Netherlands

Unilever is half way there on Kraft challenge

20 July 2017

The Marmite maker has cut costs faster than expected, reducing ad spend and paying less to its suppliers. Its 20 pct operating margin goal looks reachable. Yet with U.S. rival Kraft Heinz free to reprise its hostile bid next month, volume growth is too low for comfort.

Bond market breathes life into erstwhile zombies

17 July 2017

European investors are refinancing companies like Dutch retailer Hema that not long ago were trading at distressed levels. Such credits are enticing when central banks have squashed yields, and Europe’s economy is recovering. Markets are unlikely to remain so forgiving for long.

Elliott renews totemic siege of Dutch boardrooms

7 July 2017

The U.S. hedge fund has launched a new legal bid to dismiss Akzo Nobel chair Antony Burgmans. The move may not revive the Dutch group’s sale to PPG that Elliott wants. Yet after defeat in a separate case, it shows activist investors haven’t given up on the Netherlands just yet.

Altice discount a dubious buying opportunity

30 June 2017

A float of its U.S. arm has made the Dutch telco’s discount to the sum of its parts more visible. It’s a good time to invest in the parent if founder Patrick Drahi can succeed at running it more as an integrated group. Limited synergies and questionable governance raise doubts.

Philips deal healthier for patients than investors

28 June 2017

The Dutch healthcare equipment maker is buying loss-making US rival Spectranetics for more than 6 times next year's revenue in a $2.2 bln deal. Ramping up expertise in treating cardiac disease makes strategic sense, but the high price adds unhealthy financial side-effects.

IPO puts Altice USA’s best program behind it

22 June 2017

Bankers directed a flawless show for the public offering of the Dutch-based cable-TV company’s American business. Altice USA now trades at a higher multiple than Charter and Comcast yet has more onerous debt and no clear path to expand. Shareholders may want to change channels.

Akzo is emblem for new “fortress Europe”

1 June 2017

The Dutch maker of Dulux paint thwarted a generous 25 bln euro takeover attempt from U.S. rival PPG without putting forward a convincing financial defence. As European governments reach for more power to fend off unwanted mergers, Akzo has shown how shareholders can lose out.

Shareholders are best judges of PPG’s Akzo bid

30 May 2017

A Dutch court threw out activist Elliott’s attempt to force talks between the paint maker and U.S. suitor PPG. That still leaves the other option: for PPG to appeal directly to shareholders. The 25 bln euro price looks attractive, and there is little downside in going hostile.

Moody’s pays A-level price for B-scale acquisition

15 May 2017

At $3.3 bln, the credit-rating agency is paying a whopping 21 times EBITDA for financial-data publisher Bureau van Dijk. It broadens the portfolio, but both the cost savings and potential revenue uplift are small. At least Moody’s has a plan to keep its own balance sheet intact.

PPG might as well go hostile on Akzo

11 May 2017

It has little to lose by taking its $27 bln bid for the Dutch paint maker straight to shareholders. If Akzo invokes its poison pill, the deal falls away anyway. And if the U.S. suitor wins shareholder support, Akzo’s board will face enormous pressure to make the tie-up friendly.  

Shareholder battle weakens Akzo’s standalone case

9 May 2017

Activist investor Elliott is taking the Dutch paint maker to court in an attempt to oust chairman Antony Burgmans. Akzo’s defence against suitor PPG rests on its stock trading on a higher multiple after a corporate rejig. But bad governance could cancel out any upside.

Akzo board has painted itself into a corner

8 May 2017

The Dutch paint maker’s categorical rejection of rival PPG’s 24.6 bln euro bid creates two glaring problems for boss Ton Buechner. His self-imposed targets are fanciful, and many shareholders doubt his judgement on the deal. Should PPG go hostile, two battles will become three.

Shell nears midway point in turnaround

4 May 2017

Recovering prices boosted the Anglo-Dutch group’s first-quarter earnings. Judging by the downstream performance of Shell’s chemicals unit and improved efficiency, its diversification is paying off. The second half of the challenge is to convince markets to look beyond crude.

PPG raised offer kicks hole in Akzo’s door

24 April 2017

With a 50 pct premium, guarantees for European workers and a big break fee, the U.S. paint maker’s third approach for its Dutch rival leaves CEO Ton Buechner no choice but to engage. The onus would then be on PPG to explain how this rich 24.6 bln euro deal makes financial sense.

Reinvention of Philips is on a healthy track

24 April 2017

The Dutch group’s transformation from a conglomerate into a focused maker of health kit is in its final stage. After carving out lighting, boss Frans van Houten is making headway in lifting poor margins. The surgery is needed to close the valuation gap with pure-play rivals.

Unilever wins battle in shareholder value war

20 April 2017

Consensus-beating first quarter results add impetus to the Anglo-Dutch group’s goal of a 20 pct operating margin by 2020. Hitting the target would help justify a share price above the spurned offer from Kraft Heinz. That hinges on it cutting fat rather than bone, though.

Akzo’s go-it-alone plan has a rose-tinted hue

19 April 2017

The besieged maker of Dulux paint is wooing investors by breaking itself up and becoming more profitable. On paper, the strategy is superior to merging with U.S. rival PPG. In reality, lifting margins by a quarter until 2020, while cutting fewer jobs, looks a stretch.

Unilever finds clever twist in takeover defence

6 April 2017

The Magnum ice cream maker unveiled measures to increase shareholder value, and implicitly prevent a re-run of Kraft Heinz’s hostile approach. It’s mostly obvious stuff. But plans to review Unilever’s dual Anglo-Dutch structure offer a cunning way to build a political shield.

Credit Suisse raid jabs at private bank model

3 April 2017

The Swiss bank has stressed zero tolerance for tax evasion after authorities swooped on three offices. Credit Suisse may be scrupulous, but managing money for the wealthy brings certain recurring risks – not least because of Swiss private banks' historic pledge of utter secrecy.

Unilever can take page from GE’s activist playbook

29 March 2017

The 139 bln-euro Magnum ice-cream owner may attract uppity investors for the same reasons Kraft Heinz came calling: low margins and relatively little debt. CEO Paul Polman could keep them at bay by aping GE and seeking an activist's advice. But he'd have to be willing to act.