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  • 📈 Bet365 Eyes £9bn Wall Street Sale

📈 Bet365 Eyes £9bn Wall Street Sale

Shein’s IPO Stalls Amid Trump Tariffs

May 01, 2025

This is Cliff Equity, the UK’s business newsletter that keeps you informed on what’s important in tech, business and finance in less than 5 minutes

In today’s stories:

  • Bet365 Eyes £9bn Wall Street Sale

  • Shein’s IPO Stalls Amid Trump Tariffs

  • Azure Soars as Microsoft Bets Big on AI

The summary: Denise Coates might be ready to cash in her chips, as Bet365 flirts with a £9bn sale and a glitzy Wall Street debut – not bad for a business born in a Stoke car park!

The details:

  • Stoke’s digital gambling dynasty may cash in its chips – The Coates family is mulling over a £9bn sale of Bet365, possibly through a private equity flirtation or a US stock market debut.

  • From Portakabin to Park Avenue? – Talks with Wall Street banks suggest Denise Coates might soon swap rainy Stoke for sunnier IPO shores, having built a bookie behemoth from humble beginnings.

  • Cleaning house for Uncle Sam – Bet365 has binned its China operations and passed the Stoke City FC baton to brother John, all to polish its appeal for cash-rich, regulation-happy US investors.

  • A very British jackpot – With a potential £5bn payout, Denise Coates – shy, sharp, and statistically inclined – could bow out as Britain’s richest gambler who really did beat the odds.

Why it matters: A potential £9bn sale of Bet365 signals that Britain’s most successful gambling empire might soon fall into American hands – a big punt from Denise Coates as she eyes retirement. It marks the end of an era for a business that started in a Portakabin and ended up bossing the global betting game. With Wall Street circling and regulation rising, the ultimate gambler may be cashing out while the odds are still in her favour.

The summary: Shein’s grand London IPO plans are on pause as Trump’s tariff tantrum forces a frantic fashion reshuffle, turning fast fashion into a fast headache—but it’s nothing a cheeky pivot and some savvy stitching can’t fix.

The details:

  • Shein’s London IPO? On ice for now – The fast-fashion behemoth is shelving its float plans while Trump plays tariff hardball, slapping a brutal 124% levy on Chinese imports and closing the tax-friendly "de minimis" loophole. Cheers, Don.

  • Crisis couture in the US – Facing trade drama hotter than a summer sample sale, Shein’s brass are ditching ad spend and hiking prices by up to 377% to survive stateside—bad news for bargain hunters and influencer wardrobes alike.

  • Factory shuffle on the cards – The firm’s now eyeing a production pivot away from China to friendlier factories in India and Brazil. Trouble is, there’s not enough glitter glue and sequins there yet to match demand.

  • IPO dreams in limbo – With valuation estimates wobbling and trade talks dragging on, Shein’s blockbuster London debut may have to wait until the fashion storm clears—or at least until the tariffs chill out.

Why it matters: Shein’s caught between a trade war catwalk and a customs crackdown, forcing it to rethink everything from pricing to production just to stay en vogue in the US. With its IPO frock half-buttoned, investors are left wondering whether it’ll strut down the London runway or trip over Trump’s tariffs. And if both the UK and US shut the de minimis door, it’s less fast fashion, more financial indigestion.

The summary: Microsoft’s AI-driven triumphs, with booming revenue, a resurgent Azure, and confidence in its tech future, have it dancing through the economic storm while competitors nervously clutch their umbrellas.

The details:

  • Microsoft’s AI obsession is paying off handsomely, with quarterly revenue hitting a jaw-dropping $70.07bn — smashing Wall Street’s forecasts and sending shares up faster than a caffeine-fuelled coder.

  • Azure cloud is back in fashion, posting a 33% revenue jump after a bit of a wobble last quarter. Even Abercrombie & Fitch are apparently floating in the Microsoft cloud these days.

  • Executives are waxing lyrical about AI, with Satya Nadella claiming nearly a third of Microsoft’s code is AI-written (though no one's sure if that includes Clippy), and one top bod predicting it’ll be 95% within five years.

  • While other tech titans sweat over Trump’s trade tantrums, Microsoft is keeping calm and lawyering up, ready to sue anyone who tries to pull the plug on its European cloud operations. Bravo, chaps.

Why it matters: Microsoft's AI-fuelled money machine is purring, proving it's not just jumping on the hype train — it’s driving it. With Azure back in the good books and execs banging on about robot-written code, it's clear Redmond’s betting the house on an AI future. While rivals fret over tariffs and tantrums, Microsoft’s strutting through the storm in a tailored cloud suit, umbrella firmly in hand.