First Republic tale turns into buyout Goldilocks 30 Nov 2010 Merrill Lynch overpaid for the lender in toohot 2007. Then BofA offloaded it for too little in a cool market. Now, an IPO by new private equity owners Colony Capital and General Atlantic looks priced just right and delivers them a tasty 77 percent return to boot.
Dunkin’s financial story still has holes 16 Nov 2010 Nearly five years after devouring the U.S. doughnut maker in one of the era s most highly leveraged buyouts, private equity owners are refinancing $2 bln of debt and collecting a dividend. Yet strong growth can t glaze over ongoing concerns. Dunkin is still geared to the brim.
Water M&A may help cool a hot yen 11 Nov 2010 Growthstarved Japanese brewers are the natural buyers if Danone sells its $7 bln bottled water business. A strong yen makes overseas assets cheap. Conversely, Japan will be pleased if the deal triggers more outbound M&A to take heat out of the currency.
Beijing can afford to change rules for Diageo 9 Nov 2010 The UK drinks group wants to take control of Chinese a white liquor maker yet this fastgrowing market is largely off limits to foreigners. With British politicians taking up Diageo's cause, China has a chance to show openness, and pick up some highend skills on the way.
Diageo may soon raise a toast to Bill Ackman 11 Oct 2010 The hedgie found a ripe target in misfit conglomerate Fortune Brands, which owns Maker s Mark bourbon alongside golf shoes and kitchen sinks. Diageo has had the shakes for a big bourbon brand for years. If Ackman gets Fortune to break up, the drinks giant might have its chance.
SAB must be prepared for long game with Castel 7 Oct 2010 The brewer clearly covets its French partner's fastgrowing African beer assets, worth perhaps $9.5 bln. However, the Castel dynasty doesn't appear in any hurry to sell. But with longstanding crossshareholdings, SABMiller is perfectly placed to engage in a long courtship.
Green Mountain disclosures look like cockroaches 29 Sep 2010 The coffee firm s growth attracted a crazy valuation. Now an SEC inquiry is brewing and Green Mountain revealed curiosities about its accounts, raising fears others will crawl out. Clarifying how it books sales, its feeble cash flow and why it s gobbling up licensees would help.
China may find United Biscuits hard to digest 27 Sep 2010 A Shanghai conglomerate may pay 2.5 billion pounds for the privateequity owned maker of nobbly treats such as Twiglets and Hobnobs. The price looks indulgent. But Bright Food probably cares more that the UK snackmaker will enhance its revenues, and comes without political fuss.
Private equity’s case for buying Foster’s wine 14 Sep 2010 The Australian brewer's remedy for its wineinduced headache is to spin off the business. Buyout firms may think they can run it harder and make more of growing Asian demand. But they will have to make some punchy growth assumptions in order to generate a decent return.
Foster’s looks vulnerable to SABMiller strike 8 Sep 2010 SAB looks best placed to bid for its struggling Australian rival, and private equity has emerged as an eager buyer for the unwanted wine division. Shares in Foster's may already be pumped up. But SAB could justify offering a small premium. It shouldn't let the chance pass.
Export ban ruins Russia’s agricultural dream 3 Sep 2010 Just a couple of years ago, the Kremlin boasted of Russia's ambitions to feed the world. Investors poured into Russian agriculture to tap its huge export potential. But economic slump, drought and now a prolonged grain export ban show how far the dream is from becoming reality.
Diageo offers bond-like solidity in volatile world 26 Aug 2010 Its products may be exciting, but the spirits group makes a virtue of being dull. Sales and earnings rise slowly, as the world becomes affluent enough to drink Johnnie Walker whisky instead of hooch. Strong cash flow and rising dividends add up to a lowrisk equity investment.
Ocado’s cut-price float doesn’t deliver value 20 Jul 2010 The UK online grocer has slashed the price range for its IPO, with the previous floor now marking the top end. The substitution will satisfy some investors. But the delivery is the same a highly speculative investment whose valuation relies on rosy growth projections.
Liffe faces threat from chocolate abuse 15 Jul 2010 It sounds like a chocaholic's dream: 248,660 tonnes of cocoa in warehouses for traders on London's financial futures exchange. But it's a nightmare for chocolate makers. With the price at a 33year high, they smell something much more pungent than the aroma of cocoa.
Ocado’s wide IPO range provides needed flexibility 6 Jul 2010 The UK online retailer is braving choppy waters for new issues. Its mooted 1.2 bln stg valuation at the middle of the range looks punchy. Ocado hopes the promise of further sales and margin growth will lure investors. But the yawning price range signals understandable caution.
Starbucks’ bars could stick 28 Jun 2010 The coffee chain is taking another cue from McDonald s, which turned from expansion to filling its restaurants during slow hours. Caffeine sells best in the mornings, and now Starbucks is gingerly experimenting with beer and wine in the evenings. It could prove profitable.
Ocado’s IPO gimmick could backfire 9 Jun 2010 The UK online grocer's most lucrative customers are being offered the chance to buy shares in a float due next month. It's a risky tactic. Fans will want Ocado to thrive, and may be willing to fund its expansion. But their loyalty may evaporate if they lose money in the IPO.
Tesco’s Leahy shows corporate virtues to the end 8 Jun 2010 The UK retail boss will step down after presiding over 14 years of relentless growth. The manner of his departure is typical of a man who honed key business skills: planning, process and careful doses of imagination and ambition. Typically, his successor is another Tesco lifer.
Kraft’s Cadbury victory turns Pyrrhic for Lazard 26 May 2010 The boutique helped secure the takeover of the UK chocolatier. But the UK M&A regulator has criticized the conduct of Kraft and its adviser during the bid, costing a Lazard banker his mooted job as the watchdog s chief. It s a blow to a firm whose main product is judgment.
Time, gentlemen, for Punch Taverns chief to go 30 Mar 2010 Giles Thorley built Punch into Britain's biggest pubs group by using a private equitystyle balance sheet. The financial engineering has failed. Despite a rescue rights issue, the shares are lower today than when Thorley took over seven years ago. A pub pro might do better.