Chris Hughes

3 weeks ago | bloomberg.com | Chris Hughes

Regulators should use the discretion they have in how they police public companies and the hedge funds that bet against them. Life has never been easy for short sellers in Europe. Post Brexit, the contrast with the UK is becoming more pronounced. And it’s the more lenient British approach that should prevail. European companies have proved a difficult hunting ground. For starters, a hedge fund launching a public attack on a firm risks becoming a target itself for regulatory scrutiny.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Chris Hughes

CEOs can’t ignore that investors increasingly want share repurchases to be deployed opportunistically. Elliott Investment Management LP has landed on the register of one of the world’s cheapest renewable energy companies and is pushing it to do a jumbo share buyback. Can this piece of activism 101 really be so effective? After all, share repurchases essentially move money between existing shareholders and create losers as well as winners. Under scrutiny is Germany’s RWE AG.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Chris Hughes

The UK no longer wants to be a global antitrust crusader. Reform could see fewer deals get roasted. It’s good for bankers, middling for lawyers and worrying for consumers. The UK had a good stab at becoming the world’s toughest merger regulator when Brexit gave it new freedom to thwart deals. Is Britain now overcorrecting the other way? Reform aired this week heralds the UK probing fewer transactions and ensuring investigations that do happen are faster and less combative. Good for dealmakers.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Chris Hughes

It's hard to see what justifies the massive price bump Wiz won from its suitor. It’s not often you see big tech firms getting pushed around. Upstart Wiz Inc. has just squeezed Google owner Alphabet Inc. to pony up $32 billion for a privately owned five-year-old cybersecurity firm. Even if the search giant can comfortably afford this deal, investors may need reassurance it hasn’t abandoned financial discipline in its pursuit of strategic ambitions in the cloud.

1 month ago | bloomberg.com | Chris Hughes

Lawsuits still haunt Bayer since it bought Monsanto — putting them to rest is the key to unlocking long-term investment. The battle between Bayer AG and the US legal profession over the safety of Roundup weed killer appears to be entering its endgame. Success for the German pharmaceutical company will mean becoming a viable investment for more than just the most risk-tolerant funds.