Cox: Quarterly reporting to get a major rethink 17 Nov 2015 From BlackRock’s Larry Fink to presidential contender Hillary Clinton, “quarterly capitalism” has become a four-letter word. Big publicly traded asset managers could change habits by abandoning their own three-monthly results. Watch for that in the coming year.
Congress’ insider traders finally out of excuses 16 Nov 2015 A U.S. judge has ordered lawmakers to cough up evidence about a dodgy tip, ending more than a year of stonewalling and bogus claims of immunity. With Capitol Hill contemplating an even stronger ban on improper Wall Street trades, the least it can do is play by its own rules.
Deal cracks open fizzy finance of craft brewing 16 Nov 2015 Constellation Brands is buying San Diego’s Ballast Point, maker of Grapefruit Sculpin IPA, for $1 bln. Though small beer next to AB InBev’s M&A, it offers one of the first glimpses into exactly what established brewers will pay to acquire coolness. The figures are sobering.
Financial vacancy at new Marriott-Starwood inn 16 Nov 2015 The $12 bln merger would create the world’s biggest hotelier. Marriott boss Arne Sorenson touts value creation, but the stated $200 mln in cost savings won’t cover the premium his company is paying. Starwood owners also initially reacted unhappily. The deal is looking defensive.
New Chicago Skyway owners need long investing view 16 Nov 2015 Ferrovial and Macquarie paid $1.8 bln in 2005, $1 bln more than the next bid. Now three Canadian pension funds are buying the Windy City turnpike for $2.8 bln. Thanks to extra debt, the sellers won’t see much profit on their equity. At least the buyers can afford to be patient.
Heads won’t roll at Mylan despite blunders 13 Nov 2015 Rather than take a $40 bln-plus offer from Teva, the drug firm pursued Perrigo, whose owners rejected the bid on Friday. The vote was partly against Mylan’s poor governance – which also makes it unusually hard for its own shareholders to turf out inept executives and directors.
Hulu deal would broadcast mixed signal 13 Nov 2015 Time Warner may buy into the U.S. video-streaming service already backed by Comcast, Disney and Fox. Though the implied value is bound to be far less, Hulu could be worth some $17 bln, according to Breakingviews calculations. The ownership structure warrants a big discount.
Biotech firm’s stock buyback emits bad bouquet 12 Nov 2015 NantKwest wants to snap up a large chunk of stock at a big discount to its July IPO. Yet the biotech controlled by Patrick Soon-Shiong needs the money as it’s likely to burn cash for years. A buyback would, though, prop up the price ahead of an expiring lockup for executives.
Legal eagles earn a higher corporate pay perch 12 Nov 2015 Compensation for S&P 500 general counsels is up almost 23 pct since 2010, a sharper rise than for CEOs and CFOs. It’s a sign that companies are choosing to handle more big deals, lawsuits and regulatory issues in-house. Outside law firms should brace for a steeper dive in demand.
Apple and banks spoil for electronic-payment fight 12 Nov 2015 JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and others may let customers send money over the iPhone maker’s network. All are playing catch-up to the likes of PayPal and Facebook. The Apple Pay plan may wrest back some control for banks, but also portends an intense battle for money flows.
John Malone triples down on complexity 12 Nov 2015 The U.S. cable TV mogul plans to turn the $13 bln Liberty Media’s shares into three tracking stocks, each with three classes. Malone is an old hand at using shadow stocks to reshape his empire, tax-free. But investors may find the legerdemain more confusing than clarifying.
AB InBev turns bulge-bracket loan arranger 11 Nov 2015 The beer giant unusually organized its own record $75 bln loan package to help buy SABMiller. In 2014, that would have earned a top 20 slot in global lending league tables. More practically, it burnishes AB InBev’s cost-cutting credentials by saving up to $300 mln in fees.
Islands sale emblematic of California water woes 11 Nov 2015 Zurich Insurance is set to sell land in the state’s northern water hub to a utility in the dry south. It may form part of a broader $15 bln plan and raises concerns about water rights, the environment, big projects and how to finance them and how best to use a scarce resource.
Hadas: The BRICs are dead. Long live the BRICs! 11 Nov 2015 Goldman Sachs coined the acronym in the 2000s when Brazil, Russia, India and China promised the greatest economic shift in a century. Now Goldman is closing its flailing BRIC fund. But poor countries are still gaining on rich ones, and their base for growth is getting more solid.
White House wannabes give Wall Street much to fear 11 Nov 2015 The fourth GOP presidential debate unleashed many fanciful notions about the financial crisis and its aftermath. Ben Carson blamed stock buybacks, Jeb Bush botched bank capital and Ted Cruz flubbed monetary policy. It’s modern history whose lessons are too dangerous to repeat.
AB InBev too coy over SAB mega-deal’s benefits 11 Nov 2015 The Budweiser brewer reckons its tie-up with SABMiller will generate cost savings worth around $10 bln. Investors have added roughly $50 bln to the combined companies’ value since the deal was mooted. The gap suggests the market likes the deal more than AB InBev dares to say.
Molson gets tasty chaser in giant beer deal 11 Nov 2015 The Coors owner is paying SABMiller $12 bln for its 58 pct stake in their U.S. venture. By helping ease antitrust pressure on the UK-listed brewer’s $105 bln sale to AB InBev, Molson avoids a premium. Some $200 mln of annual cost savings, plus a sizeable tax perk, are pure gold.
Fed feeds Goldman conspiracy-theory machine 10 Nov 2015 Hiring former dealmaker Neel Kashkari to run Minneapolis means the investment bank’s alumni are in charge of three of the central bank’s 12 regional branches. It’s great fodder for those seeking evidence of a system in thrall to Wall Street and Goldman. The reality is less juicy.
AB InBev’s deal skills turn into an embarrassment 10 Nov 2015 The 11 pct increase in the brewer’s shares since it agreed in principle to buy rival SABMiller for $105 bln has made its cash offer less attractive. Announcing big cost savings, AB InBev’s forte, would make the problem worse. AB has good reason to subtly play down its prospects.
Tech crunched between clashing U.S.-EU privacy law 10 Nov 2015 Facebook got dinged in Belgium for secretly tracking visitors, while Spokeo’s similarly nosy conduct will probably go unpunished in America. Yet in neither case could victims prove they were harmed. The disparate outcomes highlight the need for more uniform data-gathering rules.