Buyout firms may struggle to carry off Altadis 26 Mar 2007 Private equity groups normally stay out of tobacco bidding wars. They don t have the synergies that allow trade bidders to pay top whack. In Altadis' case, piling on extra debt might help them beat Imperial Tobacco s initial bid. But it may not be enough to win the day.
Atos’s management shouldn’t dictate sale terms 26 Mar 2007 Atos s board is right to consider kickstarting an auction now that it has received informal approaches from buyout firms such as Permira. But it is wrong to require suitors commit to keeping the business intact. After all, breaking up Atos could allow for a higher return.
Bertelsmann finds clever ways to do deals 22 Mar 2007 By putting E500m into its own private equity fund, the cashconstrained German media company could find itself doing up to E16bn of deals. But it might be hard to pull off. Trade buyers and private equity groups rarely make easy partners.
BSkyB sweats under regulatory glare 20 Mar 2007 The UK media watchdog is investigating the pay television market after Sky s rivals complained. This may not lead to action. But Sky may find that having its every move scrutinised will cramp its style.
Permira and Centaurus pounce on E4bn Atos Origin 15 Mar 2007 The financial buyers have approached the lossmaking French IT services group at a sensitive time. It has just launched a 3yr restructuring. Centaurus already has a large stake. All this puts Atos's management under pressure to convince shareholders to hold out.
EMI’s travails provide Clear Channel lesson 15 Mar 2007 A year ago, the UK label behind the Beastie Boys rejected a 320p a share offer. Its stock now trades at 230p. Investors weighing the lowish $26bn offer for Clear Channel should consider the EMI case before they reject the deal.
Read all about it: Chinese bubble not yet popped 9 Mar 2007 There s no better headline to prove the case than the IPO of Xinhua. It has debuted on the Nasdaq at 92 times operating profit. But you can t blame Xinhua s insiders for living up the ancient Chinese proverb when the ducks quack, feed them.
Clear Channel may seek hot money helping hand 9 Mar 2007 The media group s camp has recently complained about shortterm investors moving into its Outdoor subsidiary for a quick pop. Now, it is considering delaying the record vote on its contentious $19bn MBO in hopes that hot money can bail out the buyout.
PPR rides high on the luxury wave 8 Mar 2007 The French retailandluxury conglomerate has improved profitability across the board, and wants to focus on organic growth. The company says it s not a seller of its slowgrowth retail branches. Even so, it could afford to be less stingy with its shareholders.
Cablevision’s owners face a quandary 5 Mar 2007 On the one hand, everyone knows Time Warner or Comcast could theoretically pay $40 or more for the $19bn media group. But the company s governance means, in practice, that investors may be denied the opportunity to sell at a 36% premium like this.
Siemens should sell E7.5bn VDO unit 2 Mar 2007 After all, making electronics for cars isn't a core business. And boss Klaus Kleinfeld is meant to be restructuring the German conglomerate. So why doesn't he just get on and have an auction? Corporate politics seem to be getting in the way worse luck.
Reuters is growing just fine 1 Mar 2007 The information provider is no longer a jam tomorrow story. The big investment is over. Revenues grew a healthy 4.8% last year. Reuters expects growth of at least 6% this year. If anything, its margin control Reuters' forte could be stronger.
Virgin Media and Sky should end ridiculous spat 26 Feb 2007 The current dispute between the two UK pay television channels isn t just about how much Sky charges for its channels. It is another front on Virgin s fight to dilute Sky s dominant position in the UK television landscape. But it will probably blow over.
When 50p may be better than 65p 21 Feb 2007 Normally shareholders should prefer a higher price in a deal. But not with Monstermob, the crisisridden UK mobile group. Shareholders should take a cash injection from LaNetro valued at 50p not an allshare putative offer from China s Linktone valued at 65p.
Warner takes EMI regulatory problem into its own hands 20 Feb 2007 The US music group has managed to get Impala, the independent music label association, to support its bid for EMI. After two profit warnings and a management clearout, EMI looks more vulnerable. Warner might finally get its way.
Reed turns into a sexy media stock 15 Feb 2007 The publisher s decision to sell its underperforming education business makes a lot of sense: it was holding the company back. Reed now looks set to deliver doubledigit earnings growth a rarity in today s media industry.
Playboy is one rich bunny 15 Feb 2007 Despite its litany of woes and Hefner s determination not to go private, Playboy trades at a thumping 23 times 2008 earnings. This is too sexy a multiple for a company that just missed consensus earnings and is under siege from racier rivals.
Malone cut a sweet deal with Time Warner 14 Feb 2007 John Malone's swap of 60m Time Warner shares for the Atlanta Braves and $1bn in cash took over a year to negotiate. The effort paid off. Yet while Malone gets lots of assets and a baseball team, Time Warner gets to buy a hefty chunk of its stock back at a discount.
EMI dives on second profit warning 14 Feb 2007 Barely a month after its first profit warning, the UK music company has warned sales will shrink even further. This smacks of incompetence. It also makes its very recent rejection of a private equity approach look foolhardy.
Virgin Media has a lot to prove 8 Feb 2007 The former NTL:Telewest says its new internet, television, phone and mobile offering will have the competition running scared . Richard Branson s Virgin brand is certainly powerful. But the market has to be persuaded that this isn t just an old truck painted red.