Divestment

Unilever can butter up price for margarine unit

18 Aug 2017

Private equity consortiums are reported to be circling the Anglo-Dutch giant’s spreads business. A bidding war and the rich price paid for Reckitt’s food brands may help Unilever pocket more money. But unappetising returns await any buyer who pays more than 7 billion pounds.

Marchionne’s Maserati spinoff lacks traction

15 Aug 2017

Fiat Chrysler’s boss is considering selling the group’s premium brands, according to a report. He staged a similar trick with the firm’s high-end Ferrari brand. Yet Maserati and Alfa Romeo are tiny and need Fiat’s production lines. Staying part of a larger group makes more sense.

Growing Siemens will be harder than rewiring it

11 Aug 2017

CEO Joe Kaeser has delivered higher margins and healthy shareholder returns by making the engineering behemoth slimmer and more agile in his first four years. He has four more to build on his success. The risk is he will repeat past mistakes by indulging in costly acquisitions.

Ceconomy plays to German retail stereotype

26 Jul 2017

As befits a country known for thrifty shoppers, the newly listed electronics retailer has bought cheaply into Fnac Darty. While Ceconomy could probably afford a big premium to take over its French rival, it will take just a 24 pct stake – enough to keep rival bidders at bay.

Noble turns to radical medicine

26 Jul 2017

Banks gave the stricken commodity trader a few months’ reprieve. Now its new boss is selling key energy units, writing down controversial assets and planning $1 bln more in asset sales. There is a long way to go but at least he is tackling Noble’s pressing liquidity problem.

Rio Tinto right to take China’s $2.7 bln and run

27 Jun 2017

In selling a group of thermal coal mines, the miner weighed up a higher, less certain price from China’s Yancoal, or a lower, more secure bid from Glencore. The former looks better. Selling to China could bring other benefits. The main thing is to get shot of dirty fuel assets.

RWE can sparkle with a dirty energy merger

20 Jun 2017

The German utility risks turning into a mere holding company after spinning off clean power unit Innogy. It can avoid this fate by bulking up on coal and gas. An 8.4 billion euro bid for rival Uniper would create value even before synergies and fire up the group’s revival.

Mining debt junkies in danger of $100 bln relapse

13 Jun 2017

Glencore’s return to big dealmaking could signal a renewal of mining groups’ appetite for risk. The likes of BHP, Anglo American and Rio Tinto have also cut back their borrowings since the last boom. Now with lots of room to gear up again, they risk falling back into bad habits.

Barclays faces unfamiliar issue: excess capital

1 Jun 2017

The UK lender is offloading all but 15 pct of its African unit for $2.9 bln after strong demand from investors. The sale should lift its capital ratio above 13 pct. After a year of retrenchment CEO Jes Staley can begin to think about how the slimmed-down bank can reward shareholders.

Finnish-German utility would make odd couple

1 Jun 2017

Shares in Uniper jumped on a report that Finland’s Fortum is considering buying E.ON’s 47 pct stake in the 6.3 bln euro power group. Yet Uniper’s big carbon footprint would tarnish the Finns’ clean energy strategy, and its lackluster earnings make the financial logic a stretch.

Barclays has honourable Africa retreat in sight

31 May 2017

The UK lender is offloading a $2 bln stake in its Johannesburg-listed unit as part of its exit from the continent. Political turmoil in South Africa may have interfered with a sale. But a supportive local fund and the robust rand have allowed Barclays to effect an elegant escape.

DONG’s green energy premium is a work in progress

24 May 2017

By hiving off its North Sea oil and gas assets for $1.3 bln, the state-owned Danish utility is now one of the biggest clean energy pure-plays. Yet its stock market value does not reflect this unique position. A 20 pct discount to German rival Innogy seems excessive.

BHP should take Elliott’s activism as a compliment

16 May 2017

The fund has renewed its call for the miner to break up. BHP isn’t the only one with portfolio clash – rivals Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore all have bits that don’t fit. But BHP’s oil business is well suited to a spinoff. Resistance makes it look more desirable.

AXA takes out double hedge against U.S. and itself

10 May 2017

The French insurer is listing a minority stake in its American operations. Should the Trump administration revisit regulatory equivalence, the move will simplify a sale. In the meantime, investing a few extra billion euros might help AXA hit the upper end of its 2020 targets.

Delphi goes where carmakers only dream of driving

3 May 2017

The $23 bln parts maker is spinning off its powertrain unit to focus on connected and autonomous tech. These fast-growing, higher-margin businesses will sport a top-tier multiple even if car sales slow. The likes of Ford and GM don’t have the luxury of following Delphi’s lead.

Ducati is one VW trophy worth selling

27 Apr 2017

The German carmaker may offload the iconic Italian motorcycle brand. Few synergies, thin margins and VW’s need for cash are good reasons to ditch its former chairman’s vanity purchase. It’s a way for CEO Matthias Mueller to show he’s serious about simplifying the byzantine group.

Swede tissue bid justifies breakups without tears

13 Apr 2017

Forestry group SCA reportedly received an offer for the hygiene business it is about to demerge. Above $22 bln for the unit’s equity would be good. Either way, SCA has given itself options. Others faced with calls to break up, from Akzo Nobel to BHP Billiton, can take note.

BHP’s oil jewel has value even without breakup

12 Apr 2017

The mining giant is under activist pressure to spin off its petroleum business. That would deliver little value for shareholders, a sum-of-the-parts valuation suggests. BHP chief Andrew Mackenzie could do worse, though, than show he is open to a bid at a healthy premium.

BHP Billiton activist’s plan has some merits

10 Apr 2017

Hedge fund Elliott wants the mining giant to clean up its Anglo-Australian structure, buy back shares and split off its oil business, saying shareholders could be roughly 50 pct better off. Even if a full breakup looks a stretch, this may nudge BHP into helpful spring cleaning.

Reckitt is smart to go easy on the sauce

3 Apr 2017

The UK consumer-goods group may sell the division that makes French’s mustard for around $3 bln. Cashing out would take the heat out of the company’s debt-financed $17 bln bet on Mead Johnson – even if it seems odd to sell a business that’s growing fast and highly profitable.