Russia bullies the Sakhalin two 18 Sep 2006 Is the Kremlin planning another Yukos? Sabrerattling over two foreign oil and gas projects in the pacific has prompted fears it might be. But while Russia would love to terminate contracts it signed with Shell and Exxon in the 1990s, it is likely to think hard before doing so.
Unhedged energy stocks on a wild ride to nowhere 18 Sep 2006 ConocoPhillips decided not to hedge its $35bn Burlington acquisition. Now it s suffering from the collapse in natural gas prices. Anadarko, the other major US energy acquirer of the past year, followed a more prudent course.
Veolia still shadowed by political clouds 15 Sep 2006 The French utility's interim results confirms it is doing nicely on water and waste management and its international business is booming. Boss Proglio has also abandoned talk of transforming deals. But the shares won't shine until he breaks free of his political connections.
What’s worse than being a US utilities banker? 15 Sep 2006 The implosion of Exelon s $18bn bid for PSEG shows how difficult the process of consolidating regulated utilities has become. Without cleanup work for former Enronwannabes like Dynegy s $2.3bn deal Friday bankers would have to consider billable hours.
When wastrels get a windfall, they spend it 14 Sep 2006 Nigeria, Angola and Venezuela all get more than half their government revenues from oil and all run a deficit. If the oil price falls or even merely stops rising they ll be in serious trouble.
Gazprom picks off second big European market 13 Sep 2006 The Russian behemoth's deal with Eni gives it direct access to Italian customers plus the chance to learn more about electricity generation. In return, Italy secures gas supplies and Eni gets into Russian exploration. It's probably a winwin deal, but Gazprom has held the whip.
How should arbs play Suez-GdF? 13 Sep 2006 Since Suez shareholders are going to find it harder to extract better terms from GdF, the 10% arb gap should shrink. But Suez shareholders can and should vote the deal down if the terms aren't improved. Doing so would put Suez back in play.
GdF privatisation: right choice, wrong reasons 7 Sep 2006 France wants to privatise its gas monopoly in order to merge it with Suez and so stop the latter being snapped up by a foreign group. Although the government s motives are contorted, privatisation still makes sense. But approving it shouldn t mean approving the Suez deal.
Knight Vinke fires shot across Suez bows 4 Sep 2006 The French government is confident approval for the Suez/GdF merger is in the bag. But the shareholder activist has a credible rival plan. It may not be enough to derail the process. But it sends a clear signal to Suez. It can expect a big fight over the final deal terms. The French government is confident approval for the Suez/GdF merger is in the bag. But the shareholder activist has a plausible rival plan.
BP’s problem before Browne’s departure: it’s too big 1 Sep 2006 Lord Browne quadrupled the group s size while CEO, but only delivered investors soso returns. His M&A spree also increased BP s complexity. That is a common problem among big dealbuilt firms.
BP’s trading creates reputation risk 30 Aug 2006 The energy giant s ownership of infrastructure assets and extensive trading operations creates a potential conflict of interest. After a spate of recent troubles, its traders are being investigated for allegedly manipulating oil and gasoline markets.
Kinder Morgan buyout nears conclusion 28 Aug 2006 True, boss Richard Kinder and his consortium have only bumped up the offer price by 7.5%. That s hardly stunning. But it s slightly more than independent board members at Aramark and Kerzner International squeezed out of their acquisitive executives.
BP falls behind Shell for first time in four years 24 Aug 2006 It's not just BP's reputation that has been damaged by the Alaskan fiasco. Its stock rating has suffered too. Shell's market capitalisation has just surpassed BP's, as its own tattered reputation has improved a tad and BP s halo has slipped.
Rosneft bankers stand by their client 15 Aug 2006 The underwriters of the Russian oil giant s IPO have exercised 58% of their overallotment option, paying more than the market price. Investment banks don t always accept losses so readily. But the cost of loyalty is minimal. And Rosneft is no ordinary client.
BP in yet another US blunder 7 Aug 2006 Even if BP's Alaskan pipeline is closed for the rest of the year, it's unlikely to make a huge dent in earnings. But the real damage is the blow to its reputation. This company is starting to look seriously accidentprone.
Trust Browne to do the right thing 25 Jul 2006 BP s chief executive is stepping down, as agreed, in 2008 after 13 long years in power. This should make succession planning, already under way, much easier to execute.
E.on to get a rough ride in Spain 25 Jul 2006 The speculation in Madrid is deafening. It seems the German power group is going to have tough time getting its bid for Endesa through. It's hard to see how the regulator could justify imposing tough conditions. But it leaves E.on with a difficult dilemma.
Rosneft: big company with a small free float 20 Jul 2006 On paper, some 15% of the Russian oil firm is held by private investors. But in reality its free float is less than half that. That may not be enough to provide an accurate reflection of Rosneft s true worth. Its IPO was managed . Its market may be too.
Yahoo stock tumbles after disappointing quarter 19 Jul 2006 Yahoo's rising marketing costs pushed ebitda down 11% in the second quarter. But while these shaky results inevitably depressed Yahoo shares, it seemed premature for investors to punish Google shares too.
Morgan Stanley should take heed of BP’s troubles 18 Jul 2006 By buying midstream energy assets, the bank s traders may have a clearer window into how asset prices will change. But as BP s trading scandal illustrates this advantage can become a liability if the byproduct of knowledge is market manipulation.