Eurotunnel should level with shareholders 13 Jul 2006 Talks are bogged down because the board is reluctant to tell investors the ugly truth. Its latest wheeze: to file for protection. This may be understandable given the directors came to power on a shareholder revolt. But shareholders may get less in the long run.
Pirelli Tyre IPO shows beggars can’t be choosers 29 Jun 2006 Owner Marco Tronchetti Provera needs E1.6bn to pay off banks and investors who helped him out after his splurge on Telecom Italia. Pirelli Tyre won t raise anywhere near that on its own. Besides, it only starts to look cheap a full 10% below the bottom of the range. Owner Marco Tronchetti Provera needs E1.5bn to pay off banks and investors who helped him out after his splurge on Telecom Italia.
Colaninno braves bumpy market with Piaggio float 28 Jun 2006 The Italian financier is floating his scooter and motorbike maker for E1bn, just when the capital markets are at their toughest. The price range looks racy. But Colaninno won t mind at the midpoint, his E243m investment has turned into almost E600m of value.
Eurotunnel uses questionable tactic 28 Jun 2006 The company has asked regulators to examine the actions of junior creditors who have come up with a rival restructuring plan. Eurotunnel may hope this will pressurise bondholders into negotiations. But it doesn t seem like the creditors have done anything wrong.
Goldman’s Eurotunnel plan isn’t greedy 28 Jun 2006 The investment bank and its partners are paying a reasonable price for the tunnel owner. It won t be easy to get a good return. Some investors are unhappy. But they would have more credibility if they explained their plan and said if they would put up more cash.
Dawn raids are back 18 Jun 2006 As the recent bids for BAA and AB Ports show, it s no longer enough to get a target s agreement to a deal. You need a wodge of shares too. Why? It s because financial investors are competing fiercely for assets.
Eurotunnel’s most junior creditors win battle 14 Jun 2006 The channel tunnel operator's lowestranking creditors have rightly been given extra time to come up with a rival restructuring plan. This is a welcome shift from the our way or the highway rhetoric of last month and should give a better result for all stakeholders.
Citigroup promises fight over Eurotunnel 31 May 2006 The Channel Tunnel operator thought its deal with Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Bank was sewn up. Now it may have to think again. The US bank claims to have formed a restructuring plan that may leave more for shareholders and junior creditors than Eurotunnel's proposal.
Hybrid could placate angry Eurotunnel investors 16 May 2006 The convertible bond would put off for three years the dilution shareholders would face in a debt restructuring. It might pass muster with lenders too if only because it's possibly their least worst option.
Rome boos Autostrade’s Spanish tie-up 25 Apr 2006 Given Enel s failure to get into Spain or France and a backlash against crossborder deals it isn t hard to see why Prodi is upset. But the Benettons aren't selling out yet. And even if Italian politicians dislike the deal, it isn t clear there is a lot they can do.
Italian and Spanish E22bn merger driven by tax advantage 24 Apr 2006 Sure, merging Autostrade and Abertis might give it the scale to compete for global infrastructure projects. But the juice is in the special Spanish tax break. To get it, the Italians have had to give up its headquarters and management control.
Time for Eurotunnel shareholders to give up the fight 12 Apr 2006 Eurotunnel is optimistic about sorting things out with its holdout creditors. But afterwards, it still faces shareholder negotiations. Equity investors shouldn't get their hopes up. If they can hang on to what is already on the table, they'll have done well.
BAA should fetch more than 900p a share 5 Mar 2006 That was the price at which one of the UK airport operator s biggest shareholders said he would sell the firm for. But what if BAA is worth more to Ferrovial, which is expected to announce its bid soon? BAA could be worth 1025p to the Spanish.
Montague looks for a free ride on LCR 22 Feb 2006 The former Treasury advisor is mulling an offer for the owner of the £5.2bn Channel Tunnel Rail Link that would cost surprisingly little. Montague would essentially be buying a free option on LCR s future. But it may not be easy for him to get away with it.
Singapore right to retreat from P&O 10 Feb 2006 PSA's withdrawal leaves Dubai Ports World free to pay 33 times earnings for the UKlisted operator. Dear oil is funding expensive ports. The government of Singapore has pushed up the price by 17%. But that won t be anywhere near enough to cripple its rich competitor.
DPW makes enormous £3.9bn offer for P&O 27 Jan 2006 The Dubai port company topped PSA s bid by 11%. And who says that s a lot? None other than Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DPW s chairman. But the Singaporean rival may make an even more uneconomic bid. It too has no outside shareholders to complain.
PSA ignites bidding war for P&O 11 Jan 2006 It seems money is no object when it comes to bidding for the last listed global ports operator. The Singapore port operator's approach tops what was already a very rich price from rival Dubai for the UKlisted group.
French TV merger may not be as fantastic as it looks 14 Dec 2005 Merging French payTV platforms TPS and Canal Plus group makes all the sense in the world if they can create a monopoly. But, if Italy is any guide, regulatory authorities may demand that they surrender exclusivity to premium content. That would be painful.
France sells motorways for hefty E14.8bn 14 Dec 2005 That's a great result for the French govenment. It's nearly E2bn more than initially expected. The bidders have been able to pay so much becuse they are leveraging the companies to the hilt.
TNT investors should thank the spur of private equity 6 Dec 2005 A buyout of the Dutch postal group is a tall order. But the very spectre of a private equity bid has kicked management into action. A E1bn buyback and the sale of TNT's logistics arm are a step in the right direction.