VNU investors look at ITV-style bid structure 7 Apr 2006 Shareholders in the Dutch media group are reluctant to accept their discredited board's advice and sell the company to private equity. Dissident shareholder Knight Vinke has come up with a solution a partial bid. An interesting idea, but it won't be easy to pull off.
Trump’s move into mortgages looks ill-timed 7 Apr 2006 Sure, there has been a pickup in US mortgage applications. But that looks like a false dawn. The homelending business suffers from excess capacity and loan volumes are liable to collapse.
Ferrovial’s low-ball bid makes tactical sense 7 Apr 2006 By putting a formal, if stingy, offer on the table, the Spanish construction group buys time to negotiate with the UK airport operator. BAA will now have to defend itself. But Ferrovial will still have to be more generous if it plans to win.
Wall Street feels pain as clients go electronic 7 Apr 2006 Average commission rates on stock trades are tumbling as investors abandon costly fullservice trading. US brokerages find this especially painful because they have been slow to restructure.
Murdoch caves in over News Corp poison pill 7 Apr 2006 This is a real coup for shareholders. The media tycoon has bowed to their demands that he allow a vote on the controversial defences. The wider significance of this victory is that firms listing in the US can still be held to Europe s higher corporate governance standards.
Minority buyouts attract hedge fund swarm 7 Apr 2006 That s because squeezeouts, like NovartisChiron this week, follow relatively consistent patterns that savvy investors can exploit. Many variables that determine premiums can be assessed easily. One big one, though the strength of independent directors cannot.
Enron chief’s lawyers score own goal 7 Apr 2006 Ken Lay s attorneys called Enron s outside counsel to the stand to show he blessed the former chief s dealings. But this left the impression the investigation was little more than a whitewash, as probes sanctioned by management can easily be.
BAE puts Airbus stake back to EADS 7 Apr 2006 The UK defence group is the latest strategic investor looking to reduce its stake in the European aviation group. It looks a sensible move, given EADS s risky expansion of Airbus and the strong civil aviation market.
Morgan Stanley finally lures in some talent 7 Apr 2006 It s just poached JP Morgan s global M&A chief, the first new blood in the investment bank since Purcell s purge and Perella s pickoffs. He won t be the only one. Despite its problems, the firm is still a topnotch franchise, and its laggardly stock represents an opportunity. It has just poached JP Morgan s global M&A chief, the first new blood in the investment bank since Purcell s purge and Perella s pickoffs.
How Wal-Mart lost its way with Asda 6 Apr 2006 When the US retail juggernaut bought the supermarket chain in 1999, it threatened to transform the UK retail landscape. Instead, Asda now languishes in third place in the supermarket rankings, according to data released this week. What went wrong?
Computer Sciences LBO looks iffy 6 Apr 2006 And CSC offers less opportunity now that it is already cutting the fat. A big recapitalisation and buyback seems a plausible outcome. CSC has bloated costs and a pristine balance sheet things attractive to private equity. But two buyout attempts have already floundered.
Cerberus dishes out GMAC equity like candy 6 Apr 2006 Up to 50 coinvestors are clamouring for a nibble of the biggest equity investment ever by a leveraged buyout firm. That s because the recordbreaking deal for a stake in the General Motors finance unit is so sweet. Cerberus is paying less than book value.
Europe pulls back from protectionist brink 6 Apr 2006 Shabby compromises in Poland and France don t inspire much confidence. But at least crossborder deals are going ahead in some form. Meanwhile, the EU is fighting to enforce single market rules. If there isn't a decisive popular backlash, Europe should muddle through.
Vodafone shake-up a fresh boost for Sarin 6 Apr 2006 The mobile operator s CEO is reorganising management to better exploit new technologies and extract more value from its ragbag of assets. This will ease the pressure on the beleaguered Sarin. But he still needs to outline a convincing strategy at May s meeting with investors.
Tchenguiz struggling to put together M&B bid 6 Apr 2006 The property tycoon will have to fork out more than he bargained to get control of the UK pub chain. If he can t persuade shareholders to lower their demands, he could offer stub equity. Or he could walk away.
Wall Street bows to the bond crowd 6 Apr 2006 The US Securities Industry Association is merging with the Bond Market Association, its smaller lobbying rival. The SIA had more members than the BMA, but less clout. Investment banks now earn more from debt than from equities and M&A combined.
US telcos well-placed to tap web groups for cash 6 Apr 2006 BellSouth and others are attempting to fight internet competitors by slapping surcharges on data traffic from the likes of Google or Skype. They are in a good position to do so. The fight is taking place on telecom s home turf Washington.
Buffett serves up the wrong formula at Coke 6 Apr 2006 CocaCola s board pay will be linked with earningspershare growth, according to a plan proposed by departing director Warren Buffett. Yet Coke s largest shareholder should know better than anyone the pitfalls of EPSbased compensation.
Daimler should sell EADS stake altogether 5 Apr 2006 The German carmaker s decision to sell a 7.5% stake in the defence group doesn t go far enough. It is still stuck with a 22.5% stake. True, Daimler can t just dump the stock; defence is a political issue. But it should find a way to exit and cut the conglomerate discount. Only politics is preventing Daimler from exiting entirely. In the meantime, Daimler continues to suffer a conglomerate discount.
Does new Pik issue signal top of the market – again? 5 Apr 2006 Tim Hellas is planning the first "Payinkind" bond issue since the downgrades of Ford and GM last year. The Greek mobile operator is betting investors are hungry again for these highly subordinated bonds. If it's right, that's a worrying sign.
Easyjet first big casualty of Icelandic crisis 5 Apr 2006 FL Group sold its 17% stake in the UK budget carrier the same day the Icelandic stock market dove to a 13year low. The Icelandic exit has lopped off the takeover fizz in Easyjet shares. But an end to the uncertainty hanging over the stock is no bad thing.
Caz gets better side of JP Morgan’s block trade 5 Apr 2006 The US bank cut its UK partner into a £220m placing of Easyjet shares. But the deal doesn't look to have gone very well. Why has JP Caz come out better? Because it simply got commission for selling the stock, while JP Morgan was left with the underwriting risk.
Fastweb’s E300m payout could breach bank covenants 5 Apr 2006 The Italian cable group promised the payout when it abandoned the sale of the business in February. But it s not obvious that it can pay it. Maybe Fastweb plans to renegotiate the covenants. But if so, it should tell the market rather than leaving it guessing.
Alcatel agrees to satellite tie-up with Thales 5 Apr 2006 The injection of the telecom equipment maker s assets into the French defence group was a necessary step for its merger with Lucent. It paves the way for more European defence consolidation, including a possible tieup between Thales and Italy s Finmeccanica.
Total gets better of Santander in Cepsa war 4 Apr 2006 The two sides fell out when Santander tried to force Total to buy it out of the Spanish oil company in 2003 by raiding the shares. The French have seen off the Spanish bank through the courts, ending up with near control on juicy terms.
Citi let out of the doghouse by Fed 4 Apr 2006 The Fed says the bank made significant progress in improving risk management and is now free to return to the acquisition trail. But this may not be so easy given Citi s lowly rating, a consequence of its becoming a vast bureaucratic organisation thin on enterprise.
Hedge funds could upset NTL’s bid for Virgin Mobile 4 Apr 2006 The UK cable company has launched its formal £1bn bid for the UK mobile operator. But it isn t done and dusted yet. Virgin minorities must vote to licence the Virgin brand to NTL. That gives them a chance to press for better terms from Sir Richard Branson.
Investor AB’s $4.9bn Gambro buyout looks clever 4 Apr 2006 The Swedish investment company is participating in the buyout of the healthcare company in which it already owns a 20% stake. The deal almost triples its stake. Assuming normal levels of leverage, Investor will also take out E90m in cash.
Arcelor turns back on own shareholders 4 Apr 2006 The European steelmaker has ripped up its promise to mount a valuebased defence in favour of blatant obstructionism. It s putting Dofasco, the recently acquired Canadian steelmaker, in trust. That s a blow to Mittal s hostile bid.
TPI at risk of a take-under 4 Apr 2006 Minority investors appear to have gambled that private equity would pay silly prices to buy Telefonica s directories unit. But it looks like they won t. Telefonica may have to sell for less or not at all.