Enel should reconsider a Terna IPO 28 Nov 2003 Floating a minority stake Enel s preferred route doesn t look like the best way to create value for its shareholders. With at least one potential buyer circling Enel's Italian electricity grid, Enel should explore all options for Terna.
Alstom offers arbitrage opportunity 28 Nov 2003 The rights available at the French engineer's rescue deal offer a cheap way into the shares and convertible bonds. Arbs are struggling to borrow shares. But Alstom shareholders can sell shares for rights and lock in a juicy gain.
Yukos, Sibneft halt $14bn oil merger 28 Nov 2003 Whatever the reason, a $1bn break fee suggests the deal is not dead yet unless Sibneft is about to shop itself to a US buyer. Neither company has said why. It may be that Sibneft is simply trying to squeeze better terms after Khodorkovsky s arrest.
AMP demerger exploits Anglo-Australian rivalry 28 Nov 2003 The Australian insurer's UK operations will raise £100m by turning its forthcoming demerger into an IPO on the cheap. UK investors have shown interest in the stock at the right price. And British interest may keep existing Australian investors on board.
Breuer wades into German bank deal debate 28 Nov 2003 Deutsche Bank chairman Rolf Breuer says he wants to take "the wind out of the recent excitement" surrounding German banking consolidation. All he really needed to do was point to the appalling track record of German bank mergers.
Telegraph bid would face few competition hurdles 28 Nov 2003 Both the Daily Mail and the Express would have grounds to get potential bids for the Telegraph through the regulatory hoops. But if the Competition Commission has a problem with either bid on public interest grounds, then Tony Blair might get the final say.
UBS to juice up the capital 28 Nov 2003 After years of ultraconservative balance sheet management, the Swiss bank is poised to loosen the purse strings. UBS may cast the move as a recognition that risk has diminished. But as leveraged buyouts take centre stage in M&A, UBS has little choice.
L&G’s credit rating conundrum 27 Nov 2003 Standard & Poor's has downgraded the UK insurer's AAA credit rating because the life market is becoming more concentrated. But hang on isn't consolidation usually positive for profitability?
Parmalat fails to get its money back on time 27 Nov 2003 The Italian dairy group said the repatriation of E500m from a Caymanbased fund was delayed by the Thanksgiving holiday. Investors now face an extra week of anxiety waiting for the cash from management's latest trip up.
LSE strikes deal to avoid competition enquiry 27 Nov 2003 UK competition authorities have abandoned a probe into the London Stock Exchange s fees midway through, after the LSE agreed to cut prices. The £6m of lost annual revenue is a small price to pay to avoid a fullblown investigation.
Corporate earnings may have peaked 27 Nov 2003 US profits grew gangbusters in the third quarter. This may also be a good one. But next year, profit growth will likely slow. That doesn t mean it is time to short the market, however. For one, valuations look reasonable.
Tui takes a break from travel woes 27 Nov 2003 With a good third quarter behind it, is Tui in a position to gobble up some of the many travel industry assets up for sale? Not unless it sells its logistics arm. But even then, Europe s largest tour operator faces serious competition from a new breed of rivals.
Daily Mail may find Telegraph a mouthful 27 Nov 2003 Unless the Mail sells shares or assets, it would have to borrow the entire purchase price. And that looks a stretch even if the advertising market picks up next year.
Bamboozling arguments on softs don’t wash 27 Nov 2003 There have been of warnings of dire consequences for the market if the FSA presses on with reform. But these arguments do not stack up. The FSA is chewing over the results of its consultation on reform of the brokerage industry, including a ban on soft commissions.
Glaxo faces depressing news on generics 27 Nov 2003 The UK drugs firm is confronting unexpected generic competition to its blockbuster antidepressant. With more than 20% of its drug sales now up against generic competition, the company's sales and profits are set to shrink in 2004.
Bayer rules out chemicals unit sale 26 Nov 2003 The German conglomerate is willing to float its chemicals unit, even though the company could sell the business for more. Despite all the talk of shareholder value at Bayer, control is still the ruling impulse.
US drugs bill is devil’s bargain 26 Nov 2003 The pharma industry's global revenues will be 1%3% higher over ten years as a result of the new Medicare programme for the elderly. The snag is it may also get hit by price controls.
ITV powers ahead 26 Nov 2003 The ITV companies are in the best shape in years. Audience shares are up, cash flow is strong, and merger savings are higher than expected. Now that the Michael Green fiasco is behind it, ITV's strategy looks compelling. Shares aren't cheap, but may be just about sustainable.
Glaxo should quit drinks (and toothpaste) 26 Nov 2003 The UK drugs company receives 15% of sales from things such as toothpaste, sports drinks, and aspirin. A sale of the company's consumer goods division makes sense.
Ahold takes few chances with rights 26 Nov 2003 The Dutch supermarket operator has sought as much money as possible and priced the rights at a steep discount. With Ahold's thirdquarter results disappointing, the underwriters would rather be safe than sorry.
SCH loses first round in Total battle over Cepsa 26 Nov 2003 A Hague court has provisionally frozen SCH s stake in the Spanish oil firm until it makes a final ruling. This could take two years. If SCH s plan was to sell Cepsa from under Total s nose, quickly and at a fat premium, that has now been nixed.
Germany sanctions US banking takeovers – report 26 Nov 2003 Someone has started a game of Chinese whispers that is fuelling hopes a US bank like Citigroup will wade into the German banking sector. This could be an attempt by the weaker banks to bounce the government into helping them by raising the spectre of the Citigroup bogeyman.
Europe bends budget deficit pact 25 Nov 2003 Fudge, fudge and more fudge. France and Germany have won extra time to shrink their deficits. Nor will they be fined. But is this budget indiscipline so bad? The real test comes when Europe s economies recover. That s when belts must be tightened.
Munich Re follows rights issue with bad results 25 Nov 2003 This is shabby. The German reinsurer's Q3 numbers are disappointing on almost every measure. No wonder it rushed to tap investors for E4bn only last month. Shareholders and credit rating agencies will be unimpressed to say the least.
Will Telecom Italia do an Autostrade? 25 Nov 2003 Marco Tronchetti Provera has reinforced his control over TI. Now he needs to boost its value. One way to do this would be for TI's listed mobile unit to buy out some of its minorities.
Nokia doubles mobile phone market 25 Nov 2003 The Finnish mobile phone company raised the estimated size of the mobile phone market from E90bn to E200bn by expanding the definition. While it will take more than a new definition to bring back explosive growth, any success in new markets will make the shares look cheap.
Black slides towards exit at Hollinger Inc 25 Nov 2003 The press baron is desperate to cling on. After all, debtladen Hollinger Inc still controls a majority stake in Hollinger International. But a mass walkout by independent directors puts Hollinger in breach of company law. This gives investors the chance to turn up the heat.
Germany’s financial bigwigs get in a panic 24 Nov 2003 Every day there seems to be another story about politicians or officials trying to stick their oar into the banking sector. The reason? Despite soaring share prices, things are still tough for Germany's banks.
LBO firms struggle to clinch UK insurance deals 24 Nov 2003 Everyone is talking down the prospects for British insurers creating ideal conditions for private equity firms to launch bids. But deals aren t being done. Either private equity has lost its appetite for risk, or sellers are demanding silly prices.
Bronfman rides again 24 Nov 2003 The former Seagram boss swiped Warner Music from under EMI s nose. But the UK music group shouldn t give up all hope. Given Bronfman s track record, EMI might be able to get its hands on it at some point in the future maybe even cheaper.