Swisscom badly needs a deal 24 Mar 2004 The Swiss telecoms group is handing pots of cash back to its shareholders. But they aren't exactly rewarding it with a premium valuation. Returning cash to shareholders won't solve the underlying inefficiency in Swisscom's balance sheet. Only a deal can do that.
Berlusconi a double-edged sword for Mediaset 24 Mar 2004 Having a prime minister as owner has its advantages especially if he pushes through the media bill favouring the Italian broadcaster. The flipside is weak corporate governance, which might explain why Mediaset looks cheap.
Parmalat fast-track trial rejected 24 Mar 2004 Quick trials would have been a strong signal of Italy's commitment to punishing the culprits. The fear now is that the Parmalat case is going to get stuck in the quicksand of the Italian legal system.
Biggest German IPO in three years withdrawn 24 Mar 2004 Animal spirits may be strengthening, but investors are discerning. Siltronic s aggressive pricing was the real cause. The expected E1bn float of tech company Siltronic has been withdrawn just a week after another German tech IPO, XFab, was also pulled.
TIM ownership structure a double-edged sword 23 Mar 2004 The Italian mobile group is reaping the benefits of the investment discipline its owners have imposed upon it. But they won t let TIM participate meaningfully in future consolidation. Indeed, the shares carry a corporategovernance discount.
Novartis wrongfoots France over Aventis 23 Mar 2004 The Swiss company hasn't heeded hints to back off. It says it will be a white knight if Paris stays neutral. This will force Paris to take an explicitly anticompetitive stance if it wishes to preserve a French champion.
Blackberries not as common as you think 23 Mar 2004 The email devices produced by Research in Motion appear omnipresent, but there are only about 1m subscribers. Users are clustered among the highest paid professionals, and this has pumped up the stock to unsustainable heights.
Goldman blows away 1Q expectations 23 Mar 2004 Once again, principal trading was the story. But to nab record quarterly results, Goldman has had to put a record amount of capital at risk. Trading revenues now comprise 5.4 times investment banking income. This is unsustainable. But is it already reflected in the stock price?
SABMiller plugs away at Miller 23 Mar 2004 Thanks to the improving performance of Miller Lite, the group seems to be on the way to stabilising the US business. But the group shouldn't lean too heavily on Miller Lite. Especially since other Miller brands have yet to show signs of a turnaround.
Bidders get creative for Telegraph auction 23 Mar 2004 Tough competition for the newspaper group means bidders are concocting all sorts of schemes to increase chances of success. Price ought to be the deciding factor, but tax issues and expediency will matter too.
Mediobanca managers loaded up with options 23 Mar 2004 Just over 100 people share options worth over E100m. That s equivalent to 5% of the bank s share capital. The big options grant is the best reason for hoping Mediobanca might just eschew political games and pursue value creation.
Froth returns to the IPO market 22 Mar 2004 The recovery in new issues activity has been accompanied by an upsurge in demand for riskier offerings. It would be wrong to say we are returning to 2000, but there are warning signs.
Novartis may merge with Aventis in order to demerge 22 Mar 2004 The Swiss drugs company may spin off its huge generics business if it buys Aventis, according to a report. The split would create value, even if it poses some difficult questions over which drugs belong where.
Shell mess shouldn’t set off epidemic 22 Mar 2004 The oil company's reserves cut seems to be down to poor management. Better managed rivals shouldn't have to follow suit. That is why investors are so cheesed off with Shell.
Glaxo ex-boss’ £1m bonus bad but not an outrage 22 Mar 2004 The payment to Richard Sykes to postpone the accelerated vesting of options when he merged Glaxo and SmithKline was unfortunate. But there's poetic justice. After the deal, the shares plummeted, meaning his decelerated options expired worthless.
CSFB carves out alternative asset business 22 Mar 2004 Its hedge fund and privateequity and businesses will be lumped into a new subsidiary led by exDLJ executive Bennett Goodman. This raises two questions. Is CSFB cravenly following the alternative asset boom? And was this done to prevent another highlevel defection?
Has Tronchetti changed his spots? 22 Mar 2004 The Telecom Italia boss says he plans to let minority investors elect a fifth of the board at all his companies. Tronchetti is an unlikely champion for minority interests. But should he actually loosen his grip on the TI group, it would be a good idea.
Enel shares look undervalued 19 Mar 2004 The breakup of the Italian group spinning off or selling telecoms, the grid and property could cut the current conglomerate discount. There is even a chance of getting something of a premium for Wind, Enel's telecoms unit, now that telecom M&A is coming back in vogue.
EU and Microsoft break off talks 19 Mar 2004 Both sides have an interest in forcing a showdown. This is welcome news, as a court decision will set a useful precedent.
Eircom prices IPO near bottom of the range 19 Mar 2004 The Irish telecoms group got a comfortable reception, given the wobble in the market since it launched the share offering. Institutions have extracted an interesting price from Eircom s private equity backers. But investors should be wary of chasing the shares.
Morgan Stanley turns in stellar 1Q 18 Mar 2004 The firm s revenue drive is evident in the numbers. All businesses went full bore while headcount barely budged. But if there s one worrying sign it is that principal trading surged as a percentage of revenues rather than holding steady or declining.
Spain opens the door for energy M&A 18 Mar 2004 There are signs that the new government will smile on deals in the energy sector, such as a Gas Natural takeover of an electricity company. The interesting question is how the government would react if this triggered interest by foreigners.
Shell’s reserves shrink again 18 Mar 2004 The latest cut is smaller than January s bombshell, but it s still pretty disappointing. And there could be more bad news to come, both in the shape of further cuts and the regulatory backlash.
Corus should resist the Russian oligarchs 18 Mar 2004 The minority investors pressing for a board seat at the UK steelmaker do not deserve one unless they make their intentions clear. But if they want control they should simply bid. Or, if they want a commercial deal, they should cut it before seeking a seat at the board.
Wm Morrison in great shape to tackle Safeway 18 Mar 2004 The regional grocer s strong results bode well for its chances of integrating a business much bigger than itself. Rival supermarkets will try to put spokes in its wheels. But given the conservative synergies, Morrison has left itself some headroom.
Bayer’s E1.4bn loss a taste of what’s to come 18 Mar 2004 The whopping loss is only the latest in a series of troubles for the German conglomerate. Management has lowered targeted margins and thinks sales will decrease. And its longstanding structural problems are still unaddressed.
HVB underwriters may have been too greedy 17 Mar 2004 Perhaps encouraged by the success of recent German financial issues, they agreed not to subunderwrite the E3bn rights issue. The snag is that the shares have fallen close to the offering price.
French PM muscles into Aventis bid battle 17 Mar 2004 Emotive talk about the need to protect the country from bioterrorism seems designed to scare off foreign white knights like Novartis. The arguments look bogus and nationalistic. Politicians should stay out of the battle and let investors decide what deal creates most value.
How to improve Italy’s poor corporate governance 17 Mar 2004 Here's a simple idea that could have helped with many abuses of minority shareholders: proportional representation in choosing directors. So long as socalled independent directors are chosen by the majority shareholder, they are unlikely to be very effective.
Dividend recaps can be great for private equity 17 Mar 2004 Gearing up companies and paying out the cash via special dividends is a neat alternative to an exit via an IPO or a sale. Snag is the recap market, which was booming at the turn of the year, is much tougher. Jefferson Smurfit even had to pull a deal.