Will anyone else bid for Southcorp? 18 Jan 2005 The Australian winemaker's stock has soared on hopes of a higher bid from a foreign rival, such as Diageo, Pernod Ricard or Allied Domecq. But Fosters is already offering a full price. It is unlikely that anyone else will better it.
US deficit misunderstood 18 Jan 2005 Conventional wisdom has it that overconsumption causes the trade deficit. Poor manufacturing is actually the root cause. The implications are that the dollar will be weaker for longer than most pundits expect and that the US economy will endure more pain.
BP takes Yukos’ place as Russian oil bellwether 17 Jan 2005 The Yukos debacle may have accelerated capital flight from Russia, but TNKBP is moving the other way moving onshore and listing. This is designed to promote it as a good corporate citizen. With so many assets in Russia, that's probably the logical thing to be.
British Energy’s comeback ignores risks 17 Jan 2005 After a painful restructuring, the UK nuclear generator has returned to the stock market with a valuation less than half its previous peak. But this still looks generous, given the challenges ahead.
Teacher tricks won’t cure eurozone misbehaviour 17 Jan 2005 But countries aren t motivated by gold stars. Germany and the other big spenders will continue to go their own way on deficits. Austria suggests symbolic rewards for keeping inside the stability pact s deficit limits. And ''no means no'' about breaking the rules.
UK private equity under pressure to lift its skirt 17 Jan 2005 A new freedom of information law may require local authority pension funds to reveal fees and returns on private equity investments. The industry is resisting the move on confidentiality grounds but its real worry is what disclosure may mean for fees.
UK parties promise assault on waste 17 Jan 2005 The Tories' £35bn estimate is the opening salvo in the election context. But it is wishful thinking. Sure, efficiency can always be improved. But the electorate s hunger for government services will wipe out any gains.
Placings even M&A battles 16 Jan 2005 Cash buyers are supposed to have an edge in a bid situation over companies that have to raise equity. That s because their bids are certain. But placings, especially if they are underwritten, can even the battle. Look at Standard Chartered s bid for Korea First Bank last week.
Share prices run away from bidders 16 Jan 2005 That's what happened with Xstrata's bid for WMC, the battle for the LSE and Barclays' bid for Absa. How should bidders react when prices shoot up? It depends on whether selling shareholders have an alternative to the bid on the table.
Hedge fund savages Deutsche Boerse’s LSE pitch 16 Jan 2005 With the LSE s shares predicting a toppy bid of as much as £1.6bn, no wonder TCI and other investors in the potential acquirers are nervous. But TCI s view that Deutsche should buy back its own stock instead of bidding is extreme. It's unclear how much support it really has.
Capital Group seeks cut in commissions – report 14 Jan 2005 The leading US fund manager can afford to dictate terms to Wall Street. It might be less easy for other firms to follow its lead. But it s clear that longonly funds are fed up with being forced to pay for research they don t need, or that is more suited to hedge funds.
Hedge funds bet on sweeter T-Online bid 14 Jan 2005 They have shunned Deutsche Telekom s cash offer for the minorities, hoping that the courts will sanction a higher offer. That may happen thanks to a TOnline wheeze. But the hedge funds could get caught out.
Volkswagen to stop paying politicians 14 Jan 2005 Paying salaries to elected officials a common practice in Germany isn't just bad politics. It's also bad business. Though it looks like a good way of exerting influence, the practice may have protected companies from the need to reform themselves.
Enel entertains private equity interest in Wind 14 Jan 2005 A sale to private equity is Enel's best bet if it wants a quick exit. It is preferable to an IPO discount or funny money from Romiti. But can private equity get close to Enel's E13bn price tag? Cheap debt won't be a problem. Yet Wind isn't ideal for the buyout treatment.
ITV buyout looks unworkable 14 Jan 2005 Lord Hollick, formerly at UBM and now at KKR, is not the only potential bidder to have mused aloud about taking ITV private. But a leveraged buyout of ITV would require an awful amount of debt, and at awfully high ebitda multiples.
Has US financial regulation peaked? 14 Jan 2005 You wouldn t think so from the constant barrage of scandal news still emanating from prosecutors, regulators and the courts. But the SEC s climb down on two proposals, combined with a review of SarbanesOxley s impact, suggests the highwater mark has passed.
Apple feeding off iPod 13 Jan 2005 Roaring sales of the US technology company s iconic music player are flowing through to its computer business. The group s market share for computers has risen for the first time since 2000. This trend looks set to continue.
Molson shareholders should vote No 13 Jan 2005 The Canadian brewer hasn t sufficiently justified merging with Coors. Synergies aren t huge, and it's not clear they can be achieved. Coors investors would lose what little voice they have for no premium. By rejecting the deal they may at least effect a management change.
US government should bail out pension deficits 13 Jan 2005 The US government is worried it will be saddled with the bill for America's $450bn corporate pension fund deficits. But it should be more worried about the deficits' effect on US industrial competitiveness. The government should act to reduce this burden.
Amadeus turned down higher offer 13 Jan 2005 The travel reservations firm shunned a bid from Citigroup Venture Capital even though it was 9% higher than the E4.4bn price it accepted. Why it chose the lower offer is not clear. But it sets a poor precedent for the private equity boom many believe is coming in Spain.
KfW sells Deutsche Post bond to Japanese 13 Jan 2005 By selling an exchangeable bond to retail investors in Japan, the German state agency sidesteps a lockup on potentially attractive terms. It s a clever move. The snag is that it may not work.
Man Group reduces private equity exposure 12 Jan 2005 That s no surprise. The Londonlisted hedge fund giant s forte is structured products, hard to replicate with private equity investments. But it would be wrong to deduce from this that individual hedge funds won t continue to team up with private equity on an adhoc basis.
O2 squeezes out small shareholders – and US ones 12 Jan 2005 The UK mobile group is the latest European company to decide small shareholders and heavyhanded US regulation are too much hassle. O2 is paying a £15m premium to get rid of the problem. That's defensible but hardly a bargain.
Holcim in talks to buy Aggregate for £2.4bn 12 Jan 2005 Holcim is highly indebted, yet its offer is a rich one a 33% premium, in cash. The Swiss concrete maker appears to be playing catchup in the concrete consolidation game, and paying for it too.
Intel fixes inventory problem – for now 12 Jan 2005 High US demand for computers meant Intel could reduce inventory and stick it to competitor AMD at the same time. But US electronics retailers have had a miserable Christmas. Their backlog of inventory will soon move up the chain to Intel.
Aircraft subsidies should go 12 Jan 2005 The EU and US have agreed to negotiate rather than litigate over Airbus and Boeing subsidies. It is about time. The goal is zero government support. That would be miraculous, but all reductions are welcome. The whole airline industry is too coddled.
British Energy emerges from the rubble 12 Jan 2005 The relisting of the UK nuclear power firm comes at a time when the feasibility of new nuclear power stations is being reassessed. But economics, not to mention politics, mean the odds are stacked against a nuclear renaissance.
Argentine debt plan screws investors 12 Jan 2005 Enough bondholders may accept to maintain relations with the IMF. But Argentina's market rehabilitation will take much longer. The 75% haircut hurts a lot. The only reason it might look reasonable is that Argentina's first offer was even more miserable.
Morrison suffers in consumer slowdown 11 Jan 2005 The supermarket group s efforts to integrate Safeway are not being helped by the gathering downturn in retail spending. WM Morrison has indicated it is on course to meet market expectations this year, but next year is likely to prove even more challenging.
Harvard boss to start hedge fund 11 Jan 2005 The ongoing imbroglio over compensation undoubtedly played a role in the latest departures of Jack Meyer and two of his wellpaid deputies. Like many other endowment alumni, they may continue to manage Harvard money. Ironically, this could cost Harvard more in the long run.