Fiat’s banks agitate for update 10 Feb 2003 It s natural they are getting anxious about Fiat s turnaround: they will be asked to underwrite any cash call. If the plan is not credible, they ll be holding the baby. Here are the questions Fiat must answer later this month.
Sir Evelyn de Rothschild prepares to sell out 10 Feb 2003 Ceding the helm of the family bank would be meaningless if Sir Evelyn retained control. But Rothschild is not yet ready for a Lazardstyle reorganisation. The shares will probably be absorbed by other family members.
Kingfisher dumps exec stock option scheme 10 Feb 2003 Instead, the UK group has hatched a plan to make its top executives keep substantial shareholdings in the company. This way executives are incentivised, whilst not being encouraged to take wild gambles to boost the share price.
UK water M&A comes to the boil 10 Feb 2003 Private equity is swooping. AWG has got one offer. Suez s Northumbrian unit is for sale. Southern Water has already gone. The boomlet is odd for several reasons not least that gearingup a water firm requires almost no equity at all.
Li withdraws tanks from Cable & Wireless 10 Feb 2003 But uncertainty over the future and in particular, value of the battered UK telecoms group remains. A small number of factors could cause a big variation in C&W s fundamental value, whoever runs it.
Racy ratings but revenue falls at Carlton, Granada 10 Feb 2003 The oddities of TV advertising mean that Britain's commercial broadcasters are winning the ratings war, but losing the battle for revenue. Longerterm, shining ratings offer some comfort that Carlton and Granada can at least slow their inevitable market share decline.
Deutsche Bank posts disappointing Q4 net loss 7 Feb 2003 Writedowns and a higher tax bill are to blame. The good news is that costs are falling faster than revenues. The bank is optimistic about 2003. But, given the state of Germany s economy, claims that bad debt charges have peaked are odd indeed.
Private equity plays pass the parcel with Gala Bingo 7 Feb 2003 Gala is close to being sold to private equity for the third time, in the UK's first large tertiary buy out. Is this as crazy as it seems? There is some method to the madness. Firms want to exit with a profit. And recently the IPO market hasn't looked the best bet.
A bad week for UK savers? 7 Feb 2003 Cuts to bonus rates on "withprofits" policies have come thick and fast from some of the UK's best known savings institutions. But policyholders have done much better than ordinary equity investors. If only we knew how it was done.
Benettons should reveal Autostrade debt terms 7 Feb 2003 If the offer is succesful, the motorway group may end up shouldering as much as E10bn of debt. The terms are clearly quite important for shareholders deciding whether to hang on for the ride.
Gold takes on added glitter 6 Feb 2003 The bear market has so far sliced $13 trillion off equity markets. Bonds are expensive. So some investors have turned to gold instead. Record long positions can easily reverse and undercut the rally. But gold s price is still 30% less than its real, long term average.
Diller has a stranglehold on Vivendi 6 Feb 2003 The conglomerate simply has to extract cash from its US entertainment partnership with Barry Diller. And it cannot do that without appeasing him or accepting that he can blight any attempt at a sale.
Shell promises to do better 6 Feb 2003 Now Shell says it will hit its 13%15% return on capital targets next year part of a broad industry shift to value and away from growth. Europe s largest oil company admits that the $16bn that it spent on acquisitions last year diluted financial returns.
PCCW remains interested in C&W 6 Feb 2003 Despite quasidenials out of Hong Kong, Richard Li's group is still circling the battered UK telecoms group. If Li is really prepared to put £2.4bn of cash on the table, he would be taken seriously. Snag is his approach is heavily hedged.
UK equities gyrate as BoE cuts rates 6 Feb 2003 The Bank of England says it has become more pessimistic about the prospects for domestic and global demand. It may also have hoped to spur a rally after a horrid month for equities. But why has it risked reinforcing worries about the UK consumer?
Ericsson names Carl-Henric Svanberg as CEO 6 Feb 2003 The man who built Assa Abloy into the world s largest lockmaker looks like a good choice for the Swedish telecoms equipment group. Ericsson s restructuring is starting to run out of breath. Svanberg may step it up another gear.
Is British Telecom’s pension a ticking time bomb? 6 Feb 2003 The answer depends on how investors are measuring it. The pensions deficit offers little immediate threat to the dividend. But it blows a hole in ebitdabased valuations.
BNP looks to US for acquisitions 5 Feb 2003 Hang on wasn t the group supposed to be trying to buy Credit Lyonnais or Societe Generale? Domestic mergers are tough so the change of tack may make sense. But BNP is in danger of baffling investors.
M&A jobs at risk 5 Feb 2003 So far, 2003 is shaping up to be a great year if you are either a British or Japanese M&A advisor. Activity in both markets surged. But for the rest of the world, the first month of the year was disappointing. More job cuts may be in the offing.
Morisson’s bid for Safeway should be waved through 5 Feb 2003 The Big Three should be referred for further scrutiny. And the regulatory waters are murky for KKR, and perhaps even Phiilp Green. But there s no logical reason why Morrison s bid should be scooped in with the rest.
Vodafone minorities claim moral victory 5 Feb 2003 The mobile giant has offered an extra 4% in its bid to buy out its Swedish minorities. Don't rule out a Dutch concession, either. As longstanding shareholders count their losses, they can at least enjoy watching private equity get a bargain from Vodafone in Japan.
Commerzbank posts first ever annual loss 5 Feb 2003 Chairman KlausPeter Mueller says 2003 will be better. In fact he promises a complete turnaround, and profits too. Perhaps. That s what the German bank said last year. And the economic climate has gotten much tougher since then.
UK pension scheme deficits shoot up 5 Feb 2003 During the bull market, companies took a long holiday from their pension contributions. Now they must brace themselves for pensions overtime.
CSFB suspends Quattrone 4 Feb 2003 The surprise is not that the former star tech banker has been sidelined, but that it took so long for John Mack to do so. After all, when Mack arrived he had two duties: clean the stables and cut costs. The tech team would have been the best place to do both.
Eurazeo gets a satellite snip 4 Feb 2003 After months of onoff talks, private equity fund Eurazeo has bought most of France Telecom's Eutelsat stake. FT will pocket half what it was angling for last year. It is a buyer's market for satellites.
Good riddance to Europe’s first tracking stock 4 Feb 2003 Alcatel s bullmarket scheme to highlight the value of its opticalcomponents business was always a bad idea. The bear market has cruelly shown why.
Alcatel faces horrible 2003 4 Feb 2003 But the balance sheet no longer has room for improvement. And sales are going to plunge this year. Ouch. The French telecoms equipment maker has battened down the hatches cutting the dividend, slashing capex and squeezing inventories.
RWE’s CEO designate needs to justify strategy 4 Feb 2003 RWE s multiutility strategy has not worked anywhere else. Why should it work at the German firm? Harry Roels needs to convince investors that it can, and, if not, ditch it.
Data keeps mmO2 growing 4 Feb 2003 The mobile firm's latest indicators are extra evidence that the industry can still add customers and grow average revenue per user. Don't get carried away, though. Voice revenue growth is over: data, far from being a boomy topup, is already the staple of mmO2's growth.
Abbey National disposal bodes well for restructuring 4 Feb 2003 The UK bank has sold its First National consumer lending business for £848m, and at a handy premium to book value. This is all part of Abbey s back to basics strategy. It s a nice first step, but only a first step.