📱 Introducing: Android 12

SoftBank to issue bonds, Google I/O 2021 highlights, Amazon to buy MGM, and some more updates.

May 19, 2021

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Read Time: 956 words, 4:47 minutes.

There’s so much to cover today so let’s get started.

First up,

Market Snapshot 📈

Sensex: 49,902.64 (-0.58% ) ↓

Nifty 50: 15,030.15 (-0.52% ) ↓

Dow Jones: 34,060.66 (-0.78% ) ↓

Nasdaq 100: 13,217.68 (-0.72% ) ↓

Bitcoin: $38,699.19

Top Stories 📰

1. SoftBank plans a $3.7 billion bond sale 💰

So many twists and turns in SoftBank's unfolding story.

SoftBank announced its plans to issue bonds worth 405 billion yen (US$3.7 billion), mainly targeted towards individual investors. The decision comes almost a week after SoftBank reported 1.93 trillion yen in net income for the three months ended March 31 — the highest-ever annual profit for any Japanese company.

The hybrid bonds, which share equity-like characteristics such as deferral provision for optional interest payment and subordinated payment priority to senior debt, will mature in 35 years but will be callable after five years. They will be priced somewhere between 2.45% to 3.05% in June.

What's more, some SoftBank bonds can pay investors a nearly 3% interest rate. For context, Japan pays almost nothing for deposits as its central bank adheres to the negative interest rate policy. SoftBank now plans to use the capital for redeeming its existing debt.

Previously in January, the Masayoshi Son-owned investment giant issued its first bond offering worth 177 billion yen to institutional investors.

Why it matters? Softbank made a surprising recovery in the past year, as its Vision Fund — the world’s biggest tech-focused VC fund — greatly benefited from the previous quarter's tech stock rally and its investment in the newly public Coupang Inc. (deemed as "The Amazon of South Korea"). The company also managed to reduce its debt by 1 trillion yen for the fiscal year through its corporate bond repurchasing and loan repayments.

2. Google I/O 2021 🖥️

After cancelling last year's event due to the pandemic, Google hosted its I/O Developer Conference on Tuesday and offered key insights into some of the latest tech they've been working on.

Here's a brief rundown —

Android 12 - Google introduces Material You, a new look that focuses on apps, users, weather, etc., using design language tailored to users' preferred colour scheme.
Smart Canvas - A group of collaborative workspace tool that will allow users to video call colleagues while working on the documents in Docs, Sheets, or Slides.
Samsung X Google - For once, both companies are keeping aside their difference to work on a “unified platform” for developers to make their apps on Wear OS and Tizen — an open-source OS mainly used by Samsung.
Wear OS gets an update - Google is infusing health and fitness services from Fitbit and is also offering new capabilities for apps like Google Maps. They're also introducing offline playback support for YouTube Music and Spotify on Google Wear devices.
Google Photos - Google will create still-photo animations and will remove painful memories from being resurfaced. They're also working to bring Snapchat-like camera inclusivity.
Project Starline - Google offered a really cool glimpse into its high-end 3D video call setup that shows realistic avatars of people on both sides of the system.

The search engine giant also revealed that Android powers 3 billion users worldwide, up from 2 billion in 2017. Additionally, its Android TV has over 80 million monthly active accounts — 30 million more than Amazon's Fire TV.

Why it matters? Besides showcasing new technology, Google's events help small firms to efficiently allocate their time and resources.

3. Today’s big deals 🎉

Adani Green to acquire SoftBank's SB Energy.
SB Energy, a joint venture between Bharti Group and SoftBank, has finally found its home after two years in Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL). The deal is approximately valued at around $3.5 billion, making it the biggest acquisition in India’s renewable power sector. AGEL will now add 4,954 MW to its portfolio, consisting of 84% solar capacity, 9% wind-solar hybrid capacity, and 7% wind capacity. “This acquisition is another step towards the vision... to become the world’s largest solar player by 2025 and thereafter the world’s largest renewable company by 2030," said Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani. Previously, AGEL had acquired domestic assets of SkyPower Global and Sterling and Wilson.
Amazon in talks to buy MGM for $9 billion
Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for nearly $9 billion, becoming the latest to join the battle for streaming supremacy. The decision comes two days after AT&T announced its merger with Discovery to create a new entertainment giant that could compete with Netflix and Disney. Last year, MGM was in preliminary talks with Netflix and Apple, among others, but couldn't arrive at a deal. Founded in 1924, MGM is known for producing classic Hollywood franchises like James Bond and Rocky. The company made $1.5 billion in revenues and $33 million in profit last year. So far, it's been a great year for the media industry, which reported more than $80 billion in takeovers — the busiest period for the industry since at least 2000.