Jaguar Land Rover weighing up bid for London cab company Addison Lee April 28, 2019 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is weighing up an offer for London-based taxi company Addison Lee in a bid to keep up with companies such as Uber, the Sunday Telegraph reported yesterday. Read more: Jaguar and Addison Lee trial their driverless cars in London Addison Lee was put up for sale by its owner, US private [...]
Society doesn’t need any more unicorns December 5, 2019 In 2016, an American healthtech startup named Theranos completed what would be its final funding round, raising a jaw dropping $700m in investment. Just two years later, the company collapsed after a sensational scandal. The story of Theranos is bizarre. At one point, its paper valuation exceeded $9bn, and when the scandal broke, its founder [...]
Softbank earns $11bn for selling some of its huge Alibaba stake June 4, 2019 Japan’s Softbank will book a pre-tax profit of $11.1bn (£8.75bn) for selling part of its stake in Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. The sale forms part of a three-year-old deal to sell assets in order to buy British chip designer ARM for $32bn in 2016. Read more: Uber IPO: Shares slide on second day of trading [...]
Softbank ramps up investment in finance firm Greensill as it swoops on payday lending October 28, 2019 Softbank has injected a further $655m (£511m) into Greensill as the online finance firm announced a fresh acquisition that could kill off payday lenders. Greensill, which was set up by former Morgan Stanley banker Lex Grensill, has acquired Freeup, a London tech startup designed to offer employees early payment of their salaries. Read more: Softbank [...]
Budweiser blues: AB InBev scraps plans for largest IPO of 2019 July 13, 2019 The world’s largest brewer has abandoned plans for a blockbuster initial public offering (IPO). Budweiser owner AB InBev cited weak market conditions as it pulled the plug on a $9.8bn (£7.8bn) listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The float, which was billed as the world’s largest IPO of 2019, comes against a backdrop of [...]
Freebike to launch electric bike-sharing scheme in the City May 28, 2019 Electric bike company Freebike is set to launch a dockless bike-sharing service in the Square Mile after securing a contract with the City of London Corporation. The pedal-assist electric bikes will allow workers to travel around the City using the Freebike app or by swiping a contactless card, with a pause facility enabling users to [...]
Softbank gears up for launch of second Vision Fund as full-year profits soar May 9, 2019 Japanese investment giant Softbank will launch its eagerly-awaited second Vision Fund soon, the firm’s founder and chief executive has revealed. Read more: Softbank mulls float for $100bn Vision Fund Masayoshi Son said the new fund will be a similar size to its original $100bn (£77bn) Vision Fund, which has invested in major tech firms including [...]
Why did TfL strip Uber of its licence and what did it do to get it back? June 26, 2018 After months of deliberation, Uber was today granted a 15-month licence after persuading Westminster Magistrates' Court that it had changed its ways and was now a "fit and proper" operator in the capital. City A.M. looks back at why TfL took the dramatic decision last year and what Uber did to try and win it [...]
Pinterest’s valuation slips as it looks to raise $1.3bn in New York float April 8, 2019 Social media platform Pinterest plans to raise as much as $1.3bn (£995m) when it floats on the New York Stock Exchange this year. Pinterest will put 75m shares up for sale at its initial public offering (IPO), with a price tag of between $15 and $17 per share. Read more: Lyft IPO paves way for [...]
Shut it, Siri: Most of us are really rude to our smart speakers May 10, 2019 The majority of people using smart speakers in the UK are rude to the devices designed to help them, a new study has revealed. The virtual assistants can relay information about the weather, latest news, traffic and a lot more, and are now used by 11 per cent of Britons – and counting. Read more: Jeff [...]