Corporate Governance

Parmalat banks fight back

16 Nov 2004

They have already persuaded the bust dairy group to readmit E1bn in claims and are now trying to convince the courts to admit another E4bn. But Parmalat, for its part, is still hounding the banks. The disputes are virtually certain to linger after its planned relisting next year.

VW to disclose individual board salaries

16 Nov 2004

The German carmaker s decision to comply with the German governance code is a highly symbolic victory for the government. Over half the Dax 30 are now committed to disclosure. The rest should fall in line. Legislation looks less and less necessary.

Harmony’s clever tactics look like prevailing

15 Nov 2004

The South African miner is close to snaffling the larger Gold Fields, despite offering its own unattractive shares. Harmony has exploited Russian and South African politics, and a regulatory loophole. But Gold Fields' own errors made it easier.

Glazer left without advisors in putative Man Utd bid

15 Nov 2004

His bank dropped him like a hot potato after he voted off three Man Utd nonexecutives, against its advice. But is that really so bad? Clients often don t take advice. Perhaps the bank abandoned Glazer because he was struggling to finance any bid.

Repsol ex-chairman gets monster goodbye deal

11 Nov 2004

Alfonso Cortina has reportedly received an E19m payoff after he was forced to quit from the Spanish oil group last month. This is hardly a reward for success: Cortina led Repsol s disastrous YPF acquisition. It s the price of political interference in Spain.

Unicredito deputy jumps ship to SanPaolo

11 Nov 2004

The departure of Pietro Modiano is the latest and most serious highlevel defection from the Milanese bank. For SanPaolo, hiring a strong director may be good news but only if Modiano has the necessary authority to implement change.

Malone manoeuvres to cut Liberty discount

10 Nov 2004

So far, his game of poker with Rupert Murdoch has helped to do that by highlighting the strategic value of some of the cards he holds. But there is plenty more to do. Even after recent gains, Liberty suffers a wide discount to the sum of its parts.

C&W restructures management, returns cash

10 Nov 2004

The telecoms group has finally dealt with its legacy problems and on betterthanexpected terms. Hence the £250m return of capital. That said, UK conditions remain tough. This may be why CEO Francesco Caio is slimming management and taking direct control of the core unit.

Zurich must take Converium litigation seriously

10 Nov 2004

Trying to prove the Swiss insurer is liable for the problems of Converium, the reinsurer it spun off in 2001, is a highly ambitious task. But the materiality of Converium s problems strengthens the hand of litigants, especially if they can mobilise its institutional investors.

Microsoft pays yet more Danegeld out to rivals

9 Nov 2004

The software giant probably thinks buying off Novell for $536m is money well spent. It ends the US antitrust saga and weakens an EU case. But Microsoft should remember the old mantra: pay the Danegeld and you never get rid of the Dane.

TI/TIM merger may be moving closer

9 Nov 2004

That s one way of reading the tealeaves at the complex chain of companies through which Tronchetti controls the Italian telecoms empire. A TI/TIM merger would make financial sense. But minority investors in TIM would want to be satisfied they were getting a fair deal.

Stuart Rose tightens his grip on M&S

9 Nov 2004

The retailer's chief executive is halving the number of executive directors and taking direct control of many areas of its operations. This should help the core business respond more quickly something that's needed if the firsthalf figures are anything to go by.

EADS/Thales speculation looks overheated

9 Nov 2004

True, a merger of the FrancoGerman and French defence groups would be the crowning glory of France's "national champion" policy. But German opposition and industrial rationale militate against such a deal.

News Corp adopts poison pill to fend off raiders

8 Nov 2004

Murdoch feels spooked. The move is specifically aimed at keeping Liberty Media s John Malone at bay. In addition, it is just the kind of measure that shareholders feared News Corp would put in place when it reincorporated in the US.

Unilever should merge its UK and Dutch arms

8 Nov 2004

The consumer group s doubleheaded structure isn t as dysfunctional as that other AngloDutch giant, Royal Dutch/Shell. But Unilever s system of having two executive chairmen is one reason why its performance is lacklustre.

Altria considers breaking up

5 Nov 2004

This was always in the tea leaves, even if it was not publicly stated. It makes industrial sense and would unlock a fair bit of value. But it s only possible when litigation risk lifts, which would actually be the bigger catalyst for a rerating of the Philip Morris arms.

Malone doubles up at Murdoch’s News Corp

5 Nov 2004

Part of the reason for Murdoch s move to list News Corp in the US was to gain better access to capital markets. His wish has been granted. John Malone s Liberty Media has swooped, again, in a deal that could double his existing voting News Corp stake to 17%.

Cazenove gets most top jobs in jv

5 Nov 2004

Two senior JP Morgan rainmakers don't do too well: Ian Hannam misses out on a star role; and Bernard Taylor isn't joining at all. But the structure looks workable and looks like it has avoided most, if not all, of the turf wars.

Bloomer should leave the Pru

5 Nov 2004

The UK insurer's CEO has lost the confidence of key investors. They have good reason. Bloomer has proved a bad strategist and has oversold his strategy and had to reverse it. A decisive break is needed.

Volkswagen ties its own hands

3 Nov 2004

The carmaker's labour agreement averts the threat of damaging strikes. But only at the cost of limiting VW's scope to restructure in future. VW earned brownie points for hiring Wolfgang Bernhard a manager with a restructuring track record. This can only dilute his impact.