Denmark

Novo Nordisk’s chunky valuation risks crash diet

4 May 2023

The $274 bln pharma group trades at a big premium to peers. Investors are buoyed by hopes Novo can take a large share of an obesity market that could be worth $100 bln by 2031. But competition and questions about its drug’s effectiveness could slim down its valuation.

Deutsche Boerse data pivot comes at a price

27 Apr 2023

Boss Theodor Weimer is buying fund software firm SimCorp for 4 bln euros. Like peer LSEG, the German exchange is hoping a shift into the faster-growing data business will mean richer valuations. It’s a logical gamble, but such deals are expensive, and take time to pay off.

Orsted increasingly merits its investor blowback

20 Jan 2023

The $38 bln Danish wind farm group flagged lower-than-expected 2023 targets as its key offshore arm struggled. Shareholders always granted Orsted a premium valuation, due to growth expected from new projects. Construction delays and rising rates are putting that in question.

Danish $22 bln enzyme M&A is costly bet on growth

12 Dec 2022

Novozymes will absorb smaller domestic rival Chr. Hansen. The 38% premium dwarfs expected synergies from the deal. And Novo Holdings, the biggest shareholder in both groups, will retain majority voting rights. Novozymes investors look to be paying too much for future growth.

Big Pharma will muscle in on obesity gold rush

28 Nov 2022

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s weight loss drugs are swelling their valuations, and give them a lead in a potentially $50 bln market. Yet rivals like Pfizer are not far behind, and others can snap up biotechs like Altimmune. An increasingly crowded sector may lead to lower returns.

Maersk’s cash machine is economic storm warning

2 Aug 2022

The Danish shipping giant reckons sky-high freight rates will help it land $37 bln of EBITDA this year. The trouble is its $50 bln enterprise value gives little credit to what lies over the horizon. The likely explanation is a sharp collapse in container demand due to recession.

Windmill makers’ vicious cost cycle has an ending

5 May 2022

Denmark’s Vestas and rival Siemens Gamesa have failed to turn booming demand for wind farms into higher earnings. Increased prices to offset soaring raw material costs will take several years to kick in. But now wind power is cheaper than fossil fuels, price pressures are easing.

Rwanda’s economic refit gets net-positive free ads

22 Apr 2022

Britain and Denmark want to outsource asylum processing to the East African nation infamous for its 1994 genocide. Regardless of their motives, it chimes with leader Paul Kagame’s plan to build an offshore services hub. Handling refugees looks mercenary but supports his goal.

Wind turbine makers are victims of own success

3 Nov 2021

Soaring demand for renewable energy has inflated Vestas and Siemens Gamesa into multibillion-dollar firms. Yet the pair are struggling to turn a profit because of steep rises in raw materials costs. Passing those on will end wind power’s long-term trend of falling prices.

Road to COP: Denmark’s green giant

21 Sep 2021

Orsted is one of the most highly valued players in the global energy transition. Chief Executive Mads Nipper’s main job is to ensure things stay that way as demand for its wind power intensifies. Ahead of Glasgow’s critical COP26 conference in November, he chatted to George Hay.

Maersk’s green ships have first-mover disadvantage

26 Aug 2021

The $53 bln container giant is buying eight vessels powered by carbon-neutral methanol. Maersk gets a green halo, and customers could shoulder its increase in costs. The catch is that clean fuel alternatives currently in development are likely to be cheaper, and greener.

Novo Nordisk diet drug may finally be the big one

4 Aug 2021

Obesity costs America over $1 trln a year, but therapies have proved ineffective or worse. The $215 bln Danish group’s new injection works, and a fast start means annual sales may one day near $10 bln. If U.S. insurers play along, it could be one of the best-selling drugs ever.

Danish hydrogen adds hygge to market green malaise

7 Jun 2021

Green Hydrogen Systems is planning a Copenhagen float that will value the electrolyser maker at $500 mln. Of late, pulled IPOs reflect investor scepticism about so-so renewable energy listings. The green gas’s key role in cutting EU carbon emissions may make this a comfier fit.

Pandora adds green polish to its lab-diamond bet

28 May 2021

The $13 bln Danish trinket maker is switching to all synthetic stones, a move driven more by profit than sustainability. Man-made rocks can be 90% cheaper than natural ones, putting them in Pandora’s mass-market ambit. The reduced carbon footprint adds some millennial sparkle.

Danish shipping raid heralds consolidation wave

27 Apr 2021

DSV Panalpina is loading Kuwait’s Agility into its hold in return for $4.1 bln in new shares. With its flotilla of medium-sized players, the global freight sector is ripe for M&A. Disruption from the pandemic and recent Suez blockage present a window for bigger players to pounce.

Nexi bulks up for next round of payments M&A

16 Nov 2020

The Italian group’s 7.8 bln euro swoop on rival Nets, following its takeover of Sia, turns it from prey into predator. With a likely market value of around 22 bln euros, Nexi will compete with French rival Worldline for future deals. Bank-owned payment assets are the next target.

Vestas wind blows holes in BP’s green ambition

12 Aug 2020

The oil major is late to the party it called in 2000 with its “Beyond Petroleum” rebranding. Renewables were cheap to enter back then, when the Danish wind turbine maker was worth under $2 bln. Not so easy now, with soaring orders and revenue puffing up Vestas’s value to $29 bln.

Scandi airline rescue is formation-flying lesson

30 Jun 2020

Sweden and Denmark are taking an equal share of the knotty $1.5 bln rescue of regional carrier SAS. If equity and debt holders agree, it’s an exception to the rule that national priorities impede cross-border bailouts. Air France-KLM’s fractious state owners should take note.

Carlsberg premium rating’s days are numbered

4 Feb 2020

The Danish brewer’s Chinese exposure means investors value it more highly than peers. But with the coronavirus shutting nightclubs and half of restaurants in the $22 bln group’s biggest market, that will change. Boss Cees ‘t Hart needs a plan B.

Vestas buttresses Denmark’s wind-power primacy

7 Nov 2019

The Copenhagen-listed turbine maker’s order books have bulged to 33 bln euros. More importantly, margins are withstanding the buffeting of subsidy removals, unlike at rival Siemens Gamesa. Alongside operator Orsted, tiny Denmark is king of the $1 trillion wind business.