Investors challenge another US buyout 26 Jan 2007 Unionaffiliated fund CtW wants the Fertitta family to bump their $4.7bn bid for Station Casinos by 20%. That s more than recent MBO hikes. CtW s rationale looks sound. What s more, the market agrees. The fund s demand has finally set the stock above the MBO offer price.
Thain hints at larger bird in bush for LSE 26 Jan 2007 By dangling the distant prospect of a NYSE bid for London, Thain is trying to mess up Nasdaq s hostile bid for the UK exchange. It s a subtle manoeuvre. Thain had to say enough to tempt LSE shareholders without alarming his own. He may have pulled it off.
Meet Sam Zell, the auctioneer 26 Jan 2007 The real estate mogul brilliantly ran the bidding for Equity Office Properties. He scrounged up an extra $2.7bn in 10 weeks for his company. His skills at getting Blackstone and Vornado into a wrestling match would be useful for other American directors to consider.
Did Chuck Prince err in sacking Todd Thomson? 26 Jan 2007 From NY to Davos, no question is being asked more than this in light of the former Citi executive s relationship with CNBC s "Money Honey". Prince may not be good at creating value. But he s kept Citi clean. Keeping his legacy for probity will prove a wise judgment on his part.
SEC awakens to voting rights abuses 26 Jan 2007 Hedge funds are snapping up voting rights through backalley transactions in pursuit of quick gains. The SEC has finally taken note. But with the spring proxy season just around the corner, regulators are too late to protect legitimate shareholders interests this year.
US extradition victims face Russian roulette 26 Jan 2007 Ian Norris is the latest victim of the UK s onesided fasttrack extradition arrangements with the US, where he could face 20 years in jail. His case shows that doing business in the US is now a high risk activity. The severity of US justice is starting to resemble Putin s Russia.
Acciona raises the stakes over Endesa 25 Jan 2007 The Spanish construction group, which owns 21% of the Spanish utility, has put an ambitious E45 a share price tag on Endesa. This might be a selfserving attempt to take control via the backdoor. The timing suggests it is a ploy to squeeze a higher bid from E.on.
Private equity jumps on philanthropy bandwagon 25 Jan 2007 Last night s launch of the Private Equity Foundation couldn t come at a better time for the industry, as it grapples with its image problem. But if private equity wants to make a real impact, it must do more than stump up cash: it must put its risk capital skills to social use.
Ebay on track with $2bn buyback 25 Jan 2007 The auctioneer's doubling of the size of its stock buyback program is smart, given the maturing of its core business and deep pockets. Even with its PayPal subsidiary holding up well against Google, reigniting ubergrowth at Ebay won't be easy.
Siemens tries to deal its way out of a crisis 25 Jan 2007 The scandalhit German engineering group has piled a E7bn spinoff and a E3bn software acquisition onto its already very full plate. That may look too much for boss Klaus Kleinfeld. But by raising the promise of further restructuring, he may strengthen his own position.
Fastweb’s credibility under the spotlight 25 Jan 2007 It is hard to judge the accuracy of press reports that the broadband group is under investigation for VAT fraud. But it's yet another reason to question the group's credibility. Caution on investors' part is amply merited.
Bush’s health plan scrambles incentives further 25 Jan 2007 The president s proposed tax deduction will lead the young and healthy to buy cheap insurance, leaving the middle aged and sick vulnerable. It won t be cheap, and it doesn t solve the crazed incentives of American health care.
Is Henry Kravis worth his hefty fees? 25 Jan 2007 The listed private equity fund he heads made a $700m investment in publiclytraded Sun Microsystems. That s an unusual deal. But the buyout firm s investors can t complain. They re enjoying KKR s special access to a public company the average Joe can t get.
Foster’s ambitions give investors vertigo 24 Jan 2007 Lord Foster, the designer behind the "Gherkin", is mulling a sale of his architectural firm Foster & Partners, with £300m£500m pricetag. That would value the group at 200 times historic earnings rich by any standards, particularly at this stage of the global property cycle.
Yahoo CEO Semel plays for time 24 Jan 2007 The internet group forecasts doubledigit profit growth for the second half of 2007. This may give its boss breathing room. But after a disastrous 2006, any hiccups on this promise and investors will be right in calling for Semel to step down.
China’s reserve diversification threatens stability 24 Jan 2007 With $1.07tn to play with, China could secure a lot of its objectives. A weaker dollar would only be one consequence. It could solve its banks bad debt problems. It could buy access to raw materials. Or it could build the world s numberone military force.
Rivals beat Citi at managing interest-rate headwinds 24 Jan 2007 That s partly because their larger cache of retail deposits allows them to fund their businesses more cheaply than the megabank can. Absent a dramatically steeper yield curve or a major US acquisition, Citi is likely to remain the laggard.
Marchionne’s reward for saving Fiat: E125m 24 Jan 2007 By reducing debt and turning the troubled car business around, he has more than doubled the share price boosting the value of his options. But the Fiat CEO can't yet take his foot off the gas. He has tough performance conditions to meet if he is to get his paws on all the loot.
Caremark’s independent actors should act that way 24 Jan 2007 The $25bn pharmacy benefits manager s board has thrown in its lot with CVS and shown reluctance to deal with rival suitor Express Scripts. Caremark s board composition offers an explanation. Directors should show their independence by urging an auction of the company.
Alitalia deserves a bid discount 24 Jan 2007 The airline is the most expensive airline stock in Europe despite being the most unprofitable. Restructuring it looks risky and difficult. Any rational bidder would struggle to get anywhere near the share price. Alitalia shareholders are dreaming if they expect a premium.
Mortgage lenders for sale: strong stomachs required 24 Jan 2007 Lower margins and credit quality have sent valuations plummeting. Yet some, like Barclays, are still willing to pay last year s prices. Such deals could pay off. But there is probably enough pain ahead for subprime lenders to deter all but the most optimistic buyers.
Mexican tortilla glut intensifies ethanol debate 24 Jan 2007 President Bush is calling for more ethanol production. Corn price spikes due to the US ethanol program led Mexico to cap tortilla prices. As the flap over this Mexican staple shows, reliance on US cornbased ethanol is bad economics for both countries.
Endemol has a one-man poison pill 24 Jan 2007 Endemol s French boss may quit if he doesn t like the next owner. This could hurt not least because Courbit would get a giant payoff. Courbit, who wants to buy Endemol himself, is using his pill to jockey for position against the likes of Disney and Jon de Mol.
Private equity backlash underway in US 23 Jan 2007 A few LBOs Cablevision, Swift Transportation, Clear Channel suggest public shareholders are demanding more and getting it. It s about time. For the past two years, private equity has reaped profits that public shareholders could have got for themselves.
Zaleski’s E4bn investment in Intesa may be worth following 23 Jan 2007 That s not just because the wily billionaire, who snapped up part of Credit Agricole s stake, has a track record of smart investing. The newly merged bank has great restructuring potential. As a friend of its chairman, Zaleski is well positioned to assess execution risks.
Alcoa bondholders ignore gearing risks 23 Jan 2007 The US aluminium giant s $2bn bond offering was a blowout, luring investors eager for a corporate issue that protects against LBOs. But bond investors may still need protection from the issuer itself, which is catering to shareholders with a huge stock buyback.
Will Shell be taken to cleaners by Canadians? 23 Jan 2007 After tussling with hedge funds, the oil giant raised its offer to buy out the 22% of Shell Canada that it didn t own for C$8.7bn. That s a 37% premium in a period when oil prices have fallen by 13%. This shows Shell s desperation to get a deal done to top up reserves. Hedge funds want more than the C$8.7bn Shell is offering to buy the remaining 22% of Shell Canada. That s a 37% premium even as oil is down. This shows Shell s desperation to get a deal done to top up reserves. But it should resist shelling out further.
Meet the hostile bid pitched at a 50% discount 23 Jan 2007 Hostile bids normally require fat premiums. But a Cypriot/Greek banking triangle involving Bank of Cyprus has spawned a discounted offer. The ploy will probably only buy time. That may be why Cyprus' archbishop has waded into the saga attempting to protect the island's bank.
Memo to Bloomberg from a stock promoter 23 Jan 2007 The New York Mayor wants to ease market regulations to save Wall Street from dealstealing foreign competitors. The Board of United CommissionOnly Equity Traders supports these steps, as the fictional trade group s chairman explains in a letter.
Brevan Howard to test market with E1bn listed fund 23 Jan 2007 Do investors really have an appetite for permanent capital? Despite several successful fundraisings last year, the jury is still out. But Brevan Howard is a topperforming global macro fund. Pentup demand plus interest from long only investors may see it through.