US considers Alibaba, Tencent trade ban; Entain offers to buy Sweden's Enlabs

TOP NEWS IN RETAIL

* U.S. officials are considering adding Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. to a list of Chinese companies prohibited from U.S. investments, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, the State Department and Pentagon are concerned that Alibaba and Tencent, although not controlled by the Chinese government, could serve as a conduit for Beijing to broaden its influence by forcing the two companies to share sensitive data of U.S. citizens and businesses.

* British online gaming company Entain PLC is offering to acquire Sweden's Enlabs AB for 40 Swedish kronor apiece, valuing Enlabs at 2.80 billion kronor. Entain aims to enter the Baltic market through the transaction.

➤ China's big tech to continue disruption of healthcare sector despite crackdown

Industry observers believe that online services will continue to disrupt the healthcare sector beyond the pandemic due to their ability to facilitate easier access to medical consultations and medicines.

➤ Stimulus expectations tempered even with Democrats' Senate takeover

A slim Democratic majority in the Senate means scaled-back relief packages could pass under Biden, though more ambitious economic plans could be stifled by filibusters.

➤ COVID-21, mines and straits — outlier risks for supply chains

After a tumultuous 2020, global supply chains face a wide range of outlier risks in 2021 including an evolution of the pandemic, a more hawkish geopolitical stance from China, insecurity at sea and a more belligerent North Korea.

MULTILINE RETAIL

* Target Corp. closed its stores in Washington, D.C., due to violence related to the pro-Trump riots at the U.S. Capitol, a company spokesperson told NBC News. "We've closed our stores in the DC area and sent our team members home. We'll continue to monitor the situation closely," the representative said.

* B&M European Value Retail SA said group revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 grew to £1.40 billion from £1.14 billion a year ago. At constant currency, revenue jumped 22.5%. The company will launch 18 B&M U.K. stores and eight Heron Foods locations in the fourth quarter.

E-COMMERCE

* Amazon.com Inc. pledged more than $2 billion to preserve and create over 20,000 homes in communities near its headquarters in Puget Sound, Wash.; Arlington, Va.; and Nashville, Tenn.

* Online fashion company Poshmark Inc. filed for an IPO of 6.6 million shares priced at $35 to $39 apiece, hoping to raise about $223.1 million in net proceeds. It applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol POSH.

FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING

* Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said first-quarter 2021 adjusted EPS dropped 11.2% to $1.22 from $1.37 a year ago but still beat analysts' expectations. Sales rose 5.7% year over year to $36.31 billion. The drug retailer maintained that adjusted EPS for the full year will see a low single-digit growth at constant currency.

* J Sainsbury PLC said total retail sales for the third quarter, excluding fuel, rose 6.8% year over year, driven by its grocery, general merchandise and clothing divisions. Like-for-like sales jumped by 8.6%. The grocer expects an underlying pretax profit of at least £330 million for the full year ending March 2021.

HYPERMARKETS AND SUPERCENTERS

* Costco Wholesale Corp. posted a 12.3% year-over-year increase in net sales for December 2020. Net sales for the five-week period ended Jan. 3 rose to $19.14 billion from $17.04 billion a year ago.

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL

* Petco Health & Wellness Co. Inc. expects to price its IPO of 48 million shares between $14 and $17 each. The CVC Capital Partners Ltd.-backed pet care company is targeting net proceeds of about $699.4 million from the offering. It will list on Nasdaq under the symbol "WOOF."

* LG Electronics Inc. is taking a more than 50% stake in television data company Alphonso Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The electronics manufacturer will use Alphonso's software and services on its home entertainment products.

HOTELS, RESORTS AND CRUISE LINES

* Carnival Corp. & PLC's Holland America Line extended the suspension of its cruises that were departing on April 30. Meanwhile, its Princess Cruises unit extended the pause of its ships sailing through May 14.

CASINOS AND GAMING

* Casino and gaming operator MGM Resorts International said it appointed Jonathan Halkyard as CFO of the company. Halkyard has previously held leadership roles at Caesars Entertainment Inc.

* Snow Lake Capital Ltd. is urging MGM Resorts International to sell a 20% stake in its Chinese subsidiary MGM China Holdings Ltd. to a strategic partner, saying it is a "win-win transaction" for all parties. Snow Lake identified Chinese companies Meituan, Trip.com Group Ltd., Huazhu Group Ltd. and Sunac China Holdings Ltd. as potential partners. In response, MGM said the company remains committed to Macao and will continue to take actions that are in the best interests of its shareholders.

* Roblox Corp. plans to go public through a direct listing of its shares instead of an IPO. It also raised $520 million in a Series H funding round led by Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group, valuing the online gaming company at $29.5 billion.

MARKETS

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