The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Didi Chuxing CEO Cheng Wei. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Deeper Significance of Didi Chuxing

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 5, 2016 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

Didi Chuxing’s acquisition of UberChina drew plenty of headlines this week from outlets including this one. (One of my favorites is here.) Yet a piece of the story remains misunderstood: how Didi won. Reporters and other general tech observers have been quick to blame the Chinese government, which has and continues to stymie so many... Didi Chuxing’s acquisition of UberChina drew plenty of headlines this week from outlets...

Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman. Photo by Bloomberg.

BlackRock Marks Down Jawbone Shares to Under One Cent

By Alfred Lee · Aug 4, 2016 6:24pm PDT

A BlackRock fund has marked down its equity stake in Jawbone to less than a penny per share, according to a Thursday securities filing. The markdown may suggest that BlackRock lacks confidence that the company will fetch enough in a sale to pay off equity holders.The markdown disclosed in Thursday’s filing relates to a portion of an equity... A BlackRock fund has marked down its equity stake in Jawbone to less than a penny per share,...

Top Comments of the Week

By The Information Staff · Aug 4, 2016 1:57pm PDT

Here are excerpts of this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors. Here are excerpts of this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors.

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. Photo by Bloomberg.

High Prices Remain Obstacle for New Web TV Services

By Tom Dotan · Aug 4, 2016 10:00am PDT · 11 comments

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. Photo by Bloomberg.

High Prices Remain Obstacle for New Web TV Services

By Tom Dotan · Aug 4, 2016 10:00am PDT · 11 comments

Hulu’s plans for launching the latest online version of pay TV moved closer to reality with Time Warner’s agreement on Wednesday to license its channels to the service. But Time Warner also showed why the new online services, which include one expected from YouTube, will find it tough to win over consumers. Despite declining numbers... Hulu’s plans for launching the latest online version of pay TV moved closer to reality with...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Photo by Bloomberg.

Rude Awakening for Uber’s China Employees

By Yunan Zhang and Amir Efrati · Aug 4, 2016 7:00am PDT · 2 comments

Talk that Uber was selling its China business to Didi Chuxing had circulated internally at Uber for a couple of weeks before it was announced on Monday. For many of UberChina’s 800 employees, though, confirmation came in a more jarring way. When they got to work on Monday, they couldn’t get access to their Uber email and other Uber... Talk that Uber was selling its China business to Didi Chuxing had circulated internally at Uber...

Source: The Information Subscriber Survey

Subscriber Survey

Favorite Tools: Subscribers Rate Dropbox, Slack, Gmail

By Steve Nellis and Peter Schulz · Aug 3, 2016 10:05am PDT

Slack, Gmail, Google Drive and Dropbox all fared well in our survey of the tools subscribers use at work. Box, Basecamp and services from Apple did not.The breakdowns by category are below. Bigger companies tended to dominate core services like email. Newer segments, like project management, were more fragmented. Slack, Gmail, Google Drive and Dropbox all fared well in our survey of the tools subscribers use...

Snapchat co-founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. Photo by AP.

Snapchat Deal Shows High Cost of SPVs

By Alfred Lee and Yunan Zhang · Aug 3, 2016 7:01am PDT · 4 comments

Small individual investors have more access to the hottest private tech firms nowadays, thanks to the growing popularity of special purpose vehicles raised to invest in a single company. But the fees are high, particularly when investors buy through one SPV investing in another SPV.One Snapchat case illustrates the example. At some point in the... Small individual investors have more access to the hottest private tech firms nowadays, thanks to...

Grab CEO Anthony Tan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Now Poised to Grab More of Southeast Asia

By Amir Efrati · Aug 2, 2016 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

Grab CEO Anthony Tan. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Now Poised to Grab More of Southeast Asia

By Amir Efrati · Aug 2, 2016 10:00am PDT · 2 comments

Now that Uber is shifting its focus away from China to other overseas markets, one region where it may have a better shot at overcoming a local incumbent is southeast Asia, say people involved with the company. In countries like Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, Uber is going up against the early... Now that Uber is shifting its focus away from China to other overseas markets, one region where...

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel. Picture by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snapchat Explores New Scannable Ads

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Aug 2, 2016 9:06am PDT · 8 comments

Snapchat is working on a new type of ad that would allow people to use their smartphone cameras to unlock special sponsored content in the app. The feature lets people scan an image or barcode on a poster or a website, which later gives them a special deal on a product, according to two people briefed on the company’s ad strategy.The ad... Snapchat is working on a new type of ad that would allow people to use their smartphone cameras...

Art by Sam Lessin.

Modest Proposals

Why the Bonus Culture Will Spread

By Sam Lessin · Aug 2, 2016 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

We are currently living through an explosion of measurement technology. Once only athletes, salespeople and investment bankers could be managed by metrics of their performance. But increasingly everyone is, as technology opens up deeper access to performance data. It makes us all better, but it also clearly leads to greater inequality. That will... We are currently living through an explosion of measurement technology. Once only athletes,...

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

How Facebook Can Keep Gaining Ad Share

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 1, 2016 1:49pm PDT · 1 comment

Last week’s stream of tech earnings news was a reminder of just how much growth rates are diverging between strong and weak. Facebook has cemented itself as a sure bet to win against Twitter, LinkedIn and Yahoo in the fight for digital display ad dollars. Facebook’s not-so-secret weapon? It dominates the fight for... Last week’s stream of tech earnings news was a reminder of just how much growth rates...

Didi founder Cheng Wei. Photo by Didi.

Didi’s Founder Presides Over Unruly Investor Group

By Zara Zhang · Aug 1, 2016 10:53am PDT · 1 comment

Didi founder Cheng Wei. Photo by Didi.

Didi’s Founder Presides Over Unruly Investor Group

By Zara Zhang · Aug 1, 2016 10:53am PDT · 1 comment

If anyone needs supervoting shares to keep control of their company, it looks to be Didi Chuxing founder Cheng Wei.Didi’s purchase of UberChina is just the latest in a series of mergers that Mr. Cheng has undertaken to create a $35 billion ride-sharing giant in China. That string of deals has created a potent mix of investors in the... If anyone needs supervoting shares to keep control of their company, it looks to be Didi Chuxing...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick at a World Economic Forum meeting in China in late June. Photo by Bloomberg.

Uber Admits Defeat in China, Can Fight Harder Elsewhere

By Amir Efrati and Yunan Zhang · Jul 31, 2016 10:37pm PDT · 6 comments

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick got second place.The transportation giant is to sell its operations in China to bigger rival Didi Chuxing, setting up an unusual structure in which Didi will operate Uber’s brand in the country, according to people briefed on the deal. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick got second place.The transportation giant is to sell its operations in...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Jul 30, 2016 8:01am PDT

Good Morning!The rich tech firms keep getting richer, judging from the past week’s earnings reports from Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook. And let’s not forget the bankers and lawyers on the mounting number of acquisitions. Good Morning!The rich tech firms keep getting richer, judging from the past week’s earnings...

The Information’s 411 — Camera as a Platform

By Tom Dotan · Jul 29, 2016 3:46pm PDT

Jessica explains why Yahoo can't be turned around, even within Verizon and under Tim Armstrong. Cory talks about why some media companies are disillusioned with live video on Facebook. Tom explains why Snapchat's camera section is its future. Jessica explains why Yahoo can't be turned around, even within Verizon and under Tim...

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Equity Ponders Hewlett Packard Enterprise Buyout

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 29, 2016 10:07am PDT

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Private Equity Ponders Hewlett Packard Enterprise Buyout

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jul 29, 2016 10:07am PDT

Several private equity firms including KKR, Apollo Global Management and Carlyle Group are sniffing around Hewlett Packard Enterprise, contemplating a buyout of the firm, said a person who has had talks with representatives of the firms. Such a deal would be worth more than $40 billion.A buyout would allow HPE, currently the world’s... Several private equity firms including KKR, Apollo Global Management and Carlyle Group are...

Meet The Information Reporters—and What to Ask Them

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jul 29, 2016 7:00am PDT

People often ask me what makes The Information stories different from articles in other publications. The answer is simple: our reporters. They are smart, hungry and make hundreds of phone calls a week. And they’re not afraid of our model, which requires them to come up with new stories no one else is writing. This week, I wanted to help... People often ask me what makes The Information stories different from articles in other...

Top Comments of the Week

By The Information Staff · Jul 28, 2016 2:24pm PDT

Here are excerpts of this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors. Here are excerpts of this week’s top comments as selected by our reporters and editors.

Photos by Bloomberg.

How Clinton and Trump Compare on Tech Issues

By Steve Nellis · Jul 28, 2016 12:14pm PDT · 2 comments

When America goes to the polls on Nov. 8, there’s a lot at stake for tech. Whether it’s how to balance issues of data privacy with national security, immigration or the use of contractors, the outcome of the presidential contest could have a big impact on tech firms.To aid you in quickly assessing where the candidates stand on key... When America goes to the polls on Nov. 8, there’s a lot at stake for tech. Whether...

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Flawed Logic Behind Oracle’s NetSuite Deal

By Steve Nellis · Jul 28, 2016 11:19am PDT

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Flawed Logic Behind Oracle’s NetSuite Deal

By Steve Nellis · Jul 28, 2016 11:19am PDT

Oracle Corp.’s $9.3 billion bid for cloud financial software provider NetSuite should help boost Oracle’s lagging cloud business. But Oracle is paying a high price, particularly as NetSuite is too small to really move the needle for Oracle. Another big issue: NetSuite plays in a software category—financial management... Oracle Corp.’s $9.3 billion bid for cloud financial software provider NetSuite should help...