Bottom line: Toys “R” Us’ big China expansion plan contrasts with pull-backs and departures for many major western retailers in the tough market, and could be aimed at generating buzz in the run-up to a potential IPO.
Toys “R” Us steps up China expansion
China’s economy may be headed for a rapid slowdown that casts a chill on the retail sector, but don’t tell that to US veteran Toys “R” Us. The retailer whose name is synonymous with children and fun has disclosed it’s planning an ambitious China build-up that will see it increase its local store count by 30 percent this year, even as other major western retailers are closing shops and even leaving the difficult market.
All that leads to the question of whether Toys “R” Us really intends to open so many new stores at a time of uncertainty, or whether this China toy story is part hype with other motivations. If the latter is the case, this particular story could be designed at least partly to generate some excitement around an otherwise boring traditional retailer, as it gets set to potentially re-list in New York more than a decade after being privatized. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: New $200-$300 million investments by Baidu and Alibaba in smaller Internet companies show such fundings are starting to recede in size after peaking earlier this year.
58 Home gets investment from Alibaba, KKR
Two big fund-raising stories are in the headlines today, each involving a top Internet company as China’s “big 3” trio of Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (HKEx: 700) look for ways to put their big cash pots to work. It’s interesting to note that neither Baidu nor Alibaba is the central player in either of these latest deals, one in e-commerce and the other in online-to-offline (O2O) services. Instead, both are playing secondary roles, supporting other companies with good growth potential.
The larger of the 2 investments is seeing Alibaba participate in a new $300 million first funding round for a 1-year-old company that helps web surfers find home-based services like cleaning and baby sitting. The second has Baidu participating in a $200 million funding for an older e-commerce company with close ties to state-run cereals giant COFCO. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) Revives Koubei to Take Fight With Tencent to Food (English article)
LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104) in Spotlight Over Sales Figures (English article)
Momo (Nasdaq: MOMO) Announces Receipt of “Going Private” Proposal (GlobeNewswire)
KKR Bets on China Professional Education With Tarena (NYSE: TEDU) Investment (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 13. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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KKR, Citic (HKEx: 267) In $1.5 Bln Bid For United Envirotech (Singapore: UNIT) (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US Business Lobby Says Concerned China Antitrust Probes Unfair (English article)
Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) To Buy Celebrity Century Shop From Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) (PRNewswire)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Acquires Majority Of Yunnan Metallurgical New Energy (PRNewswire)
KKR Sells Final Stake In China Modern Dairy (HKEx: 1117) For $80 Mln: Source (English article)
Tencent (HKEx: 700) Invests $70 Mln In Online Medical Portal DXY (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Sinopec (HKEx: 386), Tencent (HKEx: 700) Join To Develop Non-Oil Business (Chinese article)
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Probe Also Includes Browser, Media Player – SAIC (Chinese article)
China Investment Corp Boosts SMIC (HKEx: 981) Stake To 12 Pct From 11.25 Pct (HKEx announcement)
KKR Agrees To Buy 18 Pct Of China Chicken Firm For $400 Mln (English article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Announces Q2 Results (PRNewswire)
An exciting trend is building momentum on China’s private equity scene, with a new generation of more entrepreneurial firms taking shape to compete on the global stage with traditional giants like Carlyle (Nasdaq: CG), KKR and TPG. One of the most active of those firms is the privately owned Fosun, which has become a regular headline maker due to its recent string of global acquisitions. Now the company is in the news once more, with word that it may soon become one of only a handful of companies in China to get a license to operate a private bank. In other private equity news, the highly anticipated launch of a major new player with strong ties to Shanghai’s financial community has finally come with the formal debut of China Minsheng Investment Corp (CMIC). Read Full Post…
China’s campaign to clean up its fragmented and scandal-plagued food industry has gotten a boost on the meat front, with word of a new tie-up between national grains giant COFCO and global private equity giants KKR and Baring Private Equity Asia. This latest move is part of Beijing’s growing effort to bring in foreign expertise to create a handful of major food groups that can ensure product quality and food safety. Unfortunately, nearly all the major giants now emerging are big state-run companies, meaning most of these firms are likely to be quite bureaucratic and most won’t be available to foreign stock buyers. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 7-9. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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COFCO Meat Brings in KKR, Baring PE, HOPU, Boyu as Strategic Investors (Businesswire)
China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Rolls Out Own-Brand 4G Phone Selling For 999 Yuan (Chinese article)
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Steps Up Campaign To Woo China Developers (English article)
Xiaomi China Sales Surpass Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) In Q1 (Chinese article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Announces Pricing Of Offering Of 8.8 Mln ADSs (PRNewswire)
The growing field of big Chinese global investors has gained a new member, with word that a unit of Citic Group, one of the nation’s oldest conglomerates, is taking a stake in a major new fund being set up in New York. Word of that deal comes as Citic Capital wraps up another major deal, as it finally closes its long and difficult plan to buy out New York-listed telecoms software maker AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA). Both deals underscore not only Citic’s own aspirations as a global investor, but also the broader rise of Chinese private equity firms on the world stage as they aim to compete with big western names like KKR and Carlyle. Read Full Post…
Leading domestic dairy company Mengniu (HKEx: 2319) and e-commerce company LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB) are in the headlines with new foreign tie-ups, including a joint venture for the former and a modest acquisition for the latter. I personally find the Mengniu development more interesting and significant, as it marks the latest move in the company’s drive to become China’s leading dairy products maker and positions it for an eventual global expansion. But investors were much more excited by the LightInTheBox move, which sparked a major rally for the firm’s languishing shares. Read Full Post…
