The merger will take place by incorporation of SIA into Nexi. This operation will mark the birth of a new Italian leader in digital payments, able to compete in the European PayTech industry.

European banks: merge to survive - 5 November, 2020
The case for more consolidation through M&A in the EU banking sector has been made by researchers, banking authorities, and relevant personalities, such as Danièle Nouy and Andrea Enria, respectively the former and the current Chairmen of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank.

Bond market history: EU SURE issue and record demand - 3 November, 2020
Last Tuesday, 20 October 2020, the European Commission issued a €17 billion inaugural social bond under the EU SURE instrument. The transaction gathered outstanding investor demand from the outset, reaching an oversubscription of over 13 times. Is this the sign of a greater market trust towards the EU as an issuer and in the SURE framework?

Italian bonds: a notch before "junk" - May 3, 2020
On the 29th of April 2020, Fitch has downgraded Italy's credit rating to a single notch above "junk", reaching this way BBB-. The agency believes that the abrupt jump in debt levels resulting from the coronavirus crisis will increase uncertainty regarding the borrowing sustainability of the country.

The short selling ban: is it the right solution to volatility? - April 30, 2020
After the coronavirus brake out and the spread of panic among financial markets, regulatory authorities in several European countries (among which France, Belgium, Italy and Spain) have temporarily suspended short selling in order to boost investors’ confidence and to prevent a further collapse. Is this the right strategy?

Structural weaknesses cast a shadow over Italy’s outlook after Coronavirus - April 29, 2020
In the last weeks, as the strength of pandemic caused by the Coronavirus slowly diminishes, many countries have been easing their restriction on people and businesses and moving towards a phase two. For Italy, though, opening again might be a serious challenge, and markets reactions tell us why.

Eurozone Banks under the Coronavirus threat - April 26, 2020
The coronavirus outbreak is now forcing banks to suspend tracking the payment ability of their borrowers, despite many past efforts to decrease NPLs in their balance sheets.
UniCredit has been the first one to set up provision for possible soured loans, under encouragement of the ECB, and has been soon followed by Credit Suisse.

Is the luxury industry coronavirus-proof? - April 24, 2020
During these recent times swathed in uncertainty, it seems extremely arduous to forecast the future of luxury fashion firms: will they weather the pandemic and leave relatively unscathed or will it be more than just a short-time blip?

The biggest Italian tower company is born: €11bn merger of Inwit and Vodafone Italy Towers (Factset) - April 18, 2020
On July the 26th 2019, the Board of directors of Inwit and Vodafone approved the merger between the two companies, which was executed later in December 2019 and approved by the European commission in March 2020. The result of this transaction is the creation of the largest tower operator of the Italian market, second in Europe, with a network of more than 22 thousand towers. Let’s break down the transaction and see why this deal was so important for both companies.

Why the global pandemic calls for diversification - April 7, 2020
What is the effect of the pandemic on our economies and financial markets? Which sectors suffer the most and which gain the most? What are the main lessons learned for businesses, investors and governments?

Are ‘Corona bonds’ what the EU needs? - March 30, 2020
As Europe faces up the fight against Covid-19 and the danger of a new crisis grows, the discussion about the introduction of new economic instruments in order to deal with the consequences of the epidemic intensifies. In particular, nine European leaders are strongly calling for the emission of ‘Corona bonds’ (resuming the idea of Eurobonds), as a new collective response to the emergency.

The last PE big deal before Corona (FactSet) - March 29, 2020
Only a few weeks before half of the world went under lockdown, private equity consortium led by Advent, Cinven and RAG Foundation signed the purchasing agreement for the €17.2bn acquisition of the elevators business unit of ThyssenKrupp.

ECB’s response to Coronavirus: A €750 Billion pandemic emergency purchase program - March 25, 2020
On 18th March 2020, the European Central Bank announced a €750 Billion Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP). This allows EU member states to increase spending to counter the impact of the coronavirus.

LVMH’s Tiffany acquisition: a golden opportunity (FactSet) - March 18, 2020
On November 25th 2019, LVMH and Tiffany announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement. After two rounds of negotiations, the companies settled on LVMH acquiring Tiffany for $135 per share, for a total equity value of $16.2 bn, making this operation the largest ever concluded in the luxury sector.

Coronavirus crisis and market: do they get along? - March 13, 2020
The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) started in China in January and has been affecting Europe in the last few weeks. Clearly, such a situation has immediately generated a dramatic scenario in the financial markets, carrying the need for intervention by governments and central banks worldwide.

H2O: rating falls as concerns rise - March 4, 2020
H2O is an English company that has issued many illiquid securities that are the basis of the crisis of the Allegro fund, the financial boutique of the Natixis group. The Fund manager received compensation after a report of the Financial Times about the relationship of the firm with Lars Windhorst, a German financier.

The Covid-19 and its epidemic effects on the Italian economy: a European antidote to the Contraction? - February 29, 2020
Grappled with the largest Corona virus outbreak outside Asia, Italy counts 821 confirmed cases mainly in the quarantined regions producer of one-third of the National GDP, hitting enormously Milan and Venice, nations’ finance and tourism capitals. Supply-chains disruption in luxury and agriculture industries, tourism.

Competition law reforms: need for EU champions - February 21, 2020
European regulators are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that current EU competition policy prevents the formation of giant EU companies that would be able to compete with US and Chinese rivals. Thus, they are turning toward a new set of rules that would enable a better control of threats coming from US and Chinese markets.

A tale of Ferretti’s re-listing attempt - February 2, 2020
On September 16th, Ferretti Group’s CEO Alberto Galassi announced that the Italian yachts were ready to sail again the Italian stock market sea, 16 years after the delisting. The group said that it aimed at raising more than 100mln euros without giving precise details about the size of its total offer.

FCA-PSA: a merger that could disrupt the automotive industry - February 1, 2020
A few months ago, FCA was in talks with Renault regarding a possible merger. Negotiations between the two car makers, however, ended in June. Today, FCA is eyeing a merger with a different partner: PSA. This new deal, which appears more solid than the previous one, could give birth to the fourth largest carmaker in the world.

Is the Eurozone economy facing "Japanification"? - January 29, 2020
Increasing fears of Japan-style economic prospects are arising in Europe. Indeed, some similarities between the Japanese economic evolution and the Eurozone’s are becoming straightforward and more realistic. However, Eurozone distinguishes itself from Japan by different aspects, making the comparison less obvious and thus temper the possible parallels that can be drawn between Japanese economic situation and European economic forecasts.

Greece’s Debt Market is not the riskiest anymore! - January 10, 2020
After a very long period of time, Greece seems to have attracted again the consideration of investors. Within the eurozone’s world of low or negative interest rates, Greece is no longer seen as the riskiest bet. For the first time in many years, Greece yields’ felt below those of Italy.

LVMH: you never stop growing - January 9, 2020
LVMH is a French multinational luxury goods holding headquartered in Paris and born in 1987 after the merger between the fashion companies Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy - derived in 1971 as a result of a merger between Moët & Chandon (champagne producer) and Hennessy (cognac manufacturer). Currently, it controls 60 subsidiaries which manage in turn different prestigious brands.

Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory: a duel or an opportunity for German car manufacturers? - January 8, 2020
Bringing a Tesla plant to Europe has been on chief executive Musk's mind for a few years. On Tuesday, he announced that the company would build its new production plant in Gruenheide, just outside Berlin. Together with the new Gigafactory, an engineering-and-design center will also be established. ‘We want to make Germany, essentially, a part of Tesla’ stated Musk.

Is Europe heading towards a new recession? - January 5, 2020
All primary index suggests that a new recession is coming. Not as strong as the last one, but it could start very soon. More than ten years have passed since the last big global recession of 2008, and many economists say that a new recession is coming, but no one knows precisely when.

Bolsonaro’s environment plan jeopardizes the EU-Mercosur trade deal - December 22, 2019
The EU-Mercosur agreement was concluded by the EU Commission and the four countries of the Mercosur trading bloc (i.e., Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) on June 28th, 2019, after two decades of negotiations. Ratification of the deal is due to begin next year. The process may however prove quite problematic.

A never-ending story: FT reveals new suspects about accounting practices of Wirecard. The company remains a battlefield of bulls and bears - December 14, 2019
Wirecard is an online payment processing and financial service provider which serves customer along the entire payment value chain and offers a full suite of solutions. On the 30th of January, the share price plummeted the first time after the Financial Times published an extensive report, suspecting the company of ‘falsification of accounts’ and ‘money laundering’.

Saipem to consider merging with Subsea 7 - December 14, 2019
After unsuccessful talks about a possible merger in past years, Saipem SpA is considering a combination with its rival Subsea 7 SA in one of the possible biggest deals in the oil industry to create a larger European oil services provider and defend against a downturn in the industry.

Greek debt is not the riskiest anymore - December 9, 2019
These days, within the eurozone’s world of low or negative interest rates, Greece is no longer seen as the riskiest bet. For the first time in many years, Greece yields’ felt below those of Italy.

Struggle in the Stock Exchange Industry - December 6, 2019
The squeeze of exchanges’ profitability, has spurred consolidation among global financial markets infrastructure. Refitiv acquisition by the London Stock Exchange and the undergoing bid war for Bolsas y Mercados Esponels are some glaring evidences of this trend.

ECB interest rate policy and the profitability of European Banks - November 30, 2019
In pursuit of its goal of maintaining inflation in the eurozone close to, but under, the 2% target – and with the intent of stimulating the European economy – the ECB has been implementing a loose monetary policy since 2015. Casualties of this loose monetary policy have been European banks, which have seen their profitability decline.

Will Christine Lagarde do “whatever it takes” to protect the Eurozone? - November 28, 2019
On November 1st 2019, Christine Lagarde took over Mario Draghi as the head of the European Central Bank. While Mario Draghi leaves after having reached a relatively high level stability in euro currency and safety in European markets, the ECB still faces some important challenges.

Lebanese uncertainty: threat of sovereign default and a run on banks - November 26, 2019
Recently the mass demonstrations against the government accused of corruption and mismanagement of finances have led to shuttered banks, a broken-down economy, and an increasing fear of a collapse.

Restructuring of investment bank personnel: European challenges - November 21, 2019
European banks find themselves in heavy weather and it is their employees who pay the most. In 2019 alone, investment banks have implemented tens of thousands of cuts, with more to come. What are the causes of these restructurings? Why are European banks the ones suffering the most?

MiFid II: sweeping transparency regulation or sweeping out small caps? A new framework to the European investment industry - November 16, 2019
The implementation of MiFid II last 3rd January 2018 was disruptive in the way it shaped the future of the financial industry, as well as the unintended and significant consequences it will have in the relationship scenario between banks and investors.

New challenges for the digital economy: the O.E.C.D. ‘Tech tax’ - November 14, 2019
The O.E.C.D. (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) has released an 18-page proposal on October 9th, aimed at giving G-20 countries the possibility to review the general corporate taxation system to be applied to large Multi-National Entities (MNEs).

A high for your portfolio - November 12, 2019
Investing in the cannabis industry has become an increasingly debated topic since the legalization of the medical, industrial and recreational use of cannabis has accelerated over the last three to five years. Following the lead of Canadian and US competitors, in December 2018, the first European global hemp investment fund has officially launched.

Brexit and the British Property Market - November 9, 2019
Despite Brexit uncertainty, in the property sector both domestic and foreign investments have continued to grow. However, the coming months will be crucial to define the future of the market. Current trends, outlook and possible future scenarios.

Facebook and libra cryptocurrency under the spotlight - November 7, 2019
Libra is a cryptocurrency and a payment system created in 2019 by Facebook, whose aim is to be used for peer-to-peer values exchanges but also for transactions and online purchases. Despite the initial hype, regulators scrutiny is now putting its existence at risk.

Flows into Egyptian Debt: are investors still attracted by the market? - November 4, 2019
In the most recent period, the role and the popularity of the Egyptian market has been the subject of many debates. The article discusses strengths and weaknesses of this country and its position in the financial world.

Green bonds: Fixed income to fix the environment - November 1, 2019
Given the increasing interest of investors and consumers for environmental-related issues, the green bond market is seen by companies as a new way of financing their transition to a low-carbon economy and is triggering SGIs’ appetite for extra-value creation strategies. Recent trends and outlook in the article.

The HP – Autonomy case: how Deloitte might have caused HP to lose billions - October 29, 2019
It was September 2011 when Hewlett-Packard's CEO Leo Apotheker agreed to acquire Autonomy, a British software company, for around $10.3 billion. Investors were skeptical of the acquisition from the beginning, and in hindsight the market had correctly anticipated that the deal was not going to create value for the acquirer’s shareholders.

Oil outlook following the attacks on Saudi oil fields - October 26, 2019
On September 14th, two of Saudi Aramco's oil processing facilities were attacked by military drones. Despite no immediate significant economic issues, the possibility of new attacks and instability in the Middle East hang on the market.

How shifts in Italian political uncertainty have affected markets - October 24, 2019
With a public debt ratio of over 120% of GDP, Italy is strongly influenced by the way markets perceive its ability to service that debt. This, in turn, depends strongly on its government policies. The article examines the change in difference between the cost of Italian and German debt (the “spread”) in light of recent changes in the political landscape and gauge the prospects for the Italian economy and funds.

Changing landscape in the travel business: Industry dynamics after the collapse of Thomas Cook Group (TCG) - October 10, 2019
On the 23rd of September, Thomas Cook declared that it will take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect. Thomas Cook is one of the world’s leading travel operators with annual sales of GBP 9.6bn. The compulsory liquidation of essential business parts of Thomas Cook will lead to a reshuffling of the European travel and leisure markets, with a redistribution of the company’s 30 per cent market share of the holiday market in the UK and its 10 per cent share in Germany.

Sainsbury’s-Asda merger blocked by regulators: what happened and what now? - July 2, 2019
On April 24th British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the proposed £7.2 merger between 2nd and 3rd largest UK supermarket retailers Asda and Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s stock price plummeted as a result while Asda’s owner Walmart has lost some of its credibility in international operations. Failed merger means that Tesco remains the leader of the industry while Sainsbury’s will be looking for ways to increase their 15.3% market share. At the same time, Walmart will have to make a decision what to do with the company in the competitive British groceries’ industry. Made possible by FactSet.

EU vs US: the rise of trade tensions - June 24, 2019
The past year has been marked by an ever-increasing amount of trade disputes between global forces. US President Donald Trump has tried, more or less successfully, to leverage the United States’ predominant economic power and influence to force other countries into more favorable deals. His disputes with China and North Korea have been the most notable, causing a widespread sense of unease and uncertainty that affected trade sentiment for the better part of the last six months.

Brexit effect? Household debt issue in UK - June 9, 2019
Brexit has not happened yet, but we have been talking about it for ages. At the moment, previsions about what will happen next are mere speculations, and even the well-informed struggle understanding the dynamics of the exit process. With all this uncertainty, what we can do is analyzing and using data from the day of the referendum until now. Article by Pietro Rosci, made possible by FactSet.

Leveraged loans in the European market - June 7, 2019
Leveraged loans have been a highly discussed topic in recent months. Several voices have risen among American institutions and market participants to express several concerns about the risks of this market, which is now worth more than $1.3 trillion only in the US. Among them, Janet Yellen, former FED Chair, clearly expressed her concerns about the growth of this market in an interview with The Financial Times at the end of October of last year. “I am worried about the systemic risks associated with these loans”, she said, “There has been a huge deterioration in standards; covenants have been loosened in leveraged lending”.

The sharing economy, a growing problem or a needed change? - June 1, 2019
The sharing economy has experienced exponential growth over the past decade. In the last 10 years or so, the number of sharing economy platforms has ballooned from a handful of companies to thousands. This trend has brought some good but also some bad, has had significant impact on the economy as awhole and has still not reached its full potential. Tobias Mattsson discusses the past, present and future of the sharing economy in Europe.

From Oil to FIG ? The new face of the Arabian Peninsula? - May 28, 2019
The Middle East is clearly developing at a rapid speed and is equipped with deep pockets to fund this evolution. But while historically almost all of the regions wealth has been connected to Oil, things have changed and now 71% of UAE’s total GDP comes from non-oil related sectors. This article intends to display some of the current developments in the Middle Eastern economy and their impact on regional M&A deal trends and outlooks, with a particular focus on Financial Institutions

How Deutsche Bank can impact the European Asset Management Industry - May 23, 2019
Deutsche Bank has experienced falling revenues since 2011, and although 2018 signed the return to profitability after four years of net losses, the German biggest bank’s Restructuring Plan looks challenging and does not convince analysts and investors, as shown by the unpleasant stock performance, worsened by the negative media coverage related to many investigations, such as the Russian money laundry scandal.

Nexi: Europe’s biggest IPO of the year - May 19, 2019
A structural shift away from cash payments has led to rapid growth in the sector and encouraged a wave of big M&A transactions and public offerings. The excitment around the IPO of Nexi, Italy's largest payment processor was therefore easily understood. How did it go and why? An analysis by Massimiliano Radogna. Made possible by FactSet

Eurozone’s Unexpected GDP Growth and Its Main Drivers - May 17, 2019
The eurozone economy is growing faster than expected in 2019. On April 30, Eurostat published its flash estimate of GDP growth in the first quarter of the year, measuring quarterly GDP growth rate at 0.4%, and a 1.2% annual expansion. This represents a significant acceleration from the 0.2% quarterly growth observed in the last quarter of 2018, and contrasts with previous market expectations of a 0.3% GDP growth. What drives this? An analysis by Joao Valejo Coelho

Ukraine voted for Volodymyr Zelensky - much remains to be fixed - May 12, 2019
On April 21st 2019, an interesting and important election took place just outside the Eastern borders of the European Union. The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, which has been well covered by Western media, marks a new chapter in Ukrainian politics. Almost six years after the Euromaidan protests, which left hundreds dead and many more injured, the Ukrainian electorate voted for Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian with no political experience.

The Notre-Dame donations: selfless act or favourable tax breaks? - May 11, 2019
On Monday 15th of April, Notre-Dame cathedral, one of the most iconic symbols of history in Paris was torched because of a short-circuit or negligence by workers carrying out renovations through cigarette butts. Donald Tusk, the President of the European Union (EU) Council, called upon EU members to help with the rebuilding. Within 8 days only, the total money raised reached €900 million.

Private Equity in Europe: how can the amount of liquidity reshape the industry landscape - May 8, 2019
There are many different developments taking place in the Private Equity industry. Changes in fee structures, speed of fund raising, a seemingly excessive amount of liquidity and dry powder as well as continously climbing multiples and leverage levels. Is the Private Equity industry entering dangerous waters? A detailed analysis by Francesco Spagnolo.

How demographic changes could set for EU growth underperformance - May 5, 2019
GDP by definition “measures the monetary value of final goods and services […] produced in a given period of time” (IMF). Production derives from different inputs, mainly labour (i.e. people, both workers and entrepreneurs) and capital. Consequently, the more available these factors are, the more GDP is set for growth. Gross Domestic Product per Capita in absolute terms (expressed in dollars) allows us to have an idea of the cost of labour in each country.

The weakness of Turkish Lira - May 4, 2019
Turkey has recently experienced a worsening of its overall economy mainly due to some changes prompted by the ruling party that decided to intervene heavily on the economy of the country. We’re going to explain what was the situation of Turkey before the sudden increase in inflation, why it happened and the direct consequences that traders and the economy had experienced.

Transforming the German energy sector: E.ON becomes horizontally integrated - April 27, 2019
Dating back to 2014, German energy conglomerate E.ON SE adopted a new corporate strategy called “Empowering customers. Shaping markets.” This was widely perceived as a response to "Germany’s Energiewende", a radical shift from conventional fossil and nuclear energy to renewables. E.ON executives and its supervisory board perceived that over the past years, two energy worlds have emerged, both being very different and hence not easy to deal with concurrently.

Africa's surging welfare - April 26, 2019
While surfing the internet using “welfare state” as keywords, I have been amazed by how old this concept is in human society. It was the Indian emperor Ashoka who, three hundred years BC, first put forward the idea: he envisioned a society where the ultimate goal was “the wellbeing of human beings”. Scrolling through the other results, I learned that more or less every other state experienced some kind of welfare state measure in history: from Europe to China, from Russia to the USA, from Australia to South America. But not Africa.

The German economy is over for now - April 22, 2019
“The period of high growth in the German economy is over for now. But given the strong domestic economy there is no reason to expect a recession,” said Christoph Schmidt, the president of the RWI - Leibniz Institute of Economic Research and chairman of the German Council of Economic Experts. What makes Germany particularly complex is the fact that its economic expertise is distributed all over the country rather than concentrated in a dominant capital city.

Nigerian e-commerce company Jumia files for an IPO - April 21, 2019
On March 12, 2019, Nigerian e-commerce Jumia filed its papers for listing at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). With an initial share price range of $13 to $16 per share, company is aiming to sell 13.5 million shares and estimates $233.5 million of net proceeds from the listing. The IPO is expected to be finalized by the end of April and could value the firm as high as $1.6 billion, therefore making it the 5th largest African company to be listed in US and 1st in internet industry.

Mediclinic - Matlosana : South Africa’s Competition Tribunal Blocks the Merger - April 21, 2019
In January 2019, the South Africa’s Competition Tribunal reported that it has prohibited a proposed merger between private hospital groups Mediclinic Southern Africa and Matlosana Medical Health Services (MMHS), scuppering the former’s plans to expand in the country’s North West province.

Roche on Spark Therapeutics - April 16, 2019
On February 25th Roche has reached a $4,3 million agreement for the acquisition of the American biotech firm Spark Therapeutics. F. Hoffmann-La Roche & Co. was founded in Europe during the second industrial revolution. On October 1st, 1896, Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, when he was only 28 years old, started his business as the successor of the previous existing company called “Hoffmann, Traub & Co” in Basel, Switzerland.

Network International, preparing for the IPO - April 10, 2019
Network International was created as a division of Emirates Bank in 1994 and has grown at an impressive pace in the last years, becoming the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. The company is benefitting from positive results as well as a favourable market outlook and using this to support its IPO.

The Nordic Laundromat: Scandinavian banks involved in Baltic money-laundering- April 9, 2019
Two CEOs fired and reputations critically damaged, billions of Euros in criminal funds with connections to Russia laundered, and huge amounts of wealth destroyed. This describes the current outcome of one of the biggest money-laundering scandals in modern time.

How to stabilize a free-falling currency: the case of the Ghanaian Cedi - April 7, 2019
The Ghanaian currency, the Cedi, has faced a few issues over the past years. As a matter of fact, over the last 5 years, it has lost over 50% of its value against the US dollar. Recently, the unexpected move of the Central Bank of Ghana to cut rates by 100 bps, produced a depreciation spyral for the cedi, that lost a further 9.8 percent of its value from the 28 of January, when the rate cut was enacted.

The Air Berlin Story: The downfall of a rising star - April 6, 2019
The 27th of October 2017 marks the deathday of Air Berlin, once Germany’s second largest airline. At that day, the airline which was particularly popular among tourists traveling towards the Mediterranean sun seized to exist in its past glory and operated its last flight that landed where it all began, at Berlin-Tegel Airport. What are the reasons for the downfall of this once so successful German airline?

Beyond Saudi Aramco’s $10bn bond issuance and $69bn SABIC acquisition, a stepping stone to stalling IPO? - April 5, 2019
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned company Saudi Aramco is about to launch its landmark $10bn dollar-denominated debut bond. Despite claims of the two not being strictly connected, it is rumored that the issuance is being performed in order to help finance the just announced acquisition of a 70% stake in SABIC, the diversified manufacturing company from the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. Energy Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih added also that the oil giant is still planned to be listed in 2021.

Novo Banco Announces Sale of €3.3 Billion NPL Portfolio - March 27, 2019
Earlier this month, Novo Banco announced the beginning of “Project Nata 2”, the largest sale ever of non-performing loans in Portugal, valued at €3.3 billion. The State-rescued and private equity-backed institution is continuing and accelerating the winding down of problematic assets, after a series of events that share one common goal: reducing the proportion of bad loans in the Bank’s balance sheet to levels comparable to those of European peers.

Slowing growth and mounting concerns cause the ECB to provide new stimulus for banks - March 26, 2019
On Thursday March 7th Mario Draghi and the ECB surprised markets with the announcement of a halt to the increase in interest rates and a new stimulus for European Banks. Following recent signs of a slowdown for the Union’s economy marked by greatly reduced growth projections for 2019, the European Central Bank will be postponing its rate hike to 2020 and promised a new round of long term ultra-cheap loans, known as TLTROs, to banks looking to expand lending.

Alstom-Siemens: EU to block the deal on Antitrust concerns - March 4, 2019
On 23th March 2018, Siemens, a German conglomerate company and Alstom, a French rail transport firm have signed the agreement on the business combination of the mobility division of Siemens and the rail traction drives division of Alstom. The aim of this transaction is to build a joint Franco-German rail champion signaling solutions in the European Economic Area (EEA) in terms of geographic footprint of their activities and in terms of size competing with Chinese giant.

The only way out? Is Deutsche Bank’s future really a forced marriage with its sibling? - March 3, 2019
Deutsche Bank, once the flagship European Lender on par with its American peers, is now a shadow of its former self. It feels like there is not a single week without more troubling news for the struggling giant. Some people claim that by merging Deutsche with Germany’s second largest lender Commerzbank, many problems the two banks are facing can be dealt with in a more efficient way.

Understanding MasterCard’s €570m fine by the EU for restricting competition - February 28, 2019
MasterCard has joined an increasingly long list of big US companies facing fines by the European Commission, ranging from State aid cases involving Apple, Amazon and Starbucks to antitrust cases faced by Google and Qualcom. In this article we will go through what happened and we will try to understand the rationale behind EU Commission’s decision by giving a brief description of how the credit cards’ business works.

Why the UK needs to worry about Macquarie’s warning on the EU licence backlog - February 27, 2019
A no-deal Brexit is a key concern of Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, who defined this situation as “an acid test” which could show whether the world is heading towards an era of protectionism causing uncertainty about future market access. Not only Mr. Carney is worried but Macquarie Group as well, who warned about the licence backlog with the European regulators required for banks to carry out their activities.

The Lebanese burden - February 24, 2019
Lebanon has the fifth-highest public debt burden in the world, with a hardly sustainable 149% debt-to-GDP ratio, a figure that has been growing steadily for the last 19 years and refuses to slow down. Last month, Mr Ali told to a local newspaper that “It’s true that the ministry is preparing a plan for financial correction, including a restructuring of public debt”.

TMT M&A in EMEA: Can 2019 keep up with a record breaking 2018? - February 23, 2019
According to Mergermarket data, in 2018 technology, media and telecommunications M&A activities hit all-time high in EMEA. In fact, TMT M&A deals value reached €169 billion, recording a 177% increase if compared to the previous year.

New players, old conflicts - February 19, 2019
The surge in private debt arms of Private Equity Firms does not come without conflicts of interests.
Private debt is the flavour of the day in the US, and, increasingly, also in Europe. The definition of private debt is not always clear but it mostly refers to bespoke non-bank loans that are privately originated.

EU Commission cuts Italy’s growth forecast to 0.2% raising new concerns over Europe’s third largest economy - February 15, 2019
Just a day after its most successful bond sale, Italy has seen its growth forecast drastically reduced by the European Commission. Brussels is now pointing at a 2019 growth estimate of just 0.2 percent, the lowest out of all the European Economies.

Angola: chronicle of a devaluation - December 18, 2018
Angola has the fastest-growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest-growing in the world with an average GDP growth of 20% between 2005 and 2007. Given the importance in its economy, any change in oil price can have a huge impact on Angola’s economy. This is exactly what happened when in 2014 the price of oil collapsed.

The Future of the Renault-Nissan Alliance - December 12, 2018
Carlos Ghosn, the mastermind behind the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance, was arrested on 19th of November. The sudden fall of such a monumental figure will undoubtedly produce reverberations across the chess board.

Agribusiness: Africa's new gold? - December 10, 2018
It is considered to be one of Africa’s most rapidly emerging industries, valued at over $300 billion. With the United Nations expecting the business to triple its market value to over one trillion USD by 2030, agribusiness has often been referred to as ‘Africa’s new gold’.

Spot the expansion: Spotify’s launch into the Middle East and North Africa - December 7, 2018
Earlier this month, Spotify announced that it would expand its services to the Middle East and North Africa in the fourth quarter. Being the world’s leading music streaming service, Spotify has now penetrated thirteen new markets across the MENA region, with its regional headquarters based in Dubai.

Vivendi, quite the balancing act - December 2, 2018
Vivendi is French media conglomerate, active in all kinds of media, such as; music, film, gaming and telecommunications. Originally founded as a water company in 1853, Vivendi has strayed far away from its origins.

Will the German car industry decline affect ECB policies? - November 29, 2018
Car industry is one of the most important sectors of the German economy, which in turn accounts for one third of the entire eurozone aggregate output. Quarterly reports of firms in the sector for the third quarter of 2018 have shown a significant decline in profitability.

Garofalo Health Care goes public - November 22, 2018
Friday, November 9th 2018, an historical moment for the Italian financial industry occurred: the first Italian healthcare IPO. GHC is the protagonist of this groundbreaking event.

Greek Banks and NPLs - November 19, 2018
It is a fact that NPLs are the most discussed issue in the Greek market among its investors. These loans are a bomb in the very premises of the whole Greek financial system that can possibly trigger a domino effect of unimaginable impact.

A turning point for the German automobile industry - November 17, 2018
Tesla and its enfant terrible Elon Musk have brought massive disruption to the car industry by introducing its line of electric vehicles (EVs) that might mark the ultimate advent of vehicles powered purely by electricity to ordinary consumers.

The Independence of Italian High Fashion - November 15, 2018
With the announcement of the acquisition of Versace by Michael Kors, comes an end to the independence of one of the most famous Italian fashion houses. Looking at the Italian fashion landscape, Versace is definitely not the first of its kind to be acquired by an international corporation.

Italian Banks at Risk - November 12, 2018
A shudder political framework inaugurated an arduous period for Italian banks which are strained by the increasing spread of Italian 10-year debt over equivalent German bonds that is around 300 basis points.

Middle East and Oil: why so correlated? - November 9, 2018
The importance of oil is given by the fact that it is vital to many industries and is of importance to the maintenance of industrialized civilization itself. Thus is a critical concern to many nations.

A deep dive into the history of Volkswagen's heavy-truck division Traton and how it would benefit from a potential IPO - November 6, 2018
Recently, German automotive giant Volkswagen announced that it is set to take its heavy-truck division called Traton public by the end of this year.

The struggles of European low-cost carriers - November 6, 2018
The European airline industry has seen a surge of bankruptcies in recent times. Three low-cost carriers, including Danish Primera Air, Cypriot based Cobalt Air and SkyWork Airlines filed for bankruptcy over the course of the last month alone.

The Aston Martin IPO: a race against current market uncertainty - November 4, 2018
On Wednesday, October 3rd 2018, Aston Martin went public, at a share price of £19 in its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. Though there was an initial rise to £19.15, shares actually reversed on the London debut, falling as low as £17.75 on the first day of dealing.

Italy: Foreign PE funds land of conquest - October 30, 2018
What sounds weird about a deal in which the Italian company Recordati gets acquired by CVC? Or about HIG Capital investing in the Italian real estate? If you cannot spot anything odd, follow my excursus on the Italian private equity industry.

Risk of Default on Foreign Debt in Zambia - October 27, 2018
Last month, Xi Jinping, China’s president, announced that China would offer $60 billion in new funding to Africa. These funds will be used to finance public infrastructures in the target countries, in order to foster economic development; however, they come with some warnings, first of which is China’s interest in using such loans to control resources and political systems, in view of its global ambitions.

SPACs in the Italian market: what should we expect next? - October 23, 2018
SPACs as investment vehicles will not be enough to solve the chronic Italian scarcity of IPOs in regulated markets, as the reasons of this phenomenon are profoundly intrinsic to the way capitalism has evolved in our country.