Brief: Private equity firms are betting that the rise in online shopping is here to stay, with some of the world’s biggest investment funds eyeing deals for everything from warehouses to delivery companies. Clipper Logistics Plc, which supports the e-commerce operations of retailers from Asos Plc to Superdry, is attracting interest from buyout firms, people with knowledge of the matter said. Cinven is among potential suitors that have been evaluating the 496 million-pound ($638 million) company, while CVC Capital Partners has also looked in the past, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Silver Lake recently participated in a $650 million funding round for Klarna AB, which lets shoppers pay for online purchases in installments. In August, Advent International acquired a controlling stake in the U.K. operations of package delivery service Hermes. The coronavirus crisis has created rising e-commerce demand, with customers stuck indoors ordering everything from food delivery to clothing and items for home improvement. That’s attracted private equity firms, which are eager to spend the record piles of capital they’ve amassed even as they grapple with the effects of Covid-19 on the companies they already own. Permira led a $300 million funding round last month for Mirakl, the French startup behind a platform used to create digital marketplaces, while Warburg Pincus invested in Boston-based Salsify Inc., which helps brands manage their online presence.
Brief: The global cull of banking jobs continues with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. joining the growing list of lenders resuming cuts paused during the coronavirus pandemic. The Wall Street firm is embarking on a plan to eliminate about one per cent of its workforce, or roughly 400 positions, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Adding that to disclosures this week by other banks would take the total announced this year to 67,844, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg. More than 30 lenders -- from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa -- are behind the planned reductions. The actual total is probably higher because many banks eliminate staff without disclosing their plans. The banks cited a need to reduce expenses to offset the cost of credit souring during the pandemic as well as spending to comply with stricter regulation and invest in digital technology. Goldman’s plans suggest that the pandemic is outlasting the financial industry’s resolve to offer jittery employees stability through the economic downturn. They add to a bad week for banking jobs. Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo SpA said on Wednesday that it agreed with trade unions on at least 5,000 voluntary job reductions. Banco de Sabadell SA’s U.K. unit said this week it will eliminate more than 900 roles.
Brief: As big U.S. commercial banks close their books on the third quarter, analysts expect them to report a 30% to 60% plunge in profits on the year-ago period due to the pandemic-induced recession and near record low interest rates. That slump in third quarter net income comes even though lenders are not going to make outsized provisions for expected loan losses as they did in the first and second quarters. And, while capital markets and investment banking revenue is expected to be up from 5% to 20%, that won’t be enough to make up for the decline in interest income from loans and securities. “You have soft loan growth and you’re still feeling the impact from aggressive Fed actions earlier this year,” said analyst Jason Goldberg of Barclays. Citigroup IncC.N and Wells Fargo & CoWFC.N, the third- and fourth-biggest U.S. banks by assets respectively, will report net income down by about 60%, according to I/B/E/S analyst survey data from Refinitiv.
Brief: Private equity and venture capital fund managers are anticipating the economy will improve in 2021 but are actively preparing for the impact of a second wave of the pandemic, according to BDO’s Private Capital Pulse Survey. Three-quarters (74.5%) of all fund managers surveyed expect the economy to improve next year—28% expect it to be “much better” and 46.5% “slightly better.” Only 15.5% of PE and VC fund managers surveyed said they expect the economy to perform worse in 2021, and the remainder, 10%, said the economy would fare about the same. At the same time, PE and VC fund managers are preparing for a potential second wave of the coronavirus in various ways: by conducting a business continuity risk assessment (55%), by making changes in forward-looking valuation metrics (47%), by activating a crisis response task force (39.5%), by considering applying for a government loan (36.5%), and by assessing EBITDA for asset impairments (32%). Just 4.5% of respondents say they are not doing anything to prepare for a second wave.
Brief: As markets tumbled this year, Mary Ann Tsao faced a tough choice. Her fourth-generation family office in Singapore had adopted sustainable investing principles, but the coronavirus was trashing the global economy. Relatives suggested a return to the old ways. "They'd say 'don't lose any money - never mind about the ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance)','" she said. "But we have to ask: what is the purpose of investing money in the first place?" In a sign of how Asia's ultra-rich family offices are slowly embracing the sustainability trend, the Tsao Family Office has tried to stay the course, buying into the Brown Advisory US Sustainable Growth Fund and adding to its investment in the Robeco Sustainable European Stars Fund after the pandemic began. For sustainable investing to take hold in Asia as it's started to in Europe and North America, family offices like Tsao's are key. Families run 85 per cent of the businesses in Asia, according to Ernst & Young estimates, a much higher proportion than the rest of the world. As fortunes get passed on to next generations, the push to do well by doing good is gathering steam.
Brief: BlackRock BLK.N said on Wednesday it had lifted the suspension of its 3.1 billion pound ($4 billion) British property fund, one of several to resume dealings after a six-month freeze due to uncertainty about valuations. Much of Britain’s 70-billion-pound ($90 billion) property fund sector was frozen in March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but surveyors lifted an uncertainty warning earlier this month. Dealing in the BlackRock fund, which was suspended on March 20, will start again on Oct. 30, the U.S. asset manager said in a statement emailed to Reuters, as the fund’s assets were no longer subject to “material uncertainty”. “The fund has sufficient liquidity to meet the current level of redemption requests,” the statement said. Legal & General LGEN.L, Royal London, St James's Place SJP.L and Columbia Threadneedle have also lifted the suspension of their funds. Aegon AEGN.AS, Aviva AV.L, Janus Henderson JHG.N and Standard Life Aberdeen SLA.L said on Wednesday theirs remained suspended. Some funds have said they are checking market activity, redemption queues and cash levels before reopening.