LSE boardroom brawl will produce only losers 20 Nov 2017 Activist TCI wants to oust bourse Chairman Donald Brydon and reverse the departure of CEO Xavier Rolet. The board is preparing a public explanation for Rolet’s exit, perhaps including salty details. Directors, executives, shareholders and the exchange itself will all look bad.
Vivendi doubles down on video-game mystery 17 Nov 2017 The French media group won’t buy the rest of Ubisoft in the next six months, but nor has it said it will sell its 27 pct stake. It may even forgo voting rights to avoid making a bid. That leaves investors guessing as to its long-term plan, and marking down the stock accordingly.
Sandell asks Barnes & Noble to pick an adventure 16 Nov 2017 Flip to chapter “flimsy proposal” to see the activist try a buyout of the struggling bookstore chain without financing. Turn to chapter “worse than before” to trade liquid stock for private shares without founder backing. Stay here if you don’t want to see how this story ends.
P&G proxy fiasco is black mark on CEO David Taylor 15 Nov 2017 Five weeks after the Tide and Pampers maker triumphantly declared victory in keeping Nelson Peltz off its board of directors, an independent arbiter says the activist won. It's hard to conjure up a better illustration of P&G's insularity than its handling of the whole affair.
Cerberus puts German twist on distressed investing 15 Nov 2017 The private equity fund has bought 3 pct of troubled Deutsche Bank, months after taking a 5 pct stake in sickly rival Commerzbank. The twin investments might raise hopes of a merger between the two lenders. But other shareholders – including the German state – have a bigger say.
Buffalo Wild Wings could push for a spiced-up bid 14 Nov 2017 Private-equity firm Roark Capital made a $2.3 bln bid for the chicken restaurant, according to a report. That’d give activist Marcato only a modest return after a tough battle for board seats. Buffalo Wild Wings has lost some flavor, but it can still press for a little more.
Akzo Nobel-Axalta merger is a hostage to history 8 Nov 2017 A proposed blend of the two paint makers could produce colourful cost savings. That must mean job losses – and Akzo is the less efficient. Yet the $23 bln Dutch group deflected a bid from PPG saying cuts were a no-go. It’s hard to see how it could do the requisite U-turn now.
China’s Sina fires up governance Wayback Machine 8 Nov 2017 Days after escaping a board insurgence effort, the web outfit issued new stock that hands control to its chairman. It retroactively aligns Weibo's parent with Silicon Valley structures just as momentum swings against them. It's a bad turn for China Inc that also cost $500 mln.
NXP is key piece in $105 bln chipmaker jigsaw 7 Nov 2017 If Qualcomm wants to fight an unsolicited offer from Broadcom, one logical move is to complete its own $38 bln deal for automotive chip specialist NXP. A year later, that price looks low. Qualcomm now has a double reason to raise it – but the timing is out of its hands.
TCI turns “inactivist” investor with LSE campaign 6 Nov 2017 The hedge fund usually demands that CEOs quit. This time it’s pushing for London Stock Exchange boss Xavier Rolet to stay in his job while criticising the chairman. The LSE board owes shareholders an explanation. The risk of a board spat, though, is that both men end up leaving.
Sina’s board wins Yahoo-like prize 3 Nov 2017 Bosses of the $8 bln Chinese web outfit thwarted a U.S. hedge fund's quest to add two directors. Sina's big problem is that it's worth less than its big stake in Weibo. As Yahoo laid bare, it can be hard to run a company whose value sits elsewhere – regardless of who's in charge.
Belt-tightening gives Tidjane Thiam breathing room 2 Nov 2017 The Credit Suisse boss delivered an 80 pct jump in third-quarter pre-tax profit despite lower revenue. An activist seeking to break up the Swiss lender can point to a misfiring investment bank. But cost-cutting and higher wealth management earnings give Thiam the upper hand.
Holding: Facts may spoil board-elections brawl 1 Nov 2017 Shareholder advocates say subjecting all directors to annual votes keeps firms fit, while critics like lawyer Marty Lipton argue it rewards costly short-term moves. Now a compelling study pokes holes in both views. It’s welcome progress in a testy but needed governance debate.
Vivendi can unlock more time to stalk Ubisoft 1 Nov 2017 French laws may soon force the media conglomerate chaired by Vincent Bolloré to decide whether to bid for the 7 bln euro video-games group. He has more choices than putting up or shutting up. Vivendi can duck the decision by converting part of its stake into non-voting stock.
Axalta deal complicates Akzo’s juggling act 30 Oct 2017 Fresh from deflecting a takeover, the Dutch group is considering a merger of its paints unit with its U.S. rival. A combination makes sense. But new CEO Thierry Vanlancker is already grappling with weak results and a chemicals spinoff. That raises the risk of dropped balls.
Activist broadcasts Japanese governance weak spot 25 Oct 2017 A UK investor wants TBS to sell corporate stakes and return cash to shareholders. Fair enough: The $3.5 bln TV network owner has little obvious use for Tokyo Electron and other holdings. Despite some broader progress, it will take more pressure to break this bad Japan Inc habit.
Arconic’s boardroom peace comes just in time 23 Oct 2017 The car and aircraft-parts maker resolved its management struggle with activist Elliott Management by tapping GE’s Charles Blankenship as CEO. A fresh earnings miss means he’ll need to hit the ground running. Troubles in a key new engine program are slowing progress on margins.
Credit Suisse breakup faces trading conundrum 17 Oct 2017 An activist investor wants to split the Swiss bank into three parts. On paper, the private banking and asset management units alone justify its $41 bln market value. But the ailing investment bank – including an estimated $250 bln of derivatives – would struggle to stand alone.
Viewsroom: Activists keep the fight alive 12 Oct 2017 Nelson Peltz narrowly lost his acrimonious bid for a P&G board seat. Honeywell’s decision to spin off two small units was less than Dan Loeb lobbied for. These are temporary setbacks. Past experience and their financial firepower make shareholder activists a powerful force.
KKR sets a collision course with Elliott in Japan 12 Oct 2017 The buyout firm raised its bid for a Hitachi subsidiary, offering outside investors $1.3 bln. That price might not satisfy activist shareholder Elliott. KKR may need to sweeten the deal, within reason - its reputation in Tokyo for disciplined buying is worth preserving.