Rishi Sunak bets he’s a good gas trader 3 Feb 2022 The UK chancellor is spending 9 bln pounds to help consumers facing a 50% hike in energy costs. If gas prices fall back by next year, he’ll get most of that back. If they don’t, the state faces a bigger hit. Either way, this package looks too small to prevent a political furore.
EDF is latest utility in energy crisis hurt locker 14 Jan 2022 The state-controlled French group’s shares dived after the government ordered it to sell cheap nuclear power to smaller rivals. It’s no surprise France is shielding consumers from high wholesale prices in an election year. EDF won’t be the last European energy provider to suffer.
Boris Johnson has Europe’s biggest energy headache 7 Jan 2022 Customers across Europe are braced for higher utility bills, prompting governments to divide the pain between users, suppliers and the state. But Britain faces the biggest hike and has done the least to cushion the blow. That makes the prime minister’s position more perilous.
Capital Calls: Enel’s payments punt 24 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: The 70 bln euro utility is paying up to 361 mln euros for a relatively pricey punt on fellow Italian payments firm Mooney.
Capital Calls: Tesla, Daimler 11 Nov 2021 Concise views on global finance: The electric-car maker’s directors have, like Elon Musk, cashed in; the German company is racing against Agnelli-controlled CNH Industrial to spin off a trucks division.
PG&E victim payout experiment goes up in smoke 11 Aug 2021 In the utility’s bankruptcy, people who faced losses from wildfires received roughly $6.8 bln of stock in compensation. It’s now worth $4 billion. Handing a volatile asset to those who have already lost out is risky – especially if, as at PG&E, problems haven’t been fixed.
Capital Calls: Trucking IPO 7 Apr 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Startup TuSimple will be listing shares via a traditional initial public offering.
Utilities could use more Sage, less spice 10 Mar 2021 Activist Carl Icahn just jolted the U.S. power sector with a stake in $19 bln FirstEnergy. Paul Singer’s Elliott popped in and out, too. Yet utilities need to make grid investments that won’t immediately help shareholders. Warren Buffett's buy-and-hold approach fits better.
Corona Capital: Food delivery, Video games 25 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Hedge fund Tiger Global gets a taste for food-delivery investments; and Jagex, developer of fantasy game “RuneScape,” is flipped to Carlyle less than a year after its last sale.
Leaky Suez defence only enhances takeover appeal 18 Jan 2021 CEO Bertrand Camus, under siege by would-be acquirer Veolia, wants a compromise. Details are scant, but it could mean infrastructure funds taking a stake in the $13 bln French waste company. The lack of synergies and added complexity makes rival Antoine Frérot’s bid look cleaner.
Elliott takes power punch to greener pastures 12 Nov 2020 Paul Singer’s fund wants utility Evergy to engage with NextEra, the largest U.S. renewable energy firm. Regulators have frowned upon NextEra’s ambitions. But its valuation helps justify deals without tasking ratepayers. Elliott’s presence might help Evergy get over deal-phobia.
French sewage M&A battle takes messy twist 5 Oct 2020 Engie agreed to sell its 30% stake in Suez to waste rival Veolia for $4 bln, despite opposition from the French state, its largest shareholder. That may embolden CEO Bertrand Camus to resist a takeover. Wringing out a higher offer for the rest would allow him to exit honourably.
Suez white knight is a flawed M&A saviour 2 Oct 2020 The Paris-based sewage group has backed a last-gasp takeover offer by Ardian. The French fund could best rival Veolia’s bid by offering 13 bln euros for Suez’s equity. But there are no details, and CEO Bertrand Camus may not be OK with his company being broken up.
Veolia raises the tension in French sewage spat 30 Sep 2020 The water-to-waste group upped its bid for Engie’s 30% stake in rival Suez to 3.4 billion euros, a 16% increase. If the state-backed company accepts, it will pile pressure on Suez CEO Bertrand Camus to negotiate a full takeover. If he resists, investors could replace him.
Suez uses leaky defence against hostile bid 24 Sep 2020 The 9 bln euro utility put its water unit in a non-profit foundation. That frustrates bidder Veolia, which wants to sell the business to allay competition issues, but may not stop it. Even if the ploy works, adding complexity dents CEO Bertrand Camus’ pledge to be more efficient.
Corona Capital: Coca-Cola, Viral inequality 22 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Coca-Cola, once an icon of temperance, is diving into the hard seltzer market; and California is considering using the disparity in numbers of Covid cases between neighborhoods to steer its response.
Hurricane Isaias may claim at least one CEO scalp 10 Aug 2020 Connecticut legislators want the head of dominant utility Eversource’s CEO on a pike as blackouts linger. At a minimum they should insist on a clawback of his $20 mln 2019 pay. But if they want to create accountability for the long term, an Eversource breakup can’t be ruled out.
PG&E’s $58 bln bankruptcy exit is no clean sheet 22 Jun 2020 America’s largest utility emerged from Chapter 11 for the second time with about $16 bln more debt, a torched reputation, continuing political demands, and reduced but not eliminated wildfire liabilities. PG&E is out of court, but not necessarily out of trouble.
Corona Capital: Saudi/Carnival, PG&E 6 Apr 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Today, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund takes an 8% stake in beleaguered cruise outfit Carnival, and the coronavirus may dislodge one of the moving parts in California utility PG&E’s plan to exit bankruptcy.
More regulation, less return for U.S. utilities 19 Mar 2020 A defensive sector looks less so amid the coronavirus pandemic. A sharp rise in unemployment will make regulators less willing to green-light rate increases. Yet the grid still needs heavy investment, virus or not. PG&E’s return from bankruptcy illustrates the dilemma.