Netherlands

Just Eat puts convertibles at top of bankers’ menu

23 Apr 2020

Dutch food delivery group Just Eat Takeaway.com sold 300 million euros of funky debt that converts into equity. It’s a cheap way to raise funds when stock markets are volatile. The products’ stable performance during the coronavirus crisis means investors should stay hungry.

Hoarding to extend sell-by date of tired brands

17 Apr 2020

Consumers stockpiled pantries and freezers with long-life grub, boosting dowdy products like frozen Hot Pockets. Unilever and Nestlé had been tilting towards higher-end brands. Lockdowns will force CEOs and investors to reconsider the value of what’s in their cupboards.

Shell helps avoid net-zero focus on climate change

16 Apr 2020

The oil major has followed BP in toughening its long-term carbon reduction ambitions. As with those of peers, the new goals are still not much more than a start. Still, with Covid-19 forcing Big Oil into crisis mode, their main virtue is to keep global warming on the radar.

Corona Capital: Ackman’s hedge, Oil stockpiles

26 Mar 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout, including investor Bill Ackman’s surprise reversal of fortune, and the U.S. shale oil bailout that wasn’t.

Lockdowns mean heartburn for meal-delivery market

16 Mar 2020

The $123 bln sector, which includes Uber and Meituan, may sound like a winner as the coronavirus keeps diners indoors. Yet the key office-lunch market is collapsing, and panic buying has filled home kitchens with groceries. Paying sick drivers will add to the financial strain.

Dutch grocer can afford $7 bln U.S. shopping spree

20 Feb 2020

Ahold Delhaize, the $28 bln owner of Stop & Shop supermarkets, churned out cash after another strong quarter. The success suggests it could hoover up smaller U.S. players. Several grocers might be an option, though Ahold might have to compromise on its preferences.

Air France lays down worrying coronavirus marker

20 Feb 2020

The Franco-Dutch airline’s shares fell 7% as it warned of a 200 mln euro hit from the virus. Rivals BA-owner IAG and Lufthansa will also feel the travel drag. Yet Air France-KLM’s estimates count on a quick resolution. That suggests even more pain could be ahead for investors.

Aegon’s new CEO has big credibility gap to fix

13 Feb 2020

The Dutch insurer’s shares fell 8% on Thursday after it reported lower profits and weaker capital than expected. Low interest rates are hurting its core U.S. business, and it has a nasty habit of goofing up its modelling. Incoming boss Lard Friese faces a tricky turnaround.

Incoming Heineken boss has a tricky first few sips

12 Feb 2020

Jean-Francois van Boxmeer is leaving the world’s second biggest brewer after 15 years as CEO. His legacy is a firm adept at selling pricier beers in fast growth markets like Vietnam and Mexico. With both troubled, new boss Dolf van den Brink’s issue now is whether to change tack.

Shell faces slog to keep least-bad oil major title

30 Jan 2020

The Anglo-Dutch group’s emissions stance is tougher than peers, but rivals like BP may soon catch up. Shell could hold its lead by further embracing lower-yielding renewables. Yet that might add to pressures obliging CEO Ben van Beurden to slow the pace of a $25 bln buyback.

Private equity can sweeten Unilever’s tea business

30 Jan 2020

The consumer giant is weighing a full or partial sale of slow-growing brands such as Lipton and PG Tips, which represent 6% of sales. Paying down debt is not a priority. CEO Alan Jope may be better off teaming up with a buyout fund, as Nestlé did with its ice cream joint venture.

Home cleanup lets Philips focus on health push

28 Jan 2020

The 40 bln euro Dutch group is offloading its vacuum and coffee maker arm which brings in 12% of revenue. Detangling the business is fiddly but lets CEO Frans van Houten focus on its health units. Catching up with rivals like Siemens Healthineers requires more reliable results.

Naspers rejig only nibbles at Tencent discount

22 Jan 2020

The African tech group has sold $1.7 bln of shares in its Amsterdam spinoff Prosus, whose main asset is a $150 bln stake in the Chinese web giant. Using the funds to buy back stock has merit, but Naspers will have to be bolder if it wants to close the Dutch firm’s valuation gap.

Unilever boss needs to channel his inner activist

17 Dec 2019

The consumer goods giant warned sales in 2019 will grow less than 3%. CEO Alan Jope blames weakness in countries like India, but the miss heaps pressure on him to turn around the sprawling business. Setting out clear targets for dumping sluggish food brands would be a start.

Altice scores narrow win with Portugal fibre deal

13 Dec 2019

Billionaire Patrick Drahi’s telecom group sold half its local broadband network for 2.3 bln euros. Some of the payment is delayed but the price still gives Drahi reason to celebrate. Besides eating into his debt mountain, the cash helps him lay more fibre to stay ahead of rivals.

Just Eat offer is taster for Christmas food fight

9 Dec 2019

Internet investor Prosus sweetened its cash bid for the UK food delivery company to $6.5 bln. That’s tastier than rival Takeaway.com’s all-share proposal, but still well below Just Eat’s market value. Shareholders are expecting a few more helpings before the end of the year.

DSM’s two new heads stretch sustainability halo

2 Dec 2019

Feike Sijbesma is leaving the $23 bln Dutch maker of food supplements and fibres. In 13 years as CEO, he championed planet-friendly businesses while delivering a 443% return to investors. Handing the job to two subordinates adds a governance challenge to sky-high expectations.

Shell’s Eneco fail flags Big Oil’s tricky pivot

25 Nov 2019

The oil group lost out to Mitsubishi’s 4.1 bln euro bid for the Dutch utility. Paying up for small European players is easy for Japanese bidders with a low cost of capital. Less so for old crude producers trying to shift to low-carbon energy, while saddled with wary shareholders.

Coty’s $7 bln castoffs are a bad fit for Unilever

22 Nov 2019

The U.S. cosmetics maker will auction its salon brands and may raise up to 12 times the unit’s EBITDA. The price looks reasonable, but revenue is shrinking. Breaking into the professional market with stale lines such as Wella would undermine the European consumer group’s shakeup.

Thermo Fisher diagnoses rare $10 bln land grab

14 Nov 2019

It’s circling Qiagen, a month after the diagnostics firm changed strategy and ditched its long-time leader. The would-be acquirer may spy an opportunity to snap up its rival while its defenses are weakened. The risk is that outweighs the pursuit of good returns.