Arb gap opens in Iberdrola bid for Scottish Power 3 Dec 2006 Scottish Power s investors should be delighted with the price Iberdrola has offered. Instead they have given it a lukewarm reception. There's now a gap between Scottish s share price and Iberdrola s offer, even after allowing for transaction costs.
Public interest debate on LSE lacks traction 3 Dec 2006 Some worry that London s interests may be sidelined if Nasdaq s hostile bid succeeds. But a debate hasn t taken off. Why? Because there isn t that much to argue about.
Where will the Feds take private equity? 1 Dec 2006 It s the only question asked nearly as frequently on Wall Street as How big is my bonus? That s because the LBO boom is powering profits. So a probe into collusion worries many. But as a similar Fed inquiry into underwriting in the 1940s suggests, they may be in the clear.
Sears deserves a Lampert premium 1 Dec 2006 Deutsche bank reckons that his investment skills are worth a whopping $121 per share or nine times the company s cash on hand. That s excessive. However given his superior asset allocation skills the current premium is more than justified.
Can Home Depot find a private domicile? 1 Dec 2006 A $100bn LBO of the home building supplier isn t as crazy as it sounds. There s enough liquidity sloshing around for a deal. The buyers could even make a decent return. And boss Nardelli might welcome a bid after his lashing from shareholders earlier this year.
Softbank’s $12.4bn refinancing is a feat 1 Dec 2006 It wasn't easy for the Japanese group to fund the purchase of Vodafone's Japan business using a wholebusiness securitisation technique. Mobile operators especially troubled ones aren't obvious securitisation candidates. That it got done at all is a sign of huge liquidity.
Kerkorian sends sober message to US industry 1 Dec 2006 The billionaire s 2005 investment in GM convinced naysayers that there might be hope for the country s largest manufacturing concern. That he has now abandoned the factories of Detroit for the glitz of the Vegas strip says much about America s industrial fortunes.
Time for Suez to call off the merger with GdF 1 Dec 2006 A French higher court decision has postponed the deal until July 2007. This looks like the final nail in the coffin. For Suez shareholders, seven months would be too long a wait. The company should call it quits and look for other ways to maximise value.
Foreigners are right to shun New York 1 Dec 2006 The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation report suggests that SarbanesOxley has made New York uncompetitive for foreign listings. But factors such as Wall Street s excessive fees, lagging accounting standards and a chronic US payments deficit seem more likely culprits.
World is turned upside down, says Swiss central banker 1 Dec 2006 Countries with low inflation expect their currencies to appreciate. But the Swiss franc has been depressed by foreign borrowing. An abrupt movement on the foreign exchange markets could expose the dangers of unhedged borrowing in Swiss francs.