Geopost, international delivery subsidiary of France-based La Poste, is stepping up its presence in corporate venturing and one of the companies it has could soon have Olympian Usain Bolt as a torch carrier.
Category: Analysis
The Big Deal: OnLive or dead
OnLive restructures to leave corporations nursing their pain.
Why value investing is smart
The question taxpayers, voters and employees will start to ask is whether government strategies are priming an innovation capacity in areas that a country, ie its companies primarily, have no interest or capacity to commercialise whether through corporate venturing and then acquisitions?
Utilities table: August 2012
Click here to see the most influential corporate venturing units with a utility parent.
Profile: Telefónica Ventures
Spanish company Telefónica is in the process of implementing a corporate venturing programme with a global investment strategy and designs on maintaining the Spanish company’s global position by providing it with access to the technological investments. The company has built an ambitious early-stage accelerator, Wayra, active in a dozen countries with a more classic corporate… Continue reading Profile: Telefónica Ventures
Feature: Utilities Sector, August 2012
Venturing finds its core service.
Deal analysis: July 2012
Sell-side activity took a knock during the month as economic uncertainty dogged the headlines, yet corporates remained busy investing. July was a sleepy month for realisation activity, as global economic headlines continue to be dominated by eurozone woes and a slowing of both the US and Chinese economies. There were only three exits of corporate… Continue reading Deal analysis: July 2012
LeSage Krause part III: revolutionary pilots
For the last article of this series, we focus on piloting revolutionary initiatives, the ideas that can open entirely new businesses for a company, or reinvent legacy businesses stuck in the status quo. Such initiatives are revolutionary because they lack precedent within the company, are transformational or have disruptive implications for the core business. Pursuing… Continue reading LeSage Krause part III: revolutionary pilots
Starbucks shines for Square
US-based café chain Starbucks made a big splash in corporate venturing sealing a $25m deal to invest in fast-growing US-based financial payments company Square, founded by Jack Dorsey, also a founder of social network Twitter. Starbucks chief Howard Schultz will be joining Square’s board in a sign of how seriously Starbucks is taking the investment.… Continue reading Starbucks shines for Square
The Big Deal: long-term investing
There was a nice line at the UK government’s venture investment conference last week from a venture capitalist saying that most of the returns from healthcare deals it had done came between 15 and 25 years after the portfolio company had been founded. The point by Tim Haines, partner at venture capital (VC) firm Abingworth,… Continue reading The Big Deal: long-term investing
The Big Deal: Box unpacks potential
Salesforce and SAP Ventures look to have picked a financial winner in file sharing company Box. The deal also has interesting strategic options for Salesforce and SAP, given Box’s fast growth amongst mobile users.
The Big Deal: Bang & Olufsen and Sparkle Roll
In a strategy review last year titled “Leaner, Faster, Stronger”, Denmark-based high-end consumer electronics business Bang & Olufsen (B&O) outlined six threats to its business, one of which was: “A lack of focus on growing economies, especially China.” Given that in the luxury goods market, management consultancy McKinsey predicts China is expected to consume 20%… Continue reading The Big Deal: Bang & Olufsen and Sparkle Roll
The Big Deal: Intel moves to African beat
Corporates should prepare an Africa strategy, as early movers like technology companies Intel and IBM are dipping their toes into the region.
Alternative investments: art
Pinta means paint in Spanish. It is also the name of an exhibition at Earl’s Court, London, UK, dedicated to an up-and-coming Latin American artist that took place at the beginning of last month. “This is the tree of life,” commented Sonia Falcone, a Bolivian artist showing a piece of wood and magnets representing the… Continue reading Alternative investments: art