Generic drug maker Teva buys Ivax for $7.4bn 25 Jul 2005 Giants such as Israel s Teva and Switzerland s Novartis are being forced into buying competitors to offset increasing margin pressure. The problem is the reported price for Ivax 26 times operating profits seems guaranteed to destroy value.
Pearson emerges from the doldrums 25 Jul 2005 The next question is what it will do with its growing cash pile. It s unlikely to do anything stupid while it looks for a new chairman. This was supposed to be the year of the publishing sector rebound. And Pearson has certainly got off to a strong start.
BPI’s Antonveneta shares confiscated 25 Jul 2005 While BBVA s bid for BNL has been defeated, ABN s chances of getting back in the game may have just improved. That would be good news. Throwing the foreigners out wouldn t be a victory for Italian finance, but quite the reverse.
Danone sees off Pepsi challenge 25 Jul 2005 That s a blow for investors in the French food group. The surge in its shares suggests they would have welcomed a bid from the US giant. French political opposition may ensure Danone stays independent for now, but if the firm falters Pepsi may get a second chance.
Oil firms struggle to find a home for their cash 24 Jul 2005 Despite cutting debt and boosting capex, dividends and buybacks, oil firms are awash with cash. One solution is to gear up again and spend the proceeds on megabuybacks.
Saint Gobain mulls £3.5bn bid for BPB 22 Jul 2005 At 16 times forward earnings, that may not look cheap for a business at the top of its cycle. But BPB's growth could be worth even more. The French materials conglomerate is expected to offer a big premium for the British plasterboard maker. The British plasterboard leader called the Fench material conglomerate's offer "unwelcome". But a higher price might change its mind. A price of 16 times forward earnings may not look cheap for a business at the top of its cycle. But BPB's growth could be worth even more.
France Telecom nears E10bn Auna deal 22 Jul 2005 The Spanish mobile group's owners would rather sell to a trade buyer paying up for synergies than to private equity. A successful deal could start another wave of crossborder mobile consolidation. O2 is the most likely next candidate.
Bank M&A fever grips Italy 22 Jul 2005 Now that the gang of superrich property tycoons who put BNL into play have sold their stake, what will they do with their windfall? The market is betting they will try to repeat their trick with other Italian banks, such as Monte Paschi and Mediobanca.
Ebay says never mind to January profit warning 21 Jul 2005 Shares in the internet auction group fell by about a third after January's warning. Now it says it says profits will be better than ever. Does this mean Ebay is now cheap? Not necessarily. It just shows that internet valuations are once again losing touch with reality.
Ericsson’s excellent Q2 may be last hurrah 21 Jul 2005 The Swedish telecom equipment maker s inflated shares have been on a tear, up by more than a third in the past three months alone. This is odd. The group s gross margins are falling and management thinks revenue growth will slow later this year.
China breaks fixed currency tie with dollar 21 Jul 2005 The 2% revaluation is small. But there is a big change. The renminbi will be managed against a currency basket. It s the start of a new era. Chinese growth is unlikely to be dented, but the US adjustment could be painful.
Fiat stock speeds ahead 21 Jul 2005 In part, this is a vote of confidence in Sergio Marchionne, its chief executive. But the stock now looks expensive on fundamentals. Investors may also be betting on corporate activity after this autumn's debtforequity swap, when the shareholder base will be fragmented.
Danone maintains strong growth through H1 21 Jul 2005 The French food group s strong first half performance underlines why it is seen as such a tempting takeover target for rival food groups. Sure, PepsiCo could afford it. But Danone would have to agree to a sale and that could trigger the mother of all auctions.
Nokia shocks markets again 21 Jul 2005 The Finnish telecom group has warned that falling prices and increased competition will hit third quarter profits. Nokia s skyhigh margins depend on its market share. But to maintain that, it needs to keep cutting prices.
Dividends or buybacks? 20 Jul 2005 That's the question corporate treasurers are asking. They want to get excess cash back to shareholders in the most efficient way. Buybacks are more popular, but largely because of an accounting anomaly that means they exaggerate EPS growth. That should be changed.
ECB prepares for slower growth 20 Jul 2005 The central bank argues that slow productivity growth and a mature work force might keep the eurozone growth rate below 2%. In that case, the economy would be working at close to full capacity. So interest rates would probably not fall.
RTL takes full control of Channel 5 20 Jul 2005 With UBM out of the picture, Europe s biggest broadcaster can finally start investing in the UK TV station. Its challenge is to develop a family of channels to combat audience fragmentation. If it gets it right, C5 could be a serious rival to ITV.
Bank of England minutes point to rate cut 20 Jul 2005 Inflation is up, the pound is down and the housing market is stable. It doesn t sound like the time to cut rates. But after a narrow July vote in favour of stable rates, an August cut looks certain. The MPC seems more worried about growth than inflation.
Chevron sweetens Unocal bid 20 Jul 2005 The US oil group has raised its offer by 4% and increased the cash component. That's just enough to close the gap with Chinese rival CNOOC. But it only holds if Chevron s shares don t fall. Unocal's board backed Chevron's $17bn bid, but the Chinese still have room for manoeuvre.
US biotech stocks display signs of mania 20 Jul 2005 Sure, profits are booming and there's plenty of deal activity. But what's really driving share prices up is decreasing risk aversion. Three years ago, nearly 15% of the top 250 US biotechs were worth less than their cash reserves. Today none are.
Media reignites its love affair with internet 19 Jul 2005 News Corp is just the latest media group to pay eyepopping multiples for small internet companies. After the late 1990s bubble, there is a sense of deja vu. But this time, booming internet ad sales are forcing the hand of media companies.
Danone soars 12% on bid rumours 19 Jul 2005 A junior French minister has fuelled speculation of a bid for the French food group, saying the government would not stand in the way. Europe s bestperforming food group would carry a hefty price tag. But the market has clearly decided that's not an insurmountable obstacle.
SABMiller snaps up Bavaria in $7.8bn deal 19 Jul 2005 The South African brewer is paying a full price for South America s second largest brewer, but not as much as was originally feared. Besides, the deal makes sense. Bavaria is growing fast. And SABMiller has a strong track record at driving value from its acquisitions.
Bayer jumps on hybrid debt bandwagon 19 Jul 2005 The German conglomerate s successful E1.3bn offer is just the latest in a string of issues of deeply subordinated debt. The high yields are proving popular with investors. The debt s ability to cheaply finance takeovers will attract more issuers.
BoI overruled officials to wave through BPI bid – reports 19 Jul 2005 The flurry of reports in the Italian press is a blow for the central bank s governor, Antonio Fazio. It shows how isolated he has become, and how much the reputation of the institution he heads has been damaged.
RHM prices near top of range 19 Jul 2005 The UK food group s IPO was five times oversubscribed, thanks to a chunky 5.7% dividend yield. That beats peers like Premier. But there s little else to excite. Sales growth is flat. There are few obvious acquisition targets. And everything hinges on cutting costs.
M&S’s Rose loses right hand man 18 Jul 2005 Charlie Wilson s job was to cut costs and improve the supply chain and that part of the turnaround plan has largely been completed. But his defection looks bad for M&S, coming just days after the UK retailer reported its seventh consecutive quarterly fall in sales.
Citi’s investment bank disappoints in Q2 18 Jul 2005 It s now a familiar story a sharp fall in fixed income trading, similar to that seen at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. But overall, Citi s investment bank looks more resilient than its peers.
Philips points to European consumer slowdown 18 Jul 2005 The Dutch conglomerate's secondquarter results suggest demand is weakening in Europe. And this is no isolated sign: recent results from SonyEricsson and Samsung point the same way.
UK pension problems challenge leveraged deals 18 Jul 2005 The cost of pension fund deficits has stopped another potential takeover, this time of ITV. Deficits in defined benefit plans may be tiny in the context of the national balance sheet. But they're concentrated in typical LBO targets.