Tribune local breakup would add value 9 Jun 2006 McClatchy s piecemeal sale of Knight Ridder showed newspapers are more highly prized in private hands than the public markets. Apply the same logic to Tribune, and its newspaper assets could be worth at least 10% more than investors give them credit for.
French Suez shambles revives Enel bid hopes 7 Jun 2006 The French government is in disarray over the privatisation of GdF, and there s now a real chance the merger with Suez will fall apart. That might make Suez shareholders more amenable to a bid from Enel, which has not gone away. But Enel must be careful not to overpay.
France Telecom to offload yellow pages 7 Jun 2006 The French telecoms operator is following in Telefonica s footsteps in its decision to sell its 54% stake in Pages Jaunes. Like Telefonica s TPI, Pages Jaunes is underleveraged, noncore and likely to attract plenty of interest. But it s also not cheap.
Resolution’s Abbey purchase whets its appetite for deals 7 Jun 2006 With targets getting more expensive, and Resolution s chairman Clive Cowdrey on the prowl, that may reflect an acquisition discount. Investors are warming to the closed book specialist s purchase of Abbey life businesses. But they are still leaving a margin for error.
Ferrovial locks out Goldman in BAA battle 6 Jun 2006 The Spanish construction company s consortium has secured BAA s recommendation for its 950p offer and bought 14% of the UK airport operator. That makes life very difficult, but not impossible, for rival bidder Goldman.
Arcelor battle ensnared in complex timetable clash 5 Jun 2006 The Luxembourg group has to decide how to reconcile shareholder demands for a fair vote on its Severstal merger with its own sham vote. Whatever it decides is fraught with legal complexity. It is like a multidimensional chess game played against the clock.
NYSE first among equals in $20bn Euronext merger 2 Jun 2006 The Big Board comes out on top in its deal with the European bourse. It will control the board, and CEO John Thain will run the show. But you don't make shareholders money simply by signing a merger agreement. Thain needs to integrate the business if the deal is to pay off.
Glaxo purchase of OTC unit for $15bn would be an error 2 Jun 2006 The UK pharma group is reportedly preparing to bid a whopping 21 times operating profit for Pfizer s nonprescription drugs business. Doing so would be a strategic and financial mistake. The company would be better off concentrating on discovering new drugs.
Ferrovial’s dawn raid on BAA looks to have failed 2 Jun 2006 Nice try. If Ferrovial had managed to buy 14% of the British airports operator, it would have locked out rival bidders. But trading volumes suggests it managed to get less than 5%. As a result, the battle for BAA remains wide open.
New Look backers set for extra-large returns 2 Jun 2006 Private equity firms Apax and Permira look to have trebled their original money in the UK clothing retailer, since buying it in March 2004. How have they done it? By growing New Look at a rate of knots and trying on some topofthemarket financing techniques.
Arcelor should foreswear any more mischief 1 Jun 2006 It should hold a fair vote on its Severstal merger as demanded by 30% of shareholders and not engage in more dubious tactics. If the Severstal deal is better than a takeover by Mittal, Arcelor shouldn t fear a vote. But it will need to make a stronger case.
Goldman Sachs drawn into power conflict 1 Jun 2006 Hank Paulson hasn t departed for Washington quickly enough to avoid yet another accusation the investment bank abused its market power. This one revolves around NRG s rejection of Mirant s $8bn hostile bid on the basis its former adviser, Goldman, betrayed its confidence.
Dexia pays $2.4bn for stake in Turkey’s DenizBank 31 May 2006 Shares in other Turkish banks have fallen 15% in the last month, yet Dexia is paying twice as much as other recent Turkish bank deals. As a result, returns look meagre and Dexia risks reviving its reputation for poor deals.
Abramovich’s Evraz move won’t involve Corus – yet 31 May 2006 The oligarch s mooted purchase of a £1.7bn stake in Londonlisted Russian steel group Evraz has incited talk of a tie up with Corus. This isn t likely at least for now. Abramovich s past role in consolidating Russian industries provides a better clue to his ambitions.
BAA rejects more credible offer from Ferrovial 30 May 2006 It s one thing turning the Spanish construction group down at 810p a share. But at 900p, it s getting harder to justify. It may not be the more than 940p BAA was gunning for. But that was always an ambitious target.
Engelhard finally caves in to $5bn BASF bid 30 May 2006 The US materials group didn t have much choice. Its plan to buy back its own shares at $45 each won little support from shareholders. BASF has answered critics who feared the German chemical giant would overpay. At $39 a share, the deal should deliver value.
Kinder Morgan founder’s $22bn MBO offer looks cheap 30 May 2006 Richard Kinder is offering an 18% premium to take private the energy company he founded a decade ago. That looks low. The stock is already above the offer price. Kinder s 18% stake might discourage other bids, but the board should push for a better deal.
Arcelor shareholders should fight for rights 30 May 2006 The steel group is effectively disenfranchising them by offering them only a bogus vote on its planned merger with Severstal. Shareholders should call an EGM to insist that the Severstal deal is put to a proper vote. They must act swiftly.
Arcelor tries to ram through E10bn Severstal deal 26 May 2006 Whether the deal is any good is another matter. The terms aren't transparent and the idea the deal values Arcelor at E44/share is fanciful. Shareholders aren't being given a fair chance to assess this deal compared to Mittal's hostile offer. This is democracy Russianstyle.
Fortress locks up Marconi pension plan 26 May 2006 The hedge fund is paying £346m for Telent, the overcapitalised rump company formed after Marconi sold most of its assets. Nobody has figured how to separate Telent from its overfunded pension plan. Fortress is essentially buying an option.