Safran engineers itself halfway out of a hole 24 May 2017 The French engine maker has re-sculpted its offer for hapless peer Zodiac. The price has been cut by around 15 percent to $7.7 billion, and some of the original bid’s complexity is ironed out. The main unresolved issue: a bad investment now looks like a mediocre one.
SoftBank’s $100 bln fund looms over satellite deal 18 May 2017 The Japanese telco's OneWeb unit is offering creditors in rival Intelsat slightly better terms, while giving its shareholders less. Boss Masayoshi Son had to find a way to get this merger done, without making it so costly it could not be folded into his new mega-fund.
Bombardier clears Canadian funds for takeoff 11 May 2017 In a rare revolt, pension funds ejected the train and plane maker's executive chairman. But it took a long downward spiral and outrage over pay to prompt action. A successful siege at a family-controlled national champion should inspire action elsewhere earlier and more often.
Dan Loeb’s Honeywell spin goes too far 5 May 2017 Hiving off the $100 bln conglomerate’s aerospace unit could boost the stock. But the activist’s argument that it would increase shareholder value by a fifth is a stretch and ignores the benefits the unit brings to Honeywell. New CEO Darius Adamczyk has other levers to pull first.
Safran can wiggle out of Zodiac mess in own time 28 Apr 2017 The French engine maker clearly needs to reduce or scrap its 8.2 billion euro bid for the plane-seat maker. The current offer, a third above Zodiac’s share price, is financially and politically daft. But there’s no rush to renegotiate. Clever timing might produce a better result.
Bezos’ rocketing wealth fuels space ambitions 6 Apr 2017 The Amazon founder is selling $1 bln of stock a year to finance his dream of colonizing space. Both he and his company can afford it. The firm’s dominance in cloud computing has added $25 bln to his worth in the past year. With a trajectory like that, the sky is not the limit.
Star-crossed Zodiac deal works at half the price 15 Mar 2017 Engine maker Safran’s 8.2 billion euro offer for its plane-seat making compatriot looks a bit sick after Zodiac popped out a profit warning. It’s a chance for the buyer to renegotiate a poor deal. But the value at which it would make sense is far, far lower.
SoftBank satellite bid orbits optimistic creditors 28 Feb 2017 The Japanese telecom group wants to merge its OneWeb startup with industry titan Intelsat. A combination depends on bondholders accepting haircuts on much of the $14 bln in debt. There's a juicy quid pro quo: long-term backing from Masayoshi Son’s giant tech fund.
Safran tries too hard to please Zodiac insiders 19 Jan 2017 The French group’s $10 bln offer for the plane-parts maker only flies if most shareholders take cash, leaving shares for Zodiac’s controlling families. There’s a wrinkle: the strategic logic, and Safran’s superior performance, make the stock alternative appealing to others too.
Rolls-Royce finally emerges from dark clouds 17 Jan 2017 The UK engine maker is finally taking off. Rolls is more upbeat about its 2016 profit and cash generation, the first positive surprise in a while. And a 671 pound settlement for bribery charges is costly yet manageable. Encouraging signs that boss Warren East is getting a grip.
Rockwell’s smart-jet hopes crash into reality 24 Oct 2016 Investors wiped up to 6 pct off the avionics supplier's stock after it agreed to pay $6.4 bln for seatmaker B/E Aerospace. Rockwell is betting the tie-up will win it a larger share of commercial airlines' digital transformation. The market for new planes, though, is stalling.
Cox: Iron Man Musk wages war on too many fronts 19 Jul 2016 Like the film superhero modeled after him, Tesla's boss is taking on the world. Fighting regulators, Warren Buffett, industries and the laws of physics means Musk can't afford to alienate investors. Dropping a proposal to buy SolarCity could strengthen his next master plan.
Lockheed-Boeing rocket JV feels competitive heat 25 May 2016 Elon Musk’s SpaceX just broke the monopoly on military satellite launches enjoyed by the defense contractors’ alliance. Congress may help the pricey venture by allowing it to buy more sanctions-tainted Russian rocket engines. That’d be a strike against efficiency and innovation.
Rolls-Royce’s board activist is double-edged sword 2 Mar 2016 U.S. activist fund ValueAct has a seat on the board of Rolls-Royce. If the engine maker’s No. 1 shareholder musters enough patience, it can underpin the turnaround engineered by CEO Warren East. But should it push for quick fixes like a breakup, Rolls’ predicament could worsen.
Honeywell and UTC give tour of M&A sausage factory 29 Feb 2016 The potential $160 bln merger is worth $108 a share to United Technologies owners, maybe as much as $134. No, wait, it’s $101. Synergies add $40 bln of value. Or is it $23 bln? Maybe zero. Antitrust aside, the back-and-forth offers a glimpse into the messy process of dealmaking.
Rail feud could set Italy on good governance track 4 Jan 2016 Minority shareholders in STS think Hitachi is offering them less than it effectively paid for a 40 pct stake from Finmeccanica. A decision from regulator Consob could shed light. A vote in favour of small investors would suggest Italian governance is changing for the better.
Buffett’s $37 bln Castparts deal lacks precision 10 Aug 2015 The Oracle’s Berkshire Hathaway is paying 19 times earnings for aircraft components maker Precision Castparts. The acquisition fits Buffett’s mold, but also coincides with cyclical highs in plane orders, stock valuations and M&A. Even for a long-term investor, the timing is odd.
Defense-minded Lockheed plays strong offense 20 Jul 2015 The U.S. arms supplier has struck a solid deal to buy the Sikorsky helicopter business. A big tax break reduces an already reasonable headline price of $9 bln. Lockheed’s plan to spin off or sell other less profitable units further attacks the problem of a leaner Pentagon.
Pluto and pentaquarks boost non-profit science 14 Jul 2015 NASA’s distant mission has gone viral, while European researchers have accidentally proven a 50-year-old theory about matter. Open-ended research at, say, Google is valuable, but government-funded basic science offers unmatched intellectual gains and unexpected practical benefits.
SpaceX flameout hardly heralds failure 29 Jun 2015 Space flight is like the venture capital industry in reverse: Most launches succeed, but a prominent few explode spectacularly. The formidable barriers to entry, rivals’ similar failures and SpaceX’s relatively low costs mean Elon Musk’s company remains on the right trajectory.